!li !i!-i!ii;i:;:i ;i' III iitu:i;:i!ii!;iii" ii!^ linji'Ii'l'H'lHllifl:'' islHiililH' iiiiipi'iiiill rAja yoga [i] SWAMI VIVIOKANANDA REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HINDU RELIGION AT THE WORLD'S PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS, HELD IN CHICAGO, 1893 VEDANTA PHILOSOPHY LECTURES BY THE SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON RAJA YOCxA AND OTHER SUBJECTS ALSO PATANJALI'S YOGA APHORISMS, WITH COM- MENTARIES, AND GLOSSARY OF SANSKRIT TERMS NEW EDITION, WITH ENLARGED GLOSSARY {NINTH EDITION) NEW YORK THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY 1913 COPYRIGHT, i8q7, BY WEED-PARSONS PRINTING COMPANY. COPYRIGHT, 1899, BY THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY. Y ? ^/ ^ I H i -^ Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity within, by con- trolling NATURE, EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL. do this either by work, or worship, or psychic con- trol, or philosophy, by one, or more, or all of these — and be fref. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, OR RITUALS, or BOOKS, OR TEMPLES, OR FORMS, ARE BUT SECONDARY DETAILS. [vii] PREFACE Since the dawn of history, various extraordinary phenomena have been recorded as happening amongst human beings. Witnesses are not wanting in modern times to attest to the fact of such events, even in socie- ties living under the full blaze of modern science. The vast mass of such evidence is unreliable, as coming from ignorant, superstitious, or fraudulent persons. In many instances the so-called miracles are imitations. But what do they imitate ? It is not the sign of a candid and scientific mind to throw overboard anything without proper investigation. Surface scientists, unable to ex- plain the various extraordinary mental phenomena, strive to ignore their very existence. They are, there- fore, more culpable than those who think that their prayers are answered by a being, or beings, above the clouds, or than those who believe that their petitions will make such beings change the course of the uni- verse. The latter have the excuse of ignorance, or at least of a false system of education in their childhood, which has taught them tp depend upon such beings for [ix] X PREFACE. help, and this dependence has now become a part of their degenerate nature. The former have no such excuse. For thousands of years such phenomena have been investigated, studied, and generalised, the whole ground of the religious faculties of man has been analysed, and the practical result is the science of Rdja Yoga. Rdja Yoga does not, after the unpardonable manner of some modern scientists, deny the existence of facts which are very difficult to explain ; on the other hand, it gently, yet in no uncertain terms, tells the superstitious that mira- cles and answers to prayers, and powers of faith, though true as facts, are not rendered comprehensible through the superstitious explanation of attributing them to the agency of a being, or beings, above the clouds. It declares to mankind that each being is only a conduit for the infinite ocean of knowledge and power that lies behind. It teaches that desires and wants are in man, that the power of supply is also in man; and that wher- ever and whenever a desire, a want, a prayer, has been fulfilled, it was out of this infinite magazine that the supply came, and not from any supernatural being. The idea of supernatural beings may rouse to a certain extent the power of action in man, but it also brings spiritual decay. It brings dependence; it brings fear; it brings superstition. It degenerates into a horrible belief in the PREFACE. xi natural weakness of man. There is no supernatural, says the Yogt^ but there are in nature gross manifesta- tions and subtle manifestations. The subtle are the causes, the gross the effects. The gross can be easily- perceived by the senses ; not so the subtle. The practice of Rdja Yoga will lead to the acquisition of the more subtle perceptions. All the orthodox systems of Indian philosophy have one goal in view, the liberation of the soul through per- fection. The method is by Yoga. The word Yoga covers an immense ground, but both the Sdnkhya and the VeddfiHst Schools point to Yoga in some form or other. The subject of the first lectures in the present book is that form of Yoga known as Rdja Yoga. The aphorisms of Patanjali are the highest authority and text book on Rdja Yoga. The other philosophers, though occasionally differing from Patanjali in some philosophical aspect, have, as a rule, acceded to his method of practice a decided consent. The first part of this book is comprised of several lectures to classes delivered by the present writer in New York. The second part is a rather free translation of the aphorisms (Siitras) of Patanjali, with a running com- mentary. Effort has been made to avoid technicalities as far as possible, and to keep to the free and easy style Xli PREFACE of conversation. In the first part some simple and specific directions are given for the student who wants to practise, bat all such are especially and earnestly reminded that, with few exceptions. Yoga can only be safely learned by direct contact with a teacher. If these conversations succeed in awakening a desire for further information on the subject, the teacher will not be wanting. The system of Pataiijali is based upon the system of \.\it. Sdnkhyas^ the points of difference being very few. The two most important differences are, first that Pat- anjali admits a Personal God in the form of a first teacher, while the only God the Sdnkhyas admit is a nearly perfected being, temporarily in charge of a cycle. Second, the Yogis hold the mind to be equally all-per- vading with the soul, or Furuiay and the Sdnkhyas do not. The Author. CONTENTS RAJA YOGA. Preface .... Chap. I. Introductory . . . , II. The First Steps III. Prana .... IV. The Psychic Prana . V. The control of Psychic Prana VI. Pratyahara and Dharana . VII. Dhyana and Samdahi VIII. Raja Yoga in brief . PAGE. ix I 17 29 47 55 62 72 86 PATANJALI'S YOGA APHORISMS. Introduction ...... 97 I. Concentration: its Spiritual uses . . 104 II. " its Practice . . . i47 [xiii] XIV CONTENTS. Chap. rAGS. III. The Chapter of Powers .... 189 IV. Independence ...... 207 Appendix 224 IMMORTALITY . 231 BHAKTI-YOGA. Definition of Bhakti . . . . .' .251 The Philosophy of Isvara ..... 258 Spiritual Realisation, the Aim of Bhakti- YoGA 265 The Need of a Guru ...... 268 Qualifications of the Aspirant and the Teacher . . . . . . . . 271 Incarnate Teachers and Incarnation . . 278 The Mantra : Om : Word and Wisdom . . . 282 Worship of Substitutes and Images . . . 286 The Chosen Ideal ...... 289 The Method and the Means .... 292 CONTENTS. XV PARA-BHAKTI OR SUPREME DEVOTION. PAGE. The Preparatory Renunciation .... 301 The Bhakta's Renunciation Results from Love 305 The Naturalness of Bhakti-Yoga and Its Central Secret . . . . . .310 The Forms of Love-manifestation . . . 312 Universal Love and How It leads to Self- surrender . . . . . . . -315 The Higher Knowledge and the Higher Love are one to the True Lover .... 320 The Triangle of Love 322 The God of Love is His own Proof . . . 327 Human Representations of the Divine Ideal OF Love ........ 329 Conclusion 337 GLOSSARY 341 RAJA YOGA OR Conquering the Internal Nature CHAPTER L INTRODUCTORY. All our knowledge is based upon experience. What we call inferential knowledge, in which we go from the less general to the more general, or from the general to the particular, has experience as its basis. In what are called the exact sciences, people easily find the truth, because it appeals to the particular experiences of every human being. The scientist does not tell you to believe in anything, but he has certain results which come from his own experiences, and reasoning on these experiences, when he asks us to believe in his conclusions, he appeals to some universal experience of humanity. In every exact science there is a universal basis which is common to all humanity, so that we can at once see the truth or the fallacy of the conclusions drawn therefrom. Now, the question is, has religion any such basis or not ? I shall have to answer the question both in the affirmative and in the negative. Religion, as it is generally taught 2 RAJA YOGA. all over the world, is said to be based upon faith and belief, and, in most cases, consists only of different sets of theories, and that is the reason why we find all these various religions quarrelling with each other. These theories, again, are based upon belief. One man says there is a great Being sitting above the clouds and governing the whole universe, and he asks me to believe that, solely on the authority of his assertion. In the same way I may have my own ideas, which I am asking others to believe, and if they ask a reason, I cannot supply them with any. This is why religion and meta- physical philosophy have a bad name nowadays. Every educated man seems to say: "Oh, these religions are only bundles of theories without any standard to judge them by, each man preaching his own pet ideas." At the same time I must tell you that there is a basis of uni- versal belief in religion, governing all these different theories, and all the varying ideas of different sects of men in different countries. Going to the basis of them we find that they also are based upon universal experiences. In the first place I will ask you to analyse all the various religions of the world. You will find that these are divided into two classes, those with a book, and those without a book. Those with a book are the strongest, and have the largest number of followers. Those with- out books have mostly died out, and the few new ones hav^ very small followings. Yet, in all of them we find one consensus of opinion, that the truths they teach are the results of the experiences of particular persons. INTRODUCTORY. 3 The Christian asks you to believe in his religion, to believe in Christ, and to believe in Him as the incarna- tion of God, to believe in a God, in a soul, and in a better state of that soul. If I ask him for reasons he says, " No, it is my belief." But if you go to the fountain head of Christianity you will find that it is based upon experience. Christ said He saw God; the disciples said they felt God ; and so forth. Similarly, in Buddhism, it is Buddha's experience — He experienced certain truths, saw them, came in contact with them, and preached them to the world. So with the Hindus — in their book the writers, who are called RisMs^ or sages, declare they have experienced certain truths, and these they preach. Thus it is clear that all the religions of the world have been built upon that one universal and adamantine foundation of all our knowledge — direct experience. The teachers all saw God ; they all saw their own souls, they saw their eternity, they saw their future, and what they saw they preached. Only there is this difference, that in most of these religions, espe- cially in modern times, a peculiar claim is put before us, and that claim is that these experiences are impos- sible at the present day; they were only possible with a few men, who were the first founders of the religions that subsequently bore their names. At the present time these experiences have become obsolete, and therefore we have now to take religion on belief. This I entirely deny. If there has been one case of experience in this world in any particular branch of knowledge it absolutely follows that this experience 4 RAJA YOGA. has been possible millions of times oefore, and will be repeated eternally. Uniformity is the rigorous law of nature; what once happened can happen always. The teachers of the science of Voga, therefore, declare that religion is not only based upon the experience of ancient times, but that no man can be religious until he has the same perceptions himself. Yoga is the science which teaches us how to get these perceptions. It is useless to talk about religion until one has felt it. Why is there so much disturbance, so much fighting and quarrelling in the name of God ? There has been more bloodshed in the name of God than for any other cause, and the reason is that people never went to the fountain head ; they were content only to give a mental assent to the customs of their forefathers, and wanted others to do the same. What right has a man to say he has a soul if he does not feel it, or that there is a God if he does not see Him ? If there is a God we must see Him, if there is a soul we must perceive it; otherwise it is better not to believe. It is better to be an outspoken atheist than a hypocrite. The modern idea, on the one hand, with the " learned," is that religion and meta- physics, and all search after a Supreme Being, is futile; on the other hand, with the semi-educated, the idea seems to be that these things really have no basis, that their only value consists in the fact that they are strong motive powers for doing good to the world. If men believe in a God, they may become good, and moral, and so make good citizens. We cannot blame them for holding such ideas, seeing that all the teaching these INTRODUCTORY. 5 men get is simply to believe in an eternal rigmarole of words, without any substance behind them. They are asked to live upon words; can they do it? If they could, I should not have the least regard for human nature. Man wants truth, wants to experience truth for himself, to grasp it, to realise it, to feel it within his heart of hearts; then alone, declare the Vedas, will all doubts vanish, all darkness be scattered, and all crooked- ness be made straight. *' Ye children of immortality, even those who live in the highest sphere, the way is found; there is a way out of all this darkness, and that is by perceiving Him Who is beyond all darkness, and there is no other way.** The science of J^a/a Yoga proposes to put before humanity a practical and scientifically worked-out method of reaching this truth. In the first place, every science must have its own method of investigation. If you want to become an astronomer, and sit down and cry "Astronomy, astronomy!" it will never come to you. The same with chemistry. A certain method must be followed. You must go to the laboratory, take the different substances, mix them up, compound them, experiment with them, and out of that will come a knowledge of chemistry. If you want to be an astro- nomer you must go to the observatory, take a telescope, study the stars and planets, and then you will become an astronomer. Each science must have its own methods. I could preach you thousands of sermons, but they would not make you religious, until you first practised the method. These are the truths of the sages of all 6 RAJA YOGA. countries, of all ages, men pure and unselfish, who had no motive but to do good to the world. They all declare that they have found some truth higher than that the senses can bring to us, and they challenge verification. They say to you, take up the method and practise honestly, and then, if you do not find this higher truth, you will have the right to say there is no truth in the claim, but before you have done that, you are not rational in denying the truth of these assertions. So we must work faithfully, using the prescribed methods, and light will come. In acquiring knowledge we make use of generalisation, and generalisation is based upon observation. We first observe facts, and then we generalise, and then we draw our conclusions or principles. The knowledge of the mind, of the internal nature of man, of thought, can never be had until we have the power of first observing the facts that are going on within. It is very easy to observe facts in the external world, and many thousand instruments have been invented to observe every point of nature, but in the internal world we find no instru- ment to help us. Yet we know we must observe in order to have a real science. Without a proper analysis, any science will be hopeless, mere theorising, and that is why all the psychologists have been quarrelling among themselves since the beginning of time, except those few who found out the means of observation. The science of Rdja Yoga^ in the first place, proposes to give men such a means of observing the internal states, and the instrument is the mind itself. The power INTRODUCTORY. 7 of attention of mind, when properly guided, and directed towards the internal world, will analyse the mind, and illumine facts for us. The powers of the mind are like rays of light being dissipated ; when they are concen- trated they illumine everything. This is the only source of knowledge that we have. Everyone is using it, both in the external and the internal world, but, for the psychologist, this minute observation which the scien- tific man can throw upon the external world, will have to be thrown on the internal world, and this requires a great deal of practice. From our childhood upwards we have been taught only to pay attention to things external, never to pay attention to things internal, and most of us have nearly lost the faculty of observing the internal mechanism. To turn the mind, as it were, inside, stop it from going outside, and then to concen- trate all its powers, and throw them upon the mind itself, in order that it may know its own nature, analyse itself, is very hard work. Yet that is the only way to anything which will be a scientific approach to the subject. What is the use of such knowledge? In the first place, knowledge itself is the highest reward of knowl- edge, and, in the second place, there is also utility in it. It will take away all our misery. When, by analysing his own mind, man comes face to face, as it were, with something which is never destroyed, something which is, by its own nature, eternally pure and perfect, he will no more be miserable, no more unhappy. All misery comes from fear, from unsatisfied desire. Man will find that he never dies, and then he will have no more fear 8 RAJA YOGA. of death. When he knows that he is perfect, he will have no more vain desires, and both these causes being absent, there will be no more misery — there will be perfect bliss, even while in this body. There is only one method by which to attain this knowledge, that which is called concentration. The chemist in his laboratory concentrates all the energies of his mind into one focus, and throws them out upon the materials he is analysing, and so finds out their secret. The astronomer concentrates all the energies of his mind and projects them through his telescope upon the skies; and the stars, the sun, and the moon, give up their secrets to him. The more I can concentrate my thoughts on the matter on which I am talking to you, the more light I can throw upon it. You are listening to me, and the more you concentrate your thoughts the more clearly you will grasp what I have to say. How has all this knowledge in the world been gained but by the concentration of the powers of the mind ? Nature is ready to give up her secrets if we only know how to knock, to give her the necessary blow, and the strength and force of the blow come through concentra- tion. There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The more concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point, and that is the secret. It is easier to concentrate the mind on external things, the mind naturally goes outwards; but, in the case of religion, or psychology, or metaphysics, the subject and object are one. The object is internal, the mind itself is the object, and it is necessary to study the mind itself, INTRODUCTORY. 9 mind studying mind. We know that there is the power of the mind called reflective. I am talking to you; at the same time I am standing aside, as it were, a second person, and knowing and hearing what I am talking. You work and think at the same time, anotlier portion of your mind stands by and sees what you are thinking. The powers of the mind should be concentrated and turned back upon itself, and as the darkest places reveal their secrets before the penetrating rays of the sun, so will this concentrated mind penetrate its own innermost secrets. Thus will we come to the basis of belief, the real genuine religion. We will perceive for ourselves whether we have souls, whether life is of five minutes, or of eternity, whether there is a God in the universe or none. It will all be revealed to us. This is what Rdja Yoga proposes to teach. The goal of all its teach- ing is how to concentrate the mind, then how to discover the facts in our own minds, then how to generalise those facts, and form our own conclusions from them. It therefore never asks the question what our religion is, whether we are Deists, or Atheists, whether Chris- tians, Jews, or Buddhists. We are human beings; that is sufficient. Every human being has the right and the power to seek for religion; every human being has the right to ask the reason why, and to have his question answered by himself, if he only takes the trouble. So far, then, we see that in the study of this Rdja Yoga no faith or belief is necessary. Believe nothing until you find it out for yourself; that is what it teaches us. Truth requires no prop to make it stand. Do you lO RAJA YOGA. mean to say that the facts of our awakened state require any dreams or imaginings to prove them? Certainly not. This study of Raja Yoga takes a long time and constant practice. A part of this practice is physical, but the main part of it is mental. As we go along we shall find how intimately the mind is connected with the body. If we believe that the mind is simply a finer part of the body, and that mind acts upon the body, in the same way the body must act upon the mind. If the body is sick, the mind becomes sick also. If the body is healthy, the mind remains healthy and strong. When one is angry, the mind becomes disturbed; at the same time, when the mind is disturbed, the body also becomes disturbed. With the majority of mankind the mind is entirely under the control of the body; the mind is very little developed. The vast mass of humanity, if you will kindly excuse me, is very little removed from the animals. Not only that, but, in many instances, the power of control is very little higher than that of the lower animals. We have very little command of our minds. Therefore to bring that command about, to get that control over body and mind, we must take certain physical helps, and when the body is sufficiently controlled, we can attempt the manipulation of the mind. By manipulation of the mind, we shall be able to bring it under our control, make it work as we like, and compel it to concentrate its powers as we desire. According to the Rdja Yogi, all this external world is but the gross form of the internal, or subtle. The finer INTRODUCTORY. II IS always the cause, and the grosser the effect. So the external world is the effect, and the internal the cause. In the same way external forces are simply the grosser parts, of which the internal forces are the finer. One who has discovered and learned how to manipulate the internal forces will get the whole of nature under his control. The Vogz proposes to himself no less a task than to master the whole universe, to control the whole of nature. He wants to arrive at the point where what we call " nature's laws " will have no influ- ence over him, where he will be able to get beyond them all. He will be master of the whole of nature, internal and external. The progress and civilisa- tion of the human race is simply controlling this nature. Various races differ in their processes. Just as in the same society some individuals want to control external nature, and others want to control internal nature, so, among races, some want to control the external nature, and some the internal. Some say that by controlling internal nature we control every- thing; some that by controlling external nature we control everything. Carried to the extreme both are right, because there is neither internal nor external. It is a fictitious limitation that never existed. Both are destined to meet at the same point, the external- ists and the internalists, when both reach the extreme of their knowledge. Just as the physician, when he pushes his knowledge to its limits, finds it melting away into metaphysics, so the metaphysician will find 12 RAJA YOGA. that what he calls mind and matter are but apparent distinctions, which will have to vanish for ever. The end and aim of all science is to find a unit, that One out of which all this manifold is being manufac- tured, that One existing as many. Rdja Yoga pro- poses to start from the internal world, to study internal nature, and, through that, control the whole — both internal and external. It is a very old attempt. India has been its special stronghold but it was also attempted by other nations. In Western countries it is thought to be mysticism. People who wanted to practise it were either burned or killed as witches and sorcerers, and in India, for various reasons, it fell into the hands of persons who destroyed 90 per cent, of the knowl- edge, and of that portion which remained tried to make a great secret. In modern times many so-called teachers have arisen worse than those of India, because the latter knew something, while these modern expo- nents do not. Anything that is secret and mysterious in these sys- tems of Yoga should be at once rejected. The best guide in life is strength. In religion, as in everything else, discard everything that weakens you, have noth- ing to do with it. All mystery-mongering weakens the human brain. Through it this science of Yoga has been well nigh destroyed, but it is really one of the grandest of sciences. From the time that it was dis- covered, more than 4000 years ago, it was perfectly delineated and formulated and preached in India, and it is a striking fact, that the more modern the com- INTRODUCTORY. I3 mentator, the greater the mistakes he makes. The more ancient the writer on it the more rational he is. Most of the modern writers talk of all sorts of mystery. Thus it fell into the hands of a few persons who made it a secret, instead of letting the full blaze of daylight and reason fall upon it, and they did so that they might have the powers to themselves. In the first place there is no mystery in what I preach. What little I know I will tell you. So far as I can reason it out I will do so, but what I do not know I will simply tell you tha-t it is what the books say. It is wrong to blindly believe. You must exer- cise your own reason and judgment; you must prac- tise, and see whether these things happen or not. Just as you would take up any other science of a material nature, exactly in the same manner you should take up this science for study. There is neither mystery nor danger in it. So far as it is true it ought to be preached in the public streets, in the broad daylight. Any attempt to mystify these things is productive of great danger. Before proceeding further, I will state to you a little of the Sdnkhya Philosophy, upon which the whole of Rdja Yoga is based. According to this philosophy perception comes through instruments, e. g., the eyes; the eyes carry it to the organs, the organs to the mind, the mind to the determinative faculty, from this the Puruia (the soul) receives it, and gives the order back, as it were, and so on through all these stages. In this way sensations are received. With the exception of the 14 RAJA YOGA. Puruia all of these are material, but the mind is of much finer material than the external instruments. That material of which the mind is composed becomes grosser, and becomes what is called the Tanmdtras It becomes still grosser and forms the external mate- rial. That is the psychology of the Sdtikhya. So that, between the intellect and the grosser matter outside there is only a difference in degree. The Fiirida is the only thing which is immaterial. Mind is an instru- ment in the hands of the soul, as it were, through which the soul catches external objects. This mind is constantly changing and vacillating, and it can either attach itself to several organs, or to one, or to none. For instance, if I hear the clock with great attention I will not, perhaps, see anything, although my eyes may be open, showing that the mind was not attached to the seeing organ, although it was to the hearing organ. And the mind, in the same way, can be attached to all the organs simultaneously. This mind nas the reflexive power of looking back into its own depths. This reflexive power is what the yi?^/ wants to attain; by concentrating the powers of the mind, and turning them inward, he seeks to know what is happening inside. There is in this no question of mere belief; it is the analysis of certain philosophers. Modern physi- ologists tell you that the eyes are not the organs of vision, but that the organs are in the nerve centre in the brain, and so with all the senses; and they also tell you that these centres are formed of the same material as the brain itself. So the Sdnkhyas will also tell you, INTRODUCTORY. 1$ but one is a statement on the physical side, and the other on the psychological side; yet both are the same. Beyond this we have to demonstrate. The Vogt proposes to himself to attain to that fine state of perception in which he can perceive all these things. There must be mental perception of all the different states. We shall perceive how the sensation is travelling, and how the mind is receiving it, how it is going to the determinative faculty, and how this gives it to the Purusa. As each science requires certain preparations, as each science has its own method, until we follow that method we can never understand that science; so in Raja Yoga. Certain regulations as to food are necessary; we must use that food which brings us the purest mind. If you go into a menagerie you will find this demon- strated at once. You see the elephants, huge ani- mals, but calm and gentle; and if you go toward the cages of the lions and tigers you will find them restless, showing how much difference has been produced by food. All the forces that are working in this body have been produced out of food ; we see that every day. If you begin to fast, first your body will get weak, the physical forces will suffer; then, after a few days, the mental forces will suffer also. First, memory will fail. Then comes a point, when you are not able to think, much less to pursue any course of reasoning. We have, therefore, to take care what sort of food we eat at the beginning, and when we have got strength enough, when our practice is well advanced, we need l6 RAJA YOGA. not be so careful in this respect. While the plant is growing it must be hedged round, lest it be injured; but when it becomes a tree the hedges are taken away; "t is strong enough to withstand all assaults. A Vogi must avoid the two extremes of luxury and austerity. He must not fast, or torture his flesh; he who does so, says the Gt^d, cannot be a Vogt; he who fasts; he who keeps awake; he who sleeps much; he who works too much; he who does no work; none of these can be Yo^is, CHAPTER 11. THE FIRST STEPS. Raja Yoga is divided into eight steps. The first is Yama — non-killing, truthfulness, non-stealing, con- tinence, and non-receiving of any gifts. Next is Niyama — cleanliness, contentment, mortification, study, and self-surrender to God. Then comes Asana, or posture; Frdndydma, or controlling the vital forces of the body; Fratydhdra^ or making the mind introspec- tive; Dhdrand, or concentration; Dhydnd^ or medita- tion; and Samddhi, or super-consciousness. The Yama and Niyama^ as we see, are moral trainings; without these as the basis no practice of Yoga will succeed. As these practices become established the Yogi will begin to realise the fruits of his practice; without these it will never bear fruit. A Yogi must not think of injur- ing anyone, through thought, word or deed, and this applies not only to man, but to all animals. Mercy shall not be for men alone, but shall go beyond, and embrace the whole world. The next step is Asana, posture; a series of exer- cises, physical and mental, is to be gone through every day, until certain higher states are reached. There- fore it is quite necessary that we should find a posture in which we can remain long. That posture which is easiest for each one is the posture to use. For one a [17] 1 8 rAja yoga. man it may be very easy to think in a certain posture, but this may be very difficult for another. We will find later on that in the study of these psychological mat- ters there will be a good deal of action going on in the body. Nerve currents will have to be displaced and given a new channel. New sorts of vibrations will begin, the whole constitution will be remodelled, as it were. But the main part of the action will lie along the spinal column, so that the one thing necessary for the posture is to hold the spinal column free, sitting erect, holding the three parts — the chest, neck, and head — in a straight line. Let the whole weight of the body be supported by the ribs, and then you have an easy natural posture, with the spine straight. You will naturally see that you cannot think very high thoughts with the chest in. This portion of the Yoga is a little similar to the Hatha Yoga^ which deals entirely with the physical body; the aim of the latter is to make the physical body very strong. "We have notning to do with that here, because its practices are very diffi- cult, and cannot be learned in a day, and, after all, do not lead to any spiritual growth. Many of these prac- tices you will find in Delsarte, and other teachers, such as placing the body in different postures, but the object in these is physical, not psychological. There is not one muscle in the body over which a man can- not establish a perfect control; the heart can be made to stop or go on at his bidding, and, in the same way, each part of the organism can be made to work at his bidding. THE FIRST STEPS. I9 The result of this part of Yoga is to make men live long; health is the chief idea, the one goal of the Hatha Yogi. He is determined not to fall sick, and he never does. He lives long; a hundred years is noth- ing to him ; he is quite young and fresh when he is 150, without one hair turned grey. But that is all. A Ban- yan tree lives sometimes 5000 years, but it is a Banyan tree and nothing more. So, if a man lives long, he is only a healthy animal. One or two ordinary lessons of the Hatha Yogis are very useful. For instance, some of you will find it a good thing for headaches to drink cold water through the nose as soon as you get up; the whole day your brain will be nice and cool, and you will never catch cold. It is very easy to do; put your nose into the water, and make a pump action in the throat. After one has learned to have a firm erect seat, he has to perform, according to certain schools, a prac- tice called the purifying of the nerves. This part has been rejected by some as not belonging to Raja Yoga^ but as so great an authority as the commentator, Sankardchdrya^ advises it, I think it fit that it should be mentioned, and I will quote his own directions from his commentary to the Svctdivatara Upani§ad. " The mind whose dross has been cleared away by Prdnd- ydma^ becomes fixed in Brahman; therefore JPrdndydma is pointed out. First the nerves are to be purified, then comes the power to practise Prdndydma. Stop- ping the right nostril with the thumb, with the left nostril fill in air, according to one's capacity; then, 20 RAJA YOGA. without any interval, throw the air out through the right nostril, closing the left one. Again inhaling through the right nostril eject through the left, accord- ing to capacity; practising this three or five times at four intervals of the day, before dawn, during midday, in the evening, and at midnight, in fifteen days or a month purity of the nerves is attained; then begins Prdndydmay Practice is absolutely necessary. You may sit down and listen to me by the hour every day, but, if you do not practise, you will not get one step further. It all depends on practice. We never understand these things until we experience them. We will have to see and feel them for ourselves. Simply listening to explanations and theories will not do. There are several obstructions to practice. The first obstruction is an unhealthy body; if the body is not in a fit state, the practice will be obstructed. Therefore we have to keep the body in good health; we have to take care of what we eat and drink, and what we do; always use a mental effort, what is usually called " Christian Science," to keep the body strong. That is all; noth- ing further of the body. We must not forget that health is only a means to an end. If health were the end we would be like animals; animals rarely become unhealthy. The second obstruction is doubt; we always feel doubtful about things we do not see. Man carnnot live upon words, however he may try. So, doubt comes to us as to whether there is any truth in these things or THE FIRST STEPS. 21 not; even the best of us will doubt sometimes. With practice, within a few days, a little glimpse will come, enough to give you encouragement and hope. As one commentator on Yoga philosophy says: " When one proof is realised, however little it may be, that will give us faith in the whole teachings of Yoga." For instance, after the first few months of training and teaching, you will begin to find you can read another's thoughts; they will come to you in picture form. Per- haps you will hear something happening at a long dis- tance, when you concentrate your mind and try to do so. These glimpses will come, just a little bit at first, but enough to give you faith, and strength, and hope. For instance, if you concentrate your thoughts on the tip of your nose, in a few days you will begin to smell most beautiful fragrance, and that will be enough to show you that there are certain mental perceptions that can be made obvious without the contact of physi- cal objects. But we must always remember that these are only the means; the aim, and end, and goal, of all this training is liberation of the soul. Absolute con- trol of nature, and nothing short of it, must be the goal. We must be the masters, and not nature; neither body nor mind must be our master, and neither must we forget that the body is mine, and not I the body's. A god and a demon went to learn about the Self from a great sage. They studied with him for a long time, and at last the sage told them, " Thou thyself art the being thou art seeking." Both of them thought 22 RAJA YOGA. that their bodies were the Self. " We have got every^ thing," they said, and both of them returned to their people and said, " We have learned everything that is to be learned; eat, drink, and be merry; we are the Self; there is nothing beyond us." The nature of the demon was ignorant, clouded, so he never inquired any further, but was perfectly satisfied with the idea that he was God, that by the Self was meant the body. But the god had a purer nature. He at first committed the mistake of thinking, " I, this body, am Brahman^ so keep it strong and in health, and well-dressed, and give it all sorts of bodily enjoyments." But, in a few days, he found out that this could not be the meaning of the sage, their master; there must be something higher. So he came back and said, " Sir, did you teach me that this body is the Self ? If so, I see all bodies die; the Self cannot die." The sage said, *' Find it out; thou art That." Then the god thought that the vital forces which work the body were what the sage meant. But, after a time, he found that if he ate, these vital forces remained strong, but, if he starved, they became weak. The god then went back to the sage and said, " Sir, do you mean that the vital forces are the Self ? " The sage said, " Find out for yourself; thou art That." The god returned once more, and thought that it was the mind; perhaps that is the Self. But in a few days he reflected that thoughts are so various; now good, now bad; the mind is too changeable to be the Self. He went back to the sage and said, " Sir, I do not think that the mind is the THE FIRST STEPS. 23 Self; did you mean that ? " " No," replied the sage, " thou art That; find out for yourself." The god went back, and, at last, found that he was the Self, beyond all thought; One, without birth or death, whom the sword cannot pierce, or the fire burn, whom the air cannot dry, or the water melt, the beginning- less and birthless, the immovable, the intangible, the omniscient, the omnipotent Being, and that it was neither the body nor the mind, but beyond them all. So he was satisfied, but the poor demon did not get the truth, owing to his fondness for the body. This world has a good many of these demoniac natures, but there are some gods too. If one propose to teach any science to increase the power of sense enjoyment, he finds multitudes ready for it. If one undertake to show mankind the supreme goal, they care nothing for that. Very few have the power to grasp the highest, fewer still the patience to attain to it, but a few also know that if the body be kept for a thousand years the result will be the same in the end. When the forces that hold it together go away the body must fall. No man was ever born who could stop his body one moment from changing. Body is the name of a series of changes. "As in a river the masses of water are changing before you every moment, and new masses are coming, yet taking similar form, so is it with this body." Yet the body must be kept strong and healthy; it is the best instrument we have. This human body is the greatest body in the universe, and a human being the greatest being. Man is higher 24 RAJA YOGA. than all animals, than all angels; none is greater than man. Even the Devas will have to come down again and attain to salvation through a human body. Man alone attains to perfection, not even the devas. Accord- ing to the Jews and Mohammedans God created man after creating the angels and everything else, and after creating man He asked the angels to come and salute him, and all did except Iblis; so God cursed him and he became Satan. Behind this allegory is the great truth, that this human birth is the greatest birth we can have. The lower creation, the animal, is dull, and manufactured mostly out of Tamas. Animals cannot have any high thoughts; nor can the angels, or Devas, attain to direct freedom without human birth. In human society, in the same way, too much wealth, or too much poverty, is a great impediment to the higher development of the soul. It is from the middle classes that the great ones of the world come. Here the forces are very equally adjusted and balanced. Returning to our subject, we come next to Prdndydma^ controlling the breathing. What has that to do with concentrating the powers of the mind ? Breath is like the fly-wheel of this machine. In a big engine you find the fly-wheel first moving, and that motion is conveyed to finer and finer machinery, until the most delicate and finest mechanism in the machine is in motion in accord- ance. This breath is that fly-wheel, supplying and regulating the motive power to everything in this body. There was once a minister to a great king. He fell into disgrace, and the king as a punishment, ordered THE FIRST STEPS. 2$ him to be shut up in the top of a very high tower. This was done, and the minister was left there to perish. He had a faithful wife, however, and at night she came to the tower and called to her husband at the top to know what she could do to help him. He told her to return to the tower the following night and bring with her a long rope, a stout twine, a pack thread, a silken thread, a beetle, and a little honey. Wondering much, the good wife obeyed her husband, and brought him the desired articles. The husband directed her to attach the silken thread firmly to the beetle, then to smear his horns with a drop of honey, and to set him free on the wall of the tower, with his head pointing upwards. She obeyed all these instructions, and the beetle started on his long journey. Smelling the honey before him he slowly crept onwards and onwards, in the hope of reaching it, until at last he reached the top of the tower, when the minister grasped the beetle, and got possession of the silken thread. He told his wife to tie the other end to the pack thread, and after he had drawn up the pack thread, he repeated the pro- cess with the stout twine, and lastly with the rope. Then the rest was easy. The minister descended from the tower by means of the rope, and made his escape. In this body of ours the breath motion is the "silken thread," and laying hold of that, and learning to control it we grasp the pack thread of the nerve currents, and from these the stout twine of our thoughts, and lastly the rope of Prdna^ controlling which we reach freedom. We do not know anything about our own bodies; 26 RAJA YOGA. we cannot know. At best we can take a dead bodjj and cut it in pieces, and there are some who can take a live animal and cut it in pieces in order to see what is inside the body. Still, that has nothing to do with our own bodies. We know very little about them; why do we not? Because our attention is not discrimina- ting enough to catch the very fine movements that are going on within. We can know of them only as the mind, as it were, enters the body, and becomes more subtle. To get that subtle perception we have to begin with the grosser perceptions, so we have to get hold of that which is setting the whole engine in motion, and that is the Prdna^ the most obvious manifestation of which is the breath. Then, along with the breath, we will slowly enter the body, and that will enable us to find out about the subtle forces, how the nerve currents are moving all over the body, and as soon as we per- ceive that, and learn to feel them, we shall begin to get control over them, and over the body. The mind is also set in motion by these different nerve currents, so, at last, we shall reach the state when we have perfect control over the body and mind, making both our serv- ants. Knowledge is power, and we have to get this power, so we must begin at the beginning, the Prdnd- ydmd restraining the Prdna. This F?'dridydfna is a long subject, and will take several lessons to illustrate it thoroughly. We will take it part by part. We shall gradually see what are the reasons for each exercise and what forces in the body are set in motion. All these things will come to us, but it requires con- THE FIRST STEPS. 2) stant practice, and the proof will come by practice. No amount of reasoning which I can give you will be proof to you, until you have demostrated it for your selves. As soon as you begin to feel these currents in motion all over you, doubts will vanish, but it requires hard practice every day. You must practise at least twnce every day, and the best times are towards the morning and the evening. When night passes into day, and day into night, it has to pass through a state of relative calmness. The early morning and the early evening are the two points of calmness. Your body will have a like tendency to become calm at those times. We will take advantage of that natural condition, and begin then to practise. Make it a rule not to eat until you have practised; if you do this the sheer force of hunger will break your laziness. In India they teach children never to eat until they have practised, and worshipped, and it becomes natural to them after a time; a boy will not feel hungry until he has bathed and practised. Those of you who can afford it will do better to have a room for this practice alone; do not sleep in that room, it must be kept holy; you must not enter the room until you have bathed, and are perfectly clean in body and mind. Place flowers in that room always; they are the best surroundings for a Yogi; also pictures that are pleasing. Burn incense morning and evening. Have no quarrelling, or anger, or unholy thought in that room. Only allow those persons to enter who are of the same thought as you. Then by and by there will 28 RAJA YOGA. be an atmosphere of holiness in the room, and wheii you are miserable, sorrowful, doubtful, or your mind is disturbed, the very fact of entering that room will make you calmer. This was the idea of the temple and the church, and in some temples and churches you will find it even now, but in the majority of them the very idea has been lost. The idea is that by keeping holy vibrations there the place becomes and remains illumined. Those who cannot afford to have a room set apart can practise anywhere they like. Sit in a straight posture, and the first thing to do is to send a current of holy thought to all creation; mentally repeat: " Let all beings be happy; let all beings be peaceful; let all beings be blissful." So do to the East, South, North and West. The more you do that the better you will feel yourself. You will find at last that the easiest way to make yourselves healthy is to see that others are healthy, and the easiest way to make yourselves happy is to see that others are happy. After doing that, those who believe in God should pray — not for money, not for health, nor for heaven; pray for knowledge and light; every other prayer is selfish. Then the next thing to do is to think of your own body, and see that it is strong and healthy; it is the best instrument you have. Think of it as being as strong as adamant, and that with the help of this body you will cross this ocean of life. Freedom is never to be reached by the weak ; throw away all weakness ; tell your body that it is strong; tell your mind that it is strong, and have unbounded faith and hope in yourself. CHAPTER III. PRANA. pRANAYAMA IS not, as many think, something about the breath; breath, indeed, has very Httle to do with it, if anything. Breathing is only one of the many exercises through which we get to the real Prdndydma. Frdndydma means the control of Prdna. According to the philosophers of India, the whole universe is com- posed of two materials, one of which they call Akdia. It is the omnipresent, all penetrating existence. Every- thing that has form, everything that is the result of compounds, is evolved out of this Akdsa. It is the Akdsa that becomes the air, that becomes the liquids, that becomes the solids; it is the Akdsa that becomes the sun, the earth, the moon, the stars, the comets; it is the Akdsa that becomes the body, the animal body, the plants, every form that we see, everything that can be sensed, everything that exists. It itself cannot be perceived; it is so subtle that it is beyond all ordinary perception; it can only be seen when it has become gross, has taken form. At the beginning of creation there is only this Akdia; at the end of the cycle the solids, the liquids, and the gases all melt into the Akdia again, and the next creation similarly proceeds out of this Akdia. [29] 30 , RAJA YOGA. By what power is this Akdia manufactured into this universe? By the power of Frdna. Just as Akdia is the infinite omnipresent material of this universe, so is this Prdna the infinite, omnipresent manifesting power of this universe. At the beginning and at the end of a cycle everything becomes Akdia, and all the forces that are in the universe resolve back into the Prdna; in the next cycle, out of this Prdna is evolved every- thing that we call energy, everything that we call force. It is the Prdna that is manifesting as motion; it is the Prdna that is manifesting as gravitation, as magnetism. It is the Prdna that is manifesting as the actions of the body, as the nerve currents, as thought force. From thought, down to the lowest physical force, everything is but the manifestation of Prd?ia. The sum-total of all force in the universe, mental or physical, when resolved back to its original state, is called Prdna. ** When there was neither aught nor naught, when darkness was covering darkness, what existed then? That Akdia existed without motion." The physical motion of the Prdna was stopped, but it existed all the same. All the energies that are now displayed in the universe we know, by modern science, are unchange- able. The sum-total of the energies in the universe remains the same throughout, only, at the end of a cycle, these energies quiet down, become potential, and, at the beginning of the next cycle, they start up, strike upon the Akdia, and out of the Akdia evolve these various forms, and, as the Akdia changes, this Prdna changes also into all these manifestations of PR ANA. 31 energy. The knowledge and control of this Prdna is really what is meant by Prdndydma. This opens to us the door to almost unlimited power. Suppose, for instance, one understood the Prdna per- fectly, and could control it, what power on earth could there be that would not be his? He would be able to move the sun and stars out of their places, to control everything in the universe, from the atoms to the big- gest suns, because he would control the Prdna. This is the end and aim of Prdndydma. When the Yogi becomes perfect there will be nothing in nature not under his control. If he orders the gods to come, they will come at his bidding; if he asks the departed to come, they will come at his bidding. All the forces of nature will obey him as his slaves, and when the ignorant see these powers of the Yogi they call them miracles. One peculiarity of the Hindu mind is that it always inquires for the last possible generalisation, leaving the details to be worked out afterwards. The question is raised in the Vcdas^ " What is that, knowing which we shall know everything?" Thus, all books, and all philosophies that have been written, have been only to prove TAa^ by knowing which everything is known. If a man wants to know this universe bit by bit he must know every individual grain of sand, and that means infinite time for him; he cannot know all of them. Then how can knowledge be? How is it possible for a man to be all-knowing through particu- lars? The Yogis say that behind this particular mani- festation there is a generalisation. Behind all particular 32 RAJA YOGA. ideas stands a generalised, an abstract principle; grasp it, and you have grasped everything. Just as this whole universe has been generalised, in the Vedas^ into that One Absolute Existence. He who has grasped that Existence has grasped the whole universe. So all forces have been generalised into this Prdna^ and he who has grasped the Prdna has grasped all the forces of the universe, mental or physical. He who has con- trolled the Prdna has controlled his own mind, and all the minds that exist. He who has controlled the Prdna has controlled his body, and all the bodies that exist, because the Prdna is the generalised manifesta- tion of force. How to control the PrdTia is the one idea of Prdnd- ydma. All these trainings and exercises are for that one end, and each man must begin where he stands, must learn how to control the things that are nearest to him. This body is the nearest thing to us, nearer than anything in the universe, and this mind is the nearest of all. The Prdna which is working this mind and body is the nearest to us of all the Prdna in the universe. This little wave of the Prdna which repre- sents our own energies, mental and physical, is the nearest wave to us of all that infinite ocean of Prdna^ and if we can succeed in controlling that little wave, then alone we can hope to control the whole of Prdna. Perfection is to be gained by the Yogi who has done this, and no power is any more his master. He has become almost almighty, almost all-knowing. We see sects in every country who have attempted this PRANA. 33 control of Prdna. In this country there are Mind- healers, Faith-healers, Spiritualists, Christian Scien- tists, Hypnotists, etc., and if we analyse these different groups we shall find that the background of each is this control of the Prd^ia^ whether they know it or not. If you boil all their theories down the residuum will be the same. It is the one and same force they are man- ipulating, only unknowingly. They have stumbled on the discovery of a force, and do not know its nature, but they are unconsciously using the same powers which the Yogi uses, and which come from Prdna. This Prdna is the vital force in every being, and the finest and highest action of Prdna is thought. This thought, again, as we see, is not all. There is also a sort of thought which we call instinct, or unconscious thought, the lowest plane of action. If a mosquito stings us, without thinking, our hand will strike it, automatically, instinctively. This is one expression of thought. All reflex actions of the body belong to this plane of thought. There is then a still higher plane of thought, the conscious. I reason, I judge, I think, I see Xht. pros and cons oi certain things; yet that is not all. We know that reason is limited. There is only a certain extent to which reason can go; beyond that it cannot reach. The circle within which it runs is very, very limited indeed. Yet, at the same time, we find facts rush into this circle. Like the coming of comets certain things are coming into this circle, and it is cer- tain they come from outside the limit, although our reason cannot go beyond. The causes of the phe^ 34 rAja yoga. nomena protruding themselves in this small limit are outside of this limit. The reason and the intellect cannot reach them, but, says the Yogi^ that is not all The mind can exist on a still higher plane, the super conscious. When the mind has attained to that state which is called Samddhi^ — perfect concentration, super consciousness — it goes beyond the limits of reason and comes face to face with facts which no instinct or reason can ever know. All these manipulations of the subtle forces of the body, the different manifestations of Prdna^ if trained, give a push to the mind, and the mind goes up higher, and becomes super-conscious, and from that plane it acts. In this universe there is one continuous mass on every plane of existence. Physically this universe is one; there is no difference between the sun and you. The scientist will tell you it is only a fiction to say the contrary. There is no real difference between the table and me; the table is one point in the mass of matter, and I another point. Each form represent?, as it were, one whirlpool in the infinite ocean of mat- ter, and these are not constant. Just as in a rushing stream there may be millions of whirlpools, and the water in each of these whirlpools is fresh every moment, turning round and round for a few seconds, and then passing out at the other end, and fresh par- ticles of water coming in, so this whole universe is one constantly changing mass of matter, in which we are little whirlpools. A mass of matter enters them, goes round and round, and turns, for a few years, into the pnANA. 35 body of a man, becomes changed, and gets whirled out in the form of, maybe, an animal, from that it rushes round to get, after a few years, into another whirlpool, called a lump of mineral. It is a constant change. Not one body is constant. There is no such thing as my body, or your body, except in words. It is one huge mass of matter. One point is called moon, another sun, another a man, another the earth, another a plant, another a mineral. Not one is constant, but everything is changing, matter eternally concreting and disintregating. So it is with the mind. Matter is represented by the ether; when the action of Prdna is most subtle, this very ether, in the finer state of vibra- tion, will represent the mind, and there it will be still one unbroken mass. If you can get to simply that subtle vibration you will see and feel that the whole universe is composed of these subtle vibrations. Some- times certain drugs have the power to take us, as it were, through our senses, and bring us to that condi- tion. Many of you may remember the celebrated experi- ment of Sir Humphrey Davy, when the laughing gas overpowered him, and, during the lecture, he remained motionless, stupefied, and, after that, he said that the whole universe was made up of ideas; for the time being, as it were, the gross vibrations had ceased, and only the subtle vibrations, which he called the mind, were present to him. He could only see the subtle vibrations round him ; everything had become thought; the whole universe was an ocean of thought, he and everyone else had become little thought whirlpools. 36 rAja yoga. Thus, even in the universe of thought we find this unity, and at last, when we get to the Self, we know that that Self can only be One. Beyond motion there is but One. Even in manifest motion there is only a unity. These facts can no more be denied, as modern science has demonstrated them. Modern physics also has demonstrated that the sum-total of the energies in the universe is the same throughout. It has also been proved that this sum-total of energy exists in two forms. It becomes potential, toned down, and calmed, and next it comes out manifested as all these various forces; again it goes back to the quiet state, and again it manifests. Thus it goes on evolving and involving through eternity. The control of this Prdna^ as before stated, is what is called Prdndydma. This Prdndydma has very little to do with breathing, except as exercise. The most obvious manifestation of this Prdna in the human body is the motion of the lungs. If that stops, the body will stop; all the other manifestations of force in the body will immediately stop, if this is stopped. There are persons who can train themselves in such a manner that the body will live on, even when this motion has stopped. There are some persons who can bury themselves for months and yet live, without breathing. But, for all ordinary persons, this is the principal gross motion in the body. To reach the more subtle we must take the help of the grosser, and so, slowly travel towards the most subtle, until we gain our point. The most obvious of all motions in the body is the motion of the lungs, the fly- PRANA. 37 wheel which is setting the other forces in motion. Prdtidydtna really means controlling this motion of the lungs, and this motion is associated with the breath. Not that breath is producing it; on the contrary // is producing breath. This motion draws in the air by pump action. The Prdna is moving the lungs, and that motion of the lungs, draws in the air. So Frdnd' ydma is not breathing, but controlling that muscular power which moves the lungs, and that muscular power which is going out through the nerves to the muscles, from them to the lungs, making them move in a certain manner, is the Prdna^ which we have to control in the practice of Frdndydma. When this Frdna has become controlled, then we shall immediately find that all the other actions of the Prdna in the body will slowly come under control. I myself have seen men who have con- trolled almost every muscle of the body; and why not ? If I have control over certain muscles, why not over every muscle and nerve of the body ? What impossi- bility is there ? At present the control is lost, and the motion has become automatic. We cannot move the ears at will, but we know that animals can. We have not that power because we do not exercise it. This is what is called atavism. Again, we know that motion which has become latent can be brought back to manifestation. By hard work and practice certain motions of the body which are most dormant can be brought back under perfect con- trol. Reasoning in that way we find there is no impossibility, but, on the other hand, every probability 38 rAja yoga. that each part of the body can be brought under per feet control. This the Yogi does through Frdndydma. Perhaps some of you have read in these books that in Frdndydma^ when drawing in the breath, you must fill your whole body with Frdna. In the English transla- tions Frdna is given as breath, and you are inclined to ask how that is to be done. The fault is with the translator. Every part of the body can be filled with Frdna. this vital force, and when you are able to do that, you can control the whole body. All the sick- ness and misery felt in the body v/ill be perfectly con- trolled, and, not only so, you will be able to control another's body. Everything is infectious in this world, good or bad. If your body be in a certain state of tension, it will have a tendency to produce the same tension in others. If you are strong and healthy, those that live near you will also have the tendency to be- come strong and healthy, but, if you are sick and weak, those around you will have the tendency to become the same. This vibration will be, as it were, conveyed to another body. In the case of one man trying to heal another, the first idea is simply transferring his own health to the other. This is the prim.itive sort of healing. Consciously, or unconsciously health can be transmitted. The very strong man, living with the weak man, will make him a little stronger, whether he knows it or not. When consciously done it becomes quicker and better in its action. Next come those cases in which a man may not be very healthy himself, yet we know that he can bring health to another. The prAna. 39 first man, in suc'ri a case, has a little more control over the Prd?ia^ and can rouse, for the time being, his Prdi}a^ as it were, to a certain state of vibration, and transmit it to another person. There have been cases where this process has been carried on at a distance, but in reality there is no dis- tance, in the sense of a break. Where is the distance that has a break ? Is there any break between you and the sun ? It is a continuous mass of matter, the sun the one part, and you the other. Is there a break between one part of a river and another ? Then why cannot any force travel ? There is no reason against it. These cases are perfectly true, and this Prdna can be transmitted to a very great distance; but to one genuine case, there are hundreds of frauds. It is not so easy as it is thought to be. In the most ordinary cases of this healing you will find that these healers are simply taking advantage of the naturally healthy state of the human body. There is no disease in this world which kills the majority of persons attacked. Even in cholera epidemics, if for a few days sixty per cent, die, after that the rate comes down to thirty and twenty per cent, and the rest recover. An allopath comes and treats cholera patients, and gives them his medicines; the homoeopath comes and gives his medi- cine, and cures perhaps more, simply because the homoeopath did not disturb the patients, but allowed nature to deal with them; and the faith-healer will cure more still, because he will bring the strength of 40 RAJA YOGA. his mind to bear, and rouses, through faith, the dor^ mant Prdna of the patient. But there is a mistake constantly made by falth- healers; they think that it is faith itself that directly heals a man. It alone will not cover all the ground. There are diseases where the worst symptoms are that the patient never thinks that he has that disease. That tremendous faith of the patient is itself one symptom of the disease, and usually indicates that he will die quickly. In such cases the principle that faith cures does not apply. If it were faith that cured in all these cases, these patients also would be cured. It is by this Prdna that real curing comes. The pure man, who has controlled this Prdna, has the power of bring- ing it into a certain state of vibration, which can be conveyed to others, arousing in them a similar vibra- tion. You see that in every-day actions. I am talk- ing to you. What am I trying to do ? I am, so to say, bringing my mind to a certain state of vibration, and the more I succeed in bringing it to that state, the more you will be affected by w^hat I say. All of you know that the day I am more enthusiastic the more you enjoy the lecture, and when I am less enthusiastic you feel lack of interest. The gigantic will powers of the world, the world- movers, can bring their Prdna into a high state of vibration, and it is so great and powerful that it catches others in a moment, and thousands are drawn towards them, and half the world thinks as they do. Great prophets of the world had the most wonderful control PRANA. 41 of this FrdmZy which gave them tremendous will power; they had brought their Prdna to the highest state of motion, and this is what gave them power to sway the world. All manifestations of power arise from this control. Men may not know the secret, but this is the one explanation. Sometimes in your own body the supply of Prdna gravitates more or less to one part; the balance is disturbed, and when the balance of Prdna is disturbed, what we call disease is produced. To take away the superfluous Prdna^ or to supply the Prdna that is wanting, will be curing the disease. That again is Prdndydma, to learn when there is more or less Prdna in one part of the body than there should be. The feelings will become so subtle that the mind will feel that there is less Prdna in the toe or the finger than there should be, and possess the power to supply it. These are among the various functions of Prdnd- ydma. They have to be learned slowly and gradually, and, as you see, the whole scope of Rdja Yoga is really to teach the control and direction in different planes of the Prdfia. When a man has concentrated his energies he masters the Prdna that is in his body. When a man is meditating, he is also concentrating the Prdna. In an ocean there are huge waves, like mountains, then smaller waves, and still smaller, down to little bubbles, but the background of all these is the infinite ocean. The bubble is connected with the infinite ocean at one end, and the huge wave at the other end. So, one may be a gigantic man, and another a little bubble, but each is connected with that infinite ocean 42 RAJA YOGA. of energy, and this is the common birthright of every animal that exists. Wherever there is life, the store- house of infinite energy is behind it. Starting from some funguSj, some very minute, microscopic bubble, and all the time drawing from that infinite storehouse of energy, the form is changed slowly and slowly, until, in course of time it becomes a plant, then an animal, then man, ultimately God. This is attained through millions of aeons, but what is time ? An increase of speed, an increase of struggle, is able to bridge the distance of time. That which naturally takes a long time to accomplish can be shortened by the intensity of the action, says the Vogt. A man may go on slowly drawing in this energy from the infinite mass that exists in the universe, and perhaps he will require a hundred thousand years to become a Deva, and then, perhaps, five hundred thousand years to become still higher, and perhaps five millions of years to become perfect. Given rapid growth the time will be lessened. Why is it not possible, with sufficient effort, to reach this very perfection in six months or six years ? There is no limit. Reason shows that. If an engine, with a cer- tain amount of coal, runs at two miles an hour, add more coal, and it will run in quicker time. Similarly why shall not the soul, by intensifying its action, attain to that goal in this very life ? All beings will at last attain to that perfection we know. But who cares to wait all these millions of aeons ? Why not reach it immediately, in this body even, in this human form ? PRANA. 43 Why shall I not get that infinite knowledge, infinite power now ? That is the ideal of the Yogi ; the whole science of Yoga is directed to that one end, to teach men how to shorten the time by adding power, how to intensify the power of assimilation, and thereby shorten the time for reaching perfection, instead of slowly advancing from point to point, and waiting until the whole human race has come out, and become perfect. All the great prophets, saints, and seers, of the world, what are they ? In that one span of life they lived the whole life of humanity, bridged the whole length of time that it will take ordinary humanity to come to the state of perfection. In this life they perfect themselves; they have no thought for anything else, breathe for nothing else, never live a moment for any other idea, and thus the way is shortened for them. This is what is meant by concentration, intensifying the action or assimila- tion, and thus shortening the time; and J^dja Yoga is the science which teaches us how to gain the power of concentration. What has this Frdndydma to do with spiritualism ? That is also a manifestation of Frdndydma. If it be true that the departed spirits exist, only that we can- not see them, it is quite probable that there may be hundreds and millions living here that we can neither see, feel, nor touch. We may be continually passing and repassing through their bodies, and it is also pro- bable that they do not see or feel us. It is a circle within a circle, universe within universe. Those only 44 RAJA YOGA. that are on the same plane see each other. We have five senses, and we represent Prdna in a certain state of vibration. All beings in the same st: te of vibration will see each other, but if there are beings who repre- sent Prdna in a higher state of vibration they will not be seen. We may increase the intensity of light until we cannot see the light at all, but there may be beings with eyes so powerful that they can see such light. Again, if the vibrations are very low, we do not see light, but there are animals that see it, as cats and owls. Our range of vision is only one plane of the vibrations of this Prdfia. Take this atmosphere, for instance; it is piled up layer on layer, but the layers nearer to the earth are denser than those above and as you go higher the atmosphere becomes finer and finer. Or take the case of the ocean; as you go deeper and deeper the density of the water increases, and those animals that live at the bottom of the sea can never come up, or they will be broken into pieces. Think of this whole universe as an ocean of ether, in vibration under the action of Prdna^ and that it con- sists of layer after layer of varying degrees of vibra- tion; m the more external the vibrations are less, and nearer to the centre the vibrations become quicker and quicker, and each range of vibration makes one plane. Think of the whole thing as one circle, the centre of which is perfection ; the further you get from the centre the slower the vibrations. Matter is the outermost crust, next comes mind, and spirit is the centre. Then suppose these ranges of vision are cut into planes, so PRANA. 45 many millions of miles one set of vibration, and then so many millions of miles still higher, and so on. It is perfectly certain, then, that those who live on the plane of a certain state of vibration will have the power of recognising each other, but will not recognise those above or below them. Yet, just as by the telescope and the microscope we can increase the scope of our vision, and make higher or lower vibrations cognisable to us, similarly, every man can bring himself to the state of vibration belonging to the next plane, thus enabling himself to see what is going on there. Suppose this room were full of beings whom we do not see. They represent certain vibrations in the Prdna, and we represent other vibrations. Sup- pose they represent the quicker, and we the slower. Prdna is the material of which they are composed, also of which we are composed ; all are parts of the same ocean of Prdna^ only the rate of vibration differs. If I can bring myself to the quicker vibration this plane will immediately change for me; I shall not see you any more ; you vanish, and they appear. Some of you, perhaps, know this to be true. All this bringing of the mind into a higher state of vibration is included in one word in Yoga — Samddhi. All these states of higher vibration, superconscious vibrations of the mind, are grouped in that one word, Satnddhi^ and the lower states of Samddhi give us visions of these beings. The highest grade of Samddhi is when we see the real thing, when we see the material out of which the whole of these grades of beings are composed, and that 4^ RAJA YOGA. lump of clay being known, we know all the clay in the universe. Thus we see that this Prdndydma includes all that is true of spiritualism even. Similarly, you will find that wherever any sect or body of people is trying to search out anything occult and mystical, or hidden, it is really this Yoga^ this attempt to control the Prdna. You will find that wherever there is any extraordinary dis- play of power it is the manifestation of this Prdna. Even the physical sciences can be included also in Prdndydma. What moves the steam engine ? Prdna^ acting through the steam. What are all these phe- nomena of electricity and so forth but Prdna ? What is physical science ? Prdndydma^ by externa! means. Prdna, manifesting itself as mental power, can only be controlled by mental means. That part of the Prdnd- ydma which attempts to control the physical manifesta- tions of the Prdna by physical means is called physical science, and that part which tries to control the mani- festations of the Prdna as mental force, by mental means, is called Pdja Yoga, CHAPTER IV. THE PSYCHIC PRANA. According to the Yogis there are two nerve currents in the spinal column, called Pingald and Idd^ and there is a hollow canal called Suiumnd running through the spinal cord. At the lower end of the hollow canal is what the Yogis call the " Lotus of the Kundalint.'" They describe it as triangular in form, in which, in the symbolical language of the Yogts^ there is a power called the Kundalini coiled up. When that Kundalini awakes it tries to force a passage through this hollow canal, and, as it rises step by step, as it were, layer after layer of the mind becomes open, all these differ- ent visions and wonderful powers come to the Yogi. When it reaches the brain the Yogi is perfectly detached from the body and mind; the soul finds itself free. We know that the spinal cord is composed in a peculiar manner. If we take the figure eight horizontally ( oo ) there are two parts, and these two parts are connected in the middle. Suppose you add eight after eight, piled one on top of the other, that will represent the spinal cord. The left is the Idd^ and the right the Pingald^ and that hollow canal which runs through the centre of the spinal cord is the Suiiimnd. Where the spinal cord ends in some of the lumbar vertebrae, a fine [47] 48 RAJA YOGA. fibre comes down, and the canal is even in that fibre, only much finer. The canal is closed at the lower end, which is situated near what is called the sacral plexus, which, according to modern physiology, is triangular in form. The different plexuses that have their cen- tres in the spinal cord can very well stand for the different " lotuses " of the Vogt. The F^^i* conceives of several centres, beginning with the Mdlddhdra^ the basic, and ending with the Sahasrdra^ the thousand-petalled lotus in the brain. So, if we take these different plexuses as representing these circles, the idea of the Yogi can be understood very easily in the language of modern physiology. We know there are two sorts of actions in these nerve cur- rents, one afferent, the other efferent, one sensory and the other motor; one centripetal, and the other cen- trifugal. One carries the sensations to the brain, and the other from the brain to the outer body. These vibrations are all connected with the brain in the long run. Several other facts we have to remember, in order to clear the way for the explanation which is to come. This spinal cord, at the brain, ends in a sort of bulb, in the medulla, which is not attached to the bone, but floats in a fluid in the brain, so that if there be a blow on the head the force of that blow will be dissipated in the fluid, and will not hurt the bulb. This will be an important fact as we go on. Secondly, we have also to know that, of all the centres, we have particularly to remember three, the Mfilddkdra (the basic), the Saha§rdra (the thousand- petalled lotus of THE PSYCHIC PRANA. 49 the brain) and the SvddhiWidna (next above the MtUdd- hdra). Next we will take one fact from physics. We all hear of electricity, and various other forces con- nected with it. What electricity is no one knows, but, so far as it is known, it is a sort of motion. There are various other motions in the universe; what is the difference between them and electricity ? Suppose this table moves, that the molecules which compose this table are moving in diiferent directions; if they are all made to move in the same direction it will be electricity. Electric motion is when the mole- cules all move in the same direction. If all the air molecules in a room are made to move in the same direction it will make a gigantic battery of electricity of the room. Another point from physiology we must remember, that the centre which regulates the respira- tory system, the breathing system, has a sort of con- trolling action over the system of nerve currents, and the controlling centre of the respiratory system is opposite the thorax, in the spinal column. This centre regulates the respiratory organs, and also exercises some control over the secondary centres. Now we shall see why breathing is practised. In the first place, from rhythmical breathing will come a tendency of all the molecules in the body to have the same direction. When mind changes into will, the currents change into a motion similar to electricity, because the nerves have been proved to show polarity under action of electric currents. This shows that when the will evolves into the nerve currents it is 4 50 rAja yoga. changed into something like electricity. When all the motions of the body have become perfectly rhythmical the body has, as it were, become a gigantic battery of will. This tremendous will is exactly what the Yogi wants. This is, therefore, a physiological explanation of the breathing exercise. It tends to bring a rhyth- mic action in the body, and heips us, through the respiratory centre, to control the other centres. The aim of Prdndydma here is to rouse the coiled-up power in the Millddhdra^ called the Kundalini. Everything that we see, or imagine, or dream, we have to perceive in space. This is the ordinary space, called the Mahdkdia^ or great space. When a Yogi reads the thoughts of other men, or perceives super- sensuous objects, he sees them in another sort of space called the Chittdkdsa^ the mental space. When percep- tion has become objectless, and the soul shines in its own nature, it is called the Chiddkdsa^ or knowledge space. When the Kundalini is aroused, and enters the canal of the Suhi??ind all the perceptions are in the mental space. When it has reached that end of the canal which opens out into the brain, the objectless perception is in the knowledge space. Taking the analogy of electricity, we find that man can send a current only along a wire, but nature requires no wires to send her tremendous currents. This proves that the wire is not really necessary, but that only our in- ability to dispense with it compels us to use it. Similarly, all the sensations and motions of the body are being sent into the brain, and sent out of it, through THE PSYCHIC PRAnA. 5 1 these wires of nerve fibres. The columns of sensory and motor fibres in the spinal cord are the Idd and Piftgald of the Yogis. They are the main channels through which the afferent and efferent currents are travelling. But why should not the mind send the news without any wire, or react without any wires ? We see that this is being done in nature. The Yog\ says if you can do that you have got rid of the bond- age of matter. How to do it ? If you can make the current pass through the Suhimnd^ the canal in the middle of the spinal column, you have solved the prob- lem. The mind has made this net-work of the nervous system, and has to break it, so that no wires will be required to work through. Then alone will all knowl- edge come to us — no more bondage of body; that is why it is so important that you should get control of that Suiumnd. If you can send the mental current through that hollow canal without any nerve fibres to act as wires, the Yogi says you have solved the prob- lem, and he also says it can be done. This Su^umud is, in ordinary persons, closed up at the lower extremity; no action comes through it. The Yogi proposes a practice by which it can be opened, and the nerve currents made to travel through. When a sensation is carried to a centre, the centre reacts. This reaction, in the case of automatic centres, is fol- lowed by motion; in the case of conscious centres it is followed first by perception, and secondly by motion. All perception is the reaction to action from outside. How, then, do perceptions in dreams arise ? There is 52 rAja yoga. then no action from outside. The sensory motions, therefore, are coiled up somewhere, just as the motor motions are known to be in different centres. For instance, I see a city; the perception of that city was from the reaction to the sensations brought from out- side objects comprising that city. That is to say, a certain motion in the brain molecules has been set up by the motion in the incarrying nerves, which again were set in motion by external objects in the city. Now, even after a long time I can remember the city. This memory is exactly the same phenomenon, only it is in a milder form. But whence is the action that set up even the milder form of similar vibrations in the brain. Not certainly from the primary sensations. Therefore it must be that the sensations are coiled up somewhere, and they, by their acting, bring out the mild reaction which we call dream perception. Now the centre where all these residual sensations are, as it were, stored up, is called the Mfilddhdra^ the root recep- tacle, and the coiled up energy of action is Kundalint^ the " coiled up." It is very probable that the residual motor energy is also stored up in the same centre as, after deep study or meditation on external objects, the part of the body where the Mulddhdra centre is situ- ated (probably the sacral plexus) gets heated. Now, if this coiled-up energy be roused and made active, and then consciously made to travel up the Suhimnd canal, as it acts upon centre after centre, a tremendous reac- tion will set in. When a minute portion of the energy of action travels along a nerve fibre and causes reaction THE PSYCHIC PRAnA. $3 from centres, the perception is either dream or imagi- nation. But when the vast mass of this energy stored up by the power of long internal meditation travels along the Suiumnd^ and strikes the centres, the reac- tion is tremendous, immensely superior to the reaction of dream or imagination, immensely more intense than the reaction of sense perception. It is super-sensuous perception, and the mind in that state is called super- conscious. And when it reaches the metropolis of all sensations, the brain, the whole brain, as it were, reacts, and every perceiving molecule in the body, as it were, reacts, and the result is the full blaze of illu- mination, the perception of the Self. As this Kundalini force travels from centre to centre, layer after layer of the mind, as it were, will be opened up, and this uni verse will be perceived by the Yogi in its fine, or coarse, form. Then alone the causes of this universe, both as sensation and reaction, will be known as they are, and hence will come all knowledge. The causes being known, the knowledge of the effects is sure to follow. Thus the rousing of the Kundalini is the one and only way to attaining Divine Wisdom, and super-con- scious perception, the realisation of the spirit. It may come in various ways, through love for God, through the mercy of perfected sages, or through the power of the analytic will of the philosopher. Wherever there is any manifestation of what is ordinarily called super- natural power or wisdom, there must have been a little current of Kundalifii which found its way into the Suiumnd. Only, in the vast majority of such cases of 54 Rk]A YOGA. super-naturalism, they had ignorantly stumbled on to some practice which set free a minute portion of the coiled-up Kundalini. All worship, consciously or unconsciously, leads to this end. The man who thinks that he is receiving responses to his prayers does not know that the fulfilment came only from his own nature, that he has succeeded by the mental attitude of prayer in waking up a bit of this infinite power which is coiled up within himself. Whom, thus, men ignorantl)'' worship under various names, through fear and tribulation, the Yogi declares to the world to be the real power coiled up in every being, the mother of eter- nal happiness, if we know how to approach her. And Raja Yoga is the science of religion, the rationale of all worship, all prayers, forms, ceremonies, and miracles. CHAPTER V. THE CONTROL OF PSYCHIC PRANA. We have now to deal with the exercises in Frdnd' ydma. We have seen that the first step will be, accord- ing to the Yogis^ to control the motion of the lungs. What we want to do is to feel the finer motions that are going on in the body. Our minds have become externalised, and have lost sight of the fine motions inside. If we can begin to feel them, we can begin to control them. These nerve currents are going on all over the body, bringing life and vitality to every muscle, but we do not feel them. The Yogi says we can learn to do so. How? By taking up and controlling all these motions of the Frdna beginning with the motion of the lungs, and when we have done that for a sufficient length of time we shall also be able to control the finer motions. We now come to the exercises in Prdndydma. Sit upright; the body must be kept straight. The spinal cord, although it is inside the vertebral column, is not attached to it. If you sit crookedly you disturb this spinal cord, so let it be free. Any time that you sit crookedly and try to meditate you are doing yourself an injury. The three parts of the body must be always held straight, the chest, the neck, and the head, in one [55] 56 RAJA YOGA. line. You will find that by a little practice this will come to you just as breathing. The second thing is to get control of the nerves. We have seen that the nerve centre that controls the respiratory organs, has a sort of controlling effect on the other nerves, and rhythmical breathing is therefore necessary. The breathing that we generally use should not be called breathing at all. It is very irregular. Then there are some natural differences of breathing between men and women. The first lesson is just to breathe in a measured way, in and out. That will harmonise the system. When you have practised this for some time you will do well to join the repetition of some word to it, as " (9w," or any other sacred word, and let the word flow in and out with the breath, rhythmically, harmoniously, and you will find the whole body is becoming rhythmical. Then you will learn what rest is. Sleep is not rest, comparatively. Once this rest has come the most tired nerves will be calmed down, and you will find that you have never before really rested. In India we use certain symbolical words instead of counting one, two, three, four. That is why I advise you to join the mental repetition of the ** Otti** or other sacred word to the Prdndydma. The first effect of this practice will be that the face will change; harsh lines will disappear; with this calm thought calmness will come over the face. Next, beautiful voice will come. I never saw a Yogi with a croaking voice. These signs will come after a few THE CONTROL OF PSYCHIC PRAnA. 57 months' practice. After practising this first breathing for a few days, you take up a higher one. Slowly fill the lungs with breath through the Idd^ the left nostril, and at the same time concentrate the mind on the nerve current. You are, as it were, sending the nerve current down the spinal column, and striking violently on that last plexus, the basic lotus, which is triangular in form, the seat of the KundaUm. Then hold the current there for some time. Imagine that you are slowly drawing that nerve current with the breath through the other side, then slowly throw it out through the right nostril. This you w^ill fmd a little difficult to practise. The easiest way is to stop the right nostril with the thumb, and then slowly draw in the breath through the left; then close both nostrils with thumb and forefinger, and imagine that you are sending that current down, and striking the base of the Suhufind; then take the thumb off, and let the breath out through the right nostril. Next inhale slowly through that nostril, keeping the other closed by the forefinger, then close both, as before. The way the Hindds practise this would be very difficult for this country, because they do it from their childhood, and their lungs are prepared for it. Here it is well to begin with four seconds, and slowly increase. Draw in four seconds, hold in sixteen seconds, then throw out in eight seconds. This makes one /'/w/^^'^''''^^- At the same time think of the triangle, concentrate the mind on that centre. The imagination can help you a great deal. The next breathing is slowly drawing the breath in, and 58 rAja yoga. then immediately throwing it out slowly, and then stop- ping the breath out, using the same numbers. The only difference is that in the first case the breath was held in, and in the second, held out. The last is the easier one. The breathing in which you hold the breath in the lungs must not be practised too much. Do it only four times in the morning, and four times in the evening. Then you can slowly increase the time and number. You will find that you have the power to do so, and that you take pleasure in it. So, very carefully and cautiously increase as you feel that you have the power, to six instead of four. It may injure you if you practise it irregularly. Of the three processes, the purification of the nerves, the retaining the breath inside and the keeping the breath outside, the first and the last are neither diffi- cult nor dangerous. The more you practise the first one the calmer you will be. Just think of "(9///," and you can practise even while you are sitting at your work. You will be all the better for it. One day, if you practise hard the Kundalini will be aroused. For those who practise once or twice a day, just a little calmness of the body and mind will come, and beauti- ful voice; only for those who can go on further with it will this Kundalini be aroused, and the whole of this nature will begin to change, and the book of knowledge will be open. No more will you need to go to books for knowledge; your own mind will have become your book, containing infinite knowledge. I have already spoken of the Idd and Pingald currents, flowing through THE CONTROL OF PSYCHIC PRANA. 59 either side of the spinal column, also of the Suiumnd^ the passage through the centre of the spinal cord. These three are present in every animal; whatever has a spinal column has these three lines of action, but the Yogis claim that in ordinary mankind the Suhimnd is closed, that action there is not evident, while in the other two it is evident, carrying power to different parts of the body. The Yogi alone has the Suhi?nnd open. When this Suiumnd current opens, and thought begins to rise through it, we get beyond the senses, our minds become supersensuous, superconscious, we get beyond even the intellect, and where reasoning cannot reach. To open that Suiu7n7id is the prime object of the Yogi. According to him, along this Suiumnd are ranged these centres of distribution, or, in more figurative language, these lotuses, as they are called. The lowest one is at the lowest end of the spinal cord, and is called MUld- dhdra^ the next one is called Svddhisthdna^ the next McDiipilra^ the next Atidhata^ the next Viiuddha^ the next Ajna^ and the last, which is in the brain, is the Sahairdra^ or "the thousand petalled." Of these we have to take cognition just now of only two centres, the lowest, the MUlddhdra^ and the highest, the Sahai- rdra. The lowest one is where all energy becomes stored up, and that energy has to be taken up from there and brought to the last one, the brain. The Yogis claim that of all the energies that the human body comprises the highest is what they call '*Ojas.** Now this Ojas is stored up in the brain, and the more 6o RAJA YOGA. the Ojas is in a man's liead, the more powerful he is, the more intellectual, the more spiritually strong will that man be. This is the action of Ojas. One man may speak beautiful language and beautiful thoughts, but they do not impress people; another man speaks neither beautiful language nor beautiful thoughts, yet his words charm. That is the power of Ojas coming out. Every movement coming from him will be powerful. Now in all mankind there is more or less of this Ojas stored up. And all the forces that are working in the body, in their highest form, become Ojas. You must remember that it is only a question of transformation. The same force which is working outside, as electricity or magnetism, will become changed into inner force; the same forces that are working as muscular energy will be changed into Ojas. The Yogis say that that part of the human energy which is expressed as sex energy, in sexual functions, sexual thought, and so on, when checked and controlled, easily becomes changed into Ojas^ and as this lowest centre is the one which guides all these functions, therefore the Yogi pays par- ticular attention to that centre. He tries to take up all this sexual energy and convert it into Ojas. It is only the chaste man or woman who can make the Ojas rise and become stored in the brain, and that is why chastity has always been considered the highest virtue, because man feels that if he is unchaste, spirituality goes away, he loses mental vigour, and strong moral Stamina. That is why in all of the religious orders in THE CONTROL OF PSYCHIC PRANA. 6l the world that have produced spiritual giants you will always find this intense chastity insisted upon. That is why the monks came into existence, giving up mar- riage. There must be perfect chastity, in thought, word and deed. Without it the practice of Rdja Yoga is dangerous, and may lead to insanity. If people practise Rdja Yoga and at the same time lead an imoure life, how can they expect to become Yogis t CHAPTER VI. PRATYAHARA AND DHARANA. The next step is called Pratydhdra. What is this? You know how perceptions come. First of all there are the external instruments, then the internal organs, acting in the body through the brain centres, and there is the mind. When these come together, and attach themselves to some external thing, then we perceive that thing. At the same time it is a very difficult thing to concentrate the mind and attach it to one organ only; the mind is a slave. We hear " be good" and " be good" and " be good" taught all over the world. There is hardly a child, born in any country in the world, who has not been told •' do not steal," " do not tell a lie," but nobody tells the child how he can help it. Talking will never do it. Whv should he not become a thief? We do not teach him how not to steal; we simply tell him " do not steal." Only when we teach him to control his mind do we really help him. All actions, internal and external, occur when the mind joins itself to certain centres, which centres are called the organs. Willingly or unwillingly it is drawn to join itself to the centres, and that is why people do foolish deeds and feel misery, which, if the mind were under control, they would not [62] pratyAhara and dharana. 63 do. What would be the result of controlling the mind? It then would not join itself to the centres of percep- tion, and, naturally, feeling and willing would be under control. It is clear so far. Is it possible? It is per- fectly possible. You see it in modern times; the faith- healers teach people to deny misery and pain and evil. Their philosophy is rather roundabout, but it is a part of V({i:^(i into which they have somehow stumbled. In those cases where they succeed in making a person throw off suffering by denying it they have really taught a part of Pratydhdra^ as they have made the mind of the person taught strong enough to refuse to take up the record of the senses. The hypnotists in a similar manner, by their suggestion, excite in the patient a sort of morbid Pratydhdra for the time being. The so-called hypnotic suggestion can only act upon a diseased body and a clouded mind. And until the operator, by means of fixed gaze or otherwise, has suc- ceeded in putting the mind of the subject in a sort of passive, morbid condition, his suggestions never work. Now the control of the centres which is established in a hypnotic patient or the patient of faith-healing, for a time, is utterly reprehensible, because it leads to ultimate ruin. It is not really controlling the brain centres by the power of one's own will, but is, as it were, stunning the patient's mind for a time by sudden blows which another's will delivers to it. It is not checking by means of reins and muscular strength the mad career of a fiery team, but rather by asking another to deliver heavy blows on the heads of the 64 RAJA YOGA. horses, to stun them for a time into gentleness. At each one of these processes the man operated upon loses a part of his mental energies, and, at last, the mind, instead of gaining the power of perfect control, becomes a shapeless, powerless mass, and the only goal of the patient is the lunatic asylum. Every attempt at control which is not voluntary, not with the controller's own mind, is not only disastrous, but it defeats the end. The goal of each soul is free- dom, mastery, freedom from the slavery of matter and thought, mastery of external and internal nature. Instead of leading towards that, every will current from another, in whatever form it comes to me, either as direct control of my organs, or as forcing me to control them while under a morbid condition, only rivets one link more to the already existing heavy chain of bondage of past thoughts, past superstition. There- fore, beware how you allow yourselves to be acted upon by others. Beware how you unknowingly bring another to ruin. True, some succeed in doing good to many for a time, by giving a new trend to their propensities, but at the same time, they bring ruin to millions by the unconscious hypnotic suggestions they throw around, rousing in men and women that morbid, passive, hypnotic condition which makes them almost soulless at last. Whosoever, therefore, asks anvone to believe blindly, or drags mankind behind him through controlling it by his superior will is an injurer to humanity, though he may not have intended it. Therefore use your own minds, control body and PRATYAHARA AND DHARANA. 65 mind yourselves, remember that until you are a diseased person, no extraneous will can work upon you, and avoid everyone, however great and good he may be, who asks you to blindly believe. All over the world there have been dancing, and jumping, and howling sects, who spread like infections when they begin to sing and dance and preach; they also come under this heading. They exercise a singular control for the time being over sensitive persons, alas, often, in the long run, to degenerate whole races. Aye, it is healthier for the individual or the race to remain wicked than to be made apparently good by such morbid extraneous control. One's heart sinks to think of the amount of injury done to humanity by such irresponsible, yet well- meaning religious fanatics. They little know that the minds which attain to sudden spiritual upheaval under their suggestions, with music and prayers, are simply making themselves passive, morbid, and powerless, and opening themselves to any other suggestion, be it ever so evil. Little do these ignorant, deluded persons dream that whilst they are congratulating themselves upon their miraculous power to transform human hearts, which power they think was poured upon them by some Being above the clouds, they are sowing the seeds of future decay, of crime, of lunacy, and of death. Therefore, beware of everything that takes away your freedom. Know that it is dangerous, and avoid it by all the means in your power. He who has succeeded in attaching or detaching his mind to or from the centres at will has succeeded in Pratydhdra, 5 (i6 RAJA YOGA. which means " gathering towards," checking the out- going powers of the mind, freeing it from the thraldom of the senses. When we can do this we shall really possess a character; then alone we shall have made a long step towards freedom; before that we are mere machines. How hard it is to control the mind. Well has it been compared to the maddened monkey. There was a monkey, restless by his own nature, as all monkeys are. As if that were not enough someone made him drink freely of wine, so that he became still more rest- less. Then a scorpion stung him. When a man is stung by a scorpion he jumps about for a whole day, so the poor monkey found his condition worse than ever. To complete his misery a demon entered into him. What language can describe the uncontrollable restlessness of that monkey? The human mind is like that monkey; incessantly active by its own nature, then it becomes drunk with the wine of desire, thus increasing its turbulence. After desire takes possession comes the sting of the scorpion of jealousy of others whose desires meet wdth fulfilment, and last of all the demon of pride takes possession of the mind, making it think itself of all importance. How hard to control such a mind. The first lesson, then, is to sit for some time and let the mind run on. The mind is bubbling up all the time. It is like that monkey jumping about. Let the monkey jump as much as he can; you simply wait and watch. Knowledge is power says the proverb, and PRATYAHARA AND DHArANA. 6/ that is true. Until you know what the mind is doing you cannot control it. Give it the full length of the reins; many most hideous thoughts may come into it; you will be astonished that it was possible for you to think such thoughts. But you will find that each day the mind's vagaries are becoming less and less violent, that each day it is becoming calmer. In the first few months you will find that the mind will have a thousand thoughts, later you will find that it is toned down to perhaps seven hundred, and after a few more months it will have fewer and fewer, until at last it will be under perfect control, but we must patiently practise every day. As soon as the steam is turned on the engine must run, and as soon as things are before us we must perceive; so a man, to prove that he is not a machine, must demonstrate that he is under the control of noth- ing. This controlling of the mind, and not allowing it to join itself to the centres, is Fratydhdra. How is this practised ? It is a long work, not to be done in a day. Only after a patient, continuous struggle for years can we succeed. The next lesson depends on this. After you have practised the Prafydhdra for a time, take the next step, the Dhdrand^ holding the mind to certain points. What is meant by holding the mind to certain points? Forcing the mind to feel certain parts of the body to the exclusion of others. For instance, try to feel only the hand, to the exclusion of other parts of the body. When the Chitta^ or mind-stuff, is confined and limited to a certain place, this is called Dhdrand. This Dhdrand 68 RAJA YOGA. is of various sorts, and along with it, it is better to have a little play of the imagination. For instance, the mind should be made to think of one point in the heart. That is very difficult; an easier way is to imagine a lotus there. That lotus is full of light, effulgent light. Put the mind there. Or think of the lotus in the brain as full of light, or of the different centres in the Suiumnd mentioned before. The Yogi must always practise. He should try to live alone; the companionship of different sorts of people distracts his mind; he should not speak much, because to speak distracts the mind; nor work much, because too much work distracts the mind; the mind cannot be controlled after a whole day's hard work. One with such a determination becomes a Yogt. Such is the power of good that even the least done will bring a great amount of benefit. It will not hurt anyone, but will benefit everyone. First of all it will tone down nervous excitement, bring calmness, enable us to see things more clearly. The temperament w411 be better, and the health will be better. Sound health will be one of the first signs, and a beautiful voice. Defects in the voice will be changed. This w^ill be among the first of the many effects that will come. Those who practise hard will get many other signs. Sometimes there will be sounds, as a peal of bells heard at a dis- tance, commingling, and falling on the ear as one con- tinuous sound. Sometimes things will be seen, little specks of light floating and becoming bigger and big- ger, and when these things come, know that you arc pratyAhara and dharana. 69 progressing very fast. Those who want to be Vogts^ and practise very hard, must take a little care of their diet at first. Those who want to make very rapid pro- gress, if they can live on milk alone for some months, and cereals, will find it an advantage. But for those who want only a littl:^ practice for every day business sort of life, let them not eat too much, but otherwise they may eat whatever they please. For those who want to make faster progress, and to practise hard, a strict diet is absolutely necessary. As the organisation becomes finer and finer, at first you will find that the least thing throws you out of bal- ance. One bit of food more or less will disturb the whole system, until you get perfect control, and then you will be able to eat whatever you like. You will find that when you are beginning to concentrate, the dropping of a pin will seem like a thunderbolt going through your brain. The organs get finer, and the perceptions get finer. These are the stages through which we have to pass, and all those who persevere will succeed. Give up all argumentation and other distractions. Is there anything in this dry intellectual jargon ? It only throws the mind off its balance and disturbs it. These things have to be realised. Will talking do that ? So give up all vain talk. Read only those books which have been written by persons who have had realisation Be like the pearl oyster. There is a pretty Indian fable to the effect that if it rains when the star Svdtf is in the ascendant, and a drop of rain falls into an 70 RAJA YOGA. oyster, that drop will become a pearl. The oysters know this, so they come to the surface when that star shines, and wait to catch the precious rain-drop. When one falls into the shell, quickly the oyster closes it and dives down to the bottom of the sea, there to patiently develop the drop into the pearl. We should be like that. First hear, then understand, and then, leaving all distractions, shut our minds to outside influ- ences, and devote ourselves to developing the truth within us. There is the danger of frittering away our energies by taking up an idea only for its novelty, and then giving it up for another that is newer. Take one thing up and do it, and see the end of it, and before you have seen the end, do not give it up. He who can become mad upon an idea, he alone will see light. Those that only take a nibble here and there will never attain anything. They may titillate their nerves for a moment, but there it will end. They will be slaves in the hands of nature, and will never get beyond the senses. Those who really want to be Vogts must give up, once for all, this nibbling at things. Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream of it; think of it; live on that idea. Let the brain, the body, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, and this is the way great spiritual giants are produced. Others are mere talking machines. If we really want to be blessed, and make others blessed, we must go deeper, and, for the first step, do not disturb PratyahAra and dhAranA. 71 the mind, and do not associate with persons whose ideas are disturbing. All of you know that certain persons, certain places, certain foods, repel you. Avoid them; and those who want to go to the highest, must avoid all company, good or bad. Practise hard; whether you live or die it does not matter. You have to plunge in and work, without thinking of the result. If you are brave enough, in six months you will be a perfect Yogi. But, for others, those who take up just a bit of it, a little of everything, they get no higher. It is of no use to simply take a course of lessons. Those who are full of Tamas^ ignorant and dull, those whose minds never get fixed on any idea, who only crave for something to entertain them — religion and philosophy are simply entertainments to them. They come to religion as to an entertainment, and get that little bit of entertainment. These are the unpersever- ing. They hear a talk, think it very nice, and then go home and forget all about it. To succeed, you must have tremendous perseverance, tremendous will. " I will drink the ocean," says the persevering soul. ** At my will mountains will crumble up." Have that sort of energy, that sort of will, work hard, and you will reach the goal. CHAPTER VII. DHYANA AND SAMADHI. We have finished a cursory review of the different steps in Rdja Yoga, except the finer ones, the training in concentration, which is the aim, the goal, to which J^dja Yoga will lead us. We see, as human beings, that all our knowledge which is called rational is referred to consciousness. I am conscious of this table, I am conscious of your presence, and so forth, and that makes me know that you are here, and that the table is here, and things I see, feel and hear, are here. At the same time, there is a very great part of my existence of which I am not conscious — all the different organs inside the body, the different parts of the brain, the brain itself; nobody is conscious of these things. When I eat food I do it consciously, when I assimi- late it I do it unconsciously, when the food is manu- factured into blood it is done unconsciously; when out of the blood all the different parts of my body are made, it is done unconsciously; and yet it is I who am doing this; there cannot be twenty people in this one body. How do I know that I do it, and nobody else ? It may be urged that my business is only in eating the food, and assimilating the food, and that manufactur- [72I DHYANA AND SAMADHI. 73 ing the body out of the food is done for me by some- body else. That cannot be, because it can be demon- strated that almost every action of which we are unconscious now can be again brought up to the plane of consciousness. The heart is beating apparently without our control; we none of us here can control the heart; it goes on its own way. But by practice men can bring even the heart under control, until it will just beat at will, slowly, or quickly, or almost stop. Nearly every part of the body can be brought under control. What does this show ? That these things which are beneath consciousness are also worked by us, only we are doing it unconsciously. We have, then, two planes in which the human mind is working. First is the conscious plane; that is to say that sort of work which is always accompanied with the feeling of egoism. Next comes the unconscious plane, the work beneath, that which is unaccompanied by the feeling of egoism. That part of mind-work which is unaccom- panied with feeling of egoism is unconscious work, and that part which is accompanied with the feeling of egoism is conscious work. In the lower animals this unconscious work is called instinct. In higher ani- mals, and in the highest of all animals, man, the second part, that which is accompanied with the feeling of egoism, prevails, and is called conscious work. But it does not end here. There is a still higher plane upon which the mind can work. It can go be- yond consciousness. Just as unconscious work is beneath consciousness, so there is another work which 74 RAJA YOGA. is above consciousness, and which, also, is not accom- panied with the feeUng of egoism. The feeling of egoism is only on the middle plane. When the mind is above or below that line there is no feeling of " I," and yet the mind works. When the mind goes beyond this line of self-consciousness it is called Samddhi^ or super-consciousness. It is above consciousness. How, for instance, do we know that a man in Samddhi has not gone below his consciousness, has not degenerated, instead of going higher ? In both cases the works are unaccompanied with egoism ? The answer is, by the effects, by the results of the work, we know that which is below, and that which is above. When a man goes into deep sleep he enters a plane beneath conscious- ness. He works the body all the time, he breathes, he moves the body, perhaps, in his sleep, without any accompanying feeling of ego; he is unconscious, and when he returns from his sleep he is the same man who went into it. The sum-total of the knowledge which he had before he went into the sleep remains the same; it has not increased at all. No enlighten- ment has come. But if a man goes into Sa?nddhi^ if he goes into it a fool, he comes out a sage. What makes the difference ? From one state a man comes out the very same man that went in, and out of another state the man becomes enlightened, a sage, a prophet, a saint, his whole character changed, his life changed, illumined. These are the two effects. Now the effects being different, the causes must be different. As this illumination, with which a man comes back from DHYANA AND SAMAdHI. 75 Safnddhi, is much higher than can be got from uncon- sciousness, or much higher than can be got by reason- ing in a conscious state, it must therefore be super- consciousness, and Samddhi is called the super-con- scious state. This, in short, is the idea of Samddhi, What is its application ? The application is here. The field of reason, or of the conscious workings of the mind, is narrow and limited. There is a little circle within which human reason will have to move. It cannot go beyond it. Every attempt to go beyond is impossible, yet it is beyond this circle of reason that lies all that humanity holds most dear. All these questions, whether there is an immortal soul, whether there is a God, whether there is any supreme intelligence guiding this universe, are beyond the field of reason. Reason can never answer these questions. What does reason say ? It says, ** I am agnostic; I do not know either yea or nay." Yet these questions are so important to us. Without a proper answer to them, human life will be impossible. All our ethical theories, all our moral attitudes, all that is good and great in human nature, has been moulded upon answers that have come frorn beyond that circle. It is very important, therefore, that we should have answers to these questions; with- out such answers human life will be impossible. If life is only a little five minutes' thing, if the universe is only a "fortuitous combination of atoms,** then why should I do good to another ? Why should there be mercy, justice, or fellow feeling ? The best thing for 76 RAJA YOGA. this world would be to make hay while the sun shines, each man for himself. If there is no hope, why should I love my brother, and not cut his throat ? If there is nothing beyond, if there is no freedom, but only rigor- ous dead laws, I should only try to make myself happy here. You will find people saying, now-a-days, that they have utilitarian grounds as the basis of all moral- ity. What is this basis ? Procuring the greatest amount of happiness to the greatest number. Why should I do this ? Why should I not produce the great- est unhappiness to the greatest number, if that serves my purpose ? How will utilitarians answer this ques- tion ? How do you know what is right, or what is wrong ? I am impelled by my desire for happiness and I fulfil it, and it is in my nature; I know nothing beyond. I have these desires, and must fulfil them; why should you complain ? Whence come all these truths about human life, about morality, about the immortal soul, about God, about love and sympathy, about being good, and, above all, about being unselfish ? All ethics, all human action, and all human thought, hang upon this one idea of unselfishness; the whole idea of human life can be put in that one word, unselfishness. Why should we be unselfish ? Where is the necessity, the force, the power, of my being unselfish ? Why should I be ? You call yourself a rational man, a utilitarian, but, if you do not show me a reason, I say you are irrational. Show me the reason why I should not be selfish, why I should not be like a brute, acting without reason ? It may be DHYANA AND SAMADHI. JJ good as poetry, but poetry is not reason. Show me a reason. Why shall I be unselfish, and why be good ? Because Mr. and Mrs. So-and-so say so does not weigh with me. Where is the utility of my being unselfish ? My utility is to be selfish, if utility means the greatest amount of happiness. I may get the greatest amount of happiness by cheating and robbing others. What is che answer ? The utilitarian can never give it. The answer is that this world is only one drop in an infinite ocean, one link in an infinite chain. Where did those that preached unselfishness, and taught it to the human race, get this idea ? We know it is not instinctive; the animals, which have instinct, do not know it. Neither is it reason; reason does not know anything about these ideas. Whence did they come ? We find, in studying history, one fact held in com- mon by all the great teachers of religion the world ever had; they all claim to have got these truths from beyond, only many of them did not know what they were getting. For instance, one would say that an angel came down in the form of a human being, with wings, and said to him, " Hear, oh man, this is the message." Another says that a Dcva^ a bright being, appeared to him. Another says he dreamed that his ancestor came and told him all these things. He did not know anything beyond that. But this thing is common, that all claim either that they saw angels, or heard the voice of God, or saw some wonderful vision. All claim that this knowledge has come to them from beyond, not through their reasoning power. What 78 RAJA YOGA. does the science of Yoga teach ? It teaches that they were right in claiming that all this knowledge came to them from beyond reasoning, but that it came from within themselves. The Yogi teaches that the mind itself has a higher state of existence, beyond reason, a super-conscious state, and when the mind gets to that higher state, then this knowledge, beyond reasoning, comes to a man, metaphysical knowledge, beyond all physical knowledge. Metaphysical and transcendental knowl- edge comes to that man, and this state of going be- yond reason, transcending ordinary human nature, sometimes may come by chance to a man who does not understand its science; he, as it were, stumbles into it. When he stumbles into it, he generally interprets it as from outside. So this explains why an inspira- tion, or this transcendental knowledge, may be the same in different countries, but in one country it will seem to come through an angel, and in another through a Deva, and in another through God. What does it mean ? It means that the mind brought the knowledge by its own nature, and that the finding of the knowl- edge was interpreted according to the beliefs and edu- cation of the person through whom it came. The real fact is that these various men, as it were, stumbled into this super-conscious state. The Yogi says there is a great danger in stumbling into this state. In a good many cases there is the danger of the brain being destroyed, and, as a rule, you will find that all those men, however great they DHYANA AND SAMADHI. 79 were, who have stumbled into this super-conscious state, without understanding it, grope in the dark, and generally have, along with their knowledge, some quaint superstition. They open themselves to hallu- cinations. Mohammed claimed that the Angel Gabriel came to him in a cave one day and took him on the heavenly horse, Harak, and he visited the heavens. But, with all that, Mohammed spoke some wonderful truths. If you read the Qur'an, you find the most wonderful truths mixed with these superstitions. How will you explain it ? That man was inspired, no doubt, but that inspiration was, as it were, stumbled upon. He was not a trained Yogi, and did not know the rea- son of what he was doing. Think of the good Moham- med did to the world, and think of the great evil that has been done through his fanaticism ! Think of the millions massacred through his teachings, mothers bereft of their children, children made orphans, whole countries destroyed, millions upon millions of people killed! So we see in studying the lives of all these great teachers that there was this danger. Yet we find, at the same time, that they were all inspired. Somehow or other they got into the super-conscious state, only whenever a prophet got into that state by simple force of emotion, just by heightening his emotional nature, he brought away from that state some truths, but also some fanaticism, some superstition which injured the world as much as the greatness of the teaching did good. To get any reason out of this mass of incon- 8o RAJA YOGA. gruity we call human life we have to transcend ouf reason, but we must do it scientifically, slowly, by regular practice, and we must cast off all superstition. We must take it up just as any other science, reason we must have to lay our foundation, we must follow reason as far as it leads, and when reason fails reason itself will show us the way to the highest plane. So whenever we hear a man say " I am inspired, "and then talk the most irrational nonsense, simply reject it. AVhy ? Because these three states of the mind — in- stinct, reason, and super-consciousness, or the uncon- scious, conscious, and super-conscious states — belong to one and the same mind. There are not three minds in one man, but one develops into the other. Instinct develops into reason, and reason into the transcendental consciousness ; therefore one never con- tradicts the other. So, whenever you meet with wild statements which contradict human reason and com- mon sense, reject them without any fear, because the real inspiration will never contradict, but will fulfil. Just as you find the great prophets saying, " I come not to destroy but to fulfil," so this inspiration always comes to fulfil reason, and is in direct harmony with reason, and whenever it contradicts reason you must know that it is not inspiration. All the different steps in Yoga are intended to bring us scientifically to the super-conscious state, or Sd/;i- ddhi. Furthermore, this is a most vital point to under- stand that inspiration is as much in every man's nature as it was in the ancient prophets. These prophets dhyAna and samAdhi. 8i were not unique; they were just the same as you or I. They were great Yogis. They had gained this super- consciousness, and you and I can get the same. They were not peculiar people. The very fact that one man ever reached that state will prove that it is possible for every man to do so. Not only is it possible, but every man must, eventually, get to that state, and that is religion. Experience is the only teacher we have. We may talk and reason all our lives, without ever under- standing a word of truth, until we experience it our- selves. You cannot hope to make a man a surgeon by simply giving him a few books. You cannot satisfy my curiosity to see a country by showing me a map; i must have actual experience. Maps can only create a little curiosity in us to get more perfect knowledge. Beyond that, they have no value whatever. All cling- ing to books only degenerates the human mind. Was thare ever a more horrible blasphemy than to say that all the knowledge of God is confined in this or that book ? How dare men call God infinite, and yet try to compress Him into the covers of a little book ! Mil- lions of people have been killed because they did not believe what the books say, because they would not see all the knowledge of God within the covers of a book. Of course this killing and murdering has gone by, but the world is still tremendously bound up in a belief in books. In order to reach the super-conscious state in a scien- tific manner we have to pass through these various steps that I have been teaching you in Rdja Yoga. After 6 82 RAJA YOGA. Pratydhdra and Dhdrand, which I taught you in the last lecture, we come to Dhydna^ meditation. When the mind has been trained to remain fixed on a certain internal or external location, there comes to it the power of, as it were, flowing m an unbroken current towards that point. This state is called Dhydna. When this power of Dhydna has been so much intensi- fied as to be able to reject the external part of percep- tion, and remain meditating only on the internal part, the meaning, that state is called Samddhi. The three — Dhdrand, Dhydna and Samddhi — together are called Samyama. That is, if the mind can first concentrate upon an object, and then is able to continue in that concentration for a length of time, and then, by con- tinued concentration, to dwell only on the internal part of the perception of which the object was the effect, everything comes under the control of such a mind. This meditative state is the highest state of existence. So long as there is desire no real happiness can come. It is only the contemplative, witness-like study of objects that brings to us real enjoyment and happiness. The animal has its happiness in the senses, the man in his intellect, and the God in spiritual contemplation. It is only to the soul that has attained to this contem- plative state that the world has really become beautiful. To him who desires nothing, and does not mix himself up with them, the manifold changes of nature are one panorama of beauty and sublimity. These ideas have to be understood in Dhydna, or meditation. We hear a sound. First there is the dhyAna and samadhi. S^ external vibration, second, the nerve motion that car- ries it to the mind, third, the reaction from the mind, along with which flashes the knowledge of the object which was the external cause of these different changes from the ethereal vibrations to the mental reaction. These three are called in Voga^ ^abdha (sound) Artha (meaning), and Jndna (knowledge). In the language of physiology they are called the ethereal vibration, the motion in the nerve and brain, and the mental reaction. Now these, though distinct processes, have become mixed up in such a fashion as to become quite indistinct. In fact, we cannot now perceive any of these causes; we only perceive the effect of these three, which effect we call the external object. Every act of perception includes these three, and there is no reason why we should not be able to distinguish be- tween them. When, by the previous preparations, the mind becomes strong and controlled, and the power of finer perception has been attained, then the mind should be employed in meditation. This meditation must begin with gross objects and slowly rise to finer, then to finer and finer, until it has become objectless. The mind should first be employed in perceiving the external causes of sensations, then the internal motions, and then the reaction of the mind. When it has succeeded in perceiving the external causes of sensations by them- selves it will acquire the power of perceiving all fine material existences, all fine bodies and forms. When it can succeed in perceiving the motions inside, by 84 RAJA YOGA. themselves, it will gain the control of all mental waves, in itself or in others, even before they have translated themselves into physical forces; and when he will be able to perceive the mental reaction by itself the Vagi will acquire the knowledge of everything, as every sensible object, and every thought, is the result of this reaction. Then will he have seen, as it were, the very foundations of his mind, and it will be under his per- fect control. Different powers will come to the Vogf, and if he yields to the temptations of any one of these the road to his further progress will be barred. Such is the evil of running after enjoyments. But, if he is strong enough to reject even these miraculous powers, he will attain to the goal of Yoga, the complete sup- pression of the waves in the ocean of the mind; then the glory of the soul, untrammelled by the distractions of the mind, or the motions of his body, will shine in its full effulgence. And the Vogt will find himself as he is and as he always was, the essence of knowledge, the immortal, the all-pervading. Samdd/iiis the property of every human being — nay, every animal. From the lowest animal to the highest angelic being, some time or other each one will have to come to that state, and then, and then alone, will religion begin for him. And all this time, what are we doing? We are only struggling towards that stage; there is now no difference between us and those who have no religion, because we have had no experience. What is concentration good for, save to bring us to this DHYANA AND SAMADHI. 8$ experience? Each one of the steps to attain this Samddhi has been reasoned out, properly adjusted, scientifically organised, and, when faithfully practised, will surely lead u£ to the desired end. Then will all sorrows cease, all miseries vanish; the seeds of actions will be burned, and the soul will be free for ever. CHAPTER VIII. RAJA YOGA IN BRIEF. This is a summary of Raja Yoga freely translated from the Kurma Purdna. The fire of Yoga burns the cage of sin that is around a man. Knowledge becomes purified, and Nirvana is directly obtained. From Yoga comes knowledge; knowledge again helps the Yogi. He who is a com- pound of both Yoga and knowledge, with him the Lord is pleased. Those that practice Mahdyoga^ either once a day, or twice a day, or thrice, or always, know them to be gods. Yoga is divided into two parts. One is called the Abhdva^ and the other Mahdyoga. Where one*s self is meditated upon as zero, and bereft of quality, that is called Abhdva ; the Yogt^ by each one, realises his Self. That in which one sees the Self as full of bliss and bereft of all impurities, and one with God, is called Mahdyoga. The other Yogas that we read and hear of, do not deserve one particle of this great Brah- mayoga^ in which the Yogi finds himself and the whole universe as God himself. This is the highest of all Yogas. These are the steps in Raja Yoga. Yama, Niyamay Asana^ Prdndydma^ Prafydhdra, Dhdrand, Dhydna^ and Samddhif of which, non-injuring anybody, truthfulness, [86] rAja yoga in brief. 87 non-covetousness, chastity, not receiving anything from another, are called Yama ; it purifies the mind, the Chitta. By thought, word, and deed, always, and in every living being, not producing pain is what is called A/iif?isa, non-injuring. There is no virtue higher than this non-injuring. There is no happiness higher than what a man obtains by this attitude of non-offen- siveness to all creation. By truth we attain to work. Through truth everything is attained; in truth every- thing is established. Relating facts as they are; this is truth. Not taking others' goods by stealth or by force, is called Asteya??iy non-covetousness. Chastity in thought, word, and deed, always, and in all condi- tions, is what is called Brahmacharya. Not receiving any present from anybody, even when one is suffering terribly, is what is called Aparigraha. When a man receives a gift from another man, the theory is that his heart becomes impure, he becomes low, he loses his independence, he becomes bound and attached. The following are helps to success in Yoga. Niyama^ regular habits and observances; Tapas^ austerity; Svddhydya^ study; 6'a///« Jrhed the Chapter of Powers. 1. Dharan^ is holding the mind on to some particular object. Dhdrand (concentration) is when the mind holds on to some object, either in the body, or outside the body, and keeps itself in that state. 2. An unbroken flow of knowledge in that object is Dhyana. The mind tries to think of one object, to hold itself to one particular spot, as the top of the head, the heart, etc., and if the mind succeeds in receiving the sensations only through that part of the body, and through no other part, that would be Dhdrand^ and when the mind succeeds in keeping itself in that state for some time it is called Dhydna (meditation). 3. When that, giving up all forms, reflects only the meaning, it is Samadhi. That is, when in meditation all forms are given up. Suppose I were meditating on a book, and that I have [189] 190 RAJA YOGA. gradually succeeded in concentrating the mind on it, and perceiving only the internal sensations, the mean- ing, unexpressed in any form, that state of Dhydna is called Samddhi. 4. (These) three (when practised) in regard to one object isSamyama. When a man can direct his mind to any particular object and fix it there, and then keep it there for a longtime, separating the object from the internal part, this is Samyama; or Dhdrand^ Dhydna^ and Samddhi^ one following the other, and making one. The form of the thing has vanished, and only its meaning remains in the mind. 5. By the conquest of that comes light of knowledge. When one has succeeded in making this Samyama^ all powers come under his control. This is the great instrument of the Yogi. The objects of knowledge are infinite, and they are divided into the gross, grosser, grossest, and the fine, finer, finest, and so on. This Samyama should be first applied to gross things, and when you begin to get knowledge of the gross, slowly, by stages, it should be brought to finer things. 6. That shonld be employed in stages. This is a note of warning not to attempt to go too fast. YOGA APHORISMS. I9I 7. These three are nearer than those that precede. Before these we had the Frdndydma, the Asana, the Yama and Niyavm; these are external parts of these three — DMrand, Dhydna_ and Samddhi. Yet these latter even are external to the seedless Samddhi. When a man has attained to them he may attain to omniscience and omnipotence, but that would not be salvation. These three would not make the mind Nifvikalpa, changeless, but would leave the seeds for getting bodies again, only when the seeds are, as the Yogt says, " fried," do they lose the possibility of pro- ducing further plants. These powers cannot fry the seed. 8. But even they are external to the seedless (Samadhi), Compared with that seedless Samddhi, therefore, even these are external. We have not yet reached the real Sa?nddhi_ the highest, but to a lower stage, in which this universe still exists as we see it, and in which are all these powers. 9. By the suppression of the disturbed modifications of the mind, and by the rise of modifications of control, the mind is said to attain the con- trolling modifications — following the control- ling powers of the mind. That is to say, in this first state of Samddhi, the modifications of the mind have been controlled, but 192 RAJA YOGA. not perfectly, because if they were, there would be no modifications. If there is a modification which impels the mind to rush out through the senses, and the Vogi tries to control it, that very control itself will be a modification. One wave will be checked by another wave, so it will not be real Samddhi^ when all the waves have subsided, as control itself will be a wave. Yet this lower Satnddhi is very much nearer to the higher Samddhi than when the mind comes bubbling out. 10. Its flow becomes steady by habit. The flow of this continuous control of the mind be- comes steady when practised day after day and the mind obtains the faculty of constant concentration. 11. Taking in all sorts of objects, and concentrating npon one object, these two powers being de- stroyed and manifested respectively, the Chitta gets the modification called Samadhi. The mind is taking up various objects, running into all sorts of things and then there is a higher state of the mind, when it takes up one object and excludes all others. Samddhi is the result of that. 12. The one-pointedness of the Chitta is when it grasps in one, the past and present. How are we to know that the mind has become con- centrated ? Because time will vanish. The more time vanishes the more concentrated we are. In com- YOGA APHORISMS. I93 mon life we see that when we are interested in a book we do not note the time at all, and when we leave the book we are often surprised to find how many hours have passed. All time will have the tendency to come and stand in the one present. So the definition is given, when the past and present come and stand in one, the more concentrated the mind. 13. By this is explained the threefold transformationi of form, time and state, in fine or gross matter, and in the organs. By this the threefold changes in the mind-stuff as to form, time, and state, are explained. The mind-stuff is changing into Vrittis^ this is change as to form. To be able to hold the changes to the present time is change as to time. To be able to make the mind-stuff go to the past forms giving up the present even, is change as to state. The concentrations taught in the preceding aphorisms were to give the Yogi a voluntary control over the transformations of his mind-stuff which alone will enable him to make the Satnyama be- fore named. 14. That which is acted upon by transformations, either past, present or yet to be manifested, ii the qualified. That is to say, the qualified is the substance which is being acted upon by time and by the Samskdras^ and getting changed and being manifested all the time. 13 194 RAJA YOGA. 15. The fnccession of changes is the cause of manifola evolution. 16. By making Samyama on the three sorts of changes comes the knowledge of past and future. We must not lose sight of the first definition of Sam- yama. When the mind has attained to that state when it identifies itself with the internal impression of the object, leaving the external, and when, by long practice, that is retained by the mind, and the mind can get into that state in a moment, that is Samyama. If a man in that state wants to know the past and future he has to make a Samyama on the changes in the Samskdras. Some are working now at present, some have worked out, and some are waiting to work; so by making a Samyama on these he knows the past and future. 17. By making Samyama on word, meaning, and knowledge, which are ordinarily confused, comes the knowledge of all animal sounds. The word represents the external cause, the meaning represents the internal vibration that travels to the brain through the channels of the Indriyas^ conveying the external impression to the mind, and knowledge represents the reaction of the mind, with which comes perception. These three confused, make our sense objects. Suppose I hear a word; there is first the external vibration, next the internal sensation carried to the mind by the organ of hearing, then the mind reacts, and I know the word. The word I know is a YOGA APHORISMS. I95 mixture of the three, vibration, sensation, and reac- tion. Ordinarily these three are inseparable; but by practice the Yogt can separate them. When a man has attained to this, if he makes a Samyama on any sound, he understands the meaning which that sound was intended to express, whether it was made by man or by any other animal. 18. By perceiving the impressions, knowledge of past life. Each experience that we have comes in the form of a wave in the Chitta, and this subsides and becomes finer and finer, but is never lost. It remains there in minute form, and if we can bring this wave up again, it becomes memory. So, if the Yogt can make a Samyama on these past impressions in the mind, he will begin to remember all his past lives. 19. By making Samyama on the signs in another's body knowledge of that mind comes. Suppose each man has particular signs on his body, which differentiate him from others; when the Yogi makes a Samyama on these signs peculiar to a certain man he knows the nature of the mind of that person. 20. But not its contents, that not being the object of the Samyama, He would not know the contents of the mind by making a Samyama on the body. There would be required a twofold Samyama^ first on the signs in the 196 RAJA YOGA. body, and then on the mind itself. The K?^/ would then know everything that is in that mind, past, pres- ent, and future. 21. By making Samyama on the form of the body the power of perceiving forms being obstructed, the power of manifestation in the eye being sepa- rated, the Yogi's body becomes unseen. A Yogt standing in the midst of this room can appa- rently vanish. He does not really vanish, but he will not be seen by anyone. The form and the body are, as it were, separated. You must remember that this can only be done when the Yogi has attained to that power of concentration when form and the thing formed have been separated. Then he makes a Sam- yama on that, and the power to perceive forms is obstructed, because the power of perceiving forms comes from the junction of form and the thing formed. By this the disappearance or concealment of words which are being spoken is also explained. 22. Karma is of two kinds, soon to be fructified, and late to be fructified. By making Samyama on that, or by the signs called Aristha, portents, the Yogis know the exact time of separation from their bodies. When the Yogt makes a Sa?nyama on his own Karma, upon those impressions in his mind which are now working, and those which are just waiting to work, he YOGA APHORISMS. I97 knows exactly by those that are waiting when his body will fall. He knows when he will die, at what hour, even at what minute. The HindCis think very much of that knowledge or consciousness of the nearness of death, because it is taught in the Gitd that the thoughts at the moment of departure are great powers in deter- mining the next life. 23. By making Samyama on friendship, etc., various strength comes. 24, By making Samyama on the strength of the ele- phant, etc., that strength comes to the Yogi When a Yogi has attained to this Samyama and wants strength, he makes a Samyama on the strength of the elephant, and gets it. Infinite energy is at the disposal of everyone, if he only knows how to get it. The Yogt has discovered the science of getting it, 26. By making Samyama on that effulgent light comeg the knowledge of the fine, the obstructed, and the remote. When the Yogi makes Samya77ia on that effulgent light in the heart he sees things which are very remote, things, for instance, that are happening in a distant place, and which are obstructed by mountain barriers and also things which are very fine. 26. By making Samyama on the sun the knowledge of the world. 27. On the moon the knowledge of the cluster of stars. 198 rAja yoga. 28. On the pole star the motions of the stars. 29. On the navel circle the knowledge of the coustit* tion of the body. 30. On the well of the throat cessation of hnnger. When a man is very hungry, if he can make Sam' yama on the pit of the throat hunger ceases. 31. On the nerve called Kurma fixity of the body. When he is practising the body is not disturbed. 32. On the light from the top of the head sight of the Siddhaso The SiddJias are beings who are a little above ghosts. When the K?^/ concentrates his mind on the top of his head he will see these Siddhas. The word Siddha does not refer to those men who have become free — a sense in which it is often used. 33. Or by the power of Pratibha all knowledge. All these can come without any Samyama to the man who has the power of Pratibhd (enlightenment from purity). This is when a man has risen to a high state of Pratibhd; then he has that great light. All things are apparent to him. Everything comes to him natur- ally, without making Samyama or anything. 34. In the heart, knowledge of minds. 35. Enjoyment comes by the non-discrimination of the very distant soul and Sattva. Its actions YOGA APHORISMS. tQ^ are for another : Samyaiua on this gives knowl- edge of the Purusa. This power of non-attachment acquired through purity gives the Vogz the enlightenment called Pratibhd. 36. From that arises the knowledge of hearing, touch- ing, seeing, tasting, and smelling, belonging to Pratibha. 37. These are obstacles to Samadhi; bnt they are powers in the worldly state. If the Yogi knows all these enjoyments of the world it comes by the junction of the Puruia and the mind. If he wants to make Safnyama on this, that they are two different things, nature and soul, he gets knowl- edge of the Puruia. From that arises discrimination. When he has got that discrimination he gets the Pratibhd^ the light of supreme genius. These powers, however, are obstructions to the attainment of the highest goal, the knowledge of the pure Self, and free- dom; these are, as it were, to be met in the way, and, if the Yogi rejects them, he attains the highest. If he is tempted to acquire these, his farther progress is barred. 38. When the cause of bondage has become loosened, the Yogi, by his knowledge of manifestation through the organs, enters another's body. The Yogi can enter a dead body, and make it get up and move, even while he himself is working in another 200 rAja yoga, body. Or he can enter a living body, and hold that man's mind and organs in check, and for the time being act through the body of that man. That is done by the Yogi coming to this discrimination of Puruia and nature. If he wants to enter another's body he makes a Samyajna on that body and enters it, because, not only is his Soul omnipresent, but his mind also, according to the Yogi. It is one bit of the universal mind. Now, however, it can only work through the nerve currents in this body, but when the Yogi has loosened himself from these nerve currents, he will be able to work through other things. 39. By conquering the cnrrent called Udana the Yogi does not sink in water, or in swamps, and ho can walk on thorns. Uddna is the name of the nerve current that governs the lungs, and all the upper parts of the body, and when he is master of it he becomes light in weight. He cannot sink in water; he can walk on thorns and sword blades, and stand in fire, and so on. 40. By the conquest of the current Sam^na he is sur- rounded by blaze. Whenever he likes light flashes from his body. 41. By making Samyama on the relation between the A ear and the Akasa comes divine hearing. There is the Akdia^ the ether, and the instrument, the ear. By making Samyama on them the Yogi gets YOGA APHORISMS. 20I divine hearing; he hears everything. Anything spoken or sounded miles away he can hear. 42. By making Samyama on the relation between the Akasa and the body the Yogi becoming light as cotton wool goes through the skies. This Akdia is the material of this body; it is only Akdia in a certain form that has become the body. If the Yogi makes a Samyama on this Akdia material of his body, it acquires the lightness oi Akdia^ and can go anywhere through the air. 43. By making Samyama on the real modifications of the mind, which are outside, called great dis- embodiedness, comes disappearance of the cover- ing to light. The mind in its foolishness thinks that it is working in this body. Why should I be bound by one system of nerves, and put the Ego only in one body, if the mind is omnipresent ? There is no reason why I should. The Yogi wants to feel the Ego wherever he likes. When he has succeeded in that all covering to light goes away, and all darkness and ignorance van- ish. Everything appears to him to be full of knowledge. 44. By making Samyama on the elements, beginning with the gross, and ending with the superfine, comes mastery of the elements. The Yogi makes Samyama on the elements, first on the gross, and then on the finer states. This Samyama is taken up more by a sect of the Buddhists. They 202 RAJA YOGA. take a lump of clay, and make Samyama on that, and gradually they begin to see the fine materials of which it is composed, and when they have known all the fine materials in it, they get power over that element. So with all the elements, the Yogi can conquer them all. 45. From that comes minuteness, etc., glorification of the body, and indestructibleness of the bodily qualities. This means that the Yogi has attained the eight powers. He can make himself as light as a particle, he can make himself huge, as heavy as the earth, or as light as the air; he will rule everything he wants, he will conquer everything he wants, a lion will sit at his feet like a lamb, and all his desires be ful- filled at will. 46. The glorification of the body are beauty, com- plexion, strength, adamantine hardness. The body becomes indestructible; fire cannot injure it. Nothing can injure it. Nothing can destroy it until the Yogi wishes. " Breaking the rod of time he lives in this universe with his body." In the Vedas it is written that for that man there is no more disease, death or pain. 47. By making Samyama on the objectivity, knowl, edge and egoism of the organs, by gradation comes the conquest of the organs. In perception of external objects the organs leave their place in the mind and go towards the object; that YOGA APHORISMS. 203 is followed by knowledge and egoism. When the Yogi makes Samyama on these by gradation he con- quers the organs. Take up anything that you see or feel, a book, for instance, and first concentrate the mind on the thing itself. Then on the knowledge that is in the form of a book, and then the Ego that sees the book. By that practice all the organs will be conquered. 48. From that comes glorified mind, power of the organs independently of the body, and conquest of nature. Just as by the conquest of the elements comes glorified body, so from the conquest of the mind will come glorified mind. 49. By making Samyama on the Sattva, to him who has discriminated between the intellect and the Purusa come omnipresence and omniscience. When we have conquered nature, and realised the dif- ference between the Puruhi and nature, that the Furuia is indestructible, pure and perfect, when the Yogi has realised this, then comes omnipotence and omniscience. 50. By giving up even these comes the destruction of the very seed of evil ; he attains Kaivalya. He attains aloneness, independence. Then that man is free. When he gives up even the ideas of omnipotence and omniscience, there will be entire 204 RAJA YOGA. rejection of enjoyment, of the temptations from celes- tial beings. When the Yogi has seen all these wonder- ful powers, and rejected them, he reaches the goal. What are all these powers ? Simply manifestations. They are no better than dreams. Even omnipotence is a dream. It depends on the mind. So long as there is a mind it can be understood, but the goal is beyond even the mind. 51. There should be entire rejection of enjoyment of the temptations from celestial beings, for fear of evil again. There are other dangers too; gods and other beings come to tempt the Yogi. They do not want anyone to be perfectly free. They are jealous, just as we are, and worse than we sometimes. They are very much afraid of losing their places. Those Yogis who do not reach perfection die and become gods; leaving the direct road they go into one of the side streets, and get these powers. Then again they have to be born; but he who is strong enough to withstand these temp- tations, and go straight to the goal, becomes free. 52. By making Samyama on a particle of time and its mnltiples comes discrimination. How are we to avoid all these things, these Devas^ and heavens, and powers ? By discrimination, by knowing good from evil. Therefore a Samyama is given by which the power of discrimination can be yOga aphorisms. 205 strengthened. This is by making a Samyama on a particle of time. 53. Those which cannot be differentiated by species, sign and place, even they will be discriminated by the above Samyama. The misery that we suffer comes from ignora\ice, from non-discrimination between the real and the unreal. We are all taking that which is bad for that which is good, and that which is a dream for that which is real. Soul is the only reality, and we have forgotten it. Body is an unreal dream, and we think we are all bodies. So this non-discrimination is the cause of misery, and it is caused by ignorance. When discrimination comes it brings strength, and then alone can we avoid all these various ideas of body, and heavens, and gods and Devas. This ignorance arises through differentiating by species, sign or place. For instance, take a cow. The cow is differentiated from the dog, as species. Even with the cows alone how do we make the distinction between one cow and another } By signs. If two objects are exactly similar they can be distinguished if they are in different places. When objects are so mixed up that even these differentiae will not help us, the power of discrimina- tion acquired by the above-mentioned practice will give us the ability to distinguish them. The highest philosophy of the Yogi is based upon this fact, that the Purida is pure and perfect, and is the only simple that exists in this universe. The body and mind are 2o6 RAJA YOGA. compounds, and yet we are ever identifying ourselves with them. That is the great mistake that the distinc- tion has been lost. When this power of discrimina- tion has been attained, man sees that everything in this world, mental and physical, is a compound, and, as such, cannot be the Purusa. 54. The saving knowledge is that knowledge of dis- crimination which covers all objects, all means. Isolation, that is the goal; when that is attained, the soul will find that it was alone all the time, and it required no one to make it happy. As long as we require someone else to make us happy we are slaves. When the Purusa finds that It is free, and does not require anything to complete Itself, that this nature is quite unnecessary, then freedom is attained. Then comes this Kaivalya. 55. By the similarity of purity between the Sattvaand the Purusa comes Kaivalya. When the soul realises that it depends on nothing in the universe, from gods to the lowest atom, that is called Kaivalya (isolation) and perfection. It is attained when this mixture of purity and impurity called mmd has been made as pure as the Puruia Itself; then the Sattva^ the mind, reflects only the un- qualified essence of purity, which is the Puruia, CHAPTER IV. INDEPENDENCE. 1. The Siddhis (powers) are attained by birth, chemi- cal means, power of words, mortification or con- centration. Sometimes a man is born with the Siddhis^ powers, of course from the exercise of powers he had in his previous birth. In this birth he is born, as it were, to enjoy the fruits of them. It is said of Kapila^ the great father of the Sdnkhya Philosophy, that he was a born Siddhcy which means, literally, a man who has attained to success. The Yogis claim that these powers can be gained by chemical means. All of you know that chemistry originally began as alchemy; men went in search of the philosopher's stone, and elixirs of life, and so forth. In India there was a sect called the Rdsdyanaj. Their idea was that ideality, knowledge, spirituality and religion, were all very right, but that the body was the only instrument by which to attain to all these. If the body broke now and then it would take so much more time to attain to the goal. For instance, a man wants to practise Yoga^ or wants to become spiritual. Before he has advanced very far he dies. Then he takes another body and begins again, then dies, and so on, and in this way [207] 2o8 rAja yoga. much time will be lost in dying and being born again. If the body could be made strong and perfect, so that it would get rid of birth and death, we should have so much more time to become spiritual. So these Rdsd- yanas say, first make the body very strong, and they claim that this body can be made immortal. Their idea is that if the mind is manufacturing the body, and if it be true that each mind is only one particular outlet to that infinite energy, and that there is no limit to each particular outlet getting any amount of power from outside, why is it impossible that we should keep our bodies all the time ? We shall have to manufac- ture all the bodies that we shall ever have. As soon as this body dies we shall have to manufacture another. If we can do that why cannot we do it just here and now, without getting out ? The theory is perfectly correct. If it is possible that we live after death, and make other bodies, why is it impossible that we should have the power of making bodies here, without entirely dissolving this body, simply changing it continually ? They also thought that in mercury and in sulphur was hidden the most wonderful power, and that by certain preparations of these a man could keep the body as long as he liked. Others believed that certain drugs could bring powers, such as flying through the air, etc. Many of the most wonderful medicines of the present day we owe to the Rdsdyanas^ notably the use of metals in medicine. Certain sects of Yogis claim that many of their principal teachers are still living in their old bodies. Fatanjali^ the great authority on Yo^a^ does YOGA APHORISMS. 209 not deny this. The power of words There are cer- tain sacred words called Mantrams^ which have power, when repeated under proper conditions, to produce these extraordinary powers We are living in the midst of such a mass of miracles, day and night, that we do not think anything of them. There is no limit to man's power, the power of words and the power of mind. Mortification. You find that in every religion mortifications and asceticisms have been practised. In these religious conceptions the Hindtis always go to the extremes. You will find men standing with their hands up all their lives, until their hands wither and die. Men sleep standing, day and night, until their feet swell, and, if they live, the legs become so stiff in this position that they can no more bend them, but have to stand all their lives. I once saw a man who had raised his hands in this way, and I asked him how it felt when he did it first. He said it was awful torture. It was such torture that he had to go to a river and put himself in water, and that allayed the pain for a little. After a month he did not suffer much. Through such practices powers {^Siddhis) can be attained. Concentra- tion. The concentration is Samddhi^ and that is Yoga proper; that is the principal theme of this science, and it is the highest means. The preceding ones are only secondary and we cannot attain to the highest through them. Samddhi is the means through which we can gain anything and everything, mental, moral or spiritual. 14 2IO RAJA YOGA. 2. The changre into another species is by the filling in of nature. Patanjali has advanced the proposition that these powers come by birth, sometimes by chemical means, or they may be got by mortification and he has admitted that this body can be kept for any length of time. Now he goes on to state what is the cause of the change of the body into another species, which he says is by the filling in of nature. In the next aphor- ism he will explain this. 3. Good deeds, etc., are not the direct canses in the transformations of nature, but they act as breakers of obstacles to the evolutions of nature, as a farmer breaks the obstacles to the course of water, which then runs down by its own nature. When a farmer is irrigating his field the water is already in the canals, only there are gates which keep the water in. The farmer opens these gates, and the water flows in by itself, by the law of gravitation. So, all human progress and power are already in every- thing; this perfection is every man's nature, only it is barred in and prevented from taking its proper course. If anyone can take the bar off in rushes nature. Then the man attains the powers which are his already. Those we called wicked become saints, as soon as the bar IS broken and nature rushes in. It is nature that is driving us towards perfection, and eventually she will bring everyone there. All these practices and YOGA APHORISMS. 211 Struggles to become religious are only negative work, to take off the bars, and open the doors to that perfec- tion which is our birthright, our nature. To-day the evolution theory of the ancient Yogis will be better understood in the light of modern research. And yet the theory of the Yogis is a better explanation. The two causes of evolution advanced by the moderns, viz.^ sexual selection and survival of the fittest, are inade- quate. Suppose human knowledge to have advanced so much as to eliminate competition, both from the function of acquiring physical sustenance and of acquiring a mate. Then, according to the moderns, human progress will stop and the race will die. And the result of this theory is to furnish every oppressor with an argument to calm the qualms of conscience, and men are not lacking, who, posing as philosophers, want to kill out all wicked and incompetent persons (they are, of course, the only judges of competency), and thus preserve the human race ! But the great ancient evolutionist, Patanjali^ declares that the true secret of evolution is the manifestation of the perfec- tion which is already in every being; that this perfec- tion has been barred, and the infinite tide behind is struggling to express itself. These struggles and competitions are but the results of our ignorance, be- cause we do not know the proper way to unlock the gate and let the water in. This infinite tide behind must express itself, and it is the cause of all manifes- tation, not competition for life, oi sex gratification, which are only momentary, unnecessary, extraneous 212 RAJA YOGA. effects, caused by ignorance. Even when all competi- tion has ceased this perfect nature behind will make us go forward until every one has become perfect. Therefore there is no reason to believe that competi- tion is necessary to progress. In the animal the man was suppressed, but, as soon as the door was opened, out rushed man. So, in man there is the potential god, kept in by the locks and bars of ignorance. When knowledge breaks these bars the god becomes manifest. 4. From egoism alone proceed tke created minds. The theory of Karma is that we suffer for our good or bad deeds, and the whole scope of philosophy is to approach the glory of man. All the Scriptures sing the glory of man, of the soul, and then, with the same breath, they preach this Karma. A good deed brings such a result, and a bad deed such a result, but, if the soul can be acted upon by a good or a bad deed it amounts to nothing. Bad deeds put a bar to the mani- festation of our nature, of the Puruia^ and good deeds take the obstacles off, and its glory becomes manifest. But the Purusa itself is never changed. Whatever you do never destroys your own glory, your own nature, because the soul cannot be acted upon by anything, only a veil is spread before it, hiding its perfection. 5. Though the activities of the different created minds are various, the one original mind is the controller of them all. These different minds, which will act in these differ- ent bodies, are called made-minds, and the bodies YOGA APHORISMS. 213 •Hade-bodies ; that is, manufactured bodies and minds. Matter and mind are like two inexhaustible store- houses. When you have become a Yogi you have learned the secret of their control. It was yours all the time, but you had forgotten it. When you become a Yogi you recollect it. Then you can do anything with it, manipulate it in every way you like. The material out of which that manufactured mind is cre- ated is the very same material which is used as the macrocosm. It is not that mind is one thing and mat- ter another, but they are different existences of the same thing. Asmitd^ egoism, is the material, the fine state of existence out of which these made-minds and made-bodies of the Yogi will be manufactured. There- fore, when the Yogi has found the secret of these energies of nature he can manufacture any number of bodies, or minds, but they will all be manufactured out of the substance known as egoism. 6. Among the various Ghittas that which is attained by Samadhi is desireless. Among all the various minds that we see in various men, only that mind which has attained to Samddhi^ perfect concentration, is the highest. A man who has attained certain powers through medicines, or through words, or through mortifications, still has desires, but that man who has attained to Samddhi through con centration is alone free from all desires. 214 RAja yoga. 7. Works are neither black nor wMte for the Yogis; for others they are threefold, black, white, and mixed. When the Yogi has attained to that state of perfec- tion, the actions of that man, and the Karma produced by those actions, will not bind him, because he did not desire them. He just works on; he works to do good, and he does good, but does not care for the result, and it will not come to him. But for ordinary men, who have not attained to that highest state, works are of three kinds, black (evil actions), white (good actions), and mixed. 8. From these threefold works are manifested in each state only those desires (which are) fitting to that state alone. (The others are held in abey- ance for the time being.) Suppose I have made the three kinds of Karma^ good, bad and mixed, and suppose I die and become a god in heaven; the desires in a god body are not the same as the desires in a human body. The god body neither eats nor drinks; what becomes of my past unworked Karmas, which produce as their effect the desire to eat and drink ? Where would these Karmas go when I became a god ? The answer is that desires can only manifest themselves in proper environments. Only those desires will come out for which the environ- ment is fitted; the rest will remain stored up. In this life we have many godly desires, many human desireSj YOGA APHORISMS. 21$ many animal desires. If I take a god body, only the good desires will come up, because for them the environments are suitable. And if I take an animal body, only the animal desires will come up, and the good desires will wait. What does that show ? That by means of environment we can check these desires. Only that Karma which is suited to and fitted for the environments will come out. This proves that the power of environment is the great check to control even Karma itself. 9. There is consecutiveness in desire, even thongh separated by species, space and time, there be- ing identification of memory and impressions. Experiences becoming fine become impressions; impressions revivified become memory. The word memory here includes unconscious co-ordination of past experience, reduced to impressions, with present conscious action. In each body the group of impres- sions acquired in a similar body only will become the cause of action in that body. The experiences of dis- similar bodies will be held in abeyance. Each body will act as if it were a descendant of a series of bodies of that species only; thus, consecutiveness of desires will not be broken. 10. Thirst for happiness being eternal desires are without beginning. All experience is preceded by desire for becoming happy. There was no beginning of experience, as 2l6 RAJA YOGA. each fresh experience is built upon the tendency gene- rated by past experience; therefore desire is without beginning. 11. Being held together by cause, effect, support, and objects, in the absence of these is its absence. These desires are held together by cause and effect; if a desire has been raised it does not die without pro- ducing its effect. Then again, the mind-stuff is the great storehouse, the support of all past desires, reduced to Samskdra form; until they have worked themselves out they will not die. Moreover, so long as the senses receive the external objects fresh desires will arise. If it be possible to get rid of these, then alone desires will vanish. 12. The past and future exist in their own nature, qualities having different ways. 13. They are manifested or fine, being of the nature of the Gunas. The Gunas arc the three substances, Sattva^ RaJaSy and TamaSy whose gross state is the sensible universe. Past and future arise from the different modes of mani- festation of these Gunas. 14. The unity in things is from the unity in changes. Though there are three substances their changes being co-ordinated all objects have their unity. 15. The object being the same, perception and desire vary according to the various minds. YOGA APHORISMS. 21/ 16. Things are known or unknown to the mind^ being dependent on the colouring which they give to the mind. 17. The states of the mind are always known because the lord of the mind is unchangeable. The whole gist of this theory is that the universe is both mental and material. And both the mental and material worlds are in a continuous state of flux. What is this book ? It is a combination of molecules in constant change. One lot is going out, and another coming in; it is a whirlpool, but what makes the unity ? What makes it the same book ? The changes are rhythmical; in harmonious order they are sending impressions to my mind, and these pieced together make a continuous picture, although the parts are continuously changing. Mind itself is continuously changing. The mind and body are like two layers in the same substance, moving at different rates of speed. Relatively, one being slower and the other quicker, we can distinguish between the two motions. For instance, a train is moving, and another carriage is moving slowl}'- alongside it. It is possible to fmd the motion of both these, to a certain extent. But still something else is necessary. Motion can only be per- ceived when there is something else which is not mov- ing. But when two or three things are relatively moving, we first perceive the motion of the faster one, and then that of the slower ones. How is the mind to perceive ? It is also in a flux. Therefore another 21 8 rAja yoga. thing is necessary which moves more slowly, then you must get to something in which the motion is still slower, and so on, and you will find no end. There- fore logic compels you to stop somewhere. You must complete the series by knowing something which never changes. Behind this never ending chain of motion is the Puruia^ the changeless, the colourless, the pure. All these impressions are merely reflected upon it, as rays of light from a camera are reflected upon a white sheet, painting hundreds of pictures on it, without in any way tarnishing the sheet. 18. Mind is not self-luminous, being an object. Tremendous power is manifested everywhere in nature, but yet something tells us that it is not self- luminous, not essentially intelligent. The Puruia alone is self-luminous, and gives its light to every- thing. It is its power that is percolating through all matter and force. 19. From its being unable to cognise two things at the same time. If the mind were self-luminous it would be able to cognise everything at the same time, which it cannot. If you pay deep attention to one thing you lose another. If the mind were self-luminous there would be no limit to the impressions it could receive. The Purusa can cognise all in one moment; therefore the Puruia is self-luminous, and the mind is not. YOGA APHORISMS. 219 20. Another cognising mind being assumed there will be no end to such assumptions and confusion of memory. Let us suppose there is another mind which cognises the first, there will have to be something which cog- nises that, and so there will be no end to it. It will result in confusion of memory, there will be no store- house of memory. 21. The essence of knowledge (the Purusa) being un- changeable, when the mind takes its form, it becomes conscious. Patanjali says this to make it more clear that knowl- edge is not a quality of the Puruia. When the mind comes near the Puruia it is reflected, as it were, upon the mind, and the mind, for the time being, becomes knowing and seems as if it were itself the Puruia. 22. Coloured by the seer and the seen the mind is able to understand everything. On the one side the external world, the seen, is being reflected, and on the other, the seer is being reflected; thus comes the power of all knowledge to the mind. 23. The mind through its innumerable desires acts for another (the Purusa), being combinations. The mind is a compound of various things, and therefore it cannot work for itself. Everything that 220 RAjA yoga. is a combination in this world has some object for that combination, some third thing for which this combina- tion is going on. So this combination of the mind is for the Furuia. 24. For the discriminating the perception of the mind A as Atman ceases. Through discrimination the Yogi knows that the Puruia is not mind. 25. Then bent on discriminating the mind attains the previous state of Kaivalya (isolation). Thus the practice of Yoga leads to discriminating power, to clearness of vision. The veil drops from the eyes, and we see things as they are. We find that this nature is a compound, and is showing the panorama for the Puruia^ who is the witness; that this nature is not the Lord, that the whole of these combinations of nature are simply for the sake of showing these phe- nomena to the Puruia^ the enthroned king within. When discrimination comes by long practice fear ceases, and the mind attains isolation. 26. The thoughts that arise as obstructions to that are &om impressions. All the various ideas that arise making us believe that we require something external to make us happy are obstructions to that perfection. The Puruia is YOGA APHORISMS. 221 happiness and blessedness by its own nature. But that knowledge is covered over by past impressions. These impressions have to work themselves out. 27. Their destruction is in the same manner as of ignorance, etc., as said before. 28. Even when arriving at the right discriminating knowledge of the essences, he who gives up the fruits, unto him comes as the result of perfect discrimination, the Samadhi called the cloud of virtue. When the Vogi ha.s attained to this discrimination, all these powers will come that were mentioned in the last chapter, but the true Vogi rejects them all. Unto him comes a peculiar knowledge, a particular light called the Dharma Megha, the cloud of virtue. All the great prophets of the world whom history has recorded had this. They had found the whole foundation of knowl- edge within themselves. Truth to them had become real. Peace and calmness, and perfect purity became their own nature, after they had given up all these vanities of powers. 29. From that comes cessation of pains and works. When that cloud of virtue has come, then no more is there fear of falling, nothing can drag the Yogi down. No more will there be evils for him. No more pains. t22 RAjA yoga. 30. Then knowledge, bereft of covering and impnritiea^ becoming infinite, the knowable becomes small. Knowledge itself is there; its covering is gone. One of the Buddhistic scriptures sums up what is meant by the Buddha (which is the name of a state). It defines it as infinite knowledge, infinite as the sky. Jesus attained to that and became the Christ. All of you will attain to that state, and knowledge becoming infinite, the knowable becomes small. This whole universe, with all its knowable, becomes as nothing before the Puruia. The ordinary man thinks himself very small, because to him the knowable seems to be so infinite. 31. Then are finished the successive transformations of the qualities, they having attained the end. Then all these various transformations of the quali- ties, which change from species to species, cease for ever. 32. The changes that exist in relation to moments, and which are perceived at the other end (at the end of a series) are succession. Patanjali here defines the word succession, the changes that exist in relation to moments. While I am thinking, many moments pass, and with each moment there is a change of idea, but we only perceive these changes at the end of a series. So, perception of time is always in the memory. This is called suc' YOGA APHORISMS. 223 cession, but for the mind that has realised omnipres- ence all these have finished. Everything has become present for it; the present alone exists, the past and future are lost. This stands controlled, and all knowl- edge is there in one second. Everything is known like a flash. 33. The resolution in the inverse order of the qualities, bereft of any motive of action for the Purusa, is Kaivalya, or it is the establishment of the power of knowledge in its own nature. Nature's task is done, this unselfish task which our sweet nurse Nature had imposed upon herself. As it were, she gently took the self-forgetting soul by the Land, and showed him all the experiences in the uni- verse, all manifestations, bringing him higher and higher through various bodies, till his glory came back, and he remembered his own nature. Then the kind mother went back the same way she came, for others who also have lost their way in the trackless desert of life. And thus is she working, without beginning and without end. And thus through pleas- ure and pain, through good and evil, the infinite river of souls is flowing into the ocean of perfection, of self- realisation. Glory unto those who have realised their own nature; may their blessings be on us all. APPENDIX. References to Yoga. Sveta^vatara Upanishad. Chapter II. 2-6-14. Where the fire is churned, where the air is controlled, where the flow of Soma becomes plentiful there a (perfect) mind is created Placing the body in which the chest, the throat, and the head are held erect, in a straight posture, making the organs enter the mind, the sage crosses all the fearful cur- rents by means of the raft of Brahman. The man of well regulated endeavours controls the Prdna^ and when it has become quieted breathes out through the nostrils. The persevering sage holds his mind as a charioteer holds the restive horses. In lonely places, as mountain caves, etc., where the floor is even, free of pebbles or sand, where there are no disturbing noises from men or waterfalls, in places helpful to the mind and pleasing to the eyes. Yoga is to be practised (mind is to be joined). Like snowfall, smoke, sun, wind, fire, firefly, light- ning, crystal, moon, these forms, coming before, gradually rr-anifest the Brahman in Yoga. When the perceptions of Yoga^ arising from earth, water, light, fire, ether, have taken place, then Yoga [224] i APPENDIX. 225 has begun. Unto him does not conwi disease, nor old age, nor death, who has got a body made up of the fire of Yoga. The first signs of entering Yoga are lightness, health, the skin becomes smooth, the complexion clear, the voice beautiful, and there is an agreeable odour in the body. 14. As gold or silver, first covered with earth, etc., and then burned and washed, shines full of Ught, so the embodied man seeing the truth of the Aiman as one, attains the goal and becomes sorrowless. Yajnavalkya, quoted by §ankara. •' After practising the postures as desired, according to rules, then, O Gdrgi, the man who has conquered the posture will practise Frdndydma. •' On the seat of earth, spreading the Ku^a grass, and over it a skin, worshipping Ganapati with fruits and sweetmeats, seated on that seat, placing the oppo- site hands on the knees, holding the throat and head in the same line, the lips closed and firm, facing the east or the north, the eyes fixed on the tip of the nose, avoiding too much food or fasting, the Nddis should be purified according to the above-mentioned rule, with- out which the practice will be fruitless, thinking of the (seed-word) Hum^ at the junction of Pingald and Idi (the right and the left nostrils), the Ida should be filled with external air in twelve Mdtrds (seconds), then the Yogi meditates fire in the same place and the word * Rang; and while meditating thus, slowly rejects 15 226 rAja yoga. the air through the Pingald (right nostril). Again fill- ing in through the Pingald the air should be slowly rejected through the Ida, in the same way. This should be practised for three or four years, or three or four months, according to the directions of a Guru^ in secret (alone in a room) in the early morning, at midday, in the evening, and at midnight (until) the nerves become purified, and these are the signs; light- ness of body, clear complexion, good appetite, hearing of the Ndda. Then should be practised Prdndydma, composed of Rechaka (exhalation), Kumbhaka (reten- tion), and PHraka (inhalation). Joining the Prdna with the Apdna is Prdndydma. ** In sixteen Mdtrds filling the body from the head to the feet in thirty-two MdU'ds to be thrown out, with sixty-four the Kumbhaka should be made. " There is another sort of Prdndydma in which, with sixteen Mdtrds, the body is to be filled, then the Ku77i- bhaka is made with sixty-four, and with thirty-two it should be rejected. ** By Prdndydma impurities of the body are thrown out, hy DhdraridXXit. impurities of the mind; by Praty- dhdra impurities of attachment, and by Samddhi is taken off everything that hides the lordship of the Soul." Sankhya. Book III. 29. By the achievement of meditation, there are to the pure one (the Puruia) all powers like nature. 30. Meditation is the removal of attachment. APPENDIX. 227 31. It is perfected by the suppression of the modili- cations. 32 By meditation, posture and performance of one's duties, it is perfected. ^;^. Restraint of the Prdna is by means of expulsion and retention. 34. Posture is that which is steady and easy. 36. Also by non-attachment and practice. 75. By practising the discrimination of the princi- ples of nature from the Puruia^ and by giving them up as " not It, not It," discrimination is perfected. Book IV. 3. Repetition, instruction is to be repeated. 5. As the hawk becomes unhappy if the food is taken away from him, and happy if he gives it up him- self (so he who gives up everything voluntarily is happy). 6. As the snake is happy in giving up his old skin. 8. That which is not a means of liberation is not to be thought of; it becomes a cause of bondage, as in the case of Bharata. 9. From the association of many things there is obstruction to meditation, through passion, etc., like the shell bracelets on the virgin's hand. 10. It is the same, even in the case of two. 11. The hopeless are happy, like the girl Pitigald. 13. Although devotion is to be given to many insti- tutes and teachers, the essence is to be taken from them all, as the bee takes the essence from many flowers. 228 KAJA YOGA. 14. One whose mind has become concentrated like the arrowmaker's, his meditation is not disturbed. 15. Through transgression of the original rules there is non-attainment of the goal, as in other worldly things. 19. By continence, reverence, and devotion to Guru, success comes after a long time (as in the case of Indra.) 20. There is no law as to time (as in the case of Vdmadeva). 24. Or through association with one who has attained perfection. 27. Not by enjoyments is desire appeased Book V, 128. The Siddhis attained by Yoga are not to be denied. Book VI. 24. Any posture which is easy and steady is an Asana ; there is no other rule. Vyasa Stltra. Chapter IV. , Section i, 7. Worship is possible in a sitting posture. 8. Because of meditation. 9. Because the meditating (person) is compared to the immovable earth. 10. Also because the Smritts say so. 11. There is no law of place; wherever the mind is concentrated, there worship should be performed. These seiieral extracts give an idea of ivhat other sys- tems of Indian Philosophy have to say upon Yoga. IMMORTALITY [329] IMMORTALITY What question has been asked a greater number of times; what idea has sent men more to search the uni- verse for an answer, what question is nearer and dearer to the human heart, what question is more inseparably connected with our existence, than this one, the immortality of the human soul ? It has been the theme of poets, and of sages, of priests and of prophets; kings on the throne have discussed it, beg- gars in the street have dreamt of it. The best of human kind have approached it, and the worst of human kind have always hoped for it. The interest in the theme has not died yet, nor will it die, so long as human nature exists. Various answers have been pre- sented to the world by various minds. Thousands, again, in every period of history have given up the discussion, and yet the question remains fresh as ever. Many times in the turmoils and struggles of our lives we seem to forget the question; all of a sudden, some one dies; one, perhaps, whom we loved, one near and dear to our hearts is snatched away from us. The struggle, the din and turmoil of the world around us, cease for a moment, become silent, and the soul asks the old question, " What after this ? " What becomes [331] 232 IMMORTALITY. of the soul ? All human knowledge proceeds out of experience; we cannot know anything except by expe- rience. All our reasoning is based upon generalised experience, all our knowledge is but a sort of harmon- ised experience. Looking around us, what do we find? A continuous change. The plant comes out of the seed, and the seed becomes the plant again; the plant grows into the tree, completes the circle, and comes back to the seed. The animal comes, lives a certain time, dies, and completes the circle. So does man. The mountains slowly but surely crumble away, the rivers slowly but surely dry up, rains come out of the sea, and go back to the sea. Everywhere it is circles being completed, birth, growth, development, and decay following each other with mathematical preci- sion. This is our every day experience. Inside of it all, behind all this vast mass of what we call life, of millions of forms and shapes, millions upon millions of varieties, beginning from the lowest atom to the highest spiritualised man, we find existing a certain unity. Every day we find that the wall that was thought to be dividing one substance and another is being broken down, and all matter is coming to be recognised by modern science as one substance, m.ani- festing in different ways and in various forms the one life that runs like a continuous chain throughout, of which all these various forms represent the links, link after link, extending almost infinitely, but of the same one chain. This is what is called evolution. It is an old, old idea, as old as human society, only it is getting IMMORTALITY. 233 fresher and fresher as human knowledge is going on. There is one thing more, which the ancients perceived, and that is involution; but in modern times, this is not yet so clearly perceived. The seed is becoming the plant; a grain of sand never becomes a plant. It is the father that becomes the child. A lump of clay never becomes the child. Out of what this evolution comes is the question. What was the seed ? It was the same as the tree. All the possibilities of a future tree are in that seed; all the possibilities of a future man are in the little baby; all the possibilities of any future life are in the germ. What is this ? The ancient philosophers of India called it involution. We find then, that every evolution presupposes an involution. Nothing can be evolved which is not already in. Here again modern science comes to our help. You know by mathematical reasoning that the sum-total of the energy that is displayed in the universe is the same throughout. You cannot take away one atom of mat- ter or one foot-pound of force. You cannot add to the universe one atom of matter or one foot-pound of force. As such, evolution did not come out of zero, then, where it comes from ? It came in involution before. The child is the man /evolved, and the man is the child ords, and then as the more concrete /^r/z/i-. In the universe, Brahma or Iliranya-garbha^ or the cosmic intelligence {inahat) first manifested himself as name, and then as form, /. e.^ as this universe. All this expressed sensible universe is the form, behind which stands the eternal inexpressible sphota the mani- festor as Logos or Word. This eternal sphota, the essential eternal material of all ideas or names, is the power through which the Lord creates the universe; nay, the Lord first becomes conditioned as the sphota, and then evolves himself out as the yet more concrete sensible universe. This sphota, has one word as its only possible symbol, and this is the Om. And as by no possible means of analysis we can separate the word from the idea, this Om and the eternal sphota are inseparable; and therefore it is out of this holiest of all holy words, the mother of all names and forms, the eternal Om, that the whole universe may be supposed to have been created. But it may be said that, although thought and word are inseparable, yet as there may be various word-symbols for the same thought, it is not necessary that this particular word Om should be the word representative of the thought, out of which the universe has become manifested. To this objection we reply that this Om is the only possible symbol which covers the whole ground, and 2^4 BHAKTI-YOGA. there is none other like it. The spJwta is the mate- rial of all words, yet is not any definite word in its fully formed state. That is to say, if all the peculiarities which distinguish one word from another be removed, then what remains will be the sphota ; therefore this sphota is called the Ndda-Brahma (the somid-Brahinaii). Now, as every word-symbol, in- tended to express the inexpressible sphota will so par- ticularize it that it will no longer be the sphota^ that symbol which particularizes it the least and at the same time most approximately expresses its nature, will be the truest symbol thereof; and this is the Oni^ and the Om only ; because these three letters A, U, M, pronounced in combination as Otn^ may well be the generalised symbol of all possible sounds. The letter A is the least differen- tiated of all sounds, therefore Krishna says in the Gitd "I am A among the letters." Again, all articulate sounds are produced in the space within the mouth beginning with the root of the tongue and ending in the lips — the throat sound is A, and M is the last lip sound; and the U exactly represents the rolling forward of the impulse which begins at the root of the tongue till it ends in the lips. If properly pro- nounced, this Om will represent the whole phenomenon of sound-production, and no other word can do this; and this, therefore, is the fittest symbol of the sphota^ which is the real meaning of the Om. And as the symbol can never be separated from the thing signified, the Om and the sphota are one. And as the sphota^ being the finer side of the manifested universe, is nearer BHAKTI-YOGA. 285 to God, and is indeed the first manifestation of Divine Wisdom, this Oni is truly symbolic of God. Again, just as the "one only" Brahman, the Ak/ia?ida — Satchiddnanda, the undivided Existence- Knowledge- Bliss, can be conceived by imperfect human souls only from particular standpoints of view and associated with particular qualities, so this universe, His body, has also to be thought of along the line of the thinker's mind. This direction of the worshipper's mind is guided by its prevailing elements or Tattvas. The result is that the same God will be seen in various manifestations as the possessor of various predominant qualities, and the same universe will appear as full of manifold forms. In the same way in which, even in the case of the least differentiated and the most universal symbol Om, thought and sound-symbol are seen to be inseparably associated with each other, this law of their inseparable association applies to the many differentiated views of God and the universe: each of them must have a par- ticular word-symbol to express it. These word-sym- bols, evolved out of the deepest spiritual perceptions of sages, symbolize and express as nearly as possible the particular view of God and the universe they stand for. And as the Oin represents the Ak/ianda, the undifferentiated Bra/unafi, the others represent the KJianda or the differentiated views of the same Being; and they are all helpful to divine meditation and the acquisition of true knowledge. 286 BHAKTI-YOGA. Worship of Substitutes and Images. The next points to be considered are the worship of Pratikds or of things more or less satisfactory as substi- tutes for God, and the worship of Pratimds or images. What is the worship of God through diFratikal It is "Joining the mind with devotion to that which is not BraJunan^ taking it to be Brahman.'' Says Bhagavdn Rdmdnuja; — "Worship the mind as Brahman^ this is internal ; and the Akdia as Brahman^ this is the sense- meaning." The mind is an internal Prattkd, the Akdia is an external one; and both have to be worshipped as substitutes of God. Similarly — * The Sun is Brahfna?ty this is the command' 'He who worships Name as Brahman^'' and in all such passages the doubt arises as to the worship of jPr^^/Z/^^i- ," says Sankara. The word Pratikd means going towards, and worshipping a Pratikd is worshipping something which as a substi- tute, is, in some one or more respects, like the Brahman more and more, but is not the Brah?na?i. Along with the Pratikds mentioned in the Sridis there are various others to be found in the Purdnas and the Tantras. In this kind of P rat ikd-wor ship may be included all the various forms of Pitri-worship and Deva-worship. Now worshipping Isvara and Him alone is Bhakti j the worship of anything else, Deva^ or Pitri, or any other being cannot be Bhakti. The various kinds of worship of the various Devas are all to be included in ritualistic Karma^ which gives to the worshipper only a particular result in the form of some celestial enjoy- BHAKTI-VOGA. 28/ ment, but can neither give rise to Bhaktt nor lead to Mukti. One thing, therefore, has to be carefully- borne in mind. If, as it may happen in some cases, the highly philosophic ideal supreme Brahman is Him- self dragged down by Pratikd-7uorship to the level of the Pratikdy and the Pratikd itself is taken to be the Atma?t of the worshipper, or his Antaraydmin^ the wor- shipper gets entirely misled, as no Pratikd can really be the Atman of the worshipper. But where Brahman Himself is the object of worship, and the Pratikd stands only as a substitute or a suggestion thereof, that is to say, where through the Pratikd the omni- present Brahmajt is worshipped — the Pratikd itself being idealized into the cause of all, th.Q Brahffian — the worship is positively beneficial; nay, it is abso- lutely necessary for all mankind, until they have all got beyond the primary or preparatory state of the mind in regard to worship. When, therefore, any gods or other beings are worshipped in and for them- selves, such worship is only a ritualistic Kar?na ; and as a Vidyd (science) it gives us only the fruit belong- ing to that particular Vidyd ; but when the Devas or any other beings are looked upon as Brahmam and wor- shipped, the result obtained is the same as by the wor- shipping of livara. This explains how, in many cases, both in the ^rutis and the Smritis^ a god, or a sage, or some other extraordinary being is taken up and lifted, as it were, out of its own nature and idealized into Brahman^ and is then worshipped. Says the Advaitin^ ''Is not everything Brahman when the name 288 BHAKTI-YOGA. and the form have been removed from it." " Is not He, the Lord, the innermost self of every one ? " says the Visishtddvaitin. "The fruition of even the wor- ship of the Adityas^ etc, Brahman Himself bestows, because he is the Ruler of all," says Sankara in his Brahma- Sutra-Bhdshya. ** Here in this way does Brah- man become the object of worship, because He, as Brahman^ is superposed on the Pratikds^ just as Vishnu, etc., are superposed upon images, etc." The same ideas apply to the worship of the Pratimds as do to that of the Fratikds ; that is to say, if the image stands for a god or a saint, the worship is not the result of Bhaktiy and does not lead to liberation ; but if it stands for the one God, the worship thereof will bring both Bhakti and Mukti. Of the principal religions of the world we see Vedantism, Buddhism, and certain forms of Christianity freely using images; only two religions, Mahomedanism and Protestanism, refuse such help. Yet the Mahomedans use the graves of their saints and martyrs almost in the place of images; the Protestants, in rejecting all concrete helps to religion, are drifting away every year farther and farther from spirituality, and at present there is scarcely any difference between the advanced Protest- ants and the followers of Auguste Comte, or the Agnostics who preach ethics alone. Again, in Christianity and Mahomedanism whatever exists of image-w^orship is made to fall under that category in which the Pratikd or the Prattmd is worshipped in its'ilf but not as a " help to the vision " of God; there- BHAKTI-YOGA. 289 fore it is at best only of the nature of rituSiVistic Karmas and cannot produce either Bhakti or Mukti. In this form of image worship the allegiance of the soul is given to other things than Isvara, and, therefore, such use of images or graves, of temples or tombs, is real idolatry; yet it is in itself neither sinful nor wicked — it is a rite — a Karma^ and worshippers must and will get the fruit thereof. The Chosen Ideal. The next thing to be considered is what we know as Ishta Nishthd. One who aspires to be a Bhakta must know that "so many opinions are so many ways." He must know that all the various sects of the various religions are the various manifestations of the glory of the same Lord. "They call You by so many names; they divide You, as it were, by different names, yet in each one of these is to be found Your omnipotence You reach the worshipper through all of these; neither is there any specialty of time so long as the soul has intense love for You... You are so easy of approach; it is my misfortune that I cannot love You." Not only this, the Bhakta must take care not to hate, nor even to criticize, those radiant sons of light who are the founders of various sects; he has not even to hear them spoken ill of. Very few, indeed, are those who are at once the possessors of an exten- sive sympathy and power of appreciation as well as an intensity of love. We find as a rule that liberal and sympathetic sects lose the intensity of religious feeling, 19 2QO BHAKTI-YOGA. and in their hands religion is apt to degenerate into a kind of politico-social club life. On the other hand intensely narrow sectaries, whilst displaying a very commendable love of their own ideals, are seen to have acquired every particle of that love by hating every one who is not exactly of the same opinion as they are. Would to God that this world was full of men who were as intense in their love as world-wide in their sym- pathies! But such are only few and far between. Yet we know that it is practicable to educate large numbers of human beings into the ideal of a wonderful blending of both the width and intensity of love; and the way to do that is by this path of the Ishta Nishthd or the "chosen ideal." Every sect of every religion pre- sents only one ideal of its own to mankind, but the eternal Vedantic religion opens to mankind an infinite number of doors for ingress into the inner shrine of Divinity, and places before humanity an almost inex- haustible array of ideals, there being in each of them a manifestation of the Eternal One. With the kindest solicitude the Vedanta points out to aspiring men and women the numerous roads hewn out of the solid rock of the realities of human life by the glorious sons, or human manifestations, of God in the past and in the present, and stands with outstretched arms to welcome all — to welcome even those that are yet to be — to that Home of Truth and that Ocean of Bliss wherein the human soul liberated out of the net of Maya may transport itself with perfect freedom and with eternal joy. BHAKTI-YOGA. 29 1 Bhakti-Yoga^ therefore, lays on us the imperative command not to hate or deny any one of the various paths that lead to salvation. Yet the growing plant must be hedged around to protect it until it has grown into a tree. The tender plant of spirituality will die if exposed too early to the action of a constant change of ideas and ideals. Many people, in the name of what may be called religious liberalism, may be seen to be feeding their idle curiosity with a continuous succession of different ideals. With them hearing new things grows into a sort of disease, a sort of religious drink-mania. They want to hear new things just to get a sort of temporary nervous excitement, and, when one such exciting influence has had its effect on them, they are ready for another. Religion is with these people a sort of intellectual opium-eating, and there it ends. " There is another sort of men," says Bhag- avdn Rdmakrishna^ ** who are like the pearl oyster of the story. The pearl oyster leaves its bed at the bot- tom of the sea, and comes up to the surface to catch the rain water when the star Svdti is in the ascendant. It floats about on the surface of the sea with its shell wide open until it has succeeded in catching a drop of the rain water, and then it dives deep down to its seabed and there rests until it has succeeded in fashioning a beautiful pearl out of that rain drop." This is indeed the most poetical and forcible way in which the theory of Ishta Nishthd has ever been put. This Eka Nishthd^ or devotion to one ideal is absolutely necessary for the beginner in the practice of religious 292 BHAKTI-YOGA. devovjon. He must say with Hanuman in the Ramd- ya?ia -- " Though I know that the Lord of Sri and the Lord of Janaki are one and the same manifestation of the same Supreme Being, yet my all in all is the lotus- eyed Rama;" or, as was said by the sage Tulasidas, he must say — "Take the sweetness of all, sit with all, take the name of all, say yea, yea, but keep your seat firm." Then, if the devotional aspirant is sincere, out of this little seed will come a gigantic tree like the Indian banyan, sending branch after branch and root after root to all sides, till it covers the entire field of religion. Thus will the true devotee realize that He who was his own ideal in life is worshipped in all ideals by all sects, under all names, and through all forms. The Method and the Means. In regard to the method and the means of BhaktU Yoga we read in the commentary of Bhagavdn Rdmdnuja on the Vcddnta Sutras: — "The attaining of That comes through discrimination, controlling the pas- sions, practice, sacrificial work, purity, strength, and suppression of excessive joy." Viveka or discrimina- tion is, according to Rdf?tdnuja, the discriminating, among other things, the pure food from the impure. According to him, food becomes impure from three causes: namely, (i) by the nature of the food itself, as in the case of garlic, etc. ; (2) owing to its coming from wicked and accursed persons; and (3) from physical impurities, such as dirt, or hair, etc. The ^rutis say. BHAKTI-YOGA. 293 " When the food is pure the Sattva element gets purified, the memory becomes unwavering," and Ramanuja quotes this from the Chhdndogya Upanishad. The question of food has always been one of the most vital with the Bhaktas. Apart from the extrava- gance into which some of the Bhakti sects have run, there is a great truth underlying this question of food. We must remember that, according to the Sdnkhya philosophy the sattva^ 7'ajas, and ta/nas^ which in the state of homogeneous equilibrium form the Frakrtti2in6 in the heterogenous disturbed condition form the uni- verse, are both the substance and the quality of Prakriti. As such they are the materials out of which every human form has been manufactured, and the predominance of the sattva material is what is absolutely necessary for spiritual development. The materials which we receive through our food into our body-struc- ture go a great way to determine our mental constitu- tion; therefore the food we eat has to be particularl)r taken care of. However, in this matter as in others, the fanaticism into which the disciples invariably fall Is not to be laid at the door of the masters. And this discrimination of food is after all of second- ary importance. The very same passage quoted above is explained by Sankara in his Bhdshya on the Upani- shads in a different way by giving an entirely different meaning to the word dhdra, translated generally as food. According to him, ** That which is gathered in is dhdra. The knowledge of the sensations such as sound, etc., is gathered in for the enjoyment of the 294 BHAKTI-YOGA. enjoyer (Self); the purification of the knowledge which gathers in the perception of the senses is the purifying of the food (d/idra). The word * purification-of-food * means the acquiring of the knowledge of sensations untouched by the defects of attachment, aversion, and delusion ; such is the meaning. Therefore, such knowl- edge or dhdra being purified the sattva material of the possessor of it — the internal organ — will become purified, and the sattva being purified an unbroken memory of the infinite One who has been known in His real nature will result." These two explanations are apparently conflicting, yet both are true and necessary. The manipulating and controlling of what may be called the finer body, viz.^ the mind, are no doubt higher functions than the controlling of the grosser body of flesh. But the con- trol of the grosser is absolutely necessary to enable one to arrive at the control of the finer. The beginner, therefore, must pay particular attention to all such dietetic rules as have come down from the line of his accredited teachers; but the extravagant, meaningless fanaticism, which has driven religion entirely to the kitchen, as may be noticed in the case of many of our sects, without any hope of the noble truth of that religion ever coming out to the sunlight of spirituality, is a peculiar sort of pure and simple materialism. It is neither Gndna, nor Bhakti^ nor Karma ; it is a spe- cial kind of lunacy, and those who pin their souls to it are more likely to go to lunatic asylums than to Brahma-loka. So it stands to reason that discrimina- BHAKTI-YOGA. 295 tion in the choice of food is necessary for the attain- ment of this higher state of mental composition which can not be easily obtained otherwise. Controlling the passions is the next thing to be attended to. To restrain the Indriyas (organs) from going towards the objects of the senses, to control them and bring them under the guidance of the will is the very central virtue in religious culture. Then comes the practice of self-restraint and self-denial. All the immense possibilities of divine realisation in the soul cannot get actualised without struggle and without such practice on the part of the aspiring devotee. ** The mind must always think of the Lord." It is very hard at first to compel the mind to think of the Lord always, but with every new effort the power to do so grows stronger in us. " By practice, oh son of Kunti, and by non-attachment is It attained," says Sri Krishna in the Gitd. Purity is absolutely the basic work, the bed-rock upon which the whole Bhakti-building rests. Cleansing the external body and discriminating the food are both easy, but without internal cleanliness and without purity, these external observances are of no value whatsoever. In the list of the qualities conducive to purity, as given by Ramanuja, there are enumerated, Satya, truthfulness; Arjava^ sincerity; Dayd, doing good to others without any gain to one's self; Ahijiisd^ not injuring others by thought or word or deed; Abhidhyd^ not coveting other's goods, not thinking vain thoughts, and not brooding over injuries received 296 BHAKTI-YOGA. from another. In this list the one idea that deserves special notice is Ahimsdy non-injury to others. This duty of non-injury, so to speak of it, is obUgatory on us in relation to all beings; as with some, it does not simply mean the not-injuring of human beings and mercilessness towards the lower animals ; nor, as with some others, does it mean the protecting of cats and dogs and the feeding of ants with sugar, with liberty to injure brother man in every horrible way. It is remarkable that almost every good idea in this world can be carried to a disgusting extreme. A good prac- tice carried to an extreme and worked in accordance with the letter of the law becomes a positive evil. The test of Ahtmsd is absence of jealousy. Any man may do a good deed or make a good gift on the spur of the moment, or under the pressure of some super- stition or priestcraft; but the real lover of mankind is he who is jealous of none. The so-called great men of the world may all be seen to become jealous of each other for a small name, for a little fame, and for a few bits of gold. So long as this jealousy exists in a heart it is far away from the perfection of Ahtmsd. The cow does not eat meat, nor does the sheep. Are they great Yogins, great non-injurers [Ahimsakas) ? Any fool may abstain from eating this or that; surely that gives him no more distinction than to herbivorous ani- mals. The man who will mercilessly cheat widows and orphans, and do the vilest deeds for money, is worse than any brute, even if he lives entirely on grass alone. The man whose heart never cherishes even the thought BHAKTI-YOGA. 297 of injury to any one, who rejoices at the prosperity of even his greatest enemy, that man is the Bhakta^ he is the Yogi/iy he is the Guru of all, even though he lives every day of his life on the flesh of swine. Therefore we must always remember that external practices have value only as helps to develop internal purity. It is better to have internal purity alone when minute atten- tion to external observances is not practicable. But woe unto the man and woe unto the nation, that for- gets the real, internal, spiritual essentials of religion, and mechanically clutches with death-like grasp all the external forms and never lets them go. The forms have value only so far as they are the expressions of the life within. If they have ceased to express life, crush them out without mercy. The next means to the attainment of Bhaktl- Yoga is strength (aiiavasddd) . " This Atmaii is not to be attained by the weak," says the Sruti. Both physical weakness and mental weakness are meant here. " The strong, the hardy," are the only fit students. What can puny, little, decrepit things do ? They will break to pieces, whenever the mysterious forces of the body and mind are even slightly awakened by the practice of any of the Yogas. It is " the young, the healthy, the strong " that can score success. Physical strength, therefore, is absolutely necessary. It is the strong body alone that can bear the shock of re-action result- ing from the attempt to control the organs. He who wants to become a Bhakta must be strong, must be healthy. When the miserably weak attempt any of 298 BHAKTI-YOGA. the VogaSf they are Hkely to get some incurable malady, or they weaken their minds. Voluntarily weakening the body is really no prescription for spiritual enlighten- ment. ♦ The mentally weak also cannot succeed in attaining the Atnian. The person who aspires to be a Bhakta must be cheerful. It is the cheerful mind that is per- severing. It is the strong mind that hews its way through a thousand difficulties. And this, the hardest task of all, the cutting of our way out of the net of Maya, is the work reserved only for giant wills. Yet at the same time excessive mirth should be avoided {a?iudd/ia?'sha). Excessive mirth makes us unfit for serious thought. It also fritters away the energies of the mind in vain. The stronger the will, the less the yielding to the sway of the emotions. Excessive hilarity is quite as objectionable as too much of sad seriousness, and all religious realisation is possible only when the mind is in a steady, peaceful condition of harmonious equilibrium. It is thus that one may begin to learn how to love cne Lord. A PARA-BHAKTI OR SUPREME DEVOTION iml PARA-BHAKTI OR SUPREME DEVOTION The Preparatory Renunciation. We have now finished the consideration of what may be called the preparatory Bhakti^ and are entering on the study of the Pard-Bhakti^ or supreme devotion. We have to speak of a preparation to the practice of this Pard-Bhakti. All such preparations are intended only for the purification of the soul. The repetition of names, the rituals, the forms, and the symbols, all these various things are for the purification of the soul. The greatest purifier among all such things, a purifier without which no one enters the regions of this higher devotion (Fard-B/iakti)^ is renunciation. It is a fright- ening thing to many; yet, without it, there cannot be any spiritual growth. In all our Yogas this renuncia- tion is necessary. This is the stepping stone and the real centre and the real heart of all spiritual culture — renunciation. This is religion — renunciation. When the human soul draws back from the things of the world and tries to go into deeper things; when man, [301] 302 parA-bhakti, the spirit which is here somewhat being concretised and materialised, understands that he is thereby going to be destroyed and to be reduced almost into mere matter, and turns his face away from matter;. then begins renunciation, then begins real spiritual growth. The Karma- Yogiti s renunciation is in the shape of giving up all the fruits of his actions ; he is not attached to the results of his labors; he does not care for any reward here or hereafter. The Rdja-Yogm knows that the whole of nature is intended for the soul to acquire experience, and that the result of all the expe- riences of the soul is for it to become aware of its eternal separateness from nature. The human soul has to understand and realize that it has been spirit, and not matter, through eternity; and that this con- junction of it with matter is and can be only for a time. The Rdja-Yogin learns the lesson of renuncia- tion through his own experience of nature. The Jndna-Yogin has the harshest of all renunciations to go through, as he has to realise from the very first that the whole of this solid-looking nature is all an illusion. He has to understand that all that is any kind of mani- festation of power in nature belongs to the soul, and not to nature. He has to know, from the very start, that all knowledge and all experiences are in the soul, and not in nature; so he has at once and by the sheer force of rational conviction to tear himself oft from all bondage to nature. He lets nature and all her things go, he lets them vanish and tries to stand alone' Of all renunciations, the most natural, so to say, is PARA-BHAKTI. 303 that of the BhaJdi- Yogin. Here there is no violence, nothing to give up, nothing to tear off, as it were, from ourselves, nothing from which we have violently to separate ourselves, the Bhakta s renunciation is easy, smooth, flowing, and as natural as the things around us. We see the manifestation of this sort of renuncia- tion, although more or less in the shape of caricatures, every day around us. A man begins to love a woman; after awhile he loves another, and the first woman he lets go. She drops out of his mind smoothly, gently, without his feeling the want of her at all. A woman loves a man; she then begins to love another man, and the first one drops off from her mind quite naturally. A man loves his own city, then he begins to love his country, and the intense love for his little city drops off smoothly, naturally. Again, a man learns to love the whole world; his love for his country, his intense, fanatical patriotism drops off, without hurting him, without any manifestation of violence. Uncultured man loves the pleasures of the senses intensely; as he becomes cultured he begins to love intellectual pleas- ures, and his sense-enjoyments become less and less. No man can enjoy a meal with the same gusto of pleasure as a dog or a wolf, but those pleasures, which a man gets from intellectual experiences and achieve- ments, the dog can never enjoy. At first, pleasure is in association with the lower senses; but as soon as an animal reaches a higher plane of existence, the lower kind of pleasures become less intense. In human society the nearer the man is to the animal, the 304 PARA-BHAKTI. Stronger is his pleasure in the senses; and the higher and the more cultured the man is, the greater is his pleasure in intellectual and such other finer pursuits. So, when a man gets even higher than the plane of the intellect, higher than that of mere thought, when he get to the plane of spirituality and of divine inspiration, he finds there a state of bliss, compared to which all the pleasures of the senses, or even of the intellect, are as nothing. When the moon shines brightly all the stars become dim, and when the sun shines the moon herself becomes dim. The renunciation neces- sary for the attainment of Bhakti is not obtained by killing anything, but just comes in as naturally as, in the presence of an increasingly stronger light, the less intense ones become dimmer and dimmer until they vanish away completely. So this love of the pleasures of the senses and of the intellect is all made dim, and thrown aside and cast into the shade by the love of God Himself. That love of God grows and assumes a form which is called Fard-B/iakti, or supreme devo- tion. Forms vanish, rituals fly away, books are super- seded, images, temples, churches, religions, and sects, countries and nationalities, all these little limitations and bondages fall off by their own nature from him who knows this love of God. Nothing remains to bind him or fetter his freedom. A ship, all of a sudden, comes near a magnetic rock and its iron bolts and bars are all attracted and drawn out, and the planks get loosened and freely float on the water. Divine grace thus loosens the binding bolts and bars of the PARA-BHAKTI. 305 soul, and it becomes free. So, in this renunciation auxiliary to devotion, there is no harshness, no dry- ness, no struggle, no repression or suppression. The Bhakta has not to suppress any single one of his emo- tions, he only strives to intensify them and direct them to God. The Bhakta's Renunciation Results from Love. We see love everywhere in nature. Whatever in society is good and great and sublime, is the working out of that love; whatever in society is very bad, nay diabolical, is also the ill-directed working out of the same emotion of love. It is this same emotion that gives as the pure and holy conjugal love between hus- band and wife, as well as the sort of love which goes to satisfy the lowest forms of animal passion. The emotion is the same, but its manifestation is different in the different cases. It is the same feeling of love, well or ill-directed, that impels one man to do good and to give all he has to the poor, while it makes another man cut the throats of his brethren and take away all their possessions. The former loves others as much as the latter loves himself. The direction of the love is bad in the case of this latter, but it is right and proper in the other case. The same fire that cooks a meal for us may burn a child, and it is no fault of the fire if it did so; the difference lies in the way in which it is used. Therefore, love, the intense longing for association, the strong desire on the part of two to become one, and, it may be after all, of all to become ao 306 PARA-BHAKTI. merged in one, is being manifested everywhere in higher or lower forms as the case may be. Bhakti- Yoga is the science of higher love; it shows us how to direct it; it shows us how to control it, how to manage it, how to use it, how to give it a new aim, as it were, and from it obtain the highest and most glorious results, that is, how to make it lead us to spiritual blessedness. Bhakti- Yoga does not say "Give up;" it only says "Love; love the Highest ;' ' and everything low naturally falls off from him the object of whose love is this Highest. " I cannot tell anything about Thee, except that Thou art my love. Thou art beautiful, Oh Thou art beautiful! Thou art beauty itself." What is after all really required of us in this Yoga is that our thirst after the beautiful should be directed to God. What is the beauty in the human face, in the sky, in the stars, and in the moon? It is only the partial appre- hension of the real all-embracing Divine Beauty. " He shining, everything shines. It is through His light that all things shine." Take this high position of Bhakti which makes you forget at once all your little personalities. Take yourself away from all the world's little selfish clingings. Do not look upon humanity as the centre of all your human and higher interests. Stand as a witness, as a student, and observe the phe- nomena of nature. Have the feeling of personal non- attachment with regard to man, and see how this mighty feeling of love is working itself out in the world. Some- times a little friction is produced, but that is only in the course of the struggle to attain the higher real parA-bhakti. 307 love. Sometimes there is a little fight, or a little fall; but it is all only along the way. Stand aside, and freely let these frictions come. You feel the frictions only when you are in the current of the world, but when you are outside of it simply as a witness and as a stu- dent, you will be able to see that there are millions and millions of channels in which God is manifesting Him- self as Love. "Wherever there is any bliss, even though in the most sensual of things, there is a spark of that Eternal Bliss which is the Lord Himself." Even in the lowest kinds of attraction there is the germ of Divine love. One of the names of the Lord in Sanskrit is Hari^ and this means that He attracts all things to Himself. His is in fact the only attraction worthy of human hearts. Who can attract a soul really? Only He! Do you think dead matter can truly attract the soul? It never did, and never will. When you see a man going after a beautiful face, do you think that it is the handful of arranged material molecules which really attracts the man? Not at all. Behind those material particles there must be and is the play of divine influence and divine love. The ignorant man does not know it; but yet, consciously or unconsciously, he is attracted by it and it alone. So even the lowest forms of attraction derive their power from God Himself. " None, O beloved, ever loved the husband for the husband's sake; it is the Atman^ the Lord, who is inside, and for His sake the husband is loved." Loving wives may know this or they may not; it is true all the same 308 PARA-BHAKTI. " None, O beloved, ever loved the wife for the wife's sake, but it is the Self within the wife that is loved." Similarly no one loves a child or anything else in the world except on account of Him who is within. The Lord is the great magnet, and we are all like iron filings; all of us are being constantly attracted by Him, and all of us are struggling to reach Him. All this struggling of ours in this world is surely not intended for selfish ends. Fools do not know what they are doing; the work of their life is all to approach the great magnet. All the tremendous struggling and fighting in life is intended to make us go to Him ulti- mately and be one with Him. However, the Bhakti- Yogin knows the meaning of life's struggles; he understands it. He has passed through a long series of these struggles, and knows what they mean, and earnestly desires to be free from the friction thereof; he wants to avoid the clash and go direct to the centre of all attractions, the great Hari. This is the renunciation of the Bhakta; this mighty attraction, in the direction of God makes all other attractions vanish for him; this mighty infinite love of God which enters his heart leaves no place for any other love to live there. How can it be otherwise? Bhakti fills his heart with the divine waters of the ocean of love, which is God Himself; there is no place there for little loves. That is to say, the Bhakta s renuncia- tion is that vairdgya, or non-attachment for all things that are not God, which results from anurdga^ or great attachment to God. parA-bhakti. 309 This is the ideal preparation for the attainment of the supreme Bhakti. When this renunciation comes, the gate opens for the soul to pass through and reach the lofty regions of Supreme Devotion or Fard-Bhakti. Then it is that we begin to understand what Para- Bhakti {?>', and the man who has entered into the inner shrine of the Pard-Bhakti, he alone has the right to say that all forms and symbols are useless to him as aids to religious realisation. He alone has attained that supreme state of love commonly called the brother- hood of man; the rest only talk. He sees no distinc- tions; the mighty ocean of love has entered into him, and he sees not man in man, but beholds his Beloved everywhere. Through every face shines to him his Hari. The light in the sun or the moon is all His manifestation. Wherever there is beauty or sublimity, to him it is all His. Such Bhaktas are still living; the world is never without them. Such, though bitten by a serpent, only say that a messenger came for them from their Beloved. Such men alone have the right to talk of universal brotherhood. They feel no resent- ment; their minds never react in the form of hatred, or of jealousy. The external, the sensuous, has van- ished from them forever. How can they be angry, when, through their love, they are always able to see the Reality behind the scenes? 3IO PARA-BHAKTI. The Naturalness of Bhakti- Yoga and Its Central Secret. " Those who with constant attention always worship You, and those who worship the Undifferentiated, the Absolute, — of these who are the greater Yogifis?'' — Arjuna asked of Sri Krishna. The answer was: — " Those who concentrating their minds on Me worship Me with eternal constancy, and are endowed with the highest faith — they are My best worshippers, they are the greatest Yogins. Those that worship the Absolute, the Indescribable, the Undifferentiated, the Omnipres- ent, the Unthinkable, the All-comprehending, the Immovable, and the Eternal, by controlling the play of their organs and having the conviction of sameness in regard to all things, they also, being engaged in doing good to all beings, come to Me alone. But to those whose minds have been devoted to the unmani- fested Absolute, the difficulty of the struggle along the way is much greater, for it is indeed with great diffi- culty that the path of the unmanifested Absolute is trodden by any embodied being. Those who, having offered up all their work unto Me, with entire reliance in Me, meditate on Me and worship Me without any attachment to anything else — them I soon lift up from the ocean of death and ever-recurring birth, as their mind is wholly attached to Me." Jndtia-Yoga and Bhakti- Yoga are both referred to here. Both may be said to have been defined in the above passage. Jnd^ia- Yoga is grand; it is high philosophy; and almost every human being thinks, curiously enough, that he can PARA-BHAKTI. 3II surely do everything required of him by philosophy; but it is really very difficult to live truly the life of philosophy. We are often apt to run into great dan- gers in trying to guide our life by philosophy. This world may be said to be divided between persons of demoniacal nature, who think the care-taking of the body to be the be-all and the end-all of existence, and persons of godly nature who realise that the body is simply a means to an end, an instrument intended for the culture of the soul. The devil can and indeed does quote the scriptures for its own purposes; and thus the way of knowledge appears to offer justification to what the bad man does as much as it offers induce- ments to what the good man does. This is the great danger in J^ndna-Yoga. But Bhakti-Yoga is natural, sweet, and gentle; the Bhakta does not take such high flights as the j^ndfia- Yoghi^ and therefore he is not apt to have such big falls. Until the bondages of the soul pass away, it cannot of course be free, whatever may be the nature of the path that the religious man takes. Here is a passage showing how, in the case of one of the blessed Gopis^ the soul-binding chains of both merit and demerit wxre broken. " The intense pleasure in meditating on God took away the binding effects of her good deeds. Then her intense misery of soul in not attaining unto Him washed off all her sinful pro- pensities, and she became free." Tn Bhakti-Yoga the central secret is, therefore, to know that the various passions and feelings and emotions in the human heart are not wrong in themselves; only they have to be 312 parA-bhakti. carefully controlled and given a higher and higher direction, until they attain the very highest condition of excellence. The highest direction is that which takes us to God; every other direction is lower. We find that pleasure and pain are very common and oft- recurring feelings in our lives. When a man feels pain, because he has not got wealth or some such worldly thing, he is giving a wrong direction to the feeling. Still pain has its uses. Let a man feel pain that he has not reached the Highest, that he has not reached God, and that pain will be to his salvation. When you become glad that you have got a handful of coins, it is a wrong direction given to the faculty of joy; it should be given a higher direction, it must be made to serve the Highest Ideal. Pleasure in that kind of ideal must surely be our highest joy. This same thing is true of all our other feelings. The Bhakta says that not one of them is wrong, he gets hold of them all and points them unfailingly towards God. The Forms of Love-manifestation. Here are some of the forms in which love manifests itself. First there is reverence. Why do people show reverence to temples and holy places ? Because He is worshipped there, and His presence is associated with all such places. Why do people in every country pay reverence to teachers of religion? It is natural for the human heart to do so, because all such teachers preach the Lord. At bottom, reverence is a growth PARA-BHAKTI. 313 out of love; we can none of us revere him whom we do not love. Then comes Friti — pleasure in God. What an immense pleasure men take in the objects of their senses! They go anywhere, run through any danger, to get the thing which they love, the thing which their senses like. What is wanted of the Bhakta is this very kind of intense love which has, however, to be directed to God. Then there is the sweetest of pains, Viraha^ the intense misery due to the absence of the beloved. When a man feels intense misery, because he has not attained to God, has not known that which is the only thing worthy to be known, and becomes in consequence very dissatisfied and almost mad — then there is Viraha ; and this state of the mind makes it feel disturbed in the presence of anything other than the beloved. In earthly love we see how often this Viraha comes. Again, when men are really and mtensely in love with women, or women with men, they feel a kind of natural annoyance in the presence of all those whom they do not love. Exactly the same state of impatience, in regard to things that are not loved, comes to the mind, when Para- Bhakti holds sway over it; even to talk about things other than God becomes distasteful then. " Think of Him, think of Him alone, and give up all other vain words." Those who talk of Him alone, the Bhakta finds to be friendly to him; while those who talk of anything else appear to him to be unfriendly. A still higher stage of love is reached when life itself is maintained for the sake of the one Ideal of Love, when life itself is considered 314 PARA-BHAKTI. beautiful and worth living only on account of that Love. Without it, such a life would not remain even for a moment. Life is sweet because it thinks of the Beloved. Tadiyatd {Hisiiess) comes when a man becomes perfect according to Bhakti ; when he has become blessed, when he has attained to God, when he has touched the feet of God, as it were, his whole nature is purified and completely changed. All his purposes in life then become fulfilled. Yet, many such Bhaktas live on just to worship Him, That is the bliss, the only pleasure in life, which they will not give up. " Oh king, such is the blessed quality of Hari that even those, who have become satisfied with every- thing, all the knots of whose hearts have been cut asunder, even they love the Lord for love's sake" — the Lord " whom all the gods worship, all the lovers of liberation, and all the knowers of the Brahman.'' Such is the power of love. When a man has forgotten himself altogether, and does not feel that anything belongs to him, then he acquires the state of Tadiyatd; everything is sacred to him, because it belongs to the Beloved. Even in regard to earthly love the lover thinks that everything belonging to his beloved is so sacred and so dear to him. He loves even a bit of the cloth belonging to the darling of his heart. In the same way, when a person loves the Lord, the whole universe becomes so dear to him, because it is all His. PARA-BHAKTI. 315 Universal Love and How It Leads to Self-surrender. How can we love the vyashti^ the particular, without first loving the samas/tfi\ the universal? God is the samashti^ the generalised and the abstract universal whole; and the universe that we see is the vyashti^ the particularised thing. To love the whole universe is possible only by way of loving the samashti — the uni- versal — which is, as it were, the one unity in which are to be found millions and millions of smaller unities. The philosophers of India do not stop at the particu- lars; they cast a hurried glance at the particulars, and immediately start to find the generalised forms which will include all the particulars. The search after the universal is the one search of Indian philosophy and religion. The yndm'?i aims at the wholeness of things, at that one absolute and generalised Being, knowing which, he knows everything. The Bhakta wishes to realise that one generalised abstract Person, in loving Whom, he loves the whole universe. The Yogin wishes to have possession of that one generalised form of power, by controlling which he controls his whole uni- verse. The Indian mind, throughout its history, has been directed to this kind of singular search after the universal in everything — in science, in psychology, in love, in philosophy. So the conclusion to which the Bhakta comes is that, if you go on merely loving one person after another, you may go on loving them so for an infinite length of time without being in the least able to love the world as a whole. When, at last, the 3l6 PARA-BHAKTI. central idea is, however, arrived at, that the sum-total of all love is God, that the sum-total of the aspirations of all the souls in the universe, whether they be free, or bound, or struggling towards liberation, is God, then alone it becomes possible for any one to put forth universal love. God is the samashti^ and this visible universe is God differentiated and made manifest. If we love this sum-total, we love everything. Loving the world and doing it good will all come easily then; we have to obtain this power only by loving God first; otherwise it is no joke to do good to the world. " Everything is His and He is my Lover; I love Him," says the Bhakta. In this way everything becomes sacred to the Bhakta^ because all things are His. All are His children. His body, His manifestation. How then may we hurt any one ? How then may we not love any one ? With the love of God will come, as a sure effect, the love of every one in the uni- verse. The nearer we approach to God, the more do we begin to see that all things are in Him. When the soul succeeds in appropriating the bliss of this supreme love, it also begins to see Him in everything. Our heart will thus become an eternal fountain of love. And when we reach even higher states of this love, all the little differences between the things of the world are entirely lost; man is seen no more as man, but only as God; the animal is seen no more as animal, but as God; even the tiger is no more a tiger, but a manifesta- tion of God. Thus, in this intense state of Bhakti^ worship is offered to everyone, to every life, and to PARA-BHAKTI. 317 every being. " Knowing that Hari, the Lord, is in every being, the vv'ise have thus to manifest unswerving love towards all beings." As a result of this kind of intense all-absorbing love, comes the feeling of perfect self-surrender, the conviction that nothing that hap- pens is against us. Then the loving soul is able to say, if pain comes, "Welcome pain." If misery comes, it will say "Welcome misery, you are also from the Beloved." If a serpent comes, it will say ** Welcome serpent." If death comes, such a Bhakta will welcome it with a smile. " Blessed am I that they all come to me; they are all welcome." The Bhakta in this state of perfect resignation, arising out of intense love to God and to all that are His, ceases to distinguish between pleasure and pain in so far as they affect him. He does not know what it is to complain of pain or misery; and this kind of uncomplaining resignation to the will of God, who is all love, is indeed a worthier acquisition than all the glory of grand and heroic per- formances. To the vast majority of mankind, the body is every- thing; the body is all the universe to them; bodily enjoyment is their all in all. This demon of the wor- ship of the body and of the things of the body has entered into us all. We may indulge in tall talk, and take very high flights, but we are like vultures all the same; our mind is directed to the piece of carrion down below. Why should our body be saved, say, from the tiger? Why may we not give it over to the tiger? The tiger will thereby be pleased, and that is 3i8 parA-bhakti. not altogether so very far from self-sacrifice and wor- ship. Can you reach the realisation of such an idea in which all sense of self is completely lost? It is a very dizzy height on the pinnacle of the religion of love, and few in this world have ever climbed up to it; but until a man reaches that highest point of ever-ready and ever-willing self-sacrifice he cannot become a per- fect Bhakta. We may all manage to maintain our bodies more or less satisfactorily and for longer or shorter intervals of time. Nevertheless, our bodies have to go; there is no permanence about them. Blessed are they whose bodies get destroyed m the service of others. ** Wealth, and even life itself, the sage always holds ready for the service of others. In this world, there being one thing certain, viz.^ death, it is far better that this body dies in a good cause than in a bad one." We may drag our life on for fifty years or a hundred years; but after that, vvhat is it that happens ? Everything that is the result of combina- tion must get dissolved and die. There must and will come a time for it to be decomposed. Jesus and Bud- dha and Mohammed are all dead; all the great prophets and teachers of the world are dead. " In this evanes- cent world, where everything is falling to pieces, we have to make the highest use of what time we have," says the Bhakta j and really the highest use of life is to hold it at the service of all beings. It is the horrible body-idea that breeds all the selfishness in the world, just this one delusion that we are wholly the body we own, and that we must by all possible means try our parA-bhakti. 319 very best to preserve and to please it. If you know that you are positively other than your body, you have then none to fight with or struggle against; you are dead to all ideas of selfishness. So the Bhakta declares that we have to hold ourselves as if we are altogether dead to all things of the world; and that is indeed self- surrender. Let things come as they may. This is the meaning of "Thy will be done;" not going about fighting and struggling, and thinking all the while that God wills all our own weaknesses and worldly ambitions. It may be that good comes even out of our selfish strug- gles; that is, however, God's look out. The perfected Bhakta s idea must be never to will and work for him- self. ** Lord, they build high temples in Your name; they make large gifts in Your name; I am poor; I am nothing; so I take this body of mine and place it at Your feet. Do not give me up, O Lord." Such is the prayer proceeding out of the depths of the Bhakta' s heart. To him who has experienced it, this eternal sacrifice of the self unto the Beloved Lord is higher by far than all wealth and power, than even all soaring thoughts of renown and enjoyment. The peace of the Bhakta' s calm resignation is a peace that passeth all understanding, and is of incomparable value. His Aprdtikillya is a state of the mind in which it has no interests, and naturally knows nothing that is opposed to them. In this state of sublime resignation every- thing in the shape of attachment goes away completely, except that one all-absorbing love to Him in Whom all things live and move and have their being. This 320 PARA-BHAKTI. attachment of love to God is, indeed, one that does not bind the soul but effectively breaks all its bondages. The Higher Knowledge and the Higher Love are One to the True Lover. The Upanishads distinguish between a higher knowl- edge and a lower knowledge; and to the Bhakta there is really no difference between this higher knowledge and this higher love [Fara-bhakti). The Mundaka Upanishad says: — "The knowers of the Bi-ahmati declare that there are two kinds of knowledge worthy to be known, namely, the Higher {Para) and the Lower (Apard). Of these the Lower (knowledge) consists of the Rigveda^ the Yajurveda^ the Sdmaveda, the Atharvaveda^ the Sikshd (or the science dealing with pronunciation and accent), the Kalpa (or the sacrificial liturgy). Gram- mar, the Nirtikta (or the science dealing with etymology and the meaning of words). Prosody, and Astronomy; and the Higher (knowledge) is that by which that Unchangeable is known," The higher knowledge is thus clearly shown to be the knowledge of the Brah- man; and the Devi-Bhdgavata gives us the following definition of the higher love {Farj-bhakii)\ — " As oil poured from one vessel to another falls in an unbroken line, so, when the mind in an unbroken stream thinks of the Lord, we have what is called Pard-hhakti or supreme love." This kind of undisturbed and ever steady direction of the mind and the heart to the Lord with an inseparable attachment is indeed the highest PARA-BHAKTI. S^I manifestation of man's love to God. All other forms of Bhakti are only preparatory for the attainment of this highest form thereof, viz., the Pard-bhakti which is also known as the love that comes after attachment {Rdgdmigd). When this supreme love once comes into the heart of man, his mind will continuously think of God and remember nothing else.- He will give no room in himself to thoughts other than those of God, and his soul will be unconquerably pure, and will alone break all the bonds of mind and matter and become serenely free. He alone can worship the Lord in his own heart; to him forms, symbols, books and doctrines are all unnecessary and are incapable of proving ser- viceable in any way. It is not easy to love the Lord thus. Ordinarily human love is seen to flourish only in places where it is returned ; where love is not returned for love, cold indifference is the natural result. There are, however, rare instances in which we may notice love exhibiting itself even where there is no return of love. We may compare this kind of love, for purposes of illustration, to the love of the moth for the fire; the insect loves the fire, falls into it and dies. It is indeed in the nature of this insect to love so. To love, because it is the nature of love to love, is undeniably the highest and most unselfish manifestation of love that may be • seen in the world. Such love working itself out on the plane of spirituality necessarily leads to the attainment of PcA d-bhakti. 322 PARA-BHAKTI. The Triangle of Love. We may represent love as a triangle, each of the angles of which corresponds to one of its inseparable characteristics. There can be no triangle without all its three angles; and there can be no true love with- out its three following characteristics. The first angle of our triangle of love is that love knows no bargaining. Wherever there is any seeking for something in return, there can be no real love; it becomes a mere matter of shop-keeping. As long as there is in us any idea of deriving this or that favour from God in return for our respect and allegiance to Him, so long there can be no true love growing in our hearts. Those who wor- ship God because they wish Him to bestow favours on them are sure not to worship Him if those favours are not forthcoming. The Bhakta loves the Lord because He is lovable; there is no other motive originating or directing this divine emotion of the true devotee. We have heard it said that a great king once went into a forest and there met a sage. He talked with the sage a little and was very much pleased with his purity and wisdom. The king then wanted the sage to oblige him by receiving a present from him. The sage refused to do so, saying, ** The fruits of the forest are food enough for me; the pure streams of water flowing down from the mountains give enough of drink for me; the barks of the trees supply me with enough ot cover- ing; and the caves of the mountains form my home. Why should I take any present from you or from any- PARA-BHAKTI. 323 body ?" The king said, " Just to benefit me, sir, please take something from my hands, and please go with me to the city and to my palace." After much persuasion, the sage at last consented to do as the king desired, and went with him to his palace. Before offering the gift to the sage the king repeated his prayers, saying, " Lord, give me more children; Lord, give me more wealth; Lord, give me more territory; Lord, keep my body in better health;" and so on. Before the king finished saying his prayer the sage had got up and walked away from the room quietly. At seeing tms the king became perplexed and began to follow tiiiij, crying aloud, " Sir, you are going away, you have '101 taken my presents." The sage turned round anc said, " Beggar, I do not beg of beggars. You are a beggar yourself, and how can you give me anything? I am no fool to think of taking anything from a beggar like you. Go away, do not follow me." There is well brought out the distinction between mere beggars and the real lovers of God. To worship God even for the sake of salvation or any other reward is equally degene- rate. Love knows no reward. Love is always for love's sake. The Bhakta loves because he cannot help loving. When you see beautiful scenery and fall in love with it, you do not demand anything in the way of favour from the scenery; nor does the scenery demand anythmg from you. Yet the vision thereof brings you to a blissful state of the mind, it tones down all the friction in your soul, it makes you calm, almost raises you, for the time being, beyond your 324 PARA-BHAKTI. mortal nature, and places you in a condition of quite divine ecstasy; this nature of real love is the first angle of our triangle. Ask not anything in return for your love; let your position be always that of the giver; give your love unto God, but do not ask anything in return even from Him. The second angle of the triangle of love is that love knows no fear. Those that love God through fear are the lowest of human beings, quite undeveloped as men. They worship God from fear of punishment. He is a great Being to them, with a whip in one hand and the sceptre in the other; if they do not obey Him they are afraid they will be whipped. It is a degradation to worship God through fear of punishment; such worship is, if worship at all, the crudest form of the worship of love. So long as there is any fear in the heart, how can there be love also ? Love conquers naturally all fear. Think of a young mother in the street, and if a dog barks at her she is frightened; she flies into the nearest house. Suppose the same mother is in the street with her child; and a lion springs upon the child. Where then will the mother's place be? Of course at the mouth of the lion. Love does conquer all fear. Fear comes from the selfish idea of cutting one's self off from the universe. The smaller and the more self- ish I make myself, the more is my fear. If a man thinks he is a little nothing, fear will surely come upon him. And the less you think of yourself as an insignifi- cant person, the less fear will there be for you. So long as there is the least spark of fear in you there can be PARA-BHAKTI. 325 no love there. Love and fear are incompatible; God is never to be feared by those who love Him. The commandment, " Do not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," the true lover of God laughs at. How can there be any blasphemy in the religion of love? The more you take the name of the Lord, the better for you, in whatever way you may do it. You are only repeating His name because you love Him. The third angle of the love-triangle is that love knows no rival, for in it is always embodied the lover's highest ideal. True love never comes until the object of our love becomes to us our highest ideal. It may be that in many cases human love is misdirected and misplaced, but to the person who loves, the thing he loves is always his own highest ideal. One may see his ideal in the vilest of beings, and another in the highest of beings; nevertheless, in every case it is the ideal alone that can be truly and intensely loved. The highest ideal of every man is called God. Ignorant or wise, saint or sinner, man or woman, educated or uneducated, cultivated or uncultivated, to every human being the highest ideal is God. The synthesis of all the highest ideals of beauty, of sublimity^ and of power gives us the completest conception of the loving and lovable God. These ideals exist, in some shape or other, in every mind naturally; they form a part and parcel of all our minds. All the active manifestations of human nature are struggles of those ideals to become realised in practical life. All the various movements that we see around us in society are caused by the 326 PARA-BHAKTI. various ideals in various souls trying to come out and become concretised; what is inside presses on to come outside. This perennially dominant influence of the ideal is the one force, the one motive power, that may be seen to be constantly working in the midst of man- kind. It may be after hundreds of births, after strug- gling through thousands of years, that man finds out that it is vain to try to make the inner ideal mould completely the external conditions and square well with them; after realising this he no more tries to pro- ject his own ideal on the outside world, but worships the ideal itself as ideal, from the highest standpoint of love. This ideally perfect ideal embraces all lower ideals. Every one admits the truth of the saying that a lover sees Helen's beauty on an Ethiop's brow. The man who is standing aside as a looker-on sees that love is here misplaced, but the lover sees his Helen all the same, and does not see the Ethiop at all. Helen or Ethiop, the objects of our love are really the centres round which our ideals become crystallised. What is it that the world commonly worships? Not certainly this all-embracing ideally perfect ideal of the supreme devotee and lover. That ideal which men and women commonly worship is what is in themselves; every per- son projects his or her own ideal on the outside world and kneels before it. That is why we find that men who are cruel and bloodthirsty conceive of a blood- thirsty God, because they can only love their own highest ideal. That is why good men have a very 1>ARA-BHAKTI. 32^ high ideal of God; and their ideal is indeed so very- different from that of others. The God of Love is His own Proof. What is the ideal of the lover who has quite passed beyond the idea of selfishness, of bartering and bar- gaining, and who knows no fear? Even to the great God such a man will say — " I will give you my all, and I do not want anything from you; indeed there is nothing that I can call my own." When a man has acquired this conviction, his ideal becomes one of per- fect love, one of the perfect fearlessness of love. The highest ideal of such a person has no narrowness of particularity about it; it is love universal, love without limits and bounds, love itself, absolute love. This grand ideal of the religion of love is worshipped and loved absolutely as such without the aid of any symbols or suggestions. This is the highest form of Fard-bhakti^ the worship of such an all-comprehending ideal as the ideal; all the other forms of Bhakti ^xt, only stages on the way to reach it. All our failures and all our suc- cesses in following the religion of love are on the road to the realisation of that one ideal. Object after object is taken up, and the inner ideal is successively projected on it all; and all such external objects are found inadequate as exponents of the ever-expanding inner ideal, and are naturally rejected one after another. At last the aspirant begins to think that it is vain to try to realise the ideal in external objects, that all external objects are as nothing when compared with 328 PARA-BHAKTI. the ideal itself; and, in course of time, he acquires the power of realising the highest and the most generahsed abstract ideal entirely as an abstraction that is to him quite alive and real. When the devotee has reached this point, he is no more impelled to ask whether God can be demonstrated or not, whether He is omnipotent and omniscient, or not. To him He is only the God of Love; He is the highest ideal of love and that is sufficient for all his purposes; He, as love, is self-evi- dent; it requires no proofs to demonstrate the existence of the beloved to the lover. The magistrate-gods of other forms of religion may require a good deal of proof to prove them, but the Bhakta does not and can- not think of such gods at all. To him God exists entirely as Love. " None, O beloved, loves the hus- band for the husband's sake, but it is for the sake of the Self who is in the husband that the husband is loved; none, O beloved, loves the wife for the wife's sake, but it is for the sake of the Self who is in the wife that the wife is loved." It is said by some that self- ishness is the only motive power in regard to all human activities. That also is love lowered by being par- ticularised. When I think of myself as comprehending the universal, there can surely be no selfishness in me; but when I, by mistake, think that I am a little some- thing, my love becomes particularised and narrowed. The mistake consists in making the sphere of love nar- row and contracted. All things in the universe are of divine origin and deserve to beloved; it has, however, to be borne in mind that the love of the whole includes iPARA-BHAKTI. 329 the love of the parts. This whole is the God of the Bhaktas^ and all the other Gods, Fathers in Heaven, or Rulers, or Creators, and all theories and doctrines and books have no purpose and no meaning for them, seeing that they have through their supreme love and devotion risen above those things altogether. When the heart is purified and cleansed and filled to the brim with the divine nectar of love, all other ideas of God become simply puerile, and are rejected as being inade- quate or unworthy. Such is indeed the power of PanU Bhakti or Supreme Love ; and the perfected Bhakta no more goes to see God in temples and churches; he knows nowhere to go where he will not find Him. He finds Him in the temple as well as out of the temple; he finds Him in the saint's saintliness as well as in the wicked man's wickedness, because he has Him already seated in glory in his own heart, as the one almighty, inextinguishable Light of Love which is ever shining and eternally present Human Representations of the Divine Ideal of Love. It is impossible to express the nature of this supreme and absolute ideal of love in human language. Even the highest flight of human imagination is incapable of comprehending it m all its infinite perfection and beauty. Nevertheless, the followers of the religion of love in its higher as well as its lower forms have all along and in all countries had to use the inadequate human language to comprehend and to define their 330 PARA-BHAKTI. own ideal of love. Nay more; human love itself, in all its varied forms, has been made to typify this inex- pressible divine love. Man can think of divine things only in his own human way; to us the Absolute can be expressed only in our relative language. The whole universe is to us a writing of the infinite in the language of the finite. Therefore Bhaktas make use of all the common terms associated with the common love of humanity in relation to God and His worship of love. Some of the great writers on Fard-bhakti have tried to understand and experience this divine love in so many different ways. The lowest form in which this love is apprehended is what they call the peaceful ; the ^dnta. When a man worships God without the fire of love in him, without its madness in his brain, when his love is just the calm commonplace love, a little higher than mere forms and ceremonies and symbols, but not at all characterised by the madness of intensely active love, it is said to be Sdnta. We see some people in the world who like to move on slowly, and others who come and go like the whirlwind. The Sdnta-Bhkata is calm, peaceful, gentle. The next higher type is that of Ddsya (servantship) ; it comes when a man thinks he is the servant of the Lord. The attachment of the faithful servant unto the master is his ideal. The next is what is known as Vdtsalya^ loving God not as our Father but as our Child. This may look peculiar, but it is a dis- cipline to enable us to detach all ideas of power from the concept of God. The idea of power brings with it awe. There should be no awe in love. The ideas PARA-BHAKTI. 33 1 of reverence and obedience are necessary for the forma- tion of character, but when character is formed, when the lover has tasted the calm, peaceful love, and tasted also a little of its intense madness, then he need talk no more of ethics and discipline. To conceive God as mighty, majestic and glorious, as the Lord of the Uni- verse, or as the God of Gods, the lover says he does not care. It is to avoid this association with God of the fear-creating sense of power that he worships God as his own child. The mother and the father are not moved by awe in relation to the child; they cannot have any reverence for the child. They cannot think of asking any favour from the child. The child's position is always that of the receiver, and out of love for the child the parents will give up their bodies a hundred times over. A thousand lives they will sacri- fice for that one child of theirs, and therefore God is loved as a child. This idea of loving God as a child comes into existence and grows naturally among those religious sects which believe in the incarnation of God. To the Mahomedans it is impossible to have this idea of God as a child; they will shrink from it with a kind of horror. But the Christian and the Hindu can realise it easily, because they have the baby Jesus and the baby Krishna. The women in India often look upon themselves as Krishna's mothers ; Christian mothers also may take up the idea that they are all Christ's mothers, and it will bring to the West the knowledge of God's Divine Motherhood which they so much need. The superstitions of awe and reverence in relation to God 332 PARA-BHAKTI. are deeply rooted in the heart of our hearts, and it takes long years entirely to sink in love our ideas of reverence and veneration, of awe and majesty and glory with regard to God. The next type of love is Sakhya (friendship). " Thou art our beloved friend." Just as a man opens his heart to his friend, and knows that the friend will never chide him for his faults, but will always try to help him, just as there is the idea of equality between him and his friend, so equal love flows in and out between the wor- shipper and his friendly God. Thus God becomes our friend, the friend who is near, the friend to whom we may freely tell all the tales of our lives; the innermost secrets of our hearts we may place before him with the greatest assurance of safety and support; He is the friend whom the devotee accepts as an equal; God is viewed here as our playmate. We may well say that we are all playing in this universe. Just as children play their games, just as the most glorious kings and emperors play their own games, so is the Beloved Lord Himself in sport with this universe. He is perfect; He does not want anything. Why should He create? Activity is always with us for the fulfillment of a certain want, and want always presupposes imperfection. God is perfect; He has no wants. Why should He go on with this work of an ever active creation? What pur- pose has He in view? The stories about God creating this world, for some end or other that we imagine, are good as stories, but not otherwise. It is all really in sport; the universe is His play going on. The whole PARA-BHAKTI. 333 universe must after all be a big piece of pleasing fun to Him. If you are poor enjoy that as a fun; if you are rich enjoy the fun of being rich; if dangers come, it is also good fun; if happiness comes there is more good fun. The world is just a play-ground, and we are here having good fun, having a game, and God is with us playing all the while, and we are with Him playing. God is our eternal playmate. How beautifully He is playing! The play is finished, the cycle comes to an end. There is rest for a shorter or longer time, again all come out and play. It is only when you forget that it is all play, and that you are also helping in the play, it is only then that misery and sorrows come; then the heart becomes heavy, then the world weighs upon you with tremendous power; but as soon as you give up the serious idea of reality as the character- istic of the changing incidents of the three minutes of life, and know it to be but a stage on which we are playing, helping Him to play, at once misery ceases for you. He plays in every atom; He is playing when He is building up earths, and suns, and moons; He is playing with the human heart, with animals, with plants. We are his chessmen; He puts the chessmen on the board, and shakes them up. He arranges us first in one way and then in another, and we are con- sciously or unconsciously helping in His play. And Oh bliss! we are His playmates! There is one more human representation of the divine ideal of love. It is known as Madhura (sweet), and is the highest of all such representations. It is indeed 334 PARA-BHAKTI. based on the highest manifestation of love in this world, and this love is also the strongest known to man. What love shakes the whole nature of man, what love runs through every atom of his being, makes him mad, makes him forget his own nature, transforms him, makes him either a God or a demon as the love between man and woman? In this sweet representation of divine love God is our husband. We are all women; there are no men in this world; there is but the One Man, and that is He, our Beloved. All that love which man gives to woman, or woman to man, has here to be given up to the Lord. All the different kinds of love which we see in the world, and with which we are more or less playing merely, have God as the one goal ; only unfortunately man does not know the infinite ocean into which this mighty river of love is constantly flowing; and so, foolishly, he often tries to direct it to little dolls of human beings. The tremendous love for the child that is in human nature is not for the little doll of a child; if you bestow it blindly and exclusively on the child, you will suffer in consequence; but through such suffering will come the awakening by which you are sure to find out that the love which is in you, if it is given to any human being, will sooner or later bring pain and sorrow as the result. Our love must therefore be given to the Highest One, who never dies and never changes, to Him in the ocean of whose love there is neither ebb nor flow. Love must get to its right destination, it must go unto Him who is really the infinite ocean of love. All rivers flow into PARA-BHAKTI. 335 the ocean. Even the drop of water coming down from the mountain side cannot stop its course after reaching a brook or a river, however big it may be; at last even that drop somehow does find its way to the ocean, God is the one goal of all our passions and emotions. If you want to be angry, be angry with Him. Chide your Beloved, chide your Friend. Whom else can you safely chide? Mortal man will not patiently put up with your anger; there will be a reaction. If you are angry with me I am sure quickly to react, because I cannot patiently put up with your anger. Say unto the Beloved, " Why do You not come to me; why do You leave me thus alone? " Where is there any enjoy- ment but in Him? What enjoyment can there be in little clods of earth? It is the crystallised essence of infinite enjoyment that we have to seek, and that is in God. Let all our passions and emotions go up unto Him. They are meant for Him, for if they miss their mark and go lower, they become vile; and when they go straight to the mark, the Lord, even the lowest of them becomes transfigured; all the energies of the human body and mind, howsoever they may express themselves, have the Lord as their one goal, as their Ekdyana. All loves and all passions of the human heart must go to God. He is the Beloved; whom else can this heart love? He is the most beautiful, the most sublime, He is beauty itself; sublimity itself. Who in this universe is more beautiful than He? Who in this universe is more fit to become the husband than He? Who in this universe is fitter to be loved than He? 336 PARA-BIIAKTI. So let Him be the husband, let Him be the Beloved. Often it so happens that divine lovers who sing of this divine love accept the language of human love in all its aspects as adequate to describe it. Fools do not understand this; they never will. They look at it only with the physical eye. They do not understand the mad throes of this spiritual love. How can they? " One kiss of Thy lips, O Beloved! He that has been kissed by Thee, his thirst for Thee goes on increasing for ever, all his sorrows vanish, and he forgets all things except Thee." Aspire after that kiss of the Beloved, that touch of His lips which makes the Bhakta mad, which makes of man a god. To him, who has been blessed with such a kiss, the whole of nature changes, worlds vanish, suns and moons die out and the universe itself melts away into that one infinite ocean of love. That is the perfection of the madness of love. Aye, the true spiritual lover does not rest even there; even the love of husband and wife is not mad enough for him. The Bhaktas take up also the idea of illegitimate love, because it is so strong; the impropriety of it is not at all the thing they have in view. The nature of this love is such that the more obstructions there are for its free play the more pas- sionate it becomes. The love between husband and wife is smooth, there are no obstructions there. So the Bhaktas take up the idea of a girl who is in Irve with her own beloved man, and her mother or father or hus- band, objects to such love; the more anybody obstructs the course of her love the more is her love tending to parA-bhakti. 337 grow in strength. Human language cannot describe how Krishna was in the groves of Brinda, how madly he was loved, how at the sound of his voice all rushed out to meet him, the ever blessed Gopis^ forgetting everything, forgetting this world and its ties, its duties, its joy and its sorrows. Man, oh man, you speak of divine love and at the same time are able to attend to all the vanities of this world — are you sincere? ' 'Where Rama is, there is no room for any desire — where desire is there is no room for Rama: these never co- exist — like light and darkness they are never together. * * Conclusion. When this highest ideal of love is reached philosophy is thrown away; who will then care for it? Freedom, Salvation, Nirvdna — all are thrown away; who cares to become free while in the enjoyment of divine love? *' Lord, I do not want wealth, nor friends, nor beauty, nor learning, nor even freedom; let me be born again and again, and be Thou ever my Love." Be Thou ever and ever my Love. " Who cares to become sugar," says the Bhakta^ " I want to taste sugar." Who will then desire to become free and one with God? " I may know that I am He, yet will I take myself away from Him and become different, so that I may enjoy the Beloved." That is what the Bhakta says. Love for love's sake is his highest enjoyment. Who will not be bound hand and foot a thousand times over to enjoy the Beloved? No Bhakta cares for anything except 32 338 PARA-BHAKTI. love, except to love and be loved. His unworldly love is like the tide rushing up the river; this lover goes up the river, against the current. The world calls him mad. I know one whom the world used to call mad, and this was his answer. " My friends, the whole world is a lunatic asylum; some are mad after worldly love, some after name, some after fame, some after money, some after salvation and going to heaven. In this big lunatic asylum I am also mad, I am mad after God. If you are mad after money, I am mad after God. You are mad; so am I. I think my madness is after all the best." The true Bkaktas love is this burning madness, before which everything else vanishes for him. The whole universe is to him full of love and love alone; that is how it seems to the lover. So when a man has this love in him, he becomes eternally blessed, eternally happy; this blessed madness of divine love alone can cure for ever the disease of the world that is in us. We all have to begin as dualists in the religion of love. God is to us a separate being, and we feel our- selves to be separate beings also. Love then comes in the middle, and man begins to approach God, and God also comes nearer and nearer to man. Man takes up all the various relationships of life, as father, as mother, as son, as friend, as master, as lover; and projects them on his ideal of love, on his God. To him God exists as all these, and the last point of his progress is reached when he feels that he has become absolutely merged in the object of his worship. We all begin PARA-BHAKTI. 339 with love for ourselves, and the unfair claims of the little self make even love selfish; at last, however, comes the full blaze of light in which this little self is seen to have become one with the one Infinite. Man him- self is so transfigured in the presence of this Light of Love. His heart is cleansed of all impurities and vain desires of which it was more or less full before; and he realises at last the beautiful and inspiring truth that Love, Lover and the Beloved are one. GLOSSARY [wi A FEW SIMPLE HELPS TO PRONUNCIATION d like a in iav\ H like oo in \.oo ; a almost like u in b«t; / like sh in j>^ip; ^ like ^ in n^zme; ch like ^>^ in x\ck ; i like ^^ in see j at like / in fine. No attempt is made to give the finer distinctions of Sanskrit pronunciation, as a thorough knowledge of the language would be needed to grasp them. In this glossary are to be found words commonly used in books and pamphlets on Vedanta, is well as those that are employed in this volume. [3431 GLOSSARY Ahhaya Fearlessness. Abhdva Bereft of quality. Abheda Non-separateness ; sameness; without distinction. Abhidhyd Not coveting others* goods, not thinking vain thoughts, not brooding over injuries received from others. Abhighdta Impediment. Abhimdna Pride. Abhinivesa Attachment to life. Abhydsa Practice. Achdrya Great spiritual teacher. Adarsa A mirror — a term sometimes used to denote the finer power of vision developed by the Yogf. Adhidaivika Supernatural. Adhikdri One qualified as a seeker of wisdom. Aditi The infinite, the goddess of the sky. Aditya The Sun. Adityas Twelve planetary spirits. [343] 344 GLOSSARY. Adharma Absence of virtue; unright- eousness. Adrogha Not injuring. Adrogha- Vdk One who does not harm others even by words. Advaiia » . . . ( 4-dvaiio^) Non-dualism. The monistic system of Vedanta philosophy. Advaitin A follower of Advaita. Adhydsa Reflection, as the crystal re- flects the color of the object before it. Superimposition of qualities of one object over another, as of the snake on the rope. Agni The god of fire. Later, the Supreme God of the Vedas. Aham "I." Aham-Brahmdsmi "I am Brahman. " Ahamkdra Egoism. Self-consciousness. Ahdra Gathering in, — as food to sup- port the body or the mind. Aht7nsd Non-injuring in thought, word, or deed. Ahimsaka . . One who practises Aht^nsd. Ajnd The sixth lotos of the Yogis^ corresponding to a nerve- centre in the brain, behind the eyebrows. Divine per' ception. GLOSSARY. 345 Ajndta One who has attained divine wisdom. Akdia The all-pervading material of the universe. Akbar Mogul Emperor of India, 1542- 1605. Akhanda Undivided. Akhanda-Satchiddnanda. *'The undivided Existence- Knowledge-Bliss Abso- lute." Alambana Objective contemplation. The things which are supports to the mind in its travel Godwards. Amritatvam Immortality. Andhata lit. " unstruck sound. " The fourth lotos of the Yogis in the Suiunind^ opposite the heart. Anafida Bliss. Ananya-Bhakti Worship of one particular Deity in preference to all others. In a higher sense, it is seeing all Deities as but so many forms of the One God. Singleness of love and worship. Anavasdda.,, ., Cheerfulness, not becoming dejected. Strength, both mental and physical. 346 GLOSSARY. Anifnd Attenuation. Antahkarana Internal organ. The mind with its three functions, the cogitative faculty, the de- terminative faculty and the egoism. Antarydmin The name of livara^ — mean- ing, He who knows every- thing that is going on within {antara) every mind. Antardrdma The Yogi who rests in the final contemplation of the Su- preme Lord, (livara). Anubhava Realization. Anuddharsa Absence of excessive merri- ment. Anumdna Inference. Anurakti. . The attachment that comes after the knowledge of the nature of God. Anurdga, Great attachment to livara. Anuvdda A statement referring to some- thing already known. Apakshiyate To decay. Apdnd One of the five manifestations of prdna. The nerve-cur- rent in the body which gov- erns the organs of excre- tion. Aparapratyaksha Super-sensuous perception. GLOSSARY. 347 Apardvidyd Lower knowledge; knowledge of externals. Aparigraha Non-receiving of gifts; not in- dulging in luxuries. Apas o. One of the elements; water; liquid. AprdtiMlya State of sublime resignation. Apia One who has attained to reali- zation of God; one who is self-illumined. Aptavdkyavt Words of an Apia. Apiira Merit. Aranyakas The ancient Rishis^ dwellers in the forest, also a name given to the books composed by them. Aristha Portents or signs by which a Yogi can foretell the exact time of his death. Arjavafrt « Straight-forwardness. A?'jufia The hero of the Bhagavad Gitd^ to whom Krishna (in the form of a charioteer) taught the great truths of the Veddnta Philosophy. Artha Meaning. Arthavattva Fruition. Arfipa (^A-riipd) Without form. Arydvarta The land of the Aryans. The name applied by the Hindus to Northern India. 348 GLOSSARY. Asamprajndta The highest super-conscious state. Asana Position ot the body during meditation. Asat Non-being or existence. Op- posite of Sat. AppUed to the changing existence of the universe. Asmitd Non-discrimination. Aioka A noted Buddhist King, 259- 222 B. C. Airama , . . . Hermitage. Asvdda.^,^ lit. *' taste," — applied to the finer faculty of taste devel- oped by the Yogi. Asteyam Non-stealing. Asti. To be, or exist. Atharva Veda That portion of the Veda wh.oh treats of psychic powers. Athdto Brahma-jijndid. . ** Then therefore, the enquiry into Brahman^ \yeddnta Sutra, i-i-I.] Atikrdnia-Chavaniya . . . The stage of meditation which ends with what is called ** Cloud (or Showerer) of Virtue " Samddhi. Atithi A guest. Aiman The Eternal Self. Avarana Coverings (of the mind^ Avatdra A divine Incarnation. GLOSSARY. 349 Avidyd Ignorance. Avritti -rasakrit-upadddt ''Repetition (of the mental functions of knowing, medi- tating, etc., is required) on account of the text giving in- structions more than once." yVeddnta Sutra^ i-i-IV. ] Avyaktam Indiscrete ; undifferentiated. Stage of nature, when there is no manifestation. Bdhya-Bhakti External devotion (as worship through rites, symbols, cere- monials, etc., of God). Bandha Bondage. Banyan- Tree (JPicus I?idica') Indian fig tree; the branches drop roots to the ground, which grow and form new trunks. Bhagavad-Gitd "The Holy Song." A gem of Indian literature contain- ing the essence of the Veddnia Philosophy. Bhagavdn lit. " Possessor of all powers." A title meaning Great Lord. Bhagavdn Rdmakrishna . A great Hindu prophet and teacher of the 19th century, 1835-1886. [See " Life and Sayings of Srt Rdfnakrishna'^ by F, Max Miiller. London, 1898. Longmans, Green & Co., and Charles Scribner's Sons. New York.] 350 GLOSSARY. Bhdgavata-Purdna One of the principal Purdnas, Bhakta A great lover of God. Bhakti Intense love for God. Bhakti- Yoga , Union with the Divine through devotion. Bharaia A great Yogi who suffered much from his excessive attachment to a deer which he brought up as a pet. Bhdshya A commentary. Bhautika Pertaining to the BMtas^ or elements. Bhdvand Pondering; meditation. Bheda Separateness. Bhikshu A religious mendicant, a term now usually applied to the Buddhist monks. Bhoga Enjoyment of sense objects. Bhoja The annotator of the Yoga Aphorisms. BMias Gross elements. Bodha Intelligence. Brahmd The Creator of the universe. Brahmacharya Chastity in thought, word and deed. Brahmachdrin, One who has devoted himself to continence and the pur- suit of spiritual wisdom. Brahman The One Existence, the Abso- lute. GLOSSARY. 351 Brahmaloka The world of Brahmd^ the highest heaven. Brdhmana o . . A " twice-born man," a Brah- min. Brdhmanas Those portions of the Vedas which state the rules for the employment of the hymns at the various ceremonials. Each of the four Vedas has its own Brdhmana. Brahma- Sutra-Bhdshya. Commentary on the aphorisms of Veddnta. Brahmavddin Teacher of Brahman^ one who speaks or teaches of Brah man or Absolute Being. Brahmavidyd Knowledge of Brahman^ the supreme wisdom that leads to Mtikti. Brahmayoga The Yoga which leads to the realization of the Brahman. (Chap. VIII of the Bhagavad Gitd is called by that name). Brahmin An Anglicized form of Brdh- mana^ a member of the Brdhmana caste. Buddha lit. "The Enlightened,'* the name given to one of the greatest Incarnations recog- nized by the Hindus, born sixth century B. C. Buddhi The determinative faculty. 352 GLOSSARY. Chaitanya Pure intelligence. Name of a great Hindu sage (born 1485) who is regarded as a Divine Incarnation. Chdndogya Upanishad. . . One of the oldest Upanishads of the Sdma- Veda. Chdrvdka A materialist. Chiddkdid The space of knowledge, where the Soul shines in its own nature. Chitia "Mind-stuff." (The fine ma- terial out of which the mind has been manufactured). Chittdkdid The mental space. Dakshind Offering made to a priest, or teacher, at religious cere- monies. Dama •...,. Control of the organs. Ddna Charity. Ddsya " Servantship ;" the state of being a devoted servant of God. Dayd ••.•••..•• Mercy, compassion, doing good to others without hope of return. Deha , Matter, gross body. Devadatta. *' God-given. " Devas The *' shining ones," semi-di- vine beings representing states attained by workers of good. GLOSSARY. 353 Devaloka Abode of the gods. Devaydna The path which leads to the sphere of the gods, or the different heavens. Devi-Bhdgavata One of the Purdnas^ which describes the deeds of the Divine Mother. Dhdrand Holding the mind to one thought for twelve seconds. Concentration. Dharfna , Virtue. Religious duty. Dharma-megha " Cloud of virtue, " (applied to a kind of Samddhi^. Dhydna Meditation. Dhydnamdrga The way to knowledge through meditation. Dvandas Dualities in nature, as heat and cold, pleasure and pain, etc., etc. Dvesha Aversion. Dydva-Prithivt Heaven (and) Earth. Ekdgra Concentrated state of the mind. Ekam One. Eka-Nisthd Intense devotion to one chosen ideal. Ekdnta-Bhakti. Singleness of love and devo- tion to God. 23 354 GLOSSARY. Ekdtma- Vddam Monism. The theory, accord- ing to which there is only one intelligent Entity. Pure idealism. Ekdyana The one stay or support of all things, — hence the Lord. Ganipaii. One of the Hindu deities. Gatieia A woman-sage mentioned in the Upanishads. She prac- tised Yoga and attained to the highest super-conscious state. Gdrgi God of wisdom and * * remover of obstacles." He is always invoked at the commence- ment of every important undertaking. Gaunt , . . Preparatory stage of Bhakti- Yoga. Gdyatri ,, A certain most holy verse of the Vedas, Ghaia , . . A jar. Gopis Shepherdesses, worshippers of Krishna. Grahana Sense-perception. Grihastha A householder, head of a fam- iiy. Gunas Qualities, attributes GLOSSARY. 355 Guru lit. "the dispeller of dark- ness." A religious teacher who removes the ignorance of the pupil. The x^^Xgiiru is a transmitter of the spirit- ual impulse that quickens the spirit and awakens a genuine thirst for religion. Hamsa The Jiva^ or individual soul. Hanumdn The great Bhakta hero of the Rimdyana. Hart. lit. " One who steals the hearts and reason of all by His beauty," hence the Lord, a name of God. Hatha Yoga The science of controlling body and mind, but with no spirit- ual end in view, bodily per- fection being the only aim. Hatha- Yogi {or Yogi ?{).. One who practices 'Hatha- Yogay Hiranyagarbha lit. "golden wombed." Ap- plied to Brahma^ the Crea- tor, as producing the uni- verse out of Himself. Hum A mystic word used in medi- tation as symbolic of the highest Bliss. Jdd The nerve current on the left side of the spinal cord; the left nostril. 356 GLOSSARY. Indra Ruler of the gods. Indriydni Sense organs. Indriyas The internal organs of percep- tion. lidna One of the devas. Ishiam Chosen ideal (from " ish^ " to wish). That aspect of God which appeals to one most. Ishta Nisthd Devotion to one ideal. IshidpiHrta The works which bring as re- ward the enjoyments of the heavens. Ikjara The Supreme Ruler; the high- est possible conception through reason, of the Ab- solute, which is beyond all thought. livarapranidhdna Meditation on livara. livara Pranidhdftddvd . . A Slltra of Patanjali — entitled " By worship of the Supreme Lord." Jada Inanimate. Jdgrat Waking state. Jdti Species. Jdyate To be born. jiva,. The individual soul. The one Self as appearing to be sepa- rated into different entities; corresponding to the ordi- nary use of the word ^^soul" GLOSSARY. 357 Jivatman The At?nan manifesting as the Jiva. Jivan Mukta Ht. "Living Freedom." One who has attained hberation {Mukti) even while in the body. /nana Pure intelligence. Knowledge. Jndna-chaksu One whose vision has been purified by the realization of the Divine. Jndnakdnda The knowledge portion or philosophy of the Vedas. Jndna-yajna *' Wisdom-Sacrifice." Perfect unselfishness, purity and goodness which lead to /nana, or supreme wisdom (^Moksha). /ndni [or /fidntn^ One who seeks liberation through pure reason or philosophy. Kaivalya Isolation. Oneness with Ab- solute Being. Kdla Time. Kalpa A cycle (in evolution). Kalydna Blessings. Kama Desire. Kapila ^. . , Author of the Sdnkhya Phi- losophy, and the father of the Hindu Evolutionists. Kapilavastu Birthplace of Gautama the Buddha. Kdrikd A running commentary. 358 GLOSSARY. Karma Work or action, also effects of actions; the law of cause and effect in the moral world. Karmakd?ida The ritualistic portion of the Vedas. Karmendriyas Organs of action. Karma- Yoga Union with the Divine through the unselfish performance of duty. Khanda Differentiated, or divided ; di- vision. Klesa Troubles. Krishna An Incarnation of God who appeared in India about 1400 B. C. Most of his teachings are embodied in the Bhagavad Gitd. Kriyd Action, ritual, ceremonial. Kriyamdna • The Karma we are making at present. Kriyd' Yoga Preliminary Yoga^ the perform- ance of such acts as lead the mind higher and higher. Kshaiia Moments. Kshatriya Member of the warrior (or second) caste of ancient India. Kshetra lit. " the perishable," also " a field." Applied to the human body (as the field of action.) GLOSSARY. 359 Kshetrajna The knower of Kshetra. (Gita, Chap. XII.) The soul. Kiimbhaka Retention of the breath in the practice oi pt'dndydma. Kiindalini lit. " the coiled-up." The residual energy, located ac- cording to the Yogts^ at the base of the spine, and which in ordinary men produces dreams, imagination, psychi- cal perceptions, etc., and which, when fully aroused and purified, leads to the direct perception of God. fCunti o The mother of the five Fdmla- z'as, the heroes who opposed the Kauravas at the battle oi Kurukshetra^ the account of which forms the principal theme of the Mahdbhdrata, the Indian epic. Kurma , The name of a nerve upon which the Yogis meditate. fCu7-ma-Purdna One of the eighteen principal Purdnas. Ku§a A kind of Indian grass used in religious rites. Madhubhumiba The second stage of the Yogi when he gets beyond the ar- gumentative condition. 360 GLOSSARY. Madhumati lit. ** honeyed. " The state when knowledge gives satis- faction as honey does. Mathurd Sweet. That form of ^/^aM in which the relation of the devotee towards God is like that of a loving wife to her husband. Madvdchdrya Commentator of the dualistic school of the Vedanta phi- losophy. Mahdkdia lit. "Great space" (applied to ordinary space). Mahdpurusha Great Soul. (Incarnation.) Mahat lit. " The great one. " Cosmic intelligence. Mahattattva Great principle. The ocean of intelligence evolved first from indiscrete nature, ac- cording to Sdnkhya philos- ophy. Mahdyoga. Seeing the Self as one with God. Maitriya lit. " Full of compassion." The name of a Hindu sage. Manas The deliberative faculty of the mind. Mantra Any prayer, holy verse, sacred or mystic word recited or contemplated during wor- ship. GLOSSARY. 361 Mantra-drashtd " Seer of thought." One pos- sessed of super-sensuous knowledge. ManipHra lit. " Filled with jewels." The third lotos of the Yogis^ op- posite the navel (in the Suhi?nnd). Mdtrds Seconds. Matha Monastery. Mathurd [Now known as " MuUrd''\ Birth-place of Krishna. Mdyd Mistaking the unreal and phe- nomenal for the real and eternal. Commonly trans- lated illusion, (lit. '* which baffles all measurement.") Mhndnsd lit. " Solution of a problem. " One of the six schools of Indian philosophy. Moksha Freedom, liberation (^Mukti'). Moksha-dharma The virtues which lead to lib- eration of the soul. Mrityu Death. Another name for Yama. Mukti Emancipation from rebirth. M^ldd/idra The basic lotos of the Yogis. Mu?nukhitvam Desire for liberation. Mu7idaka- Upanishad. . . . One of the twelve principal Upanishads. Muni. A (religious) sage. 362 GLOSSARY. Ndda Sound, finer than is heard by our ears. Ndda-Brahma The '' ^omvk^- Brahman.'' The Om, that undifferentiated Word, which has produced all manifestation. Nddi A tube along which something flows — as the blood cur- rents, or nervous energies. Nddi-suddhi lit. " Purification of the chan- nel through which the nerve currents flow," One of the elementary breathing exer- cises. Naiithika One possessed of a singleness of devotion towards a high ideal of life. Namah Salutation. Ndma-r-dpa Name and form. Ndmaiakti The power of the name of God. Narada The great " god-intoxicated " sage of ancient India, who is reputed to have possessed all the "powers" described in Yoga philosophy. Ndrada- Sutra The Aphorisms of Narada on Bhakti. Ndrdyana ''Mover on the waters," a title of Vishnu. GLOSSARY. 363 Naiardja lit. "Lord of the stage." Sometimes used for God as the Lord of this vast stage the universe. ''Neti.Netr ♦* Not this, not this.'* Nimitta Operative cause. Nirdlatnbana lit. " Supportless," a very high stage of meditation, accord- ing to Yoga philosophy. Nirbija lit. "Without seed." The highest form of Samddhi or super-conscious state of the mind according to Yoga philosophy. Nirguna Without attributes or quali- ties. Nishkdmakartna Unselfish action. To do good acts without caring for the results. Nitya Permanent, eternal. Nirukta Science dealing with etymol- ogy and the meaning of words. Nirvdna Freedom ; extinction or "blow- ing out " of delusions. Nh'vichdra Without discrimination. Nirvikalpa Changeless. Nirvitarka Without question or reasoning. Nivritti ** Revolving away from." Nishthd Singleness of attachment. 364 GLOSSARY. Niyama The virtues of cleanliness, contentment, mortification, study and self-surrender. Nydya The school of Indian logic. The science of logical phi- losophy. Ojas lit. "The illuminating or bright." The highest form of energy attained by a con- stant practice of continence and purity. Om or Omkdra The most holy word of the Vedas. A symbolic word meaning the Supreme Being, the Ocean of Knowledge and Bliss Absolute. Om tat sat lit. " Om That Existence. " That Ocean of Knowledge and Bliss Absolute, the only Reality. Pada Foot. Pdda Chapter. . Pard Supreme. Pard-Bhakti Supreme devotion. Paramaha??isa Supreme soul. Pardvidyd Highest knowledge. Parinamate To ripen. Parjanya God of rain, and of the clouds. Patanjali Founder of the Yoga School of Philosophy. GLOSSARY. 365 Pingald The nerve-current on the right side of the spinal cord; also the right nostril. Pingald A courtesan who abandoned her vicious life and became remarkable for her piety and virtue. Pitris Forefathers, ancestors. Pradhdna lit. ''The chief." The prin- cipal element; a name used for nature in Sdnkya phi- losophy. Prajnd Highest knowledge which leads to the realization of the Deity. Prajndjyoti One who has been illumined with knowledge transcend- ing the senses. Prakriti Nature. Prakritilayas :... Souls that have got all the powers that nature has by becoming one with nature. Prahldda The chief of Bhaktas. [Devo- tees.] Pramdna Means of proof. Prameya Correct cognition. Prdna The sum total of the cosmic energy, the vital forces of the body. Prdndydma Controlling the prdna. 366 GLOSSARY. Pranidhdna Unceasing devotion. Frdrabdha The works or Karma whose fruits we have begun to reap in this life. Prasankhydna Abstract contemplation. Pratha7nakalpika Argumentative condition of the conscious Yogi. Pratibhd. . , Divine illumination. Pratika lit. "Going towards." A finite symbol standing for the infinite Brahman. Pratimd The use of images as sym- bols. Prativishaya That which is applied to the different objects, /. ^., the organs of sense. Pratydhdra Making the mind introspec- tive. Praiyagdtman The internal self; the self- luminous. Pratyakshafn .,, . Direct perception. Pravritti " Revolving towards." Priii Pleasure in God. Prithivi , One of the elements; earth; solids. Piiraka Inhalation. Purdnas Writings containing the Hindu mythology. Puruia The Soul. Piirva-paksha The prima facie view. GLOSSARY. 367 Q'uran The Mahommedan Scriptures Rdga Attachment to those things that please the senses. Rdgdnugd , The highest form of love and attachment to the Lord. Raja lit. " To shine." Royal. Raja Hamsa Swan. Rajas Activity. One of the three principles which form the essence of nature. Raja Yoga lit. "Royal yogar The science of conquering the internal nature, for the pur pose of realizing the Divin ity within. Rdkshasa A demon. Rdmdnuja A noted commentator of the Vishiitadvaita School of Phi- losophy (qualified monistic). Rdma An Incarnation of God, and hero of the celebrated epic — the '"'' Rd7ndyana.'' Rdmdyatii, A celebrated Indian epic poem written by Valmiki, a sage. Rang A symbolic word for the high- est wisdom. Rasdyanas The alchemists of ancient India. Rechaka Exhalation. 368 GLOSSARY. Big-Veda Oldest portion of the Vedas^ composed of hymns. Eishi lit. " Seer of mantras " (thoughts). One possessed of super-sensuous knowl- edge. Ritambhardprajna One whose knowledge is truth- supporting. Rudra A name of a Vedic god. ^abda Sound. \ Sabdabrahma The creative word correspond- ing to the Logos. ^abda Nishtham Jag€t , , "Through sound the world stands." Sabija Yoga " Seeded " meditation (that is " where all seeds of future Kavftia are not yet de- stroyed). Saguna With qualities. Saguna-Brahma The qualified or lower Brah- man. Saguna-vidyd Qualified knowledge. Sahairdra The "thousand-petalled lotos," a figurative expression of the Yogis describing the brain. Sakhya Friendship. Sakti Power. Sdlokva Dwelling in the presence of God. GLOSSARY. 369 Sama Not allowing the mind to ex- ternalize. Sdffia- Veda The hymn portion of the Vcda^ or that portion which was sung during the ceremonies. Samddhi Super-consciousness. Safiiddhdna Constant practice. Samdna o The nerve current that controls the function of digestion. ^dmdnyatadrishta Inference based on superficial reasoning. Samdpatti lit. " Treasures. " Used in Yoga philosophy to indicate the different stages of medi- tation. Samarasa Equality. Samasti The universal. Sdfnipya Closeness to God. Samprajndia The first stage of super-con- sciousness which comes through deep meditation. Samsdra Endless cycle of manifestation. Samskdras Impressions in the mind-stuff that produce habits. Samyama lit. ** Control. " In the Yoga philosophy it is technically used for that perfect control of the powers of the mind, by which the Yogz ca.n know anything in the universe. 24 370 GLOSSARY. Sdnandam The " blissful Samddhi.'* The third step of the samprajndta samddhi. The object of meditation in this state is the " thinking organ " bereft of activity and dullness. (^Rajas and Tamas.) Sanchita The stored up, past Karnia^ whose fruits we are not reap- ing now, but which we shall have to reap in the future. Sdndilya Writer of the Aphorisms of Divine Love {Bhakti^ ^-^"^ the Advaita point of view. ^ankardcMrya The great exponent and com- mentator of the non-dualistic school of Vedanta. He is supposed to have lived in India about the eighth cen- tury A. D. Sdnkhya lit. " That which reveals truth perfectly." The name of a famous system of Indian philosophy, founded by the great sage Kapila. Sankocha ...» Shrinking, contraction or non- manifestation. Sannydsa Complete renunciation of all worldly position, property and name. GLOSSARY. 371 Sannydsin One who makes Sannydsa, and lives a life of self-sacrifice, devoting himself entirely to religion. Santa Peaceful or gentle love. Sdnta-Bhakta A devotee who has attained to peace through the path of Divine love. Sdntih Peace. Santoia Contentment. Sdrupya Growing like God. Sdstra Books accepted as Divine au- thority. Sacred Scriptures. Sat Existence-Absolute. Satchiddnanda " Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute." Sattva Illumination material. One of the three principles which form the essence of nature. Sattva-purshdnvatdkhydti The perception of the Self as different from the principles of nature. Sdttvika Having the Sattva quality highly developed, hence one who is pure and holy. Satyam Truthfulness. Saucham Cleanliness. Savichdra With discrimination. (Amode of meditation.) 372 GLOSSARY. Saviiarka Meditation with reasoning or question. Sdyujya . . . , Unity with Brahman. Sdkshi Witness. Siddha-Guru A teacher who has attained Mukti. Siddhd7ita , Decisive knowledge. Siddhas Semi-divine beings, or Yogis ^ who have attained super- natural powers. Siddhis The supernatural powers which come through the practice of Yoga. Sikshd The science dealing with pro- nunciation and accents. &ishya , A student or disciple of a Guru. ^iva o The " Destroyer " of the Hindu trinity. Sometimes regarded in the Hindu mythology as the One God. !Stvoham »- , " I am ^iva'' (or eternal bliss). ^loka Verse. Smriti (i) Memory. (2) Any authori- tative religious book, ex- cept the Vedas. Soham **IamHe." Soma A certain plant, the juice of which was used in the ancient sacrifices. GLOSSARY. 373 Sphota The eternal, essential material of all ideas or names, which makes words possible, yet is not any definite word in a fully formed state. The in- expressible Manifestor be- hind all the expressed, sensi- ble universe. The power through which the Lord creates the universe. Its symbol is the eternal Om. ^rdddhd Strong faith in religion. ^ravana (i) Hearing, the ears. (2) The finer power of hearing de- veloped by the Yogi. ^ri , Holy, or blessed. ^ri Bhdshya Name of the qualified non- dualistic commentary of Vedanta by Rdmanuja, ^rotiyas ...•. lit. ** High born," or born of a noble family. The Hindu ^ students who know the Vedds by heart. ^ruti, . , The Vedas, so called because transmitted orally from father to son in ancient times. The Vedas are re- garded by all orthodox Hindus as Divine revelation and as the supreme author- ity in religious matters. 374 GLOSSARY. Sthiii Stability. Sthula ^arira Gross body. ^ukshma ^arira [some- times called " Lifiga ^arira "] Fine or subtle body. ^unya Vdda Doctrine of the void ; nihilism. Sushupti Deep, dreamless sleep. Sushumnd The name given by the Yogis to the hollow canal which »runs through the centre of the spinal cord. Siltra lit. " Thread. " Usually means aphorism. Svddhisthdna lit. " Abode of Self." Second lotos of the Yogis^ between base of spine and the navel. Svddhydya Study. Svdhd! o " May it be perpetuated," or "so be it." An expression used in making oblation. Svapna The dream state. Svaptieivara Commentator of the Aphor- isms of Sdndilya. Svai'flpa Natural form. Svasii A blessing, meaning " Good be unto you." Svdti Name of a star. Svarga Heaven. Svdmi A title meaning *' master," or *' spiritual teacher." ^veidsvatara-Upanishad , One of the chief Upanishads of the Yajur-Veda, GLOSSARY. 375 Tadiyatd lit. ' ' His-ness. " The state when a man has forgotten himself altogether, in his love for the Lord, and does not feel that anything be- longs to him personally. Tamas *' Darkness," inertia. Tanmdtras Fine materials. Tantras Books held to be sacred by a certain sect in India. Tantrfkas. . . . . » Followers of the Tanti-as, Tapas .•..„., o Controlling the body by fast- ing or other means. Aus- terity. Tdraka o ..... . Saviour. Tarka Question or reasoning. " Tat tvam asV' " That thou art." Tattvas Categories, principles, truths. Tejas One of the elements ; fire ; heat. Titikshd Ideal forbearance. " AU-suf- feringness." Trishnd Thirst, desire. Tuhidds A great sage and poet who popularised the famous epic, the Rdiiidyana, by translat- ing it from Sanskrit into Hindustani dialect. Turtya The fourth, or highest state of consciousness. Tydga Renunciation. 376 GLOSSARY. Uddna • Nerve current governing the organs of speech, etc. Uddhdrsa Excessive merriment. Udgitha lit. " That which is chanted aloud," hence the Franava or Oni. Udgdtha Awakening the Kimdalini. Updddna The material cause of the world. Upddhi Limiting adjunct. Uparati Not thinking of things of the senses; discontinuing exter- nal religious observances. Updyapratyaya A state of abstract medita- tion. Uttara Gitd The name of a book supposed to be related by Sri Krishna for the further instruction of A7'juna. Uttara Mimdnsd Another name for the Veddnta philosophy, written origin- ally in the form of aphorisms by Vydsa. Vach or Vdk lit. ** speech." The Word, the Logos. Vdda Argumentative knowledge. Vairdgyam Non-attachment to the attrac- tions of the senses. Re- nunciation. GLOSSARY. 377 Vaiieshika A branch of the Nydya school of philosophy; the Atomic school. Vaishnavas The followers or worshippers of Vishnu^ who form one of the principal Hindu religious sects. Vdmadeva A great Rishi who possessed the highest spiritual enlight- enment from the time of his birth. Vdnaprastha The forest life. Third of the four stages into which the life of a man was divided in ancient India. Vardha-Purdna One of the eighteen principal Pur anas, Vardhate To grow. Vdrttkam A concise explanatory note. Varuna The old Vedic god of the sky. Vdsand A habit or tendency arising from an impression remain- ing unconsciously in the mind from past Karma. Vdsudeva Manifestation of the highest Being. Vdisalya The affection of parents for children. Vdyu lit. "the vibrating." The air. 3/8 GLOSSARY. Vedand The fine power of feeling de- veloped by the Yogi. Vedas «, The Hindu Scriptures, consist- ing of the Rig- Veda, the Ya- jur- Veda, the Sama- Veda, the Artharva- Veda ; also the ^ Brahmanas and the Upanish- ads J comprising the hymns, rituals and philosophy of the Hindu religion. Veddnta The final philosophy of the Vedas, as expressed in the Upanishads. The philosoph- ical system which embraces all Indian systems of phi- losophy, — the monistic, the mono-dualistic and the dual- istic. Veddvai anantah A quotation from the Vedas, meaning "The Scriptures are infinite." Videha Disembodied, or unconscious of body. Vidyd Science, or knowledge. Vidvdn One who knows. Vijndna The higher knowledge. Vikalpa Verbal delusion, doubt, notion, fancy. Vikaranabhdva Uninstrumental perception. GLOSSARY. 379 Vikshipta • A scattered or confused state of the mind. Vimoksha Absence of desire. Absolute freedom. Vind A stringed musical instrument of India. Viparyaya False conception of a thing whose real form does not correspond to that concep- tion, as mother of pearl mis- taken for silver. Vipra A sage who was born and bred a Brahmin. Viraha Intense misery due to separa- tion from the beloved one. Virya Strength, energy. Vishnu The "Preserver" of the Hindu trinity, who takes care of the universe, and who incarnates from time to time to help mankind. Visishtddvaita ,, Qualified non-dualism. A school of Indian philosophy, founded by Ramanuja, a great religious reformer, which teaches that the indi- vidual soul is a part of God. VUishtddvaiiin A follower of the above school of philosophy; a qualified non-dualist. 380 GLOSSARY. Viioka *'Sorrowless." Vivekdnanda '' Bliss-in-discrimination/' Vitarka Questioning or philosophical enquiry. Viveka Discrimination (of the true from the false). VUuddha The fifth lotos of the Yogis, opposite the throat (in the Sushumna). Vraja A suburb of the city of Muttray where Krishna played in his childhood. Vrindd •••.... The attendant of the principal Gopi. Vritti lit. " The whirlpool. " Wave form in the chitta j a modifi- cation of the mind. Vydna The nerve current which cir- culates all over the body. Vydsa lit. *' One who expands " (as a commentator). One Vydsa was the author of the Mahd- hhdrata and of the Uttara Mimdnsd. Vydsa Sutras The Vedanta Aphorisms by Vydsa. Vyasti The particular (as opposed to the universal). Vyutthdna Waking, or returning to con- sciousness after abstract meditation. GLOSSARY. 381 Yajur-Veda The ritualistic portion of the Veda. Yama The internal purification through moral training, pre- paratory to Yoga. The god of Death, so called from his power of self-control. Yoga..,., Joining; union of the lower self with the higher self, by means of mental control. Any sort of culture that leads us to God. Yoga SCdra Aphorism on Yoga. Yogi One who practices Yoga. Yudhisthira . A great Hindu Emperor who lived about 1400 B. C. He was one of the five Pdndavas. Yuga A cycle or age of the world. The present cycle is known in India as the " Kali- Yuga' or "Iron-Age." U C BERKELEY LIBRARIES III nil nil III CDSM^blDEl