The very first step on approaching this path is to get initiation from a living Master, a genuine Satguru. This point is so often emphasized, but it cannot be overstressed. It is absolutely necessary. Without initiation, one may as well stop before he begins. He will get nowhere on the path. He may gain a little intellectual understanding of the principles, but that will do him but little good. Then supposing that he has received initiation, he has not to learn a lot of rules and regulations; he has not to study any rituals nor to read any books or post - not even this one. He may read only to get his mind clear on certain principles. That is all. He has now first and foremost to get down to work on the exercises.
He must select a suitable room, as completely as possible excluded from all noise and all sorts of interruptions. At fixed hours he is to sit in meditation, as prearranged, with body erect and comfortable. The posture used in the East is given to him at the time of his initiation, but he probably cannot endure that position if he is a Westerner. He will sit in a comfortable position, as he may select. The main point is that he is to keep his mind on the center in the head; If he is in pain from a cramped position, he cannot concentrate. His attention is then fixed upon a point inside of his head, called tisra til, meaning 'the third eye'.
This is between the eyes and on a level with the eyebrows. He may simply think of this center, imagining himself to be there. The attention is to be held at this point continuously and without wavering. No thought of the outside world is to be entertained, nor of any past experience, event or person. Perfect concentration at this center is the objective. It is the all-essential. The mind must be held still at this point. Make the mind perfectly motionless. Do not think at all, except of the Master, at this inner center. All other mental activity is to cease. The mind must be held perfectly quiet, but it must hold to the center. If any thought at all is to be allowed, it must be only of the Master and what is inside of the center. All of the mind and soul are to be gathered at this point. Remember that the mind and spirit are scattered all over one's body. But they must now be gathered and concentrated at this one point in the head. To make this concentration perfect is the first great task to engage the attention and effort of the devotee. Compared with that, nothing else in the world is to be considered of any importance at all.
Just how all this is to be done to the very best advantage is told to the disciple at the time of his initiation. Details of the process cannot be given here; they are given at the time of initiation. This is not because the Masters are not willing to give out these precious secrets, They would be glad to give them to every man and woman on earth if only they could use them. But they could not make use of them. Those secrets would be of no value to the uninitiated. Absolutely none. They would only confuse him and possibly lead to serious mistakes. Only after one has found a living Master and received initiation are these secrets of any value to him. After that, they are priceless. In this post our aim is to give the student a definite outline of the general principles ofthe Masters science. It is not intended to do away with the need for a Master. That would be the utmost folly.
Before beginning his exercises, the disciple is presumed to have gained perfect vivek; that is, he is supposed to have considered the matter thoroughly from the intellectual aspect of the subject. His mind is presumed to be convinced and in full accord. He should be satisfied that he is on the right path, that he is adopting the right method, the best there is. He must be satisfied that this is the path for him. Also, he should fully accept his Master with complete confidence and trust, with readiness to follow him at all costs.
He must never' for one moment presume, to set up his own ideas as superior to the instructions given by the Master, even in the smallest details. If he could know better than the Master in any detail, then he would have no need for a Master, nor should he think that general instructions given to others by the Masters do not apply to himself. The science of the Masters is universal. It applies to all with equal force. He must never imagine that any particular instruction given by the Master is not so important as it is held to be. That were to make a grave error. The Master gives no instructions that are not important.
Then one should follow the Master implicitly. If a student objects that this is giving up his own individuality too much, this point may be illustrated. A man is to make a long journey by ship. Now his first business concerning that trip is vivek-determining the best way to go. That is, he must select his ship and his route. When he has done that, his discrimination ceases. His independence of choice is now narrowed down. He has delegated his independence. The captain of his ship is now in command. When he steps aboard that ship, he is no longer able to exercise the freedom of choice he once exercised. He must henceforth obey the captain and follow the regulations laid down for the government of that ship. He does that voluntarily and solely because he has once and for all decided that the ship will take him to his destination. The situation is much the same in the journey we are to make with the Master. He is the great captain, and to go with him, we must obey him.
This much being determined, he embarks upon his journey. He is also presumed to have gained vairag, complete mental detachment from the love of the world and all sense objects. A man simply cannot take this world with him on his journey to higher worlds. In his innermost thoughts, he must be detached from the bonds that fetter him. He is then ready to proceed.
When he has done all of the above, and properly has seated himself for the allotted time to be given to the exercises, he begins
on simran (smarana). This means the repetition of certain words given by the Master, which we may call keynotes, for want of a better term. The object of simran does not involve any Idea of charms or words of magical powers. It is simply a method of helping the mind to come to complete rest and remain at rest in the given center. Simran is used by the world in one form or another. It simply means concentrating the attention upon one thing, then going over and over it until it is made an art of the very fiber and substance of one's being. It is only in this way that success can be attained.
Since the student is now to enter the inner worlds, he fixes all attention upon that which is inside and which belongs to those inner worlds. When the mind wanders away, the repetitIon of those keynotes will bring it back to the center. The outer world is to be completely forgotten. Any means which may be adopted to that end may be helpful. But the Masters give us the best means. No man can improve on the Masters' method. It is a method that has .been proved and tested for untold thousands of years. No man can enter those higher worlds so long as his mind lingers upon things of the outer world. Hence the Masters speak of closing the nine doors of the outer world. The nine doors referred to are:
the two eyes,
the two ears,
the two nostrils,
the mouth,
the sex organ,
the rectum.
These are the chief means of holding communication with the outer world. All these must be closed- that is, all attention must be removed from them.
When all the outside world has been shut out, even in our innermost thoughts, with attention fixed upon the inner center, then we begin to concentrate at that center. All the-powers of both mind and soul gather at that inner center, and as a result the bodily extremities become feelingless. We lose all feeling or sense of the life and existence ofthe body. We forget it. The entire being now moves toward the center and the inner worlds to be invaded.
When every ray of attention is inside, concentrated at the proper center, with no wavering thought lingering outside, then the student is in a position to get results. He must get results. He cannot fail to get them. He will at first experience flashes of light or hear sounds -perhaps both. But no matter what he sees or hears, he should not allow his mind to wander from the center. In other words, he must never go out after any sound or sight. Let them come to him at the center. If you leave the center, you Will lose the lights and sounds also. By and by with the gathering of all the life currents of the body at the center, the powers of the mind and soul will greatly increase. .
When this concentration has reached its maximum within the ability of the individual, the soul has sufficient force to penetrate the tenth door. .That is an opening in the subtle body near the middle of the forehead. At first, one only looks out through this door. But by and by he goes out through it and leaves the body completely. He then steps out into a new world which he never saw before. This new world will probably be some subplane of the astral zone. It is a new dimension to us. Let us call it the fourth dimension, if you wish; yet the term has but little meaning.
There is in the greater universe an almost endless series of sets of three dimensions, one above the other, reaching up to the highest worlds. Each set is separated from the one just above or just below it by the differences in the substances, the fineness or coarseness of particle and the different rates Of vibration. These differences make one set invisible to people living in another set, because the eyes of people inhabiting one region will have a limited range of vision, making it impossible for them to see a region much above or much below their own region, to which they have been adapted. This is the reason we cannot see the astral worlds by or through our physical eyes. But with the astral eyes, we can see on that plane just as well as we can see on the physical plane with the physical eyes. So with the still higher worlds..With each higher world, or set of dimensions, the light and the beauty increase materially; also the happiness of the inhabitants.
At the sublime moment when the disciple steps out into the higher world, he begins to realize that he has acquired a vast increase of powers, as well as joy. It appears to him, and it is a fact too, that he can do almost anything he may wish to do. Not only has he increase of powers, but his knowledge and understanding have expanded proportionately. At this time, the whole material universe appears as an open book to him, and all dark mysteries have vanished. In other words, he finds himself in possession of all knowledge of these lower worlds. He now knows them, and he has power over them. From here on up, each world gained gives one complete knowledge and power over the world below him.
The disciple is now free to proceed on his way to still higher zones. He may not allow himself to be unduly detained in order to enjoy the new world he has just entered. He must proceed. Between the physical and the pure astral planes there are many subplanes. Vedantic pundits speak of the sun-worlds first. Then come the moon-worlds and, after that, numerous subzones and finally what Vivekananda calls, the lightning-worlds. This corresponds to the plane ofthe Sahasradal Kanwal, as it is known to the Masters. It is commonly referred to as the astral region. It is full of light and is very beautiful when compared with this world. It is that region which is commonly considered by many yogis as the supreme heaven. That is as high as they are able to ascend, as a rule.The lord of that region they regard as the supreme being. The saints speak of him as Kal Niranjan, while most Hindus think of him as Brahm, the supreme God. He is, in fact, regarded as the supreme being by nearly all religions. This is because they know of nothing higher. It is only the great Masters who know ofthe higher regions and the higher deities, going on up to the universal one, out ofwhom all others come.
At a point between the sun-worlds and the moon-worlds and the pure astral zone, the disciple of the Master enters a zone called Ashtadal Kanwal. At that place something happens which changes the whole course of his life and also his method of procedure from that point on. It is the meeting with his own Master in his radiant form. This is the Master's nuri sarup or 'light form'. It is the Master, his own Master, appearing just as he does in physical life, except that his body is now much more beautiful and full of light, brilliantly illumined. The radiant Master then and there receives his disciple with much love, to the great joy of the disciple. From that moment on, the two are never separated throughout the journey to still higher regions. Of course, this form is always with the disciple from the moment of his initiation, but the disciple cannot see him. But from here on, the disciple can see the Master on the inner planes as well as the outer.
At this time another new feature enters the journey of the student. A new stage marks his career. So·far his success has been only partial, but very great. He has accomplished much, but he has only fairly begun his upward journey. Up to that time, he has been doing simran, repeating the keynotes. And that has given him fair concentration. But from now on, he will discontinue the simran. He will not need it. He now has the presence of the Master whom he may behold constantly. This is called dhyan. This sight inspires much love and adoration. It is the most perfect dhyan and it is more effective than simran for concentration. In fact, at all times, even before the disciple goes inside, his best possible exercise is to look steadily at the Master's form, and particularly his eyes. If one will take advantage of every moment to look steadily, with no shifting of vision, right at the Master's eyes, he will find himself concentrating and going inside quicker than any other way. This is one very great advantage a disciple has in being personally near the Master. So we now have simran and perfect dhyan. These are two of the essentials in the exercises.
At this point something else of great importance happens, You contact the audible life stream perfectly and consciously, and Its music will begin to work changes in you. You get a little of it before this point, but here you get it more perfectly. Here it begins to fairly enchant you and to pull you up with increasing attraction and power. You will find yourself listening to it with rapt attention and deep delight, completely absorbed in it. You will never wish to leave it or to miss a single note of its marvelous strains.
Of course, your upward progress will be much accelerated from here on. It is said that the student who reaches this point may consider that one-half of his work is finished for the whole of his journey. While formerly you had to exert your will to hold your attention upon the focus, now you will find it equally difficult to withdraw your attention from it. The Master and the divine melody are so extremely attractive. You will most ardently wish to go on forever looking at the one and listening to the other.
You will now go with the Master into the capital, the great Sahasradal Kanwal. It is the center of the astral worlds. It is the famous city of the 'thousand-petalled lotus'. It is a marvel of light and beauty, which I think no one has ever attempted to describe in much detail simply because it is beyond human language. One thousand and one gorgeous lights (one large central light and one thousand small ones clustered about), each light of a different tint, and all clustered together somewhat in the form of a gigantic lotus flower. It is sometimes called 'the mountain of light'. It is in fact the real powerhouse of the physical universe: From that gigantic dynamo goes forth the power that creates and sustains the entire creation below it, galaxies after galaxies, without end. Further than this we may not here attempt any sort of description. He who arrives there will see it. Then let him try to describe it.
Entering that region, the disciple will be so overjoyed that he will wish to remain there forever. Living in that region are to be seen many millions of the best men and women known to history, even founders of world religions, sitting and enjoying their meditation or walking about amidst the beauties and splendors of that region. Much as we would delight to go on with our descriptions of this and still higher regions, we must stop here. We could not describe them if we would; and would not if we could. That concerns only those students who have made progress up to that point. Its knowledge does not belong to one who is still confined to the earth plane, nor would it do him the least good if given to him.