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Pranahuti Aided Meditation

- Sri. K.C.Narayana

  

The system of Pranahuti aided meditation consists of two parts. One is the practicant's role and other is the master's support. In no other system that we are aware of, we have this direct support of another person in the meditation. They give perhaps a mantra or tell a particular method of practising and the role of the supporter or the master ends there. The guru disciple relationship continues for a long time, perhaps for a life time for that person but still it is only an occasional meet and no discussion what so ever is generally held on the spiritual aspect of the life. Except the external behavioral aspect no body talks about the internal things. There are some who had developed certain intimacy with the gurus and perhaps also knew certain elementary aspects of sadhana but beyond that they said guru is god and he will guide you through.

In our sadhana, because of his level of approach a person who moves on in his yatra to the level of Brahmand, (i.e. when he is not confined to his Pind Desh or selfish interests) he moves on to the level of the parahita alone is permitted to impart spiritual training.

Parahita actually means trying to do good to others all the time. This as a behavioral attitude may be possible for any person to develop. He need not develop to that level. Social service does not require a man to be at the Brahmanda level. But when a person feels his presence else where than his own body, when he goes out of his body consciousness, when the boundaries of his body consciousness expand, he is supposed to have entered into the Brahmand. A person who feels confined to his body, who is concerned about his body and its needs, he is definitely a man concerned to his Pind Desh or the physical level. He is confined to the jiva. So those of the people who are not able to go beyond the physical cannot confuse themselves thinking that they are at the higher plane of consciousness.

Some of us may be aware or perhaps all of us may be aware that during our meditations we do seem to have crossed the borders. Some of us are very conscious of a mosquito bite and some of us are not. So long as the body conscious is there one is definitely conscious of the mosquito bite. We will also feel sultry; or feel cold as the weather may be. Because these are all the conditions of the body and our consciousness is attending to it. If our consciousness is outside this and if it expands naturally we will not feel these constraints. I am trying to explain to you what would be a Brahmanda consciousness. The person at that level naturally would help others. That natural tendency or a concern for others is something that develops in a person who has moved out of his Pinda consciousness. Such people are competent to help others.

Pranahuti is an act that is possible only for a person who has crossed the boundaries of his body. Body consciousness limitations should go. When we say this, we are not asking any person to die. But there is a spiritual growth, which is almost death to the physical body. These people are capable of putting in efforts without worrying about hunger, thirst or sleep. These are the three things that govern the jiva, a living being. These three things exist. People who have consciousness of these three can be considered as people who have not crossed the boundaries of their body because they are concerned with their physical bodies. Is it possible for a person who has not crossed his body consciousness totally to offer pranahuti? That's a natural question that comes to us. We find that the other person who is helping us also having all these limitations. Yes, in this system that has been developed by Babuji Maharaj, he says that 'I do not lift you out of this body consciousness totally'.

There are five sub centres, in the Pind Desh. We make sufficient progress in that and then we put the man on to the Brahmanda level by a reflected power of the Master. Such people alone are competent to transmit the power or will for the betterment of others. When a person wants some sadhaka to improve and then he says now I will give transmission to you, he means that you are aspiring for the higher stage and I am assisting you with my will also to support that. Such a will should not be vitiated by selfishness. Otherwise we will be trying to help our own relatives, our own friends. Thus we do not want to cross that border. That is also body consciousness. We definitely get linked to our own people and we think that they are the only persons about whom we can think about. No body else is important for us. The moment you think that you can help others also, the question is whether you would like to have some importance, self-importance. Here is the person whom I can catch hold of and then tell him that I am going to help him. Thereby I can express my importance to him for fame, for name also a person can cheat others with this type of thinking. Please note it. It is also a self interest. It's a body consciousness. You want your image to be worshipped in the real sense of the term. Not by putting the photos, not by keeping your photo in his house, but you want him to think in his mind. An idol or an idea is given to him and that idea is made into an idol and you get imprinted in the other person as their guru.

Just now I had an occasion to talk to some trainer who told me that somebody has written that his guru has left after his transfer. This happens, it does happen, unwittingly it happens. Because the other man is bound by the body consciousness and if you have given him the scope for him to think so, you will not be in a position to perform the Pranahuti. Such people are available among us who are capable of working from the Brahmanda level because they have been prepared to some extent, not totally. So you will see blemishes in them. But don't concentrate on the blemishes of the person. See the good in him who is trying to help you and then you will have the support. So this support that is coming to us is from an act of will of another person, which is not vitiated by his selfish interest. We must make sure then only it can be transmission. Otherwise we should cease to have any help from such people. Because they will make you a pashu. You will become a guru pashu. Don't become one. We are here seeking liberation. We are seeking freedom. We are not prepared for bondages. No yogi is offering himself for that, no man for that matter should become a beast. Beast is one, which is controlled by others. Man has to stand on his own. We have to go out of this lower level of consciousness to the higher. There is an animal in us, there is a man in us. We must move on to the higher stage. For that we are going to take the support of another person. That person should be one who is established above his body. He is the person who has got the indriyanigraha as Babuji puts it. A person who has control over his senses. That means body, as far as we know is nothing but a structure that is governed by the sense organs. We have got to be persons who are above that. Look if a person is above that or not. Then only can we take assistance from him. Other people are not competent.

Now the question is I am not asking you to evaluate the trainers anywhere. I am asking you to make a decision for yourself, whether we are capable of getting assistance from somebody i.e. whether you are prepared to yield is the first question and the second question is whether the other person is capable of helping you. Here we can assure you with the help of the great master who has permitted people to work, you can get assistance and it is for you to feel. Many of us feel so. Some people do not feel. Whatever it is, support is required. When does one get Pranahuti? We don't get it from the heavens. We don't get it from a stone, we don't get it from a tree. We get it from another person who exercises his will for our betterment. Pranahuti is an act of will, let this be clear. That will is not vitiated by selfish interests is what I tried to explain in the beginning. In such a case what is that will? That will is just the support of the divine. When we are having our own selfish interest naturally it does not get the support of the divine. That is why when some of our trainers told me that they have worked on somebody according to them and they don't see anything of an improvement in other person, I found the person on whom he has worked is his own relative or somebody who is so close to him. He wanted to give some consideration for the other person overriding the interest of others who are seekers. It is governed by selfishness and such work never works, it fails. One cannot have motivated behaviour. A person who doesn't have selfish motivation alone is capable of doing this. Make sure you get such a person. Such persons are available. God is always kind to us. He always shows a person who can guide us. Only we should be in a position to feel. These are all certain digressions we make to start with, which started mainly because some of us have got several notions about it.

If we go to a particular trainer he will be in a position to give something. Without our aspiration no trainer can do anything. Unless we have got our goal clarity he cannot do any thing and that person also cannot do anything on his own. It can be asked can we not do some thing to other person by transmitting to him continuously? Unless he seeks we cannot do it. These are certain wrong notions that we have got. No one can do anything. Unless the person also wants that improvement we can't bring in such an improvement. Unless we ourselves are established in a higher plane and then we go on the merits of the case rather than the persons we will not be in a position to do. Let these objective standards be maintained in our mind first and then we proceed further in our task. The meditation starts, the practice of abhyas, after getting introduced we say. During the introduction three sittings are taken. Three sittings are a must. There is a gap that is required generally of 24 hours duration. Sometimes it is relaxed to 12 hours also. But there must be a gap. Three sittings means now one must wait for half an hour after one hour, we sit for another half an hour after 2 hours again half an hour and then we say that the person is introduced. That person is not introduced. The complaints regarding the constraints of time are not acceptable here. Fine, the trainer has completed in his manner, but nothing has happened. Because it takes time to seep in. The thought has to sink to the heart. What is it that we do at the time of introduction? We establish a link with the ultimate source of consciousness which, we are capable of touching namely that of Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj. Beyond that we are not conscious of what it is. Because he is himself void. Any other concept above him maintained by some people mainly because of their information coming from books of Vedanta and other sources make them think that there must be something above. Above void there can be void and void alone. When we say that the master has merged in the void and he is null, then he is null. That's all about it. Any idea that is maintained by any person as seeking some help from the divine straight is a peculiar philosophical concept entertained by vedantin's for reasons of their own. I would not like to get digressed. There is no point in talking about things, which are not tangible. Absolute, Brahman, Divine, Ultimate, these words for me do not mean anything so far as sadhana is concerned. Because we have a master who is available to us on the one side and who is himself merged in the ultimate on the other side.

There are two portions of Babuji Maharaj that we have got to clearly understand. His personality is null. He is void that is one aspect of it. The other aspect of it is he is available to us and we can reach him. We can reach him through the connections that are going to be established. The very first sitting that we are going to have, we tell the new practicant that this person is getting introduced to God through the masters. We use the word Divine. Varadachari as a philosopher, as a scholar he used this word several times, ultimate. Babuji uses the word BHUMA, to refer to that condition which is not the last one, which is actually the penultimate. Ultimate is ultimate only - void. The Bhuma is the one that expresses. The mother is the one that expresses. That connection, that ensures the source. The persons who are introduced, feel as vibrations as something that moves in their body, some force that enters into them. This is the first parameter that an Abhyasi can have to show that he is experiencing a consciousness of a higher type and during that time he is in an altered state of consciousness. He is not in the consciousness of his body, but something else. There is something of a change. At least temporarily an altered state of consciousness he has, that gives him the quiet, that gives him the calm,that gives him the peace. This is had in the very first sitting. In the second sitting what is done is we try to give the suggestion through the process of will that this person is moving from the animal state to the human state. Not all of us are born as humans, totally. We are human, we are also animals, it is our duty to reduce the animal and move on to the human level. That is our right. That is the only justification. Then only our existence is justified, otherwise we have wasted, squandered the opportunity. We enable the applicant, we enable the aspirant, and we enable the practicant.

When we say animal level we say that the person is governed by the instincts which enable the physiological system to survive and the fundamental principle of life is trying to get the next generation, procreation, thirst. These are the things that govern us. Any animal does it. All animals eat, all animals drink, all animals procreate. From this level we have to move on to the human level. We cannot confine ourselves only to this level. If we analyse ourselves, we will understand that majority of our culture is devoted only for these two purposes. All our activities almost appears to be concerned to these two levels. That is, we are not behaving as men. We are behaving as animals.

The first transformation that Babuji wants or any sane man would like is to become a man first. So the suggestion that is given, the will that is given is that we move on to the human plane. That the aspirant tries to live as much as possible in the human plane and as little as possible in the animal plane. At present the twist is the other way. We are asking the people to live at the animal plane more and more thanks to all the advertisements that we have got and at human level less and less. So there is a shift that we are asking. That shift that you have to aspire, the practicant has to aspire for that and the help of the trainers is to will such a movement. Such a will can become real only when he has established himself at that level, otherwise it will be fooling yourself and fooling God apart from fooling others. Pranahuti is effective only from the persons who are able to move out of this level. That is why we will find different levels of transmission that are coming. According to the level of the trainer we will feel the intensity. Though the power is the same. The power is the same, the will of the master is the same but the quality differs. Quality differs mainly because they have not established themselves at the appropriate level for that appropriate task.

In the third sitting we divert the flow towards the Atma chakra also to some extent, so that the aspirant understands the interdependency with God. The flow has to move on. At present the man thinks that he is totally independent. Every animal thinks that it is independent. He does not understand the inter-dependency. Inter-dependency is the concept that is understood only by the man. The animals do not have the capacity. The moment we are established at the human level we will be also given information that we are interdependent. We are dependent on the Divine, the Divine is dependent on us.

There are two aspects which have to kept in mind here. Saswaroopa jnana occurs. Real nature of man is to feel the dependence of the man and also understand that the divine depends upon him to show its greatness, the manifestation, the beauty of manifestation, the work of God is present in the world and the universe. All of us are the work of God and it is our duty to present ourselves in the best form. We cannot present a bad picture of ourself without giving a bad name to the creator. We may understand the importance of being perfect only when we know our nature is perfect and he is dependent upon us to show his greatness. If there is no world, if there are no men, then there is no question of anybody talking about the greatness of the God anywhere.

It is our duty as the expressions of divine to show that the divine is great in the respect in which he wants us to show. All of us are not given the same capacities. All of us not born in the same way. Each one of us is capable of perfection. We should move to our perfection and say this is our perfection. If we try to imitate other persons then we are trying to be other than ourselves and therefore we fail. We should express everything that is given to us by God, without any inhibition as an offering to the divine and then say I have expressed you in the best form that is possible. That is the goal. That is the way in which we have to move. For that suggestion is given by the trainer that this man is understanding the nature of his self. These are all the three dynamic aspects of our system, which is done at the introductory sittings itself. Then a will that he progresses on the path is given and he is maintained at that level in the third sitting. These are all the procedures of introduction. This is how the Pranahuti or the support of the master is taken.

All the trainers are fully aware that we are not all that competent to do this task and we know that we would fail on our own. But we have got the confidence that the divine and the master is supporting us in our work. It is he who is doing the whole thing. Because when he tries to express, he has expressed me. He could not express himself. God has no form. God has no mind. He cannot do anything. He is dependant upon us totally to show his greatness. On his own he cannot do. What can void do. Void is void. God is void what can he do. Only when we know that we are expressions of God then we understand the value of life, meaning of life and then we express it well. Imperfections should not find place. We should know that it is animality that is making us imperfect. We should know that it is our sloth that is making us imperfect. We refuse to accept all these things. We do not accept tamasik life nor rajasik life. We move on to the satvik life. We try to be as pure as possible, as fresh purity as possible. We maintain so that the divinity is expressed. It is our duty to be rishis. We are squandering ourselves to the level of animals. We are degrading to that level. Every person here is a Rishi. That is the call. When Babuji says that all my people are saints this is what he meant. He had the courage to say that my people are saints. Have we the courage to say so is the question. And if you have got the courage then you say, yes I have known. I have known that I am dependant upon the divine. I have known that I cannot live in any other way than expressing his greatness all the time, in our action in our being, in our thought everything. Everything is his. We come naturally to the condition of what we call as stithapragnatva, handing over everything to him. You are not disturbed. Kartrutva, Jnatrutva, Bhoktrutva i.e. your knowing, your acting and your enjoying, if so long as we think it is ours, we will be in misery. But if we know that it is his, then we will be in bliss. Every act of ours is his. Every thought of ours is his. Every feeling of ours is his. When we accept that, we will not definitely fall low to the level of an animal. We know that if our thoughts are bad, it cannot be divine. We will not entertain that. We will not be behaving in the ways, which are considered as bestial, or asuric. We cease to do such things.

It is that awareness that we are trying to give by diverting the flow towards the Atma chakra. When the Atma chakra fully blooms that is the condition that comes to us and automatically we move to the higher plane. The thought that has been given in the beginning as a suggestion becomes a reality by two things, our sadhana and the constant influx of the divine force into us. Many of the people introduced are not told that they should take regular individual sittings and they should participate in the satsangs. In satsangs and individual sittings alone we have got the taste of Pranahuti. When we meditate on our own if we think that we are getting Pranahuti it is an illusion. Don't delude yourself by the vibrations. Because those vibrations are consequent to the initial introduction. Initial introduction is so powerful that it goes on. The link with the divine is permanent. That cannot be cut off. A person who has been introduced to the system in this proper way, as Babuji says it cannot be severed. It cannot be severed even if a person drops out of the meditation and does not follow the system. When I asked him that several people go away then he said, where can they go. I am holding on. I allow them. Even if he passes away from this present life he says in the next life also the connection is there. My connection is there. That is the value of the introduction, if properly done. I am sure every one of you has been properly introduced. My assurance is mainly because you feel the vibrations when you meditate on your own. That confirms my belief or my acceptance of the concept that the link is permanently established. Otherwise you won't feel that when you meditate. But you confuse that with Pranahuti. Don't confuse it. It is your state. Vibrations are the path of the nada. Nadhopasana is actually our method. If one reads Lalaji he says nadopasana is the path and then here it is. The vibrations are the finest forms of song or the nada, we are going beyond the levels of sensory. That is why you won't feel the Omkara many times. But vibrations we feel and if we know that this is the nada perhaps we will know what is the link that we get at the first instance itself. That is the one that we get as Ajapa. Many of us ignore these vibrations as something that happens to us and assume that it is some physiological or physical phenomena. We don't equate it with Ajapa condition. Ajapa is that condition. After laborious efforts of reciting a particular Japa a person comes to that state of vibrations in the traditional path, whereas in Pranahuti Aided Meditation that is introduced in the very first sitting itself. We are linked with the ultimate through the nada. We know that after sometime the nada is felt throughout the body, not only in the heart but from top to toe. We do not have the viveka to know that it is the anahad condition that is coming to us, because we do not talk about it. Things are given to us so that we develop the discriminative intelligence to understand. That part is what is lacking.

The role of the Abhyasi is to be attentive and alert to whatever is happening to him. These are the two qualities that he should develop. We have got to be attentive and alert and these two things happen. With the first 5 months or 6 months we are already established at the anahat condition. When we talk about our system we talk about very positive aspects of it. We do not want to talk that it takes such a long time in other systems. We don't want to stress on that. All that I am asking you to understand is that you feel so and please be grateful for the influx of the Divine and more and more get tuned to that Divinity which is supporting us, to that Master who is incessantly working for our progress. Whether we are working for our progress or not I am not sure about it but he is incessantly working for our progress. It is this point that we have got to appreciate to know the role of Revered Lalaji Maharaj here. It is he who could pray to the ultimate or the ultimate source of consciousness saying that you better help these weak souls. On behalf of all of us he prayed and then he obtained that permission of the Divine. He could enable, make the Divine yawn towards the circumference as Revered Babuji puts it. The centre is now yawning towards the circumference. That exactly is the basis of our Pranahuti. From where are we getting this prana, pranasya prana as Dr. K.C. Varadachari puts it. Yes, it is the pranasya prana alone that we are having in Pranahuti. This ultimate prana only is what we are experiencing. It is that centre only that is yawning towards us. It has yielded to us. The question is have we yielded to him and we say with confidence that we have yielded to him and say Oh Master. We yield to him occasionally, at certain moments. Most of us think that we are the persons to transmit. We do not yield to him. We resist. Revered Babuji says don't alter the external situation. We cannot. We should modify ourselves and change our attitude. We have to yield to the Divine. So the yielding of the practicant and the Pranahuti from other side is what enables us to progress after introduction and through various stages we move on.

Coming to the meditational practices that we are asked to do, the routines, in the morning we are asked to get up, early in the morning. First and foremost we must get up. Rise before dawn. Cleanliness of body and mind are the two things that must be attended to. I am aware of many people senior people as well as new practicants who try to meditate without taking a bath perhaps even without brushing their teeth. It is a most irresponsible way of trying to reach God, most irresponsible way. Either the greatness of God is not implanted in them or they do not recognise that there is a God to whom they are appealing in the morning. The dawn is the hour of creation. It is the meeting point of activity and inactivity. Tam moves on towards the activity. Night is TAM totally in the presence of the Divine. We are moving towards the activity. The Divine is expressing itself and is coming out. That is the time we take advantage of, because the greatness of the God can be seen only in the early hours of the day and not in the midnight. At midnight we can have the laya. One can have laya, a superior form of worship is possible, but for a person who is living a life of grihasta we see here the activity. Activity starts and we must be in tune with it. To be in tune with nature is our system. It is a natural path. We have got to be in tune. We have got to be clean. We have got to be pure.

Suchi (purity) and Subratha (cleanliness) are two different words. They are not the same. One is purity and another is cleanliness. Body cleanliness is a must. Our attitude should be proper, proper attitude to think about the divine. Without that we will not be in a position to meditate properly and we know that we are not pure in our heart. We know that our thoughts are not pure. They are impious. Therefore when we are trying to place ourselves before the divine in the morning meditation we have got to attend to the meditation of cleaning also. What is that meditation of cleaning. How do you cleanse yourself? He suggested a point called B, most of us are aware of this. We meditate on point B thinking that the impurities are going away in front and from behind it the divine glow is coming. The divine light is coming to the forefront. What is this divine light that we are talking about? It has been made very clear many times that it is a super sensory concept or a non-sensory concept and we use the word divine light without luminosity. So long as we see some light we are trying to restrict Him to that physical form of light, however great light that it may be it is still a physical light. It is sensory, we have got to go beyond that. So the divine light is coming to the fore front, throwing away all the impurities from the front. This meditation has to be done. We have to do this for 10 minutes and continue our morning meditation, normally not less than one hour duration. Many people try to restrict it to half an hour. We do say start some where, you will yourself be motivated to do for one hour. But then our sloth is such 30 minutes becomes 25 minutes and 25 minutes becomes 20 minutes, 20 minutes is nearer 15 minutes, 15 minutes is nearer 10 minutes, 10 minutes is nearer 5 minutes and then the prayer is over the moment you sit down, getup and go. Its all sloth, giving all sorts of excuses for our laziness, unpreparedness to start the meditation, unyielding attitude to the divine, refusal to be in tune with nature.

Nature is active, we ought to be active. The need is to be in tune with nature. Man has become so much bestial, so much of less than a beast. Because I see all the birds getting up early in the morning and going away. The animals also start their activity. It is the human being, which is a peculiar animal. Humans even have got the capacity to come down to the level of matter and then like a log of wood or a stone he is still in the bed. Even when the world is awake and running he is still in the bed, not active, not understanding his origins. Not understanding his duties. Not attentive to his task. People are doing such things. This must go. This has to change and this will change only when all of us pray for such a change and then we ourselves change. We should change, we should also pray for other people to change then the world will be a bit better than what it is today. So the importance of that is stressed. The purity is stressed and then our cleanliness is stressed. Without these two things don't try to meditate. It doesn't help. Any attempt to pollute God will land in failure. He refuses to get polluted. Ultimately it is you who will fail by such methods. Then Revered Babuji says try to find a place in your house where you can sit in meditation comfortably without any difficulty. It can be a room if you can afford, it can be a small 3/2 space some where else in the house. But let it be a fixed place where you pray and have your own carpet. Note that everything is and has vibration. People often forget this. And we think that we can sit anywhere. After all we can say that God is everywhere and it should not matter much where one sits and how he sits. That is philosophy. Yoga is different. Yoga demands discipline. Yoga demands regularity. So regularity in practice is a must. Discipline in practice is a must.

We say sit in any comfortable posture and maintain the same posture. Comfortable posture we take surely, but then we go on changing it incessantly. There is no control over the body. There is no discipline. We change our posture. Try to remain in the same posture. It is very difficult, but when you are asking for mergence, when you are asking for a goal where you will be totally balanced, to maintain balance is not a joke, you have to strive for it. Balance is a tough concept. Static balance of course we can have. We can sit somewhere. Even there we are prepared to, but our body is such it refuses to be balanced even at the static level. We are not doing any gymnastics here. We are not doing any hatha yoga. We don't do such things. To sit like this itself consistently for one hour becomes a big tedious problem for us. That is the amount of indiscipline that has got into us. There must be discipline. This is foremost. Then if we meditate, it makes some sense. Meditation is always for seeking our oneness with Nature. We are trying to feel one with Nature. That is laya is it not? Oneness with God. This is what we are asking for. Our morning meditation should be for one hour for this reason, otherwise we will be disturbed. We will not be in a position to have our thought firm. In the beginning it is only at the 55th minute that we will be in a position to have some idea of what we have got to meditate up on. As we gradually progress it starts even at the first second. Progress enables us to meditate for one hour, though in the beginning people are asked to sit for one hour, we should know that our meditation is less than few minutes. Meditation usually will begin thinking about what we can do during the day? What are the other plans that we have got to do? What are our responsibilities? All these things come to us. The meditation is a must for one hour, if we want to control our thoughts. Later on once we learn to sit for one hour and meditate, it becomes easy for us to meditate for longer hours. Once we get absorbed in his thought, time passes off. I don't ask you to do that, but then that's what happens. Meditation is one aspect of it and the evening cleaning is another aspect. We have formed so many impressions in our heart. We have got various values in our mind. We have given certain people some positive marks and certain other people some negative marks. Several notions are carried by us and they are our own. It has nothing to do with others and the circumstances. The general question is, how is the day? It is beautiful. The day is always beautiful. It is warm. Either it is warm or hot or cold it will be according to its nature. We are not the persons to decide. It is as it is. We have to adjust to it. It dictates circumstances. Nature doesn't accept our ways of doing things. It has got its own ways. Because it is the mother. The mother knows how to dictate and how to love. Both the things she knows better. We have unfortunately formed various impressions. All these thoughts keep haunting us. We have to clean ourselves. This cleaning is a must otherwise our mind will never be clean.

How to clean this mind? There is no external way by which we can do that. They said sravana and manana will be in a position to clear us off these things. That's what they said in tradition. To hear good things, try to be in good thoughts, try to be with good satsang, avoid bad associations, try to get good associations. By these methods we will be in a position to control the mind they say. We try, still the mind troubles us the most. The cause for this is our mind only. It is our mind which is the cause for the troubles of the mind. So it is the same mind that has to be applied to get rid of that. We got attached therefore we should get ourselves detached. This is the process that is advised in the evening cleaning process. We have to detach ourselves with a firm will that the impurities are going away. Are we capable of doing this? Surely not. But we have to. We have to carry this load. We are not capable of doing this on our own, we have to understand that. That is where the Pranahuti support also comes in the form of taking the concept of God itself as the divine light coming to us. We are linked to it. There are two or three types of methods, in every method we are trying to bring the Divine into the picture and then say we are linked to the Divine. In the three different methods we tell you as how we can get rid of impressions. We try to tell one of the three methods according to the temperament of the person. No one can practice all the three. A person should practice only one and that should be suitable to his temperament. We think that everything is going away in the form of vapour or smoke. When we give this concept we are using the concept of fire. It is the agnitatva that is being invoked. It is the god in Agni that is being invoked to get rid of these things. He burns it off. Whatever comes to him he burns it off and throws off, this is one method of purification.

There is another method in which we think that it is ocean of bliss in which we are seated and then it cleanses us. Here it is the jala tatva, another purification element. The divinity in the water is being utilised by us for our cleansing. These are all the things that enable us to clean. What are all the things that we use? Because the system is scientific. What are the things that we use? One method is to burn off and get rid of it another method is to wash and clean ourself.

The third method is the method of light. The light is at the top of the head and then we try to link it up to our system and it cleanses us from the various limbs of ours. Two upper limbs and two lower limbs. Generally we use the method of light when working on other persons. I have used it very effectively with abhyasis who come to me. I personally practice only the concept of ocean of bliss. Generally suggested method by the master is fire. These are all the three concepts that are there. All the three are absolutely scientific. But in every one of them our effort is required.

Since the master's power is invoked, do not think that Master's Pranahuti will work. Don't get into that confusion. No Pranahuti during the cleaning process. We have to by the exercise of our will, get connected to that concept and that divinity. The divine light that comes out is what we use in the morning and in the evening. The divine light is right on the top of our head and it flows through the body cleansing us. It is the capacity of the individual mind that is to be assessed by the trainer to know what exactly is the method of cleaning that he has to adopt. If people are adopting on their own, they are welcome to do. But the point is, it is better to discuss with the trainer and then arrive at the proper method of cleaning, which will be most effective.

There is no other system, which talks about cleaning. One of the fundamentals of cleaning is, we should know that a thing which is already pure, can only be made pure. We should have the confidence that purity is our real nature and the impurity that is there is an unnecessary coating on us, that blurs our vision, that blurs our understanding. It must go. Then only we will be in a position to seek clearly. What is formed on the mirror must be wiped off before we can see in it, the spectacle glass must be clean to see clearly. Similarly here, these are all the avarana, these are all the mala, these are all the vikshepa that need to be cleaned.

Mala is confusions about the goals. Living at the lowest level. Vikshepa is, though we know the goal we have various thoughts which we think are equally good and the avarana is some thing that is there, as attachments. When we are talking about the eeshana traya it is the Avarana concept. Please note that it cannot be cleansed off at the mala level at all. More and more sittings are required for such people who feel attached to their own men. This attachment is a karmic attachment. We owe them something that is why they are linked to us. Runaanubhanda ruupena bhandu, mitra, sutha, alaya. These are all the things that come to us because of the runaanubhanda. We owe them. They will stay as long as we are indebted. The moment our debt is over, they will go, however much you think that your son should be with you, your daughter should be with you or your house should be with you, it will find its way. They will go, they will come. That it is due to the karmic factor. One should understand that he cannot wish it away. All that we can do is to arrive at a balanced way of dealing with the things. We need not develop further samskaras. Whatever Runa we had with us earlier we try to clean them off. But then even after the marriage we run after the daughter to the house where we have given them. We are supposed to forget them. They are Dana, but we don't forget them. No Danas are here. That is we try to continue an attachment out of habit. What was a burden on you, you cleared off. But then the act of clinging all these days has developed its own samskara of attachment and you continue to do it, even after you are supposed to have ceased to have any connections with it. Have clarity. Nobody is permanent here. Everybody is transient. We are moving out. One day or the other we are going out. But when you go would you like to carry the load. As Revered Babuji says travel light. Throw off the luggage as far as possible. Travel light is a good article to read, please read Revered Babuji's article. Even when there is an opportunity for us to travel light we like to carry some more load.

Even when by God's grace we get liberated, we want bondage. We seem to love bondage so much that things which we ought to forget, we continue to remember. We continue to hunt after them. Funny are the ways of the mind. Clean yourselves and try to take as many sittings as possible to cleanse yourself. Don't try to avoid. Don't try to avoid the issue of trying to get rid of the burden. You must get less and less burden. That is a must if you want to progress in spirituality.

Cleaning must be done. This is the unique system where we have got the assistance from Master also for this, in indirect way. Not directly. Every act is ours. The concept of cleaning has never been discussed in any other system. Everybody said that samskaras are there and we should get rid of them. But how to get rid of them? What is the way, nobody has said it. This is the only system where we talk about this aspect.

Avarana, is the one that gives the colourings of the soul as Jains put it and as we know here in our system, when we see the stages of progress we will go through the various colours of various stages. We start with some sort of an orange colour, then we move on to red, then we move to white, then we move on to black or blue, then to the Grey and then to the violet. These are the colours. What are these colours? These are the avaranas. The mala that we have attracted and made it into a paste and rubbed on to our soul. Our soul got affected because of this. These colours that we see are the colours of various levels. This clarity only Revered Babuji gave, whereas in Jainism they simply said that there is a colour. Colours of souls are there but they could not say why it is so. Several people state several different colours. But they never could understand why it is so. Revered Babuji said because of viveka we have got something, because of Vairagya we get something, because of understanding ourself, our nature and saswaroopa jnana we get some other colour, because of our devotion we get some other colour, because of our surrender we get some other colour. When we are almost in layaavasta we get a different colour in the Pind Desh. All colours relate to Pind Desh. No colours are available in Brahmand, except at the first stage or second stage no colours are present. Please note that these are the avaranas that are there. What are the avaranas that we have got? Avaranas relating to Viveka, Sadasad Viveka, Vairagya or attachment. Raga Dvesahs are there. They are also having their own colours. Then a person who is pure he has got his own colour, who knows his dependance. But this has to go. His awareness that he knows something is the difficulty here. Saswaroopa jnana itself is an avarana. The jnana should go. That jnana belongs to Him. But we think that it is our knowledge. Similarly devotion, we think that we are devoted and therefore it forms an avarana. Suppose, we think that it is He who is devoted to Himself as Revered Babuji says, then, that avarana will not be there. That is why all the enjoyments that we say, all the experiences, we should always consider that they are experienced by the Master himself. It is His play and if we think that it is we who are experiencing it, please note that we have got the avaranas sticking on to us still. That is the reason why we see the colour. When we see a colour we ought to know that it is a warning. That is why Revered Babuji says don't bother about these colours. The reason for that is, if we give importance to it we will stick to it more. But for understanding we say so many things. So it is a warning signal we see when we say that at this point we feel like that.

It is the nature of that particular knot to be like that. Agreed, but then it is an avarana on you. One is philosophical discussion and another is a practical experience. Practically we have to understand that we should move out of it. Philosophically, definitely we say this is what it is. The system is explained that in this place this is what it is. The layaavasta will give this we say. All these avaranas must go. It's a laborious task. These have been earned by us in several lives in the past, the result of several deeds of ours. Everything is resultant of our own action, our own thought. Thought is an action. We should understand this concept also. Thought also itself is an action. So these are all the things that form the impressions and those impressions have to be removed during the cleaning process. It is an active process, very important process and the second most important thing that we have got to practice.

First and the foremost thing, is the morning meditation and the second important thing is the evening cleaning. Now having cleansed ourselves reasonably for the day, then at 9.00P.M in the night we are asked to offer prayer for the betterment of all the people in this world. Our aspiration is to go out of this bondage of the body. Nama and the rupa are the two bondages that we have got. The primary goal is this. If we want to go beyond this, then we have got to have a consciousness of a superior being. If our consciousness is bound to this sarira or the body or the name, then we cannot say that we are going to the higher levels of consciousness or to a consciousness beyond this body. To enable us to go there Revered Babuji gives a method.

In 9.00 P.M prayer we pray that all the people in this world are our brothers and sisters and that they are developing true love, faith and devotion towards the Master. It is not a prayer for us. It is a prayer for all. In the beginning a very routine and some sort of a ritual that we do. It is not a feeling that we have got in our heart. But since we are asked to do we do it in the beginning. But later on it becomes our second nature all the time to pray only for others and we cease to pray for ourselves. Because the others and we are one. They are extensions of our own self. The Atman has already moved on to the Brahman. Take the connotation given by Revered Lalaji Maharaj. Our consciousness has been all the time confined to the consciousness of the Pinda, to this body and therefore it is Atman. Brahman is the one which grows out of this. A thought, which grows out of this body consciousness is the Brahman. So long as it is confined to this body it is Atman. It is the Jiva that can have the Atman and note one more point, in tradition it is stated that the Atman is an indivisible self and it cannot be segregated. Revered Lalaji Maharaj and Revered Babuji Maharaj don't agree to this. They say that the Atman is the composite of our Buddhi, Manas, Ahankar and Chitta. This is the significant variation from the traditional systems of Yoga. All these four things put together is Atman and when all these four are related to us, to ourself it is Atman. When all these things are applied to all universe it becomes Brahman. It grows far beyond. Our mental faculties, which are restricted to ourself is Atman. When our mental faculties expresses the concern for others then it is Brahman.

At+Man, Brhu+Man, this is how Revered Lalaji Maharaj has given the definitions which is very relevant for us to understand. Because we have got to move on from the Atman level to the Brahman level. If Atman were to be a solid object or some thing that is placed at this plane and it is some sort of a physical thing it cannot grow unless it bursts itself. It has to die. So when the Upanishads said Atman is Brahman they were only telling that Atman is capable of becoming Brahman. The Mimamsa seems to have given a better definition than the Vedanta. Capable of, just as we are men, because we are capable of being men. Not because we are men at present. We are animals at present. We are capable of becoming men. When we say we are human means, we are capable of being humans. However much animal I am but still I am capable of being a human. That we are capable of falling to the lower level is what our ancients thought. But the misfortune is we are always that. Only now and then we seem to be going to the human level. So this particular thing can happen only because of that prayer which is suggested to us. It speedens our progress. The Pranahuti Aided meditation helps us because the Master has willed such a prayer. He has suggested that to all of us. We are such wonderful disciples. We do not follow what he said. We are very consistent in not following. It seems to be the uncanny capacity of Revered Lalaji Maharaj that he has got so many disciples who do not obey what he says. He is an exemplary character by himself because he is one person who is capable of getting all his disciples not capable of doing what he says. At least some must follow. This 9.00 P.M prayer is such a casuality but that is the only way to grow to the Brahman level. There is no other way by which we can grow. People may say Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavantu is not a new concept, Sukhinobhavantu he said. May all people become happy that's what they said. Here we don't use the word 'may'. We say all people are developing. It is a sankalpa that we are giving. It is not the Ashirvada that we give. It's a new concept, totally new concept where we are willing through our will. We want to offer this thought, namely that all people are developing. But unfortunately either we are a victim of our vital instincts or the much lower physiological instincts or the gluttony seems to have over taken us when we say that we have got to go for dinner.

The 9.00 P.M prayer is a must. When we go to bed we say you offer your prayer. But then Babuji Maharaj says before you do that also pray on point A. It is an extension of what you do at 9.00 P.M. At 9.00 P.M you are asked to pray for all generally, but before going to bed we meditate for a few minutes on point A. The same thought is given at a particular location. The Efficacy of Raja Yoga says that, whatever suggestion we give at point A it becomes true and he uses that technique here. The reason is he wants us to move to the higher plane. He wants us to live not just at the level of a manava. Not satisfied with it, he wants you to live at a level of a Maneeshi. Go on to the higher level. That is the aspiration that we are asked to have. This method is not for people who seek some favors, this is for people who can offer prayers for others. You should move on to that stage where you can confer on others this particular thought. We can offer, we should be capable of giving this. We can give only when you have. This is enabled by the 9.00 P.M prayer. To do this again at the position of point A so that it becomes doubly strengthened and you move on to the higher plane. When you go to bed with the prayer that I am incapable of controlling myself, the self has already grown. It is no more with our self that we are praying. I am talking about ideal case. It is no more yourself. It is all this humanity. It is incapable of improving by itself. I am a part of that whole. That is the highest quality of prayer at which we will be ending our day, ideally. This I would say is the method of meditation that we are asked to practice. The smaller ways of explanations are already available in the books. Various talks that we have talked about, but this is the ideal situation. Your day should terminate in a feeling of total helplessness of this humanity to better itself and seeking the divine help for the overall betterment, not just seeking your betterment. That is why the prayer becomes plural. As Dr. Varadachari puts it, he says in the beginning you can start with I, "I am yet but slaves of wishes putting a bar to my advancement", later on it changes to we. "We are yet, but slaves of wishes". Here the wishes is not just yours. Even when he says singular it becomes wishes only and not my wishes. I am yet a slave of wishes, not only my wishes, my wife's wishes are there, my sons wishes are there, my father's wishes are there, my friends wishes are there about me. They have got various expectations about me. All those things are binding me. I must get out of it. I pray, I am incapable of coming out of it, you better save me. That particular attitude of humility we have to develop. Only when we know the enormity of the subject we will be in a position to develop the humility, otherwise we will think we are very confident to do anything. The prayer also as far as I know, majority of the abhyasis do it ritually repeating it once or twice. We should get into that thought and get lost. Once or twice is remembered very well because one and two we know buckle my shoe. These two we remember and then go to bed. No question of getting into that attitude of humility, no question of feeling the presence of the divinity, no question of feeling the necessity to grow beyond ourselves, no necessity to pray for others or you have some problem. That problem overtakes you during the prayer and then that problem alone is remembered. Neither the God is remembered nor the solution is remembered, only the problem is remembered. This is very unfortunate way of prayer.

Prayer should be one where one should feel the lapses of every other person as his own lapses. If the Nation has failed it is we who have failed. If the world has failed it is we who have failed. Such is the notion of Brahman. A person who lives at the higher consciousness feels so. Fifty years back it was normal for every person to feel for others. Some calamity has happened else where they used to feel, today we seem to be totally indifferent. The problem becomes real only when we suffer, when somebody else is suffering it is not our problem. It is our misfortune that we have got isolated, insulated. Insulated to such an extent that we stink within. Let us get liberated out of this. That we can do only when we can maintain our 9.00 P.M prayer. Understand the method atleast. Follow the method. We will definitely see how much we have evolved.