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The region from the top of the head (Shikar) to
the occipital region is called the Mind Region
in the individual body. Thinking from the
standpoint of the journey in the Heart Region
the Mind Region is very vast. For most persons
the gains experienced in the Heart Region are
very great. But unless that region is crossed
one does not go beyond to that state which is
beyond Maya. The promise or aim of man is to go
to that region from which there is no return to
the regions of samsara, rebirth etc. There are
many souls, even teachers, who do not wish to go
beyond the Heart Region on the plea that they
would like to see everybody cross over to the
region beyond, before themselves crossing over.
This, of course, is a selfless idea and a
glorious idea of unselfishness. For most persons
it is necessary to go beyond the Heart Region.
Great teachers and avatars are those who have
come down from the Central Region for the
upliftment of all and specially for the proper
restoration of Dharma or godly kingdom. Others
who are imbued only with love of humanity and
who have hardly the higher access to regions of
the Centre can only show their attachment to
humanity. However, it must be stated that those
in the Heart Region can, owing to certain
techniques have access to regions of the Mind
Region and gain powers and perform miracles and
thus even feel that they have reached the
regions of the Mind or Super-Mind of God. The
essence of the Heart Region is in the Mind
Region and that is why there is this
communication of the higher to the lower
regions. The entire universe and its form all
owe to the Big Mind of God, and by entering into
this region one can develop one's capacity or
power to experience the great region. This
region can be considered to be the Region of
Intuition, which is truly a state of feeling
cognition rather cognitive as such as in the
region of the heart. This is a region beyond the
regions of air and light but from which they
have descended. It is beyond even akasa or
ethereal force and motion. As Sri Krishna stated
it, Na tatra suryo bhati, na sasankah na ca
pavakah; neither the Sun nor Moon nor even fire
shine there. This is the powerhouse of God. Here
we can see that it is the world of divine powers
even as the ancient seers stated. The Vedic
thinkers have mentioned the whole host of gods
such as Agni, Vayu, Indra, Varuna, Bruhaspati,
Prajapathi, Soma, Rudra and Surya. There are
indeed One in so far as they are powers and
functions of the One Supreme or the Centre.
These are diverse centres of powers which are
revealed in the Heart Region. The worship or
upasana of these powers through yaga and yajna
has led to cults of different kinds and
sectarianisms. Most occultists or power dabblers
come into contact or relation or communication
with these and exercised extraordinary
miraculous powers but all these have, in the
end, been productive of misery. In a profound
sense Indian thought has asserted that these
godly powers are functions which are filled by
certain souls which have sought siddhis of these
functions. These worlds, in a sense, are the
worlds of such siddhas. But being limited by the
fulfilment and exercise of these powers they are
incapable of going above the region of the
Brahmanda. It is seen that souls which aspire to
these worlds or lokas of Indra or Varuna and
others remain there and come down to the lower
regions when the fruits of their yaga, (yaga or
yajna Phala) have been spent out. Secondly, as
the Mimamsakas have held the yaga (sacrifice)
enforces the mechanical production of the effect
and as such even these gods belong to a karma
governed world.
Man who aspires after the Infinite alone
passes beyond the vast storehouse of godly
energies. He reaches the region of refined
calmness and even the idea of creation is
imperceptible. The Brahmanda is the entire
universe in the vaster sense when we think of
the cosmoses. This vast region is called the
Para-Brahmanda. These regions obviously can be
explored only by the Mind. It is when we cross
this Brahmanda with the help of the Master that
we gain power to go beyond it and enter into
this vaster region. The Mind Region is the
region of idea which is the essence behind the
expressions in the Heart Region. When we pass
beyond the idea to Reality the idea itself fades
away. It is stated by Shri Ram Chandraji that
when the Mind Region is crossed we pass beyond
all expressions in the sense we have been using
it. This is a state which is inexpressible as it
is. Shri Ram Chandraji in his Reality at Dawn
has mentioned about this vast region as
comprising eleven circles or rings of egoism.
The subtle forms of egoism are to be understood
as the powers that one utilise for the Divine
Work. The getting rid of egoism is the most
important aim however for ultimate success.
Egoism can develop in a variety of ways and
these are most subtle. Indeed, this can be
explained simply as the way one is happy in
thinking of himself as the most truthful, as
most just, as most unselfish and so on. Even to
feel oneself as devoted or a Bhakta or lover of
God is to encourage the feeling of egoism.
Subtle indeed is the way of egoism. This is
possibly revealed when we think that we pass
from our little body-consciousness to the
Mind-consciousness wherein we feel the sense of
universality. We know reason is said to be
universal, whereas sensation is said to be
personal or particular; similarly, the Mind is
said to be universal and the body is said to be
particular and personal. In a similar way there
is a feeling of universality in Mind but it is a
universality which is subtle egoism that is the
essence of the lower gross manifestation of it.
Shri Ram Chandraji has clearly indicated the
fact that freedom from egoism even of the
subtlest kind is found, where the aura of divine
consciousness is not in any sense modified by
the ups and downs of fortune, as was the case
with Saint Kabir.
The subtle rings of egoism show also the
eleven siddhis that are exhibited by those who
have reached these regions. They are not,
however, the Ultimate state because they are yet
limitations to the experience of the Ultimate,
though they are verily exceedingly marvellous
states.
Most probably we must also state that the
Vasus, Rudras (Dhruvas) and Adityas who
represent fathers, grand-fathers and
great-grand-fathers of our pitrs and their
spouses as seen in the tarpana-kanda (oblation
offerings to the ancestors) also are said to be
denizens of this region but yet not of the
utterly liberated, from the world of maya or
rings of maya. Shri Ram Chandraji has given the
account of Vasus, and Dhruvas as men, who have
been entrusted with the workings of the Nature
in the various spheres and that they have
developed spiritually.
He who goes beyond enters into the Region of
the Ultimate.
Elaborating a little more about the levels of
egoism we can state that egoism is a subjective
factor whereas Maya is objective. So much so we
can either consider that all maya is due to
egoism or we can consider egoism to be a subtler
kind of maya. This is because maya is having its
essence in egoism.
Shri Ram Chandraji speaks about three levels
of egoism, the first is with reference to the
body. We may call it, perhaps, body-egoism.
Materialists hold that even mental processes are
to be interpreted in terms of bodily processes.
This is referred to the illusion of the soul as
body (dehatma-brahma). The second level of
egoism is that which refers to our statement
that we do all activities or that mind it is
that does all activities. This is the level of
purposive psychology as contrasted with
behaviouristic psychology of the first level of
egoism. Whilst all activities can be shown to be
directed or willed or imagined or driven by the
mind, it is also clear the body plays an
important role in thinking. The lower mind
activities have a grosser kind of egoism than
that which we observe when thinking proceeds not
in relation to the directions of the body but
for itself. This mental or higher mental
activity is called disinterested activity
because we are not directly trying to enjoy
ourselves through the body and its processes.
However, these activities which can be said to
be evident in mathematics and other abstract
sciences are effectively egoistic in so far as
they are of the ego, for its satisfaction. Yet
it is 'I' who think and will and feel and enjoy.
We may yet go ahead to another level of
'egoism' when we give up the self-effort as
motivating all activities, mental or physical.
We can consider it is the Supreme Godhead or
Guru who is working in and through us, eating,
smelling, enjoying, directing, knowing etc. This
has been mentioned by Lord Sri Krishna when he
says that it is He, who as knower of the field,
(ksetrajna), does all. So much so, some try to
imagine that the Divine Force as God or Guru is
doing all works in one's body. One is expected
to become a mere spectator (saksi-bhuta). The
doing of all things at this stage is the
workings of the Divine (in the individual). This
is the highest in the levels of egoism.
We have to go higher and experience the whole
as neither that of the body-ego nor of the
mind-ego nor even that of the Guru-ego but of
that Ultimate. It is said to be the state of
Nature in her Ultimate Being.
This state of Tam, to which one ascends
beyond the region of egoism or mind is one, in;
which, one is in the condition of negation, that
is, when the ego is got rid of by its being
identified with it in all its activities.
There is a question raised as to whether we
can call these three kinds of egoism as tamasic,
rajasic and satvika egoisms. We could, however,
if this experience of egoism is governed by the
individual himself, it happens that even satvika
egoism expresses itself in the form that one is
such and such, that the Divine or Guru is acting
through him and as such all honours etc., shown
to the Guru and God should be shown to him also.
This is the reason why several advanced souls
even thinking that they are being identical with
the Guru and God proceeded to act as if they are
God and Guru.Though their activities may be by
all means useful and helpful to all people and
even religious, yet there is the subtlest egoism
and therefore obstructive to their higher
approaches. It leads to failure and fall,
descent rather than ascent. It may also be
stated that those who have really crossed the
pindapradesh or the Heart Region rarely come
down. We must presume from this that those who
experience the divine Guru or God governing
their every act are experiencing the lower form
of that subtlest egoism alone in their lower
regions of the heart.
The subtlest forms of egoism are indeed
wonderful wherein one experiences the calmness
and plainness and simplicity in fullest measure.
The transcendence of this region leads to
Inactivity or Nothingness-condition. The
condition in this region is subtler than the
subtle. When this is crossed even this fades
away and one experiences Nothingness and absence
of all activity except the invisible motion
about the Centre spreading rings of splendour.
The Region of the Mind is also the region of
Truth. All thinkers from the age of the Veda
have claimed that there is nothing higher than
truth: satyan nasti paro dharmah. Truth (satya)
is the highest which one has to know. Of course,
they have spoken of Reality as satyasya satyam,
truth of truth. Philosophers are those who seek
truth. Indian thought has spoken of the Ultimate
Reality as sat-cit-ananda, truth (existence),
intelligence and delight. It has also held this
to be the highest description of the Absolute or
Brahman. But mystics have asked the question as
to what existence and consciousness
(intelligence) and delight are.
Existence (sat) is known only when one
experiences being; and non-being is experienced
as lack of that being. The relative being and
non-being are thus conditioned by our
subject-object experience. That which is beyond
the relative beings and non-beings is incapable
of being described as being or non-being. So,
too, our consciousness is of the objective world
and of our mental states. We are conscious only
when we respond to situations or can. Our
unconsciousness is a fact in sleep and it is
stimulus that keeps us awake. All consciousness
is described as an interruption of all
spontaneous and even automatic activity of
habits of behaviour. The Mind Region is thus a
relative universe in which we experience
existence or living. Most jivanmukta -
descriptions are of this region as they are said
to be living a disinterested life. A higher
region of experience leads to a greater
apprehension of the meaning of existence as
beyond living and beyond consciousness and
therefore beyond truth.
Thus the real experience of the Ultimate is a
transcendence of the areas of truth and an
experience of the foundations and causes of
truth itself. So, too, it is the universe of
experience of the roots of consciousness itself.
Such a region that transcends the Mind is the
Region of the Superconsciousness or the First
Mind of God.
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