Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

In the Publisher’s Note to the first edition, it was noted that psychology, for the author, is a developing science which is considered to be a part of philosophy. Traditionally philosophy has included the branches of ontology, metaphysics, ethics and epistemology, but Shrii Shrii Anandamurtijii has expanded the scope of philosophy to include psychology and spiritual cult (practices). In fact, this is one of the features which makes Ananda Marga spiritual philosophy unique.

Regarding the scope of philosophy and psychology, in “Our Philosophical Treatise” (Tattva Kaomudii Part 2, 1969), the author writes:

In Western philosophy there is no mention of spiritual cult, because Western philosophers had no opportunity to learn such a cult. The main reason is that, in the theology prevalent in the West, there is no concrete spiritual cult.

According to general belief, psychology is a part of general science, and should therefore not be included as a part of philosophy. Thus psychology has been accepted as a branch of science in the West. But in Ananda Marga, psychology has been included as a part of philosophy. Moreover, according to Ananda Marga, the scope of psychology is wider than what is usually accepted by psychologists.

Yoga psychology, though a part of philosophy, is also a science, but is not restricted to the materialistic paradigm which characterizes Western philosophy and psychology. It is the science by which spiritual aspirants can acquire knowledge and mastery of themselves in their quest for Self-realization. Knowledge of yoga psychology is essential for spiritual practices; without this knowledge, aspirants will not achieve success in their spiritual endeavours.

The discourses published in this book include only some of the important discourses given by the author on yoga psychology. Other important discourses on the subject have been published in works such as Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Parts 1-8; Ánanda Vacanámrtam Parts 1-31; A Guide to Human Conduct; Subháśita Saḿgraha Parts 1-24; Idea and Ideology; and Ananda Marga: Elementary Philosophy. Those interested in yoga psychology should also consult these books.

To assist researchers, it is our policy to indicate here – in addition to the original language of each speech, the date and place, by whom it was translated, and where, if other than in this book, it was originally published – whether or not a tape of the speech is in existence. At the time of this printing, however, not all the cataloguing of tapes has been finished. Further information as to tapes will be given in future printings.

In the cases of some of the discourses published here, no written record was found of the language in which the discourse was given; but if the language could be clearly inferred from the location and other circumstances of the discourse, we have cited that language.

The abbreviation “DMC” sometimes appears at the end of a discourse. Dharma Mahácakra was a special spiritual gathering addressed by the author as the preceptor, or guru, of Ananda Marga. The abbreviation “RU” at the end of a discourse indicates that the discourse constituted a Presidential speech to Renaissance Universal.

Square brackets [   ] in the text are used to indicate translations by the editors or other editorial insertions. Round brackets (   ) indicate a word or words originally given by the author.

The author used a certain shorthand for explaining the etymologies of words. Under this system, a minus sign (–) follows a prefix, and a plus sign (+) precedes a suffix. Thus ava – tr + ghaiṋ = avatára can be read, “the root tr prefixed by ava and suffixed by ghaiṋ becomes avatára.”

“Food, Cells, Physical and Mental Development”. Discourse in Hindi. Originally published both in Bengali, in Tattva Kaomudii 2, 1978 (as “Khádya, Kośa, Sháriirika o Mánasika Unnati”), and in English in Notes on Spiritual Philosophy booklet, c. 1970. First published in English in book form in Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell 4, drawing only on Tattva Kaomudii 2, tr. by ÁVA. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991, English re-editing by JK. Retr. for this edition, drawing on Notes on Spiritual Philosophy as well as on Tattva Kaomudii 2, by ÁVA and ÁAA.

“Cerebral and Extra-Cerebral Memory”. Discourse in Hindi. Originally published in Bengali in Tattva Kaomudii 2, 1978. First published in English in Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell 4, tr. by ÁVA. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991, English re-editing by JK. Retr. for this edition by ÁVA and ÁAA.

“Dream, Telepathic Vision and Clairvoyance”. Discourse in Hindi. Originally published in Bengali as part of “Vede Brahmavijiṋána – 5” in Subháśita Saḿgraha 2, 1957. First published in English as part of “The Intuitional Science of the Vedas – 5” in Subháśita Saḿgraha 2, 1957, tr. by Manohar Gupta. Third English publication as part of “The Intuitional Science of the Vedas – 5” in Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life in a Nutshell 3, 1988, tr. by ÁVA. Due to time considerations the 1957 translation has been used here rather than the 1988. English re-editing by ÁAA.

“Ghosts and Evil Spirits”. Discourse in English. Originally published in English in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 3, 1981. Second English publication in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 3, 1986. Third English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991. Fifth English publication in Discourses on Tantra Vol. 1, 1994.

“Extra-Cerebral Memory”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as “Játismaratva” in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 6. First published in English in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 6, 1987. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991, English re-editing by JK.

“The Two Human Approaches”. Discourse in English. Tape. Originally published in English in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 14, 1981. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991.

“Mysticism and Yoga”. Discourse in English. Tape. Originally published in English in Ánanda Vacanámrtam 14, 1981. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991.

“The Faculty of Knowledge – 1”, “– 2”, “– 3”, “– 4”. Discourses in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 of Prajiṋá Sampad. First published in English in The Faculty of Knowledge, tr. by ÁVA. Fourth English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991, English re-editing by JK. Retr. by ÁVA and ÁAA.

“The Faculty of Knowledge – 5”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as Chapter 5 of Prajiṋá Sampad. First published in English in The Faculty of Knowledge, tr. by ÁVA. Fourth English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991, English re-editing by JK.

“Are Ghosts Hallucinations?” Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali in Abhimata 5. First published in English in A Few Problems Solved Part 5, 1988, tr. by ÁVA and Avadhútiká Ánanda Mitrá Ácárya. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991, English re-editing by JK. English re-editing by ÁAA.

“Instinct and Devotion”. Discourse in English, Bengali and Hindi. Tape. Originally published in English in “Instinct and Devotion” booklet. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991, English re-editing by JK. First Bengali publication as “Vrtti o Bhakti” in Subháśita Saḿgraha 17, 1987. Some originally-Bengali portions retr. from the Bengali by ÁVA and ÁAA.

“Questions and Answers on Psychology”. Discourses in English. Source: Notes taken by sádhakas on various questions the author addressed to aspiring workers of Ananda Marga in their final examinations 1987-1990, and on the answers he himself gave. Originally published in English in Yoga Psychology, 1991, edited by ÁVA and JK. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1994, English re-editing by JK.

“Four Dimensions of Micropsychic Longing”. Discourse in English. Tape. Originally published in English in “Four Dimensions of Micropsychic Longing” booklet. Second English publication in A Few Problems Solved 8, 1988. Third English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991, English re-editing by JK.

“Bio-Psychology”. Discourses in English. Source: Notes taken by sádhakas in seminar-training classes. The handwritten notes were compiled into a typed set of notes (“fair copy”). Originally published in English in Yoga Psychology, 1991, edited by ÁVA and JK. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1994, English re-editing by ÁVA, Ácárya Prańavánanda Avadhúta, Ácárya Mantreshvaránanda Avadhúta, JK. English re-editing by ÁAA.

“Biological Transformation Associated with Psychic Metamorphosis and Vice Versa”. Discourse in English, Hindi and Bengali. Tape. Originally published in English in “Biological Transformation Associated with Psychic Metamorphosis and Vice Versa” booklet. Second English publication in Subháśita Saḿgraha 18, 1991. Third English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991, English re-editing by JK. Fourth English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1994, English re-editing by JK. English re-editing by ÁAA.

“Plexi and Microvita”. Discourses in English. Sources: Notes taken by sádhakas in seminar-training classes; “The Acoustic Roots of the Indo-Aryan Alphabet” in Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell 8, 1988. The handwritten seminar-training notes were compiled into a typed set of notes (“fair copy”). Originally published in English in Yoga Psychology, 1991, edited by ÁVA and JK. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1994, English re-editing by JK. English re-editing by ÁAA.

“Questions and Answers on Meditation”. Discourses in English. Source: Notes taken by sádhakas on various questions the author addressed to aspiring workers of Ananda Marga in their final examinations 1987-1990, and on the answers he himself gave. The handwritten notes were compiled into a typed set of notes (“fair copy”). Originally published in English in Yoga Psychology, 1991, edited by ÁVA and JK. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1994, English re-editing by JK. English re-editing by ÁAA.

“Glands and Sub-Glands”. Discourse in English. Tape. Originally published in English in Yoga Psychology, 1991. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1994, English re-editing by ÁVA, Ácárya Prańavánanda Avadhúta, Ácárya Mantreshvaránanda Avadhúta, JK. English re-editing by ÁAA.

“The Mind Grows in Magnitude”. Discourse in English. Tape. Originally published in English as “The Mind Grows in Magnitude” booklet. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991, English re-editing by JK. Third English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1994, English re-editing by JK.

“The Cult of Spirituality – the Cult of Pinnacled Order”. Discourse in English, Hindi and Bengali. Tape. Originally published in English as “The Cult of Spirituality – the Cult of Pinnacled Order” booklet. Third English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1991, English re-editing by JK. Fourth English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1994, English re-editing by JK.

“Ideation and Meditation”. Discourse in English. Source: Notes taken by sádhakas in seminar-training classes. The handwritten notes were compiled into a typed set of notes (“fair copy”). Originally published in English in Yoga Psychology, 1991, edited by ÁVA and JK. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1994, English re-editing by JK. English re-editing by ÁAA.

“Under the Shelter of the Guru”. Discourse in Bengali. Originally published in Bengali as section on “Gurusakásha” in Shabda Cayaniká Part 25. First published in English as “Ideating on the Guru” in Yoga Psychology, 1991, tr. by ÁVA and JK. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1994, retr. by ÁVA and JK. Shloka beginning Prátah shirasi retr. by ÁVA and ÁAA.

“The Human Body Is a Biological Machine”. Discourse in English. Tape. Originally published in English in Yoga Psychology, 1991. Second English publication in Yoga Psychology, 1994, English re-editing by ÁVA, Ácárya Prańavánanda Avadhúta, Ácárya Mantreshvaránanda Avadhúta, JK.

Key:
ÁVA = Ácárya Vijayánanda Avadhúta
ÁAA = Ácárya Acyutánanda Avadhúta

Chapter 1	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

The physical body of every human being is composed of countless cells. These cells are of two kinds: protozoic and metazoic. All parts of the human body are composed of these two types of cells. In another sense, the entire human structure can be regarded as one metazoic cell.

Each of these cells has its individual mind, soul, etc., but the minds of the cells are different from the human mind. (And the minds of the metazoic cells are more developed than those of the protozoic cells.) The human mind is the unit microcosm plus the collection of the minds of the protozoic and metazoic cells; therefore the human mind is a collective mind. Just as the Macrocosmic Mind is inseparably associated with each and every entity of this universe through ota yoga and prota yoga, the unit mind is inseparably related to each of its composite entities [individually]; and in a collective way also the minds of the cells have a certain relationship with the unit mind.

Generally a cell lives about twenty-one days and then dies, being replaced by new cells. When one rubs a certain part of the body, some seeming dirt comes off, even when the body remains covered, but this is not always dirt from the environment. In most cases, it is the accumulation of hundreds of dead cells.

Cells generally grow out of light, air, water and the food we eat. The nature of food and drink has its effect upon the cells, and consequently also influences the human mind. Obviously each and every sádhaka, or spiritual aspirant, should be very cautious in selecting food. Suppose a person takes támasika, or static, food. The result will be that after a certain period, static cells will grow and exercise a static influence on the aspirant’s mind. Human beings must select sáttvika, or sentient, or rájasika, or mutative, food according to time, place and person. This will lead to the birth of sentient cells, which in turn will produce a love for spiritual practice and help in attaining psychic equilibrium and equipoise, leading to immense spiritual elevation.

After about twenty-one days the old cells are shed and new ones grow. But in old age, due to certain defects in the cells, the smoothness and the lustre of the face disappears and the skin becomes wrinkled, and the different parts of the body weaken. (With old persons, the old cells decay and new cells are produced in lesser numbers. And some of the new cells do not get proper nourishment.)

In all cases where a patient has been ailing for a long time, experienced physicians advise complete rest for a minimum of twenty-one days to allow the growth of new, healthy cells so that the ailing person will regain physical and mental energy.

Cells are living beings, and as a result of transformation through lives together, they have found existence in the human body. Later, through gradual evolution, each cell mind will develop into a human mind.

The aura or effulgence radiating from the human body is the collective effulgence of all its composite cells. When in old age many cells in the body become weak, this results in the diminution of the effulgence. Even the body of a young man who is suffering from a disease loses its lustre.

In the human face alone there are millions of cells. When a person gets angry a large amount of blood rushes into the face, causing it to become red and causing many cells to die. A violent or cruel person can easily be recognized by his or her face.

As a result of eating sentient food and performing spiritual practices, the cells of the human body become sentient. Naturally, an effulgence emanates from these cells creating an aura around the physical body of the spiritual aspirant. This is the reason why many pictures of mahápuruśas [highly-evolved persons] show them with radiant auras.

If cells are affected by food and water, and if the nature of the cells affects the nature of the human mind, obviously human beings should eat the correct diet, because food and mind are closely related to each other. Any food item, whether good or bad, must not be taken indiscriminately because it may lead to mental degeneration. Sincere spiritual aspirants must follow the dictum: Áhárashuddhao sattvashudhih [“A sentient diet produces a sentient body”].

Only food which is helpful in keeping the body and mind sentient should be eaten.

Every object of the world is dominated by one of the three principles – sentient, mutative, and static. Food is no exception, and according to its intrinsic nature, is divided into the same three categories.

Sentient food: Food which produces sentient cells and is thus conducive to physical and mental well-being is sentient. Examples of sentient food are rice, wheat, barley, all kinds of pulses, fruit, milk and milk products.

Mutative food: Food which is good for the body and may or may not be good for the mind, but certainly not harmful for the mind, is mutative.

Static food: Food which is harmful for the mind and may or may not be good for the body is static. Onion, garlic, wine, stale and rotten food, meat of large animals such as cows and buffaloes, fish, eggs, etc., are static.

Very often people eat food without knowing its intrinsic qualities. For example, the milk of a cow which has just given birth. Or white eggplant, khesárii pulse [horse gram], red puni [Basella rubra Linn.], or mustard leaves, all of which often grew out of rotten matter.

In order to have a balanced mind and to progress spiritually, human beings will have to pay attention to the qualities of the food they eat. The idea that “I will just do my sádhaná and eat any food, proper or improper” will not do.

Chapter 2	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

Anubhútaviśayásampramośah smrtih [“The re-creation of things already perceived by the mind is called memory”].

The objects or incidents that one recollects are called anubhútaviśayá or things already perceived. When the same objects or incidents are recreated in the mind, they are called smrti or memory. For instance, a person may not always recollect what he or she ate the previous day, but if he or she thinks hard, the items that were eaten will flash in the mind. In our daily life, we are constantly recollecting things perceived in the past.

How does one activate the memory? There are two ways: internal and external. The internal way is to revive the undistorted image of perceived incidents in the nerve cells. Perception in the primary stage is registered in the unit mind through the nerve cells, and the vibrations of those perceptions remain embedded in the nerve cells. The nerve cells in the brain differ according to the different vibrations they carry. Some carry vibrations of knowledge, others the vibrations of action. Microcosms with brains do not have much difficulty in creating ideas at the psychic level carried through inferences because the vibrations in the nerve cells remain undistorted for quite some time. For instance, if someone happens to see a white cow, he or she can easily say after five minutes what the colour of the cow was because the image of the cow imprinted in the nerve cells is still clear and distinct. That is why it is not difficult for the brain to recollect a memory by recreating ideational waves. But if we ask the same person to describe the cow after a few days, he or she will have more difficulty recollecting its colour because by then the impression of the cow in the nerve cells will have become indistinct. At that stage the perceived image is stored in the citta or ectoplasmic mind-stuff and not the brain. Hence the mind will have to labour hard to reformulate the image of the cow from the accumulated saḿskáras or the mental reactive momenta of past actions. The ability to do this depends on one’s psychic power.

If the external factors necessary for the revival of memory remain undisturbed for some time, one can more easily recreate events already perceived. For instance, if one happens to go to the spot where the cow was seen, one suddenly remembers that a white cow was tethered there. But, after a lapse of much time, when the external factors necessary for the re-creation of that image change drastically, it becomes difficult for the brain to remember the details of the event. At this stage, to recollect the image, one has to penetrate the citta of the unit mind. Of course, once an incident is recollected, its impression remains understood for some time before it finally disappears.

Thus the brain is nothing more than a worldly machine for mental recollection. Its various parts assist the mind in various ways. But the permanent abode of memory is the citta. So even though an impression has faded from the nerve cells, the mind can recreate the impression by its own power. When the brain assists in the recollection of any event or fact it is called “cerebral memory”.

The human mind has three stages: crude, subtle and causal. There are also three states in human existence: wakeful, dream and sleep. The crude mind remains active during the wakeful state and the causal mind remains active during sleep. The causal mind is the repository of infinite knowledge. Whatever saḿskáras we recreate in the wakeful and dream states remain stored in the causal mind. When the causal mind sleeps we call it “death”. Kárańamanasi diirghanidrá marańam [“Long sleep in the causal mind is death”].

After death the disembodied mind floats in the vast space with its unexpressed saḿskáras. Later on, with the cooperation of the mutative principle, the disembodied mind finds a suitable physical base. The memory of its past life remains awake for approximately the first five years of its new life. Although the child remains in a new physical environment, mentally it continues to live the joys and sorrows of its previous life. That is why children sometimes laugh and cry in their sleep, and their mothers often think they are talking with God. In colloquial Bengali this is called deola kát́á. In actual fact this laughter and crying is nothing but the reappearance of past memories. To re-experience past events one does not need the cooperation of the old brain. The newly-born mind has not yet had time to build a close relationship with the new brain. The revival of experiences of past lives is what we call “extra-cerebral memory”, and is principally the task of the causal mind. The child’s mind being unacquainted with the outside world and the new-born brain being inexperienced, his or her crude mind does not function much.

The experiences of the crude mind are not reflected in the child’s subtle mind. In the case of a child, since the crude experiences are relatively few, the subtle mind remains tranquil. Thus the waves of the causal mind easily surface in the child’s subtle mind. As a result, the accumulated experiences of the child’s previous life can easily be recollected. As the child’s crude mind is not yet mature enough to work externally, the dream experiences are not expressed in the wakeful state.

This extra-cerebral memory begins to fade after five years. The more one advances in age, the more the new environment leaves its impressions in the child’s mind. The more a child sees new things before its eyes, the more restless it becomes to know each and every object of this world. Hence the child asks a multitude of questions – it seems there is no end to its inquisitiveness. The more it receives the answers to its questions, the more its mind gets acquainted with the mundane world. The experiences of the crude mind then begin, and get reflected in the dream state. As a result, the vibrations of the causal mind cannot come to the surface any more. Hence, the more the child advances in age, the more it forgets its past life.

Sometimes children can remember their past life even after the age of five. In this case the mind of the new body remains free from environmental influences. That is, the waves of the external world are unable to influence the mind. Such people are called játismara or one who remembers one’s past lives. Normally, the extra-cerebral memory of such people remains active up to the age of twelve. If one still remembers one’s past life after that it becomes difficult to survive, because two minds will try to function in one body – the mind of this life and that of the previous one. A single body cannot tolerate the clashes of two minds, hence psycho-physical parallelism is lost leading to eventual death.

Forgetfulness is a providential decree. Usually human beings forget their past lives. Is this forgetfulness a blessing or a curse? It is a blessing because human beings feel burdened by the weight of one life. It would be impossible for them to carry the burden of many lives together.

The human mind is sentimental – full of love, affection, camaraderie, etc. People have a deep attraction to this world; they remain preoccupied throughout their lives with fears and anxieties for the safety of their families. So many problems have to be confronted. The problems of one life alone are enough to make people restless. If they had to face the problems of several lives, they would be unable to lead a natural life. The problems of the past lives, compounded by the strife of the present life, would drive them to the brink of insanity. Secondly, it is difficult for people to be detached from love and attachment for one life. So much effort is required to overcome the bondages of attachment and march towards Parama Puruśa. If the memory of the past lives is revived, the bondage of attachment will tighten its grip, putting a halt to spiritual advancement. One will be caught in the grip of worldly attachment. Thus the decree of merciful providence is, “Let human beings be oblivious of their past lives.”

It is also true that nothing in this universe is lost or destroyed, so the history of a person’s hopes and frustrations [of this life] remains stored in their subconscious mind [subtle mind]. Due to restlessness of the crude and subtle minds, the causal mind cannot give expression to its omniscience. But all knowledge, one’s entire past history and flashes of one’s previous lives, remain stored in sequential order in the causal mind, just like a colourful panorama, one layer representing one life, followed by a gap, followed by another layer representing another life, and so on. That is why the great poet Rabindranath Tagore said, Bhule tháká se to nay bholá [“To remain in oblivion is not to forget completely”].

Human beings, if they so want, may try to relive those experiences in their memories. This endeavour is called sádhaná or spiritual practice. Sádhakas or spiritual aspirants, by dint of sádhaná, suspend their crude mind in the subtle mind, and the subtle mind in the causal mind. They can then clearly visualize that panorama of sequential events in the causal mind. As they have full control over the time factor they can easily transcend the intervening gaps between two lives and establish a link between them. A series of lives slowly and gradually unfold themselves like a moving panorama before their eyes.

Should one strive to see one’s past lives? Through sádhaná human beings attain a certain degree of control over the relative factors. After a long journey of hundreds of years one begins to visualize the saḿskáras of one’s past lives. To visualize other’s saḿskáras is relatively easy for a sádhaka, but to visualize one’s own saḿskáras is very difficult. Behind this also there is the decree of merciful providence. Imagine a person was a sinner in his or her past life, but in this life has got the opportunity to lead a spiritual life, by His Grace. Now, if the person happens to discover his or her past sinful life, he or she will lose all inspiration to continue spiritual sádhaná. The dominant thought in his or her mind will be, “I am a sinner. I have no saḿskára for sádhaná and will be unable to do it.” This sort of negative thought will thwart his or her spiritual progress. One’s past life will pull one back. In the words of Rabindranath Tagore:

Adrśt́ere shudhhálem emani niśt́ur bale
Ke more tániche pashcáte.
Se kahila, “Phire dekh,”
Dekhilám ámi,
Pashcáte tániche more pashcáter ámi.

[I asked the Lord of my life, “Who is pulling me from behind with such irresistible force?” He told me to look back. I did, and found that my own mental reactive momenta were pulling me back.]

The pashcáter ámi [the “me” behind me] of the poem refers to the extra-cerebral memory.

Conversely, if a sádhaka happened to be a great spiritualist in his or her past life, then through the powers of his or her extra-cerebral memory he or she will be further inspired to continue the spiritual life. He or she will think, “In my previous life I was unable to complete my spiritual practice. Now in this life Parama Puruśa has given me the opportunity to attain my cherished goal.” He or she will intensify his or her spiritual practice and advance rapidly towards Parama Puruśa with His sweet attraction. He or she will recite: Sammukhe t́heliche more pashcáter ámi [“My own reactive momenta are pushing me forward”].

Chapter 3	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

When certain sentiments or impressions are received by the organs and agitate the conscious mind, or when sensual or material thoughts are powerfully awakened in the conscious mind, the nervous system, the crude receptacle of the kámamaya kośa [crude layer] and the mind, becomes unsteady and restless. An impression of that restlessness is left on the nerve cells, and that impression remains short-lived or lasting according to the degree of its intensity. Sometimes even a significant impression loses its previously-acquired permanence because it is compelled to make room for a newer one under the impact of a counter- agitation or restlessness.

In the sleeping state, if a person’s nerve tissues get agitated, more often than not due to some physical cause or due to cerebral heat caused by vehement thinking, the nerve-cells also get stirred up and disturbed. Such agitations give rise, in the mental sphere, to desires similar to the impressions accumulated in the nerve cells. Thus the agitated citta (the subconscious mind) accepts as real the stream of thoughts arising from one or more such impressions. The crude organs having stopped functioning, the identical desires arising from the previously-acquired desires do not then seem to be imaginary but appear to be quite real. Such dreams do not often come true as they are pure imaginations or a mere stringing together of different disjointed thoughts. That is, such dreams are what we colloquially called confused or inconsistent dreams. Only those whose nerve tissues have become weak due to some ailment of the brain or head or because of some protracted illness, or those whose digestive systems have gone out of order, generally “see” such orectic dreams. Such dreams may be called passionate or sensual dreams. These dreams, I have already said, are the true reproductions of the previously imagined objects or the scattered expressions of previous thoughts. Excessive eating also gives rise to such dreams. Those who have pure thoughts and restraint over their diet are generally less susceptible to such dreams. These dreams never come in deep sleep.

There is yet another type of dream. Even when a person is in deep slumber, a premonition of a major calamity or some good or bad news may arise in the subconscious mind through a dream. The all-knowing causal or unconscious mind cannot give expression to its omniscience due to the fickleness of the conscious and subconscious minds, and due to its own expressional inability. But it can awaken in the calm conscious and subconscious minds of a person in deep slumber those visions and premonitions of past, present or future events which may deeply involve or overwhelm the person. The surging vibrational flow which comes out of the fountain-head of the unconscious mind and vibrates the subconscious mind is also a sort of dream. Such dreams are not devoid of significance because their cause is the omniscient causal mind. This may be called “supramental vision”.

Sometimes, even in the wakeful state, the cognitive flow of the unconscious mind makes its way into the subtle mind. The result is that even in the wakeful state, with a little concentration, one can grasp and guess events concerning one’s near and dear ones who are far away. This may be called “telepathic vision”.

Through concentrated telepathic vision, that is, when the conscious mind is calm and sedate, one can visualize the external events concerning one’s distant loved ones enacted before one’s eyes in the external world also, or one can feel as if one is seeing them. This may be called “telepathic clairvoyance”.

If one mistakenly believes such acts to be those of spirits, one may come to believe in spiritualism or spiritology. In fact, such incidents have no connection at all with spirits or ghosts.

Telepathic vision and telepathic clairvoyance are intrinsically the same as supramental vision. Indeed, they are born out of the unconscious mind, the knower of the universe, in the form of intuitive feelings or inspirations from it. To believe in ghosts and spirits is nothing but to remain shrouded in the fearful mentality of prehistoric people. Incidents of telepathic vision are rare in comparison with supramental vision, and rarer still are occurrences of telepathic clairvoyance, due to the activity of the conscious mind. Even supramental vision does not usually occur more than eight to ten times in the life of a person. However, the frequency of this experience is wholly dependent on one’s intuitional practices or one’s saḿskáras [mental reactive momenta]. (One must bear in mind that self-acquired telepathy or self-acquired clairvoyance is something different).

Even in supramental vision, one often does not grasp things correctly, for such cognitive waves generally find expression through the media of one’s personal saḿskáras. Suppose in some country cows are indispensable in various necessary jobs such as cultivation, milling of oil seeds or conveyance. Normally the people in such a country will have a very great regard for cows. Having lived on cows’ milk since their childhood, they will hold cows in high esteem, and regard healthy, strong cows as noble animals and symbols of good luck and prosperity. These sentiments about cows are the resultant saḿskáras born out of the necessities of daily life. Now, suppose somebody from such a country had a dream about a cow growing lean and thin because it lived on dried straws of the paddy field. Then another cow came and met with more or less the same fate. Then yet a third cow appeared, and that too fared no better, though such a trend of thought had never before occurred in the person’s mind. From such a dream the person might infer that the next three years would be ominous. Taking cows and paddy as symbols of good luck and prosperity, the dream may be interpreted as a premonition of misfortune due to the lean cows and the dry paddy straw. So to have the prescience of truth through the medium of dreams, it is necessary to have some control over one’s conscious and subconscious minds. Those who have brought both these levels of mind under control through spiritual practices can, with a little effort, visualize pictures of past, present and future events even in their waking state. This accounts for the meditational clairvoyance or internal foresight of distant objects or events demonstrated by many sages.

Some power in visualizing past, future or distant events may be exhibited by an average person through crystal-gazing, fingernail mirrors, mirror-gazing, etc. This is nothing but the expansion of the cognitive field caused by the partial absorption of the conscious and subconscious minds into the unconscious mind as a result of intense concentration on a particular bright object. In the hypnotized condition or in planchette concentration, the activities of the conscious and subconscious minds get stilled, and the range of a particular individual’s knowledge may get slightly expanded, at least for the duration of such a condition. But then, here one must bear well in mind that those who see in a hypnotized state, in fingernail mirrors, or through mirror-gazing, only see the reflection of their own saḿskáras or their own previous mental bias, if any. This happens in almost cent per cent of such cases. That is to say, the hypnotized person goes on uttering words according to his or her own saḿskáras, while those looking at him or her watch aghast with folded hands, taking their utterances as absolute truth.

Those who feign theophanic or demoniacal trances are outright fakes; everything they do or say is nothing but trickery and moonshine. But even those who invoke the spirits or gods with devotion (be it out of fear or love), or sit around the planchette – even their statements are almost entirely the expression of their respective saḿskáras and previous bias. One or two per cent of their predictions may even come true due to their mental concentration. But such chance truths are not always expressions of the unconscious mind, for there is nothing unnatural or unusual about one or two predictions out of many coming true. This can also happen to an ordinary person. There is a Bengali proverb which says,

Jhaŕe kák mare
Phakirer kerámáti báŕe.

[The crow dies in a storm, The fakir strikes his form.]

Chapter 4	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

The subject of today’s discourse is “Ghosts and Evil Spirits”.

Now let us see what happens when a person dies. When a person dies, their physical body, along with the nerve cells and nerve fibres, remains in the earth and finally becomes one with the earth. When death takes place, the mind, along with the reactive momenta and the non-cerebral memory, leaves the body and moves here in the universe, with the help of rajoguńa [the mutative principle], till it gets another body, a suitable body to quench its thirst and satisfy its reactive momenta. Those reactive momenta, in the second body, are known as saḿskárá.

The mind, along with the reactive momenta and non-cerebral memory, is not visible. One cannot see it. And when it is not visible, it is not possible for anybody to say, “I have seen that mind, that videhii átmá [disembodied spirit].” But we should remember that the dissociated mind is not alone. In that mind there are the reactive momenta and also the non-cerebral memory.

(That mind moving in the universe with the mutative power of the Cosmic Operative Principle is not visible, and at the same time, for want of a nucleus, a seat for the mind, and nerve cells, the mind cannot function properly. For proper functioning it requires ectoplasmic stuff, a body of ectoplasm. So even for ectoplasmic expression it requires a new body. In proper time, due to the mixture of ova and spermatozoa, what happens? The mind becomes associated with a new structure, and the original minds and lives of both the ova and the spermatozoa cease to exist. But those ova and spermatozoa are selected to suit the purpose of this detached mind with its reactive momenta.)

Now during this period, this transitional period, when the mind has left the previous body, before it gets the new body, what happens? It moves in the universe, invisible and inaudible. But you know, by dint of Tantric practice, anybody can develop their ectoplasmic structure. They may be a Vidyá Tantric, they may be an Avidyá Tantric, but the ectoplasmic development is there. So such Tantrics can, with the help of their own ectoplasmic stuff, help the detached mind to get a temporary ectoplasmic body. And for the time being that detached mind, with the help of the ectoplasmic stuff of that Tantric – Vidyá Tantric or Avidyá Tantric – gets that ectoplasmic structure, and when that ectoplasmic structure is a bit solidified it becomes visible, and due to its vibrational frequency it may become audible too, but only for a short span of time.

You have heard stories about bones being thrown into a particular house, bricks being thrown into a particular house, a cot moving upwards, etc. You have heard these ghost stories about certain haunted houses. What are these things? A Tantric, certainly not a Vidyá Tantric, but an Avidyá Tantric, with the help of a certain portion of their own ectoplasmic stuff, sits tight in an ásana [meditation posture], and, with the help of their ectoplasmic stuff, creates an ectoplasmic body for a detached mind (known as preta in Sanskrit). And with the help of their ectoplasmic stuff, attached to the detached mind, they do all these things. But at the time their body remains motionless. So these things are actually not done by ghosts. They are actually done by that Avidyá Tantric with the help of that detached mind. One may say that these things have been done by ghosts, but they were not actually.

And there is another type of being also. I say “being” because it is difficult for me to say that they are living beings or that they are dead beings. What happens? There are seven recognized devayonis, divine entities. They are called “divine”, though actually they are not divine, because they are better, or higher, than ordinary human beings.

Suppose a person is practising spiritual sádhaná regularly, properly, and with proper inspiration and sincerity, but some other desires, some other longings, remain coverted in the person’s mind. The person is a good person, he or she is sincerely doing sádhaná, but in his mind he thinks, “If Bábá gives me ten lakhs – or five lakhs – or only two lakhs – everything will be managed properly. Oh, no! I won’t ask for these things. No, no, no, it is bad, it is bad.” That desire, that longing for money, remains in him, although he or she is a developed soul, not a bad person, not at all a bad person. So what happens? Because of his piety, after death he gives up the physical structure, the solid body, and gives up the aquatic structure, that is, apatattva, also; but the other three factors – tejas [luminous factor], marut [aerial factor], vyoma [ethereal factor] – remain with him, with his detached mind.

These beings are called devayonis. They are of seven types – yakśa, rakśa, kinnara, gandharva, vidyádhara, siddha and Prakrtiliina. In the example I gave, the person had a longing for money, but was a developed soul. Unknowingly or unconsciously the desire came into his or her mind, and that desire was the cause of his or her downfall, degradation, depravation. This type of being is called yakśa.

In Bihar, particularly in the northern portion of Bihar, in most but not all of the villages, you will find a place just outside the village, known as the Brahmasthána. That Brahmasthána is the place where the villagers used to assemble to worship the yakśa. In the images of Paoráńika [Puranic] gods and goddesses you will find the yakśa and yakśinii standing just to the right and left of the deity; a yakśa and yakśinii with cámaras [ceremonial whisks] in their hands. What is a yakśa? It has a body, but not a quinquelemental body; a body with three factors, tejas, marut and vyoma. That luminous body cannot be touched, but it can be seen sometimes.

Rakśa. People with fighting spirit, with proper dedication and proper spiritual aspiration, but who sometimes think, “If I get the blessing I will kill those antisocial elements – No, no, no, during pújá [worship, meditation] I should not think like this.” You have understood, I think? Those thoughts coming in the mind during pújá become the cause of degradation. After death the person won’t have a physical body or aquatic body, but tejas, marut and vyoma will be there. This type is called rakśa.

Kinnara. “Bábá has given me everything, but I am not good-looking. I want to be very good-looking, so that people will say – No, no, no, it is very bad.” Such good persons, good souls (and they are good people, not ordinary people) after death also acquire this type of three-elemented body. They are called kinnara.

Vidyádhara. “I am a good sádhaka, but haven’t any vocal power. I can’t dance properly, I can’t sing properly, my vocal cord doesn’t function well. I require more attributions, more qualifications – and if I get more qualifications I will get promotion in the service also. Oh, no, no, no. These are all bad things. These are all bad desires. A person should not have any desires.” When such a person dies, they also get that type of body, luminous, gaseous and ethereal. These three bhútas are there. These people are called vidyádhara.

Next – a person is doing sádhaná, there is no longing. Then, “I sing bhajanas, but my sound is not good. My vocal cords don’t function properly. My vocal expression should be a bit more sweet and rhythmic – No, no, no, these are all bad things, bad things.” This type of good person, in the body they take in their next life (not “next life”, but “post-physical life”), is known as gandharva. They have a longing for music. And that is why music is called gandharva vidyá in Sanskrit.

The sixth is the siddha. What is a siddha? Suppose there is a good soul, a good person who has no physical desire. But during sádhaná – “Yes, love for God has been created. Yes, people love me, Bábá loves me. But I should have some occult power, so that people will say, ‘This person has power, and is not an ordinary person. This person has occult power – alaokika shakti – aeshvarya – vibhúti’ – No, no, no, these are bad thoughts, bad thoughts.” When this type of person dies, their post-physical body is known as siddha. They are the best among the devayonis. I will say something regarding these siddhas later on.

And the seventh is Prakrtiliina – those who worship idols, ascribing Brahma-hood to that idol, thinking that the very idol is God, the very image is God; worshipping stone, worshipping wood, worshipping metal. Tantra says, Mrcchiládhátudárvádimúrttáviishvaro buddhayo… [“Those who think that Parama Puruśa is confined within idols made of clay, stone, metal or wood…”] Mrt means “earthen image”; shilá means “made of stone”; dhátu means “made of metal”; and dáru means “made of wood”. And they ascribe Godhood to that wood or to that metal or to that stone. Then what happens? The person is ideating on that stone, or wood, or metal, and what happens? Yadrshii bhávaná yasya siddhir bhavati tádrshii – “A person adopts a body according to their object of ideation.” Their own self is transformed into that entity, the entity which was their object of meditation. Now such people worshipping different forms of Prakrti finally take the form of those entities, and become stone, become wood, become metal. They are called Prakrtiliina. They become one with Prakrti and remain there for an indefinite period. What a durdaeva, I will say! What a painful state of existence!

Now, among these seven types of devayoni, the siddha is the best. Siddhas perform their sádhaná, but sádhaná remaining just at the half-way point. And whenever there is an assemblage of singers or dancers, what happens? Gandharvas, with their mental bodies, their reactive momenta and non-cerebral memories, assemble. Wherever there is any programme of music, there they assemble, but invisible. Sometimes, though, they become visible. I will explain.

Wherever there is any spiritual gathering, siddhas come. And during a musical function, whenever the mind of a particular artist becomes concentrated, they will see the luminous bodies of gandharvas. Similarly, during meditation, or particularly during kiirtana, when a spiritual aspirant’s mind becomes concentrated, they will feel the existence of those siddhas. In Jamalpur, in the area of the tiger’s grave, there were assemblages of large numbers of siddhas. One of our senior grhii ácáryas [married spiritual teachers] used to see them.

I will narrate a very short story. A few years back, two of our kápálika sádhakas⁽¹⁾ came to a river. That river is not a big one, but the depth is there. They were at a loss to decide how to cross the river. Just on the other side of the river there was a burial ground, a cremation ground. They were thinking hard, at midnight.

All of a sudden, they saw a luminous body just in front of them. The luminous body began moving, and these two boys followed it. Coming to a particular point, that luminous body started crossing the river, and these two boys followed him. And that particular portion of the river was very shallow, knee-deep. They easily crossed the river and reached the other side. Just on the other bank there was a tree. From there they went two different ways to do their night practice. And after night practice they came back to the tree. They again saw that luminous body and again followed it and crossed the river.

After coming to the original bank, the junior boy addressed the senior man, “Oh Dádá, let us request that luminous body to bless us.” As soon as he said this, the luminous body disappeared. What was that luminous body? A siddha.

Now what happens when a person sees some unnatural picture or unnatural image or unnatural being? One possibility I have already explained – it may be that a Tantric, with the help of his or her ectoplasmic structure, has created a body for a disembodied mind just to terrorize others. A Vidyá Tantric will not do these things, but an Avidyá Tantric may do so just to terrorize others, as they used to do in the past. After getting some money they would stop the practice.

And suppose that some time you go to a particular house which people say is haunted. There are some haunted houses in every town, and I have already told you that if you find any haunted house, you just purchase it and use it. Ghosts won’t terrorize Ananda Margis, because every Ananda Margi is a ghost. [laughter] “They are the followers of Shiva.”⁽²⁾ Ghosts will not terrorize ghosts.

What happens there? Due to terror, due to pre-imposed terror, a person’s mind gets concentrated. Due to fear the mind gets concentrated, and due to concentration, what happens? A certain portion of the person’s own ectoplasmic stuff goes to help a detached mind in creating a body, an ectoplasmic body. So you see your own creation; the creation has been made out of your own ectoplasmic stuff. But that detached mind was also there. It was not a ghost. And those Brahmapisháca, or several kinds of “ghosts”, are all of your creation. Your ectoplasmic stuff is transferred to that detached mind due to your mental concentration, temporary concentration.

And this type of concentration takes place under five types of circumstance – kśipta, múd́ha, vikśipta, ekágra and nirodha. Kśipta is when the mind is very perturbed, full of worries and anxieties. At that time, due to sudden, short concentration, such a thing may happen. Múd́ha is when your brain fails to decide what to do or what not to do – you are at a loss for what to do. This is called múd́ha – múh plus kta. Vikśipta – you are not concentrating on a particular point, but finally your mind becomes tired and, in that state, you see those things. You know by lullabies we make the minds of children vikśipta and they fall asleep. (Lullabies, you know? – poems recited in the ears to put children into deep slumber, not ordinary sleep.) Ekágra is when your mind gets pointed. And the fifth is nirodha, when you suspend all the expressions of your propensities. In these five conditions you may see those things and you may, knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously, transfer certain portions of your ectoplasmic body to a detached mind and create a positive hallucination of this kind.

Footnotes

(1) Practitioners of kápálika sádhaná, a form of spiritual practice which causes the aspirant to confront and overcome all the inherent fetters and enemies of the human mind. –Eds.

(2) The Shivagańa, “Shiva’s people”, included ghosts, according to mythology. –Eds.

Chapter 5	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

Some time ago I said something about memory, cerebral memory and non-cerebral memory in Ranchi.

Human beings can remember many things in their lives, but they also forget many things. They study and learn, and what they learn today they forget tomorrow. Many people, however, remember things from their past lives. They can remember a few particular episodes – not of this life but of their past life. They see them like dreams, though they are unaware that these episodes are known to them. But they remember them.

Such memories are called non-cerebral memories. Once I demonstrated in Ranchi what a man observes when his mind is taken back fifty, one hundred or five hundred years.

Actually, what is this non-cerebral memory? In general terms, memory can be explained in this way. What you store in your brain through the medium of the nerve cells is your cerebral memory. But in the case of non-cerebral memory your nerve cells will not come forward to assist you. They cannot help you because no memory of your past episodes remains stored in your present nerve cells to enable you to remember them. Along with the rest of your previous bodies, those nerve cells got burnt to ashes when the bodies died. What people learn or observe in their present life remains stored in the present nerve cells of their brain as memory. That is, the episodes of their previous lives are not stored in their present nerve cells because the nerve cells of their previous bodies got burnt to ashes along with the bodies of their previous lives. So how will one remember them? How can the memories be recollected by the mind?

When people expire, the saḿskáras or reactive momenta of their previous life accompany their spirit, soul or átmá. What are these reactive momenta? They are nothing but the unfulfilled consequences of one’s karma or actions performed in the previous life. That is, actions were performed but they did not bear any fruit. The unfulfilled potential of the past actions lay resting along with the mind in the form of a seed of possibilities. That seed of possibilities (that is, the unrealized consequences of the actions which were performed but bore no fruit) takes a shelter or base in the next life which is most suitable for materializing these possibilities. The saḿskáras seek out and get the kind of body and nerve cells which best serves their expression.

In those instances in the previous life where actions were performed but the results were not achieved – where actions were performed but they did not bear any fruit – saḿskáras or reactive momenta remain with which the individual is personally involved. That is, in the previous life both the person and their mind were deeply involved with these actions. The unexpressed tendency of those particular episodes in which the mind was deeply involved will remain restive in them. Having this tendency by birth, those episodes are still remembered in their mind, but in some cases the tendency remains stored in an indistinct and unclear form.

For example, when one is sitting alone, suddenly a strange imagination may start playing in the mind. One may feel, “I was the owner of that plot of land. I used to cultivate it.” How does this occur? It is because the saḿskáras of the previous life were involved, which is why one can suddenly remember the episode. However, in this case one does not realize that one has remembered an episode of one’s previous birth. Such things occur in the lives of everybody. But in some people, a true picture of exactly what had happened in their previous birth remains vividly clear in the mind. Such things only happen in three types of cases: first, in those who have a very well-developed personality; secondly, in those who have commanded their own death or who have died with full consciousness; and thirdly, in those who died through accidents. In these three cases, the episodes of the previous life remain visible and clear in the mind.

Generally, such a memory does not last long. A part of it remains vividly clear up to the age of twelve or thirteen years, but after that age it gradually recedes into oblivion. This is because, if one remembers it all the time, one will develop a dual personality. Suppose in this birth a boy has the name Ramkumar and in his previous life he was known as Harihara, the same person will have two personalities. This is the situation.

Those who do remember their past lives up to the age of twelve or thirteen years are called játismara in Sanskrit. If one can concentrate the mind and transform it into a point, then one can recollect everything. One can remember every word of one’s previous birth in one’s next life provided that one’s reactive momenta remain unfulfilled. But I will never advise any sádhaka or spiritual aspirant to try to become a játismara. What is the use of recollecting the history of your past life? Try to learn only about the future.

What is this future? What should be the future? You should become one with Parama Puruśa by merging into Him. Then everything will be known and revealed to you. Unite with Him and enjoy the bliss of spiritual ambrosia. The meaning of unification with Parama Puruśa is to enjoy Parama Puruśa. What is the use of knowing the history of your previous births? Such knowledge will never help your spiritual advancement.

Chapter 6	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

What is this? What is this? “It is a flower.” How could you say that it is a flower? Because particular light waves come and touch your eyes, and a similar flower is created in your mind. Actually, you are not seeing the flower; you are seeing the mental image of the flower within. Do you follow? You never see anything, you never hear anything, you never even touch anything. When you see something or touch something, the corresponding sympathetic vibration is created within your mind. At that time, you feel that you are seeing the flower, or you feel that you are hearing some song, or you feel that you are touching something hot or cold.

In fact, you never come in physical contact with anything. Your contact with everything is through your mind, through your nerve fibres, through your nerve cells, and your entire objective mind. When you feel you see, it is an internal projection with the help of your nerves.

What a mystery! It is a great mystery that whatever you perceive or whatever you conceive – everything is within you, nothing is outside of you. That is why it is said that the entire universe is within you in miniature form. You are seeing the psychic projection of the material world, which is why I say that the human entity is more psychic than physical. Your existence is more important in the psychic world than in the physical world. But, in DMC, I said that you must maintain parallelism between your entitative waves, incantative waves, and spiritual waves.

Human approaches are of two kinds – extro-internal and intro-external. Here is a flower. The waves move from the external world to the eye, then through the optic nerve to the nerve cells and finally to the brain. There, a similar flower is created inside the mind according to the light waves that are outside your body. This movement is from external to internal. It is something external, and its creation is in your mind, that is external to internal. Extro-internal – created outside but going within. This is the subject of applied psychology.

There may also be intro-external movement, created within the mind and sent outside. Suppose you have created an elephant within your mind, and you have got a strong ectoplasmic structure. With the help of this strong ectoplasmic structure, you create sympathetic vibrations outside. That external projection can be seen by you and by others. In your mind, you are creating an ectoplasmic elephant, and that elephant is projected outside. Others may see it. In the language of psychology, it is called a “positive hallucination”.

Similarly, suppose there is an external elephant, and with the help of your ectoplasmic power, you withdraw the light waves emanating from the external elephant. Everyone will see there is no elephant, although actually there is an elephant. In psychology, this is called a “negative hallucination.” A positive hallucination means that what appears to exist does not exist, and a negative hallucination means that what actually exists appears not to exist. Have you understood?

Now, for you there are two worlds, the external world and the internal world. Waves from the outside enter the internal world, and ectoplasmic waves with a strong pressure may create strong extroversial waves. In order to create positive hallucinations or negative hallucinations, there is always extroversial projection of your thought-waves. It is a very nice, interesting and intellectual subject.

But for Parama Puruśa what happens? Who is Parama Puruśa? Parama Puruśa means He who, with His ectoplasmic force, is creating everything. When a man has got devotion, he may or may not be a scientist, but he may unify his existence with Parama Puruśa because of his extreme love for Parama Puruśa. In that case, he will become one with Parama Puruśa. At that time he maintains no separate identity. Suppose, the name of the man is Mr. Joseph. When he becomes one with Parama Puruśa, there is no Mr. Joseph.

So, Parama Puruśa is one. You, little girl, can you dance? Yes. Can you sing? Yes. Are you an expert in painting? Yes. Can you speak French? No. Now you have one weakness. So everybody has got certain imperfections. Parama Puruśa has got two imperfections. One is that He cannot create a second Parama Puruśa. Whoever will be in love with Him, in close contact with Him, will also become Parama Puruśa. But Parama Puruśa remains one. Magnet and iron. When iron comes in contact with the magnet, the iron and magnet become one entity. So, Parama Puruśa remains one. Have you heard the name Huang Ho? What happens when it comes in contact with the Pacific Ocean? When a person comes in contact with Parama Puruśa, one does not remain a person. One becomes absorbed, just like the Huang Ho.

Parama Puruśa has got two imperfections. He cannot create a second Parama Puruśa. Parama Puruśa is always one. The second imperfection is that He cannot hate anyone. Suppose you dislike a person. You will say, “I do not want to see your face. I hate you.” You may say this if you are dissatisfied. You may also say, “Get out! Get out!” But Parama Puruśa cannot hate anyone. If Parama Puruśa hated you what might He say? “Get out! Get out!” Then you may challenge Him. “Parama Puruśa, you are everywhere, and yet you order me to get out. Where will I go?” Then Parama Puruśa will have to say, “Go outside my area.” But outside there is nothing. Everything is inside. So then you will challenge Parama Puruśa. “Either you change your name or withdraw your order.” Do you follow?

So, Parama Puruśa cannot do two things. He cannot create a second Parama Puruśa, and he cannot hate anyone. He cannot even hate a bad person. All are His creation. Suppose in your mind you have created a drunkard, a bad man. You cannot hate that man because he is within your mind. So Parama Puruśa cannot hate.

Now I was saying that for you, there are two worlds, the external world and the internal world. For you, there are extro-internal vibrations and intro-external vibrations. But for Parama Puruśa, everything is within, everything is internal. Nothing is without, nothing is external. So for Him, there can neither be extro-internal projection nor intro-external projection, because everything is within, nothing is external. So whatever He thinks in His mind, others see as real. You see the Pacific Ocean externally, but for Parama Puruśa, the Pacific Ocean is within His mind. He has created the ocean within His mind, and mentally He is seeing it. Seeing mental objects requires no eyes. If you create a tiger in your mind, do you require any eyes to see it? You will mentally be seeing the tiger you created. For seeing anything Parama Puruśa requires no eyes. He sees with His mental eyes. For Him, there is nothing external. Everything is internal.

Now what will an intellectual do? Many learned people are puffed up with vanity. Have you seen some scholars who have much vanity, who are proud of their intellect? You have seen such people. Can they become one with Parama Puruśa? Never, because their psychic projection is towards the external world. They want to get more name and fame, to establish themselves in the arena of vanity. Those who have intellectual vanity will never be able to come in close contact with Him.

Those who are established in actional faculties will be engaged in action. What is action? Action means relative change of place. When there is a change of place, you will say that an action is being done. It is a relative change of place and not an absolute one. Those who are engaged in actional faculties are doing so with time, space and person, but Parama Puruśa is beyond the periphery of time, space and person. So, by dint of one’s actional faculties, one cannot get Him.

Then who can get Him? They say it is very, very easy. What to do? “O Lord, I am Your creation. I am Yours, I am at Your disposal. This body is a machine. Utilize it.” But you are to do one thing. What? Is there any want in Parama Puruśa? There are two imperfections. He cannot create another Parama Puruśa and cannot hate anybody, but is there any want in Him? There is no want – name, fame, money, etc. – because the entire universe is within His mind, so all the properties of the universe are His. He has no want.

But the true devotee says, “Oh Parama Puruśa, there are so many great devotees, and I am only an ordinary devotee, the worst devotee. But Lord, those who are your big devotees have done one thing. They have stolen Your mind.” Because Parama Puruśa loves His devotees very much, His mind has been stolen by them. Now Parama Puruśa’s mind has been stolen by His devotees, so He has got one want – mind. His mind has been taken by His devotees. “Oh Lord, your devotees have stolen your mind, so You have got one want. You have lost your mind. Do one thing, Lord, take my mind. Let there be no want in You. I offer my mind to You. Accept it.”

So the devotees are very intelligent, they are more intelligent than intellectuals, and more intelligent than those engaged in actional faculties.

Chapter 7	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

When the aesthetic sense, based on the subtle aesthetic science, comes to touch a certain standard, it is what is called mysticism. And when this mysticism reaches the pinnacle of human glory, or the excellence of human glory, it is called spirituality. What is mysticism? Mysticism is the never-ending endeavour to find out the link between the finite and the infinite. It is a never-ending endeavour to find out a link between the self and the Super-Self, khud and Khudá. This is mysticism.

It is one of the human wonts that human beings are never satisfied with something finite. They are never satisfied with something limited. In Sanskrit it is said, Nalpe sukhamasti bhunaeva sukhamasti [“Human thirst cannot be satisfied with something limited, human hunger cannot be satisfied by something finite”].

That is, in the quest for the Infinite, human beings first come in contact with aesthetic science. Aesthetic science does not always mean to get something pleasant; it may mean to get something troublesome, something embarrassing – it may or may not be something pleasant. Aesthetic science is that which one can express in a subtler way, from subtle to subtle, and when it reaches the subtlest point, that point is the pinnacle of human glory. Now, it is the duty of artists to express their work in a nice way, in a lucid way, and place it before the world. Not everyone can do this. But enjoying something with aesthetic taste or aesthetic charm is within the capacity of each and every human being.

When human beings started their movement towards the Supreme Being, in quest of Supreme Bliss, they first came in contact with spirituality. As spirituality is coming in contact with the Infinite, that is, the finite comes in contact with the Infinite, it is called yoga. Yoga is the unit moving in quest of the Infinite, the finite moving towards the Infinite in a mystic style. In Sanskrit, yoga means “addition”. For instance, two plus two is equal to four. But for a mystic, for an aspirant of the mystic goal or the mystic desideratum, yoga is not only addition; here yoga means “unification”. What sort of unification? It is just like sugar and water. Say there are two plus two apples. In the case of addition there will be one apple, then two, then three and then four apples. Every apple will maintain its individuality or its identity. The identity of the apples remains unchanged before and after the addition. But in the case of unification, that is, in the example of sugar and water, the sugar does not maintain its identity because it becomes one with the water. This is unification. In the realm of mysticism, yoga means this type of unification. That is, it is unification like sugar and water, and not simply addition like two plus two.

Now the starting point is aesthetic taste or aesthetic science. The culminating point, that is, from the culminating point, starts the movement of Supreme charm. In that movement with the goal of Supreme charm, human beings become unified with the Supreme Entity, whose seat is above the pinnacle of existence.

This movement for yoga, for the unification of the unit with the Supreme, the finite with the Infinite, is a must for each and every human being. The human physical and psychic structure is most suitable for this purpose. Animals and plants act according to their inborn instincts. They are mentally undeveloped, and because of this their brain is also undeveloped. The cranium is very small and the conscious portion of the mind is sufficient for them; there is no necessity or little necessity for the sub-conscious or unconscious strata of the mind. A plant gets pleasure or pain when its inborn instincts are either encouraged or discouraged. When the inborn instincts of a plant or an animal are encouraged it gets pleasure, and when the inborn instincts are discouraged, suppressed or depressed, it gets pain. This is how the brain or the mind of plants and animals functions. But in the case of human psychology, human psycho-spiritual movement cannot be suppressed, cannot be checked. There lies the speciality of human existence.

Now yoga. Yoga is the most developed and most valuable expression of human wonts, so it is in the first phase of yoga that one expresses oneself through so many arts and sciences. The final point of all artistic movement and the final point of all branches of sciences is the supreme source, the perennial source of all energies, the supreme seat of all energies. It is Parama Puruśa, the Supreme Entity, who is the Father of all, the Causal Matrix of all created beings in this universe, both animate and inanimate. That is why for all people, whether they are intelligent or illiterate, [[poor or rich]], educated or uneducated, the Supreme Entity must be the goal of life. That is, the Supreme Entity is the culminating point, the desideratum of all human expressions. When human beings are lacking in this spirit of movement, they degrade themselves from the human status. All you boys and girls, you should remember this supreme expression of veracity.

Chapter 8	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

The subject of today’s discourse is “The Faculty of Knowledge”. In the mechanical sphere, knowing, or the functional side of knowledge, occurs with the perception of special types of reflections and refractions, but in the psychic sphere, it occurs as a result of the subjectivization of objectivity or objectivities.

For example, if a particular type of vibration hits an object or plate it meets some resistance and may get reflected or refracted, as in the case of an echo; or a certain portion of the vibration may pass through the plate. In the mechanical stratum, knowledge, or the faculty of knowledge, is thus attained. But in the psychic stratum, knowledge involves the subjectivization of any external objectivity or objectivities. We take an external object inside ourselves, be it an elephant, a horse, a vocalized word, a touch, or anything else with which we come in contact in the outer world, and assimilate it in our psychic existential “I” feeling. This is the process of knowing – it is something related to the psychic sphere. So, knowledge has two aspects – first, the aspect of reflections and refractions, and secondly, the psychic aspect; that is, the process of attaining knowledge in the psychic sphere.

The word jiṋána (knowledge) is derived from the Sanskrit root verb jiṋá (to know). In very ancient Sanskrit, which is otherwise known as the Vedic language, this root verb jiṋá was not very popular. Perhaps you know – especially those of you who study philology, or deal with the science of phonetics and vocabulary – that a language in its infancy starts with a very limited vocabulary. Later, the more the community using this limited word-stock advances in different spheres of practical life, the more enriched the vocabulary becomes, but if that community lacks the will to advance, their vocabulary will not grow. The ancient Vedic language, which was originally spoken in central Russia by the Aryans, gradually developed as the Aryans moved from country to country, undergoing innumerable experiences and realizations as they went. The natural outcome was the enormous development of their vocabulary. In that ancient dialect, the root verb jiṋá was not in common use; another verb, vid, was used.

I have just said that as a community passes through various phases in different spheres of life, its collection of words simultaneously increases. The language of monkeys will serve as an example. It is a fact that monkeys have their own language. Among the different species of monkeys there are those who remain in the jungles and forests. As they hardly ever come in contact with human beings, they have little knowledge and few words in their stock, perhaps thirty to forty words. They do not need to create compound words; they manage well enough by uttering certain significant expressions using sounds such as kiun, kun, kin, kain. There is no necessity for them to formulate compound words by joining kiun and kun, for example, otherwise they would have done so, thus creating the compound word kiun-kun to give a new meaning. But there are a large number of words in the languages of those monkeys which live close to human habitation. They come in frequent contact with humans and are required to fight battles of wits (to escape death, for instance). Certain varieties of monkeys have, in fact, as many as seven hundred to eight hundred or even nine hundred words in their dialect. Of course, they do not have a codified dictionary. They acquired as many words as they needed to move in different domains. In the case of humans, very undeveloped communities such as the Zulus, the Pygmies and the Maoris have a very limited stock of words. On the other hand, there are certain languages which have enormous vocabularies of over 500,000 words, such as the Sanskrit, French, English and German languages. In Bengali there are about 125,000 words, and in Gujarati nearly 100,000. Other languages have less than 100,000 words in their vocabularies.

A community which develops in a particular environment creates an increasing number of words relating to that domain. For example, in Bengal, which is close to the sea, there is a particular type of sea-creature called timi (whale). In North India, where there is no sea nearby, the English word “whale” is more popular than the Bengali word timi. Again, another sea-creature, the lobster, has numerous synonyms such as galdá, bágdá, kuco, kádá, mocá, etc.; as so many varieties of lobster are available only in Bengal and not in North India, in North India the words are not in currency either. In the case of sharks, there are two words used in Bengali, háunar and kámat́. The one that inhabits rivers is called kámat́. In North India there is no salt water, and there is neither háunar nor kámat́. A shark that lives in the sea is called háunar, while the one living in a lake, [not] in a salt-water area, is known as kámat́. In English there is only one word to describe both, “shark”.

When the Aryans began to spread out in all directions from their original homeland, their vocabulary also began to develop and their language began to flourish. In ancient Sanskrit, even in Rgvedic Sanskrit, the vocabulary was very limited. The root verb vid became inadequate as it was discovered that there were various other ways of knowing. For example, one can gain knowledge by reading books, by listening to others, or by undergoing some kind of training, etc. Thus, knowing can be done in several ways. Long ago, when Bengal was a sovereign country, the military personnel who used to impart training to their recruits were nicknamed jáná. Even today there is a Bengali title jáná for those people whose forefathers were military officers. The verb vid, no doubt, meant knowing, but that did not carry the full import of what the speaker wanted to convey. To cite another example: previously, people would use the verb vid to describe both the farmer’s knowing when the harvest should be reaped, and the scholar’s discovery, after much research in his psychic laboratory, of a very intricate theory. The problem was, however, how to differentiate between these two types of knowledge. Hence, the root verb jiṋá was evolved in those ancient days, which meant subjectivization of objectivity in a mechanical way through reflections and refractions. The verb jiṋá invented by the ancient Aryans, was changed into keno in Old Latin language. In Sanskrit the pronunciation is jiṋá, in Bengali jiṋa, in the Rgvedic language jiṋa, in Old Latin keno, and in Modern English “know”. (As the original spelling of the word was “kenow”, we still spell the word with a “k” at the beginning without actually pronouncing it.) Those who learned the science of Tantra Yoga and Rája Yoga from Lord Shiva, cultivated the physical and psychic aspects of knowledge – the expressions and waves of vibrations. Consequently, the Shaivites became followers of the cult of knowledge (jiṋána márga) whereas the non-Shaivites became the followers of the cult of devotion (prapatti márga). You should know the difference between the two.

The first question that the jiṋána márgiis pose whenever they see an object, whether psychic or spiritual, is invariably, “What is this?” Their next question is, “What is its source or origin?” Then they proceed further along that line to another source of knowledge where both reflection and refraction end. That is, the mind of the inquirer reaches a point where it fails to comprehend that plate on which the processes of reflection and refraction operate. The point where the mind loses its capacity to analyse or compare further is the Supreme Point; and this is the Shaeva cult of knowledge. Judged in this light, Ananda Marga philosophy also supports the Shaeva cult as it strives for the further enrichment and advancement of the cult of knowledge. It encourages the development of intellect and wisdom, and thus motivates people to acquire more and more knowledge. This is a great boon for humanity, as the highest treasure of human beings, which distinguishes them from the other creatures, is their intellectual superiority. Had there been no intellect in humans to distinguish them from other creatures, there would be hardly any difference between humans and animals. Therefore, this philosophical consciousness, which can also be called “Ananda Marga consciousness”, will lead humanity to greater intellectuality. And the constant pursuit of intellectuality leads one to its furthest point, the place where intuition begins. Hence in the realm of spiritual practice, it is immensely helpful. The path of sádhaná is not devoid of intellect or intuition; rather it is based on intuition. It gives no scope for superstition or blind faith. Instead it facilitates the maximum all-round progress of humanity and the manifestation of the highest human excellence.

The other cult, the non-Shaeva cult, which I prefer to call prapatti márga, is said to have a serious defect: it hampers, at the very outset, the development of humanity. It states that whatever is happening in this universe is due to the Cosmic will, without which not even a single blade of grass can move. This doctrine is called prapattiváda. A jiṋána márgii says in refutation, “Well, it is a hundred percent true that nothing in this universe, not even a blade of grass, can move without His will. This is exactly what we wish to discover in jiṋána márga: that He desired it, and then the blade of grass moved. What is the harm if we want to find out how His desire causes everything to happen?” And here lies the difference between the two cults, and the superiority of the Shaeva cult over the non-Shaeva cult.

Chapter 9	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

Now a question arises: Is ordinary knowledge confined to the material level or to the abstract level, or is it partly material and partly abstract? At the same time yet another question may arise: If this ordinary knowledge is partly material and partly abstract, is there any extraordinary (superconscious) knowledge which is totally unrelated to the material body and exclusively associated with the abstract level? We shall try to answer these questions, one after the other.

The way in which one withdraws oneself from all worldly factors determines how the action of knowing takes place.

Yacchedváuṋmanasii prájiṋastadyacchejjiṋána átmani;
Jiṋánamátmani mahati niyacchettadyacchecchánta átmani.

[Wise persons first merge their indriyas into their citta, then their citta into aham, then aham into mahat, then mahat into jiivátmá, and finally their jiivátmá into Supreme Consciousness.]

A particular kind of vibration, be it of sound, touch, form, taste or smell, emitted from any material object, is carried to one of the indriyas or gateways of the organs. Suppose you have eaten tamarind, or some plums, or even a certain variety of pumpkin. All three are sour. Different parts of the tongue are sensitive to different types of taste. You feel that all three are sour, but the degree of sourness is not the same in all cases; there is a perceptible difference.

When you eat something sour, a vibration is created in the portion of the tongue which experiences taste. That vibration is then carried through the nervous system to the brain, where it leaves a kind of impression. Up to this point, the whole process is related to the material level, but in a very subtle way. The impression in the brain corresponds to a particular degree of sourness. You ate plums, tamarind and pumpkin and experienced three different types of impressions. Different impressions create different vibrations in the mind. The impression of the plum produces a particular kind of vibration, the tamarind another kind, and the pumpkin yet another. Suppose you ate a second plum, and again there was an impression in the brain – again there was a vibration in the mind. And then you remembered that you had experienced a similar vibration when you ate tamarind. The vibrations that were produced then, which are capable of being recreated later, and the impressions that were formulated in the brain, are collectively known as “memory”. After eating the second plum you also have a similar experience, and you remember eating plums, tamarind, pumpkin or hogplums. Now you experience two vibrations, two similar impressions, but yet they are not exactly alike. A distinction is made: the first plum you ate was more sour than the second one. In this way you form an idea about plums, their different varieties and varying degrees of sourness. Sometimes people recreate that vibration in their minds, drawing it from their memory, and enjoy its pleasurable effect. Greedy people recollect the tasty dishes they once relished and derive pleasure from that. Other people delight in feeding others. They offer rasagollás or sweets, and at the time of giving, imagine that their guest is enjoying the same delightful taste, the same sweet vibration from the rasagollás which they once relished when they ate them. A host feels mental satisfaction by imagining that the guest’s mind is full of those pleasing vibrations. The host wants the guest to enjoy more and more of those delightful vibrations, and therefore asks the guest to accept the offer of more rasagollás. So, one enjoys pleasure in two ways: first, by eating the delicious things; and secondly, by recollecting the pleasing vibrations enjoyed in the past while eating those very same delicacies.

The human mind has two contradictory inherent tendencies: one of acquisition, the other of sacrifice. The more one advances along the path of evolution, the more the second tendency, the spirit of sacrifice, becomes prominent. One wishes to share one’s mental pleasure with others. This is a very interesting aspect of human psychology.

Now, there are also gradations amongst sweets; all varieties of sweets are not equally sweet. There are variations in the degree of sweetness which is exactly what people relish most. While eating different sweets, people experience delightful variations from one sweet to another, and they perceive that the vibrations are somewhat similar but not identical. The sweet-maker understands this particular trait of human psychology and invents new varieties of sweets accordingly. The vibrations created in the mind are abstract, and the other vibrations are material.

The action of knowing occurs through the medium of sound, touch, taste, smell and form. Suppose one listens to something, say a sound representing ásoyárii rága. It is imprinted in the mind. Later that person listens to the same sound and is reminded of the similar vibrations previously experienced. Comparing the one rága (musical notes) with the other, one concludes that the latter is indeed ásoyárii rága. He or she may not know anything about music, but the mind already danced to that musical wave. The musical vibrations of the notes reached the ear’s membrane, hit it, passed through the auricular nerves and, on reaching the brain, left their imprint. So far the knowing process is confined to the material level, but when that same vibration creates a ripple in the mind, it comes within the scope of mental vibrations.

There are certain notations, both in instrumental music and in vocal music, which are very rhythmic. When these sounds strike the ear’s membrane they produce similar vibrations; concordant rhythmic vibrations are experienced. You may have noticed that whenever the members of an audience listen to rhythmic notes, whether from vocal or instrumental music, they move their legs. They do this unknowingly. The cause is that the rhythmic vibration produced in the mind strikes the [efferent] nerves. The vibration that made the mind dance is thus transmitted down to the nerves of the legs. Consequently, the mind is unconsciously causing the legs to move. This happens with everyone; some do it consciously, others unconsciously. Those who do it unconsciously stop the movement of their legs the moment they are aware that others are watching them. In the case of excessive joy or enthusiasm, the mind loses its control over the nerves. For example, suppose two football teams are playing a friendly match, and one of them enjoys your special support. Let us imagine that your favourite team is about to score a goal. At that moment of tense excitement, you will also move your legs, unconsciously of course. You may have noticed that sometimes in their dreams football fans cry out, “Goal! Goal!” jerking their legs and kicking those who are sleeping beside them.

By now you should have understood that a major part of the knowing process is material, and only a small part of it is abstract.

Basically, the mind performs two functions: thinking and memorizing. What is the process of memorizing? Suppose you heard a sound: that very sound leaves an imprint on your mind, and vibrates it. Now, if at a later date you can recreate a similar vibration, a replica of the original one, that is your memory.

Anubhútaviśayásampramośah smrtih [“The re-creation of things already perceived by the mind is called memory”].

The exact mental reproduction of what has been previously perceived is called smrti or memory. For instance, you once perceived an elephant by observing a real elephant and seeing its huge body, legs, eyes, ears, nose and trunk. The physical form of the elephant struck the retina of your eyes creating a vibration in your optical fluid, and was ultimately imprinted in your mind as the image of the elephant. Now some time later when you see an animal with the same type of limbs as those of your previously-perceived elephant, you immediately conclude that this animal must also be an elephant. Your conclusion is based on your previous perception. This is memory. When the memory becomes established, unfailing and spontaneous, it is called dhruvásmrti, or constant memory. Dhruvásmrti, or constant memory, is an essential prerequisite for spiritual samádhi or bliss.

Chapter 10	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

The subject of my discourse is “The Faculty of Knowledge”. The other day I said that knowledge is certainly an action which is exclusively confined neither to the material world nor to the abstract world. Rather, it is a happy blending of the physical and mental strata. The faculty of knowledge stems from anubhava or perception and reaches its highest point in the state of realization.

You can acquire knowledge about an elephant in various ways: either through ocular vision, or by hearing its trumpeting, or even by hearing its footsteps. In all cases, the result is the formation of a mental image of an elephant. In the next stage almost all of your psychic body is metamorphosed into that same mental elephant; only a microscopic portion of the mind remains as the witnessing entity.

Now, how does this happen? Whenever an action of knowing takes place within the arena of the mind, a portion of it plays the subjective role and another portion the objective role. The mind is divided into two chambers: the objective chamber which is formed from almost all the ectoplasmic stuff, and the subjective chamber formed from that portion which is the knowing self.

Suppose you visualize an elephant. In such a situation, a major portion of the mental body is transformed into a mental elephant. In the wakeful state, when your conscious mind remains active, you understand that you are visualizing a mental elephant, but are not aware that your mental body has been converted into that very same elephant.

In dreams one takes the mental elephant to be a real one, because the real world is non-existent. Naturally, in dreams one fabricates a world previously experienced in the wakeful state and accordingly thinks that the things dreamt are real. But if the mind is disturbed as a result of some serious accident or disaster, the dream world is shattered. This mental disturbance may take place in the wakeful state as well as in sleep. For instance, in a dream you may visualize that you are flying high in the sky in a puśpaka rath (a mythological flying chariot). Suddenly the horse of the chariot stops flying and the chariot starts falling like lightning. Now if in a wakeful state your vehicle happened to fall in such a dangerous way, you would be frightened out of your wits. In a dream that same fear makes you jump, and as a result of the jumping, the dream chariot no longer remains intact and you wake up.

The mind takes less time to dream an action than the body does to perform it. That is, it will take you four to five days to go to Delhi, enact a scene and then return; but in a dream it can be completed in a few seconds. This is only because the mind’s speed is greater than that of the body. Perhaps you hardly dreamt for one or two minutes and yet, on completing the dream, you felt as if you had been dreaming for a long time. In fact, you dreamt for only two to three minutes.

Another thing: when a dream-object, an object of imagination, seems to be absolutely real, in such cases there is also a marked change in the personality also. Being obsessed with ghosts is a case in point. People who are obsessed with ghosts think that they have become the ghost. Being possessed by spirits is yet another case of this type: the affected persons think of themselves as a deity. Now, in order to free their minds from the thought of ghosts, one will have to induce a traumatic jolt in their bodies; one will have to create some sort of frightful circumstance that will startle them. Various methods may be used for this purpose, after which they will realize their error: that they wrongly identified themselves with their mental objects.

Sometimes it also happens that when the thought of an object from the natural world comes within the objective chamber of the mind, one’s ectoplasmic stuff becomes so concentrated that it can be utilized in various ways. There are some people who, employing certain methods, misuse their ectoplasmic strength. For instance, they might, with their ectoplasmic strength, cause bones or sticks to fall to the ground, while sitting in a corner some distance away. Common people wrongly take these actions to be those of a ghost. The fact is quite different. If you can locate the persons who are doing this, you should give them a good shaking to completely destroy their ectoplasmic strength. Then they will be forced to stop their roguery. This science of the application of ectoplasmic strength through the objective mind upon external events or objects is known as rákśasii vidyá in Sanskrit.

There is a story in the Rámáyańa to illustrate this point. Once Angada, the son of Bali, went to King Ravana’s court to present his credentials to him. Seated there at the time were King Ravana, his son Meghanatha (otherwise called Indrajit), and his nineteen ministers. When Angada appeared in court, Ravana was there in his usual form, but those nineteen ministers, in order to misguide Angada, began to ideate mentally that they were also Ravana. Angada was very confused since those ministers appeared to him as the exact replicas of Ravana, even though they were actually in their own forms. They were merely ideating inwardly that they looked like Ravana. The impact of such ideating and their collective ectoplasmic strength had its effect on Angada’s mind. Angada started seeing as many as twenty Ravanas sitting in the court. How many Ravanas were there, he wondered in great confusion. (Meghanatha did not think in the same way as the ministers, and hence his form remained unaffected. For how could he think himself to be a replica of Ravana, his own father? So he appeared to be sitting as usual). In this case the nineteen ministers were fully utilizing the ectoplasmic strength of the objective chambers of their respective minds. Their physical bodies were still motionless, just as in spiritual practice when one is required to direct one’s mind towards Parama Puruśa, one is not expected to move, walk, practise sit-ups or push-ups, etc. Angada contrived a plan to create some disturbance in the minds of those assumed personalities, otherwise, how could he distinguish the actual Ravana from the others, and to whom should he submit his credentials? So he decided to anger the ministers in order to make them lose their mental concentration and thus remove their assumed personalities. Addressing Indrajit, Angada said: “Indrajit, my dear friend. I see twenty Ravanas! Is every one of them your father?” This angered all the ministers, and immediately the concentration of the objective chambers of their minds was disturbed and they resumed their original forms.

Something more must be said about the objective mind. The faculty of knowledge, as we know, is the subjectivization of external objectivity. Now, the subjectivization of anything external is the first step towards the supreme subjectivization. When the objective mind first subjectivizes an external elephant, the first phase is the objectivization of mind, and to know that external fact is objective knowledge. Now, is there any other aspect to the faculty of knowledge? Yes, indeed there is.

Various psychic diseases may arise if there is any defect in the process of the objectivization of mind. Remember that psychic disease and brain disease are not the same thing; they are quite different. Brain disease occurs due to some disorder in a part of the brain, or due to a congenital defect, or perhaps due to hereditary causes which hamper the proper formation of the brain. Mental disease is different. It arises due to a disorder in the objectivated mind, in the first stage in the process of subjectivization. Many people who, while creating thoughts in their objectivated minds, repeatedly form the same image out of weakness or fear, suffer from a mental disease called phobia.

Kansa, one week before his death, repeatedly thought of nothing but Krśńa. Whether he liked it or not, his objectivated mind created the image of Krśńa, and he thought that Krśńa would kill him. In whichever direction he looked, be it towards water, land or sky, his objectivated mind created forms of Krśńa, and in this his objectivated mind became stronger than his subjective mind. This meant his mental death, and mental death leads to physical death.

Another case in point is hydrophobia. Suppose a dog has bitten a person and the person has become terribly frightened. His or her objectivated mind sees only the images of dogs, dogs on all sides. This is called hydrophobia.⁽¹⁾ Therefore, humans should have full control over their objectivated minds to avert serious psychic problems.

It often happens that, not due to fear, but because of weakness, the same image repeatedly arises in the mind. This is called mania. Among women in certain countries one such mania occurs: touch-mania. They tell the so-called low caste people, or even their own people, not to touch them, to keep away. While walking they take particular care not to touch or be touched by things considered unholy according to their prejudiced judgement. In these cases, their objectivated minds are full of so-called contaminated objects. As their minds constantly entertain those unclean things, externally they condemn them. They judge people in terms of casteism and thus their minds become dens of impure and mean thoughts. Once I saw a so-called low-caste woman come to show her grandchild to another woman. The latter woman, who was a chronic victim of touch-mania, would not touch the child, but rather bestowed her affection on it keeping a safe distance, and thus maintaining her so-called purity. This is a case of mania.

There was another person I knew who was quite healthy and carried out his daily activities with ease, and yet he was under the impression, for no particular reason, that there was some trouble in his stomach. Actually there was no disease; he was in good health. Yet occasionally he used to come to me and complain that there was some disorder in his stomach. This was his mania.

Moreover, because of problems in the objectivated mind, people suffer from various psychic complexes. For example, there are those who are inclined to think that no one, neither their friends and relatives nor even their domestic animals, cares to think of them. They unnecessarily think that everyone deliberately avoids them, dislikes them, or ignores them, and therefore they become disappointed, dejected, and dispirited. Life loses all its charm and attraction for them, and they may even commit suicide. This type of mania is called melancholia.

A defect in the objectivated mind may also cause inferiority complex or superiority complex. When the objectivated mind becomes large enough to pamper one’s ego, one develops a superiority complex. One starts considering oneself to be superior to others in points of knowledge, the capacity to act, organizational calibre and other qualities of leadership, and unnecessarily slights others. Such a person expects preferential treatment, VIP status, and unquestioning obedience. If by accident their ego is hurt even slightly, they become violently angry. This is another kind of mania.

Conversely, there are those who exert too much control over their objectivated minds, which results in the mind’s constriction. In such a state their minds fail to grasp noble ideas, and such people start considering themselves to be inferior to others in all respects – education, social position, etc. Normally such people become unnecessarily nervous and begin to falter or fumble before their elders and seniors: they lack self-confidence and faith in themselves. This is inferiority complex. The best way to cure such people is to generate self-confidence in them by frequently advising them not to feel inferior to anyone. Slowly, gradually, they will free themselves from their inferiority complex and the feeling of superiority will increase. But one must be careful that, after a certain stage, a superiority complex is not allowed to develop.

Most psychic diseases, if not all, grow out of the defective control over the objectivated mind. If one is alert, any trouble can be avoided. Those who regularly practise Iishvara prańidhána or dhyána (meditation) can remain free from these diseases, as their minds will remain in a balanced state. One of the numerous benefits of sádhaná is that it keeps the mind free from psychic disease and encourages the natural growth of the mind. This is of tremendous importance since such problems may arise not only in individual life, but in collective life as well. Individual human beings as well as large communities often suffer from some sort of psychic disease. A subjugated people suffer from an inferiority complex towards the sovereign elite, the ruling class. When India was a dependent colony, many Indians used to describe the members of the ruling community as God’s children, obviously due to their deep-rooted inferiority complex. Most of them wondered: “Will India ever see the light of freedom? When will we ever win the struggle against the ruling class?” This shows that the entire indigenous community was a victim of inferiority complex, the removal of which would require a group of leaders endowed with enormous mental strength and noble character – a group of mighty personalities. India at that time was not fortunate enough to have such great people, and that is why the struggle for Indian freedom had to be prolonged. Otherwise, India could have gained freedom in a much shorter time.

I say all this because psychic diseases, as I have just pointed out, affect not only individuals but collective bodies as well. You must remain vigilant so that in your individual life you do not become the victim of a psychic disease, and so that if there is any such psychic disease in collective life, you see that it is eliminated.

Footnotes

(1) Hydro means “water”. Patients see the objects of their fears especially if they happen to look in water. –Eds.

Chapter 11	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

For some time we have been discussing the topic “The Faculty of Knowledge.”

A great deal has been said about the objectivated mind. Many things may be created in both the objectivated and subjectivated minds which do not belong to the external world; they are exclusively confined to the internal domain. They are created within the mind, and there they remain as mental objects. They become objectivated in the mind independent of any external influence. Imagine we see an elephant in the external world. When it is created in the mind, that elephant becomes an object of the objectivated mind. The subjective counterpart of the mind visualizes it, and compares it with the elephant which it had previously seen in the external world, until the mind is satisfied that it is indeed the same elephant. We are convinced that the elephant we observed ten days ago and the one we see today are the same in appearance. While comparing the two elephants in our mind we conclude that the elephant which has just now been formed in our objectivated mind is the exact replica of the one formed in our objectivated mind on a previous occasion; thus we conclude that we are visualizing the same elephant.

It may also happen that an elephant is recreated in the mind without its even being visible in the external world. From where is the image created? From an external source, of course. The elephant previously perceived can be recreated in the mind. We use various words for this action – such as “conception”. We can use anubhava for this kind of thing, but in Sanskrit we usually say anubhúti. Anu means “after” and bhúti means “becoming”. If anu is spelt as ańu it means “molecule”. The root verb sr means “to go”, or “to move”, and therefore the meaning of anusarańa is “going after”, or “following”. The place where we walk, along which we move, is called saraka, which many people misspell as saŕaka. Sarańii means a narrow road. When it is broad it is known as saraka. In Sanskrit the prefix upa means “near”. So upasaraka means “that way which is nearly the same size as a road.” Similarly, there are the words nagarii (city), upanagarii (small town), devatá (god), and upadevatá (demigod). The last word, upadevatá, does not exactly mean “god”. We only say it does, through fear. The actual meaning of the word is “ghost” or “spirit”. Similarly we say upakańt́há. Kańt́há means “throat”, and upakańt́há means “a point or place near the throat.” Upasarańii means “lane” which in Persian is called gali. In Bengali the word gali is widely used. Suppose someone is walking along, and you are following him. This may be described as anusarańa.

In the present case, when you see an elephant, its umbra is reflected in your objectivated mind, and you visualize that image. Later, maybe after ten or twenty days or one year, or even after twenty years, you recreate a similar image of the elephant in your mind. This means that you had an anubhava of the elephant. Anu means “afterwards”, and bhava means “becoming”. Anubhútaviśayásampramośah smrtih – “Memory is the reproduction of things already perceived,” the re-creation of the same mental formation that was once created in the objectivated mind. Imagine that you listened to a particular rága. That same rága can be sung in various styles, just as a ráginii can be sung in different styles. The same rága or ráginii may be sung in various styles in different towns and localities. That particular style of music prevalent in a particular place is called a particular gharáńá or school of music.

Suppose you have listened to a particular melody, a rága. When the notes are systematized, they become a rága. Different tunes derived from special rágas are called ráginiis. Because of the differences in rágas and ráginiis, Indian music has been classified into two schools: Hindustani and Karnataka. But this is not our topic of discussion here.

Take the case of kiirtana. Kiirtana was popular in Bengal even before the birth of Mahaprabhu. People in certain areas of Bengal are used to doing kiirtana in a distinct local style. In one style, the first portion of the kiirtana may be pleasing to the ear, and the latter portion somewhat monotonous. In another style, the beginning may be ordinary, the middle excellent, and the end similar to the beginning. In yet another style, the concluding portion may be exceedingly charming; its melody, even after the music is over, continues to ring in the listeners’ ears. What does this ringing signify? That is part of the faculty of knowledge.

In Bengal, there are different schools of kiirtana such as Manoharshahii Gharáńá, Reneti Gharáńá, Garanaháta Gharáńá, and Mandárań Gharáńá. Bengali kiirtana has been classified into four schools. According to some, Manoharshahii Gharáńá belongs to Birbhum; according to others, it belong to Orissa. Haráńhátá is a locality of Calcutta. Reneti is a distortion of “Ranihati”, a developed village of Howrah District. Kiirtana was very popular there. Mandárań refers to the place known as Garhmandárań situated in Arambag Subdivision of Hooghly District. This place is mentioned in Bankim Chandra’s novel, Durgesh Naninii.

Suppose you are listening to someone doing kiirtana according to the Mandárań style. The vibration of that particular kiirtana creates a sympathetic vibration in your ears, and a sensation is produced in your auricular nerves. Those vibrations are carried to the brain where they produce a corresponding vibration, which is also finally reproduced in the mind. You then ask someone: “What is this school of kiirtana?” He or she replies, “This is the Mandárań school”, and you associate that kiirtana with the Mandárań school in your mind. You decide inwardly that whenever this type of vibration is produced, it will be Mandárań Gharáńá. And perhaps some time later, when that very same style of kiirtana is sung, the brain and mind vibrate with that very same vibration, and you say to yourself, “Well, it seems to be Mandárań Gharáńá. Someone told me this when I listened to this style of kiirtana some time ago.” So many things happened in quick succession in such a short span of time that you were not even aware of yourself having analysed and compared things in order to reach such a conclusion.

How does this happen? On the first hearing, the mind becomes transformed into the kiirtana, the mind itself becomes the kiirtana. At the second hearing, the mind again takes the form of the Mandárań Gharáńá style of kiirtana. When your mind can associate the second transformed state with the first, it is called “memory”. If someone asks you to sing a kiirtana in the style of Mandárań Gharáńá you will transform your mind into the Mandárań Gharáńá kiirtana in the same way as before, and accordingly you will sing the kiirtana. Those who are not well-versed in music would not be able, at the time of the second rendering of the Mandárań Gharáńá, to express it themselves because that mode of expression is either unknown to them, or simply beyond their capacity.

A similar thing happens when you taste or smell something. Suppose you have just eaten a mango. Afterwards you will say, “To which variety of mango does this one belong? Lyáḿŕá, Bombay, kiśáńbhog, kapát́bháḿgá or Bhutu Bombay? Ah yes, I’ve tasted mangoes of this variety before. And its name… It’s in my mind but I can’t say now.” And so, you cannot continue the conversation properly. Almost all of us have had this experience before. “I have seen this man before… I have even heard his name… It is in my mind, but unfortunately I’m having trouble finding it and expressing it.” In this situation you would like your mind, your brain, to vibrate so that you can recapture the vibration you originally experienced. You cannot shake your brain with your own hands. It is humanly impossible. While attempting to cause a vibration in your brain, you vigorously shake your head – this is the reason why you do so. I will explain it in more detail at some later time.

When you reconvert your mind into sound, touch, form, taste or smell, it is called smrti or memory. Whenever you smell kanakcánpa, your mind is transformed into that very same smell. And so, when you encounter kanakcánpa for the second time, your mind again takes its form; the smell also returns. You compare the two vibrations and conclude that this is indeed kanakcánpa. This is memory.

Mental creations are those objects evoked by the subjective mind and retained within the objectivated mind.

Suppose you listen to a poem: your mind is transformed into the idea of the poem – the mind flows along with both the idea and the rhythm of the poem. Now, in the second phase, the mind, while flowing along with the idea and the rhythm, will be transformed into that very same idea and rhythm, and it will be easier to hold the poem in the mind. Another example is a student who is reading during the examination period: his eyes are locating the words and becoming the words. Suppose the boy is reading the sentence: “I once met a lame man close to my farm.” If he understands the meaning then the pictures of an old man, a farm, etc., will occur in his mind. So, he is experiencing the second phase. Then again, if that boy reads aloud, he hears the sound with his own ears. The sympathetic vibration reaches the brain through the ears and then through the acoustic nerves. The mind is then converted into that sound once again. It gets converted twice, once through the eyes, and once through the ears. The result will be more effective memorization. So it is better for examination candidates to read aloud so that they can hear the sound of their own reading; but novels and fiction can be read silently.

As I have already mentioned, when anyone says something, the eyes are engaged in seeing, the ears in hearing; and the mind dances in rhythm. In the absence of rhythm it is difficult to memorize. That is why since ancient times, for fifteen thousand years, the common practice has been to bring every valuable branch of knowledge within the scope of rhythm. Human beings do not easily forget rhythm. One may forget the contents of knowledge, but not the rhythm. That is why all Vedic rks were composed in 7 metres: Gáyattrii, Uśńik, Triśt́up, Anuśt́up, Brhati, Jagati and Paunkti. All literary compositions were brought within the gamut of these seven Vedic metres. And different figures of speech, particularly alliteration and punctuation, are all highly important, because they are valuable for the memory. If we say, “He shall be punished,” it is easy to remember for there is assonance of the “s”. “On Saturday, a goldsmith saw a snake near Satyasarai, and on Sunday a shoemaker severely assaulted a saintly person with a shoe.” There is assonance on the sound, or wave, “s”. “I came to Patna junction, and I came to the conclusion that the matriculation examination is a botheration.” There is consonance and assonance of the sound “tion”. Consider the Bengali poem:

Áji utarol uttar báye
Utalá hayeche tat́inii
Sonár álok paŕiyáche jale
Pulaki uchali d́heu chalachale
Lakśa máńik jhalasi áncale
Nece cale yena nat́inii.⁽¹⁾

Such poems are easy to remember for they quickly become imprinted in our memory. The science of figures of speech was invented in the past mainly for this purpose, not only to make the words sweet-sounding, but also to help us grasp them quickly.

Footnotes

(1) This is a poem written by Rabindranath Tagore in rhythmic resonance. –Eds.

Chapter 12	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

The third chamber or factor of knowledge is the subjective mind (the second being the objective mind). But the fundamental entity behind this faculty of knowledge is the Supreme Subject. This entity is the noumenal factor behind each and every action, but it does nothing by itself. Everything takes place because of His presence. His presence is an obligatory prerequisite for everything. It can be compared to the catalyst in a scientific experiment. Though the catalytic agent itself has no direct role, its presence makes the whole process work very smoothly, and thus it is a great help. While preparing makaradhvaja (a special Indian áyurvaedik medicine) gold is added. Gold is not mixed directly with the makaradhvaja, but its presence in the process is essential. Similarly, behind the faculty of knowledge, behind the action of knowing, behind the function of the objective mind and the subjective mind, there is invariably the presence of the Supreme Subjectivity which makes all things work smoothly, and without which nothing can happen. This Entity can neither be called the subjectivated mind, nor the objectivated mind; He is only a presence, a distinguishing presence. He may be likened, as it were, to the head of a family celebrating marriage. He does not do anything specific, he neither cooks, nor distributes the food, nor busies himself in any particular work, and yet he is still the central figure, the supreme guide of the whole celebration, overseeing, supervising and directing everyone and everything everywhere, sitting silently on a chair in one corner of the house. Apparently he is inactive, but it is his commanding presence alone which keeps all the participants in the celebration alert. Those people who are allotted specific duties carry them out properly to the satisfaction of the head of the house. Likewise, the Supreme Entity is also the Supreme Subject.

The subjectivated mind is the witnessing counterpart of the objectivated mind, and may take its object both from the external physical world and the internal psychic world. It may create an object within itself; it can convert its own subject into an object. For example, you see an elephant in the outside world; your objective mind takes its form, and your subjective mind witnesses it. This is one aspect. Later, though there is no elephant in the external world, you may engage a portion of your mind in taking the form of an elephant. You can visualize that imaginary elephant of your mind and argue within yourself: “Well, the trunk is all right but one of the tusks seems to be a little small, I’ll make them the same length.” And so you make the smaller one a little larger. All this is done within the mind.

“The other day Rambabu said so many unpleasant things to me. I should have spoken back, but instead I kept silent, swallowing the insults. In future, if I meet him again, and the same unpleasant thing happens, I’ll give him a piece of my mind.” Here, one becomes as one perceives.

Suppose you went to visit your aunt, and at the time of departure she did not request you to visit her again. In your mind you utter the following words to the mental image of your aunt: “I shall not visit you any more.” If she asks why, I shall say, “Oh no, I shall not go to your place.” These words are said mentally to the aunt of your mental creation. But the real aunt remains far away, completely ignorant of what you are thinking.

Now the question is: can the unit subjective mind ever know or think of the Supreme Subjectivity? In the world of humans we notice that those people participating in a celebration, or in-charges having specific duties, never sit idly looking towards the Supreme, the Supreme Subjectivity. If those to whom special roles have been allotted do not act properly, the Supreme Head will be displeased. He will be all the more displeased if you sit idly, looking towards Him with a vacant expression. Moreover, if you tell Him, flatteringly, “How kind you are, how merciful! How fine you look in your gorgeous apparels and ornaments!” He will say in reply, “What audacity! Stop this silly nonsense.” It is most improper to treat the Supreme Subjectivity in this way.

Now, let us discuss this from the psychological point of view. The subjective mind is the objective mind’s subjective counterpart; that is to say, the objective mind is the “known” and the subjective mind the “knower”. Similarly, in the case of the relationship between the unit subjectivity and the Supreme Subjectivity, the former is the known and the latter the knower. The snake looks at the frog. The snake is the subject, and the frog the object. The frog watches the mosquito. The frog is the subject, the mosquito the object. The mosquito looks at the dew-drop. The mosquito is the subject, the dew-drop the object. But the snake itself is not aware that it is being watched by the peacock; and the peacock is not aware that it is being watched by the fowler. The fowler is the subject, the peacock the object. Nobody looks at the subject. This is the usual practice in the world. Had people chosen to look at the subject, everything would be in proper order.

It has been said earlier that everything takes place within the mental arena of the Supreme Subjectivity. The objective counterpart, too, is within the Cosmic Mind. In other words, all the objectivities of the world together are the object of the Supreme Subjectivity.

A boy is studying. While doing so the thought may pass through his mind that if he does not pass his examination he will have to face much criticism, and he will have to repeat the same class, along with boys younger in age who may then no longer respect him for his seniority as they did in the past. These mental thoughts may help his concentration of mind; that is, such thoughts keep the objective and subjective minds engaged, no doubt, but they create a bifurcation in the mind. One mental flow is engaged in memorizing the subjects being studied, while another mental flow entertains various other thoughts such as: “What will my parents and seniors say if I fail in the examination? The juniors in my locality will cease to respect me, they will say all kinds of unpleasant things…” and so on. Obviously that boy’s mental power has become bifurcated. What should a wise person do in such circumstances? He should think nothing else except: “I will memorize whatever I’m reading now, without bothering about my gains if I succeed or my losses if I fail in the task. I will not allow any portion of my mind to flow in an undesirable direction, and thus I will keep my mind exclusively engrossed in the task of learning.”

In the case of unit beings, what should the subjective mind do when it sees something in the external world? It should see it, and know it perfectly. When you convert a portion of your subjective mind into an object, it can be done perfectly. So, at the time of learning something, you should empty your mind of all other thoughts, giving full importance to what is being learned. Then, in the future, when you attempt to convert your subjective mind into objective mind, you will do it well because, when you received the objectivities of the external world, you were fully concentrated. As a result, you will develop your thinking capacity.

Now, along with thinking comes the question of retention. For example, after reading 200 pages of a book you will surely forget 199 of them. You cannot remember even one complete page, not even one full sentence. You are likely to confuse this word with that. What is the cause? The cause is that you did not pay full attention. Then how can you become more attentive? Usually you acquire academic knowledge by studying with the help of the eyes. To aid the process of memorization, however, you may also use your tongue. That is, while reading loudly, two sense organs are used, the eyes and the tongue, and thus you will derive a double benefit. Moreover, if you read aloud, your ears will also hear those sounds, and thus this method of reading is more beneficial for students. In the case of fiction and plays, however, it is better to read silently. And moreover, there is a special advantage with silent reading: the parents are unaware of what their children are reading.

As I said before, retention is facilitated by reading aloud: one can have great control over the objective mind, the objectivated subjective mind, and all that the objective mind receives as its object from the objective or objectivated subjective world. Often part of the incoming message is lost due to a defective vibration of the nerve cells. This is purely a physical defect of the human body, and to rectify it, one will have to adopt physical means to make the brain function properly; and for this there are certain physical processes. If you are interested in those, I can help you.

Moreover, when psychic vibrations are carried through different nerves – optical, auricular, the nerves of the tongue, etc. – they often need proper adjustment. For example, some people may be able to see things distinctly and read with ease and yet not be able to hear very well. In such a case, the vibrational wave that comes through the ears has trouble adjusting with the optical nerves. A particular man may have a bit of a stammer: he does not pronounce words as distinctly as he sees them with his eyes. There is a maladjustment which can be rectified if a psychic approach is adopted. Here the physical approach would not be appropriate. Physical waves cannot bring a mutual adjustment amongst themselves; for that psychic pressure is required. By exerting this psychic pressure the maladjustment can be rectified. For this there are two approaches: (1) pure psychic approach and (2) psycho-spiritual approach.

[The following section was also printed separately as “Saḿgiita – Excerpt B” in Saḿgiita: Song, Dance and Instrumental Music. This is the Saḿgiita: Song, Dance and Instrumental Music, 1st edition, version.]

What is the pure psychic approach? When you receive an object or an idea through either the ocular or auricular nerves you should bring it into a certain rhythm: your object of vision or ideation should dance rhythmically. Such a rhythmic vibration can rectify the defects in the eyes, ears and tongue. For this very purpose the rágas and rágińiis were created: whatever the mind receives through rhythm and melody brings about this proper adjustment. There is no scope for any deviation this way or that. On this basis, Sadáshiva developed the science of musical notes, svara shástra or svarodaya, or shabda shástra. Due to the strict rules as outlined in svara shástra, there is no room for any deviation at the time of singing. If any deviation is attempted, one will have to break the established rules.

While attempting to go beyond the set rules, kheyál was invented and in adjustment with tál (metre), gazal was composed. Indo-Aryan music is based on a system, a rhythm; there is no room for any mistake, no scope for deviation.

When kiirtana first began to develop, it did not have any hard and fast rules, just as folk songs do not conform to hard and fast rules. [[Kiirtana adopted hard and fast rules later on.]] Just as the different schools (gharáńá) of rága and ráginii evolved out of various rhythmic expressions, similarly, as soon as kiirtana was brought within the framework of fixed rules, it came to be elevated from folk music to classical music.

[end of section that was printed separately as “Saḿgiita – Excerpt B”]

Another aspect of the psychic approach is that when you want to memorize something, you should subdivide the matter into meaningful parts or components. Suppose a boy wants to memorize the spelling of the word “assassination”. He may have some difficulty because the word is lengthy and difficult to remember; there is a good chance of omitting one of the letters. Therefore, the word can be split into four parts: ass-ass-i-nation. Now, as the boy already knows the meaning of all four words, he will easily memorize its spelling. This is another aspect of the pure psychic approach.

Next is the psycho-spiritual approach which strengthens the memory, and makes the intellect omniscient. A good way to stabilize the memory is to meditate on someone you have seen or heard about who possesses a unique photographic memory. This will increase your own memory.

Now the question arises: how can we know the Supreme Subjectivity? If we simply look towards that Subject who remains the witnessing entity and goads us all into action, He will be displeased. He will say: “Go and do some work.” It is enough if we only think that the Subject is watching each action we are doing. By ideating that the Supreme Subjectivity is watching everything, we are thinking of Him as well, and this idea itself becomes objectivated. The Supreme Subject does not become objectivated, but the thought of the Supreme Subjectivity does. Ultimately, the best way to meditate on Parama Puruśa, or remember Him, is to bear in mind that, in actions big or small, significant or insignificant, in wakeful state or in sleep, in dream or in reality, the Supreme Subjectivity is maintaining a constant and close watch on me. Thereby the subjectivity as such does not come within your objectivated mind, but the ideation of the Supreme Subjectivity becomes objectivated. When this ideation becomes clear, stable and permanent, then one fine morning you will see that you have become one with the Supreme Subjectivity. And this is the final stage of the faculty of knowledge.

Chapter 13	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

Are ghosts always hallucinations? What is an hallucination? In the case of hallucinations, there is no defect in optics, the defect is in ocularity – that is, the ocular vision is influenced by different thought-waves. These hallucinations may be of two types, positive and negative. In a positive hallucination, there is no defect in optical vision, but the ocular vision is affected by the thought-wave which wants to see something, whereas as per opticality there is nothing physical.

And what is a negative hallucination? Here also there is no defect in optical vision, but the ocular vision becomes negative due to excessive pressure of thought-waves. We say “auto-suggestion”. The thought-wave doesn’t want to see something which is actually present as per optical vision.

Many scholars are of the opinion that so-called ghosts are positive hallucinations, and sometimes people are also misguided by negative hallucinations. They say that in this case the [optical] vision – the optic nerves – are deceiving them, but actually the main role here is played by the thought-waves, not by any physical organ, or psychic cells, or psycho-physical cells (ectoplasm).

It is said, Abhibhávańát pretadarshanam [“The sight of ghosts is created in concentrated thought”]. Abhibhávańa means “cellular suggestion” – that which affects not only the mind but also the nerve cells, as a result of which fight takes place between nerve fibres and nerve cells. And when the functioning of the nerve fibres is defeated, then a human being – not only human beings but many living beings – see something which is not present or do not see something which is actually physically present. Cellular suggestion is of two types: auto-suggestion and outer-suggestion. Auto-suggestion takes place within the jurisdiction of one’s own mind, in the individual mind, whereas outer-suggestion is the transmission of suggestion from another’s mind, from another, stronger, mind. The result of outer-suggestion is⁽¹⁾ that the mind of the weaker man, that is, the weaker mind, is highly influenced by that greater mind, bigger mind, and as a result something is not seen or nothing is seen.

You know, philosophically, whatever we see in this universe is another suggestion, is, we may say, a positive hallucination created by Parama Puruśa. Whatever He thinks is seen by the nerve cells of the individual mind. The difference between this practical world and ghosts is that in the case of ghosts the suggestion comes from the individual mind; be it one’s own or be it from outside.

But when people see so-called ghosts and apparitions, are they always positive hallucinations? No, they are not. Whatever we observe in this physical world is made of the five fundamental factors (solid, liquid, luminous, aerial and ethereal), created in such a way that it functions autonomously. Its inherent capacity for autonomous action is derived from this physical world under the inspiration of the Supreme Consciousness.

There may be some entities that do not require food and drink. Any entity composed of solid and liquid factors will certainly require food and drink, because food is mainly composed of the solid factor, and drink is mainly composed of the liquid factor. But if any entity is composed only of the other three factors – luminous, aerial, and ethereal – without any solid or liquid, then that entity is called a “luminous body”.

These luminous bodies are do not have nerves or nerve cells, because nerves and nerve cells are composed of the five fundamental factors. By means of nerve cells, the mind operates the physical body: by creating vibrations such as smell, form, touch, taste, etc., the nerve cells either receive tanmátras (inferential essences) or project them externally. But luminous bodies have no nerves, because nerve cells and nerve fibres are all physical; thus they cannot function properly. Only, as in auto-suggestion, they may create a vibration within, and experience some type of feeling.

These luminous bodies are not ghosts or apparitions; they have nothing to do with them. Neither are they created by auto-suggestion or outer-suggestion or cellular suggestion. Under some circumstances, if someone happens to see this kind of luminous body, one may think one is seeing a ghost. But actually there is no ghost at all – it is only a luminous body. It is not possible to see luminous bodies in broad daylight; it may be possible during the darkness of night, but then not everywhere.

It is said that there are seven kinds of luminous bodies: yakśa, siddha, gandharva, kinnara, vidyádhara, Prakrtiliina and videhaliina. They are categorized according to their respective psychologies.

Suppose there is a very elevated person who often ideates on the Supreme Consciousness, but who has some greed for wealth. He or she does not, however, express it openly to the Supreme, nor does he or she even think of it directly. He or she thinks indirectly, “Oh, since I am a devotee of the Supreme Consciousness, He will certainly give me enormous wealth and make me immensely rich.” Those who harbour this sort of covert desire are reborn as yakśas. Thus sometimes we refer to “the wealth of the yakśas”.

I will explain something about siddhas a bit later.

The next is vidyádhara. Those who have vanity of knowledge, although they do not expressly beseech this from the Supreme, but rather think inwardly that the Supreme should bestow an enormous wealth of knowledge upon them – this type of person is reborn as vidyádhara. Vidyádhara is also a luminous body.

The third is gandharva. Those who have a great talent for higher music (people should cultivate music to the maximum to give pleasure to the Supreme Consciousness) and mentally think, “Oh, Parama Puruśa, I want knowledge of the science of music, not You” – they are reborn as gandharvas. (In Sanskrit the science of music is called gándharva vidyá.) They are also luminous bodies; they are not ghosts at all. They are also not visible in daylight, just as other luminous bodies are not visible, for the same reason that stars are not visible in daylight.

Rúpaḿ dehi, jayaḿ dehi, yasho dehi, dviśo jahi [“Give me beauty, give me victory, give me fame, and vanquish my enemy”]. Rúpaḿ dehi, dehi, dehi [“Give me beauty, give me, give me”]. The next is kinnara. Those who are vain about their physical beauty, or those who pray to the Supreme to give them more and more physical charm, are reborn as kinnaras. They are also luminous bodies.

Then siddha. Those human beings who are doing sádhaná, who have great love for Parama Puruśa, but in their heart of hearts are proud of their occult powers or pray to Parama Puruśa to grant them still more occult powers – these people after death are reborn as siddhas. Of all the categories of luminous bodies, the siddhas are the most elevated. They often help sádhakas in their sádhaná.

All these luminous bodies are collectively called devayoni. Besides the above, there are videhaliina and Prakrtiliina. Those who wrongly worship Parama Puruśa in the form of clay, iron or other material substances, are ultimately transformed into Prakrtiliina.

The next is videhaliina: those who run after occult powers and think, “I will attain such great occult power that with it, I will move from place to place.” These are all luminous bodies; they are not ghosts, nor are they positive or negative hallucinations.

Thus ghosts are not positive hallucinations, or negative hallucinations, or siddhas or devayonis. Then is there any such things as ghosts? Not exactly ghosts, but there is something like that.

After death, when the mind dissociates from the body, the accumulation of unfulfilled saḿskáras or reactive momenta remains, although the body with the five fundamental factors no longer exists. Thus, the mind cannot function, but it remains in potential form. Now, in some circumstances, if the ectoplasm of a living person is associated with that disembodied potential mind, then that disembodied mind gets a mental body temporarily, for a very short time. Then that mental body can start functioning with the help of the nerve cells and nerve fibres of that living person, but only for a few minutes.

What is this called? It is neither a positive hallucination nor a negative hallucination, nor is it a luminous body (devayoni). Then what is it? A living person’s ectoplasmic cells become the mental body of a dead person for a few minutes until – after a few minutes – that mental body again dies. This mental body I will call preśitamánas – “recreated mind.”

Some people may do good works or get good works done with the help of these preśitamánas, but only those who have perfect control over their minds and over the nerve cells and nerve fibres of their bodies can do this.

Those who are bad people can do evil deeds with the help of these preśitamánas. They can hurl stones into others’ houses, throw bones, or overturn tables and cots – all these things can be done for only a few minutes.

So here ghosts are not always positive hallucinations, and really speaking, those luminous bodies are not a creation of positive hallucination. And those recreated minds, those preśitamánasas, are not ghosts either. Luminous bodies are not ghosts. Then what is a ghost? Positive hallucinations, creations of positive hallucination, are ghosts. And they are of human creation, so actually there is no ghost. Now, suppose due to positive hallucination, or due to coming in contact with those luminous bodies, or due to coming in contact with those recreated minds, one thinks that it’s a ghost, then what is the medicine? What is the psychic medicine for such a disease?

In the case of a positive hallucination, we may say it is a sort of disease, but in case of luminous bodies, or recreated minds, it is not disease, because it is something physico-psychic – it is not disease. But in the case of a psychic disease or when one gets afraid while coming in contact with those luminous bodies or recreated minds, those preśitamánasas, what is the medicine? The medicine is, do kiirtana or devotional chanting. Do kiirtana for one minute or repeat your guru mantra, and that “ghost” will instantly vanish into thin air. So under no circumstances should you be afraid.

Footnotes

(1) [[A word here was not clear on the tape. –Eds.]]

Chapter 14	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

The subject of today’s discourse is “Instinct and Devotion”. What is instinct? When the psychic flow emanates from the feeling of unit corporality and moves along the maze of human corporal relationship and again comes back to its starting point, then that certain psychic flow is known as “instinct”. In each and every living being, including plants, there are instincts, and whenever there is any mind, mind of any form – developed form or undeveloped form or even mind in a dormant condition – there is instinct. But the standard of this instinct varies amongst human beings and animals, and animals and plants, and it even varies amongst plants, it varies amongst animals and it varies amongst human beings.

Some people tend to equate instinct with saḿskára, but it is not one with saḿskára. Saḿskára means reaction in potential form. That is, an action is done but the reaction is still to come. This stage, this phase, of action is known as saḿskára. So instinct and saḿskára, or vrtti (propensity) and saḿskára, are not the same thing.

In certain living beings, in certain creatures, I said the mind is almost in dormant stage and there is no flow, no emanation, no expression beyond the scope of corporality. But in the case of certain plants, animals and certainly human beings, it moves beyond the periphery of corporality.

This instinct in certain cases is something inborn, just like an inborn faculty. But in other cases it may be increased through culture, through association, through study and through education, and also through spiritual practices or sádhaná. Study, as I have said a number of times, is a very important thing, and it should always be encouraged.

In certain undeveloped creatures, instinct means only inborn instincts, and in such creatures the psychic waves cannot move beyond the arena of corporality. Most of these undeveloped creatures are non-mammals; you see certain expressions among certain groups of snakes and fishes (not in birds, but in fishes and snakes). They even eat up their own eggs; that is, they have not got any love and affection for their progeny. But there are fishes who carry something like a sack inside their bodies and they carry their children in those sacks. There are some snakes who also take their children with them. Not only have they inborn instinct, but they have something more, that is, they have love and affection for their children. This is true of some species of snakes, but love and affection for their children is more prominent in mammals.

Mammals are more developed than non-mammals because in the case of mammals mothers feed the children with their breast-milk and certainly they have got affection for their children – that is why they do so. But human beings are developed creatures.

Instinct is of two kinds – ordinary instinct and inborn instinct. Even in developed creatures there are inborn instincts and other instincts, and in undeveloped creatures there are inborn instincts, but in some cases there are other instincts acquired though study, association, culture and spiritual sádhaná. You should remember that spiritual sádhaná is a must for all living beings.

Now in the case of developed creatures what happens? The mind moves along the sense of corporality, but sometimes it crosses the periphery of corporal senses, and this shows that it is above ordinary beings and has crossed the arena of corporality. In the Vedas it has been said:

Yacchedváunmanasii prájiṋastadyacchejjiṋána átmani;
Jiṋánamátmani mahati niyacchettadyacchecchánta átmani.

[One should merge one’s object of ideation into the sense organs, the sense organs into the doer “I”, the doer “I” into the existential “I”, the existential “I” into unit consciousness, and finally unit consciousness into Supreme Consciousness.]

Now, when the mind remains restricted within the four walls of the corpor, then it is an ordinary creature – a creature of no standard. But when the mind develops within the corporal structure or corporal existence – when this objectivated mind develops or when the object of the mind is not only the objectivated counterpart of its own senses – it is a bit advanced. Then in a more developed phase the mind feels or accepts the actional faculties of the body as its object, so it is to be treated as more and still more developed. And when in the phase of progress not only the actional faculties but the point whence these actional faculties emanate becomes the object, it is still more developed. In this way human beings move along the path of bliss. The life of a dog is much more developed than that of a fish, and the life of a monkey is quite developed. Human life is more developed than that of any other creature.

Now you see, instinct is generally something inborn, but I told you that human beings can increase their instincts by sádhaná, study, association, etc. But sometimes instinct is imposed on human beings, on human minds, as something which must be followed, must be obeyed. Under such circumstances you see that imposed item, and the mind flows, the mind moves, developing its instinct, but coming to that particular mental structure it cannot come outside that imposed idea. What happens? The mind cannot move forward. The mind will have to move within the periphery of this imposed idea. That imposed idea is called dogma or bhávajad́atá. You are moving forward. You are developing your fraternity throughout the universe but if a dogma says – a dogma based on a particular scripture or a particular philosophy says – “You know, you are a blessed being and they are slaves – they are there to be ruled by you, they are to be governed by you” – this idea checks the progress. It is dogma. You have developed fraternity for all animals, and suppose the scriptures say, “O human being, those animals are your food. You should kill them. You should eat them.” Now your progress in the realm of spirituality, in the phase of development, is choked there. It is dogma, and when a dogma comes you should first apply your common sense. If common sense fails to give you a satisfactory reply, apply logic. If logic fails to give you a satisfactory reply, apply your sense of humanity and get the reply and do accordingly. You are not to be guided by any dogma.

Again, if some scriptures say, “You will have to do penance if you cross the ocean,” you may lose your caste and you cannot cross the ocean though you understand that each and every land created by Parama Puruśa is your land. But still you cannot cross the ocean because that is what the scriptures enjoin.

Again, some scriptures say quite properly, “Have mercy on all living beings.”

Práńáh yathátmano’bhiiśt́áh bhútánám api te tathá;
Atmaopamyena bhútánám dayáḿ kurvanti sádhavah.

“Just as your life is extremely dear to you, similarly the lives of others are equally dear to them. A person who thinks thus and shows mercy on other creatures is really a sádhu, or virtuous person.” In order to become a virtuous person one need not give up one’s worldly life. When this idea dawns on one’s mind one realizes, “Why should I kill an innocent creature just for the sake of the gratification of my palate.” But then one may suddenly discover a different kind of scriptural injunction – “Oh yes, you may sacrifice animals in a particular way and the sacrificed animal will attain salvation.” People follow the scriptural injunction helplessly but in their heart of hearts they realize that the whole thing is irrational. Yet they cannot gather sufficient courage to go against the scripture. This sort of idea which impedes the progress of the mind is called “dogma”. A dogma arises from either a defective philosophy or a scripture. This sort of dogma should be rejected forthwith.

Yuktiyuktamupádeyaḿ vacanaḿ bálakádapi;
Anyaḿtrńavat tyájyamapyayuktam Padmajanmanah.

“If even a young boy says something logical, it should be accepted, and if the Supreme Creator Brahmá says something illogical, it should be rejected as rubbish.”

If even a young boy says something logical it should be accepted because that will lead to progress, but when a dogma comes it chokes the progress of humanity. Many scriptures teach wrong things and many philosophies teach the wrong logic. Such teachings cannot judge anything along rational human lines. They fail to understand that just as their lives are very dear to them, similarly, the lives of animals also are equally dear to them. Then why should I not show mercy to others? Why should I act like a mean, selfish person? And if they say or argue that if the animals are sacrificed in this way they will attain liberation from animal life, then I will counter-argue, “O human beings, you are also a creature, why don’t you attain liberation from human life by slitting your own throat? Why don’t you help your children or your relations to attain liberation from human life by sacrificing them. Why are you so eager to apply this liberation movement, this hatchet or axe, against innocent goats?”

Have you now understood what dogma is? You must not tolerate any kind of dogma. That is, on one side there is dogma and on another side there is the human heart, or humanity. Then finally the starting point, the emanating point, of those actional faculties is your object, and when this emanating point becomes your object you will become one with the Qualified Consciousness. Under such circumstances there remains little difference between a human being and Parama Puruśa.

Now, if one offers that object, under such circumstances the unit mind coincides with the Cosmic Mind, and under such circumstances that object of yours, that is, the Cosmic Mind which has become your object, is [[offered]] at the altar of Parama Puruśa, [[at the altar of the]] Cosmic Consciousness, the[[n that is your non-qualified stance, rather]] super-qualified stance, nirvikalpa samádhi. Now this instinct, as I have said, is a human quality – a quality not only of human beings but of all living beings having an iota of mind, having a bit of the mental faculty. So you all should develop the faculty from unit to infinite and become one with Parama Puruśa.

You see, this instinct which you all have inherited from birth and which you can develop through study, through culture, though association and through spiritual sádhaná, should be developed more and more. When you have got this opportunity to uplift this instinct, you should do it.

When this instinct is converted into love for the Supreme, that metamorphosed instinct, that transmuted instinct, is known as “devotion”.

This devotion is a heavenly attribution, and this heavenly attribution is enjoyed by human beings. In future, if any developed animal comes in close contact with human beings, it may also develop such an instinct and convert its instinct into devotion. It may also enjoy the Supreme Bliss.

Chapter 15	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

1 Question: What is the rudimental difference between psychic progress and spiritual progress?

Answer: Psychic progress takes place in the realm of ectoplasm and endoplasm. Spiritual progress occurs in the realm of the Cognitive Faculty – all the wonts and propensities are directed towards the Supreme Desideratum.

Endoplasm is the outer surface of ectoplasm. The collective form of ectoplasm increases the sense of individuality – “I” feeling. With the growth of unit ectoplasm its volume and scope increases, and the collective form of ectoplasm will increase. With the increase of the collective form of ectoplasm, the endoplasm will gradually expand and burst. Thus, the unit “I” merges in the Cosmic “I”.

2 Question: Is the relationship between the “I” feeling of the collective protoplasmic cells and the “I” feelings of the unit protoplasmic cells the same as that between the Macrocosm and microcosm?

Answer: No, it is not the same. There is a difference between the relationship of the collective “I” feeling of protoplasmic cells and the “I” feelings of the unit protoplasmic cells on the one hand, and the microcosm and the Macrocosm on the other.

The “I” feeling of the collective protoplasmic cells is affected by feelings of pleasure and pain of the unit protoplasmic cells, but the Macrocosm always remains unaffected by the feelings of pleasure and pain of any kind.

The collective “I” feeling can eject any unit protoplasmic cells, but the Macrocosm cannot eject any microcosms out of its jurisdiction. The scope of the Macrocosm is bigger than that of the microcosm.

3 Question: What are the distinctive faculties of ectoplasmic and endoplasmic structure?

Answer: Ectoplasm gives mental faculty but endoplasm gives unit “I” feeling. Endoplasm is the outer coverage of ectoplasm.

4 Question: Which has the closer proximity to the Supreme Cognitive Faculty – ectoplasmic structure or endoplasmic structure?

Answer: Endoplasmic structure has minimum “I” feeling. It is of collective nature – it is a collective structure. Ectoplasmic structure is a unitary structure. It is of unit nature – it is a unit structure. It is the unit existential faculty and the unit knowing faculty. Thus, endoplasm is collective in nature and ectoplasm is unitary in nature.

The Cognitive Faculty is touching both the structural entities generally and especially – generally through prota yoga, and especially through ota yoga. The general link (prota yoga) is termed cittáńu in Sanskrit, and the especial link (ota yoga) is termed cittáńvika.

The question is one of unitary structure and collective structure. Which one has the closer proximity to the Cosmic Faculty or the Cosmic Cognizance? The question is a bit knotty, but not very difficult. The charm lies in answering a difficult question. You should explain the nature, the status and the locus standi of the ectoplasmic and endoplasmic structures in relation to the Supreme Cognitive Faculty.

A mosquito, a white ant, a wild elephant and a python, and the entire expressed universe – all their relationships with Parama Puruśa [Supreme Consciousness] are the same or of a similar nature. That is why it is prota yoga.

Parama Puruśa is maintaining a relationship with many entities at the same time. That is prota yoga. When the relationship is separate, as with a white ant, then it is ota yoga. In prota yoga everything is similar, but in ota yoga some grace, mercy and favour come from Parama Puruśa. When I say, “How are you?” to all of you and you respond, then that response is a collective response. That is prota yoga. The “I” feeling of a complex structure is a collective “I” feeling. The “I” feeling of a unitary structure is a protozoic “I” feeling. So as far as Parama Puruśa’s relationship with the entire universe is concerned, it is the same, and that is prota yoga.

Ectoplasm is of unit nature and endoplasm is of collective nature. The “I” feeling of all developed beings is of a complex nature, and that complexity arises due to the collective “I” feeling.

We see the “I” feeling from different ways, different angles. For example, take the case of an elephant and a blind man. If a blind man touches the leg of an elephant he thinks it is a pillar, if he touches the tail he thinks it is a serpent, and if he touches the body he thinks it is a house. This is true for all complex structures such as psychic structures.

The collective psychic structure gives one unit “I” feeling. In this collective “I” feeling there are so many unicellular, multicellular, protozoic and metazoic cells which have so many sensations, conceptions and perceptions. Yours is a complex mind – a complex biological structure.

5 Question: What is the psychological difference between the protoplasmic cell of a human body and the protoplasmic cell of a plant?

Answer: There is not much difference between the protoplasmic cells of humans and those of plants. A plant cell does not have endoplasmic coverage, but a human cell has. The effect of endoplasmic coverage is to register the reflection of the expression of human sentiments, so endoplasmic coverage allows the human mind to be more subtle and more receptive.

6 Question: What is sentiment?

Answer: Running blindly without discrimination between proper and improper behaviour is called “sentiment”. The path of discrimination between proper and improper behaviour is called “rationality”. When human beings discriminate between proper and improper behaviour and select the proper path, it is called “conscience”.

7 Question: What is instinct?

Answer: When a sentiment affects the subsidiary glands, that is, when a sentiment finds its expression affecting subsidiary glands and organs, then it is known as “instinct”. The term “subsidiary glands” refers to any gland other than the pineal and pituitary glands.

8 Question: What is the basic difference among instinct, instinct associated with guiding psychic faculty, and guiding psychic faculty independent of instinct?

Answer: Adjusting the existential faculty with the environment and maintaining the structure, increasing the number and then destroying the structure, is known as “instinct”.

With instinct there is the contraction and expansion of nerves. Expansion and contraction occur without any psychic support. In instinct there are three stages in the struggle for survival: existence; being ready for existential fight; and death – the cessation of existence.

The crab is food for the octopus. If a crab does not move an octopus cannot see it, and the instincts of the octopus will not be aroused. The crab is more intelligent than the octopus – as long as it maintains its position and does not move, the octopus will not attack it. The octopus has been on this planet for a long time, but it has not developed much intellect. There are some creatures with highly developed instinctive powers.

In living beings some instincts are associated with physical development, while some instincts are there right from the moment of birth. Thus, there are two main types of instincts:

• Inborn instincts (sahajáta pravrtti), such as sucking mother’s milk, urination, defecation, crying, etc.
• Acquired instincts (grhiita pravrtti), that is, instincts acquired after birth, such as laughing after being tickled.

To enjoy happiness is an inborn instinct; but laughing is the reaction of the nerves – it is not inborn.

When people become agitated they clench their fists and gnash their teeth. These are examples of the traditional legacy or structural legacy of human beings. They have been passed down from preceding stages of evolution. Grimacing and grinning are other examples, but these can be gradually controlled.

There is one type of laughter which people may enjoy from a joke. Another type of laughter can be experienced from tickling, but this kind of tickling does not give pleasure. It can be dangerous to one’s health as it may overexcite the nerve endings. If it is done for a long time it can even lead to heart failure. The first type of laughter is more psychic and the second type is physical. Psychic laughter gives happiness.

Suppose there are many sweets before you. The guiding psychic faculty will have to make a selection. The mind thinks about which sweet to eat and the guiding psychic faculty makes the decision. Even if the guiding psychic faculty says that you do not need to eat anything, your instinct may say that there is no harm in taking something. When the instinct tells you to eat and the guiding psychic faculty assists in the selection of what to eat, this is an example of instinct associated with guiding psychic faculty.

Human beings do not forget anything. Everything is imprinted in their minds. If human beings develop their guiding psychic faculty, they can remember their past experiences. [In such cases the guiding psychic faculty is independent of instinct.]

Human beings should learn as much as they can, assimilate it and utilize it for the welfare of society.

9 Question: What do phobia, mania, melancholia, stereophania and vocal mania have in common?

Answer: They are all psychic diseases.

Phobia (átanka): Phobia means excessive fear of something. For example, a person who does not know how to swim will be afraid to wash in a river.

Mania (váyuroga): A person affected by a mania will always repeat the same thing over and over, even if it is illogical. For example, a person may say, “I am unwell,” when he or she is really well. Mania is caused by some mental weakness.

Melancholia (visádaváyu): People suffering from melancholia always feel frustrated and depressed. Life loses all charm for them, and they unnecessarily believe that everyone dislikes and avoids them.

Stereophania (mudrádośa): Stereophania is always repeating the same gesture over and over, mostly unconsciously. (Gesture is movement; posture is stationary position.)

Vocal mania: A person suffering from vocal mania tries to speak but cannot.

10 Question: What are the main branches of psychology?

Answer: The study of psychology may be divided into the following main branches: general psychology, bio-psychology, parapsychology, and apexed or pinnacled psychology.

11 Question: What is the scope of parapsychology?

Answer: Parapsychology links up the gaps between one life and another – it links up the gaps life after life. So, parapsychology is the science which links up our present life with our past lives.

There are many instances where children remember their past lives. This is all right for children up to twelve or thirteen years of age, as their personalities are weak and still developing. After twelve or thirteen children’s personalities become stronger, and if they still have memories of their past lives they will develop dual personalities. The mind will start to think, “Am I this person or that person?” They will fail to find the link in their lives. Their brains will not be able to adjust and they will die.

The field of parapsychology is still very underdeveloped. It should be developed, but it is a very difficult field to develop. Why has the field of parapsychology not developed? Because it is spiritual in nature and it cannot be developed by non-spiritualists.

Parama Puruśa knows everything. He can see into a person’s past even ten thousand or twenty thousand years ago. For human beings to see into their past they need the help of their nerve cells and nerve fibres, but once they die their nerve cells are destroyed. So how is it possible for people to see into their past?

Parama Puruśa can link up all the past lives of people because He has supra-occult power. Only Parama Puruśa has this power and no one else. He does not need the help of the nerve cells or nerve fibres because everything exists in the Cosmic Mind. Therefore, Parama Puruśa does not need to link up all the individual minds – just by His will He can see all the unit minds.

12 Question: What is clairvoyance?

Answer: There are two types of clairvoyance – internal clairvoyance and distant clairvoyance. The first occurs when a person is near you and you can understand what is happening in his or her mind. Distant clairvoyance occurs when someone is not in your presence, but some distance away, yet you can still understand what is happening to him or her.

The Sanskrit terms for internal clairvoyance and distant clairvoyance are antardrśt́i and dúradrśt́i respectively. Antar means “internal” and drśt́i means “seeing something”, so antardrśt́i means “seeing something internally”. Dúra means “distant”, so dúradrśt́i means “seeing something from a distance”.

Suppose I use my walking stick to impart bliss to a spiritual aspirant. The experience of bliss is imparted by touching. It is a part of internal clairvoyance. Now, suppose another spiritual aspirant stands at a distance and I tap the floor with my stick, and he also enjoys bliss. Bliss is imparted without touching. This is a part of distant clairvoyance.

13 Question: What is telepathy?

Answer: Telepathy means to read someone’s thoughts. Vák siddhi [the capacity to make whatever one says come true] is high-grade telepathy. Whatever a vák siddha says will come true.

There is another type of telepathy which is to pervert the order of the senses. For example, one who has developed this capacity can make someone smell a particular fragrance, then change the fragrance and make them smell a different one.

14 Question: What is the meaning of “conversion”?

Answer: If you are feeling pain in some nerve and the pain is stopped by removing the pain from the nerve itself, this is called “conversion”. There are two ways of doing this: first, by conversion of the nerve from a distance – that is, distant conversion of the senses; and secondly, by using microvita.

Suppose a man has a pain in his back, and the pain is increased so that it moves up his body causing the moving capacity of the tongue to be reduced and the speaking capacity of the voice to be restricted. This may happen if negative microvita are applied to his body. If this is continued for a few minutes, the speaking capacity of the voice will be lost forever.

The distant conversion of nerves, the application of negative microvita and the snatching away of people’s capacities are a part of avidyá [extroversial knowledge]. There is almost no benefit in this. You should learn only that knowledge which brings you closer to Parama Puruśa, not avidyá.

15 Question: How many types of hallucination are there?

Answer: There are two types of hallucination: positive hallucination and negative hallucination. When something is present and you are receiving its vibration but you want to see something different, this is called “positive hallucination”. A positive hallucination means that what appears to exist does not actually exist. A negative hallucination occurs when something is present yet you do not pick up its vibration. A negative hallucination means that what actually exists appears not to exist.

Chapter 16	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

You know, human longings are expressed through different lateral directions of so many waves, and of so many aspirations, hopes and longings. Hence the subject of today’s discourse is “Four Dimensions of Micropsychic Longing”. These micropsychic longings are many in number. They are also multifarious, not only in number but also in quality and quantity. But they may be brought within the range of four broad categories.

One category, as you know, is psycho-physical longing for physical pabulum – that is, the longings concerning inborn instinct. Not only human beings, but all living beings are goaded by this primordial nature of longing, that is, psycho-physical longing for physical pabulum. We say it is a natural instinct for each and every object – even in the case of non-living elements we find this type of longing – in the case of both animate and inanimate objects. In each and every physical and psychic structure there remain certain self-controlling faculties. In the case of this inborn instinct, or, say, psycho-physical longing, there are self-controlling faculties also. But these faculties cannot move against the characteristics of the vital force. When these controlling faculties go against the characteristics of the vital force, disintegration and dissociation start both within and without the framework. This is the wont of the individual structure. And in the case of collective structures, regarding these psycho-physical longings, if it is seen that the collective body of a particular nature of living being or expression does not like it, then the controlling faculty creates a sort of change and metamorphosis in the physical structure, and as a result the nature of the longings also changes. That is, in the case of the individual structure it is to be goaded by the controlling faculty only up to a certain range or certain stratum. Otherwise the structure will start disintegration or dissociation both within and without. And in a collective body, the collective controlling faculty may create a sort of change in the physical structures if such a change is supported by Macrocosmic conation, otherwise not.

The second category is psycho-physical longing, in this case also for physical pabulum. But this longing is not of inborn nature. These longings are created after the development of so many plexi and change in the nature and structure of so many hormones secreted from those newly-created or newly-developed plexi. The difference between the first category and the second is that the first one is inborn and the second one is not inborn, it is created later on.

Now you see, both the pabula are of physical nature, are physical pabula. But in the second case the controlling faculty, the inherent controlling faculty, can move a bit forward, but when this movement goes ultra vires to the fundamental principles of the physical structure, the structure cannot remain as before; that is, it starts decomposition. It cannot maintain its integration or structural solidarity. In this case, one’s physical structure may be saved if one applies or rather ascribes the Macrocosmic grandeur to physical pabulum. There is no other way. But in the case of the collective body, or the collective structure, there may be change, and that change may not go against the characteristics of the physical structure if there remains a constant endeavour for such a change, rather for such a metamorphosis. This is the second longing, and both the pabula are of physical nature.

The third category is psychic longing for psychic pabulum. That is, this occurs when one wants that one’s psychic emanations should be from crude to subtle and cover all spheres of existence and non-existence. In this case an aspirant may move forward till the psychic body maintains a close cooperation or parallelism with the physical waves or the physical existence. But otherwise the mind may get dissociated from the physical structure; for which a psychic diversion, a properly-measured diversion, is necessary or rather indispensable. And that diversion should always maintain proper equipoise and proper equilibrium with the fundamental principles of pramá [dynamic adjustment], otherwise the physical structure will be lost and at the same time the psychic structure will also be lost. Human beings who do not follow the propriety of psychology may undergo, rather may face, such a future. In our collective body, as a result of this type of endeavour – constant endeavour – constant longing for all-round expression of micropsychic potentialities will create a sort of balanced world, an earth of pramá, an earth well-balanced by pramá; and it will create, it will assure, a bright future not only for all humanity, but for the entire animate and inanimate world.

The fourth category is, we may say, to encourage apexed psychology or pinnacled psychology. Here the mental faculties along with the controlling faculties will move upwards and finally get pointed, and that point is lost in the Supra-Cognitive Entity. This is the goal of all living beings. In the course of this endeavour, there comes hardly any obstacle from within, but there may come hindrances and obstacles from without in the shape of ideological clashes. The sources of such clashes are the degrading and degenerating forces working in the realm of the manifested Cosmos. In the case of the collective body, if such a practice is encouraged, the entire physical structure of the universe will slowly be metamorphosed into the psychic world and the psychic world will be metamorphosed into spirituality. That is, it will help the saiṋcara [extroversial] and pratisaiṋcara [introversial] movement of the Macropsychic conation. It will help the movement of Macropsychic conation, and human beings living on this earth will enjoy the bliss of heaven on this earth of dust. You should know this, and you should propagate this supreme psychic future of humanity in a better way, in a nice way.

Chapter 17	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

Recently my topic of discussion has been “micropsychic longings”. Let me explain how this topic relates to the science of bio-psychology.

As you know, micropsychic longings may be brought within four broad categories: psycho-physical longing concerning inborn instinct; psycho-physical longing concerning non-inborn instinct; psychic longing for psychic pabulum; and longings concerned with apexed psychology.

What is the meaning of longing? Longing means “the urge that pulls forward” – it does not push. If you hear someone say, “You little boy, you are a naughty child but I like you very much,” a psychic idea is created, and the urge is pulling it, not pushing it. The enjoying portion of the mind is pulled by the urge.

Inborn Instincts

First, take the case of inborn instincts. Suppose a person enjoys eating food in the form of sweets or rice. The psycho-physical longings for these two types of food operate in the same direction – they have the same lateral movement – but different waves. How many such waves are there? There are innumerable waves.

When a newborn babe hears the sound of its mother, it thinks, “Oh, my mother is coming. I will get breast milk.” It smells fragrances, feels the sensation of touch and reacts to the environment: “Ooooh, it’s extremely cold.” It kicks and urinates. These are all inborn instincts in the case of animate creatures, but not in the case of inanimate objects.

Inborn instincts develop in human beings a few minutes after birth. In reptiles and birds they develop when these creatures come in contact with the physical world, and in dogs and cats they develop after a few days.

In the case of non-living entities, their inborn instincts are to contract and inflate. As they cannot express themselves through nerves, we say that they are inanimate. They express themselves by increasing or decreasing their inter-atomic or inter-molecular spaces. Iron, sand, earth, water, etc., are all inanimate.

In living entities, longings such as the longings for carbonic pabulum and mother’s milk are longings for physical and not psychic pabulum.

Suppose a man is drinking and drinking – he knows when to stop because he has a self-controlling faculty. He knows when he should not drink any more, and he knows when his thirst has been quenched. On the other hand, suppose he tries to check his thirst. He may try to control his thirst up to a certain degree, but beyond that point his vital force will not cooperate with his self-controlling faculty. After two or three days he will not be able to check his thirst any longer, and if he continues to control it he will damage his health. The glands and plexi and the protoplasmic cells will disintegrate because he went against the characteristics of the vital force.

Take another example. Suppose your collective body does not want perspiration to come out through the pores of the skin, but only in the form of urine through the bladder. Gradually this thinking will change your bio-structure. The pores will no longer be required, and the bladder and kidney will have to become more active. Or suppose, by your mental force, you want to totally check urination. What will be the result? There will be complete disintegration and dissociation of various parts of the body – pancreas, liver, spleen, etc. Such changes can only be brought about if the idea of the collective body is supported by the Macrocosm – that is, if the Macrocosm approves your demand.

Non-Inborn Instincts

Next come non-inborn instincts. The inner portions and skin of the human body vary according to climatic conditions. In the human body there are many glands which are controlled by plexi. When a human child is born, not all the plexi function. Generally, the plexi do not function within the mother’s womb because the babe does not breathe directly. Although the plexi are there, they become developed after birth only when the child starts to use its own respiratory system. So after birth, when the plexi become developed, changes occur in the physical body, in the secretion of hormones and in the hormonal structures. Over-secretion and under-secretion of hormones affect nerve cells, and thus change thoughts. Instincts also change. In the human body these changes take place slowly in cold climates and more quickly in hot climates.

Immediately after birth only the faculties of inborn instincts are expressed. Around the age of five several more faculties develop, and accordingly more hormones are secreted and different types of thoughts arise. Certain changes also take place in the skin. The skin becomes a bit

thick at the age of six in cold climates and at the age of four in hot climates. With this development a child’s love for his or her brothers and sisters increases, and a tendency to want to play arises. As a result thoughts change.

Some Important Glands

(1) Testes and ovaries: At around the age of thirteen in hot countries and fifteen in cold countries, the testes and ovaries develop due to the secretion of a special type of hormone.

In males the testes are the glands which convert lymph into semen. As soon as lymph is converted into semen, the nerves are affected and there is a corresponding change in one’s thoughts. It is the pituitary gland which tells the testes to convert lymph into semen [that is, testosterone and spermatic fluid]. When the production of lymph goes beyond the capacity of the body to utilize it, it is converted into semen and comes out of the body. Thus, sex desire is created in the mind.

If the secretion of the testes glands is normal, a sense of dutifulness will be created in the mind. A boy will be proud of the fact that he obeyed his father. But if the boy was only three years old, he would not be able to feel a sense of dutifulness.

If the testes are over-active [highly active] and there is over-secretion [high secretion] of hormones, a youth develops the spirit of rationality. The pubic hair grows due to the activity of the testes. This is the physical effect. The development of rationality is the psychic effect. The nervous system will also be affected. If not hindered by the natural flow of the lymphatic glands, over-secretion [high secretion] leads to the development of hair in the arm pits at the age of fifteen to seventeen in hot countries and seventeen to eighteen in cold countries. Along with this the feeling of rationality grows. For example, a boy may say, “No, father, do not ask me to do that. It is not good.”

If there is under-secretion of the testes glands, there will be less hair; and if, at the same time, the sex glands do not develop at the specified stage, the boy will become very cruel. He may, for example, take a grasshopper and cut off its legs. You may have seen such a boy at the age of thirteen, fourteen or fifteen: he may be unsocial, he may not mix with others. This is due to the under-secretion of hormones from the testes glands.

In the case of ordinary secretion, sex longing is created. If there is over-secretion [high secretion], a youth acquires the power to transform that longing into universalism. In those of you who have a longing for Parama Puruśa [Supreme Consciousness], an over-secretion [high secretion] took place in your hormones between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. At that stage the idea to become great comes into the mind.

If there is under-secretion of the hormones of the testes glands, a youth will develop less kindness, and less hair will grow in the armpits and pubic region. If you see a man with these physical characteristics, then and there you can come to a conclusion about the extent of his kindness. Moreover, such a person will most likely support dogma. He will not have the moral strength to protest against dogma (including scriptural dogma), and he will not support a new idea.

If the testes function properly and if there is no hindrance from the lymphatic glands, intelligence will develop. Without the testes, the solar plexus will not be developed and intelligence will decrease.

In the past many slaves were converted into eunuchs – known as khojas in Persian. If the ovaries of a female or the testes of a male are dissociated from the body, the person will become a eunuch. In a male, if the testes are separated from the body, there will be physical and psychological changes. The man will not die but he will lose the sense of dutifulness and responsibility. All the qualities associated with the testes, such as the sense of dutifulness and responsibility, will be wanting. A eunuch will not be able to grow any pubic hair or the pubic hairs will be few.

Should the testes be cut off and a man made into a eunuch? Can it be considered civilized? In some countries men were changed into eunuchs, and as they did not have any sex feeling, they were posted as security guards in the harems of the rulers. This is a barbarous system and goes against fundamental human rights. It is extremely bad.

If the sex organ is cut off from the male body, what will be the result? The man will not die, but the testes and kidneys will not be able to function properly. There will, therefore, also be psychological changes and no sex feeling.

(2) Prostate gland: The prostate gland gives rise to the feeling of shyness or shamefulness in the mind. At the age of three to five a child does not feel any shyness. At this age a child can walk on the street without any clothes on. Adults experience shyness due to the development of this gland and imposed saḿskáras [mental reactive momenta].

As a result of over-secretion of hormones from the prostate gland, a sort of melancholia may develop. One may think: “What is the necessity of this creation? Why did Parama Puruśa create this universe? I am alone, I have no friend. Where is the charm in life? Nobody cares for me.” There are certain philosophies which propound this sort of melancholia. It is also apparent that the propounders themselves suffered from melancholia.

If there is under-secretion of the hormones from the prostate gland, a person will develop a fearful nature and suffer from psychic hallucinations. One may even see a ghost in broad daylight. Under-secretion, or low secretion, from the prostate gland creates this psychology.

Does the prostate gland depend on the lymphatic glands or vice versa, or are they interdependent? These glands are interdependent; rather, all plexi and all glands are interdependent. All glands depend greatly on the lymphatic glands for their supply of lymph – the raw material. The dependence of the other glands on the lymphatic glands is greater than the dependence of the lymphatic glands on the other glands. Similarly, the upper plexi are less dependent on the lower plexi, and the lower plexi are more dependent on the upper plexi. The surplus supply of lymph goes to the brain [via the bloodstream] and nourishes the nerve cells of the cranium.

(3) Solar plexus [located at the mid-point of the chest]: When the solar plexus is developed, love for children is aroused. This is common to all animals, birds, mammals and human beings. But creatures which have self-dividing bodies have no love for children as they have no solar plexus.

Just after the lymphatic glands begin to function normally, the testes develop in males, and in the case of females, the ovaries develop and glands start functioning to make human milk. Love for children also increases.

When the solar plexus develops, the beard grows in males. If there is low secretion of the hormones from the solar plexus, less beard grows. Also, due to low secretion in sterile men and women – those who are viewed as eunuchs – love for children is lacking. In the case of over-secretion [high secretion], what will happen? In males the beard will grow more. It is a good sign if men have a thick beard.

Human love will be transformed into universal love if there is over-secretion [high secretion] of the hormones from the solar plexus. In the case of males with love for Parama Puruśa, they will either have a thick beard or developed breasts, or both. Before they were sádhakas [spiritual aspirants], they would have either thinner beards or less developed breasts.

What happens if the solar plexus becomes dissociated from the body? All higher human wonts have their base in the solar plexus. If the solar plexus or any plexus becomes separated from the human body, the person will die then and there. The corporal structure will not survive even for a second. (In Latin there are two adjectives for “corpus”. “Corpus” means “the indispensable portion of a structure”. “Corporal” concerns something relating to the physical body, and “corporeal” refers to some physical material. “Incorporeal” concerns something which does not come within the scope of tactuality. Suppose a voice comes from the invisible world. Is it a physical voice? No, it is an incorporeal voice.)

(4) Thyroid and parathyroid glands: Due to the secretion of hormones from the thyroid gland in the male body, the voice becomes deep and the moustache grows. Along with this, the quality of self-reliance increases. In the case of men, if this gland is not developed they will have a quarrelsome nature. Women will have the same defect and will also become a bit irrational. Vanity, too, will develop if there is under-secretion of the parathyroid gland. These are all non-inborn instincts.

For a male from a hot country, all the glands develop fully by the age of twenty-four. In cold countries this full development is reached approximately two years later. After the age of thirty-nine there is a slight deterioration in the physical body, but advancement in the psychic sphere. After the age of fifty in hot countries and fifty-one in cold countries, there is more physical deterioration and slight mental deterioration. After the age of sixty in hot countries and sixty-one in cold countries, the thinking power will slowly deteriorate.

The human body is a biological machine. This is the story of the human body and human plexi.

I have discussed only a small portion of this knowledge because there is the possibility that it may be misused. Much research needs to be done on this subject for the all-round welfare of living beings.

(5) Pituitary and pineal glands: As a result of the sádhaná [spiritual practices] performed in previous lives, at the age of thirteen, after the sex glands are developed, the pituitary gland starts to function tremendously and one’s thirst for spirituality is aroused. If such a person gets proper guidance from a preceptor, one achieves spiritual progress. If one falls into bad company, one’s downfall is rapid.

After getting proper spiritual guidance, one’s mind rises upwards from the pituitary gland to the pineal gland, and with one’s mind concentrated on the controlling point of the pineal gland, one attains salvation within a short span of time.

Parama Puruśa applies microvita to different glands and sub-glands. He renders this help to spiritual aspirants in the last phase of the third stratum [dimension of psychology] and in the fourth stratum. Most of the glands function within the first and second dimensions of psychology. The pituitary gland concerns the third dimension, and the pineal gland concerns the third and fourth dimensions. [There are four dimensions of Yoga psychology – from the múládhára cakra to the mańipura cakra; from the mańipura cakra to the vishuddha cakra; from the vishuddha cakra to the ájiṋá cakra; and above the ájiṋá cakra. These dimensions of psychology correspond to the four phases of meditation.]

Spiritual aspirants should take care to purify their pituitary gland because this helps in spiritual sádhaná. The secretion of hormones in the upper glands maintains a balance in all the other glands. The pituitary gland is psycho-spiritual in nature, and the pineal gland is spiritual in nature.

As far as plexi are concerned, they are the bio-psychological secrets of living. In inanimate objects there is no secretion of hormones from [glands or] plexi. Expression takes place through the expansion and contraction of their inter-atomic and inter-molecular spaces.

The grace of Parama Puruśa influences all plexi. The atonemental provisions of Parama Puruśa are through all plexi – not only the pituitary and pineal. Negative microvita do not function in the pituitary and pineal glands. Positive microvita function through all plexi.

As a general rule the grace of Parama Puruśa is expressed through positive microvita in different plexi. Noticeably or conceivably a sweet aroma comes from the concerned plexus. When a spiritual aspirant attains mental concentration or composure, as in madhura sádhaná [a particular type of meditation], he or she experiences a sweet aroma and the mind feels peaceful or composed. Parama Puruśa gives the bliss of tactuality through different plexi.

The Importance of Lymph

The lymphatic glands supply raw material – lymph – to the factories – the glands – and the surplus lymph goes to the brain and provides food for the nerve cells in the cranium. When lymph comes in contact with an activated gland, hormones are created.

The lymphatic glands associated with the testes start functioning at the same time as the testes begin to work in a proper manner. The raw material for the testes is the [lymph] hormone generated by the [regional] lymphatic glands. That lymph is converted into semen by the testes. When lymph comes to the solar plexus, the spirit of love and affection for children develops. In the female body ova are created in the ovaries. Some other lymph helps to maintain proper energy in the body and physical glamour, and in the case of females a certain portion is converted into milk.

The solar plexus cannot function properly if the supply of lymph is not perennial or regular. In the case of spiritual aspirants, there is high secretion of lymph in the solar plexus, consequently love for children is converted into love for the Supreme. That is, love for unit beings is transformed into love for Supreme Consciousness. Lymph is thus a cause of psychic change.

In the female body the lymph glands become very active at certain points, and in the male body at other points. In the case of adolescent girls and boys, a special type of nerve sensation occurs in the genitals. This sensation increases vigour in the person and creates the feeling in the mind, “I have to do something.” At that age one decides or tries to decide one’s future. If the selection is defective, one will not progress. For example, if one wants to learn medicine but is forced to learn engineering by one’s parents, one may not be successful. But if the selection is proper, one will be successful. Generally in hot climates this occurs in boys at the age of seventeen and in girls at the age of sixteen, and in cold climates at nineteen in the case of boys and eighteen in the case of girls.

The lymphatic glands supply the raw material to the factories. All glands are factories. If hot static food or excessive animal protein is eaten by males, the quantity of lymph will decrease and the conversion of lymph into semen will increase. This will lead to intellectual backwardness. It may be observed that people who eat much animal protein tend to produce many children. This has its own sociological effect.

Men should have proper control over the conversion of lymph into semen. This is part of Brahmacarya sádhaná [meditation on the Supreme Entity]. Men should have proper control over their bodies. Human beings should be sentient in food, mind and intellect.

Although carnivores may be more clever or cunning than granivores, they are generally less intellectual. It will be very difficult for a tiger, a cat or a dog to perform spiritual practices. A monkey or a cow may perform spiritual practices because they get much chlorophyll from grass and other green vegetation. Granivorous animals produce more lymph than carnivores, and that is why their brains are more developed.

The lymphatic glands of monkeys are highly developed, although they utilize very little of their lymph. This is why they can jump so much. Human beings cannot jump as much as monkeys because they use more lymph in the functioning of the brain. Human qualities develop along with the increase of lymph.

Lymph is required for the production of milk. Most women can move fast until they give birth to children, but after childbirth they generally cannot move as fast. Deer are granivorous and can move fast, but they give little milk because they use their lymphatic glands a lot. As cows produce excessive milk, they cannot move fast.

Vegetarians produce more lymph because they get chlorophyll from grass and other green vegetation, and that is why their brains are more developed than those of non-vegetarians. Those who consume animal protein [neglecting green vegetation] suffer from want of lymph because animal protein contains very little chlorophyll. Tigers and cats are carnivores, which is why they produce less milk. Cows and buffaloes produce much more milk because they take chlorophyll from green grass and green vegetation.

Maximum lymph is produced from food which contains a lot of chlorophyll, such as green vegetables and especially the tips of the stems of creepers. Granivorous animals produce much milk, while carnivorous animals, such as dogs, give very little milk.

Lymph is produced from animal protein also, but because animal protein produces a lot of heat in the human body, the lymph is quickly converted into semen. Monkeys and deer produce much lymph, but it is not converted into semen because it is utilized in running and jumping.

What is the initial stuff in the manufacture of lymph? Lymph is produced from the energy and vitality acquired from the different quinquelemental factors of this universe, such as water, air and light. They are the initial stuff. The final stuff is shukra [which has three stages: lymph, spermatozoa and seminal fluid]. It is the most developed stuff – the cream of all creams. Chlorophyll accelerates the speed of the production of lymph, but it does not act as the initial stuff.

In certain people the major portion of lymph is eroded away and that is why they are intellectually deficient. But for spiritual aspirants, as the major portion of their lymph remains in their bodies, they should not suffer from any intellectual deficiency. This is why the intellectual standard of spiritual aspirants is higher than that of common people.

Positive or negative catalytic agents have an important effect on the manufacture of lymph. Positive psychic and positive physical environments are positive catalytic agents, and negative psychic and negative physical environments are negative catalytic agents. Even if the food one eats is sentient, but the environment is negative, it is detrimental to mental progress. Cinema halls, prostitute quarters and busy commercial places are negative physical environments. Bad discussions, bad books, and bad thoughts prevailing among the population are negative psychic environments – negative catalytic agents. If the environment is good, such as at Anandanagar, it is a positive physical environment – a positive catalytic agent. If there are many spiritual aspirants and elevating discussions, a positive psychic environment will be created. This will help in the manufacture of lymph.

Lymph itself is a hormone, and is converted into other hormones by different glands. Lymph is the initial hormone. The creation of hormones in the other glands depends upon these positive and negative catalytic agents. This is the reason why in olden times even Shiva placed much importance on satsauṋga [associating with good people]. Satsauṋga provides a positive psychic environment. Good company leads to liberation whereas bad company is the cause of bondages.

Psychic Longing for Psychic Pabulum

Pabulum is a Latin word. Its meaning is not comprehensive. Ábhoga in Sanskrit is the proper term. Ábhoga: á – bhuiṋj + ghaiṋ. Á means “towards”; bhuiṋj means “to enjoy”; and ghaiṋ makes it a verbal noun. So ábhoga means “an object of enjoyment”. Few people are acquainted with the term ábhoga, therefore people use “pabulum”.

Objects of enjoyment may be physical or psychic. Suppose an object of enjoyment is a sweet. This is physical pabulum. A noble idea is psychic pabulum. If the psychic object is a sweet, psychic movement is towards something crude; if it is something subtle, the mind moves towards the subtle and will become subtle. Even if the starting point of emanation is crude but the mind continuously thinks of something subtle, the mind will become subtle – the culminating point, the end point, is subtle. So, if the culminating point is crude the mind gets crudified, and if the culminating point is subtle the mind becomes subtle.

The mind will have to maintain parallelism with the physical structure while moving towards a certain object. Association by proper adjustment and parallelism between the psychic and physical bodies causes life, and dissociation under adverse conditions results in death. If there are severe hindrances in the process of emanation [of psycho-physical waves], the parallelism is lost. If parallelism is lost, there is death – the body and the mind will dissociate.

There are two causes of death: physical and psychic. Physical death occurs when the waves of the physical structure become crudified due to old age or any other physical deficiency. Psychic death occurs when psychic clash with either subtler or cruder thought-waves results in increasing or decreasing the wavelength of the mental waves respectively. In this case, also, loss of parallelism will occur, and the physical and psychic bodies shall dissociate.

Thus, if, on a particular avenue of progress, one’s longing for a particular object is hindered, the parallelism between mind and body will be lost. In this case psychic diversion is essential because one must maintain parallelism with the vital characteristics.

The psychology of humans is goaded by certain principles, that of cows by other principles, and that of vultures by still other principles. Each follows a particular path. Suppose a human being dies of smallpox or cholera. A vulture will not die if it eats a human body which is infected with either disease. If, on the other hand, a man eats the flesh of a person who has died of cholera, he will almost certainly die. This is because the plexi of human beings and those of vultures are different.

Human beings should move forward with a thorough knowledge of propriety and impropriety. They must maintain a balance between social propriety, political propriety and psychic propriety. One’s relations with one’s brother, sister, mother, wife, etc., are all different. One’s behaviour with one’s sister should not be the same as it is with one’s wife. Maintaining proper relations with different sorts of people is part of propriety. Human beings must not go beyond the limits of psychic propriety. If balance is maintained and propriety is properly measured, then the world will be an abode of pramá [dynamic adjustment] – heaven will be established on the earth.

Apexed Psychology

When the movement of the human mind is not in many lateral directions – north, south, east and west – but towards the Supreme Entity, then the mind becomes apexed, pinnacled. This pointed mind either merges in the Macrocosm, or gives up its individual existence in the Supreme Cognitive Faculty.

In the time of Shiva yogis and bio-psychologists preferred cold climates. In those days they did all kinds of parapsychological research. Even now yogis run to the Himalayas for this purpose. Ananda Marga sádhaná is a bio-psychological practice.

If, in a particular life, one performs sádhaná but does not attain salvation, one will have to come back again. Under such circumstances one may or may not remember one’s past life – it depends on the pituitary gland. Then, in the latter part of one’s present life, say at the age of forty or later, if one’s mind reaches the pineal gland, one will attain salvation.

Preferably, one should start bio-psycho-spiritual practice as early as possible after the age of five. If that is not possible, one should definitely start sádhaná by the age of thirteen after the sex glands develop and the sense of responsibility and dutifulness arises in the mind.

The pituitary plexus is very important in spiritual progress, especially the left side [from the viewpoint of the sádhaka]. If the left side of this plexus is developed and the right side is not, after death one is reborn with a human body and continues practising sádhaná. When a spiritual aspirant strikes the pineal gland, salvation is achieved. If both sides of the pituitary plexus are fully developed, one becomes self-knowing, if not all-knowing. (In Latin “all-knowing” is “omniscient”, and in Sanskrit it is trikáladarshii-sarvajiṋa.)

In the case of Shiva, the pituitary gland is called Shiva’s third eye, but it is actually His omniscience through which He sees the three ages – past, present and future.

If one is unable to attain salvation in a particular life, one gets a human body in the next life and is guided by parapsychology. In the next life one remembers, up to the age of thirteen or fourteen, everything concerned with the past life, but as soon as the testes glands [or ovaries] start to function, one generally forgets the past. This is because as soon as the sex glands start functioning, one develops a special attraction for this earth. If one does not forget the past, one dies, usually at the age of thirteen, fourteen or fifteen, because one will not be able to adjust the past life with the present life. If one forgets the past, one will not die. Those who have attained salvation may or may not remember their past lives according to their own sweet will. This comes within the scope of parapsychology.

So if one does not attain salvation in a particular life, in the next life, after the testes glands [or ovaries] start to function, one will have to become a spiritual aspirant, leaving one’s hearth and home to become successful in spiritual life.

The reason why these people are reborn is to undergo the reactive momenta of their past lives. Some of their reactive momenta remain unquenched. They are reborn just to undergo the pleasure and pain resulting from their previous reactive momenta. In this life a man, in the next life a woman; in this life a boy, in the next life a girl. In the life after that one may become self-knowing, if not all-knowing.

The Grace of the Guru

To make the mind pinnacled, one should do dhyána of the Guru in the Guru cakra. The Guru cakra is slightly below the pineal gland, though the sahasrára cakra and the Guru cakra are virtually the same. So the mind is to be concentrated on the Guru cakra, and all the potentialities of the unconscious mind are also to be concentrated here. The moment one achieves full concentration, one becomes omniscient.

Why do spiritual aspirants concentrate on the Guru cakra and not on the pineal gland for dhyána? Because the Guru cakra is the internal side of the sahasrára cakra.

A spiritual aspirant should not do spiritual practices to become omniscient. Rather, a spiritual aspirant is to perform spiritual practices to satisfy Parama Puruśa in the form of Parama Guru. That is why it has been rightly said: Guru krpáhi kevalam [“The grace of the Guru is everything”].

There is no difference between the pineal and pituitary glands of males and females, but there may be differences in the other glands. This is why those who say that women are not entitled to spiritual salvation are wrong. Men and women are equally entitled to spiritual salvation.

The right wing of the pituitary plexus controls the qualities, attributions and quanta of the leftistic propensities, which are a little more than 400 in number. The left wing of the pituitary plexus controls the qualities, attributions and quanta of the rightistic propensities, which are also a little more than 400 in number. The total is a little less than 850. When both sides of the pituitary plexus are fully developed and fully utilized, one attains apexed intellect.

Leftistic propensities are those which have a degenerating and depraving effect, such as shyness, shamefulness, melancholia and fear. Rightistic propensities are those which pave the way to supra-consciousness. As a result of the normal secretion of hormones of the first sub-gland of the mańipura cakra, the propensities of shyness and shamefulness are created. This creation of shyness is an imposed saḿskára. It only occurs when the environment helps in creating this propensity. The combined effect of the over-secretion of the fifth and of the over-secretion of the sixth sub-glands of the igneous plexus is melancholia. Due to the under-secretion of its ninth and tenth sub-glands, the fear complex is created.

If one commences spiritual practices later in life, and if the left wing of the pituitary plexus is developed, one can remember one’s past life. When the right wing is developed but the left wing is not developed, the entity will not get a human structure with developed nerve cells, but will get the body of a developed animal such as a dog, cow or monkey. In such cases the entity will remember its past life until its sex glands start functioning. When the sex glands start functioning, it forgets its past life; if it cannot forget, it dies. When, in rare cases, a person does not forget his or her past life nor dies, he or she becomes a spiritual genius, a hermit, or a worker of a missionary organization.

Good propensities may be enhanced or diminished by microvita with the help of the Macrocosm. Good propensities may be enhanced with positive microvita and diminished with negative microvita. Bad propensities may be enhanced with negative microvita and diminished with positive microvita.

When the Guru is pleased with the disciples’ efforts, the Guru graces them by encouraging and enhancing their good propensities and by reducing their bad ones by microvita. The good propensities are enhanced by positive microvita and the bad propensities are reduced by positive microvita. Through microvita the Guru does the needful to increase or decrease the secretion of the glands.

If Parama Puruśa is pleased with a boy He applies positive microvita to all his plexi, and as a result the person enjoys bliss. It is remarkable that after a sádhaka has developed to the third phase of sádhaná, he attains salvation within a short period with the help of the Guru.

A human being is just like a machine – or a mechanical doll – in the hands of the Macrocosm. Perform spiritual practices to satisfy Parama Puruśa, the Supreme Cognitive Faculty, and He will do everything. If one gets the guidance of a sadguru at the age of thirteen, fourteen or fifteen, and diverts one’s potentialities towards Parama Puruśa through spiritual practices, one is sure to be successful in life.

Chapter 18	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

The subject of today’s discourse is “Biological Transformation Associated with Psychic Metamorphosis and Vice Versa”. This applies to the Macrocosm as much as to the microcosms. In the phase of extroversion, one Suprapsychic Entity is transmuted into many Prakrti-influenced physical entities: the Entity which was psychic is transmuted into numerous physicalities. In this connection the Vedas observe: Eko’ham bahusyáma – “I am one but I shall become many.” This “I” feeling is something psychic, an ectoplasmic vibration within or without the realm of the physical structure.

In this transformation of One into many, or rather in this phase of extroversion, numerous individual physical structures emerge from a singular vibration: thus this psychic Entity is gradually transformed into crude matter. Each and every fractional wave of the vast Cosmic Mind then takes the form of an individual animate or inanimate structure.

In the phase of introversion, the reverse takes place: in this phase, individual microcosms move forward with the ideation of the Supreme One, and their multiplicities are transformed into the supreme unicity. As long as there are physicalities, there are material differences; but as these individual physicalities move towards the Supreme Goal, the final desideratum, their multiplicities rapidly decrease, and ultimately they are converted into one Supracosmic or Macrocosmic Entity. That is to say, the whole process of movement is from the state of unicity in the psychic arena to the multiplicities in the physical sphere, and vice versa. In the extroversial phase of expression [saiṋcara], the psychic One becomes physically many – the uni-psychic becomes multi-physical; and in the introversial phase [pratisaiṋcara], multi-physical is transmuted into uni-psychic. This is the eternal sport (liilá) of Parama Puruśa [Supreme Consciousness].

In the past, [many] millions of years ago, living beings came onto this earth. In those early days in the Tertiary Age and especially in the Cretarian [Cretaceous] Age, there were many gigantic animals and plants; (human beings did not appear until approximately one million years ago). Those huge trees and animals possessed very simple living cells without much complexity; most of the cells were only of one type. There are some trees even now which have the same kind of simple cells, for example ferns, to which I have given the Sanskrit name puráńiká. These types of plants were multi-cellular, but their protozoic structure was uniform in character; the same was the case with some other living beings also. For example, there were gigantic animals like dinosaurs, brontosaurus, kakt́esiyás, etc., which possessed very simple physical structures: the number of cells in their body was great, but the degree of intercellular difference was almost negligible.

These creatures underwent changes according to changes in time, space and person, according to changes in climatic conditions – not only on this earth but also on other planets which are inhabited by living beings. Suddenly, between one age and the next, there occurred an abnormal situation created by an ice age, when the temperature fell far below zero degrees. During that ice age, whether long or short, the animals went into hibernation. Many of them became extinct and disappeared after hibernation; because of their intellectual deficiency those gigantic creatures of the Cretarian [Cretaceous] Age had to leave the world – they were vanquished in the struggle for existence. But those creatures which did survive underwent physical changes, and also psycho-physical or bio-psychic changes. The complexity of their cells increased and their bodies gradually became smaller, and eventually their mental power also increased. That is, the physical body first became very big, and after attaining a particular shape, the structure became complicated or complex; and from that moment, in the next stage or phase, as they moved along the path of introversion towards the Supreme Desideratum, their physical body went on diminishing in size and their psychic body was strengthened – their intellect increased. This is the adjustment or equilibrium or equipoise between biological structures and psychic metamorphosis.

For example, huge reptiles which came onto this earth [millions of] years ago gradually became lizards, crocodiles, alligators and salamanders. Another huge creature which gradually developed into a smaller size was the mammoth which evolved into an elephant; but it did not become an elephant overnight – there was an intermediary stage between the mammoth and the elephant. Thus big animals became extinct, and in their place small animals appeared. (Once I said that this is not the age of small countries or big animals. Big animals will have to yield their place to the small; and small countries will have to join together in federations and confederations, or else scientific planning and development will not be possible.)

Thus in the gradual process of evolution we can observe that the crude physicality of creatures is being converted into subtlety – their physical strength is fast being metamorphosed into psychic vitality – and materiality is being converted into consciousness. Similarly, it can be understood that the undeveloped creatures of the present, in whom this physical aspect is all-important, will gradually be transformed in the phase of pratisaiṋcara into more subtle mental beings; gradually their physical aspect will decrease and the psychic aspect will become predominant. This will be true of plants also. As there is increased complexity in the psychic sphere, there will be a corresponding increase of complexity in the physical sphere, as these two are inseparable and must maintain adjustment with each other. In this way the whole universe will gradually become predominantly mental. We see before our very eyes that the gigantic animals of the hoary past, which were undeveloped in intellect, consequently became extinct. Human beings, too, will gradually become totally transformed into completely different creatures: their psychic development will greatly increase, and they will engage themselves in the pursuit of higher knowledge and more and more psycho-spiritual pursuits.

In this process, psycho-physical adjustment will create a great change in the physical body also. For example, the skin of the ancient creatures was very thick, for with this thick skin they used to resist the cold. During the ice age only those creatures with thick skin could survive. The early humans had less hair on their bodies; but the more they evolved psychically, their skin became thinner and the amount of hair increased. Buffaloes are the same as they were in the prehistoric age – they have no sense of responsibility. If while pulling a cart they happen to pass by a pond of water, they will plunge straight into the pool dragging the cart behind. Cows, on the other hand, have developed somewhat psychically and are more intelligent than buffaloes. The skin of buffaloes is very thick and the amount of hair on their bodies is less, but the skin of cows is thin and there is more hair on their bodies. This indicates that they are comparatively evolved. So the change in the psychic sphere brings about a corresponding change in the physical sphere as well. And thus in the process of evolution at present, living beings are more physical than psychic, but in the future they will become more psychic than physical. Now the element of physicality is predominant, but in future the psychic element will become predominant and the physical aspect will become secondary. All the ectoplasmic and endoplasmic potentialities of the entire creation are fast being converted into psychic potentialities.

So in this phase of introversial movement, when crude physicality is being transmuted into psychic, we can expect that the day is sure to come when the whole world will move from the subtle psychic realm and cross the threshold of the still more subtle spiritual world. And that day when the entire living world – dashing through a transitory phase of psychic – will become spiritual will not be in the distant future.

The eternal game (liilá) of Parama Puruśa is in process (when we do not know the cause of something we call it liilá and when we discover the cause we call it kriid́á); and due to this eternal game of Parama Puruśa, matter is converted into mind, and mind into consciousness, and finally unit consciousness into Supreme Consciousness. That is, first the One becomes many and then the many ultimately become One. Parama Puruśa certainly showers His grace upon the microcosmic beings, because they have all emerged from His Macrocosmic thought-waves. And in the final stage of His Cosmic thought-waves, He absorbs all the individual microcosms into His vast Macrocosmic body. The microcosms emerge from Him and finally merge back into Him.

Mayyeva sakalaḿ játaḿ mayi sarvaḿ pratiśt́hitam;
Mayi sarvaḿ layaḿ yáti tad Brahmádvayamasmyaham.

[Everything is born out of Me, everything is maintained in Me; Everything finally merges in Me; I am that Brahma – One without a second.]

If there is only one entity, there is no bliss. Just think, if you were alone in this universe, it would not be possible for you to live – you would become mad. Is it not so? When you remain together with all your friends and relatives, how joyful you feel! Suppose you meet someone after two months or two years, you say, “How are you? What’s the news? I saw you three years ago at Vaeshákhii Púrńimá DMC [a spiritual congregation]!” In this way you talk among yourselves. And do you not offer liit́i [an Indian delicacy] to each other at that time, saying, “Come, sit, let’s have some liit́i!” Had you been alone, how difficult it would have been! Regarding Parama Puruśa it is said:

Sa vá eśa tadá draśtá na pashyaddrst́amekarát́;
Me ne shantamivatmánam suptashaktirasuptadrk.
Ná sadásiinoo sadásiittadániim;
Ná siidrajo no vyomá paro yat.
Kimávariivah kuhakasya sharmannambhah;
Kimásiid gahanaḿ gabhiiram.
Na mrtyurásiidamrtaḿ na tarhi na rátryá;
Ahńs ásiit praketah.
Ániidavataḿ svadhayá takedam;
Tasmáddhányanna parah kiḿ ca nása.
Tamásiittamasá guŕ ahmagrepraketam;
Salilaḿ sarvamá idaḿ.
Tucchyená bhavpihitaḿ yadásiitta;
Pasastanmahinájayataekam.
Kámastadagre samavartatádhi manaso;
Retah prathamaḿ yadásiit.
Sato bandhumasatii niravindan hrdi pratiisyá;
Kavayo maniisá.
Tirashciino vitato rashmiresá madhah;
Svidásiidupari svidásiit.
Ásanmahimána ásanta;
Svadhá avastát prásatih parastát.
Ko addhá veda ka iha pravocat kuta;
Ajátá kuta iyaḿ visŕ stih.
Arvág devá asya visarjanenáthá;
Ko veda yata ávabhúva.
Iyaḿ visrśtiryata ávabhúva yadi bá;
Dadhe yadi vána.
Yo asyádhyakśah parame byomanta;
So aunja veda yadi vána veda.⁽¹⁾

My Parama Puruśa was alone – just imagine what great trouble He had to undergo! He had the capacity to see everything but there was nothing to be seen. One can see only if there is a second entity, but in that phase of creation there was no second entity to be seen. Who was there for Him to scold? – “Why is your out-turn not satisfactory? Give your word that from now on you will work satisfactorily!” To whom could He thus speak if there was no second entity to talk to? So Parama Puruśa thought to Himself, “Now I am alone, but I will become many.” Parama Puruśa wants an ever-increasing family so He can play with His dear children.

So your future is bright – not only bright, but guaranteed. A new spiritual life free from all sorts of dogma is sure to come in the near future. In this phase of introversion, in this eternal game of Parama Puruśa in which the physical, psychic and spiritual entities are all moving forward, one day the mental realm will be elevated to the spiritual, and unit consciousness will become one with Cosmic Consciousness. Parama Puruśa is also waiting for that auspicious day. He is with you – He will give you proper direction so that with His gospels for the salvation of the universal creation, you will reach your goal without much difficulty.

He will do what is necessary. You just go on obeying Him, just go on doing His work and adhere to what He says with all your energy. Let the speed of His introversial thinking be accelerated by your noble actions and by your spiritual pursuits. Let that golden day come at the earliest and make your life effulgent.

Footnotes

(1) These shlokas (couplets) are taken from the “Násadiiya Súkta” – the first canto of the Rgveda – composed about fifteen thousand years ago by Aryan sages. They illustrate how philosophical enquiry first arose in the minds of the ancient sages. –Eds.

Chapter 19	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

The world is moving rapidly from physicality to intellectuality. A day is sure to come when this intellectuality will be transformed into spirituality. Just as the intellectual age is fast approaching, the spiritual age will also come in the very near future.

There are three types of beings. The first are physical beings, like dogs. If you call a dog an abusive name it remains indifferent. The second are psychic beings, such as human beings. If you insult a man he will get angry, and he may even start weeping or commit suicide. The third are spiritual beings. A time will come when there will also be many spiritual beings on this earth.

For spiritual advancement spiritual practices are a must, and in spiritual practices the role of the cakras [plexi] is immense. In fact, the most important aspect of spiritual practice is cakra shodhana and cakra niyantrańa [the purification and control, respectively, of the cakras].

What is a cakra? It is a collection of glands and sub-glands, and the location of these glands and sub-glands differs from animal to animal. In humans the cakras are situated at the intersecting points of the id́á, suśumná and piuṋgalá [psycho-spiritual channels]. In the human mind various thoughts are constantly emerging and dissolving. Behind these psychic phenomena are the underlying vrttis [propensities] which are primarily related to the inborn saḿskáras [mental reactive momenta] of human beings. Propensities are formed according to one’s inherent saḿskáras, and the expression and control of these propensities are dependent upon the various cakras. The fifty main propensities of the human mind are expressed internally or externally through the vibrational expression of these cakras. These vibrations cause hormones to be secreted from the glands, and the natural or unnatural expression of the propensities depends on the degree of normal or abnormal secretion of the hormones. When these propensities can be expressed we say that the human mind is alive because the mind exists as long as the propensities are there. When the propensities are destroyed, however, the human mind loses its existence.

The names of the different plexi in the human body and their corresponding mańd́alas are as follows:

• terranean plexus (múládhára cakra) – bhaoma mańd́ala
• fluidal plexus (svádhiśt́hána cakra) – tarala mańd́ala
• igneous plexus (mańipura cakra) – agni mańd́ala
• [[sidereal plexus (anáhata cakra) – nakśattra mańd́ala
• solar plexus (vishuddha cakra) – saora mańd́ala]]
• lunar plexus (ájiṋá cakra) – shashi mańd́ala / candra mańd́ala

The Sanskrit word mańd́ala means “circle”. The thyroid gland is called Brhaspati Granthi in Sanskrit. The Latin equivalent for Brhaspati is “Jupiter”. “Hormone” is granthirasa in Sanskrit; the parathyroid gland is Brhaspati Upagranthi; the pituitary gland is Maháyoginii Granthi; and the pineal gland is Sahasrára Granthi.

The cakras contain within their folds a number of glands and sub-glands, the seats of different propensities each with an acoustic root.

The terranean plexus, or múládhára cakra:
 

1.	dharma	psycho-spiritual longing	va
2.	artha	psychic longing	sha
3.	káma	physical longing	śa
4.	mokśa	spiritual longing	sa

The fluidal plexus, or svádhiśt́hána cakra:
 

1.	avajiṋá	belittlement of others	ba
2.	múrcchá	psychic stupor, lack of common sense	bha
3.	prashraya	indulgence	ma
4.	avishvása	lack of confidence	ya
5.	sarvanásha	thought of sure annihilation	ra
6.	kruratá	cruelty	la

The igneous plexus, or mańipura cakra:
 

1.	lajjá	shyness, shame	d́a
2.	pishunatá	sadistic tendency	d́ha
3.	iirśá	envy	ńa
4.	suśupti	staticity, sleepiness	ta
5.	viśáda	melancholia	tha
6.	kaśáya	peevishness	da
7.	trśńá	yearning for acquisition	dha
8.	moha	infatuation	na
9.	ghrńá	hatred, revulsion	pa
10.	bhaya	fear	pha

In the igneous plexus, or mańipura cakra, there is the maximum accumulation of heat. It is the shelter of heat, and is known as agnyáshaya in Sanskrit. It is also known as maháshaya, meaning “the shelter of greatness”, because it is the centre of the body. The igneous plexus or agni mańd́ala contains within its fold the ten glands and sub-glands of the mańipura cakra. The area of the mańd́ala is greater than that of the cakra.

When a person dies and is cremated, often the navel does not get fully burnt, which is why it is a common practice in India for people to throw the remains of a dead body into a river. The burning point of the navel is higher than the temperature generated by an ordinary funeral pyre. The navel will only be completely destroyed if the body is allowed to burn for a long time and is cremated with enormous heat.

The [[sidereal]] plexus, or anáhata cakra:
 

1.	áshá	hope	ka
2.	cintá	worry	kha
3.	ceśt́á	effort	ga
4.	mamatá	mine-ness, love	gha
5.	dambha	vanity	uṋa
6.	viveka	conscience, discrimination	ca
7.	vikalatá	mental numbness due to fear	cha
8.	ahaḿkára	ego	ja
9.	lolatá	avarice	jha
10.	kapat́atá	hypocrisy	iṋa
11.	vitarka	argumentativeness to the point of wild exaggeration	t́a
12.	anutápa	repentance	t́ha

The anáhata cakra is contained within the [[nakśattra]] mańd́ala and is connected with the respiratory system. When one suffers from hopelessness, one may even feel a pain in the chest; this is the [[sidereal]] plexus and not any other part of the body.

Celestial bodies are glittering objects in the sky. Stars, nakśattras, planets, satellites, meteors, comets, nebulae and galaxies are all celestial bodies. Nakśattras are also stars, with distances of many light years from our solar system. Nakśa means “to twinkle”; that which helps us with its twinkling potentiality is called nakśattra. Nakśattras influence the [[sidereal]] plexus of the human body, rather of all bodies.

The original light from stars, the reflected and refracted light from planets, satellites and meteors, and the light from galaxies and nebulae reflect on all the glands and sub-glands of the body, and especially on the anáhata cakra. The reflecting plate of the anáhata cakra is a bit bigger than the anáhata cakra itself. That bigger area containing the anáhata cakra is called the [[“sidereal plexus”]], the [[nakśattra]] mańd́ala.

Not only is the light reflected or refracted here, but also microvita, moving along the light rays, affect the body and the twelve sub-glands of this cakra. Positive and negative microvita move along these media. What are the media of microvita for their movement, for their status, for their location, as their abode? Tanmátras – inferences and ideas.

The [[sidereal]] plexus is a bit above the igneous plexus, so positive microvita are more dominant here than negative microvita. The igneous plexus is mutative and the [[sidereal]] plexus is sentient. Then where is the position of the static? It is below the igneous at the terranean and fluidal plexi. Good people, spiritual aspirants [sádhakas], absorb more positive microvita than non-spiritual people, so all their propensities move with positive vitality. In a spiritual sádhaka, all the positive propensities of the anáhata cakra are positively strengthened as a result. This is sentient psycho-panoramic maximitis. If one moves towards crudeness, there will be static psycho-panoramic minimitis. When this knowledge is acquired by a large number of people in this world, together they will absorb more positive microvita. By doing so they will benefit themselves individually, and at the same time the whole world will be benefited.

So many stars, planets and celestial bodies are influencing your [[sidereal]] plexus. You cannot remain aloof from such an influence on your [[sidereal]] plexus. Nobody can live in seclusion. The hermits who lived in caves in the Himalayas in the ancient and medieval ages should have lived in society and served society. They failed to do so because they were guided by a sort of befooling dogma.

One should practise spiritual cult to strengthen the positive microvita and lessen the influence of the negative microvita. The people of Germany, called Sharmanya Bhúmi in Sanskrit, also used to practise this spiritual cult. The German term for “sun” is Sonne.

When tears come in the eyes from spiritual bliss and spiritual beatitude as a result of much spiritual practice, it is called ánandáshru in Sanskrit. When the tears are tears of bereavement, it is called shokáshru.

The [[solar]] plexus, or vishuddha cakra:
 

1.	śad́aja	sound of peacock	a
2.	rśabha	sound of bull or ox	á
3.	gándhára	sound of goat	i
4.	madhyama	sound of deer	ii
5.	paiṋcama	sound of cuckoo	u
6.	dhaevata	sound of donkey	ú
7.	niśáda	sound of elephant(1)	r
8.	oṋm	acoustic root of creation, preservation, dissolution	rr
9.	hum	sound of arousing kulakuńd́alinii	lr
10.	phat́	practication, i.e., putting a theory into practice	lrr
11.	vaośat́	expression of mundane knowledge	e
12.	vaśat́	welfare in the subtler sphere	ae
13.	sváhá	performing noble actions	o
14.	namah	surrender to the Supreme	ao
15.	viśa	repulsive expression	aḿ
16.	amrta	sweet expression	ah

From below the left ear to the lower point of the right ear is the [[solar]] plexus, the “plexus of Apollo”, the saora mańd́ala. The controlling point of the [[saora]] mańd́ala is just in the centre. Generally positive microvita come in contact with the human body through this plexus.

There are so many celestial bodies, and they all have direct contact with the glands and sub-glands in the human body by throwing out reflected or refracted light. But the maximum influence on animate and inanimate objects comes from the sun, which is the nearest and biggest star to this earth. The sun’s influence, according to the ancient yogis and Tantrics [those who practise spiritual meditation], is generally via the eighteen light waves which influence the [[solar]] and lunar plexi. That is, the seven colours of the spectrum (VIBGYOR – violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red), plus ultraviolet and infrared, have an internal and external influence. So, 7 + 2 = 9; 9 + 9 = 18. Out of these eighteen, two light waves do not come directly from the sun but from the moon; sixteen come directly from the sun. Each has an acoustic root.

Wherever there is any entity, any movement, any functional activity, there is sound, and that sound is called the acoustic root. Each and every expression has got its acoustic root. The acoustic root for all celestial bodies is the sound ha. Ha is the acoustic root for eternal space. The controlling sound is ha. The influence of these light waves on the navel and below is kśa – the last letter of the Sanskrit alphabet.

Microvita use these inferences as their media. Friend as well as foe microvita come through sixteen sounds to the vishuddha cakra and control the human body positively as well as negatively. The controlling sound of this cakra is ha. [[The solar plexus is bigger than the vishuddha cakra.]] There are sixteen sub-glands surrounding the vishuddha cakra.

The lunar plexus, or ájiṋá cakra:

1. apará [mundane knowledge] kśa
2. pará [spiritual knowledge] ha

The area between the two end points of the eyes is the area of the lunar plexus. The collective influence in the upper portion of the human body and the lower portion below the [navel] is effected by the reflected light of the moon. The [[left]] side of the lunar plexus [from the viewpoint of the spiritual aspirant] concerns the external influences of the moon below the navel, and its acoustic root is kśa. The [[right]] side concerns the external influences or the reflected light from the moon in the upper portion of the body, and its acoustic root is ha. The acoustic root of the moon [that is, the ájiṋá cakra] is t́ha. It is the controlling point of the moon – the controlling point of ha and kśa. The area of the lunar plexus is also called the shashi mańd́ala. [The god of the] sun is “Apollo” in Latin, and the word for “moon” is luna. “Monday” is the short form of “Moon-day”.

All the planets, meteors, stars, etc., of all of the solar systems, not only of our solar system, affect the individual by their direct reflected and refracted light. It is beyond the capacity of astrology or astronomy to calculate this effect on the individual. Astrology only deals with the planets of our solar system and their effects on the glands and sub-glands. But this theory relates to all the effects of all the celestial bodies on the human glands and sub-glands – not only the celestial bodies of this solar system, but of all other existing solar systems, stars, planets, satellites, meteorites, nebulae and galaxies. So this theory is beyond the scope of astrology and astronomy. Astrology and astronomy consider only a bit of the effect of the planets on fate, fortune, etc., but this theory considers the effect not only of the direct rays, but also of the indirect reflected and refracted rays, on the glands and sub-glands. It is quite impossible for astrology and astronomy to calculate all these effects on the glands and sub-glands. Hence, this is a completely new science.

Footnotes

(1) Each animal is controlled by one dominant characteristic and specializes in producing a distinctive sound. Seven acoustic roots of the vishuddha cakra correspond to the sounds produced by particular animals. –Eds.

Chapter 20	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

1 Question: What is the definition of yoga?

Answer: Yoga can be defined according to the following three definitions. The first is: Yogashcitta vrttinirodha. That is, “The suspension of all psychic propensities is called yoga.” Those who follow this type of yoga suppress the propensities of the mind through psychic pressure, but once the psychic pressure is removed, the old propensities of the mind are revived and they resume their original state. Hence this type of yoga cannot lead to spiritual progress. The second definition is: Sarvácintáparityágo niscinta yoga ucyate. That is, “If the mind’s propensities are suspended, then all thought processes will automatically stop.” But will this lead to supreme attainment? Certainly not. The third definition is: Saḿyogo yogo ityukto jiivátmá Paramátmánah – “When the unit consciousness and the Supreme Consciousness are fused into one, that is real yoga.” This takes place when the spiritual aspirant establishes a relationship of sweet love with Parama Puruśa [Supreme Consciousness].

2 Question: What is trát́aka?

Answer: Trát́aka yoga is controlling the ocular vision. It may lead to some supernatural vision.

3 Question: What is dhruvásmrti?

Answer: The reproduction in the mind of something which was perceived before is called “memory” or smrti. When the memory becomes permanent it is called “infallible, eternal memory” or dhruvásmrti.

4 Question: What is the definition of ásanas?

Answer: Sthirasukham ásanam (Patanjali). Ásanas are calm, quiet and easy postures which are held with proper inhalation and exhalation. They exercise the nerves, tissues, glands and organs of the human body. While practising ásanas one enjoys physical comfort and mental composure.

The regular practice of ásanas keeps the body healthy and cures many diseases. Ásanas control the glands, the glands control the secretion of hormones, and the secretion of hormones controls the propensities. So ásanas help a sádhaka [spiritual aspirant] to balance the body and concentrate the mind.

5 Question: Why do we practise ásanas?

Answer: We perform ásanas for the following reasons:

1. To increase the flexibility of the body.
2. To rectify glandular defects and balance hormonal secretions in order to control the vrttis [propensities].
3. To balance the body and mind.
4. To withdraw the mind from undesirable thinking.
5. To prepare the mind for subtler and higher sádhaná [spiritual practices].

6 Question: How do we name ásanas?

Answer: We name ásanas as follows:

(1) Some ásanas are similar to animal movements so they are named after those animals; for example, matsyamudrá [fish posture], garud́ásana [bird posture], etc.

(2) Some ásanas have the characteristics of animal structures, so they are also named after those animals; for example, kúrmakásana [tortoise posture], etc.

(3) Some ásanas are named by the qualities of the ásana; for example, sarváuṋgásana [shoulder stand; literally “all-limbs posture”]. The entire body is benefited by this ásana.

7 Question: How many types of ásanas are there?

Answer: There are mainly two types of ásanas: svásthyásanas and dhyánásanas. Svásthyásanas are practised primarily for physical health and secondarily for spiritual elevation. Dhyánásanas are practised primarily for concentration of mind and meditation. Dhyánásanas include padmásana [lotus posture], baddha padmásana [bound-lotus posture], siddhásana [siddha posture, the posture of a perfected one] and viirásana [hero posture].

8 Question: What is the difference between sarváuṋgásana and vipariitakaranii mudrá?

Answer: While practising sarváuṋgásana the mind is fixed at the point between the tip of the two big toes, whereas in vipariitakaranii mudrá the mind is fixed at the tip of the nose or at the navel.

9 Question: What are mudrás, bandhas and vedhas?

Answer: Mudrás are postures which exercise the nerves and muscles. Mudrá literally means “externalization of internal bháva [ideation]”. There are only a few spiritual mudrás where the internal ideation is not externalized.

The practitioner of mudrá may or may not enjoy physical comfort and mental composure. During the practice of mudrás one has to continue one’s conscious endeavour to remain in that posture, but in the case of ásanas one need not.

Bandhas are also postures of a special type which exercise the nerves only. The practitioner may or may not derive physical comfort and mental composure. In bandha also one has to continue one’s conscious endeavour to remain in the particular posture. Bandhas also influence the váyus [vital-energy currents] in the body.

Vedhas are almost the same as bandhas. Vedhas exert some influence on both the nerves and the vital airs [vital-energy currents].

10 Question: What is pratyáhára?

Answer: Pratyáhára is derived: prati – á – hr + ghaiṋ. The word áhára literally means “assimilating” or “taking something within”. As a yogic practice, pratyáhára means “withdrawal of the mind from external objectivity and goading the withdrawn mind toward Parama Puruśa”.

11 Question: What is práńáyáma?

Answer: Práńáyáma is defined as: Tasmin sati shvása prashvásayoh gativicchedah práńáyáma. That is, “Práńáyáma is the process of breath control along with the imposition of the ideation of Supreme Consciousness.” It helps the mind in concentration and meditation.

12 Question: What is the spirit of práńáyáma?

Answer: Pránán yamayati eśah práńáyámah. That is, the word práńáyáma literally means “controlling the práńáh [vital energy]”. The psycho-philosophy behind the practice of práńáyáma is that the spiritual aspirant tries to let the práńendriya [ten vital-energy currents] remain in a state of pause so that the paused unit mind will merge into the ocean of consciousness.

13 Question: How many types of práńáyáma are there?

Answer: There are two main types of práńáyáma: hat́ha yaogika práńáyáma and Yudhiśt́hira práńáyáma. When práńáyáma is done without fixing the mind on a particular point of concentration, and without imbibing Cosmic ideation, it is called hat́ha yaogika práńáyáma. But when práńáyáma is performed with the mind fixed at a particular point along with Cosmic ideation, it is called Yudhiśt́hira práńáyáma. [The eldest Pandava, Yudhisthira, was the first person to popularize práńáyáma according to this method.]

14 Question: What is the meaning of recaka?

Answer: Recaka means “emptying”. When one exhales completely and keeps the breath out during the process of breathing, it is called recaka.

15 Question: What are the differences among recaka, púraka, and kumbhaka?

Answer: At the time of práńáyáma, when one exhales the breath completely, it is called recaka; when one inhales completely, it is called púraka; and when one retains air inside the body, it is called kumbhaka.

16 Question: What is dhárańá?

Answer: Dhárańá is defined as: Deshabandhashcittasya dhárańá. Dhárańá literally means “locating the mind firmly in an area or region of the body”. This involves concentrating upon the respective controlling points of the fundamental factors located within the human body. That is, the mind is to be fixed on specific cakras [plexi] and engaged in Cosmic ideation.

17 Question: What is shodhana?

Answer: The word shodhana literally means “refinement” or “purification”. In spiritual meditation shodhana is concentration on the cakras. It is a part of Ananda Marga sádhaná which is not included in aśt́áḿga yoga [the eight-fold path of yoga].

18 Question: What is dhyána?

Answer: Patanjali defined dhyána as: Tatra pratyatyaekatánatá dhyánam – “Dhyána means ‘the unbroken flow of mind towards the supreme goal’.” So dhyána is meditation on the Supreme Entity so that there is an incessant upward movement of the mind towards Parama Puruśa.

19 Question: What is the macro-pineal plexus? What is its utility in the course of spiritual practices?

Answer: The inner side of the pineal plexus is called the macro-pineal plexus. In spiritual practices it has immense importance because it is at this plexus, the Guru cakra, that dhyána is practised.

20 Question: Is the outer side of the macro-pineal plexus within the corporal structure or without the corporal structure?

Answer: The outer side of the macro-pineal plexus is outside the corporal structure; that is, it is outside the body.

21 Question: What is samádhi?

Answer: Samádhi is the merger of the unit consciousness in Cosmic Consciousness. It is not a particular lesson; it is the result of all the above spiritual practices.

22 Question: What is diikśá?

Answer: Diikśá is defined as:

Diipa jiṋánaḿ yato dadyát kuryát pápakśayam tatah;
Tasmátdiikśeti sá proktá sarvatantrasya sammatá.

“Diikśá is the process of initiation. It brings about spiritual illumination and burns up accumulated saḿskáras [mental reactive momenta].”

23 Question: What is Vaedikii diikśá?

Answer: When someone is initiated with only a prayer mantra [words or sounds repeated orally] without the shuddhis [visualizations for the systematic withdrawal of the mind], it is called Vaedikii diikśá. Vaedikii diikśá is not a spiritual cult or practical process. Its primary goal is to request Parama Puruśa to show the path of spiritual progress.

24 Question: What is Tántrikii diikśá?

Answer: When someone is initiated into the Tantric cult elaborately with all shuddhis, it is called Tántrikii diikśá. Tántrikii diikśá is a practical spiritual cult. Iśt́a mantra [a personal mantra repeated in meditation] and Iśt́a cakra [the cakra of meditation] are prescribed. The role of the guru is very important because the guru gives blessings to the spiritual aspirant. The goal is to become one with Parama Puruśa.

25 Question: What is oṋḿkára?

Answer: Oṋḿkára is the combined acoustic sound of the entire process of creation, preservation and destruction.

26 Question: What is the starting-point of oṋḿkára?

Answer: The divine sound oṋḿkára starts from the starting-point of creation (Shambhúliuṋga).

27 Question: What is the difference between the attributional and the non-attributional stances?

Answer: Bhúmávyápte mahati ahaḿcittayorprańáshe saguńásthitih savikalpasamádhih vá [“When the aham and the citta merge into the Macrocosmic Mahat, the merger is called saguńásthiti or savikalpa samádhi”].

Átmani mahadprańáshe nirguńásthitih nirvikalpasamádhi vá [“When the mahat merges into the Átman, it is called nirguńásthiti (state of objectlessness) or nirvikalpa samádhi (the trance of indeterminate absorption, or total suspension, of the mind)”].

28 Question: Should a monk or hermit take intoxicating liquor?

Answer: No, because it increases the production of semen from lymph, and consequently the brain will not get sufficient lymph as food to practise sádhaná properly. Intoxicating liquor will affect the semen and lymph, which in turn will affect all the other glands. The entire nervous system will get agitated, and as a result mental concentration will be lost and sádhaná will be impaired.

Chapter 21	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

There are many underdeveloped creatures which have no nerve cells or nerve fibres and behave according to their instincts only. Human beings possess nerve cells and nerve fibres, but they also behave according to their instincts. For example, very young children smile and keep their hands closed because of their instincts. They are not goaded by intellect or by any intellectual inclination in this respect.

The innumerable nerve cells and nerve fibres in the human body can be divided into two types: one connecting the brain to the spinal cord [the central nervous system], and the other from the spinal cord to the skin and going within the body [the peripheral nervous system]. There is also a collection of nerve cells in the cranium that is made up of fat [that is, the hypothalamus], which has a special power, an inborn power or a vibrational speciality, which is sometimes synthetic [sympathetic] and sometimes apathetic [parasympathetic].

In Sanskrit the region across the top of the head above the ears is called snáyupet́aka, which means “a basket of nerves”. A vibration from any part of the body takes one two-hundredths of a second to reach the cranium. Suppose an insect bites your hand. The sensation will travel through your afferent nerves to the brain. Immediately an order, which will travel through the efferent nerves, will be given to remove the insect. The terms “afferent nerves” and “efferent nerves” are derived from Latin words and mean “sensory nerves” and “motor nerves” respectively. The corresponding Sanskrit terms are saḿjiṋá nád́ii and ájiṋá nád́ii.

The nerve cells are active and work directly in the conscious (jágrata), subconscious (svapna) and unconscious (suśupta) states of mind, although the Sanskrit and English terms for these three states are not exactly synonymous. When the nerves do not work properly, sometimes people experience a condition which may be described as feeling unnerved. For example, if a person is hit on the head and the balance between their afferent and efferent nerves is lost, the person may forget everything, lose his or her discrimination and be unable to decide what to do. The same condition may occur after a nightmare. If a man dreams that he is being chased by a ghost and falls down and knocks his head, he may suddenly wake up covered in perspiration, suffering from the same symptoms as if he had actually been hit on the head while awake. In such a condition we say he is feeling unnerved.

The mid-point of the last vertebra of the spinal column is a nerve centre. This is the central point of the múládhára cakra. The whole body is balanced on this cakra [plexus]. It has four vrttis [propensities]: dharma [psycho-spiritual longing], artha [psychic longing], káma [physical longing] and mokśa [spiritual longing].

The svádhiśt́hána cakra is situated on the spinal cord directly behind the root of the genital organ. It has six propensities: avajiṋá [belittlement of others], múrcchá [psychic stupor, lack of common sense], prashraya [indulgence], avishvása [lack of confidence], sarvanásha [thought of sure annihilation] and kruratá [cruelty].

Next comes the mańipura cakra. This cakra is located at the navel. It controls ten propensities: lajjá [shyness, shame], pishunatá [sadistic tendency], iirśá [envy], suśupti [staticity, sleepiness], viśáda [melancholia], kaśáya [peevishness], trśńá [yearning for acquisition], moha [infatuation], ghrńá [hatred, revulsion] and bhaya [fear].

Then the anáhata cakra, situated in the centre of the chest, which controls twelve propensities: áshá [hope], cintá [worry], ceśt́á [effort], mamatá [attachment], dambha [vanity], viveka [conscience], vikalatá [mental numbness due to fear], ahaḿkára [ego], lolatá [avarice], kapat́atá [hypocrisy], vitarka [argumentativeness to point of wild exaggeration] and anutápa [repentance].

Next is the vishuddha cakra, located in the region of the throat, which controls sixteen propensities: śad́aja [sound of peacock], rśabha [sound of bull or ox], gándhára [sound of goat], madhyama [sound of deer], paiṋcama [sound of cuckoo], dhaevata [sound of donkey], niśáda [sound of elephant], oṋm [acoustic root of creation, preservation, dissolution], hum [sound of arousing kulakuńd́alinii], phat́ [practication, i.e., putting a theory into practice], vaośat́ [expression of mundane knowledge], vaśat́ [welfare in the subtler sphere], sváhá [performing noble actions], namah [surrender to the Supreme], viśa [repulsive expression] and amrta [sweet expression]. When any theory is put into effect the process of practication is made effective by chanting the sounds hum, phat́, vaośat́, vaśat́, sváhá and namah.

Finally, there is the ájiṋá cakra, located between the eyebrows, which controls two propensities: apará [mundane knowledge] and pará [spiritual knowledge].

Cakra is a Sanskrit term while “plexus” is the Latin term. Besides the main nerve centres at the point of each cakra, there are also sub-centres where sub-glands are located. These sub-glands influence [and control] the propensities attached to each cakra. This science is largely unknown today.

By performing ásanas [postures for physico-psychic well-being] regularly, human beings can control the propensities attached to each cakra, and hence the thoughts which arise in their minds and their behaviour. This is because ásanas have a profound effect on the glands and sub-glands. How? All ásanas have either a pressurizing or depressurizing effect on the glands and sub-glands. For example, mayúrásana [peacock posture] has a pressurizing effect on the mańipura cakra. The secretions of the glands and sub-glands of the mańipura cakra and the propensities associated with them will become more balanced if this ásana is practised regularly. If someone has a great fear of public speaking, it means his or her mańipura cakra is weak. Through the regular practice of mayúrásana, this propensity will be controlled and fear will be eliminated. Other ásanas may have a depressurizing effect on the mańipura cakra, and if these ásanas are performed regularly the glands and sub-glands associated with the cakra will become less active. Increased glandular secretions generally make the propensities more active and vice versa. By practising ásanas regularly, one can control the propensities and either increase or decrease their activity. So spiritual aspirants should select the ásanas they perform very carefully. This effect of ásanas on glands and sub-glands has never been revealed before.

Extreme fear causes excessive tension and pressure on the mańipura cakra. Normally when people experience fear, the afferent and efferent nerves are able to work properly. The tension in the nerves caused by the fear travels through the nervous system and reaches the brain, so excessive pressure does not occur. However, when a person becomes extremely afraid the balance between the afferent and efferent nerves is lost, and there is a build-up of tension and pressure around the mańipura cakra. If the information carried by the efferent nerves from the brain to the mańipura cakra is prevented from reaching its destination, the imbalance can cause a blockage in the region of the anáhata cakra which is a very complicated and sensitive part of the human body. A disturbance in this region can cause palpitations, excessive pressure on the heart, the inability to act decisively, and even a heart attack.

In human beings the thyroid and parathyroid glands are more developed than the lymphatic glands. Previously the lymphatic glands were more developed than they are today, but as human beings evolved, the thyroid and parathyroid glands became more active and the role of the lymphatic glands diminished. In monkeys, the opposite is the case: the lymphatic glands are more developed than the thyroid and parathyroid glands. The thyroid and parathyroid glands are concerned with psychic development and intellectual elevation, while the lymphatic glands are more concerned with physical activity, hence monkeys can jump higher and swing further than human beings. One of the reasons why human beings are more evolved than monkeys is that their thyroid and parathyroid glands are more active.

Semen and lymph are not the same thing. When males are sexually aroused, the nerves in the testes get stimulated and lymph is converted into semen.

Joint hair grows near the lymphatic glands in the armpits and leg joints. If this hair is removed, then the lymphatic glands tend to overheat, causing over-secretion, and this in turn decreases the function of the thyroid and parathyroid glands. There is an inverse relation between the lymphatic glands and the thyroid and parathyroid glands: if one is more active then the other is less developed and it becomes weak. For this reason, the joint hair should not be removed.

The process of controlling all the cakras and propensities was invented by Astavakra over two thousand years ago. He wrote the book Aśt́ávakra Saḿhitá. He was a great saint and called this process Rájadhirája Yoga. He first taught this system of yoga to Alarka at Vakreswar in Bengal.

The human body is a biological machine. No body deviates from this rule – all physical bodies are biological machines. The different types of lessons in Ananda Marga sádhaná [spiritual practices] are designed to strengthen the different cakras and control the propensities. Guru dhyána [meditation on the guru] strengthens the sahasrára cakra. If there is control over the sahasrára cakra, then the body and mind can be controlled completely.

When a great man gives you a blessing, he generally does it by placing his hand on the sahasrára cakra, which has a positive effect on all the other cakras. The higher propensities will be increased and the lower propensities will be decreased. This kind of effect is not only produced by touch; it can also be caused by sound. When you do sáśt́áuṋga prańáma [prostration] to a great personality and are verbally blessed as well, the sound of the blessing will have a positive effect on your whole being. Both the touch of the hand on the sahasrára cakra and the verbal blessing will increase your spiritual elevation.

You can only bless those you like. If you accept salutations from those you dislike, negative sentiments may arise in your mind, increasing the lower propensities and decreasing the higher propensities in those seeking your blessing. So you do not have the right to accept salutations from all people, and you should not automatically bless everyone.

The cranium of females is usually slightly smaller than that of males, consequently women have less nerve cells in the brain than men. But the fact is that men use a very small number of the nerve cells in their brains, and the same applies to women. Spiritual practices and higher pursuits utilize more and more nerve cells. Suppose a man and a woman learn sádhaná at the same time, practise with the same sincerity and progress with the same speed – they will both achieve spiritual elevation. Now, suppose they both enjoy divine bliss after performing sádhaná for the same number of years. If all or say ninety-nine per cent of the nerve cells in the brain of the woman are utilized, a lower percentage will be utilized by the man because he has more nerve cells in his brain.

Women have some propensities which are very strongly developed. In particular, women normally have great love and affection for their children. This is natural. But if the expression of a particular propensity is excessive, it may have adverse consequences. For instance, most stepmothers love their own children more strongly than their stepchildren, and if the intensity of this affection is not controlled, it may create tensions and divisions in the family. Also, because of the affection women have for their children, they may not like to go outside the home, and if this is taken to extremes, it may lead to harmful isolation. Similarly, if a large number of people living in a particular region only stay in their own region out of blind love for their locality, it will be detrimental to the progress of society as a whole. Good relations with other regions will not be encouraged, and the trade and economic development of their region may be adversely affected.

Love and affection are very good attributes, but to protect oneself and society from their possible extreme expressions, the best path to follow is to channelize all one’s love and affection towards Parama Puruśa [Supreme Consciousness]. This will expand the arena of one’s love and accelerate one’s march towards the Great. A person who has developed universal love will be able to do very great work in a very short time.

Chapter 22	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

Amongst the different faculties of this globe in the physico-psycho-spiritual realms, mental faculties are of maximum importance. These faculties may be categorized into four main groups or offshoots.

The first mental faculty is that the mind thinks: the mind discovers and invents newer modes of thinking, the mind thinks with concentration, that is, the mind meditates. Regarding this faculty of thinking, if it is done in a methodical way, the result is certainly positive: a negative result is achieved only in certain rare cases. But if it is not done in a methodical way, the general result is negative: only in very rare cases do we get a positive result. So our students, our boys and girls, our ladies and gentlemen should be taught how to think in a methodical style, otherwise there will be wastage of mental potentialities. We do not want such wastage to take place in this age of science.

Regarding thinking with concentration, that is, meditation – it is another, still subtler, science. Meditation should be performed knowing fully well the location of different glands and sub-glands and also the different cells in the human brain. And people should not only know the location of these glands and sub-glands, they should also be acquainted with their respective systems of hormone secretion, otherwise their meditation will not produce any fruit. So for this system of meditation, knowledge of biology is essential. Human beings have yet to invent the way of methodical thinking and methodical meditation based on the location of different concerned cells, glands and sub-glands, and their secretion of the requisite quantity of hormones.

The second mental faculty is that the mind remembers: the mind discovers or invents different systems of remembering or memorizing. While remembering, the mind should know how to associate the object to be remembered with psychic pabula of a similar nature. And human beings should know how to select these associated psychic pabula which have similarity [or] proximity to the object that they want to remember. In the case of memorizing there should be both a physical and a psychic approach, and to some extent a spiritual approach. For the purpose of memorizing, we should avoid the use of different sub-glands producing inimical hormones. The system of memorizing should be associated with the qualities and roots of the different plexi of the human body.

The third faculty which human beings should know is the process of transmutation and diversion of different psychic pabula in a scientific manner. This process of transmutation and diversion may vary from human to human, from one group of human beings to another, from animal to animal, from bird to bird. And for this, there should be a specific training course; and we must start this type of psychic training centre in various important places in the world. Such psychic training centres teaching how to transmute, how to divert different psychic pabula, should be started immediately not only for human beings of different psychic strata but for all living beings. These training centres should be classified into different types, and run separately for different psychological structures for differently developed, developing and underdeveloped living beings. For instance, there should be one type of training academy for developed animals like monkeys, dogs, chimpanzees and orang-utans, another for developing animals, and still another for underdeveloped animals.

Regarding plants and animals, there are different strata; but these plants and animals must all be metazoic structures with clear and distinct “I” feeling, not guided by mere instincts. In various living beings with ordinary protoplasmic structures, there is life and movement, but all their actions are goaded by instinct; there is little or no “I” feeling. The training centres should be only for those metazoic structures whose “I” feeling is clear and distinct. And what should these training centres be for? For the transmutation and diversion of psychic pabula. This may be considered as the third psychic faculty.

The fourth one is: creating more scope for rationality and rationalization on the different planes of existence – physical, psychic and spiritual. If we want to encourage rationality and rationalization on the physical level, we must avoid thought-waves which originate on the physical plane and concern physical objects. On the psychic level, we must avoid various psychic forms, psychic ideas, psychic movements, and also those aspects of telepathy or clairvoyance which originate on the psychic plane.

However, there are certain phenomena which occur on a blended plane, for instance on a blending of the psychic and spiritual planes. On such a blended plane we come across a subtler form of telepathy. On a blended plane of subtler psychic stratum and cruder spiritual stratum, we encounter clairvoyance. Other supra-occult powers such as omniscience exist only in the pure spiritual stratum where there are no fetters of duality, or where the fetters of duality are very slack or slackened. Similar is the case with the transmission of spirit or soul amongst different corporal structures existing at the same time, that is, which are of contemporary nature.

Suppose there are several corporal structures existing at the same time; there may occur transmission of soul amongst them, from one soul to another soul. This transmission of soul amongst contemporary corporal structures can take place only when the spirit is free, or almost free, from all fetters of duality. Such an event takes place only in a supra-psychic structure; that is, only on the spiritual level. But if there is any blending of the unit mind with the spirit, it cannot take place. This is also a hidden treasure of the human mind. But I do not want you to try to acquire these occult powers. You should only desire to be one with the Supreme; there must not be any longing to attain these occult powers – it is bad.

Only the thought-wave which emanates from the spiritual plane will save humanity from the devastating influence of dogma, which separates humans from humans, which creates hindrances in the remoulding of human society into a single existence. This process of rationalization should be developed through the intrinsic human potential of remodeling every aspect of mind. We must do this in the near future. The problem is a peculiar one, but we must solve it, because it has created so many troubles, so many divisions in human society – so many sanguinary battles, so much warfare. This problem may disturb the peace of the entire universe.

So we will have to solve this problem and create a new world in all the three emanations of life – physical, psychic and spiritual. I hope you boys and girls, by your collective effort, will do something concrete in this respect. You are not insignificant beings; you are the glorified expressions of the Supreme Lord. So you will have to do something concrete immediately. The problem brooks no delay.

Chapter 23	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

You know, spiritualism and spirituality are not the same thing. “Spiritualism” means something which concerns ghosts, and “spirituality” is something which concerns the Supreme Cognitive Principle. So there is a heaven-and-hell difference between the terms “spiritualism” and “spirituality”. We are concerned with spirituality.

Now, for all actions, be they intellectual, intuitional, or purely psychic, there must be a base, a standing point, a starting-point. And there must also be a goal – a Supreme Desideratum. For this cult of spirituality, the base is morality; without morality nothing can be done. And morality concerns two types of waves: one, psycho-physical emanations; and another, physico-psychic waves, physico-psychic movement. In the case of psycho-physical emanations, one should have proper control, proper regulation, over those emanative flows. And in the case of physico-psychic movement, one should maintain a proper adjustment between the external world and the internal world, between external physicality and the internal subjective world. The goal is the attainment of that supreme stance where there will be justice and fair play for all inanimate and animate beings.

Práńáh yathátmano’bhiiśt́áh bhútánám api te tathá;
Atmaopamyena bhútánám dayáḿ kurvanti sádhavah.

[Just as my life is dear to me, similarly the life of another creature is dear to it. Every entity loves its own existence. In the light of this truth, evolved human beings feel mercy for each and every object of this creation.]

You should remember this. This sort of remembrance is called sádhu dharma or Bhágavata dharma, and the person who practises this cult is a true sádhu [renunciant]. So there must not be any gap between your thinking and your actions. If there is any gap, that gap should be minimized step by step, and finally thought and action should coincide. So on your plane of morality, there are two divisions: psycho-physical emanation and physico-psychic movement. In Sanskrit, this psycho-physical emanation is called Yama and physico-psychic movement is called Niyama.

Preaching disparity amongst human beings, or disparity amongst living beings – human beings, animals, birds, plants, etc. – is not morality. The supreme equality, the supreme spiritual stance, cannot be achieved where there is any thought of disparity. So at the very start one must practise these two types of morality and become one with them.

Now morality is the base and the supreme stance is the goal. Morality propels the microcosms towards Him without break or pause. Since Parama Puruśa [Supreme Consciousness] is attracting all entities towards Himself, in Sanskrit He is called “Krśńa”. (One of the meanings of the word krśńa is “one who attracts”. Another meaning is “the entity on whom the existence of other entities depends”.)

Thus, on the one hand, Parama Puruśa is attracting the spiritual aspirants to move ahead; and on the other hand, the spiritual aspirants, by dint of their own efforts, their own moral force, are also moving towards Him. Because of these sources of impetus, human beings arrive at their destination. If some people feel that Parama Puruśa is not sympathetic or gracious towards them, that He is not attracting them, in that case I will advise them to become more established in morality, and then they will instantly feel the grace of Parama Puruśa, because it is through their own moral force that they will move forward. Parama Puruśa does His duty of attracting them, and they have their own duty to move towards the goal. Let the sádhakas [spiritual aspirants] do their duty, and let Parama Puruśa do His.

Then, the physical body should be sanctified by good thoughts, good actions and good food as well, and also by various physical practices that affect the nerve fibres of the body; because through the nerve fibres, through the afferent and efferent nerves, the first phase of realization comes. The highest realization does not depend upon the nerve cells and nerve fibres, but for this also good food and self-restraint are necessary.

It is not proper for one to eat whatever one gets. You should eat only that sort of food which will have a beneficial influence on your body, mind and spirit. It is not proper for human beings to eat simply whatever is available, nor is it proper for animals either. Animals do indeed discriminate between food items. In this regard, Lord Shiva said:

Phaliśyatiiti vishvásah siddherprathama lakśańam;
Dvitiiyaḿ shraddhayá yuktaḿ trtiiyaḿ gurupújanam.
Caturtho samatábhávo paiṋcamendriyanigrahah;
Śaśt́haiṋca pramitáháro saptamaḿ naeva vidyate.⁽¹⁾

[There are seven requirements for success in any mission. The first is firm determination: “I must succeed.” The second is reverence. The third is guru pújá, or constant remembrance of one’s spiritual master. The fourth is equanimity of mind. The fifth is control of the senses. The sixth is a balanced diet. The seventh – There is no seventh requirement.]

This sanctification and purification of the body through proper food and proper behaviour and various practices should be complemented by certain other practices to create a perfect adjustment in the body amongst the glands, sub-glands and their hormonal secretions. The propensities of living structures are both directly and indirectly controlled by the secretions of hormones from different glands and sub-glands located near different plexi of the corporal structure.

Now everywhere, in cent per cent of the cases, there is wastage of human psychic potentiality. The psychic potentialities of human beings are immense, but people do not utilize them because most of their valuable time is wasted in undesirable thoughts, in psychic extravaganza. Suppose human life is an average of sixty years. Twenty years of that is spent in sleep, and the remaining forty years are wasted in petty or useless activities. How much time do people really get to devote to worthwhile tasks?

This psychic extravaganza should be checked either by physical approach, or psychic approach, or by spirituo-psychic approach. People should have some control over their breathing, over their respiratory system, because the waves of respiration control the waves of thinking. Whenever you are doing something crude, your respiration becomes very active; and when you are thinking of something subtle, it becomes slow, extremely slow. And finally, when this respiration coincides, or becomes one, with one’s thought-waves, that stage is known as hat́ha yoga samádhi. That is, the physical exertions, the physical emanations, become one with the psychic emanations. So some degree of control over respiration is essential.

I have already said that the scope of rationality and rationalization should be increased more and more, and for this, unnecessary waves should be removed from the plane of physicality. From the psychic sphere also, unnecessary waves are to be removed. This will remove many burdens from the mind. “I must not bother about petty things, because that will waste my time” – people should remember this. This removal or rather withdrawal of unnecessary and undesirable thoughts emanated from the mind will help you in rationalizing the major portion of your mental faculty, so this must also be practised. The cult of spirituality is a cult of pinnacled order.

Now, one’s mental flow is concerned with both ideation and meditation. So far as ideation is concerned, it is connected with the healthy condition and proper functioning of the glands and sub-glands. And we should also remember that ideation will not have any base to stand upon without a clear-cut idea. So idea must also be there.

Kánháse haḿsá áilá
Kánhámán samáilá ho rámá
Kánhámán gad́h banáil haḿsá
Kánhá mán lapt́áil ho rámá
Saguń se haḿsá áilá
Nirguń mán samáil ho rámá
Káyá gad́h banáil haḿsá
Máyá man lapt́áil ho rámá.

[Whence did the swan (a symbol of unit consciousness) come? Where did it go? Where did it build its abode? What did it associate itself with? It came from the Qualified Supreme Entity, and then it merged in the Unqualified Supreme Entity. The swan made its own body its abode and associated itself with the Cosmic Creative Principle.]

Spiritual aspirants should always remember this idea.

What should human beings do in deep ideation? They should maintain the adjustment of their glands and sub-glands. And at the same time, they should not ask for any occult power, but they should take the ideation of the Supreme. Inspired by that ideation, they should meditate on Parama Puruśa. I will say something more regarding ideation afterwards.

Now, there is another apexed or pinnacled order of the mind, that is, meditation. Meditation means concentrated thinking, associated with several subtler and important cells of the human brain. Each and every nerve cell has got its own controlling point, and for all nerve cells there is a supreme controlling point. This supreme controlling point is called in Sanskrit Guru cakra, the plexus of the Guru. All the glands are controlled by this supreme controlling point. So one’s meditation must be properly connected with this Guru cakra, the plexus of the Guru. Shiva also says:

Phaliśyatiiti vishvásah siddherprathama lakśańam;
Dvitiiyaḿ shraddhayá yuktaḿ trtiiyaḿ gurupújanam.

[There are seven requirements for success in any mission. The first is firm determination: “I must succeed.” The second is reverence. The third is guru pújá, or constant remembrance of one’s spiritual master.]

In Sanskrit, gu means “darkness” and ru means “dispeller”. So guru means “one who removes the darkness from the mind”. The darkness of the mind must be dispelled. There should not be a festival of lights outside while one’s own house remains in darkness. There should also be illumination inside one’s own house, and this is the enlightenment of the mind, of the soul.

In the Vedic language the word guru is derived from the root gur plus the suffix un. The root gur means “to train others how to speak, how to behave in a dignified manner”. The guru teaches us to follow a methodical way of life. To love is not the only work of the guru. One who only loves you is your enemy, and one who only punishes you is also your enemy. But the one who both loves and punishes in a balanced way is the real guru.

Now, meditation must be done in a methodical way, and this concerns several nerve centres and also the collective centre of the nerve cells situated in the brain. This pinnacled order of spirituality, its pinnacled point, its apexed point, is the supreme stance. For this human beings have been making constant endeavours since time immemorial, and this effort has made them move ahead, bringing them to their present status.

Previously I said that ideation must be associated with bliss. And as you all know, ideas are mainly of three types: (1) intellectual-cum-intuitional; (2) actional; and (3) devotional-cum-emotional.

Regarding intellect and intuition it is said, Ekaḿ jiṋánam anantaḿ Brahma [“Brahma is infinite intellect personified”]. Therefore, spiritual aspirants have to attain Him through knowledge; this is what the adherents of the path of knowledge maintain. There is an infinite flow of knowledge and intuition, they say, and there is no second entity. Whenever duality comes, it is only due to our ignorance, to our lack of true knowledge.

But you should remember that in most cases human intellect and intuition are wasted in extravaganza, in useless pursuits; they are not at all utilized for constructive or worthwhile endeavours. And human intuitional power is also wasted in trying to exhibit occult powers. Such persons never get the opportunity to move towards Parama Puruśa.

Regarding action it is said, Karma Brahmeti karma bahu kurviita [“Work is Brahma, therefore work more and more”].

Everything in this universe justifies its existence by this sort of relentless mobility. This world is called jagat; the word jagat is derived from the root verb gam plus the suffix kvip, and means “a mobile entity”. It is also called saḿsára, which is derived sam – sr + ghaiṋ: that is, “the entity which constantly keeps moving”. So the karma yogiis say that everything in this universe is immersed in action, in mobility. Nothing is stationary, nothing remains fixed. So move on with your actional faculty. The karma yogiis, the followers of the path of action, say that action is everything – we achieve everything through action.

Some people think, “I am hungry, I want to eat liit́i [an Indian delicacy].” But to eat liit́i we will have to make arrangements to procure gram flour, ghee, etc. All this is done only through action. And the resultant of this action is that we can finally eat liit́i. So karma is the source of everything, so say the followers of karma yoga. Therefore keep on working: Marte marte kám karo, kám karte karte maro [“Die while working, and work even while dying”].

Now, even those who are advocates of devotional or emotional faculties say that people get propensive propulsion from devotion or emotion. When the mind moves along a particular track or follows a particular discipline in a methodical way, this is called “devotion” or bhakti; but when it does not follow a particular method, when it moves haphazardly, swept away by whim, it is called “emotion”. This is the fundamental difference between devotion and emotion. You must know this clear-cut silver line of demarcation between devotion and emotion.

Those who adhere to this cult of pinnacled order know that there must be a happy blending amongst intellectual-cum-intuitional faculty, actional faculty and devotional-cum-emotional faculty. None of these is unimportant, all are of equal importance, but the finality comes in devotion. That is, the final outcome or resultant of intellectual-cum-intuitional faculty and actional faculty is devotion, not emotion, and that is why the great sages of the past said,

Bhaktir Bhagavato sevá bhaktih prema svarúpinii;
Bhaktiránanda rupá ca bhakti bhaktasya jiivanam.

[Bhakti (devotion) is service to God; bhakti is the form taken by divine love; bhakti is the embodiment of bliss; bhakti is the life of the devotee.]

Thus we see that ideation is association with one or the other idea – knowledge, action or devotion – just as meditation is associated with ideology. Thus in meditation and ideology, the spiritual aspirant is moving toward the singular Supreme Entity, the pinnacled goal. If the mind accepts two goals, two Lords, the mind becomes bifurcated.

The ideology which is associated with meditation is more a theory than a cult, and when ideation is associated with idea, it is more a cult than a theory. And the highest expression of devotion is Ananyamamatá Viśńormamatá premasauṋgatá [“The exclusive devotion to the Supreme Entity to the exclusion of all others is called divine love”].

Where the thought-waves or thought-movements are goaded by a single idea, and where the culminating point is also a singular entity – that is, where the attraction for other entities, for the crude world or the psychic world are all goaded unto the Supreme Self, towards Viśńu – this is the supreme status of devotion. Viśńu comes from the root-verb vish which means “to permeate”. The Entity which permeates everything, which is present in each and every expressed entity, in each and every emanation of this universe, is Viśńu.

Vistárah sarvabhútasya Viśńorvishvamidaḿ jagat;
Draśt́avyamátmavattasmádabhedena vicakśańaeh.⁽²⁾

[This manifested universe is the expression of Viśńu, the latent all-pervading entity. Therefore a wise person should look upon everything as his or her own, from an integral viewpoint.]

So on the path of spiritual progress, all three – knowledge, action and devotion – are necessary. Devotion provides the sustenance, action provides the stamina of movement, and knowledge shows why and how the spiritual aspirants should move. So all three are important. But ultimately knowledge and action are merged in devotion, and thus the devotion is not devoid of knowledge or action. Maharshi Narada was the first propounder of this sort of devotional cult, which is not blind devotion but an ideal blending of knowledge, action and devotion. This blended devotion enables spiritual aspirants to attain the pinnacled goal of their lives. It is this devotion that human beings have been seeking since time immemorial. When they finally attain the guru and get initiation, then they begin to walk on this path of devotion. And those who have started on this path realize that they are sure to reach their destination, that to reach their goal is the sole reason for their birth. You should remember why you have been born. Following the path of devotion, you will have to ultimately reach Parama Puruśa. This is the pinnacled point, the supreme point of human glory. You should always remember this, during your lifetime and even after your death.

Footnotes

(1) Shiva Saḿhitá. –Eds.

(2) Viśńupuráńa. –Eds.

Chapter 24	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

With spiritual progress the mind grows in magnitude, the mind increases its periphery, until it finally merges in the Supreme Entity. During the course of this progress a spiritual aspirant will develop many faculties or attributes, but one must always be vigilant that these faculties do not divert one from the chosen path, from the cherished goal.

What is the meaning of faculty and thinking? Faculty means a special type of quality or attribute that separates one entity from other entities. Thinking is the subjectivization of external objectivity; that is, creating an external object within one’s mental plate and making it a part of one’s inner existence.

Thinking should be done in a methodical style. For example, try to imagine an elephant of Indian or African variety. To think of this one should start from the tail end and visualize all the parts of the elephant’s body systematically. If the tusk is there, it must be male. If the cranium is small, with a bulky body, it is of African variety. If the cranium is big and the body is less bulky, then it is the Indian variety. Thinking as per a method is called “methodical thinking”.

Knowledge should be imparted in this methodical way. It should not be imparted in a galloping style, because the gaps created by imparting education in such a manner will destroy intellectual continuity.

Now, what is the meaning of “discover”, of “invention”, and of “remember”? “Discover”: “dis” + “cover”; “dis” means “against”, “anti” or “not”. So “discover” refers to that which exists but is not known to us. “Discover” means “removing the cover and knowing what was there but not known”. For example, Vasco da Gama discovered the Cape of Good Hope while in search of India and the “land of coconuts”, or Kerala – South India. “Invention”: “in” (prefix) – “vent” (root verb) + “ion” (suffix). It means “to find out something which did not exist earlier, and then know it”; for example, saccharine. “Remember”: “re” + “member”. “Member” means “in existence”. Are you a member of the Gym Club? It means you are in existence with the Gym Club. “Remember” means “to bring back what was in existence under dark cover”. When the dark curtain is removed, one remembers. Remembering involves removing other pabula, diminishing the mass of appearances.

Concentrated thinking is called “meditation”. How can one develop concentrated thinking? Suppose you want to visualize what Mr. S is doing in the city of Berlin. How is this meditation to be practised? It concerns something physical and multi-coloured, so one starts with the vishuddha cakra, which controls the idea of colour. Then one is to visualize the glands and sub-glands: the Brhaspati Granthi [thyroid gland] and the Brhaspati Upagranthi [parathyroid gland]. This is the first phase. Then come to the kúrma nád́ii [sinusoid nerve], and finally to the controlling brain cell. This is the process of withdrawal or pratyáhára. Then visualize the panorama, the sound, the colour, and focus on the object of meditation. This is the inner secret. In order to visualize odour, we should start from the múládhára cakra. If it is uni-odour, it will take less time; in case of a multi-odour object, it will take a bit more time. In this way, one is to withdraw the mind and bring it to the particular brain cell inside the skull. It is necessary to know the biology of the human structure. But spiritual aspirants will not attach any importance to occult powers. It is not their goal. They will only attach importance to the Supreme Entity.

Every cell has a controlling point. The controlling point of all the controlling points of all the cells is the Guru cakra – the common controlling point. The sahasrára cakra is the psychological name and the Guru cakra is the physical name. The sahasrára cakra has no corporal structure. Its spiritual location is on the outer portion of the cranium (the point is called Brahmarandhra). The Guru cakra is just inside the cranium and is the controlling point of all the controlling points of all the brain cells on the physical, psychic and spiritual planes. In the Guru cakra lies the supreme potentiality of omniscience. Knowing the Supreme Entity means knowing the secrets of all the cells. The lower functions of the blended mind and spirit can be controlled even by elevated magicians, but the upper portion is beyond their power. In the upper portion of the blended mind, higher intellectuality merges with spirituality.

Now, what is the difference between deep thinking and meditation? You already know what deep thinking is. [Deep thinking is thinking deeply about any subject.] Meditation is trying to make the “I” feeling coincide with the subjectivated form. Because it is a coincidence of “I” feeling, it is concentrated thinking. In other words, the endeavour to make the controlling point of the “I” feeling coincide with some other subjectivated form is called meditation.

Mental flow is concerned with both theory and practice. When the unit mind is established in psycho-spiritual parallelism, it is called “idea”, while the psychic conception of psycho-spiritual parallelism is called “ideology”. When idea maintains adjustment with the glands and sub-glands, it is called “ideation”. But to effect psycho-spiritual parallelism, knowledge, action and devotion are required. In spiritual parlance, when the mental flow is directed towards the goal, that is, the Supreme Entity, it is called “concentration”, but in metaphysical terms, it is a concept of dharma. Concentrated thinking leads to the development of positive ideas and occult powers in the process of constant mental flow towards the goal. In the process of meditation the following things are involved – brain cells, apexed or pinnacled psychology, concentrated thinking, Guru cakra and ultimate devotion. All these are utilized in dhyána yoga [meditational yoga], which ultimately ensconces the sádhaka [spiritual aspirant] in complete omniscience: Rtambhará tatra prajiṋá [“The intellect at that stage becomes omniscient”].

Some form or other of ideology is to be related to meditation, whereas ideation is connected with the plexi, glands and sub-glands, and with a clear-cut idea. For ideation the base is idea, but for meditation the base is ideology.

Tarka – vimarsha – viveka. Suppose there are two opposing ideas. The initial idea is tarka and the opposing idea is vimarsha. These two will produce a resultant which is called viveka or “conscience”. This entire procedure is called vicára. When one moves along the path of viveka, that movement is called “rationality”. Now, avoiding unnecessary curvatures, avoiding unnecessary hindrances and time-taking, when the path is straight, that straight path is rationality.

The work of five thousand men may be done by one man with a machine. If such an ultra-modern machine is introduced in industry, it will surely save labour. This is rationalization – rationalization in the realm of industry. You may term it as “physical rationalization”.

Now, what is psychic rationalization? It is the effort to rationalize dogmatic religious beliefs and practices, but the principle remains the same. Traditionalism is to be rationalized. The curvatures are to be avoided and straightforwardness is to be adopted. This is what has been done in Ananda Marga philosophy. Ananda Marga does not accept curvatures. It adopts a straight path. You may call it psycho-spiritual rationalization. Traditionalism is outdated. The times call for rationalization. Rationality and rationalization provide the scope for physical, psychic and psycho-spiritual evolution.

Subjectivity is of two types – mental and spiritual. In mental subjectivity the mind merges into its own enhanced subjectivity, and in spiritual subjectivity the mind merges into spirituality.

The area of the mind depends solely on its subjectivated pabula. The area of the subjectivated pabula increases or decreases the jurisdiction of the mind. The subjectivated pabula have their definite periphery. Suppose you see the face of any person then close your eyes. Now, suppose you compare how much of your mental field is occupied with this image. Say one-fourth. Then try to increase its size. Again try to increase its size up to your capacity. This is the jurisdiction of your mind. This is subjectivated pabula. When you are seeing some external object with your eyes, that is objectivated pabula. Your mind has more space than the objectivated pabula. Hence the jurisdiction of the mind depends on the subjectivated pabula, not the objectivated pabula. External objects are objectivated pabula.

The diversion of pabula is possible in the physical and psychic spheres, but not in the spiritual realm. In the physical sphere both the internal and external transmutation of pabula is possible. In the psychic sphere only internal transmutation is possible. In the spiritual realm no diversion is possible.

Changing the psychic pabula or mind is risky in twenty-five per cent of cases. If there is maladjustment, there is every chance of insanity. In the case of the change of mind, there will be a sensation of jhin-jhin [twinging in the nerves] and then the personality will change. While changing soul, there is also the risk of death. If there is no adjustment, the person will die in two or three days. Just as transmutation can be done in the physical pabula externally, it can also be done internally by the application of microvita.

Suppose there are two people of the same race or sub-race. Suppose they are Austrico-Negroids. The people of South Bengal, South Orissa, Coastal Andhra and Eastern Tamil Nadu are Austrico-Negroid. Suppose one has thinner skin and lips than the other. While lying on the floor, the person with the thinner skin will feel that the ground is harder and colder, while the other will feel that it is softer and warmer. If the racial characteristics of a person are changed, then the entire personality will be changed. I do not accept any racial barriers. To recognize differences from human to human is utter futility. Internally, there is no difference between one person and another – there is no fundamental difference between one human being and another.

The greater the size of the periphery of the subjectivated pabula, the greater the jurisdiction of the enhanced mind. The spiritual pabula of an individual influences the process of diversion and transmutation of pabula in the minds of other people. By your pious thoughts you can divert the thought-waves of others. This is also an example of diversion. If you ideate on someone in a pious way, the object – that is, the person – will change accordingly.

The entire world wants our service: in the physical, psychic, spiritual, socio-economic and political realms. It brooks no delay.

Chapter 25	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

Gurusakásha: gur + un + sa + kash + ghaiṋ.⁽¹⁾

Gurusakásha means “near the Guru”, “under the Guru’s umbrella”, “under the Guru’s wings”, “under the Guru’s shelter”. The word Gurusakásha has two other yoga-related meanings: one of them is Guru dhyána [meditation on the Guru] in Guru cakra, the other is a particular kind of Gurusmarańa [Guru’s remembrance] or Gurusharańa [Guru’s shelter] after sleep.

There are nine cakras [plexi] in human organisms [múládhára, svádhiśt́hána, mańipura, anáhata, vishuddha, lalańa, ájiṋá, Guru, and sahasrára]. From the point of view of karma [action], three are most important: one, surrounding the navel region in the mańipura cakra, is situated in the gland of thunder-like hardness, Rudra Granthi, the agni cakra; another exists in the swaying of the solar plexus, or Viśńu Granthi, the anáhata cakra; and yet another is located in the upheavals of imagination in Brahma Granthi, the ájiṋá cakra.

The vishuddha cakra, situated in the kúrma nád́ii [sinusoid nerve] of the throat, is the centre of speech. The importance of this plexus is very great. It is helpful to the enlightening of intellect, and is also called the Brhaspati Granthi. In its neighbourhood exist the thyroid and parathyroid glands – the Brhaspati Granthi and the Brhaspati Upagranthi respectively.

There are, in human physiology, countless glands and sub-glands. Different and variegated are the causes of their actions. By their manifold interrelations with and interactions upon the lymph or shukra [which has three stages: lymph (práńarasa), spermatozoa and seminal fluid], they produce a variety of granthirasas (hormones). The multifarious hormones, getting into the important plexi, become consumed, and only a small amount of the hormones can reach the glands and sub-glands below them. Most of the hormones of the upper portion are consumed by the solar plexus, which is contiguous with the anáhata cakra. When the sudhárasa [bliss-causing hormones] emitted by the glands and sub-glands situated above the ájiṋá cakra are consumed in the ájiṋá cakra, the result is that the ájiṋá cakra is strongly affected by the high secretion of hormones brought about by sádhaná [spiritual practices] in that upper region, and consequently the irises of the eyes move upwards and a state of trance ensues. A pleasant drowsiness of tandrá [somnolence] mixed with nidrá [sleepiness] overcomes the eyes, and the person is immersed in a type of slumber of a subtle loka [realm]. This kind of yoga nidrá, bháva nidrá, adhyátma nidrá is known as hypnosis in English. Bear in mind that it has no connection with hypnotism or mesmerism. Hypnotism or mesmerism is outer-suggestion, while hypnosis is auto-suggestion.

The vishuddha cakra is bounded by the kúrma nád́ii [sinusoid nerve]. Some call it the Brhaspati cakra. A great many of the hormones secreted by the upper glands are metabolized in it and absorbed here, and very little of these hormones descend down. If one’s sádhaná is perfect then the sound of the voice becomes sonorous and pleasant for some time, to some extent a state of intoxication ensues, the sinusoid nerve throbs a little, the body turns motionless and stonelike, and the skin becomes thin and light to some degree.

Because of the type of environment existing in the solar plexus, or the anáhata cakra, the hormones of the upper region are almost entirely absorbed there, and very little of them remains. The entrancing action of the bliss-causing hormone of the upper region, which is designated sudhárasa in Sanskrit, when it reaches here leads to the greatest sensation in this spot, and the mind gets lost in the higher realm. The developed sádhaka [spiritual aspirant] remains submerged in this beatific condition of intoxication. It is said that Shiva remains overwhelmed under the spell of this very type of intoxication, with His eyes fixed upwards. This is not the intoxication produced by bhang [Indian hemp] or ganja [marijuana], or that of opium, nor that of wine, but is a sort of beatific intoxication brought about by sudhárasa.

Surápán karine ámi sudhá khái “Jay Kálii” bale,
Man-mátále mátál kare mad-mátále mátál bale.⁽²⁾

[I don’t drink wine, I take divine nectar, saying, “Victory to Kálii.”
My mind, intoxicated with bliss-causing hormones, makes me drunk. But those who are intoxicated with drink call me a drunkard.]

The cakra below the anáhata is the mańipura. The mańipura area is the primary location of dehágni [bodily fire], the main sphere of the existence of vitality. An unborn baby, through the medium of this mańipura cakra, remains joined with the mother’s body by means of the umbilical chord. And through this medium the lymph from the mother’s body penetrates into the body of the infant. That is why this part of the human organism is not incinerated by the normal temperatures of fire. After a cremation the descendants of the deceased carry this part away from the funeral pyre, along with the bone remnants, and ultimately throw it into the Ganges. This is known as asthivisarjana [immersion of the bone remnants].

Below the mańipura cakra there are also many glands and sub-glands. The hormones secreted by these are not metabolized by any of the plexi. They go out of the body, not getting absorbed to any appreciable extent. Through particular yoga-based actions, they can be retained in the body to a great extent. In Tantra Shástra, in Avidyá Tantra, this is called stambhana kriyá [a process to stop bodily functions]. Stool, urine, sweat and semen get excreted from the body because the concerned reflexes originate from under the navel. The influence exerted by the nerve cells of the brain controls lower nerve cells down as far as the anáhata cakra. The navel cakra, or mańipura cakra, the svádhiśt́hána cakra and the múládhára cakra are directly linked with the mundane faculties. For this reason, in the sphere of spiritual practices, the mańipura cakra and the one below it are generally not recognized as cakras for repeating the Iśt́a mantra [a personal mantra repeated in meditation]. The recognized cakras for japa [repetition of mantra] are the anáhata cakra, vishuddha cakra and ájiṋá cakra and a few other cakras and upacakras of the upper region. The Guru cakra is the highest cakra. The Guru cakra is used as the place of dhyána.

The hormones secreted by various glands and sub-glands are directly connected with the human body and mind. The nerve cells of the brain each regulate a particular kind of sentiment and thought. The glands and sub-glands of the lower regions maintain an organic link with the above-mentioned nerve cells of the brain. Particular courses of thought depend on the secretions of these hormones. Then again, while moving along mundane mental paths, the human mind is influenced by many kinds of susceptibilities which are based on mundane activities. Under these circumstances there is a need, on the one hand, for purity of thought, and on the other, for satsauṋga [associating with good people]. The same person who is elevated in the company of good people, gets degenerated in an evil environment. This is a tested truth. So in human life there is as much need of satsauṋga as there is the need to shun evil company. Therefore, it is necessary to look for satsauṋga and avoid asatsauṋga [associating with bad people].

Satsaungena bhavenmuktirasatsaungeśu bandhanam;
Asatsauṋgamudrańaḿ sá mudrá parikiirttitá.

[Keeping good company leads to liberation, whereas the company of bad people leads to greater bondage. The mudrańam – shunning – of bad company is called mudrá sádhaná.]

The glands and sub-glands are controlled by the brain. The susceptibility, the automatic response of those glands and sub-glands, is regulated by the nerve cells. There are numerous, countless cells in the brain. Some people say that there are one thousand cells [based on the thousand-petalled lotus of the scriptures] in the brain, but actually these are many, many more. Just as we use the expression “thousands” without actually counting, so we might also speak of “one thousand”.

The number of cells in a female body is a little smaller than the number in a male body. Again, from the viewpoint of sentimentality, the number of nerve cells in a woman’s body is a little greater than that in a man’s. That is why in areas needing intelligence, knowledge and rationality men progress rapidly, and in areas where success depends on sentimentality, women progress very swiftly. Through the dispensation of God, men’s deficiency is balanced by women’s sentimentality, and women’s deficiency is balanced by men’s resoluteness and subtle propensive propulsion. And this is why in the sphere of education, both men and women must be afforded equal opportunities. Otherwise society will become crippled, and its all-round well-being cannot be achieved.

Now, there is a regulating point or práńakendra for each of the innumerable nerve cells in the brain. Over and above these many práńakendras or regulating points of the brain, there is one regulating point which controls the many práńakendras. This point resembles, to some extent, the tip of a blade of kusha [a type of grass]. In this point is the Guru cakra. From this point human beings receive a thousand and one kinds of inspiration and propulsion. The humanity of human beings and the animality of lesser creatures all depend on this point. In this point is ensconced the Guru, Parama Guru, Parápara Guru, Paramesti Guru. It is the loftiest point for the purposes of meditation and contemplation. It is at this point that the meditation on Guru has to be undertaken. That which I call the sahasrára cakra is an ideational point – without any realistic existence based on the nerve cells – but this is not the case with the Guru cakra. So human beings must take recourse to the Guru Cakra – they must take shelter under it: Nányapanthá vidyate-ayanáyá [“There is no other way than this”].

In this Guru cakra, the aspirant meditates on the Guru – on that ennobling Entity – channelizing his or her mundane bondages into the non-mundane realm, and elevating his or her non-mundane psychic bondages to the realm of the supramental entity, the source of supra-cognitive power. Hence, dhyána yoga [meditational Yoga] is the best yoga for sádhaná. Dhyána yoga is acknowledged by hat́ha yoga, Rája Yoga and Rájádhirája Yoga; it is also acknowledged by Buddhist Tantra and Jain Tantra, and by Bhágavata dharma. Well, Guru dhyána in the Guru cakra is called Gurusakásha.

In ancient times, Maharshi Vishvamitra, as well as the virtuous Yudhisthira, the son of Yama, the dispenser of dharma, used to say that much time is wasted by human beings in sleep. Yet it is essential to give the brain rest; that is to say that sleep is needed for physical health. If a man lives for sixty years, he spends twenty years out of these in sleep. If a person constantly chants his or her japa mantra or meditates ceaselessly, then the rhythm of this japa, the rhythm that adores the Guru during dhyána, will act as auto-suggestion during the time of sleep, although the person will not remember it. After waking up, the person may wonder what the state of his or her mind was while he or she was asleep. He or she will feel that the state of sleep is the lack of any idea or thing – a sense of vacuum.

Each propensity in human beings thrives on a particular idea. If the propensity is to be kept alive, then it must take recourse to some particular idea. The condition of sleep is the absence of idea – emptiness. That is to say, when one wakes up after sleeping one feels that for so long one was in the midst of some sort of idleness, in the midst of the propensity of “nothing whatsoever”. If, while remaining in the midst of a feeling of “nothing whatsoever”, any pulsation reaches the nerve cells – generally owing to the upward movement of wind or to indigestion, or from the positive viewpoint, owing to much chanting and meditation – a shiver will be caused in the nerve cells, and the picture of this pulsation is called a “dream”.

The pulsation that is caused by the action of japa or dhyána links the jiiva [unit being] with the higher realms, and establishes it in the cognitive properties for the time being. The pulsation that is caused by some physical condition is an unreal dream and connected with the mundane realm, and has no value. So when, through the symphony of meditation and japa, the rhythm of life persists, it is called dharmamegha samádhi. Moreover, if the symphony of meditation or japa persists for some time, and if in the natural course of events the jiiva does not forsake the meditation or japa, then loss of memory does not occur. This state is called dhruvásmrti, or “infallible, eternal memory”. A sádhaka with this capacity continues his or her dhyána and japa even in sleep. This kind of japa is called ajapá japa – which is to say, without one actually performing japa, japa is going on – or adhyáná dhyána – which is to say, without one actually meditating, meditation is going on.

Maharshi Vishvamitra, Dharmarája Yudhisthira, Rájádhirája Yogii Vashiśt́a, Maharshi Astavakra, Vibhandaka and Kalahana have all said that those who waste time because of their susceptibilities (the time of one who does adhyáná dhyána or ajapá japa is not wasted), should remember the Guru in the Guru cakra. This they should do sitting in siddhásana [perfect posture] or any other convenient ásana [posture], on the same blanket, skin, seat or bed as they had used for sleeping, immediately after waking up and before doing any other work or before having any other thought – even before performing their morning duties or any other task. This will be a high category of Gurusakásha. If it cannot always be done immediately after sleep, it is essential to remember the Guru early in the morning after overcoming sleepiness. If this is done, they will meet with success or illumination in each and every subtle and spiritual task that they perform in the course of the whole day. It is said:

Prátah shirasi shukle’bje dvinetraḿ dvibhujaḿ gurum;
Varábhayakrtahastaḿ smarettaḿ námapúrvakam.

[Early in the morning one should meditate on the Guru in varábhaya mudrá with two hands and two eyes seated on a white lotus in Guru cakra, and remember Him by chanting His holy name (through a mantra).]

Prátah means “in the morning”. Understand that prátah is indeclinable. So the first, second, fourth, fifth and all other case endings are not needed – there is no inflection or declension. Prátah, prátam, prátena, prátáya, prátát, prátasya and similar forms of declension will be out of place, since with an indeclinable word no suffix is added. Shirasi means “at the topmost point” – that is to say, in the Guru cakra. Shukle means “in a white”; abje means “in the lotus”; shuklébje means “in or on a white lotus”. And you have to meditate on the Guru who is dvinetra [endowed with two eyes] and dvibhuja [endowed with two hands]. In what posture is this Guru endowed with two eyes and two hands? In varábhaya mudrá [the gesture imparting fearlessness and bestowing grace]. He is your well-wisher and your benefactor.

Whatever words you use mentally to address the Guru at the time of dhyána or Guru dhyána, should also be used at the time of this Guru dhyána. You should always address the Guru for an extended period. This is Gurusakásha.

Footnotes

(1) Guru in the Vedic language is derived gur + un; in later Sanskrit as gu + ru. The contents of this chapter consists of an elaboration on the word Gurusakásha. The author’s discourse on that day entailed linguistic discussion of a number of Sanskrit terms; the discussion of each term became an entry in the author’s linguistic encyclopedia Shabda Cayaniká (“Collection of Words”). –Eds.

(2) Ramprasad. –Eds.

Chapter 26	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

Human existence or any other biological existence is goaded by the propensive propulsion of the psyche. Let me explain why the human body is a biological machine and goaded by propensities.

The physical body is not yours. It belongs to another Entity who has placed the mind in this body, so now you think, “It is my body.” The mind has been authorized to use this body, so the mind is thinking, “It is my body.” The átman [unit consciousness] is watching, witnessing what the mind is thinking. If the átman stops watching, the mind will stop working. So what is the science by which the biological machine is being goaded?

There are ten indriyas [organs] – five jiṋánendriyas [sensory organs] and five karmendriyas [motor organs] – and one antahkarańa [internal faculty]. The sensory and motor organs are bahihkarańa [external organs]. Antahkarańa is directly associated with the body. It is one intrinsic portion of the mind itself. It is by dint of this portion that the mind feels the emptiness of the stomach, and thereby hunger. Once the stomach becomes empty, the mind starts searching for food, and this is expressed through the physical actions of the body. So there are two portions – antahkarańa and bahihkarańa. One consists of an intrinsic portion of the mind itself, and the other of the ten organs – five sensory organs and five motor organs.

The propensive propulsion comes from antahkarańa. The origin or source of the propulsion is antahkarańa. Antahkarańa is made of the conscious and subconscious portions of the mind – thinking, memory, etc., all belong to antahkarańa. Antahkarańa is doing these things. Now, whenever antahkarańa does something, the physical body is activated accordingly. The body is also transformed accordingly. Thus, this biological machine is goaded by propensive propulsion.

The Inner Significance of the Mahábhárata

In Sanskrit there are six main directions – north, south, east, west, up and down – which are called disha or pradisha. There are also four corners – northwest, southwest, southeast and northeast, termed iishána, agni, váyu and naerta respectively – which are collectively called anudisha. So four plus six makes ten.

Now, the mind is blind. With the help of the viveka [conscience] it is able to see and visualize. So the mind is Dhritarastra [the blind king of the Mahábhárata], and its forces – that is, the ten agents, the bahihkarańa – can work in ten directions simultaneously. So the mind has ten by ten or one hundred external expressions. Or in other words, Dhritarastra has one hundred sons.

What about the Pandavas [five brothers of the Mahábhárata]? They are the five fundamental factors in the human structure. Sahadeva is the solid factor represented by the múládhára cakra (capable of answering everything). Next is Nakula at the svádhiśt́hána cakra. Nakula means “water which flows having no boundaries”. Na means “no” and kula means “boundaries” – the liquid factor. Next is Arjuna, the representation of energy or force, luminous at the mańipura cakra – always fighting to maintain balance. Then Bhiima, the son of Pandu, is váyu, the aerial factor, at the anáhata cakra. Finally, the position of Yudhisthira is at the vishuddha cakra where matter ends and the other world starts.

So in the fight between materialists and spiritualists, in the struggle between matter and the sublime, Yudhisthira remains undisturbed, unperturbed. Yudhi sthirah Yudhiśt́hirah [“One who remains steady in battle is called ‘Yudhiśt́hira’”].

Krśńa is at the sahasrára cakra. Now when the kuńd́alinii [sleeping divinity] is awakened, rises and reaches the shelter of Krśńa with the help of the Pandavas, the jiiva [unit being] merges in Cosmic Consciousness. The Pandavas are rescuing the jiiva and bringing it to the shelter of Krśńa.

Sanjaya is the minister of Dhritarastra. Sanjaya is viveka. Dhritarastra is asking Sanjaya, because he cannot see by himself, “Oh, Sanjaya, tell me, in the battle of Kurukśetra and Dharmakśetra, what did my party [and that of the Pandavas] do? How did they fare?”

The hundred sons of Dhritarastra, the blind mind, are trying to control the jiiva, which is being rescued by the Pandavas through a constant fight. Finally, being triumphant, they bring the jiiva to the shelter of Krśńa. This is the inner significance of the Mahábhárata.

Kurukśetra is the world of action, the external world, which is asking you to work and work. Work is the order. Kuru means “work”. [And kśetra means “field”.] Dharmakśetra is the internal psychic world. Here the Pandavas dominate.

The Scope of Bio-Psychology

Now, suppose a sub-gland just below the mańipura cakra is activated which makes a sádhaka [spiritual aspirant] free from shyness. At a later stage the shyness is increased by pressing the same point in a different manner. When one is free of shyness, one can do any activity without any hindrance and move anywhere without any psychic complex. When one is overcome with shyness one’s face becomes red, a physical change, and one will not be able to perform many actions, even though the mind wants to act. So the human structure is controlled by the glands and sub-glands, thus it is a biological machine. Under-secretion and over-secretion of the same gland will bring this machine under different types of impulses and defects.

I want you all to acquire high proficiency in such capabilities through sádhaná [spiritual practices] and learn practically how to control this biological machine through the control of the glands and sub-glands.

Bio-psychology may be divided into several classes – human psychology; the psychology of creatures which stand upon two legs, for example, orang-utans; the psychology of other beings [including monkeys, quadrupeds and other developed animals]; the psychology of reptiles which move through the pressure of the chest but cannot fly; the psychology of flying creatures, that is, birds; and then the psychology of multicellular protozoa, unicellular protozoa, multicellular metazoa and uni-cellular metazoa. These are the main groups or classes.

Human beings are guided and goaded by a common psychology. There may be some exceptions due to certain biological anomalies; that is, biological exceptions must be there; but otherwise all humans are guided by a common human psychology. Ram, Shyam, Mohan, Yadu, Madhu – all are of the same or similar biological structure. So they have to be guided by the same psychic rules, they have to follow the same psychic characteristics, the same wonts, and the same psychic merits and demerits.

What is goading? There are three terms – “direct guidance”, “guiding” and “goading”. Direct guidance is without any application of force. You want someone to go with you and they go. “Guiding” means making some effort to bring someone along the path of your choice. “Goading” means compelling someone to move and act according to your desire. That is, it means to push or to move by the application of force.

Suppose an old man and a young man are arguing, and the young one says tauntingly to the old one, “You are a number one fool. You have no wits. You are a worthless, useless chap!” The old man replies, “What! What did you say? Is it so? Is it so? Have you no manners? Are you now about to teach me manners?” The young one responds, “Yes, yes, sure!” This is an example of common human psychology, of natural human reaction.

Now, suppose certain sub-glands in the elder man’s chest around the anáhata cakra are activated. Then, instead of arguing, his response will become calmer, and not so serious and grave. He will become quieter and not so irritated. In this case, in the attached nerve cells and nerve fibres, certain changes will have been brought about in the glands and sub-glands of the chest portion of the body. By properly activating the controlling point of a human sentiment, the response has changed.

Thus, due to biological change, the psychological reaction or reflection will change. For this biological transformation, one should practise a spiritual cult which changes the human nerve cells and nerve fibres attached to those portions, and brings about changes in the hormonal secretions causing psychological changes. So, through the practice of a spiritual cult, changes come about in the nerve cells and nerve fibres.

You should all learn the various psychologies of the different groups. You should learn about human psychology in particular, and about non-human animate psychologies. Though inanimate objects – gold, silver, iron, etc. – do not have psychology, they have characteristics. That is, each and every entity, animate and inanimate, has its own particular psychology or characteristic. When coming in contact with different entities, animate and inanimate, you should act according to the knowledge of their psychology or characteristics.

By spiritual cult, spiritual sádhaná, you may bring about certain changes in your nervous system, nerve cells and nerve fibres, control the secretions of the hormones from different glands and sub-glands, and become elevated. By this process of elevation a person becomes superhuman and goes beyond the periphery of the common human psychology. Otherwise, the general rule is there. Here lies the necessity of spiritual practice. Without spiritual practice there cannot be such a change.

The main purpose of human beings coming here to this earth is to do spiritual practice. One is to render social service, one is to learn, one is to go through books, one is to help others, one is to do anything and everything just to encourage and accelerate the process of sádhaná. Sádhaná is the main theme of life. Whatever you do in the world, you should do it with a view to promote your sádhaná and help the sádhaná of others. Human beings come to earth to practise sádhaná, to move closer to Iishvara, the Supreme Goal – to come closer to Parama Puruśa [Supreme Consciousness]. Thus, the deeds of human beings will not be like the deeds of animals. Whatever human beings will do, they will do in such a manner that the progress in their sádhaná will go on accelerating.

Biological Structure

This biological machine is of great help and assistance to humans. That is, you can perform spiritual sádhaná with this biological structure because it is a biped structure. Bipeds are humans, orang-utans, chimpanzees and gorillas. Monkeys are also bipeds but they cannot stand erect. Their position is in between bipeds and quadrupeds. You will find that by proper training, orang-utans will start to enjoy smoking like humans. Have you seen this in the zoo? They will smoke cigarettes, break coconuts and drink [coconut] water. By further training they will easily come closer to humans. So these creatures are guided and goaded by biped psychology. (Pedis is Latin and means “concerning the foot”; the [Latinate] adjective is “pedal”. “Pedestrian” means “one who walks with the feet”.) This is pedal psychology, not human psychology.

The human biological structure and nervous system are more developed than those of other bipeds. Tailless apes such as chimpanzees, orang-utans and gorillas are less developed than human beings because their backbones contain tail bones. The human backbone does bear a tail bone, just at the bottom of the spine, but it curves inside rather than protruding outside the human body. The tail of a monkey protrudes outside its body. During the first four months of pregnancy, a human foetus begins to develop a tail which grows at the same rate as the body; after four months the rate of growth of the tail is slower than that of the rest of the body. This continues up to eight months. After eight months the tail goes inside the body of the unborn baby and is not externally visible. The foetus now has all the features of a human being. This is one of the main differences between the biological structure of human beings and that of other bipeds.

If a baby is born prematurely there is a risk that it may die. If the parents live in an isolated rural area and are unable to provide proper medical attention for their baby, it may be wrapped in cotton collected from the shimul tree [silk cotton tree, Bombax ceiba L.] and kept in a wooden cot for two months. The cotton should be soaked in pure ghee and changed regularly. This simple arrangement will provide a congenial environment for the baby to grow healthy and strong.

Chimpanzees, orang-utans and gorillas are all tailless apes, but their backbones bear larger tail bones inside their bodies than those of human beings. Human beings have only one tail bone inside their bodies, but the tailless apes have more than one, all inside the body, so they cannot stand erect like human beings. They have to bend a bit, so their posterior portion is bigger than that of humans. The cranium – a container made of bones for the brain – of tailless apes is a bit smaller than that of humans, so tailless apes have fewer nerve cells in the brain. In the case of humans, the rate of growth of the foetus is faster in the second four months of pregnancy, but in the same period the tail grows at a comparatively slower rate. In the case of tailless apes, the tail bone continues to grow at the same rate as the foetus. After birth tailless apes have to bend forward to keep balance. Animals with tails have to bend still further forward due to the weight of the tail, so they cannot stand for a long time.

Tailless apes, because of the absence of tails, are guided by biped psychology. Animals with tails are also guided by biped psychology, but their brains are smaller. Due to the larger tail, the cranium grows smaller thus the brain grows smaller, and so their psychology will not be the same as that of tailless bipeds.

Tailless apes can be taught sádhaná after some effort. The tailed bipeds will not be able to do sádhaná like the tailless bipeds because the backbone of the tailed bipeds, containing the controlling points of the five fundamental factors, does not come in one line. The controlling points fall on a curved line, hence they cannot perform sádhaná properly.

Mono-sided, straight or erect beings can perform sádhaná very well because all the five controlling points of the fundamental factors fall on a straight line. In these creatures the cranium containing the brain is a bit bulky at the back, indicating that the brain is large enough to perform sádhaná easily. You see how fortunate you are to have a human biological structure. You have got a human frame. Humans should be obliged to Supreme Consciousness for this favour.

There is yet another thing. In the case of tailed bipeds, the front legs [the arms], are not fully utilized for walking. They are used more for catching objects. In the case of humans, they are never used for walking. In the case of monkeys, often they are used for walking as well as catching. So, in any case, monkeys can never be equal to humans, even if their tail is severed from the body. The body of a monkey will always remain tilted forward. So it is a great advantage to have a human body. Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát [“People are born as human beings due to their past good saḿskáras, but to attain non-qualified liberation they will have to attain self-knowledge.”]

The art of attaining self-knowledge is complete self-surrender. You cannot challenge Parama Puruśa with your intellect and talent. You can challenge Him with one thing only. That is, you must say, “Oh, Parama Puruśa, You have brought me to this earth, so You will have to appear before me, because I am in a human body which I have attained by virtue of Your grace.”

Because tailed bipeds have a tail, they can run faster than human beings – their running speed is increased. If the tail is added to the two hind and the two fore legs, tailed bipeds have five legs. The four legs are actually supported by the tail, which works as the fifth leg. Thus monkeys can run faster than bipeds. If monkeys walk on two legs only like bipeds, they will walk more slowly than human beings. If a monkey walks on four legs, it will move faster than a human being. And if it takes the help of its tail, it will be able to jump from one tree to another and its speed will be greatly enhanced.

The speed of movement is increased with the help of the lymphatic glands. In human beings the lymphatic glands are located at the joints of the arms and of the legs, and also at various other places. Depending upon the hormonal secretions of these lymphatic glands, one acquires the capacity to jump. Can humans jump as much as monkeys even after strenuous effort? Humans cannot even run like them. All this is due to the lymphatic glands. When the lymphatic glands in the armpits and leg joints are activated, hairs start to grow in those parts of the human body. If you find an absence of hair, it indicates that the lymphatic glands are underdeveloped, and that the individual will have less jumping capacity.

Suppose a youth begins to run like a monkey using his hands and legs. He continues to run, now imagining he has a tail. Running becomes easier for him. Next, suppose his lymphatic glands are activated and running becomes more enjoyable because his lymphatic glands are producing significantly more hormones – not as much as monkeys but much more than ordinary human beings. Biologically he is very close to a monkey. Now, suppose his lymphatic glands return to normal. His body feels that it is a bit heavier than it was during the monkey demonstration, and he will not be able to jump as freely. He has become a gentleman again!

Take the example of male and female eunuchs. Generally the cranium of a female is smaller than that of a male. If you see the skull of a female skeleton, you will notice that the upper portion of the skull is smaller. Those who are eunuchs by birth have still smaller craniums. If, by biological processes, a eunuch is transformed into a male or female, he or she will suffer from headaches for the rest of his or her life. He or she cannot get rid of them because it is due to a shortage of nerve cells in the brain. If a male becomes a female by biological processes, he will not suffer from headaches as such; he will have no difficulty. But if a female becomes a male, she will suffer difficulties because the cranium is smaller; that is, the brain is smaller. It is a matter of biological importance that humans have done nothing in this direction so far.

Socio-Economic Theories

So you see that the human body is a biological machine. Your social service, your socio-economic theories, your political life and your cultural life must be guided and goaded towards the Supreme Self by keeping this fact in mind. If this is done, selfishness will not arise in the human mind and there is no chance of damaging society. But political parties and socio-economic organizations forget this fact, so instead of serving the world they guide it adversely.

In the case of the Communist Party, for example, this is exactly what has happened. This is what happened to the whole world – great damage. Why? They had no spiritual cult, no spiritual goal. Thus, as long as communism exists on this earth, the world will continue to suffer. Communism has to go immediately without any delay, or it is to be removed. This is the demand of humanity. Otherwise a great danger looms over human society.

What is the social impact or aspect of an economic theory – positive or negative? If it is positive, what is its effect? If it is negative, what is its effect?

The human body or human existence is a biological structure goaded by psychology, by certain vrttis [propensities]. Similarly, socio-economic life is a biological structure goaded by psychic urges and the different psycho-physical propensities; that is, it is goaded by psychology. So socio-economic life is also a biological structure. It has to obey certain norms and rules. So I say that the socio-economic structure of society is a biological structure goaded by psychic urges.

When Karl Marx said that property should be owned by the state, by communes, he went against human psychic passion and urge.

Both our socio-economic life and the human biological structure are goaded by psychic urges – by fundamental psychic urges – by psychology. Collective social life – socio-economic theory – and the human biological structure are both goaded by psychology, psychic urges, and psycho-physical passions and propensities. These cannot be ignored, they cannot be neglected.

Our ambitions are something that push us from within to fulfil the demands of certain urges which have some clear-cut pabula. Urge is there; the initial sentiment, that is, the inborn instinct, is there. At the same time, there are certain fundamental socio-psycho-physical demands, passions and propensities. One must not forget this.

All socio-economic theories propagated in the past ignored this fundamental requirement of humans beings, and that is why they failed. Marxism is one such theory. This is the reason why it failed, but its failure is not a distinct or special case. The approach of socio-economic theories should not go against the approved structure of human requirements. Now those who once supported communism are themselves finding the reasons for the failure of Marxism and one of its branches, Euro-communism.

The spiritual thirst, the spiritual hunger, is also one of the subtle passions, the subtle propensities, of the human mind. In the múládhára cakra there are four propensities – dharma [psycho-spiritual longing], artha [psychic longing], káma [physical longing] and mokśa [spiritual longing]. So spiritual longing is a fundamental human urge.

Human beings cannot go against or deviate from the recognized path of the One who controls the thought-waves of the universe (Iishvara) – the recognized path or mainstream of human life. They cannot. For all theories, for all practices, for all cults – one cannot deviate from this fundamental path.

Urge is called utcetaná in Sanskrit. [Someone with an urge will set aside all obstacles and move ahead.] Suppose a man tells his friend that he wants to go to Calcutta, but his friend objects. If the man does not listen to any of these objections, pushes his friend aside and leaves for Calcutta, it is called “urge”.

Passion is called utvrtti in Sanskrit. [One who has a passion will threaten to take or even take physical action against those who place obstacles before him, and then move ahead.] If the man threatens his friend for trying to prevent him from going to Calcutta, it is called “passion”.

Propensity is called vrtti in Sanskrit. If the man asks his friend to accompany him to Calcutta because he has many desires and hopes that can only be fulfilled there, it is called vrtti.

Sentiment is called bhávapravanatá in Sanskrit. If the friend says, “Why do you want to go to Calcutta when it is always water-logged and congested? It will adversely affect your health. Listen to reason!” but still the man goes, this is called “sentiment”.

The human psyche is guided by these four aspects. Socio-economic theory and cult have to adjust with them.

Take an example. The psychology of farmers is such that under normal circumstances they will never sell their land. Whenever a farmer donates a piece of land to someone it is usually out of pressure of circumstances or adherence to a high ideal. So any philosophy that preaches that all land belongs to the state goes against this basic aspect of human psychology. This is how the teachings of communism go against fundamental human psychology. Similarly, if a farmer is told by the authorities to give one thousand kilos of rice from his fields, he may give them, but if he is told to give them from his home, his wife may only give one hundred kilos. This is because she is accustomed to staying around the home, so her world is very small. Her psychology is also different from that of the authorities. So, although various groups of people have their own psychology, a socio-economic theory should not go against the fundamentals of human psychology.

You have got a human body. Make the best utilization of it. Forget everything of the past from this very moment.

Bigŕi jiivan anek hi sudhari janam áj
Jay Rám ki Rám japu tulsi taju ku samáj.

[Many of my past lives have gone in vain, but now my life is rectified. I will dedicate myself to the lotus feet of Rama and work for Rama, leaving all worldly attachments.]

This is for every one of you – the younger ones as well as the older ones. Go on working in such a way that you give your proper worth to society, and you bring about the actual evolution of humanity. Be a devotee of humanity as well as a devotee of Parama Puruśa. Let victory be with you.

	Yoga Psychology [a compilation]

ÁCÁRYA m. or ÁCÁRYÁ f. Spiritual teacher qualified to teach all lessons of meditation.
ÁNANDA. Divine bliss.
ANANDA MARGA. Path of divine bliss; Ánanda Márga Pracáraka Saḿgha (Ananda Marga organization).
ÁTMÁ, ÁTMAN. Soul, consciousness, PURUŚA, pure cognition. The átman of the Cosmos is PARAMÁTMAN, and that of the unit is the jiivátman.
AVADHÚTA m. or AVADHÚTIKÁ f. Literally, “one who is thoroughly cleansed mentally and spiritually”; a monk or nun of an order close to the tradition of Shaeva Tantra.
AVIDYÁ. Ignorance; centrifugal, or extroversial, force; force of repulsion from the Nucleus Consciousness; aspect of the Cosmic Operative Principle which guides movements from the subtle to the crude. See also VIDYÁ.

BHAKTA. Devotee.
BHAKTI. Devotion.
BRAHMA. Supreme Entity, comprising both PURUŚA, or SHIVA, and PRAKRTI, or SHAKTI.

CAKRA. Cycle or circle; psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus. The cakras in the human body are all located along the suśumná canal which passes through the length of the spinal column and extends up to the crown of the head. Some cakras, however, are associated with external concentration points. The concentration points for the cakras: (1) for the múládhára cakra, the base of the spine, above the perineum; (2) for the svádhiśt́hána, the base of the genital organ; (3) for the mańipura, the navel; (4) for the anáhata, the mid-point of the chest; (5) for the vishuddha, the throat; (6) for the ájiṋá, between the eyebrows; and (7) for the sahasrára, the crown of the head.
CITTA. Done “I”, objective “I”, objective mind, mind-stuff.

DÁDÁ. Literally, “elder brother”; may refer to an ÁCÁRYA of ANANDA MARGA.
DEVA. Mythologically, a god, a deity. Philosophically, any vibration, or expression, emanating from the Cosmic Nucleus.
DEVATÁ. Mythologically, a god or goddess. Philosophically, a minor expression of a DEVA, controlled and supervised by the deva. (Deva and devatá are sometimes used interchangeably.)
DHÁRAŃÁ. Restriction of the flow of mind, conception; e.g., Tattva Dhárańá means restricting the flow of mind to, or conception of, the fundamental factors.
DHARMA. Characteristic property; spirituality; the path of righteousness in social affairs.
DHYÁNA. Meditation in which the psyche is directed towards Consciousness.
DIDI. Literally, “elder sister”; may refer to an ÁCÁRYÁ of ANANDA MARGA.

GURU MANTRA. “Important” mantra, learned as a lesson of Ananda Marga SÁDHANÁ.

INDRIYA. One of the five sensory organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin) or five motor organs (hands, feet, vocal cord, genital organ and excretory organ). The eye indriya (for example) comprises the eye itself, the optical nerve, the fluid in the nerve, and the location in the brain at which the visual stimulus is transmitted to the ectoplasm, or mind-stuff.

JIIVA. An individual being.
JIIVÁTMÁ. See ÁTMÁ.
JIṊÁNA. Knowledge; understanding.
JIṊÁNII. A SÁDHAKA who follows the path of knowledge or discrimination.

KARMA. Action.
KARMII. A SÁDHAKA who follows the path of action or work.
KIIRTANA. Collective singing of the name of the Lord, sometimes combined with a dance that expresses the spirit of surrender.

MARGI. A member of Ananda Marga.
MÁYÁ. Creative Principle, PRAKRTI in Her phase of creation. One aspect of Máyá is the power to cause the illusion that the finite created objects are the ultimate truth.
MOKŚA. Spiritual emancipation, non-qualified liberation.
MUKTI. Spiritual liberation.

OṊM. The sound of the first vibration of creation; the biija mantra (acoustic root) of the expressed universe. Oṋḿkára literally means “the sound oṋm”.
OTA YOGA. The association of PURUŚOTTAMA with each unit creation individually in PRATISAIṊCARA.

PARAMA PURUŚA. Supreme Consciousness.
PARAMÁTMÁ, PARAMÁTMAN. Supreme Consciousness in the role of witness of His own Macropsychic conation. Paramátman comprises: (1) PURUŚOTTAMA, the Macrocosmic Nucleus; (2) Puruśottama’s association with all creation in His extroversive movement (prota yoga); and (3) Puruśottama’s association with each unit creation individually (ota yoga) and (4) with all collectively (prota yoga) in His introversive movement.
PRAKRTI, PARAMÁ PRAKRTI. Cosmic Operative Principle.
PROTA YOGA. The association of PURUŚOTTAMA with all creation in His extroversive movement and with all the unit creations collectively in His introversive movement.
PURUŚA. Consciousness.
PURUŚOTTAMA, PARAMASHIVA. The Nucleus Consciousness, the witness of saiṋcara (extroversion from the Nucleus) and pratisaiṋcara (introversion to the Nucleus).

QUINQUELEMENTAL. Composed of the ethereal, aerial, luminous, liquid and solid factors, or elements.

SÁDHAKA. Spiritual practitioner.
SÁDHANÁ. Literally, “sustained effort”; spiritual practice; meditation.
SAMÁDHI. “Absorption” of the unit mind into the Cosmic Mind (savikalpa samádhi) or into the ÁTMAN (nirvikalpa samádhi).
SAḾSKÁRA. Mental reactive momentum, potential mental reaction.
SANNYÁSII m. or SANNYÁSINII f. Literally, “one who has surrendered one’s everything to the Cosmic will” or “one who ensconces oneself in Sat, the unchangeable entity”; a renunciant.
SATSAUṊGA. Good company.
SHAKTI. PRAKRTI; energy; a deification of Prakrti.
SHÁSTRA. Scripture.
SHIVA. A great Tantric guru of 5000 BCE who guided society while His mind was absorbed in Consciousness; hence, Infinite Consciousness, PURUŚA.
SHLOKA. A Sanskrit couplet expressing one idea.

TANTRA. A spiritual tradition which originated in India in prehistoric times and was first systematized by SHIVA. It emphasizes the development of human vigour, both through meditation and through confrontation of difficult external situations, to overcome all fears and weaknesses. Also, a scripture expounding that tradition.

VEDA. Literally, “knowledge”; hence, a composition imparting spiritual knowledge. Also, a religious or philosophical school which originated among the Aryans and was brought by them to India. It is based on the Vedas and emphasizes the use of ritual to gain the intervention of the gods.
VIDYÁ. Centripetal, or introversial, force; force of attraction to the Nucleus Consciousness; aspect of the Cosmic Operative Principle which guides movements from the crude to the subtle. See also AVIDYÁ.
VIVEKA. Conscience, power of discrimination between good and evil.

YOGA. Spiritual practice leading to unification of the unit ÁTMAN with PARAMÁTMAN.