K.C.NARAYANA

Part I

The word Rajayoga is derived from the identifying the kingly thing in man. It is now well known that 'thought' is the kingly thing in man. But this simple fact was first realised by a saint who lived about 80 generations before King Dasaratha the father of the Avatar Sri Rama. This becomes necessary to identify this, mainly because man is essentially an animal as any other but with two well-developed faculties of thinking (reasoning) and capacity to express feelings. The word Yoga means union or rather feeling of union. Let us clearly understand that the root 'yuj' in Sanskrit means to unite. In Rajayoga the feeling of union is what is aimed at through the process of thought. All forms of Rajayoga are meant only for that. Yoga is union and we are trying to use thought forces.

Modern world has, apart from taking away all other things from us has also taken away the thought process. The thought process is getting annihilated. Somebody else is thinking all the time for us. Let us warn ourselves against this onslaught on thought process and allow it to be not a casualty. Because that is the kingly thing in man. That is the only distinguishing factor between animals and us. No other species has got this capacity. It is a special gift of God for us, a gift that we are now trying to squander away and allow somebody else to exploit it with whatever little mind he has got. He has got every right to say whatever he wants to say just as we have every right to say whatever we want to say but we are not here to get brainwashed.

There are two words in tradition, which I would like to use in this connection. A person who has got all other abharanas (ornaments) has got no great value, but a person who has got jnana and vairagya is considered to be possessing very precious jnanavairagya bhooshanam. Please note it. The most precious thing you can have is jnana, i.e. knowledge, and the greatest knowledge you can have is vairagya. Jnana does not mean ultimate or oneness with God etc; Jnana leads you to vairagya or a sense of detached functioning. Detached functioning and, not renunciation of the houses and running away. Modern management tells us that when we are detached and do not subject ourselves to task and when we look at its objectively our performance is at its best and it is no better wisdom than what our great rishis have already said. I am not going to say that the modern management is to be thrown away. It is absolutely essential that we should read that, follow that in order to be successful. The main point to stress is that it should be detached functioning.

Jnana and vairagya are possible only when we use the thought process. When we don't use our thought process neither jnana (knowledge and understanding) nor vairagya (due attachment to actions) is there. Jnana is lost and you come to the level of a stupid, vairagya is not there and we tend to get attached to every conceivable thing that is advertised.

Yoga is union, as a gross reflection of this concept of a union we started talking in terms of a family institution around 7 to 8 thousand years back. Family as an institution started a distinguishing feature between animal and man. Animals do not have families, we have. Because we used the thought process earlier and we have found that living for ourselves doesn't make sense. Sharing alone makes sense. It is on that principle of sharing; we started living with others for a lifetime. If we do not have a sharing principle and if marriage is only an institution for satisfying our physiological urges it is bound to fail. This is a development in our thinking from our egocentric selfish approach, which goes today by the name of independent approach, as against one of participation, co-operation, sacrifice and service. Family as an institution is capable of meeting that demand. We started families; families grew bigger, we still continued to work with the old parents. Great grandfathers lived with their great grand children, not because they could afford such a big family, but because they had broadness of heart, by which they could share whatever little they had. When we don't compromise on our basic animal needs, of either hunger or other basic physiological urges, we will not be in a position to live with others. When we sacrifice on these issues we will be in a position to live together.

This philosophy went further to accommodate the 'athithi' who comes to us without even informing and we are ordained to sacrifice everything we have got to him. This is said to be the basis of family. This is further elaborated in the concept 'athithi devo bhava' (treat the guest as God himself after having said that the mother, father and teacher are to be treated as Gods in the Vedas and Upanishads). Thus sacrifice and service have been upheld as the real values of life and this is due to the thinking process that churned out this truth by the Vedic times. This is why when they said this is the dharma of a grhasta; they were trying to tell you what is the basis of family. When they indicated the guest as the most important person, as the God they are sending you a message.

Basically the point we should remind ourselves in this present day polluted atmosphere, that is not restricted to physical and atmosphere, but to the very thought process, is that it is our dharma to share even at the point of our deprivation. Those of us who know the story of the mongoose often quoted by Swami Vivekananda, which exemplifies the glory of sacrifice of a poor teacher, will understand the glory of sacrifice and the duties to be performed when we are part of a family. Please note the extent to which we have been extorted by our tradition to live up to, and to what levels we have fallen. It is for us to decide.

There is no point in decrying our present condition but it is possible to live higher. In this land we are told what it is to share. It is this principle of sharing and sacrifice which has permitted us to allow every person to come and state whatever he wants to say. It has been our bitter experience that we have been fooled in this subject thanks to the modern times. We have come to a stage wherein we are getting exploited, families are getting ruined, joint family system is gone, small family systems are becoming important. Unfortunately even small families are also not continuing, the husband and wife have a difference and every alternative day they sue each other and they go for a divorce. A stage has come in the West wherein they have started thinking whether marriage is required at all. They developed a concept of staying together. The level to which we are sinking is the animal level. Thought process which is our basic character and which was allowing us to develop some sense as to how we can be happy has become a casualty. It should be understood that happiness would never be derived unless we cherish and practice sacrifice and opt to serve. We can have enormous amount of pleasure but not happiness. Please note that only when we give no importance to thought and give importance to our own existence all alternative arguments take hold. There are what are called permanent values and temporary values. Today we are getting succumbed to the temporary values, let us remind ourselves of the permanent values. Then yoga is possible viz., the union.

God is not somewhere else to be found. You are He. It is the manifestation of God which is here, call him God, call him Energy, call him Base or by any other name, because God has neither a name nor a form. Because if He was only one, which everyone agrees, so many people would not have described him in so many ways. There cannot be a Hindu God, Muslim God, and Christian God etc., as Rev. Babuji jocularly remarked in one of His conversations with some aspirants from the West. There is only one God who expresses Himself. We experience Him in so many ways because of the uniqueness of the union we have. In sadhana every one feels Him in a unique way and so naturally He was expressed in so many ways. But everyone who has had experience of the union knows that it is the only thing. Everyone sticks on to his own experience, because that is his experience, but he also knows that others can have the experience in their own way.

Each one of us is an expression of the Divine. This is the fundamental point of the system. If you kindly recall the basic roots (the Vedas), which is also common for others the Purusha sacrificed himself, the Purusha medha is what the Purusha suktha talks about. The Purusha sacrificed himself and he became many, ekoham bahushyam, which is what has happened, so one has multiplied into many. This was done by a process of sacrifice.

Sacrifice is the principle of life, that is the main point for our living together, for our family systems. If you strike at the point of that sacrifice then you are talking against the fundamental principles of manifestation, the roots of existence is questioned. The present day enthusiasts advocating the concept of independency and capacity to stand on one's own may well remember this. If energy remained what it was and did not explode either through a big bang or through any theory explaining creation or evolution or any other theory any one of us might have, there would have been no Universe and naturally we would be not here. But every one of these ideas could have actually happened and each one is possible, because none of us know what happened. Which is why practical people do not talk about this. The richness of your life is not dependent upon the abstract theories of big bang, Samkhya, Bergson's theory of creative evolution or any other theories. These will not give you any solution; they will give you only information, at best.

Please note that there is lot of difference between information and jnana. Incidentally I will take a small digression. There is something called information. Processed information becomes knowledge. But knowledge doesn't become understanding. This can be otherwise called in the ancient term wisdom. Up to the point of knowledge it is covered by the process of cognition. The second part i.e. called understanding is connected with conation or feeling. Everybody knows that it is necessary to understand that we are brothers and sisters but none of us feel it. Knowledge regarding the same has been given but due to lack of feeling there is no understanding. Without feeling no understanding is possible. The above comes only by experience. Psychology as is presently known is nothing but animal psychology, which has undergone a transition over a period of time. The present day psychology is without feeling it talks about ways of knowing and not ways of understanding. Yoga is a way of understanding, not a way of knowing. This is the fundamental difference. Why I would like to stress this is most of us who have meditated or trying to meditate now will have our own experience, will see something, will hear something and then we will comment that this is our experience. The point here is that we are literally trying to molest our feeling to fit into a language of knowledge. We are not happy with our understanding and are trying to bring it down to the level of knowledge even if necessary by sacrificing certain details and then start saying we are not satisfied with it as it does not correspond with what someone else has stated. Language of feeling is what we will have to learn in order to feel the Union. Everybody knows that we are expression of the Divine. Without energy we are not here. Without energy there is no solar system, without solar system we do not have planets and correspondingly no life. Each one of us has got information that Sun is the source and Earth is the base. But we do not feel this, earlier people felt it but did not have the knowledge, nowadays people have the knowledge but lack the capacity to feel. The union cannot be understood unless we learn to feel. The language of feeling has to be learnt. Don't try to bring in whatever little experience during your meditation to fit into our knowledge process but try to understand it as it is. Try to appreciate a flower as it is. By trying to separate the petals and analysing it we may gain botanical knowledge but that will not give us understanding. The beauty of a flower lies in the way it is. The beauty of existence lies in the way we are. Don't try to feel ashamed in front of somebody else, because God has created each one of us and He is in each one of us. When we know the purpose of the sacrifice He has done, the happiness He wanted us to have then we understand the 'Sun' that shines everyday. That is the nature of life. The nature of life is sacrifice and through sacrifice be happy. "Ishavasyamidham sarvam yat kincha jagatyam jagat: tena tyaktena bhunjeetha ma grdah kasya sviddhanam" so says Isa Upanishad. This means that the entire Universe is His, therefore getting detached, be happy. Covet not somebody else's. This is the only mantra that is repeated in all the four Vedas and finds place in the Upanishads. The main point to note is everywhere there is God therefore do not try to possess anything. Possessing not, enjoy and be happy.

What is it that has made us come to this level of not understanding this fundamental? What is the problem with us? The problem was identified even in the mantra with the word "tenatyaktena", which means don't own anything. That is there is a tendency to own up everything and cling to it as if it were our own. The truth, nothing is ours and everything belongs to God who pervades everything in the Universe. But we have started owning up things and people as if they are ours forever. In the language of Rev. Babuji there is undue attachment with us for everything or person that we consider our own. While due attachment is necessary to perform our duty efficiently, undue attachment leads to generation of bondage or fetters. We came here as an expression of the Divine but we started thinking that everything is due to our action. We started feeling that we are the doers and it is we who are doing good or bad to others. Neither are we the persons to do good nor are we the persons to kill. That is the solution in the Bhagavadgita. The greatest message, which is given in the Gita, is that we are not the doers. Lord Krishna says to Arjuna, "I am the doer, and you are only the means or the instrument". That Arjuna has to be only as 'nimmitta matram' (being just nominally present). For just His purposes as 'nimmitta matram' He goes on sending streams of individuals into the world in various lines. Because the very nature of life is that it will decay and perish. To keep going His creation He sends somebody else to replace. There is perenniality of flow, which again is subject to the principle of procreation. The maintaining job of creation is only through procreation but meaningful procreation, meaningful tradition, and a meaningful principle that is transmitted is the divine light. When we try to possess something and say it is our own, we are forming an impression in us which may otherwise be called as samskaras which even when we tend to forget it remains as a vasana with us. Among people who try to get rid of some bad habits, though they make a decision to get rid of it and do get rid of it, the misfortune is the vasana is still there and when circumstances of stress, circumstances of loneliness, circumstances of company are not suitable for you to deaddict yourselves, there is a recurrence. Vasana is present there, due to the samskaras made already by you. Nobody gives us Samskaras, we make our own Samskaras and samskaras arise out of attachment to work. That is why every great saint has been telling us to detach ourselves from desires and action. Unless we develop detachment or vairagya we are not going to progress further. We cannot progress in spirituality towards sharing unless you develop vairagya.

Detachment, it has been always stated by saints and others who have practiced spiritual life is possible only when we are in a hopeless position so as to feel we are not capable of doing anything. The traditional methods which have been given to achieve this are fasting, diksha, yatra, be away from the family, all of which are desperate solutions because everybody understood that unless one detaches himself physically from the environment it is not possible to progress. For one in grhasta ashrama it was said to be impossible to attain realisation or brahma jnana. Detachment is necessary to get rid of the samskaras and vasanas. Unless samskaras and vasanas are removed it is not possible to move towards ‘tyakta’ and ‘bhunjita’. But annihilation of self is the basic point for us. Union is the goal and what is the union – feeling the presence of Divinity which has given us the life and continue the tradition which He has given – and then what is the tradition God has given us – sacrifice in order for other persons’ happiness. Purusha suktha clearly tells that Purusha medha (the sacrifice of the Purusha – God) was meant for expressing His happiness in His expression namely creation in which human being occupies the top most position. That means the Divine meant happiness for all of us.

So if we want to achieve that principle or character of life and we want to have the union, all other goals take lesser priority. It is to be noted that the union sought for is not to become one with the Ultimate – the goal is to express the Ultimate and to sacrifice one’s interest to such an extent that there is happiness all round in which we are also included. When we try to give happiness we cannot help but get included and the analogy of the candle does not hold well in this respect. A candle always throws a shadow below itself and the shadow if we take it, as detachment then it is all right but if you take it as the nature of light itself it is not proper. The candle is meant to give light to others, it incidentally casts a shadow down – immediately below, but that shadow is not the nature of the candle. The candle is happy giving light to others through a continuous process of sacrificing its existence, it is able to emanate and generate happiness – light for others and so does the Sun. Therefore, it is God. He is God because He makes us live. The Sun dies every second so that we may live. If we remove Sun, then we cease to exist. So feeling the presence of Divinity or reaching the goal of yoga is, to see that happiness is spread and we are happy. As Rev. Babuji puts it in his Commandments, we should be in a position to mould our living so as to rouse a feeling of love and piety in others. We live in such a way so that others also feel love and piety towards God. Any other goal does not have any meaning at all for our life. The union with the Absolute does not have any meaning at all. The people of West who did not have the advantage of the spiritual culture of this land started interpreting this as pessimism. The people of our land are most optimistic. We are very courageous and tolerant, which tolerance and sacrifice has been interpreted as pessimism. It takes enormous courage to welcome an unknown guest taking him to be our God and treat him with utmost respect and share first with him whatever we have. We take our share only after he is satisfied.

Further we have enormous confidence that even if we commit a series of mistakes we are not condemned, and that we are going to have another chance to rectify. The natural order puts everything in its proper place. The natural order is to share, sacrifice, live together, co-operate and tolerate. We are born into this order and we will live in this order. This is possible only when we feel the union. When we feel attached to something as our own and start having our own creation, there is a conflict between our creation and the God’s creation. They do not go together. He wants service and sacrifice whereas we tend to want possessiveness and selfishness. Please note that all the great Asuras who have been mentioned in our puranas knew enough about all our Gods. They were capable of making the Gods come to them and get boons which is not possible without having some merit in them. The problem they had was possessiveness. Possessiveness is the problem of a person who knows but does not yield. Instead of yielding he tries to possess. The problem here is that we tend to start feeling that we are the doer. “You are not the doer ‘God’ is the doer. You are but a nimmitta matra.” That is what Lord Krishna said in the Gita. If we are not going to yield to the Divine, Divinity will find its own means of getting things done. Opportunities are always given for rectification. If we do not rectify ourselves now, there is always a next life.

So attachment and consequent possessiveness is the main problem. How to get rid of attachment is the main question. If we close our eyes and start meditating irrespective of the idea given, the mind does not stay, it starts wandering about on various issues related to the physical self and in some instances to the Adhi Daivika i.e. some gods whom we have accepted earlier. The adhyatmika is made secondary as the one which gives support to both the above. Rarely does one start thinking about others in the family but usually never about somebody else in society.

If we take the heart like this – heart as the place of feeling and mind as the place of processing sensory inputs we understand better. Thus the heart is the plane which takes care of the feelings concerned with the self, physiological needs, physical drives, emotional needs, social needs and this is the plane to which the energy from our mind flows. All this is due to the attachment.

Diagram No. 1

This is what the Master means by showing the heart as consisting of two parts one upper and the other lower and that our vrttis usually go to the lower portion. Instead of our feelings going to the lower level (self centered) it has to go to the upper level relating to altruism and selflessness (i.e. the para or the parahita) as per the divine order. Living in happiness and thinking and doing good to others is the mission of life. Try to feel what we can do for others. Sacrifice our interest. Our thought process that is generally at the lower level has to progress to the higher level and this is where all our rishis have stayed. All our rishis have said the same thing – in order that happiness spreads everywhere it is necessary that one should not get obsessed with their own things. One should start thinking about something above. This is what Master means when he says that the upper portion of the heart is the landing place of rishis. It is not as though they are stay put there to be seen by us. Master says it is impossible to move into the U portion of the heart unless the lower portion L is purified. But generally people tend to move into the higher sphere with the entire load and that is impossible.

This is possible only when we utilise meaningfully the thinking process. When thinking itself is a casualty one becomes an animal. We can call ourselves human, only when we use the thought process. All ‘naras’ are not ‘manavas’. A manava is one who uses his thought and practices satya. Satya is possible only when you think. A manava is one who practices ahimsa. This is also possible only when you think. Unless you feel that the other person is also an expression of the Divine and has, as much right to live as we have ahimsa as a principle cannot be practised. The knowledge about this is there but there is a lack of feeling. Knowledge becomes a feeling when it percolates down below to the heart from the mind. A manava is one who practices Brahmacharya. This is a word, which has been misinterpreted. Brahmacharya is not being celibate but to control ourselves in such a way so as to behave in a balanced manner. The word Brahmacharya is combination of the words Brahm and chara. The process of Brahm is manifestation. To participate with Him is to move along with Him. Many people do not differentiate between pada and charana. Pada is static where charana is movement. ‘Charnaou sharanam prapadye’ is stated not ‘padao sharanam prapadye’. The goal of man is to move along with the Divine in the path of the Divine, in the tract of the Divine and not to become static by sitting in one corner. Brahmacharya means to move along with Divine. Abstinence as a method required for Brahmacharya has a purpose i.e. if one does not abstain, he forms attachments and as a result samskaras start developing and as a result we get away from the movement and purpose of Divine. This is what the Upanishad Isa said as stated earlier. The attachment to work has to be stopped but not the action. As the Gita says get detached from the action but not from performing the act itself. After Brahmacharya you have asteya and aparigraha. These two principles are already made clear in the mantra of the Isa through the words ‘tenatyaktena’ and ‘bhunjitah’. Unless you follow these five principles you do not come to the status of a human or Manava. To come to this level it has been stated in tradition that it will take 82 lakhs of lives to achieve the level of man.

The progress in spiritual life up to this level should enable us to live without self-illusion i.e. the delusion of an ‘I’ presiding over all our actions. Further we reach a state where there is no doubt about the real nature of life and lastly we learn that rituals and rites only bind us and does not help us to liberate ourselves. We learn that words and acts should be perfectly moral, we should abstain from killing, stealing, adultery, lying and avoid intoxicants. This is the level of the human being. Those who are not at this stage are no where near D consciousness and are trying to become human from the animal level into which they are born. We find in the Gita wherein Lord Krishna states that – among thousands of people one cares to think of me and among thousands of such people thinking about me only one reaches me. The meditation, which we do, should enable us to come to the level of man. The efficacy of the system depends on whether we are able to achieve the same. From the level of manava we will need to progress further to live in the consciousness of altruism (parahita). This is the first level of super consciousness we need to achieve. How do we achieve the same? The reason why people go to several places is that they are in search of a system to achieve this level. Here revered Babuji says that there are two points in the chest region namely ‘A’ and ‘B’.

Diagram No.2

The point A is at two fingers width across and three fingers down from the left nipple and another two fingers down is the point B. We will not be able to locate it physically but will have to locate it psychically. It is also stated that these measurements are according to the abhyasis fingers width. Rev. Babuji said that by meditating on these points we will be able to control our urges. Note that we are not to annihilate the urges, because if we annihilate we will no longer be participant in the process of creation and grhasta duty gets badly affected. The urges must be brought down to a level of balancedness. The thought, which has to be maintained at point A, is that ‘every persons is my brother and sister and they are developing true love and devotion to the Master’. By doing this the sensual urges get reduced. It works mainly because it enables development of love. When one starts thinking that all are my brothers and sisters, and share with us whatever we have without any consideration for what we are going to get in return. We share the love and possessiveness is removed. Love demands sacrifice. We come from love to sacrifice. By maintaining the thought that each person is our brother and sister we start developing love.

The modification of Rajayoga that has been given by Rev. Babuji is this. By ignoring the points of ‘A’ and ‘B’ there is no Sri Ramchandra’s Rajayoga. These points are his discovery and a solution to the much-vexed problem in yoga sadhana finds finally a practical method to solve in this method. Humanity will forever be indebted to him. All glory to God to have sent such a Supreme Personality the Eternal Master Sri Ramchandraji of Shahjahanpur, U.P. India.

Satisfaction if we can’t have directly will lead to perverse behaviour where we seek vicarious satisfaction. Why is it people go to Cinema. Just to get vicarious satisfaction. There is no need for any great Psychologist to explain this. What we do not get in real life we try to get through novels, journals, blue films etc.. It does not matter much to distinguish them. But the atmosphere is polluted. It is surcharged with these ideas. The ideas are floating in the atmosphere affecting us day in and day out. It requires enormous capacity and effort to purify such an atmosphere. There is no place in our homes, which is not invaded by the thoughts on pornography (sex), crime or violence. Thanks to the Television channels even our kitchens and prayer rooms are polluted leave alone the drawing and dining rooms. We seem to live, move and have our being in this polluted atmosphere all the time choking our souls with this filth. This is achieved by what goes by the name advertisement psychology – that has exploded into every advertisement. We cannot see any program in any channel of the TV that we can say does not carry the advertisements loaded with these polluted and highly choking inputs.

That being so, now we are talking about parahita and parasukha in an atmosphere that is so polluted. But, how to achieve this? Is it not for this reason our minds are highly excited and does not allow even a few minutes to contemplate on God or any other sublime subject. The answer has been we do not see God nor is there anything that is more important than the self and selfish ends. This is the refuge of an ostrich. What levels we have degraded ourselves can be understood only by those in whom thinking has not yet become a casualty. The problem of the polluted environment alone made even in good olden days for the many who sought the goal of life with sincerity to go to far off places from residential areas – may be Himalayas or other mountain resorts to feel peaceful and work within. They were always also having an Indra who was envious of them and a little apprehensive about his post to disturb them with his nymphs and dancers. Today we do not have to wait for one Indra to disturb us. All the TV, radio, magazine editors and directors are all Indras bent on disturbing our peace and our search for peace. Even so the Asuras were disturbing the peace lovers who were contemplating universal good and universal peace. One Ravana here and one Hiranya Kasipu there. But now all our TV directors, cinema directors and all the editors of all news magazines leave alone magazines of cinema and porn stuff are all the Asuras in this task of disturbing our peace within and our search and endeavour for peace outside.

Against this backdrop we are now talking of universal peace and the need to live in accordance with the laws of Nature. The natural balance is badly threatened and it is our bounden duty to restore the same to its original status of purity. It is our dharma or swadharma. It is imperative that we live according to the laws and principles of nature, which are adumbrated by the concept of service and sacrifice. Without developing these there is no way out of this pollution. How do we do that? As it has been explained earlier by meditating on the points ‘A’ and ‘B’ as laid down by the Great Master. We should endeavour to live at the higher level in the heart and do not yield to the urges and pulls and pressures of the lower nature. It is yielding to those that has led civilisation to this hopelessly bad and wretched level. It is our duty to become saints and live at the level of service with sacrifice. That alone is our swadharma. That alone will please God and cause peace and happiness to all.

As was stated earlier the landing place of rsis of yore and saints in this state of super consciousness prevailing in the U portion of the heart. All our Vedic mantras which talk about good to others and in general like ‘may it rain well’, ‘may the cows give more milk’, ‘may the king be blessed with good progeny’ etc. are all mantras for the good of others. Though the prayers are only to many gods like Agni, Varuna, Indra and others, which may be even called elements, still the prayer is for the good of all – it is aimed at parahita and parasukha. These persons are saints because they thought about good of others and worked for it incessantly. So also it is our birthright to be saint.

Everyone has a birthright to be saint. God has given the capacity to think, by exercising this faculty we become human, and by exercising the same for the good of others we become saints. This is the minimum level of achievement we can have and we are supposed to have. The preliminary stages of this consciousness are what a child has by birth. It is innocent, it does not distinguish between persons, and it speaks always straight and the truth. We teach later how to tell falsehood. However, in the West certain psychologists, more particularly the Freudian type have considered the child to be polymorphous perverse. That is what we can see in the child when we look at it from our angle. But if you look at it from its angle it is always an angle. We compared the child with ‘Bala Mukundam’ and ‘Vatapatra Sayee’ etc.. Note the difference in the approaches. The child is innocent and does not give too much weight to the various thoughts we give to it, even if we scold it forgets it and is back as innocent as it was earlier. That is the stage to which a person of the caliber of a saint has to progress. He cannot afford to count the harms done by others. He counts only graces and lives forever in innocence.

The funniest aspect of life is that we tend to ignore the god given faculty of forgetting and go on struggling to develop memory. Memory gives rise to bondage. Forgetting enables us not to form links of bondage. Forgetting is a god given gift. If we remember everything then our heads will crash. Thus naturally we forget many things. But the faint impressions are still there. The dirt is removed yet the stink is there. This is what we call the vasanas.

Once our thoughts are brought up to this level Rev. Babuji says we have reached the preliminary state of super consciousness. It is not as though that we have already crossed the limits of animal consciousness. The animal consciousness persists whatever may be the stage of spiritual growth. If animal nature were to go totally we would not have had a Saint Vyasa who is called Bhagavan in the tradition. What happens is that our thoughts most of the time would relate to doing good to others and the animal urges and wants would be reduced to the minimum. This is one of the significant deviations in this system. In all other systems of sadhana it has been held that Kama (desire) and Krodha (anger) are to be annihilated. But in this system they are sought to be moderated and bring to a sate of balance. Rev. Babuji says that if Kama is annihilated then intelligence itself would be lost and Krodha is annihilated no action would be possible.

The undue stress on these two aspects of life alone made other systems insist that a householder (grhasta) is not eligible for spiritual life. It is highly refreshing to hear that the majority of human population which was denied this possibility by such institutions like monasteries, sanyasi orders etc., which have been held to be the only means to live a spiritual life is not so and that all the human beings are eligible for spiritual life as a birth right. This is the charm and call of this system of Raja yoga.

The consciousness that is had at the level of the U portion of heart is the human consciousness and that which is below in the portion L is animal consciousness. The idea that is generally had that all human beings are born with human consciousness is not correct. The majority of the human beings is born and continues to live in animal consciousness. But the possibility of living in human consciousness where service and sacrifice in our action can be expressed is the call of the Divine and this we shall endeavour to live up to. From animal consciousness to the human consciousness and further up to the limit of preliminary state of super consciousness is the minimum level every one of us have to endeavour to live up to.

Further please note that up to the Lower level in the heart all the contents of our consciousness are products of the sensory inputs. All that is knowledge is only sensory in origin. The ways of knowing that is generally accepted universally are Pratyaksha (perception), Anumana (inference) and Upamana (analogy). For all these types of knowing sensory inputs alone is the basis. There is another category of knowing that is called Sruti where we are accepting knowledge communicated to us by great men as valid. This is the Bible, the Koran, the Vedas and other works as Bhagavad Gita. Apart from this certain philosophical systems like Advaita Vedanta accepts Apta vacana as one more method of knowing. Here the idea is that the friend (apta) has no reason to tell something wrong and as a matter of fact he intends to tell good and therefore the knowledge gained through this method was also accepted as valid.

Above all these ways of knowing is the criteria that whatever is experienced as knowledge should be workable in day to day life. That which does not work is not true. It does not suffice if it works once; it must work whenever it is asked to work. The concepts of validity, reliability and repeatability are essential requirements of knowledge at the sensory level.

But all these are in the realm of the sensory. These criteria will not hold good in the realm of feeling which is the characteristic way of knowing in the higher plane. The language of God i.e. feeling must be learnt. Love towards others is not a matter of knowledge; it is a matter of feeling. We love children – play with them, caress them, and pamper them. But when they do not behave well we do not mind giving a good thrashing. In all these things which appear different and even contradictory there is love that is running behind. In the realm of feeling what we see is not necessarily true. We shout at the mother, sister or wife when they do not take the medicines that is to be taken out of love. For an outsider it may appear that the person is shouting at persons whom he should respect. This is his judgement but for the person who is performing the act of shouting it is another way of loving. This language has to be learnt. We are accustomed to sensory knowledge.

All the apparatus of Antahkarana or that which helps in the formation of consciousness consists of the Buddhi, Ahankar, Manas and Chit. All these apparatus work on the input given by the senses. All the knowledge we have is sensory. The realm of super consciousness is beyond this and is in the realm of feeling. Unless the thoughts that derive support from these apparatus is controlled there is no possibility of learning the language of feeling or in other words the entry to super conscious levels is out of question. That is why the most preliminary apparatus i.e. Chit has to be controlled for doing sadhana. Unless Chit is controlled, we will not learn the language of feeling. ‘Chitta vrtti nirodham yogama’. That is the stream of thoughts or stream of consciousness has to be controlled. This by itself is nothing. But this unfortunately has been confused to be the goal itself. There lies the fallacy. When the chitta is controlled we begin to learn the language of feeling. We start feeling the divine spark within. The Divinity is felt as something that is closest to us. As we have stated that chitta vrtti can be controlled only when we meditate on Points ‘A’ and ‘B’. This is the logic of this system of Rajayoga of Sri Ramchandra. This is a new discovery that enables to feel the presence of the Divinity by attending to simple meditational practices.

What happens to the content of consciousness next? The super consciousness of the lower type namely D consciousness that is in the upper portion of the heart gets transcended and we enter into the realm of D1 consciousness. The seat of this consciousness is located in between the two eyebrows generally known as the region of the Ajna in yogic literature. The movement to this level in this system is not from Muladhara through Swadhishtana, Manipura, Anahata and Visuddha to Ajna. That path is Sakteya or Kundalini yoga. In this system the path from the D Consciousness to D1 is through a zigzag path covering certain yogic centers of the Dayal path. It is not necessary to go into those details in the context of understanding the efficacy of this system of Rajayoga. Suffice it to note that the heart is the base of our existence (which relates to the element Earth). From this level we gain discriminatory knowledge (Viveka) which develops further into detached (due attachment) outlook (vairagya). From this level we move towards the knowledge of inter dependency which is the nature of the soul (Atma). The interdependence is just not mutual dependence amongst us. It is more inter dependence with God. Further we move on to the third level of development of devotion (Bhakti). In this state the prayers which are generally of the nature of petitioning ceases and we pray to God for prayer sake and all the time feel the dependency on Master. This leads to a certain amount of helplessness, which takes us to the next step. From thence we move to the understanding of absolute surrender to God (Saranyatva), from there we move to settledness in the memory of God, and we feel settled and balanced.

From there we move to this level of super consciousness D1. The preliminary state of parahita that we spoke of at the point of the heart gets transformed to finer shades.

At D level the parahita karya is also tinged with selfish motives of name and fame. All service done is sought to be acknowledged and remembered. The nameplates on the marriage halls, water facilities are invariably associated with the service. Even for small service they provide they seek enormous publicity and need for acknowledgement voiced or silent. The advertisement cost far exceeds the actual service they have done. But at the higher level of consciousness that exhibit the parahita at the D1 stage the services are rendered even without the awareness of doing service. Here there is no selfishness of any kind and all actions are meant for the good of others.

Let us not confuse that the person at this level (D1) ceases to be animal or human. He is both but the predominant quality expressed is Divine – one of service and sacrifice. As a gross analogy it may be said that D consciousness is what a Duryodhana exhibited and D1 is the consciousness expressed by Karna. The former who is known to be a kind and generous person always wanted appreciation for his work while the latter did not bother about that and served whenever he could and sacrificed his personal interests also many a time. The D1 consciousness is growth over and above the human consciousness at D. Having achieved the preliminary stage at D level i.e. after becoming a rishi tulya it is stated in the tradition that seven more lives are required to gain this stage of seeking Moksha or Liberation (Mumukshatva). What actually happens is that by sadhana and after going through various stages of spiritual growth mentioned earlier we are enabled to weaken two more fetters 1. Sense desires and 2.Ill-will towards others. This is what is achieved in D1 consciousness. A person who comes to this stage, it is stated in tradition, will be born once more and that is the last life before achieving the no-return stage. The actual condition of a Brahma Jnani or Brahma Rishi is that he knows he has to surrender everything to God. This he accomplishes in the next life. (Readers may study the life of the great king turned Brahma Jnani Viswamitra who finally surrenders everything to Lord Rama).

That being the position obtaining in our hoary tradition, it is our bounden duty to achieve the various levels of super consciousness that are made easily achievable with the practical methods given by our Master Rev. Babuji Maharaj coupled with the help of the Master’s transmission or Pranahuti.

A point again to note is that we will not be able to move into the upper portion of the super consciousness here (D1), which is on the right side as against the left side in the heart region directly. However much we try it would not be possible. It is essential that the point B should be thoroughly cleaned (by means of steady practice of meditation on the point and not cleaning of any kind) and through that enter the point B1 so that entry into the upper portion here on the right side is possible through entry in the left portion. This is one of the fundamental discoveries of the Master called the principle of Invertendo.

At this level also we have two points A1 and B1. It is necessary that these points are also kept clean and pure to live in the state of superior sort of super consciousness. Master says that this is possible only by working on points ‘A’ and ‘B’. There is no work at A1 and B1. All work is to be done at ‘A’ and ‘B’ only. According to the purity of ‘A’ and ‘B’ the purity of A1 and B1 is achieved. As noted earlier the region has also an upper and lower region but in inverted manner compared to the condition in the heart. This is a very important point to note. The level of superior state of super consciousness denoted as D1 enables us to break away from the already weakened fetters of sense desires and ill-will and one achieves clearer state of realisation. This is the state from which there is no return to rebirth at the material plane or this is called the state of liberation in the normal sense. But existence continues in the higher plane. It is almost impossible to move further to higher regions because service becomes very difficult to perform and without service progress in spirituality becomes impossible. That is the reason why in the tradition it has been stated that even gods want to be born as humans so that they may grow out of the bondages of higher regions. So much remains to be done as our existence in the brighter world continues and is as much bondage as the grosser one.

So the true seeker yearns for the Ultimate and thus the journey to Infinite moves further. We have seen earlier that the input for the consciousness at the heart level is heavily dependent on the Lower portion, which is basically sensory in nature. From the sensory level of knowing we have moved to the non-sensory way of understanding through feeling. This has enabled us to move in the lower level of super consciousness. With the help of this non-sensory understanding we moved into the level of D1 consciousness. Here this super consciousness drenched in the various conditions mentioned earlier in its march becomes our input. It is in the Lower portion in this region. Through this we have to move to the Upper portion (see Diagram 3).

And thus from the language of feeling which has guided us so far, we have to move on the realm of non-feeling, feeling. Here the language of silence starts. Silence speaks so to say -–however meaningless it might appear to be. If we try to enter into this state through the Lower level as understood at the heart level it is almost impossible. Having however entered into the region of the upper here it becomes possible for us to express our being through action, which are socially and spiritually relevant. That is the nature of parahita that is possible and practicable here. The region of light begins and showers of light are experienced or rather imperienced.

Further approach to the realms of humility and total dependence of the Master becomes possible only by purifying the point B1, which enables us to live with finer ideas. The purity here is dependent on the purity at the point B only. There is no action at this level. The action is only at the point

B. In practice it means that we get oriented to the Divine more and more and feel less and less of ourselves. The process of total negation starts. The humility that is developed at the earlier levels gets firmed up and we enter into the realm of fana (negation). This enables us to move on the D2 consciousness.

Diagram 4

This is further refinement of the super consciousness achieved at D1. To express this in words is difficult. But traditionally this has been equated with the simple awareness of Sat, Chit and Ananda. The top most level according to tradition is thus achieved. Here we do not get any super normal powers to exhibit, but we always live in a state of consciousness which reflects its nature and emits its fragrance all around. There is a peculiar calm and peace enjoyed by everyone who sits by his side and all other ideas temporarily get suspended. There is vibrant force that permeates the surroundings all the time. The radiation of the Divine will be emanating from such a person. Up to this is the realm of the heart. Beyond this lies the realms of the Divine or what Master calls the Mind region of God. It is at this state the sadhaka loses 1.Lust for form 2. Lust for formless 3. Conceit 4. Restlessness and 5. Prime ignorance of the nature of self. Then the entry to the realm of the Divine becomes possible. Access to the region of the Mind of God is given. It is only at the level of D2 consciousness the real problem starts from the sadhaka who has traveled all along with humility. The tests of humility lie here. Attachment and possessiveness of the Divine though premature, starts here. The servants of God become Asuras at this stage. That is the story of Jaya and Vijaya who were the gatekeepers of the Vaikunta who through arrogance and possessiveness hurt the feelings of Sanath Kumaras and were cursed to born as Asuras. (Note: this annotative story is given only to understand the problem and it should not be confused that the realm of Lord Vishnu is anywhere here. Master has clarified the position about these functionaries and their playground is much below in the Pind desh).

The principle of Invertendo works again. The upper portion of the region of super consciousness of the D1 type, which was in the right side again, gets inverted here and is located in the left side. The D2 consciousness lies in the region named B2 marked U. The access to B2 is through A2 which again is dependent upon the purity achieved in B at the heart level. Discerning abhyasis should note this point that meditation at point B suggested in the beginning of sadhana is the key to all the levels above.

Beyond this lies the realm of Gods Mind or the Mind region. It is considered not necessary to note these regions except for knowing the possibilities in higher approach. The Mind region as already hinted earlier is beyond the scope of the abhyasi to know fully. The Central region which is the discovery of the Grand Master Lalaji Maharaj is the final limit up to which we can move with the help of the practices stated earlier and the help of the transmission the unique principle of this system.

II

Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur, U.P. India has presented his system of Rajayoga in more than one manner. In his first book ‘Commentary on Ten Commandments of Sahaj Marg’ he explained the system from the point of practical methods to be adopted to achieve the desired goal viz. Moderation in daily life. This is broadly the ethics of the system. In his book ‘Efficacy of Raja Yoga in the light of Sahaj Marg’ he has presented the possibilities of human consciousness for development from the absolutely self-centered one to Divine oriented through various levels called by him as heart region, mind region and central region. In this work he invents two points in the human frame located in the region of chest, ‘A’ and ‘B’ and advises meditation on these points for evolution of consciousness. In his book ‘Towards Infinity’ he has presented the system of various levels of consciousness lying twisted due to the very nature of evolution (involution) itself and identified mainly 13 knots and many more of lesser importance for general assessment of growth of an individual.

Before any person evaluates the worth of the system it is necessary to note what is the goal that the system is offering. The system of Rajayoga presented by Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj has got a definite goal of making the human living happy. Happiness in creation is the aim of the Lord when He manifested Himself as Nature and all creative processes thereafter.

Any system which says that the world is unworthy and is sinful or qualify it by any such adjectives and exhort individuals to get back to the Lord or His home is asking for something that is different from what God intended. We are all here only to share His glory and be happy. After the span of life expires everyone is entitled to get back to his Home. This can be achieved by following simple ways of living.

This objective of the practice namely achieving happiness is naturally dependent on Peace and Harmony that an individual can achieve. Peace and Harmony invariably involve others in the consideration. Therefore the basic and essential inter relatedness of existence has to be known, realised and then practiced. For this the method suggested by the Master is the development of necessary moderation in all spheres of life leading to a balanced way of living.

The system does not propose any austere measures to be practiced to curtail Kama (Sex urge) and Krodha (Anger). He gives practical methods of meditation on certain points identified and located by him. He further makes it clear that annihilation of these basic urges will only engender life itself. He says they are God given and cannot be annihilated. He advocates certain purificatory practices in addition to the meditational practices and also advises the individuals to take help from other brothers and sisters who are capable of assisting them in this regard through the system of Pranahuti.

However, he demands that Moha (lust or infatuation), Lobha (greed) and Ahankar (Egoism) are to be tackled by the individual himself through self-restraint or other methods. To achieve this he has suggested the Ten Commandments to be followed. They are necessary if one wants to lead a balanced existence. As for Ahankar, he says that so long an individual is capable and says he is capable, there is no Ahankar. He gives the example of a person who is a Ph. D. and says he is one, there is no Ahankar but if he is not and says he is one such then that is Ahankar. Thus we find a totally different meaning given to this much-dreaded term in traditional methods. More than that, we see through his example that Lie or Falsehood is the product of this Ahankar. So long as a person is bound to truth without giving unwarranted exemptions under which falsehood can be uttered, one can be sure that he is not in the clutches of Ahankar.

The practice of the Commandments given by him appear to be easy for the beginner but as he starts practicing it becomes clear to him all these are not that easy unless there is corresponding spiritual condition. An attempt is made here based on experience of the aspirants to identify the various levels of consciousness required and the meditation on ‘A’ and ‘B’ points to be practiced. It is easy to see that point A meditation involves the good of others while point B meditation takes into consideration the development of the self. Therefore, so long one is in the realm of self-oriented consciousness the meditation on point B will be highly useful and necessary. Similarly when the state of consciousness covers other than the self, meditation on point A is useful and necessary.

It should, however, be borne in mind that meditation only on these points ‘A’ and ‘B’ will not be enough. These are in addition to the regular requirement of meditation on the heart advised in the morning and the purificatory practice given for the evening. In addition regular individual training with the trainers and Satsang should be practiced.

1.   First Commandment. To practice this commandment it is necessary that the aspirant understands the temporal nature of existence and the need to detach oneself from sloth and indolence which makes him sleep longer hours than required. It also demands that the importance of the Goal be always kept in mind. Traditionally this was called the development of Viveka and Vairagya.

Therefore, it becomes clear that the Knots 1 and 1a are to be loosened. This can be done by meditating on the point B, located by the Master, which when made clearer makes the goal clearly understood.

2.         Commandment 2. To practice this commandment one has to understand that he cannot be confined to the animal level of existence and has to transcend the basal needs level. It also demands that one is clear about need for love and devotion to the Spirit behind all existence.

This also relates to the knots 1 and 1 a and therefore meditation on point B is necessary to be practised diligently.

 3.         Commandment 3. To practice this commandment one has to have faith in oneself that he can reach the goal apart from the requirements of the earlier states related to 1 and 2 Commandments.

This also relates to the knots 1 and 1a and therefore the practice on meditation on point B is absolute must.

 4.         Commandment 4. To practice this commandment one should know the essential nature of life that it is simple and one need not struggle always against it. The oneness with all forms of existence can be had only when one knows his integral and inseparable oneness with it. This demands the consciousness of the nature of the individual self.

This relates to knots 1a and 2. Therefore, practice of meditation on point B which makes it clear that Divine is omnipresnt is necessary.

 5.         Commandment 5. To practice this commandment one should know the true nature of oneself. Traditionally it is called swa-swaroopa jnana.  

Unless this nature of total dependency on God for existence is known it would not be possible to accept miseries of existence as Divine blessings.

This relates to knot 2 and therefore meditation on point B helps a lot in achieving this level.

6.         Commandment 6. To practice this commandment one should know the nature of the self clearly as interdependent with other forms of existence apart from the Divinity itself.

                This relates to the condition of knots 2 and 3 and therefore can be easily practised only when one is regular with the meditation on both the ‘B’ and ‘A’ points.

7             Commandment 7. To practice this commandment it is necessary that one should know that he is totally dependent on God and mainly his devotee consciousness.

This relates to the condition of knots 2 and 3 and therefore even as in 6^th commandment meditation on both the ‘A’ and ‘B’ points is necessary. It may be noted that unless one practices meticulously and regularly on these points the stabilisation in 2^nd and 3^rd knot will not be possible. This alone is the basis on which Devotion in the real sense to the Master develops.

8.         Commandment 8. To practice this commandment it is necessary that one realises that there is nothing existent without the Divine and therefore one has to maintain the purity of existence in every sense of the term. Purity demands honesty and piety and to practice them without the awareness of the inherent Divinity everywhere is not possible.

                This relates to the knots 3 and 4. Therefore, the meditation on both ‘A’ and ‘B’ points alone will make this attainable.

9             Commandment 9. To practice this it is necessary that one fully understands the true nature of his self (as being dependent on God and others) and

the need to maintain purity of existence in all respects as Divinity is all-pervasive.

This consciousness is the sum total of all the earlier states of consciousness and essentially relates to the knot 5. Meditation on points A and B assiduously and regularly enables one raise to this condition.

10.Commandment 10. To practice this one has to know his humble status before the Divine. Humility is a virtue that develops only when one becomes conscious of the limitations of existence and the infinitesimal proportion of existence over which he deludes himself as having control.

This relates to the knot 5 where the nature of reality in its gross form is had. Meditation on points A and B are essential for achieving this. As a matter of fact the entry to the higher realm of Consciousness marked, as U by the Master is possible only when one has reasonably managed to practice the first 6 Commandments.

To consider that the practice of these Commandments is not all that essential because of the Transmission of the Master or because of the Grace of the Master ever flowing to us is not correct. We have to do our duty. These are Commandments and therefore should be implemented. It may take time but one is sure to meet with success with determination and dependency on Master.