The Master makes an opening statement defining His concept of philosophy categorically that it is a subject not based on reason but intuition and does not start from ‘doubt’ as most of the western philosophers hold, but from ‘wonder’.

The word philosophy is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘love of wisdom’ the coining of the word being attributed to the famous mathematician, geometer and philosopher Pythogoras of ancient Greece who described himself as only a lover of wisdom. Philosophical enquiries have a hoary past and have originated and matured to varying degrees of excellence in different parts of the civilized world, amongst them ancient India and Greece playing a very significant role in shaping the subsequent developments in mystic and rational philosophic thought. The mystic intuits Reality in his heart whereas the philosopher tries to determine nature of Reality through reason. It is not always the case that philosophy pursues an independent line of enquiry for its own sake but more often it serves the cause of the mystical Vision and helps to construct a philosophical system for it using rational thought on the foundations provided by the intuitional insight. In the process it even supplies new linguistic terminology appropriate to the vision if necessary or fresh interpretations to the older terms in use appropriate to the field to enable a fair degree of intelligibility of the fundamental Vision. This is the case of Intuitional insight illuminating ordinary reason and enabling it to communicate the Vision with as little distortion as possible. It is normally held that Reality is basically ineffable hence neither words nor discursive dialectical thought can hope to grasp It much less convey It as It is in itself. But a rational account of the unfolded Vision is necessary for communicating at the mental intellectual level to the seekers at large at least for the purpose of stimulating a deeper quest for the replication of the imperience of the Reality in the seeker’s heart as had by the Originator himself.

Philosophers in the real sense have always been seeking earnestly solutions to the really fundamental questions regarding the nature of ultimate reality, origin of the universe and its evolution, space, time, causality, existence as such, man, his position, function and destiny in the cosmos, the ethical dimensions and goal of human life, speaking only of the principal concerns of all philosophy. A significant part of the philosophical endeavor consists in acquiring knowledge of the various categories constituting the field of enquiry and this knowledge ideally should be indubitable and true to the nature of the object of knowledge. This naturally focuses the attention on the nature of knowledge itself, the sources of knowledge and means of validating the knowledge. The knowledge available to the introverted mystic through super-sensuous and super-conscious perception or yogic intuitional insight as such knowledge by its very definition is beyond doubt, self evident and self- established.

When we study the Master’s works we will encounter His categorical assertion, ‘Doubt is poison of will’ and His exhortation to the seeker for eradicating even the very basis of doubt in his pursuit of Reality. The opposite of doubt, namely, firm faith in oneself, in the Master and the method is to be cultivated for success in the path, rather such a faith is itself a significant attainment on the spiritual path when traversed with diligent efforts on the part of the aspirant who has the grace of his Master. Faith is the link between the mortal and immortal and nothing can be achieved without it in the mundane or spiritual fields. We find Lord Krishna stating in the Bhagawat Gita (Ch.4. v 40),’ the person lacking in discrimination, devoid of faith, possessed by doubt is lost to the spiritual path. There is neither this world nor the other not even happiness for the doubting soul’.

Master says that philosophy begins with wonder. We are indeed filled with wonder mixed with awe when we see the grandeur and beauty of the unending expanse of the universe studded with sparkling stars, the variety and magnificence of creation, the order and law abiding processes witnessed in all things from the simplest atom to the most complex super-organism endowed with self-consciousness, that is, man. And most importantly, that despite being ever so tiny and inconsequential in the vast Universe man has dared to inquire into its mysteries and managed to fathom some of its secrets. As the celebrated Albert Einstein put it, the incomprehensible aspect of the Universe is that it is comprehensible to man. A sense of wonder is an attitude of realism which accepts that things outside and the wondering man himself exist and are objects worth investigating. It is thus farthest from debilitating doubt and is also indicative simultaneously of an attitude of humility, of a certain inadequacy on the part of the person who, having been stimulated by wonder is wondering whether at all he would succeed in knowing what he has set out to know. This leads to yielding creating a vacuum in the enquirer’s heart into which Divine Grace may flow.

The true philosophy according to the Master is to be based upon intuition rather than upon reason. This has been uniformly the conclusion reached by all mystic seers on the path of Reality, ‘reason has been the helper reason is the bar’ as pronounced by Sri Aurobindo. We will have occasion to deal with this aspect in more detail when we consider Master’s thoughts on Means-Tarka, Sruti and Anubhava in a subsequent section. The western philosophers have always believed in the powers of human reason for arriving at knowledge which has been defined by them as justified true belief. The belief must be grounded in fact or truth and one should be able to give a rational account of it. The reason is not far to seek as they have been inspired by the Greek philosophers who could not go beyond reason which according to them is the highest aspect of the tripartite human soul consisting of the three energies viz., Appetite (needs for food, sex, money etc or the lower passions), Emotions (reactions like hunger, fear) and Reason (thinking, persuasion, argument). For a person to be happy reason must rule both the emotions and appetite and this is productive of psychic harmony, a quality of the soul, which expresses itself through the cardinal virtues viz., wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. In the language of the kosas or sheaths it covers mainly the first three namely, the first governed by and of food, the second, vital governed by desires, emotions and feelings and the third ruled by thinking and reasoning.

Another observation made by the Master on the approach of the western philosophers is that they developed their systems of philosophy based merely on speculation and not through practical experiences on the spiritual path and if only they could have done so their vision would not have been corrupted. The comment made by the Master that we should always attempt to give expression to things connected with spirituality and Reality in general only after our spiritual practice comes to an end or in other words, is very relevant and quite the appropriate thing to do as it happens to be the case even in the mundane fields of enquiry. In contrast with the western philosophers, the sages of this country, the home of spirituality and where the pursuit of the Real has been active in all ages, have attempted philosophy only after entering a life of practicality. The six schools of Indian philosophy are the result and they are called significantly enough, darshanas or visions- direct intuitive perceptions of Reality. It will be seen however that each school has presented a particular hue of Reality of its own giving rise to much animated debate among the schools themselves as to the ultimate determination of the nature of Reality.

The great teachers of the three major schools of vedanta, have attempted reconciliation among the texts of scriptural authority and tried to establish the real purport of the relevant texts each according to his own approach and wisdom. Our Upanishads, which concern themselves only with questions related to the determination and attainment of the Ultimate Real and achievement of freedom from the cycle of birth and death, contain several anecdotes in which we find the teachers actively encouraging their disciples to practice for themselves, conduct the inner enquiry and conclude for themselves the truth of the various assertions made about the nature of Ultimate Reality in the celebrated mahavakyas in the vedanta and the brahma sutras. It was called atma sakshatkara, atma drishti, or direct soul perception in all its purity not corrupted by the senses and the mind.

Metaphorically saying, it is the vision made possible by the ‘pure light of the soul’. The knowledge itself was called ateendriya or transcending the senses.

However in the natural path, which is called as New Darshana by Revered. Dr K C Varadachari and Shri K C Narayana, the influx of the divine superfine consciousness issuing from the very Source through the Divine Master and the active support of the capable Master/guide during the entire spiritual journey, make it possible for the sincere and diligent seeker to attain, enter into and live according to Ultimate Reality or Tam, a possibility which has so far eluded even the greatest of the sages the world has witnessed.

The Master refers to the yogi as one who has the capacity to apply his inner powers to the tasks allotted to him by nature. It goes without saying that such a person should have the ability developed in him to receive divine commands. This automatically happens when one secures advanced mergence in his Master who has established a firm connection to the source and the yogi is the instrument chosen for the tasks. The earlier view of Realization was that realization was something to be attained and enjoyed for one’s own sake but the view according to the Natural Path is that the higher and higher states of consciousness, that is Brahmand, Parabrahmand and higher forming key milestones in it, are granted by the great Master through the instrumentality of a capable guide to deserving souls not for their own sake but to be utilized in the service of the Master as He wills for the spiritual regeneration of mankind. This is an entirely new paradigm and is very difficult to be appreciated and accepted by those who have become accustomed to the conventional vedantic interpretation of what constitutes the spiritual way of living and the nature of life of a realized person and in fact such a vedantic mindset is itself, a major obstacle in the spiritual unfolding.

Master refers to spirituality as ‘a science concerning the power which flows from the original repository and has the capacity in the form of knots both of creating and destroying’. This sentence captures the entire philosophy and dynamics of the Natural Path and what follows is only a commentary on that sentence so to speak. We note the use of the term science for spirituality, which in normal usage is treated as the very antithesis of science as normally understood today. We are all familiar with the mother of all material sciences or the root science, namely, physics which deals with matter, energy, motion and forces. The equivalence of mass and energy has been established by Albert Einstein and demonstrated in the terrible nuclear holocaust during the Second World War. In a sense all that exists is finally reducible to energy in its various forms. The only difficulty with our materialist science is that the energy existing in subtler forms other than matter and radiation is discounted as physics of the day has nothing to do with things which cannot be observed by the senses and measured through its instrumentation. It is a self-evident truth that man is a sentient being and by the principle of correspondence what exists in man as consciousness must also be there in the cosmos. Master states that we brought soul from Nature in which there was mixed Consciousness also (SS p- 384- 2004 ed). This in turn refers to the fact revealed elsewhere (SDG p-34- 2005 ed) by the Master that the soul is a conglomerate consisting of Chit- consciousness, buddhi- intellect, manas- the feeling aspect in man and ahankar- egoity.

Admittedly consciousness is a subtle principle beyond the grasp of the instrumentation of the physical sciences and the travellers on the spiritual path do imperience subtler and subtler levels of consciousness. It is also an experiential fact that energy of a kind is felt to be associated with the various states of consciousness, though it is difficult to characterize it or measure it as we can in the case of material phenomena.

However arguing from the causality angle, it can be stated that every force, to be understood here in causal terms, must produce an effect in the form of a change in state of the thing acted upon by the force or cause work to be done to be termed as force, using the definition adopted in physics. Energy has been defined as the capacity to do work. We do not see anything preventing us in principle in extending the above concept to the domain of consciousness which is the main concern in spiritual life. The Master and the trainers empowered by Him have been able to demonstrate in the Natural Path that changes are brought about in the states of consciousness and attitudes of the seeker through the process of Pranahuti and in the terminology of the SRRY(Sri Ramachandra’s Raja yoga- or Pranahuti Aided Meditation -PAM), the seeker has been ‘worked upon’. It is also to be noted in this context that for the first time in the history of spirituality the concepts of spiritual training leading to spiritual transformation and spiritual work either carried out on a human person or other entities such as the atmosphere have been introduced not only at the theoretical level but implemented in a practical manner. Transformed individuals and changes brought about in the atmosphere are the results of such work. Obviously work needs workers and energy to work with. The workers are capable yogis and energy is of the dimensions of consciousness in the sense that it is of the nature of thought or suggestion and the yogi of caliber exercises his will behind it, which is called the ‘special will’ in the case of realized yogis(?). If such a will is supported by or in tune with the Divine Will the energy for the work flows from the original repository. There are different levels or types of suggestion, subtle, subtler and subtlest which could be given by a yogi depending on his stage of evolution.

The Master’s statement in His message,” Thoughts have life and they also work on the lives of others”, is significant in this context (SDG p25- 2005 ed). The main feature of Rajayoga itself by definition is the utilization of the power of thought, the kingly thing in man, for bringing about the required transformation in him and solving the problem of life.

At this point we need to review the Master’s statement terming spirituality as a science. We have seen above, the ordinary material science as we know it deals with matter, motion, life as limited to its physical manifestation and the various forces and energies governing above. As He puts it in a message, ’Material science cannot explain after matter is left out’ (SDG p 156-7), which is the truth because science today has rather arbitrarily restricted its own scope under the influence of the naturalists, analytical philosophers and logical positivists to the things and phenomena perceptible to the senses and measurable through its instrumentation. Thus it cannot account for the events, imperiences and the forces or causes behind them as they occur in the spiritual domain. But what the Master has in mind is the method and character of the scientific practice, namely, there must be a systematic enunciation of its basic premises, a logical development and clear formulation of its methods and processes, strict repeatability of the methods and procedures for achieving set ends, the scope and possibility for proper training for the practicants and more importantly, for the preparation of the trainers who will train the practicants.

Further science as a discipline of enquiry after the true nature of things revolves around observation, experimentation under carefully controlled conditions and verification through analysis of the results in the light of the starting hypotheses and the predictions of experimental outcomes made as a consequence of the underlying scientific theory. The chosen scientific field is further enriched through continuing research for deepening the understanding of the phenomena under the scope of the current theory and carrying out extensions of the theory in explaining new observations and making more wide ranging testable predictions of outcomes. The wider the range of phenomena covered by a scientific theory through its explanatory and predictive power the better and more fundamental it becomes.

A close study of the system of SRRY(PAM) to be discussed in the following pages will reveal that the system is evolved on scientific lines as outlined above. We find the Master stating repeatedly in His works that the system evolved by Him is a scientific one giving in the process His definition of what is scientific as in,’ It never happened that the combination of hydrogen and oxygen would not produce water. I call that alone scientific which always produces the same result whoever experiments with it’ (SS p 340- 2004 ed). Again describing the process which helped Him cross all spiritual stages and reach the very summit, in a message He declares,’ It is therefore on the basis of my life’s experience that I strongly affirm that it is the only method which ensures unfailing results’, ‘The scientific principle underlying this process is that when the abhyasi meditates, his thoughts create a vacuum in his heart which begins to be filled up with the power of that which is meditated upon, so as to keep up the balance in accordance with the law of Nature’ (SDG p2-3- 2005 ed). Here we see the Master making pronouncements only on the basis of His own experience and the clear delineation of the universal principle of thought which underlies the experience.

Master’s call to His fellow beings has always been to invite them to enter the field boldly, see and verify for themselves the results which accrue when the path is traversed with diligence, faith in and strict obedience to the instructions of the Master.

During His training of the aspirants, He would always make His own observations of the spiritual condition of the aspirant and also obtain direct feedback from the aspirant as to how he had felt during and after the training sessions as verification of His own observations and for planning further course of action in the case. This is the scientific spirit truly manifested.

We will see that the entire system of SRRY(PAM) is based upon clearly stated foundational principles as in the seminal works of the Master, Imperience Beckons and in the Practice and Efficacy- SRRY and the spiritual stages of progress described in detail as in Path of Grace traversed by all earnest aspirants following the system in letter and spirit. Further there are clearly formulated meditational, purificatory and prayer practices for the abhyasis spelling out the procedures and the attainable objectives thereof and similarly, the methods manual for the trainers giving them precise guidelines for studying the conditions of the aspirants and enabling their progress towards the attainment of the goal of life in the Natural Path through the process of Pranahuti. The Institute of Sri Ramchandra Consciousness whose principal objectives are the propagation of the system of SRRY(PAM) in its purity and content and assisting the aspirants in their evaluation, has developed various tools for the benefit of the practicants for self-evaluation and also for the use of the trainers in studying the condition of the aspirants as a part of their work in enabling the progress of the aspirants on the path.

Interested readers are referred to the websites of ISRC viz. www.sriramchandra.org and Imperience dedicated to training and research on the Natural Path, www.imperience.org for further details. Already two generations of spiritual trainers have been working since the launch of the work of propagation and spiritual training in SRRY by the Master in 1945 and this establishes the claim of spirituality being a science, in which the ‘power flowing from the original repository’ or the Divine Prana, the breath of the breath, has been harnessed methodically and successfully for the benefit of a large number of aspirants across the world and humanity at large. It is to be noted however that the way of measuring and judging the results in the spiritual field will naturally differ widely from that followed in the physical sciences.

The best way of representing the various types of existence and the levels of consciousness is through associating different rates of vibration with them, the subtler level being associated with the higher rate of vibration while the grossest level of physical matter or body is deemed to have the lowest vibrational rate. Creation is brought about by the Stir or kshob which is of the nature of thought or the First Mind of God consequent to the stirring up of the idea of creation near the Centre (God). When the current of Nature flowed down from the Origin as above, there were jerks which created knots which in turn became centres of power. This descending process of thought has been attended by a series of twists and inversions of the strands in the original flow. Thus the higher and lower are constantly being changed or inverted. The current also slows down at each stage of inversion and the knots are formed at each one of such stages of descent of the flow of the original thought. It may be seen that inversions take place naturally even as could be seen in the wavy character of light, of energy and even flowing water.

The knots have the power for both creating and destroying and the yogis in this country have always used the power for constructive purposes, namely the transformation of man and the common good of humanity according to the Divine command and his will power. The Master reveals that the power is being utilized even at present for creating a new civilization based upon spirituality. Spiritual renaissance has been willed and must necessarily take place whatever time it may take and India will lead the world in this work. It is the demand of Nature that the spirit of fraternity, cooperation and harmony be the ruling factors of human life. The Master Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj somewhere around the end of 1944 has became the Special Personality, for the purpose of effecting the thorough overhaul of the universe according to the Divine dictates and has been working incessantly for achieving the aim.

Here we will pause to state that Mahatma Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shajahanpur whom we are calling here as the Master, developed into such a personality referred to above by effacing himself to such a state of negation that the Divine chose to express itself through Him from the date He got into such a state. It is to be noted that such Personalities are very rare and they come into being only when Nature wants a overhauling of the world or the universe and there can be only one such in existence throughout the universe at a given time. The Great Master Revered. Lalaji Maharaj of Fatehgarh was the principal architect in the structuring of His chosen disciple and successor, Sri Ramchandraji in such a way that Nature could find a vessel in Him fit enough to carry out Her purposes. The Master’s consciousness also called more explicitly as Sri Ramchandra’s Consciousness was (and is) untainted by ego of any kind and it was divinity which expressed through Him all the time.

The Master states that the Special Personality is utilizing the Power of Time (or the power of the Mahakal Chakra in the Virat region, 7th knot, PG 183), that is, whatever exists between thought and the action, at its finest level by virtue of His being close proximity of the Divine.(PG 276-278). The Master has prepared and IS PREPARING EVEN NOW THROUGH HIS WORTHY INSTRUMENTS, noble men and women for participating in this mammoth task of divinization of man. This is something unparalleled in the chequered history of human civilization. During the advent of the earlier Avatars there was one demon or a small group of wicked persons who had to be removed from the scene and the Avatar was served by a loyal devoted band of warriors in that task. The task of transformation was not attempted as the person or persons to be dealt with were incorrigible and adamant directly challenging the Descent. In the present times the whole atmosphere has been polluted with extreme selfishness, acquisitive tendencies, pride, prejudice, sensuality and violence with no one individual or a group of individuals who could be targeted for removal. As the Master puts it, now the Centre itself is yawning towards the circumference, the divine itself is prepared to pour itself into the seeker who is inclined towards it and transform him. He observes that such times so very rare in the history of spirituality that they will not come again and exhorts all His fellow beings to benefit from the divine grace so abundantly made available to mankind through the prayers offered by His Master to the Holy Divine.

Spiritual renaissance has been ushered in and in due course of time every one will come to realize the truth and adopt spiritual ways of living.

The Master goes on to describe the advent of His Master, Samarthguru, Sri Ramchandra of Fatehgarh, who was born on the Basanth Panchami day, the 2nd February 1873 as Great men are not accidentally born but when the world is waiting for them in eager expectation.

India, the home of spirituality, was groping in darkness and had forgotten the age-old system of yoga and the technique of yogic transmission had become foreign to the very originators of it. Solid materialism had taken over and spirituality was tottering hopelessly and some great personality was needed to set things right for the upliftment of mankind. The import is that the methods for achieving the real yoga or connection with the Ultimate and the science of yoga proper had gone into oblivion. Even such avenues as available were closed to the common man who was kept in the dark regarding the real situation as to what constituted yoga, the goal of life and the proper means to achieve the same. Yoga for all practical purposes meant the Hatha and Kundalini yoga types involving tedious and time consuming practices of breath control, complicated postures, bandhas and mudras and was in the custody of the sanyasins or the monks who wove a curtain of mystery over it and generally discouraged the householders from entering the yogic path saying that the path was extremely difficult and not meant for them. Liberation was a far cry indeed attainable only after janmas (lives) upon janmas (lives) what to talk then of realization. The householders were ordained by the holy scriptures to serve the sanyasins and this service was all and enough to confer upon them benefits here and in the hereafter. They should satisfy themselves with chanting the names of Hari, hear the lofty discourses of the Mahatmas on the scriptures and the Puranas and support the activities such as performing yagnas and purificatory rites of the mahatmas and give them the annual gurudakshinas.

The advent of the Great Master Sri Ramchandra of Fatehgarh, the Adi Guru of our system ushered in a new era of spiritual awakening promising a practical solution to the problem of human existence which has been eluding even the greatest of sages so far. This divine personality was born in a respectable kayastha family. His mother was a noble and pious lady and due to her He received inspiration at an early age. One day when He was playing with His mates some divine force aroused in Him the feeling that He had not come for the purpose He was engaged in. He had to realize Himself and equip Himself for the great task ahead.

The soul was awakened; He set to it in right earnest and attained perfection only in seven months, something unparalleled in the spiritual history of mankind. He was an embodiment of moderation, tolerance and devotion and a Master of yogic training through Pranahuti (transmission). He showed the way of bringing a man to perfection in one life only even while leading a family life.

According to Him troubles and miseries of grihastha life are penances and sacrifices for spiritual attainments. He had simplified spiritual training to a great extent and adjusted it to suit the requirements of our times. He was in fact Nature’s prodigy and His great contributions in the field of spirituality will come to light in due course of time. His wonderful researches in this science have made human approach up to the highest limit possible and practicable in the least possible time. The Master Himself is a crowning evidence of the perfection that can be brought into the human being by the process of yogic transmission in the hands of a Master of caliber such as the Adi Guru.

Referring to His Master’s wonderful discoveries, the Master says, ‘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 Master, Samarth Guru Ramchandraji of Fatehgarh, who was the first personality to have secured his approach to the highest point while maintaining His physical existence in the world and has thereby made its achievement possible and practicable to others’ (SS 454).

The Master Sri Ramchandraji in whom the Adi Guru had totally merged even as the ocean in the drop, had brought several of His devoted disciples into this sacred region of the Almighty and demonstrated that His Master’s discovery was or rather is, entirely practical.

After serving the masses with high caliber and spiritual dignity the Great Master shed His mortal coil on the 14th August, 1931 at the age of 58. Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj, the Master, the spiritual successor of the Adi Guru founded a spiritual organization, named after His Master, on the 31st March 1945 to spread the ideology of SRRY. The system presents an easy and natural path for the attainment of the Ultimate. It does not advise those cruder methods which are not practicable in the routine life of man.

The Master makes it clear that whatever He has to say on the system is the result of His own anubhava irrespective of what a Sankara or a Ramanuja might have said on the subject. Today every one is only after peace and it means therefore that realization is not the object. Realization brings peace in its wake. Not only we should be interested in knowing the nature of realization but also there should be a sincere and serious attempt at attaining it.

The greatest obstacle in the way is the belief that liberation is impossible in one life not to speak of realization, thanks to the misguided propaganda of the self-styled doctors of divinity. Another fallacy planted again in the minds of men by the mahatmas of the day is that God cannot be found while leading a family life and He is to be sought in the forest as if He is a forest dweller. Most of us are afraid of our own selves and are hopelessly under the spell of the senses. This is further reinforced by the erudite interpreters of the scriptures who describe samsara as an ocean filled with sharks and alligators, these being the metaphors for wife and children; the senses are thieves who rob one of peace and their dominance can be ended only by means of ruthless control, denial of food for them literally and a life of severe austerity and penance.

The only alternative they counsel is running away from home, a physical renunciation termed vairagya used in the sense of enmity towards samsara (vaira, vairi-enemy) in utter disregard of one’s worldly duties for which there is least justification. We will find in the course of Master’s teachings that vairagya is to be taken in the sense of ‘vi-raga’, ‘vi’ the prefix in Sanskrit meaning ‘special’ or ‘enhancing’; thus interpreted, the term means enhanced special attachment towards God/Reality which automatically and effortlessly leads to detachment of the world. Further we adopt an attitude of trusteeship in discharging our various duties taking them as commands of the Master which ought to be fulfilled to perfection so that the Master may be pleased.

Under this system of training, the action of the senses get regulated in a natural way so as to bring them to their original state as they were when we assumed the human form for the first time. The lower vrittis (modifications of the mind stuff or chitta) which are working independently are subjected to the transmitted super-consciousness which helps in stopping their perverse action. The lower centres are brought under the control of the higher centres which in turn come under the control of the Divine centres leading to the gradual divinization of the system restoring poise and balanced character in it. The most important feature of this system is that it goes on in conjunction with the normal worldly living of common man, with due regards of his duties and responsibilities so that both aspects of his life, the worldly and spiritual, may develop equally bright. The Master is quite emphatic in stating that these are not mere ideas for preaching but for being brought into practice and application in daily life.

There is unanimous agreement among the great sages that Rajayoga alone is capable of ensuring approach to the highest limits and any one destined to achieve complete freedom or Realization must sooner or later come up to it. The New Darsana of Sri Ramchandraji has been brought forth after introducing very significant modifications and removing superfluities from the ancient Ashtanga Rajayoga of sage Patanjali to suit the conditions and needs of present day man. It is found that the Master makes no mention of Yama and Niyama in the traditional sense but makes it clear that discipline and following certain basic tenets are absolutely necessary.

All the principles of ethical and religious life are well brought about by Him in His work ‘Commentary on Ten commandments of Sahaj Marg’-(see Imperience Beckons). Simply interpreted, Yama and Niyama consist in accepting whatever helps us in achieving the goal and eschewing whatever prevents us from achieving it. It is also to be realized that following the right practice under the guidance of a capable Master enables one to be established truly in the tenets of Yama and Niyama. The aspirants of SRRY(PAM) find in practice that following the Ten Commandments of the Master enables them to progress in the path and this in turn makes for better compliance with the commandments.

We also see that there is no stress on Asana and Pranayama. Asana is accepted as a convenient posture and a little bent posture, head bowed in reverence before the Master, is also advocated. Pranayama is not mentioned at all. On the other hand a great deal of importance is laid on Pranahuti or the transmission of the yogic energy or divine effulgence which is treated as the very cornerstone of SRRY(PAM). As this is one of the most significant deviations from the ancient system we will briefly address the principle of Pranahuti and its supreme relevance to SRRY(PAM).

Prana is not breath alone and it ought to mean ‘thought’ in the human context. This thought is that which is common to him and the Ultimate and this is the unique characteristic which distinguishes man in the scheme of Divine expression into multitude. This is the real meaning of the oft quoted line, ‘Man is made in the image of God’. The prana is in a state of balance and equanimity whenever it is dwelling on the origin or base or ultimate. When it gets attached to anything other than the origin, the mind tries to wriggle itself free of the clutches of extraneous matter and this is the real explanation for the origin of the consciousness of thoughts, the awareness in our minds of thoughts being thus caused by the rejection by our minds of such extraneous matter. This is the most profound theory of the Master on the nature of the mind. Once this is grasped, the control and utilization of thoughts, the prime object of Yoga, becomes easier to practice. When the mind is given the single idea of the Master, the Master here being taken as the Divine itself, as the goal of human life, it accepts the same and gets absorbed, it being the very nature of the mind to do so. Thus the complicated exercises of breath control are unnecessary for the objective of mind control. It may be noted here that breath being external, the mind gets externalized when engaged in the various processes connected with breath control. Further the more one succeeds in control of breath and control of mind and acquires in the process certain lower order attainments, the more he develops ego, the most serious obstacle in the path towards the Ultimate. This is the biggest drawback of Hathayoga which does not even in the best cases allow one to proceed beyond ajna chakra, according to the Master. Whereas in the Pranahuti aided meditation system, we are exhorted to yield to the Master, the Supreme Master who is governing all of us, God Himself, instead of trying to control the mind and body through the various breathing exercises and involved postures.

Otherwise entire lifetimes were being spent in the very control process itself and it is due to the great work and prayers of the Adi Guru, that the abhyasis in SRRY(PAM) are able to receive the Divine grace which comes not because they are capable of compelling the Divine but through their yielding to the Divine and seeking His grace.

Another important aspect is the application of Pranahuti for diversion of mental tendencies from the state of preoccupation with the base and animal needs, wants and desires, the chief cause behind the agitated and disturbed states of mind, to the divine levels of consciousness that humanity is capable of. The diversion process helps immensely in bringing the mind to a state of poise and equanimity which has remained beyond the reach of even determined aspirants struggling for entire lifetimes without the benefits of Pranahuti.

Thus, in SRRY(PAM) the first four steps of the Ashtanga yoga are taken care of in a different way as compared to the traditional manner. We start from the fifth step Pratyahara, where the object of meditation, namely, the Divine light without luminosity is given as literally ‘food for thought’. The other steps Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi follow but there is a world of difference in how the words are understood and the associated processes are undergone in the New Darsana as compared to the Ashtanga yoga.

The Master brings out the very major role played in SRRY(PAM) of Pranahuti especially with regard to the progress on the path. The capable guide, by virtue of his own inner powers, awakens and accelerates the dormant forces in the abhyasi and directs the flow of Divine current towards his heart, through the process of pranahuti. As a result the abhyasi is able to progress on the path progressively experiencing more and more of bliss. The abhyasi has only to make himself capable and deserving of the divine grace. In this way what required strenuous practices and penances over long periods of time can be achieved within a short period, even a fraction of a lifetime. But all this is to be experienced as it is of a practical nature.

The Master then goes on to describe the actual condition all have to arrive at, namely, that which is neither peace nor restlessness, neither union nor separation; it is a state admitting no contradictions. One has to develop a deep craving and intense restlessness to attain it. A firm will made in the beginning and a Spartan spirit ensure ultimate success. It is found that in the end what one was craving to attain is very close at hand, it is nothing but the seeker’s own Self. To reach the destination one should have a burning desire which will burn the weeds on the path.

While stressing the role of the Master in the system, the Master is careful to reassure the seeker that He does not thereby mean to advocate the orthodox idea of Gurudom. In the association it is taken in the spirit of common brotherhood and a spirit of service and sacrifice helping each other as needed. The Master declares that the practice and training offered in the system is open to one and all without any distinction of caste, creed, gender, nationality, past religious belief or position in society. The above mentioned have been the bane of human societies for millennia causing wars, painful migrations and dislocations, dissensions and consequent untold sufferings and miseries. Now Nature desires all humanity to unite partaking in the Divine Universal Consciousness and live in cooperation, harmony and mutual goodwill for its common good and spiritual well-being. It is the experience of the abhyasis of SRRY(PAM) such a cooperative and harmonious existence is possible by each and every human being opening himself to and welcoming into his heart the all inclusive Sri Ramchandra Consciousness which is of the nature of Universal love and is ever ready to respond to such a call. It is in the above spirit of the Sri Ramchandra Consciousness, the Master exhorts all mankind to come forward to practice the system, experience the grace of His Master who has turned a new leaf in tradition of Indian philosophy and derive spiritual benefit. We should understand by the term turning a ‘new leaf’, the revival of the age-old system of Rajayoga based upon Pranahuti and making it widely available to all those who seek it without any discrimination and really enabling the seeker to know, see, enter into and live according to the Supreme Reality through the practices of SRRY(PAM) and the Master’s continuous support through Pranahuti. Philosophy is not mere armchair speculation or indulging in scholarly debate over the purported nature of Reality but a rational and systemized account of the imperiences in one’s heart of the Supreme Reality in a practical way.

The Chapter ends with a prayer to the Adi Guru that His benign supervision may guide all to the realization of the Ultimate and the fulfillment of human purpose. That is, as the Master states in a message, “We are all bretheren connected intellectually, morally and spiritually. That is the goal of human life. This and that have gone now. There is purity alone in his work and environment which weaves the spiritual destiny with the Ultimate”.