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INTRODUCTORY

  

The book "Towards Infinity" of Sri Ramchandraji is unique in the spiritual literature. The spiritual path of the aspirant is never described earlier with such clarity. However, the Master did not elaborate much on the nature of knots or grandhis. The commentary now undertaken is mainly an attempt to make the book more understandable particularly with reference to needs of the aspirant for quicker progress in the spiritual field.

"Great men are not born too often" is a truth. But a greater truth is fortunate persons are not also born too frequently. The greatest fortune is to have a competent person to guide us in Spiritual life. It had been one of my earnest feelings and a wonder as to "How I was born to a Saint like Dr. K. C. Varadachari" and "How it is the Great Master Sri Ramchandraji" accepted me as His own. I do not see anything whatsoever in me that could get me these two favours (I use this word for want of any better word). The journey to the Infinite in my case started when the Infinite Incarnate came to me. Even as the cursed Sadhvi Ahalya was blessed by Avatar Rama by His feet blessing her, so did my Master bless me by His coming to our house. Wonder of wonders, a teenager and active sportsman, I was taken to the Railway Station by my father to receive the Master in 1955. Something deep in me urged me to fall at His feet and seek refuge. No problems, no worries and yet the urge to seek refuge. The Master, I now understand, pulled me towards Him. The Holy feet of the Master were then my refuge and so is it today. That is the Goal as I see it and experience it.

I think it is necessary to write about my competence to write this type of book. I started practicing this system of sadhana in 1956 and have been in it since then getting guidance and assistance from the Masters all through. Without going into the details of various states and stages in sadhana at different points of time I state that the Master Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur, U.P. India wrote in his letter dated 22nd Oct. 1979 "You know Narayana that I have done whatever the need was for the spiritual life of man and the work is still continued. The system is there, my support is there, yet it is for the persons like you to first educate abhyasis and then do further research work. I have great hope from you." This was after the Master has blessed with the vision of His Real form in 1979 at Shahjahanpur: the form that encompasses everything in universe and perhaps beyond. It was a state beyond words - a fusion of love, devotion, awe, admiration, reverence and total insignificance and many more. It was radiance, brilliance, soothing brightness and a combination of any and every shade of light and darkness. I should frankly say till then my understanding of the Master was that he is my guide and a redeemer. From then on I knew Him to be real life. A life by Him is what I know, a life for Him is what I feel, and a life in Him is the Truth.

I found that His excellent gift to humanity to understand real life in the book "Towards Infinity" was not getting the attention due to it and I took courage to make notes on them. My revered father, who is with me always as the guiding spirit, made me understand many points, got me the reading material through others, used by him as his instrument and above all made me experience again and again the various states. I then came to know what the Master meant when he said "one should develop the capacity to move up and down" the spiritual planes of consciousness.

As I said above I consider myself blessed. But the thought comes "Are not others who came to the fold of Master and many more coming now?" Yes they are. Only they should realize so. It is a great fortune to hear of Sri Ramchandraji of Shahjahanpur. But the fortune should lead us to the awareness of recognizing Him as the goal of our life. The meaning of life is to know Him, to live in Him and for Him. As a matter of fact the Master said that "It is the primary duty of Man to realize God". This is not a realisation in forest or loneliness or in wilderness. When Master becomes the meaning of life, all existence which is an expression of the Master deserves every service from us. Such a service to mankind, animal kingdom and all existence is the meaning of life. The inherence of the Master everywhere is the Truth. So long as it is spoken it is philosophy at best and politics at its worst. If it is realized in the inner core of heart it is realization, it is life.

Any commentary on his work can never be total or perfect. It is the understanding of the author and if useful the author is amply rewarded. The various conditions in each of the stages in the journey to the Infinite are so varied and personal it is difficult to narrate them fully. Yet what I could comprehend through my sadhana and while training others under Master's instructions I have tried to present as easily comprehensible as I could make it. Many sadhakas went through these notes and felt it would be useful if it is made available to all. It is necessary to note that at any stage of your own evolution, we can have all sorts of amazing altered states, non ordinary states, and profound spiritual experiences. Master used to emphasize that those states will come and go, passing through our psyche in a way that cannot be reliably maintained because the psyche has not yet gained enough depth to stably contain the vastness of these higher realms. That is why we say that the potentials contained in states become actual stages with increasing development in the spiritual path.

One of the suggestions given to me by those who went through my notes is that I should try to point out the commonness and differences between this system and the traditional systems. I donot think I am very competent to do this job as my knowledge in spirituality is entirely relates to the system of Pranahuti aided meditation of our Master. However I have been a student of sorts acquiring my Masters degrees in Philosophy and Psychology and also have a background of traditional family and tradition that I venture to write the following.

Some versions of Yoga

1. In yoga the aspirant starts his journey in spiritual life from the physical plane and proceeds along the prescribed lines taking up the different centres in turn, which are purified and transcended. When they are transformed their characteristic properties are released and the natural action thereof starts in an automatic way. The super-normal powers associated with the various chakras are often wrongly interpreted in numerous odd ways giving rise to genuine doubts about the bona-fides of the claim itself. Each chakra is characterised by some particular power which is released when its awakening is effected. But the rousing up of these powers by forced physical means result mostly in the development of siddhis or powers which are commonly considered to be a sure test of yogic attainment. There are many traditions that subscribe to the view of gaining control of these chakras. It has become now a days almost common to treat this shat chakra sadhana as the very essence of yoga. But that is not the truth. However for purposes of information the following version of the shat chakras is as presented by a fairly well known psychologist -spiritual worker Suzan Carroll duly abridged is furnished here.

Consciousness is the experience of "Be-ing" which represents everything that is possible for us to experience. All of our senses, perceptions, and possible states of awareness can be divided into seven categories that are associated with each of the seven chakras.

First chakra is survival, vitality and grounding to physical life. Second chakra is emotions, nurturing and shelter. Third chakra is thoughts and power systems. Fourth chakra is love, health and relationships. Fifth chakra is communication and higher creativity. Sixth chakra is inspiration, imagination and spiritual power. Seventh chakra is unity with multidimensional consciousness.

The chakras represent not only a particular part of our body, but also a part of our consciousness. Each chakra represents how our unconscious and super conscious selves communicate with our conscious self.

First chakra rules the skeleton, legs, knees and feet. Second chakra rules the genitals, abdomen and lower back. Third chakra rules the liver, gall bladder, stomach, spleen and pancreas. Fourth chakra rules the heart, lungs, immune system, arms and hands. Fifth chakra rules the throat, mouth, speech and hearing. Sixth chakra rules the vision, face, head, sleep and dreams. Seventh chakra rules the brain and nervous system.

Tensions that are felt in our consciousness are also felt in our body via the chakra system. Conversely, tensions that are felt in our body are felt in our consciousness. In other words, if we were having:

a. First chakra problem: it would express through our Consciousness as difficulties with our daily survival, vital energy or dedication to physical Body as problems with our skeleton, legs, knees or feet.

b. Second chakra problem: it would express through our Consciousness as difficulties with our emotions, ability to give or receive nurturing, or our home. Body as problems with our reproductive organs, intestines or lower back.

c. Third chakra problem: it would express through our Consciousness as difficulties with thinking and power struggles with others or within our self Body as problems with our liver, gall bladder, stomach, spleen or pancreas.

d. Fourth chakra problem: it would express through our Consciousness as difficulties giving or expressing love in our relationships and our over-all health Body as problems with our heart, lungs, immune system, arms or hands.

e. Fifth chakra problem: it would express through our Consciousness as difficulties with communication and creativity Body as problems with our throat, mouth, speech or hearing.

f. Sixth chakra problem: it would express through our Consciousness as difficulties with inspiration, imagination and spiritual power Body as nightmares or problems with our vision, face, head or sleep.

g. Seventh chakra problem: it would express through our Consciousness as difficulties with mind expansion Body as problems with our brain or nervous system.

The Physical Body Door in the Conscious Section represents the heart chakra. The life force of the physical body is thought by many cultures to be held in the heart. The heart is also thought of as the center of our ability to love. Indeed, as we move up the chakras to the fourth chakra-the heart chakra-we have moved past the areas of our consciousness that are too often "unconscious" to us and into the areas of our life that are primarily "conscious". These are the areas of our daily interactions with others and with the world around us.

Our happiness, or lack of it, arises from whether these encounters are filled with fear or filled with love. These encounters begin within us. If our consciousness is filled with fear then many of our encounters with the outside world will be fearful. On the other hand, if our consciousness is filled with love then many of our encounters with the outside world will be love.

A chakra is like a wheel that creates a vortex which can "download" energy from the higher dimensions. This higher dimensional energy, known as Prana is not physical. Prana is the life force or animating principle of our physical bodies. Our ego, emotions, intellect and mind, as well as the physical elements of earth, water, air, fire, and ether are creations of the life force within us.

This "downloaded" Prana is an aspect of our consciousness in the same way that our aura is, but it is denser than our aura and less dense than our physical body. Our chakras interact with our physical system via a connection with a specific endocrine gland and nerve plexus, which associates each chakra with a different area of our bodies.

The Fourth Chakra is the Heart Chakra. Chakras one through three are often called the lower chakras; probably because they rule our "lower", more primal nature, while chakras four through seven are often called our higher chakras.

The fifth and sixth chakras are an octave above the second and third chakras, but they rule similar areas of physical life. For example, the fifth chakra rules creativity and communication just like the second chakra, but the second chakra rules our basic communications in our homes and our procreative creativity, while the fifth chakra rules our more complicated communications and our creativity in the world.

The sixth chakra is an octave higher than the third chakra. Our third chakra rules our issues of "power over" and "power within" and our abilities to tune into messages sent to us via the fourth dimension, whereas our sixth chakra rules our spiritual power and our ability to commune with our higher guidance.

The first chakra (Root Chakra), the fourth chakra (Heart Chakra), and the seventh chakra (Crown Chakra) are connected in a somewhat different fashion. Our Root Chakra brings our feminine, physically manifest, energy up into our bodies and our Crown Chakra brings our masculine, spiritually unmanifest, energy down into our bodies. These two transpersonal polarities meet with a burst of light in our Heart Chakra.

Our Heart Chakra is also where our personal feminine/matter and masculine/spirit energies integrate. Therefore, the Heart Chakra is often thought of as the chakra of relationships. These relationships begin with the relationship between our inner male and female polarities as well as our human and divine polarities. The success of these integrations has a strong impact upon our external relations and our ability to be happy and successful in our lives.

Certain chakras demonstrate primarily masculine energy and others demonstrate primarily feminine energy. Masculine energy flows outward and is related to expression and action while feminine energy flows inward and is related to reception and emotion. Emotion here is defined as "energy in motion". The second chakra (Navel Chakra) and the sixth chakra (Third Eye) are of a feminine energy while the third chakra (Solar Plexus Chakra) and fifth chakra (Throat Chakra) are of a masculine energy. Therefore, we are receptive to emotions with our second-feminine chakra and express those emotions with our masculine-fifth chakra through creativity.

Our feminine-sixth chakra is an octave above our masculine-third chakra. Our sixth chakra allows us to receive spiritual power and information from our higher guidance, and our third chakra can use our personal power to express that information through "right action" and clear, intellectual and/or psychic interactions.

The first, fourth and seventh chakras hold both feminine and masculine energy. Therefore, these three chakras assist us in learning how to integrate our masculine and feminine energy fields. The Root Chakra pulls energy up from the earth to serve as a source of grounding and vitality, a quality which both men and women need. The Crown Chakra pulls energy down from the universe to open our multidimensional awareness, a quality which both men and women need.

The Heart Chakra is where we integrate our masculine and feminine energy as well as our human self and spirit self. Within our Heart Chakra, we can raise our consciousness through the power of love or lower our consciousness through the power of fear. Our Heart Chakra is where we wage our battle between the Light and the Dark. Many cultures think of our Heart as the Seat of our Soul.

It may be seen from the account that nowhere there is any discussion or mention of realisation vis-a-vis Cosmic Consciousness or Universal consciousness. This approach as well as those similar to this is skewed heavily towards the materialistic in their approach aiming at getting some relief by working on them. One who gets into this type of thinking forgets his goal of life and the aim of gaining integral consciousness or the consciousness that collaborates with the Divine gets abandoned.

2. Certain purely Indian traditions talk of various powers and there are many odd notions of the powers and siddhis that accrue from such practice of shat chakra sadhana. These it may be pointed offer temptation to those lovers of extraordinary powers who want to display themselves as super-normal beings. But these powers take the persons away from or delay in achieving the goal of realising our true nature. However, the truth of the matter is not this. These powers which are attained at different stages of spiritual journey are all psychic states and their real meaning even according to tradition is only as follows:

  1. Anima: This is "the power to identify oneself with the smallest atom". This states the mastery over the earth element. It means also the capacity for analysis.
  2. Prakamya: This is "the capacity to enjoy from everything heard or seen" or "the capacity to enter into the body of others". This denotes the mastery over the element of water. The property to enter into the body of others is not any miraculous achievement. Love and sympathy or empathy implies this power.
  3. Mahima: This is "the power to expand ones' consciousness to the largest form". It is the power of greatness. It is the mastery over thought, over lower mind, over the creative urges of the lower mind.
  4. Laghima: This is "the power of levitation". This is an achievement over the element Air. This is the capacity of the mind to soar high leaving its attachment to the physical plane. It is perhaps better understood with the words dignity and venerableness.
  5. Prapti: This is "the power to obtain any desired objective anywhere", "arrival at the goal, deliverance, discovery, good fortune, joyful attaining". This is an achievement over the element ether. This state is a state of joy.
  6. Isita: This means "ruler ship, the power to control and create". It is to be understood as a power for creation, multiplication, manifestation, or for simplification and dissolution by purification of consciousness.
  7. Vasita: This is "the power of command or control resulting from non-attachment to objects". It is self control. In fact it is the capacity to control and restrain all that is in self and the self that is observed in the many or all.
  8. Kamavasayita: It is "consummation of any and every desire". It is the actual fulfilment of the sadhana.

It has been clearly stated in tradition that though some extra-normal capacity as stated above develops through sadhana it should not be a matter of any serious concern for the true sadhaka unless he is internally inclined towards it and applies his will and effort to transform it as power. In such a case the mind gets diverted towards miracles alone and the main objective is altogether lost sight of.

KUNDALINI

The centre or more properly the source of all these powers is commonly understood to be the Kundalini Shakti the vital spiritual force in man. It is located in the lowest part of the spinal cord and is at the pelvic plexus and is usually represented as a coiled serpent. It is supposed to possess immense power and its importance in yoga is thought to be great more particularly in Hatha yoga practices. In its normal state it appears to be lying dormant without affecting any of the conscious or sub-conscious nerves of the body. When awakened it becomes active and is supposed to affect all the important centres of anatomic system. The awakening of the Kundalini is brought into effect automatically when matured at higher levels of advancement, or by the force of physical exercises of asana, Pranayama etc., provided for, under the traditional systems. According to current view, Kundalini when awakened stretches forth through the vertebral column right from one end to the other with its head at the centre of Sahasrara and its tail in the Mooladhara region. The effect is then supposed to be carried through the spinal column and reflected upon the chakras through the medium of the nerve fibres. This process is called chakra bhedan. The chakras are presumed to be awakened automatically with the awakening of the Kundalini. The awakening of the Kundalini is believed to result in the acquisition of the super-normal powers explained above. This is what the traditional yoga offers and nothing more, not to speak of realisation of the true nature of man in the scheme of things of the divine creation.

Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj, the great master, says that the Kundalini is not like a coiled serpent at Mooladhara but instead is like an open ring, the two ends of which are but slightly apart from each other. They face each others as two poles for the passage of energy. Thus it is more a closed circuit of power based in the Mooladhara. For this reason the action of the Kundalini force remains within itself without affecting any part of the human system. But when awakened its ends get a little more apart and turn slightly upwards. The energy then flowing out from the ends does not remain located within the Kundalini but goes up through the medium of the sushumna nadi covering a larger circuit extending from the base up to the centre of the Sahasrara. In cases where premature awakening of the Kundalini is effected by physical means, the power acquired is commonly utilised for material purposes only. In this respect, the awakening of the Kundalini may be taken as an exclusively material pursuit and may amount to degradation of Yoga. As a matter of fact Kundalini is the seat of sensations which come under control by its awakening. The divine wisdom dawns with it and Nature becomes an open book. Though the super-normal capacity acquired thereby is meant for Nature's work which a yogi at higher stages of advancement cannot avoid, it is by no means the final object of the pursuit or real criterion of a yogi or even an essential factor in determining the spiritual elevation of a sadhaka. It is to be noted seriously that a physically forced awakening of Kundalini leads to grossest evil. Master warns that greatest precaution is necessary in this respect and its premature awakening must not be resorted to under any circumstances.

The master states "The automatic awakening of Kundalini sets the dormant energy into action for the unfoldment of the knot related with the super-consciousness of higher values. It means the dawn of Divine knowledge, which goes on developing as one proceeds more and more towards subtleness. After crossing the mind region we come to the sphere of the seven rings of the so-called light (vide Efficacy of Raja Yoga). The divine wisdom thus acquired begins to assume a finely subtle state and by the time one reaches the third ring its automatic working in consonance with Nature starts by itself. It reaches its final stage when we have passed through all the seven rings. The attainment of this final stage may be taken as a mark of completion so far as human capability is concerned. The action of Kundalini at the early stages is grosser in comparison to that at higher levels."

"One thing which must specially be borne in mind is that awakening of Kundalini is not essential or indispensable for the attainment of liberation. Those who hold so may seek for its verification within their own hearts and decide for themselves whether it is the Kundalini or the real significance of their being that helps them along the path. They will definitely come to the conclusion that it is not the Kundalini that helps them in this respect and all the time and energy applied to it is thus lost in vain. On the other hand, in most cases, it leads to the worst abuses and grossest evils."

The commonly used pictures and diagrams of Kundalini are provided in the pictures below.

Kundalini according to the traditional version.

Pictures of Kundalini according to Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur.

'My latest discovery in this connection is that Kundalini contains in a finer form all the particles which are present in the Sahasrara. There are cells in it which resemble closely the brain cells with the only difference that those in the Kundalini have a conical shape. When awakened in a matured state, the conical shape of the Kundalini cells begin to transform into a roughly round shape with its top-point projecting a little upwards. It is only after this transformation that this powerful energy takes up the natural course of action directed towards Godly work. In case of forced awakening, as in Hatha yoga the conical shape of cells remain unchanged. In that case its utility in the spiritual field is practically nil and the power aroused thereby is in almost all cases diverted towards the material plane, resulting in numerous untold evils. If the same condition i.e. the conical formation settles down on other centres or chakras, the vice may be unlimited and may finally result in the formation of a demon of the worst type. This was exactly the case with Ravana whose entire cells connected with all the vital centres or chakras including the Kundalini had become rigidly conical beyond all possibility of transformation. The only solution in his case, therefore, was destruction. The above example goes sufficiently to show that it is not really the awakening of Kundalini that counts but only its proper transformation. It may therefore, be far better to let this vital centre remain in a sleeping state than to awaken it without necessary transformation. By the process of Hatha Yoga such a transformation is hardly possible, because the attention of the abhyasi is fixed more upon the acquisition of power than upon subtleness. The proper transformation in such cases, if at all, can be effected by the super-normal powers of a Master of the highest calibre if such a one is available and accessible."

"Another important feature which lay undiscovered so far relates to the passage of the Kundalini-force through the spinal column. Ordinarily by Hatha Yoga the awakened Kundalini-force takes a straight passage through the spinal column from one end to the other. The awakened energy, which in ordinary course should have come into action through its top-most point at the base of the Sahasrara, is impeded on account of the unpurified state of the point. Thus it does not connect itself with the subtle state of the Sahasrara but gets diverted towards lower planes of materialism. In Rajayoga the Kundalini force goes with a bow-like curve with almost a hair-breadth curvature at the centre. This keeps the power confined to its proper natural course leading to finer states of subtleness. In this case, the transformation goes on automatically resulting in the removal of grosser elements there from. Under the circumstances, there is no risk of wrong diversion or misuse." Master stated in a letter to Dr. K.C.V. (9/9/1964) that " I may tell you that in our system of sadhana the three chakras, the Nabhi, the Swadhisthana and the Mooladhara are taken up at the very end in quite a natural course. Rather I may say that Nature herself takes them up then."

It is earnestly hoped that the above stated facts regarding various powers and the role of Kundalini and shat chakra sadhana will make it clear that the system of Rajayoga of Sri Ramchandraji is entirely different from the traditional systems of Rajayoga and is an entirely modified version of the original system of Rajayoga.

Some aspirants asked whether there is any necessity to know the spiritual condition at all and whether it is not enough that one practices a system as best as one can and trust in a master who is supposed to be the person guiding one in the spiritual journey. This is a very ticklish question. If the Master is one who has accepted the sadhaka in toto and is leading him in his sadhana under his watchful care and carries him with control and caution perhaps there is no necessity to know one's condition. But it is necessary to note that even this total dependency is not a matter of words but is a spiritual condition that is called Prapannatva. More often than not one is too painfully conscious of the various thoughts and disturbances that occur during meditation which does not permit one's conscience to accept any significant progress to have been made at all despite the fact the so called master has taken care of him. Further the behaviour and thoughts during the day does not reflect often the conditions expected of a sadhaka and thereby serious doubts arise as to whether there is any use of the sadhana at all. Spirituality is neither that elusive nor is that all other worldly that we are incapable of judging ourselves. It is more one's fear to accept the rather slow progress, if not no progress, that makes one take shelter under the thought "everything is left to the Master. What does it matter where I am? All His will." This, one knows, is an illusion. But as any other illusion it is more attractive to the human mind. The basic point to bear in mind is that sadhana is oriented towards control of mind and is an attempt to make ones' thoughts and actions dwell in the realm of God. Or the whole exercise is to see that the individual mind instead of directing all its energies towards self is essentially concerned with the well being of others if not all of humanity or the universe. Naturally this demands watching carefully one's thoughts and actions and noting whether the Pind is influencing the same or whether the Brahmand has started taking possession of what is legitimately its domain. That the individual is not all that isolated and is essentially an integral part of the Universe and he has the onerous responsibility of keeping the beauty of God's creation by not adding his own creation and thereby polluting the atmosphere, is not any philosophical or sociological proposition but a reality that needs to be expressed in thought and action, and has to and can be realised only by sadhana. The road map to spirituality or Infinity, therefore, is something one should keep with himself and evaluate oneself against the land marks given. This alone will ensure a sadhaka from missing his goal. The goal of the Ultimate many times gets substituted by penultimate ones' essentially because the map is ignored. Certain guidelines to know the spiritual condition of an aspirant is given in the Annexure-II.

The process of yoga and meditation has not been accepted by the ordinary householder and he has always tended to accept other forms of prayer and worship. Also down the ages these yogic practices were in the sole domain of vairagis and sanyasins. The main reason for this is, it is felt that these practices are capable of making one go lunatic or behave oddly. For the practicants of yoga or meditation it is common to experience Avadhoot-hood or ecstasy. The housewife has always been apprehensive of this development and always tried to wean out the husband from such practices. It is precisely for this purpose we should know the course or the path we are going to tread and tally our experiences with that which is given and trodden by others in the path earlier. To ignore this need to verify our experiences with that of the authentic records and narrations of the path is to ignore the basics. This commentary tries to place before the sadhakas the need to keep the goal in view and also know how much more one has to cover the distance so that complacency (including the one that one is in safe hands) does not develop and the restless urge to reach the goal is kept always in view.

It is humbly submitted the commentary itself is written only by the Grace of the Master and no credit is due to the author for any clarity that has occurred to any person. The system of Rajayoga developed by the master, though has the sketch of the Patanjali Yoga, is totally new and the techniques and methods given by the master are unique and highly effective. The commentary does not discuss in detail about such methods of sadhana but is content with elaborating the nature of various knots. In the yogic literature there are very few occasions when great saints delved on the regions between Ajna and Sahasrara. That there are only 6 chakras starting from Mooladhara up to Ajna is well known and they are the sadhana chakras. Sahasrara is the anubhava chakra and there is no sadhana in its realm. It is satchitananda par excellence and is the goal according to almost all yogic systems.

However, Saint Jnana Deva did mention about certain knots between Ajna and Sahasrara in his 'Jnaneswari'. But they related to the movement of Kundalini and no detailed account of the states of mind in those knots or points were given. Another saint of the South India said to have lived near Annamalai, Sri Sabhapathi Swami has given a graphic picture of the various knots but no states of mind discussed by him are available.

The regions beyond Sahasrara were never commented upon earlier by any of the seers or saints. Rev. Sri Ramchandraji says that 'One's entry into the central region and his swimming in it during his lifetime has so far been known to be impossibility, and none could have even dreamt of doing it while in the physical body. It is however the greatest innovation of my great Master, Samartha Guru Mahatma Ramchandraji of Fatehgarh, who was the first personality to have secured his approach up to that highest point while maintaining his physical existence in the world, and has thereby made its achievement possible and practicable to others.'

It is the blessing of my master that has enabled me to have a taste of the conditions of these regions and even more his grace that has made it possible, however feebly, to express them. I tried my best to make the feelings in these rarefied areas as intelligible as possible. I do hope there is a certain amount of clarity, in the expression. If, however, I am not, it is requested that the aspirants may invoke the blessings of the Great Master and have a taste of the conditions themselves first hand. That is a promise of the master and it should be the endeavour of every one to try to deserve the same.

The significance of the Special Personality of Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur, in this hour of change is the last chapter in the commentary.

The earlier edition of Path of Grace published in 1996 was exhausted long back and there has been a continuous demand for this book from many aspirants. As per the aspirations of many sadhakas and for the benefit of all seekers of Reality in the world, in this revised edition I have added significant information on the Nature of knots, Yatra or journey there in, Rings of Egoism, Nature of the various layers of bondage called Kosas and also as to how to understand the inner conditions as annexure II. I do not consider it a matter of coincidence that this revised edition of the book which even as the earlier edition and the part commentaries that were issued earlier, is getting released on the Basanth Panchami day, the day of birth of Samartha Guru Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Fatehgarh. I consider it a matter of extreme kindness and limitless Grace of the Master, not only towards me, but also towards all sadhakas who are eager to know the path or the road map to Divinity which is carved inside our hearts.

With the courage and confidence given by my Master the commentary is placed at the Holy feet of my revered father whose kindness alone led me to the Holy feet of the Master.

May the message of the Master cover the Universe and all serve each other as the Master wishes.

K.C.Narayana