Ananda Marga – The part of bliss – 1970

Din. 5
PREFACE

In September of 1970, Devadatta and 1 arrive at the headquarters of the Ananda Marga (Path of Bliss) Yoga Society in Ranchi, India. While there we were fortunate enough to receive
philosophy and Sanskrit classes from so of the most scholarly, loving, and devoted men we had e r met. Wee were v in also fortunate in that the Ananda Marga Publication Board took 0
the time and trouble to read and review the manuscript, making necessary corrections. Without these asses and the review board, as well as additional help provide as we were writing,
this book would have been an impossility. Thus we would like to thank them, as well as all the other beautiful and loving
expressions of Brahma who flowed with us in this endeavor. Without the help of all of the people and many whom we've never even met, this manucript could never have been
assembled: Acarya Nirmalanda Avadhuta, Acarya Pranavananda Avadhuta, Acarya Sidhananda Avadhuta, Acarya Tadgatananda Avadhuta, Ac Vijayananda Avadhuta, Acarya
Vimuktananda Avadhuta, Arati, Bob and Carter Boynton, Bill (Artist Sahib), Robe F. Cohen, Lila Czelowalnik, Inez Dame, Devacaksu, Sandyatten, Joel Grabkowitz, Vijay Kumar,
Madalasa, Jan Palini, Michael and Laura Schwartz, Harold Slade, Sucismi John Townley, Richard Weisglas, Selma Weisglas, Vish Richard Ziegler, and especial thanks to Ruth Swartz,
with whose love our trip to India would have been delayed, an to Madhuri, who helped inspire this undertaking. We could also like to send appreciation to the Brahma of the sun for
shining upon the Brahmic trees that provided their Life s stance for this book and to the Brahma of the paper-maker and the ink-maker and to all those forms of Brahma which
contributed their beings anonymously.

Stony Brook, Long Island - May, 1971

Table of Contents

introduction

Chapter One: Meditation .......................

Difficulty of Mind Control; Possession of a Perfect Nature. (Bhagavata Dharma); characteristics of Perfect Nature; Types of Devotion; Ananda Marga Initiation; Power of the Proper
Mantra; Qualities of a Guru; Qualities of a Disciple; Types of Disciples; Devotion versus Intellectualization; The Goal and Attaining It. The Meditation Process; Subjective Approach
with Objective Adjustment; Stages of Sadhana (meditation); Requests for Help; The Moral Code of Yoga.

Chapter Two: Brahmacakra: Ananda Marga's Theory of Creation . . . . 66 Internal Reproducer of the External World: The Citta; Director of the Citta's Functioning: The Ahamtattva; The
Commander-in-Chief: The Mahattattva; Witnessed of the Mind: The Atman; Origin of Mind and Consciousness; The Creative Consciousness; Two States of Consciousness; Nirguna and
Saguna Brahma; The First Binding of Purusa: Cosmic Mahattattva; The Triangle of Creation; The Second Binding of Purusa: Cosmic Ahamtattva; The Third Binding of Purusa: Cosmic
Citta; The Drama of Creation; Comparison to genesis; Factors of Creation; Saincara: Movement from Subtle to Crude; Prati-Saincara: Movement from Crude to Subtle; Creation of Life;
Instincts and Intellect .

Chapter Three: Ananda Marga Anatomy . 90

Kulakundalini: Coiled Consciousness; Muladhara Cakra: First and Crudest Vibrational Center; Svadhisthana Cakra: Second Vibrational Center; Manipura Cakra: Vibrational Center of
the Navel Area; Anahata Cakra: Located in the Yogic Heart; Vishuddha Cakra: Vibrational Center of the Mind; Sahasrara Cakra: Subtlest and Highest Vibrational Center; Layers of the
Mind: Kosas; Kamamaya Kosa: Conscious Mind; PROUT: Ananda Marga's Social Theory; Monomaya Kosa: Subconscious Mind; Samskara: Record of Reactions; Atimanas Kosa:
Beginning of the Causal Mind; Vijinanamaya Kosa-. Perceiver of Reality; Maya: Cosmic Camouflage; Hiranamaya Kosa: Innermost Sheath; The Eight Limbs of Yoga; Vayus:
Regulators of Body Functionings; Psycho-Physical Parallelism: Life and Death; Vibrations and Perception; Psycho-Spiritual Parallelism; Life and Its Causes: Food and Diet; Vrittis:
Desires Which Hamper Growth; Conclusion.

Glossary of Ananda Marga Philosophical Terms 128

INTRODUCTION

If the Goddess of Wisdom were to use the Tree of Life as her pen, the oceans of the earth as her inkwell, the firmaments of the universe as her writing pad, and eternity as her clock, she
could not even begin to describe Cosmic Consciousness or Cosmic Mind.

How then can we attempt here. to put forth an easy introduction to a yoga philosophy which revolves around a basic understanding of these concepts? Obviously the text which follows
does not intend to bring any of its readers to a stance of Enlightenment. It is impossible for one to truly comprehend the Cosmic Absolutes via the agency of the intellect. The mind can
grasp within its limited scope only the terrain of the limited world. The unlimited cosmic is beyond the comprehension of any individual's mind.

But we should not despair. Nor should we abandon this text as useless. lt is possible to comprehend the cosmic. But not with the mind.

Each of us possesses something which transcends our limited intellects, something which connects us to the unlimited world of the Eternal. We each possess a consciousness. Our

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consciousness is that part of us capable of framing the statement: "I know that I exist." Whereas our minds are only capable of saying: 'I exist." Our consciousness is the witnessing entity
which observes everything that flows through our minds and yet remains unaffected by this flow.

Most of us are unaware, however, that we even possess this consciousness. When the ocean waves are so turbulent that the moon's reflection is broken into a billion pieces, it might seem
as though there were no moon, but only if we look down upon the ocean rather than up to the sky. When our minds are turbulent with the cares and distresses of the physical world, the
reflection of cosmic consciousness within us is so broken up and scattered abroad that we seem not to be reflecting it at all. Could we but calm the waters of the mind we would be able
to fully reflect the cosmic consciousness and come to terms with the consciousness which lies latent within each of us. From the vantage point of this consciousness we could look down
upon cosmic mind and comprehend it totally.

The purpose of this book, then, is not to bring us to a comprehension of cosmic mind and consciousness; rather its purpose is to so fully convince us of their existence and of our potential
for realizing them that we feel compelled to seek out the techniques described herein for calming the waters.

The cosmic forces have been so perverted by the religions and theologies of the world that most of us tend to shy away from any mention of them. I, for one, was brought up in a home
that was so vehemently atheistic that it was with great scepticism that I set off for the Ananda Marga headquarters in Ranchi, India, to study with the guru, Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji. The
primary reason that I even found myself engaged in such a pursuit was that my husband, Devadatta, had firmly decided to go on the quest and I wanted to tag along with him.

What I experienced in Ranchi so changed my entire mode of outlook that I felt compelled to share the experience, and this text is the result of that desire. The chapters dealing with the
philosophy were scrawled mainly by my hand whereas the dictionary is more of Devadatta's doing.

At first even the philosophy set forth here seemed foreign and alien to me, but the personified example of it was so diversely omnipresent in Ranchi in the form of the guru and his
thousand yogi full-time disciples that I was drawn into constant re-examination. Unlike my preconception of yogis and a guru, these men were not ascetic cave-dwellers intent upon the
contemplation of their navels. They were men of the world so totally connected to the life around them that they felt hungry knowing that others were starving. Rather than abandoning
the world as some kind of an illusion they were devotedly and unceasingly working at the establishment of schools, orphanages, old age and invalid homes, tribal cooperatives, women's
welfare, and instantaneous and total relief in the case of natural calamity. These men were never still but always calm, never economically rewarded but always lovingly devoted to their
work. They were the first examples I'd ever seen of near perfect human beings - and there were hundreds of them. The guru was also a surprise. Not a long-haired, bearded, deep-eyed
and solemn saint, Shrii Shrii Anandamurtijii (whose name means that the very sight of him gives one bliss) wears his hair close-cropped and his chin cleanshaven. His eyes peer out from
behind glasses and when he goes home at night his wife and child greed him at the door. And yet he is a perfect man. Not near-perfect. Perfect. He has no trace of personal ego. His
identification is entirely with all of mankind. He acts always in
the best interest of everyone. He never loses his temper, although he will feign anger in order to admonish a disciple for
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improper behaviour. He never becomes distressed or disturbed, although he feels all the pain of the world and works without sleep in order to bring humanity to the bliss it deserves. And
he has a wonderful sense of humor, which is never at the expense of anyone. He never asks of us that which he does not do himself. Although he has completely realized his Absolute
Self, he meditates regularly twice daily, because he asks that of each of his disciples. In short, he is Perfect.

In his presence and among his devoted children (the yogis) 1 began to reappraise an awakening belief in an Intelligence far beyond the human. Although IM been brought up as a strict
atheist, high school biology and chemistry had begun to shake my faith in the Absolute Void. The perfection of the human body, the design behind the evolution of life from the turbulent
waters to mankind, the intelligence behind the periodic table of the elements, had earlier begun to shake my faith in the Nonexistent. But now, in the presence of these men, my negation
of Non-existence was replaced by a positive approach. I began to understand the Cosmic Force that the Western Physical sciences had earlier convinced me must somewhere be in
existence.

It is this Positive approach that 1 have tried to share here. Ananda Marga philosophy made so much sense, brought so much coherence to the formerly incoherent, that 1 had to write it
down. it is not expected that you will find Enlightenment in these pages, but hopefully you will discover why it is necessary to seek the technique which will bring you to Enlightenment.

Let me conclude with the Indian form of greeting and farewell: Namaskar. A rough translation of which would be: I pay my salutations to the divinity within you with all the divine
charms of my Mind and all the love and cordiality of my heart.

MEDITATION
MEDITATION

Difficulty of Mind Control

One day as we sat at the feet of a joy-filled yogi, listening to a philosophy discourse, he explained that the individual who controls his mind controls the universe. However, it is no easy
task to control the mind. The mind is like the tail of a dog, the yogi explained; You may straighten the tail of a dog by pulling it taut, but as soon as you let go, it will curl up again. He
then proceeded to tell us one of his enlightening stories: One day a man went to a yogi and asked that he be given the power to fulfil all of his desires. The yogi told him that there was an
incantation (mantra) capable of delivering this power but that it was a very dangerous incantation. When one
spoke the incantation (mantra) a giant appeared and it was he who fulfilled all desires; but the giant was a fanatic for work; he had to be kept busy. lf ever one ran out of desires for him to
fulfil,- he would become so bored and frustrated that he would kill the man who had been using the magical incantation (mantra). The pleasure-seeker was not at all perturbed by this

information. He bragged to the yogi that he had so many desires to be fulfilled that he could keep a giant busy form any a lifetime. Being thus assured, the yogi gave the man the
incantation and wished him well. '11-
The man ran home as quickly as he could, eager to begin fulfilling all of his desires. As soon as he returned home he uttered the incantation (mantra) - and, lo, the giant appeared,
demanding work. The man told the giant that he desired a huge mansion with golden doorknobs and Persian carpets and diamond candelabra. The giant smiled happily, then disappeared.
But he returned within half an hour. "Why have you come back so soon? Are you failing to fulfil your first task? You should be busily at work!" exclaimed the mansion-wanter. "But I
have completed the task, master," replied the giant, and so saying, he lifted up the man and brought him to the glistening new mansion. "Oh," exclaimed the man. "I had no idea that you
could work so quickly."
" What should I do now, master?" questioned the giant, eager to be his next task.
"Bring me the most beautiful woman in the world," came the quick reply.
Within a few moments appeared before him in all her dazzling beauty, the most beautiful woman that the woman-wanter had ever seen.
But the joy at the appearance of this woman was mixed with dismay. The giant fulfilled desires so quickly that soon there would be none left.

Sure enough, by nightfall, the pleasure-seeker could not dream up any further desires and the giant was stomping and screaming and crying for more work to keep him busy. In a panic
the man went running off to the yogi, the giant in hot pursuit.

“What's the matter?" grinned the yogi. "Exhaust Your desires so soon?"
‘yes!" replied his disciple in a cold sweat. "l can think of nothing else for him to do and now he is going to killing. Whatever shall 1 do?"
“There's but one way to save you," replied the yogi. "Cut off the tail of a dog and give it to your giant, telling him to keep the tail straight and uncurled. As soon as he removes his hands
from the tail, it shall curl up again; so you have a life-time of work for him to do."
Upon hearing this the disciple ran after the nearest dog and, cutting off the tail, gave it to his giant with the proper instructions.
And lo, the giant was kept so busy that the man was never troubled again.
"Our minds are like that dog's tail," the joy-filled yogi, who was teaching us philosophy, explained. "As soon as we. relax our grip on them, they curl up again. But the man who can
control his mind, controls the universe."
There is but one way to control the mind, and meditation is that way. Meditation is a specific and controlled form of effort which links a man and his goal. All striving is a form of
Meditation. The medical student struggling for years to become a doctor is performing a kind of meditation. In the Sanskrit Language, the word for "meditation" is "sadhana" which
comes from the rootword "sidh" meaning "to try."

Thus an of us are daily performing many kinds of meditation of Sadhana, for life involves many types of "tryings". However the “trying” which strives for Self, for that Perfect and
Unlimited Essence .against which we are continuously although unconsciously measuring our limited selves, is a unique "trying", a particular meditation, a specific Sadhana.

Each of us has within us the potential for perfection, just as each infant has the potential for speech. In crying "Ma Ma" or "Da Da" the infant is struggling to fulfill his potential. In time,
with practice and greater development, he finally does master the art, So too can we master our potential perfection with sufficient effort and development. Unfortunately there are far
fewer examples of perfection than there are examples of speakers to the infant. But Jesus was such an example. And the Buddha in India. And in recent times many more examples have
been born to serve as an embodiment of the goal for us. Unfortunately our society tends to regard such special persons as deviates. India is the most fertile ground for such souls because
she has the longest tradition of honoring them. Within the last century she has given birth to such perfect men as Ramakrishna, Sri Aurobindo, Ramana Maharshi, and Shrii Shrii
Anandamurtijii, to mention just a few. Because our schooling tends to be culturally limited to the western world, most of us have never heard of such men. Because our society honors
physical warriors more than spiritual ones, we find ourselves stumbling on the pronunciation of their names. But their lives are available to us. They have lived recently. Shrii Shrii
Anandamurtijii lives still. And in reading and learning about them we may find for ourselves concrete examples of the perfection for which each of us has the potential,
Once we accept our potential perfection, once we recognize that each of us feels inadequate only because he is constantly comparing himself to an inner image of the Supremely
Adequate, then we may begin to develop ourselves so that we May fulfil our potential. Yogic meditation, Perfection-Striving Effort, is the way that we can reach this inner Potential Self;
it is the way that we can keep the dog's tail of the mind from curling, keep the turbulent waters still in order

to find the peace within, in order to reflect the entire moon. It is Perfection-Striving Effort, yogic meditation, which gives us the control of the mind and thus of the entire universe for the
universe is within our minds and thus capable of their control. As the eminent psychiatrist R.D. Laing has explained the

world is not outside our minds, but is on our minds. Although we think of the world as being external to us, all perception of it is mediated by the mind. We can stroke a furry cat with our
hands, but if our nerve fibers are disconnected at the elbow, the cat's warmth will never reach the mind and we shall not experience the pleasure of the contact. Likewise all of our
experiences of the world outside are only perceived once the mind has interpreted them. When we control the mind, we can determine the interpretation. We are no longer at the mercy of
our emotions, no longer perceiving and interpreting through our fears, anxieties, desires or needs. We remain calm among turmoil, powerful amidst chaos.
Should an armed Man come at us with intent to kill, a simple verbal command from us can force him to drop his weapon. The assailant has no control over his mind and is allowing his
energies to be dissipated in various fears and thoughts. Part of him actually is repulsed at the thought of injuring someone. Because we control our minds, because all of our energies are
concentrated upon a single thought, our thought can dominate the assailant's intent, and we can disarm him with our minds.
Such control does not mean that we can now ignore the outside world. We still must deal with our assailant. We still must recognize and correct the problems that we perceive. The major
difference is that now we perceive these problems directly, rather than through the spectacles of our personal problems and egos. If our girlfriend, boss, or parents scream at us, rather
than screaming back (or repressing a scream) because
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our lovability is being challenged, we are able to remain calm and assess the real cause of the reprimand. Thus are we more capable of handling the situation satisfactorily.

Because we control the mind does not mean that we now create romantic and rosy images upon our mental screen. Rather it means that we perceive what is really happening, not our
worst fears about what might be happening. This new and clear insight into the problem, whether it be personal, social, political, or whatever, gives us a new command over the situation.
The thousand yogis of Ananda Marga are not closing their eyes to the world's problems now that they have control over their minds; they are calmly and systematically going about
solving those problems. Thus can we all deal with the world once we learn to discipline our minds.

Such discipline, of course, takes much effort, but success brings much joy. As Ramakrishna said, the gold lies buried in he earth, the butter lies latent in the milk, and only effort
uncovers and reveals them. As our shovel strikes the gold, as the milk begins to thicken, we feel joy; but not until the gold is in our hands or the butter on our bread are we really in
control. As we come more and more in control of our minds, we shall also experience a feeling of joy. Once we have completely disciplined the mind, we n shall experience the most
supreme joy of all. This joy is called "ananda" -in Sanskrit. There is no English equivalent, but "supreme bliss" comes the closest. Perfection-Striving Effort, meditation, sadhana, is the
key to this most supreme of joys; it is the meditation which helps control the giant within and which helps us transform the animal and transcend the human.

Possession of a Perfect Nature (Bhagavata Dharma)

As human beings we have a special destiny to fulfill, for we

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have been given a gift bestowed upon no other being. We have possession of a Perfect Nature, known in Sanskrit as 'Bagavata "basic Dharma". Dharma literally means "innate tendency"
or nature". Thus we may say that the dharma or nature of fire is its capacity for burning. The dharma of bees is the making of honey. Eating drinking, and procreating are all the dharma
or nature of man. He shares this nature with all the other animals as well. only man, however, has the dharma to perform meditation, the dharma of achieving perfection. To differentiate
this nature from all the others, we call it Perfect Nature, Bhagavata (Self) Dharma, for it is the nature which leads man to Self, which infuses in him a craving for attaining his Perfect
Potential.

A man not fulfilling his Perfect Nature is lower than an animal, for an animal is undeveloped mentally and spiritually and thus is incapable of Perfection Striving meditation. But a man
has a highly developed mind and a mind of such a caliber when directed to animal desires brings man to a state lower than the bestial. A lion can kill only one animal at a time; but a man
can kill millions. Much of modem society is the result of such mental energy technologically perfected and directed towards basic bestiality. We seem driven, almost with a madness, to
satiate ourselves with the animal pleasures of eating and glorifying the body. But the world of animal pleasures is finite and the finite can never fully satisfy; we constantly find ourselves
wanting more and more. Thus contemporary food, clothing, music, etc., has taken on the quality of bombarding the senses in an attempt to reach the ultimate More. As long as man
directs his intellect along the animal path, he shall always run into the dead-end of frustration. The body can only take so much pleasure before it becomes pain. The decibel level ran
only go so high. Thus we must recognize and fulfil our Perfect

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Nature (Bhagavata Dharma) in order to finally satisfy our infinite longing. Characteristics of Perfect Nature (Bhagavata Dharma)
In order to fulfill our Perfect Nature we should understand it better. There are four fundamental characteristics of this most wonderful of dharmas: Collected Consciousness(Paramatman);
Greatness of Mind (Istara); Harmonious Relations (Rasa); and Selfless Service (Seva). Once we have come to terms these, with each of shall have abandoned our animal natures and
fulfilled our human potential for realizing Self.

Collected Consciousness (Paramatman)

The first characteristic of our Perfect Nature is its inimitable goal: the merger of unit consciousness into infinite Consciousness. Although we do not often heed our consciousness, it is
always with us, watching each and every of our daily interactions. It is like the bird sitting high up on a branch, watching an identically colored bird sitting beside it. This second bird is
eating and enjoying one of the fruits of the tree. The first bird does not taste -the fruit, but is solely occupied in watching his brother eat. The eating bird may be equated to each
individual's mind, partaking of the fruits of the physical world; for it is only because of the mind that we actually do taste these fruits, as was mentioned earlier. The bird that is observing
the eating is equivalent to the consciousness of each individual. Unlike the mind, it does not register the pleasures and pains of the senses, but it watches the mind as it performs the
registering. The mind is that part of the individual capable of identifying the individual, capable of making the statement: "I exist." The consciousness is that witnessing part of the
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individual capable of stating: "' know that I exist." With the mind we organize the world; it is the computer which handles and manipulates the data picked up by the senses. With the
consciousness we observe and ratify the functioning of the mind; it is the electricity without which the computer cannot
run.
When the mind reaches a state of peace, the consciousness is also absorbed in that peaceful state. A consciousness absorbed in peace mirrors the Absolute Consciousness, known as
---Paramatman- in Sanskrit, is nothing but the collection of all individual consciousnesses, and although these consciousnesses may be concerned with the bustle of the world of changing
phenomena, the Absolute Collected Consciousness, Paramatman, remains forever untroubled and undisturbed. The perspective gained by the combination of all individual
consciousnesses raises the Absolute from the concerns of the temporal. Each soldier in a battle may be experiencing great pain and distress at the sight of the army charging towards him,
but the general, observing all from a comfortable distance and receiving information from many different quarters, relaxes with the knowledge that all is well in hand. Thus the Absolute
Collected Consciousness, although it witnesses the flux of the world, remains unaffected by that flux. It does not taste the world's fruits, but observes them from a distance.
When the individual consciousness becomes as calm and peaceful as the Collected, it actually becomes the same as the Collected. When a drop of rain falls into the ocean, it becomes
indistinguishable from the ocean. Thus is it possible for the individual consciousness actually to merge with the Collected. The determining factor is the state and direction of the mind. If
we consciously change the object of our minds, if we redirect our minds from the bustle of the material world to the
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tranquillity of the eternally non-changing, we can directly influence the concerns of our own consciousness. A consciousness which constantly witnesses a mind obsessed with and
distressed by the world of changing phenomena is a consciousness solely preoccupied with distress. A consciousness which witnesses a mind peacefully observing and calmly handling
the world of changes is a consciousness preoccupied with tranquility. The goal of our Perfect Nature (Bhagavata Dharma) is the achievement of such a state of mental peace and
tranquility that the individual consciousness is free to merge with the Collected. Such a merger does not imply, however, that we have withdrawn our attention and concern from the
physical world. The Collected Consciousness is forever attending to the physical universe. What it does mean is that we can now view the world from an omniscient perspective, greatly
increasing our ability to effectively work positive changes. We no longer see only the specific army that is charging towards us. We see all armies and all generals and all the other facets
of the physical universe. We become as gods. Each of has the potential to achieve this state. Attainment of Collected Consciousness lies within our own control and is the first
characteristic of our Perfect Nature. Collected Consciousness may be thought of as a huge room with many entrances. No matter the door by which we enter we all find ourselves in the
same room. The particular door which gives us entry is the doorway of our own unit consciousness, and is known as "Atman".

Expansion of Mind (Vistara)

Greatness of mind or expansion of mind is the second of the characteristics of our Perfect Nature. In Sanskrit it is known as "Vistara". Men who think in terms of "my family rather than

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yours," "my nation rather than yours," "my religion rather than yours,- are suffering from an absence of Vistara. Vistara is the recognition that the entire universe is nothing but a
manifestation of Supreme Consciousness or Intelligence. Vistara is love for that Supreme Entity in whose mind the vast cosmos is created, and love for each and every object in this
cosmos as a manifestation of that Entity. Vistara makes no negative distinctions between man and man, man and woman, race and race, nation and nawon, or any other manifestation of
Absolute Consciousness.
There is a story about a guru and disciple which illustrates this idea of non-preferential discrimination. The disciple had been instructed to follow the teachings of a certain learned guru.
Upon arriving at the guru's abode and receiving audience with him, the disciple was shocked to find the guru resting his hand upon his wife's shoulder. (In India it is considered indecent
for a man to touch a woman affectionately in public, even if the woman is his own wife.) "How am I to learn advanced spirituality from a man who touches a woman so openly?" fretted
the young disciple. "I cannot remain here with such a man." But then, just as he had decided to leave, the guru removed his hand from the shoulder of his wife and held it in the fire
blazing on the hearth near him. Suddenly the disciple realized that for this guru there was no distinction between any of Brahma's (Absolute Consciousness) manifestations. This was a
guru realized in Vistara.
There is another especially appealing story which also illustrates this point. Thirty-five hundred years ago God appeared on earth in the human form and was known as Krishna. This
Krishna was once so sick that no doctors and no healers were able to return him to health. His disciples were in despair. They were not ready to have their beloved Krishna pass
I
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from the earth. They begged that he find some remedy by which they could restore his health. "There is but one way." He replied. "Go fetch me the water that one of my devotees has
used to wash his feet and bathe my body in that water." In India, nothing is considered filthier than a man's feet, for they have walked through all the refuse of life to bring him to where
he stands. Thus the water used to wash the feet is filthy beyond description. The disciples were horrified. They felt that they would do anything to restore their Krishna to health - but
bathe the Lord in their foot water - no, they could never do that.
Krishna asked that the water be brought to him and that the disciple give him the bath. But none stepped forth. , None was ready to take onto himself the future reaction or
consequences (samskara) of bathing God in his foot water. But then, one devotee separated himself from the crowd. He fetched the required water and bathing the Lord, restored Him to
health. As the guru of the story, this devotee alone recognized that all is Absolute Consciousness, even the water that has bathed the feet. Learning that this one particular form of
Consciousness would heal another manifestation of the Consciousness, this devotee alone was able to perform the necessary devotion. Thus, also as that earlier guru, this devotee was
well-advanced in Greatness of Mind, Vistara. For those of us whose hands still bum when we stick them into fire or who have no qualms about the water with which we bathe our feet,
distinctions among these various forms of Consciousness can have varying significances. Vistara does not teach us to ignore important distinctions. We simply are to recognize that all the
varying and beautiful forms, shapes, colors, tastes, and smells are manifestations of Consciousness, are the result of the Cosmic thought process and witnessship.

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Thus we should learn to love everything as Its manifestation, and we should love the variety and appreciate the multiplicity with which Consciousness expresses Itself.
We can even appreciate the pains and problems with a new understanding, once we become advanced in Vistara. For example, once a yogi came to the United States from India and was
received in California by a very warm and sympathetic family. Among other things, this family provided the yogi with a diet almost identical to the one that he had eaten in India. Yet
after a few days he began experiencing pain in his joints. Recognizing that improper diet is often the cause of such pain, the yogi reexamined the foods that he had been eating and
discovered that the only major difference between his American and Indian diets was the consumption of a can of pineapple juice at each American lunch. So he eliminated the pineapple
juice, and the pains ceased. A few days later he experimentally re-introduced the juice, and the pains reappeared. Rather than curse the pain and remove it with aspirin, which would have
been the common American response, the yogi recognized that the pain was a blessing, an early warning signal, another positive manifestation of Consciousness, and he heeded it as
such.
Ramakrishna tells a story about a yogi who was not so wise as this one. Once a guru explained to his disciples that the Absolute Consciousness is in everything and that everything is a
manifestation of that Consciousness. Shortly after his discourse, one of his disciples went off into the jungle to fetch fire-wood. Suddenly a thunderous sound interrupted the peace still
reigning after the discourse with the guru. The disciple looked down the path a saw a huge elephant charging towards him. As the animal drew close, he heard the elephant driver
screaming: "Out of the way! Out of the way! Mad elephant!!"

Unperturbed, the disciple remembered the recent teachings

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of his guru and, remaining in the path, saluted the elephant as a form of Consciousness. Immediately the elephant was in front of him and, picking him up in his trunk, threw him into the
brush. The reverential disciple, full of love for the divine, lay bleeding and unconscious, totally unaware of all the forms of Consciousness around him. Luckily another disciple soon
came by and discovered him, and he was carried gently back to the guru. After loving treatment he was restored to his senses. The guru asked him to explain what had befallen him. After
telling how he had saluted the stampeding elephant in spite of the driver's warning, he asked why the Consciousness had hurt him so. In response, the guru told him simply: "But my son,
the Consciousness had also taken form as the elephant driver and as the driver it was trying to save you. Why did you not heed the Consciousness as a driver?"
So we must become advanced in Vistara (Greatness of Mind), but not lose our power of proper discrimination. We shall still be able to perceive the problems of the world. Vistara merely
helps us understand that these problems do not originate from an opposing, satanic force or from an indifferent, arbitrary one. Every problem and pain is an expression of the same single
Absolute Consciousness and has been expressed as a stimulus for correction, just as the yogi's pain stimulated a correction of diet. If we handle the war problem, the ecology problem, the
drug problem as creations of a satanic mind or as arbitrary evils, we tend to look for external ways of solving the problems, such as taking an aspirin to hide the pain. Violently opposing
war rarely puts an end to it. Chemically treating the air and waters does not reduce the amount of pollutants already present. Paying off the Turkish Poppy-farmers does not eliminate the
need for or usage of drugs. All of these solutions are concerned only with the symptoms and can never effect a lasting cure.

19

Disturbed consciousness is the cause of all the problems. However it is not the Absolute Consciousness which is disturbed, but millions of unit consciousnesses that are manifesting
tragic diseases.
Physical diseases are the result of improper dietary or behavioural action. Improper diet is the result of an individual consciousness indifferent to the maintenance of perfect body
harmonies, indifferent to early warning signals. War, unbalanced ecology, usage of drugs are also symptoms of improperly or ignorantly functioning consciousness. Only a very basic
correction or education, of mass consciousness can effectively and lastingly cure our social, political, and ecological diseases. The war and drug diseases have been given to us as signals,
much as the pain in the joints was given to the yogi. They are also positive manifestations of a positive Consciousness. Recognizing them as helpful disease symptoms rather than as evil
or arbitrary curses should aid us in the combating of them.
As malfunctioning consciousness is the cause of the problem, solutions should direct themselves towards consciousness in order to find a cure. As our own consciousness is the one over
which we have the most control, we should first direct our efforts towards the purifying of it. Then we may direct our efforts outwards towards others.
When we fight evil from the perspective of our limited egos, right as we may be convinced that we are, we are only seeing a small part of the picture. Only the general who surveys the
whole battle is in a position to guide all the maneuvers. Only the man in control of his limited ego, through control over his mind, is in a position to suggest maneuvers to mankind.
Thus the first step towards saving mankind should be the effort towards an establishment of peace within, so that we have a home base from which to operate. Rather than allowing
20

the problems of the world to upset us and thus hinder truly constructive action, we shall be able to function in the world as the lotus flower functions in the water. Like a water lily, the
lotus floats upon the waters of lakes and ponds, but unlike any other water flower its petals have a unique surface which allows water to run over them without their ever getting wet. So
does meditation allow us to exist within the world and work within the world without being so disturbed by it that our actions are ineffective. The war or pollution or drug opponent who
sincerely fights his cause but who does so from the limited perspective of ego problems, may create more antagonism against himself than against the problem he is fighting. Meditation
not only allows us to see the issues clearly, but also to work so calmly with others that it is the issue with which we deal and not interpersonal difficulties.
Harmonious Relation (Rasa)

Meditation is the tool which helps us to fulfill this second and highly important aspect of our Perfect Nature (Bhagavata Dharma). Meditation is also the key to the third aspect, known in
Sanskrit as Rasa. Rasa literally means "flow". In the context of our Perfect, Nature it means that movement which flows along with the flow of the Supreme Integral Entity
(Paramapurusa). When one directs his own mental flow into the cosmic flow he is fulfilling Rasa Sadhana, Dutting himself into a harmonious relation with the universe, Meditation is the
giant which enables us to achieve this harmonious relation, for the
mantra (specific sound) given to us at our first initiation moves us into the proper flow. Not only does the mantra expand the mind by having us continually repeat to ourselves that we are
infinite (almost all Ananda Marga mantras have this idea as their

21

basic meaning), but it also tranquilizes our person, restoring us to the cosmic flow. To accept this idea we must appreciate that the physical world is nothing but a series of flows.
Physicists have shown that what appears to the eye and hand as a static, immobile solid, such as a chair or table, is actually a continually moving flow of electrons, protons, and neutrons.
All objects flow with a unique vibration, thus providing everything with a unique identity. The flow of every entity is said to be its "entitative rhythm". The flow of all entities combined
is called the "cosmic rhythm". Unlike all the entitative rhythms which comprise it, the cosmic rhythm has no ups and downs, no crests and troughs, but is an infinitely long straight line. It
is the rhythm of Perfect Peace. One of the primary functions of the mantra, the special sound given at our first initiation into Ananda Marga Yoga, is that the rhythm of the mantra (known
as the "incantative rhythm") works upon our unique personal rhythm in such a way that our own flow is made more tranquil and we begin to flow in harmony with the cosmic flow. Such
a harmonious flowing is called Rasa and is the third characteristic of our Perfect Nature (Bhagavata Dharma.)

Selfless Service (Seva)

Thus the first three factors of Perfect Nature are essential if the devotee is to reach the goal of highest consciousness. In most yoga systems these three factors are not only essential but
also considered sufficient. But Ananda Marga recognizes that a fourth factor is also essential. This factor is known as "Seva" and is service performed without any desire of reward. It
may be rendered both internally and externally.
External service may be rendered in many ways: if one serves with one's physical body, helping to build schools,

22
orphanages, etc., one is said to be performing physical service; if one serves by protecting others while risking one's own life, one is performing valorous service; if one serves others by
teaching spiritual knowledge and instilling in others an eagerness for treading the path of virtue, one is performing mental service; service rendered by supplying food, clothing, money,
etc., is economic service. Whichever service we perform, we must always remember that in serving others we are serving the Absolute Consciousness in one of its various manifestations.
If we remember that Consciousness has taken this particular shape in order to give us a chance to serve It, then we will be free of egoism. If we forget this idea, we become prey to a
great danger. The danger inherent in external service is that our egos will become so enlarged that we shall forget Consciousness completely and shall begin to think that it is we who are
doing good and not that Consciousness through us. Thus we must always remember that our service is given to a manifestation of the Supreme Intelligence by another manifestation of
that same /Inlligence.

The aim of every meditator (sadhaka), therefore, is not

only liberation of Self but also the welfare of humanity; for self-liberation without mankind's liberation is an egoistic desire and any trace of ego prevents one from reaching Self.
Meditation (Sadhana) without service does incomplete battle with the limited ego. Service without meditation takes no precaution for keeping our limited egos in perspective. Service
and meditation are lovers, never to be separated happily.
If as we meditate and as we repeat our mantra throughout the day, we always have the feeling that we want to serve the Supreme Consciousness, our minds will be concentrated
immediately and constantly upon It. This devotional service comprises the internal form of Seva. There is a wonderful story

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about a loving devotee which should illustrate this type of service.

Once as this devotee Was meditating, the Supreme Consciousness took on a physical form and appeared before him. After praising the devotee for his loving constancy, the Supreme
promised to grant the meditator one boon. Rather than gleefully jumping at the opportunity of having any of his wishes fulfilled, the devotee replied that he wished only to give
something to that Supreme Intelligence. The Supreme was somewhat taken aback. What can a limited man possibly offer up to the Unlimited, Consciousness? The devotee replied that
because this Consciousness was constantly thinking of and maintaining the entire Creation, It had no time left to think on Itself. Thus the devotee wish to give over his own mind to the
Supreme in order that It might have a mind especially set aside for thinking of Itself. Such constant fixation upon the Supreme is what is known as "internal service". Obviously,
however, because the Supreme is constantly thinking about Its Creation, thought of the Supreme does not remove us from this world, but merely provides us with a new perspective upon
it.
Because of this new perspective, gained from our inner service, our love for the Supreme constantly increases. As our love increases, our desire for more service increases with it. When
once there is love, there is no longer any difference between the unit and the cosmic. Just as we wash every day out of love for the Consciousness manifested by our bodies, so shall we
wash the world with well-being out of love for the Consciousness manifested in the All. As the learned guru of our story earlier, we shall make no distinction between doing good for self
or other, for everything is perceived as Consciousness. Greatness of Mind (Vistara) and Selfless Service (Seva) shall be as natural to us as our daily bath. Our daily lives will be an
expression of love for the Absolute.

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Types of Devotion
At first the love we experienced is fearful love, but eventually it becomes fearless. Love must be present or there can -be no unification with the Supreme; merger would not be complete.
But the love is not like that which we feel for our children, parents, mates or friends. The love is not based on personal need or attachment. It is a love of attraction, one of the natural
forces of the universe. We love the Absolute Consciousness because we can do nothing but love It. Love is the attraction that each and every object in the universe has for every other.
The earth revolves around the sun because of this attraction. When such attraction is felt for the Supreme Integral Entity (Paramapurusa), one experiences true love. Such love is called
"Prema", and is not to be confused with attraction for non-integral entities such as money, land, or family. This second kind of attraction is known as "Kama" (as in the Kama Sutra) and
the transactional relationship of this kind of love is a businesslike one. "Give me $5.00 and I'll give you $5.00 worth of merchandise." Such is the spirit of the businesslike transaction.
"Give me your love and security and I'll give you mine." Such is the exchange like nature of Kama love.
The transactional relationship during Prema love is service, the spirit of which is to give everything and take nothing. "I love you whether or not you love me because you in yourself are
lovable and I must love you."
Abraham Maslow, the pioneer of a new psychology in
America, brought these two concepts of love to the West when he named Prema love: "Being love", and Kama love:
"Deficiency love". Being love was so named because we love the Being of the person or object; we love the person or object for who or what he is. Deficiency love is based on need. The
lover

25

feels incomplete in himself, deficient, and turns to the loved one to complete him; thus the loved one is loved for the completeness that he can bring to the lover.
If we love the Supreme Consciousness for what It can do for us, we are said to be ego-bound devotees, and we may fall into one of three categories. The lowest of these is, naturally, that
devotion whose direction is harmful. Prayers from such a devotee may sound something like: "Oh, God, I am a lover of Thee. I am a good devotee. I worship at Thy alter regularly. Thus
please do me a favor. Mr. Jones is an enemy of mine. Please kill him." Such devotion is obviously little appreciated
by the Supreme.
Devotion from a middle-grade ego-bound devotee is not harmful to others, as is the low grade, but it is also looked upon with little favour by the Supreme. Such a devotee may pray:
"Oh, God, I am a lover of Thee. I am a good devotee. I worship at Thy alter regularly. Please get me a promotion at the office, marry off my daughter, and help me find a nice home in the
country." Both this and low-grade devotion assume that the Absolute has made some mistake or oversight and presume that begging from It can reverse Its previous plan. Obviously such
devotion is no devotion at all.
High grade ego-bound devotion is much more acceptable, but it also rings with the tone of begging a favor: "Oh, God, I am a lover of Thee. I worship at Thy alter regularly. Please grant
me liberation from the cycle of birth and death." At least here the favor begged is of a more pleasing nature to the Supreme, but flattering and begging relationships are not of the nature
of true devotion.
Boundless devotion, or devotion without ego, is far more Pleasing to the Supreme Integral Entity (Paramapurusa) and much more likely to gain the effect sought. This type of
26
devotion falls into two categories. The lower of these prays: "Oh, Paramapurusa, I love Thee and I want only to do Thy service; for working for Thee gives me pleasure. Please help me
to help Thee."
The higher form, the devotion most pleasing to Paramapurusa, forms a prayer something like this: "Oh, Paramapurusa, I love Thee. I want only to do Thy service, for I want only to
please Thee. Please help me to please Thee." This highest and last form of devotion is devotion for the very Being of the Supreme. There are no longer any needs or deficiencies that the
devotee is begging to have fulfilled. The only need is the desire to please the Beloved. Such devotion would fit Maslow's category of Being Love. The devotion of an ego-bound devotee
would fall into Maslow's category of Deficiency Love. Once we are finally complete in ourselves through the process of meditation (sadhana), once we no longer have any needs but to
give pleasure to the Ultimate Being, we will finally be able to love It most fully and our merger with It will be complete.
Thus an important part and parcel of meditation is love. This love will tend at first to be fearful, for we are still incomplete; we do not yet really know the Supreme and we love It with
fear in our hearts. Fear seems a natural response to It for all the universe fears It. As Baba (the affectionate name for Shrii Shrii Anandamurtijii) said one day in darshan (audience with
the guru), it is out of fear of It that the wind blows. The wind cannot say: "No, I shall not blow," for it fears It and must blow. The sun is also afraid of It and rises at a scheduled time
because of this fear. It cannot say: "Ah, today is Sunday. I think that I too shall stay in bed a bit longer." No, it must rise on time out of its fear for the Supreme.
As we come to know It better through our meditation (sadhana), however, we shall find our love turning fearless.
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Meditation is the transformation of fearful love into fearless love; it is the space between the fearful and the fearless. Eventually we shall discover through our meditation what Baba
shared with us another day in darshan: The Supreme Integral Entity (Paramapurusa) is incapable of only two things: it cannot create another Paramapurusa and It cannot but love
everything of Its creation. Once we experience the love of Paramapurusa, our fear shall disappear and we shall merge fearlessly and lovingly into its Being.

Ananda Marga Initiation

Meditation (sadhana) is the attempt to accelerate our movement towards this merger. Eventually all of creation will return to the source, but meditation helps accelerate the process.
Meditation is like the life preserver thrown to a drowning man. Unfortunately, however, most of us are drowning, yet we do not know to look for the preserver. We were all born treading
water in a vast ocean and because we have never experienced dry land we believe that to exist is to tread water. But then something happens to some few of us. A few have come to
realize that treading water cannot be all there is to life. These few have been labelled "prophets" throughout history. Lately, however, there have been more than just a few who have
come to this realization. The latest trend in western psychology, for example, - has been the movement towards bringing everyone to this realization. Rather than merely helping the
incapable to tread water, as was previously the goal Of psychology, contemporary psychology is attempting to find ways of bringing the water-treaders to dry land, where they may
function fully. Maslow terms this new trend as the "psychology of Being". Yoga has been working on the same problem for

28

centuries. And the yogis have perfected meditation as the instrument which brings us to Being, if only we hold on tightly. When once we have experienced the realization that treading
water is not enough and we have a fierce longing to find the way out of the water, it is inevitable that we come upon the life preserver of meditation; for as soon as we experience this
desire intensely, a guru shall appear to initiate us into meditation. There is an old yogic saying that when the disciple is ready, the guru shall appear.

In Ananda Marga the guru appears to us through the many forms of his beautiful, bright-eyed, often orange-robed Acaryas (teachers who instruct through moral example). Whoever
initiates us, unless it is Baba personally, will tell us that he did not initiate us but was the medium for Baba's presence. No matter which Acarya initiates, Baba is always present.

At an Ananda Marga initiation, at the moment the meditator (sadhaka) receives his mantra, the consciousness which has remained dormant within him is given a stroke, called a
"mantraghat", and it awakens from slumber. "Mantra" is a combination of the root words "man" which means "contemplation of a special sound", and "tra" which means "liberating".
Concentration upon and repetition of this special sound brings the individual to liberation from his limiting ego. He is given first-hand experience of the Supreme Intelligence.

The mantra given at the first initiation is either a nama or ista mantra. "Nama" means "name" and refers here to the name of the Supreme. "Ista" means "goal sought" or "cherished goal"
and as a mantra has us constantly repeat that we are the goal. Although there are many names for the Supreme and many different Ways of phrasing that we are the goal, the
meditator is given Only one upon which to concentrate. The

29

name is chosen on the basis of the meditator's own particular vibrations. By constantly repeating this perfect thought/sound, attuned to our own being, we become perfect ourselves; for
we are that upon which our minds dwell. If we spend a great deal of time listening to J.S. Bach or the Rolling Stones, we begin to vibrate sympathetically with the sounds of their music.
If we spend much time listening to and repeating a carefully chosen sound which vibrates sympathetically with the tranquility of the cosmic vibration while also being attuned to our
own, we become as tranquil as the cosmic. The mantra, therefore, affects its transformation both through the thoughts it suggests to us and the vibration it instills within us.

Once we finally experience for ourselves the vibration of the Cosmic Consciousness, we free ourselves of the bondages which the western world calls "Fate". In India the word for these
bondages is "samskara" and refers to the fact, well-known to physicists, that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. However, unknown until recently in the West, is the
fact that this law holds valid on the conscious as well as on the physical level. Each action that we perform during our lifetimes affects our consciousness in such a way that a reaction is
necessitated. If we die before we experience all of our reactions, these reactions fall upon us in our next life or lives.* Because our perception prior to meditation is limited to

*The obvious assumption underlying this statement is that we do have more than one life. Defending the concept of reincarnation here would be an impossibility, We each have too many
prejudices for a single argument to effectively win us over. And herein lies another assumption: the obstacles to our belief in reincarnation are basically prejudices. We actually have no
proof that the theory of reincarnation is false. We refute it simply because We have always been taught to do so. Certainly the fact that we cannot remember our past lives is no argument
against it. How many of us can remember the early phases of this life: our own birth, infancy, and early childhood? Yet hypnosis and certain drug therapies are revealing these early
phases, as well as past lives, to certain of their subjects. The man who hypnotized Bridie Murphy claims that he has never been honestly refuted. The charge against him was framed by a
media unwilling to accept the consequences of his potential verity.
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a single lifetime we are unable to perceive the causes of the reactions which befall us during this lifetime and we tend to label such reactions as the forces of a blind fate. Once we
progress in our meditation, however, we expand our field of perception and find ourselves in the position of being able to bum off outstanding reactions, freeing ourselves from all
bondages. In our meditation we momentarily become dissociated from concern with our bodies, as in death, and our samskaras ripen, ready to be quickly burned away once we return to
our bodies. After our consciousness returns to concern with the body at the end of meditation, we experience reactions which might otherwise not have occurred until many lifetimes
hence. Thus trials and tribulations often accompany the novice meditator, for he is experiencing more reactions than the "ordinary" man. However, after he has burned off his remaining
samskaras, he is free to live in the world as a god, totally in control of his own destiny. Thus the first lesson given by Ananda Marga is one of the most important of all.
The second lesson is also extremely important, for it prevents us from acquiring new samskara. The mantra given at the second initiation of Ananda Marga is called the "guru mantra"
and is repeated throughout the entire day before the performance of every action, reminding us that the everything with which we are interacting is Consciousness. The guru mantra is
one of the most important tools for perfecting Vistara (Greatness of Mind). Once we come to perceive everything as Consciousness, we no longer acquire further samskaras, for our own
ego is no longer involved in any action or desire. Once we recognize that Consciousness is interacting with Consciousness, not little "I" with the world, our little "I" no longer reaps the
results of any action. All samskaras are absorbed by that Consciousness which is Performing the actions. This does not
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mean, of course, that we may commit all sorts of sins and "get away with it" by having the Absolute Consciousness absorb the samskaras. On the contrary once we perfect this second
lesson and are capable of acting without our little ego but always as an instrument of the Cosmic Ego, we are no longer capable of committing sins. Highly realized souls are incapable of
"wrong" or "evil" action. Perceiving the whole as they do, they are incapable of advancing any part above any other. Just as a father could not tolerate allowing one of his sons to steal
from the other, so does the advanced meditator perceive, the entire world as family and thus always acts as the loving father does.

Together these first two lessons are sufficient to bring us to supreme bliss and liberation, but the other four lessons of the Ananda Marga initiations are also extremely powerful and
important for the meditator. Whatever mantra we are given, however, no matter whether first or sixth lesson, or any in between, we must always keep our mantra secret. The meditator
must never utter his mantra aloud except to his Acarya (teacher), for the meditator is in a relatively crude state and if he should speak the mantra aloud he would crudify it. When
repeated silently in the mind, the mantra remains subtle.

Powers of the Proper Mantra

Mantra is one's personal way of becoming unified with the Supreme Intelligence. It is the devotee's particular way of calling the Absolute. Just as we know within the realm of our
everyday experience that calling someone's name causes that person to respond, so we are assured that calling the Supreme Consciousness causes It to respond. However, just as the way
in which we call out in our worldly life influences the nature of the response, so does the manner of our metaphysical calling
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influence the response of the Absolute. It is important that we call in the most loving, welcoming way Possible, for then the response is guaranteed. Halfhearted or mechanical calling
will bring about an indifferent response. But when our whole being bids welcome to the Absolute, naturally it must come. It can never refuse a devotee's wish. If we wish the Supreme to
be enthroned in our hearts, to remain constantly in the foreground of our thoughts, It will seat Itself there; It has no other choice.

Thus we must always remember that not only is it important to have the correct mantra, but we must say it correctly. We must pronounce it correctly (or it will not vibrate properly) and
we must pronounce it with love and longing. Our mantra has been chosen for us with extreme care and precision. It has been empowered by the very might of our guru. It is by the grace
of the guru that a word is converted into a living mantra. There once was a king who did not understand this important power of the guru and he got into much difficulty because of it.

Once upon a time there was a king whose minister was initiated into yoga. After a time the king decided that he too would like to perform meditation (sadhana), so he asked his minister
for the mantra upon which he meditated. When the minister refused to divulge it to him, the king was astounded. Never before had a servant refused him anything that he had sought.
Again he asked the minister and again he was refused.
Finally he ordered the minister to comply, but still the minister refused, explaining that, only a qualified guru was capable of giving the king a mantra.

The king, in a huff, went off to learn a mantra for himself, and heedlessly accepted one from a man of little learning. Some time later as the king and minister stood together in the
courtyard, the minister approached a soldier and commanded

33

him: "Beat the king!" Horrified, the soldier froze into position The king, equally horrified, ran over to the soldier and commanded him: "Beat the minister!" Instantly the soldier
commenced to obey. "Whoa! Whoa!" called out the minister. "Cease! 1 was only making a point! "

"What was your- point?" queried the king, as he ordered the soldier to cease his action.

"I wanted merely to demonstrate that the same word may have eh or little power depending on the man who utters it.

So does the mantra's power depend on the guru who gives it."

Qualities of a Guru

So how do we know if we have found a qualified guru?

Tantric yoga has provided a few guiding points which help one in determining a proper guru. A guru must be:

1. Shanto: tranquil

2. Danto: possessing control over the functions of the mind

3. Kulina: capable of arousing other's kulakundalini (dormant consciousness)

4. Vinita: modest

5. Shuddha-vesavam: soberly dressed

6. Suddha-cari: maintaining right conduct

7. Supradistha: maintaining right livelihood

8. Sucirdaksa: learned in the theory and practice of metaphysics

9. Subuddhiman: intellectually and benevolently inclined

10. Ashrami: leading an ordinary family life

11. Dhyana-nistha: established in Dhyana (a higher kind of meditation, learned at the sixth lesson)

12. Tantra mantra visharada: well-versed in tantra and

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mantra tantra processes of liberation from crudeness)

13. Nigraha (to govern) and Anugraha (to love): covering and loving his disciples

Qualities of a Disciple

Not only must a guru be worthy of our devotion, however, but we must also be worthy of his blessing. So we must adhere to certain guidelines for a proper disciple:

1. Samartha: always ready to carry out the wishes of the master under all circumstances, recognizing that he always acts for our benefit.

2. Praiina: having requisite knowledge and expression. Whatever the guru teaches, the disciple must learn and teach others.

3. Yati: having control over one's mind without giving vent to one's emotions

4. Shanto: tranquil

5. Vinita: modest

6. Suddhatma: morally virtuous

7. Shradhavana: reverential

8. Dharanakshama: having the capacity to preserve the secrecy of one's lessons

Types of Disciples

It is said that there are primarily three different kinds of

disciples. The first kind is called "Adhomukha kumbha", which means a pitcher having spout downwards. When a pitcher is lowered spout downwards into a pond, it will easily fill with
water; but once it is raised up again, it will just as easily release the water. A disciple who forgets his guru's teaching when no

35

longer in his presence is said to be like this pitcher.

The second kind of disciple learns his guru's spiritual teachings with much hardship, but also forgets the teachings, making little effort to remember.

The third kind of disciple is urdna kumbna, a pitcher with spout. upwards. This kind of disciple remains full even out of the pond. Obviously this type of disciple is the most successful in
his quest.

Another way of categorizing a devotee is by the attitude he has towards the Supreme Integral Entity (Paramapurusa). The least advanced devotee feels that the Supreme belongs to
everyone; therefore It belongs to me. The middle-grade devotee feels that the Supreme belongs to me; therefore It must belong to everyone. The highest feeling is simply that the
Supreme belongs only to me; such a feeling demonstrates that the dualistic thinking of "me versus the all" is absent and merger is complete.

Devotion Versus Intellectualization

Once merged with the infinite, we lose awareness of our individual senses and experience only the infinite. The limited human mind grasps 'external reality with the help of the body's
sensory organs, but cosmic mind has no need for organs in order to perceive physical reality; just as we do not need our sensory organs to perceive our own thoughts. When mind is
imminent in every particle of the universe, It does not need external help. Without hands or feet It can get any work done or go anywhere that It likes. It has no eyes but without Its
witness-ship no existence could be substantiated. (It requires no physical eyes because It resides in the "I" of every individual.) As Baba once explained in darshan, the Supreme Integral
Entity is as close to us as our own "I".) It has no ears as such, yet It hears all; for It
36

is knowledge itself. All knowledge emanates from It alone. If we identify our minds with It through our meditation (sadhana), we shall realize that we are both the most minute and yet
the most grand of objects. The Pacific Ocean is us. The atom is us. The universe will appear as our own manifestation. When we meditate It, It also meditates us. The moment we realize
It, we start feeling that we are the controller of everything, the golden, glittering entity. We feel that we are effulgence personified. As Baba explained, however, this realization is
unlikely without sustained effort. Sustained effort is the bridge between the unit and the cosmic. Proper knowledge and action are also needed, but gustained effort is the primary
ingredient, the essence. And sustained effort is found through meditation (sadhana) and sustained effort strengthens meditation. Often knowledge and intellect lead us away from the
Supreme Intelligence as we busy ourselves with trivial distinctions and the memorization of abstruse facts. But sustained effort always leads us to the Absolute.
Baba once told a story about a group of intellectuals Is who could not agree whether coconuts made the "tup, tup "sound as they hit the ground, just before they made contact, or just
after. Hours and hours were spent arguing about the different possibilities and probabilities. Finally one of them suggested an empirical test, and after much discssion, everyone agreed to
it.
It was decided that all should go into the jungle late into the night when the world was quietest and settle themselves in a coconut grove. Then they could listen attentively and decide
empirically wherther tup tup came just before, during, or just after oconuts contacted the earth. Fancy arrangements were me for their comfort and announcements were made to the
peasants that the great debate was about to be put to the test. As darkness began to fall and peace settled in, the

37

"intellectuals" set off for the jungle.

Early the next morning the peasants ran to the jungle, eager to learn the final outcome of the learned debate. Much to their horror, however, upon approaching- the coconut grove, they
found all the "intellectuals', lying dead among the coconuts, bombed to death by the tup-tupping of the falling fruit. Perhaps the "intellectuals" had learned the desired answer just before
(or during? or after?) their decease, but they were unable to pass along their discovery.

Thus did Baba warn us against fruitless and empty intellectual diversions. Sustained effort is the surest way to get back to the Supreme. Intellect used in the service of Consciousnesg for
the advancement of mankind's consciousness and well-being is one of the most important parts of Seva (service). But intellect as commonly used to settle trivial and lopsided disputes
about the mundane world leads far a field from the goal.

The Goal and Attaining It

And what is the goal? Is it the experience that we are Supreme, the realization that we are the atom and the Pacific Ocean, that-the entire universe is our manifestation? Such a bliss
(samadhi) experience is known as "Qualified Bliss" (Savikalpa Samadhi), and results from the merger of unit into Qualified Consciousness (Saguna Brahma), Consciousness sufficiently
aware of Itself that It is capable of Creation. In Nonqualified Bliss (Nirvikalpa Samadhi) we experience none of these realizations for we experience the No-Thing of pure consciousness,
Consciousness completely unaware of Itself, Consciousness prior to Creation, (Nirguna Brahma). In Qualified Bliss (savikalpa samadhi) we have transformed.our own sensory
38

organs into the Supreme, omniscient ones. In Nonqualified Bliss (nirvikalpa samadhi) even the Supreme has no organs. There is only a pure bliss feeling.

Magnificent as the realizations of Qualified Bliss, merger with Nonqualified Consciousness (Nirguna Brahma) is our final goal. Remaining in the state of the Qualified is like getting out
of an airplane at a layover stop and forgetting to re-embark. Though we might enjoy visiting Rome, Dehli was our destination, and we won't be completely happy until we arrive.
Nonqualified Bliss is unmatched by any of the bliss that we experience along the way to it.

Getting to Dehli is no easy matter, however. Even with charter flights, the voyage requires a great deal of money, representing a great deal of energy put forth by us at some time.
Attaining Nonqualified Bliss is also no easy matter, but requires much work on our part. However, even after we've done the work and made the money, we still can't get to Dehli from
New York without some outside help, either from a ship or a plane. SO too Must we remember that we could never achieve the Supreme Bliss were we not aided by the Supreme ship or
plane. We never act in isolation. We are always involved in an interaction with other forms of Consciousness. As Ramakrishna once said, there is nowhere that we can go to escape from
Consciousness. It is all-pervading. Thus when we reach our final goal, and also at every step along the way, we should always remember that we cannot succeed by ourselves in isolation
but always as elements within a grand interaction.

Once there was a learned man, he forgot how much of his daily successes he owed to the alI-pervading and all-sustains Consciousness. Perhaps his lesson can teach us all something.

One day, as he was reading the scriptures, he came across a line saying that it was the grace of the Absolute Consciousness

39

which created us and sustained us. The learned man hestitated at this line and asked himself: "Why should the good Lord expend His energy sustaining me when I am perfectly capable
of sustaining myself? Every day I go about town begging and gathering enough food for both myself and my wife. Why should He tire Himself in my daily sustenance?" So saying, he
brazenly yet reverently crossed the line from the Scriptures.

Later that day he took his begging bowl in hand and went out for the daily gathering of food. But something strange happened that day. He could find no food. Everyone refused him.
Even the most generous and kind-hearted, even the most reverential and respectful, even those who gave regularly everyone refused him even a grain of rice on that day. Late into the
night he walked the streets, desperate to find some food to bring home to his wife. Finally he returned home in despair, exhausted.

To his surprise, on' reaching home he found his wife jubilant.

"What a wonderful day you have had!" she exclaimed. "So much food you have gathered! Why you needn't go begging again for a long time!
"Woman, you rub salt into an aching, bloody wound. Why do you taunt me so?" he asked.
"Taunt you? 1 praise you," she replied, showing him bags of rice and gains and vegetables."
"Why where did these come from?" he asked, startled.
You sent them on," she replied, somewhat perplexed.
"That beautiful boy that you met in the road brought them all."
"Beautiful boy? I met no one. I found nothing. I had no successes.
1 understand not at all."
"But he said that you had sent him, said you had found so
40

much food that he'd offered to help while you went about so . me other business. But one thing I do not understand," she said. "As he turned to go I noticed some blood on the shirt on
his back. When I asked why he was bleeding, he said that you had beaten him. When he had offered to help, seemed determined to carry all the food himself, you beat him because
you said that he was too young and small to carry all of that by himself. How could you beat such a beautiful young boy? A boy who only wanted to help and was obviously capable of
helping for he did bring all the food here by himself? How could you beat him?"

Suddenly the learned man understood. "His back, the beating, what did it look like? he asked. "There was just a single sharp line across his back," she replied.
"So," he thought, "my line across the page of the Scriptures has come back to me. I was presumptuous grough to think that I was responsible for my own daily sustenance. But it is He
who takes care of all."

Recognizing that a superior Consciousness sustains us throughout the day does not mean that we are the puppets of a Grand Puppeteer. Rather it means that we give credit to the fact that
life is a series of symbiotic relationships, that we recognize that we cannot live isolated existences. Even were we to run off to the woods to lead an ascetic life, we must still exist
symbiotically with the trees which provide our oxygen, the plants which provide our daily food, the stream which provides our daily drink and bath. Without the other manifestations of
Consciousness we could not live even for a moment. It is the Consciousness manifesting all around us which sustains us through each day. Such recognition not only makes impossible
acts which pollute the air and water, but also prevents the

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proud and vain feeling that we can and do succeed on our own.

The Meditation Process

Thus we must recognize that it is a complex configuration of Consciousness which allows for the return of our unit consciousness to the original source. An important part of this
configuration is the guru who gives us our mantra, the ticket which makes possible the voyage. Thus it is good to think about this Consciousness as we sit down to meditate, before we
actually begin the meditation process. Thinking about the Ultimate Consciousness keeps our position within it in perspective. It is good to repeat to ourselves thoughts or images which
make the Consciousness meaningful to us. We need not know the many different Indian ways of conceptualizing or naming this force; we need only conceptualize It in ways which are
meaningful to us, such as Mover of the Winds, or Power of the Waterfall, or Witness of the Birds' Flight. In conceptualizing the Consciousness before performing meditation (sadhana)
we bring our meditation closer to It.

Also before meditation (sadhana) we should surrender our egos unto the Lotus Feet of the Supreme Force. If we believe, as did the learned man of the story first believe, that it is we who
are performing sadhana, we who are exerting all the energy in our movement towards the goal, then we are not realistically recognizing the interaction of forces. In order to progress, we
must accept that we are part of a larger force and we must view our ego as a manifestation of that force. Once we recognize our Position within the whole, our speed towards the goal is
greatly accelerated.

Another helpful suggestion for a good meditation is the singing of elevating songs beforehand. The vibrations of an
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elevating song help clear the air of the mundane existence that we had been living just prior to meditation (sadhana). Thus, even before conceptualizing the Absolute Force and
surrendering ourselves up to It, it is extremely helpful to sing. Even if we are alone in our rooms, singing to Paramapurusa is helpful for meditation.

In India everyone sings "Samgachadvam" before meditation. The regularity of always singing this song before sadhana almost automatically sends one's mind onto his mantra. Moreover,
if we meditate at the same times every day we will also find our mind automatically turning to our mantra at that time.

At the 1971 New Year's DMC [Dharma Mahat Cakra: Great Group Meditation Circle at which Baba gives a special blessing (mudra) which raises the consciousness of all present,
sending many into states of bliss (samadhi), Baba also strongly recommended that every time that we are with a few friends we should sing "Baba. Nam Kevalam" and then meditate
together directly afterwards. The singing of this kirtan (group chant) will help chase stray thoughts from the mind and guarantee a good meditation. Baba had recently empowered this
kirtan with the force of a mantra, so the singing of this song will greatly aid our spiritual progress. At the Christmas Day, 1970, darshan Baba promised that the singing of "Baba Nam
Kevalam" would greatly accelerate the progress of meditation. At that darshan he put a devotee into Nirvikalpa samadhi, the highest bliss of all, and Promised that the bliss which that
devotee was experiencing was the birthright of all of us. Through meditation, kirtan, and service, our liberation is a sure guarantee.

Subjective Approach with Objective Adjustment

This unique conjunction of sadhana (meditation) and

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service leading to liberation from the limitations of ego, is the idea behind the Ananda Marga slogan: the subjective approach with an objective adjustment. Previous yogis emphasized
only the subjective approach; ancient spiritual leaders were totally subjective in their movement towards the Inner Self. They went off to solitude in order to perform their sadhana, and
they perfected themselves with little thought to their society# Thus India is in very poor shape today even though it has produced most of the world's greatest holy men. But Ananda
Marga recognizes that we cannot abandon the objective world in order to perfect the subjective. The objective and subjective are as inseparable as the "two" sides of a Mobius strip. A
Mobius strip is a continuous one-sided surface which appears to have two sides. Because life is impossible without some form of action, such as even just inhaling and exhaling, man
cannot forego action in order to find Self. We must give importance not only to Absolute Consciousness, but to its finite manifestations as well.

Ramakrishna tells a story about a yogi who thought that it was not only possible but also advisable to retreat from the 'world to a life of solitary meditation. Circumstances, however,
proved the difficulty of readily abandoning the objective world.

Although the yogi intended to be freed of. all ties, wandering off to the woods with only a spare loincloth in his possession, the yogi recognized the need for locating a forest not so far
from a village. Otherwise begging for food would take up too much of his time. Although he had given up all connection to the material world, he still needed to eat, and begging was
less time-consuming than foraging about the woods for food.

He soon learned, however, that it was not so simple to

44

abandon all ties; for when a rat ate holes in the spare loincloth that he had hung up to dry after laundering, he was forced to ask the villagers for another spare. And when he failed to find
a way of preventing the rat from wreaking future damage, he found himself a second time begging for a spare cloth. As the villagers had little extra funds with which to keep the yogi
constantly supplied with loin cloths, they gave him a cat in order that he might eliminate his problems with the rat. Happily, their solution worked, and the yogi was never again bothered
by the rat; however now when he went begging, he needed also to ask for some milk for the cat.

After a while the villagers again tired of this extra burden put upon themselves, so they furnished the yogi with a cow in order that he might never have to beg for milk again. This
solution also seemed sufficient, but only for a limited time. Now the yogi found himself begging fodder for the cow.

As time went by another yogi, who once had known the solitude-seeking one, wandered into the area where the first had settled. The wandering yogi was startled to find that his
solitude-seeking friend was the wealthiest man in the area, the head entrepreneur of many thriving businesses, all of which were outgrowths of his original need to scare off a rat from his

loin cloth. When the wandering yogi confronted his friend with the distance he had strayed from the original goal of solitude, the friend was startled into recognition. So slowly had the
businesses crept up upon him that he had "'become a businessman totally unawares. Horrified, he immediately abandoned his "solitary" forest and wandered back- into society with his
Yogi friend.

Many People are hesitant to become involved with yoga because their association is always of Yoga and solitary asterism. But Baba is setting the example of a householder guru. Wife
and

45

child do not hinder him from perfection and his example demonstrates that they will not hinder us. Our attitude towards our life is far more important than the specific details of Our life.
A man with a wife and children who is devoted to the goal and who recognizes that his family is a manifestation of the Supreme Consciousness, is far closer to achievement than the
ascetic in a mountain cave who is so proud of his renunciation that he fails to recognize the over-all interaction of which he is only a part.

Ascetism and solitude are not the way of the modern yogi. Although solitude may remove one from immediate contact with the temptations and troubles of the world, it does not really
advance one in his meditation (sadhana). One cannot overcome temptation by running away from it. Psychologists have long ago proven that repression is never successful. The escape
to the jungle or the mountain cave may actually cause one severe mental agitation and prevent one from concentration in his sadhana. Only meditation can overcome temptation and
meditation can be performed anywhere. The true meditator is able to live among temptations and overcome them step by step.

Stages of Sadhana (Meditation)

We all shall face many hindrances in the early stages of sadhana, so it makes no difference whether we are in the city or the jungle. The first stage of sadhana is called " Yatamana" and
will be difficult no matter where we do it. At this stage we are withdrawing our attention from the external to the internal and redirecting the energy expended in worldly desires to the
single, non-worldly longing for the Self. Energy from our propensities is directed towards the Citta, the crudest part of the mind, in an
46
effort to weaken its defences.
This process is accompanied by much conflict, originating both within and without us. The internal difficulties are caused by the untrained desires which misbehave like wild
animals. Though we may be able to harness them briefly, they soon break away and buck about like wild broncos.
The external difficulties are caused by concerned friends and relatives who resent the spiritual novice's efforts, fearing that he will become an ascetic and renounce them and other
worldly ties. Thus they do their best to sway him from the path.
Going to the jungle may seem to help us escape from the discouraging efforts of friends and relatives, but we take their final plaintiff cries with us into the wilderness and they still
resound in the quiet solitude of sadhana (meditation).
The wild horses of our desires will be with us no matter where we are. For many lifetimes we have treated our propensities as welcome guests in the abode of our body. Suddenly
we evict them as undesirable tenants. They will not go without putting up a fierce fight. It makes no difference where we are once the subpoenas start pouring in.
Thus little advantage is to be gained by the flight to asceticism. Advantage is actually on the side of the man in the world, for worldly life provides him with an opportunity to serve
humanity and such service is indispensable to sadhana. The performance of such service helps us in the pulverizing of our Citta, helps make subtle the Ahanitattva (ego) and helps us
merge into cosmic consciousness.

Previously in tantric yoga the guru had the disciple undergo years of conflict, years of mental pulverization, before he considered him ready even for the first initiation. There is a
story of a disciple who spent twelve years building and tearing

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down brick houses at the bidding of his guru. Each time he would complete a house and show it to the guru, his master would say something like: "Oh, did I tell you to build a square
house? I had meant to say a round one. And don't build it here. Build it over there. And, please, remove this eyesore and put the rocks back exactly where you found them." After the
disciple was told to destroy the fifth house and instructed how and where to build the sixth, he fled the guru in dismay. Upon leaving the guru, however, he suffered much from many
dreadful diseases. Finally he returned to the guru only to be told that had he built only one more house, he would have exhausted the remainder of his samskara (consequences of earlier
actions) and would have been ready for initiation.
Baba does not have us build and destroy houses before initiation. He initiates us immediately and has us work off samskara by performing service to humanity. Though this method
of working off samskara is far more beneficial to the world at large and will greatly accelerate the progress of everyone towards the Self, it also includes the danger of building up the
ego of the meditator (sadhaka). The man who was forced to destroy every house he built was destroying ego as well as exhausting samskara. However, we need not fear dangerous
increase to our egos, for both sadhana and the group chanting of "Baba Nam Kevalam" will help us to keep our actions and egos in perspective.
Thus, although service to humanity is extremely important, it must be accompanied by sadhana (meditation). Otherwise we shall someday overhear ourselves saying that "I have
built thus-and-so-many orphanages and I have financed thus-and-so-many schools." Sadhana provides the constant reminder that it is the Self within us which is building the schools
and orphanages, that we are merely agents in a grand
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interaction.

Flight to mountain caves is not the only reason that people avoid sadhana, however. A long-standing misinterpretation of Brahmacarya, one of the most important parts of the yogic moral
code, has scared away many a potential meditator. Brahmacarya has been wrongly understood to be equivalent to celibacy, but nothing in the words "Brahma" (Great and capable of
making others Great) or "carya" (behavior, conduct) has anything to lo, with celibacy. Brahmacarya is the recognition that the entire world is the manifestation of Brahma (Absolute
Consciousness) and then behaving accordingly. The other interpretation was a perversion fabricated by false yogis who needed to make a distinction between themselves and worldly
meditators in order that the worldly would remain dependent upon them.

Ananda Marga has us give up nothing until we are ready and eager to do so. The only thing that Ananda Marga requires us to give up is an hour or so a day for the performance of
sadhana.

At first even the "sacrifice" of this hour seems much to ask. We all lead such busy lives. And the bucking of our propensities and the pestering of our family make sadhana a very difficult
chore indeed. Moreover it is during this first stage that we begin to accelerate the ripening of our samskaras. Before we can be fully emancipated we must experience all the remaining
reactions of all the actions of this and our previous lives. Rather than requiring more births in order to experience these, the meditator (sadhaka) brings them all onto himself by his
sadhana, telescoping them into a short period of time. No wonder that the early stage of sadhana discourages so many. But we should be thankful for these troubles for they augur success
in our sadhana. And if we can survive them we shall find

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the second stage far more pleasant and shall begin to find that the hour "sacrificed" to sadhana is actually giving more life and peace to the rest of the day.

The second stage of sadhana is called "Vyatireka" and is not only less trying than Yatamana but is occasionally even pleasing. At this stage we are converting our Citta (crude mind stuff)
into Ahamtattva (ego having the sense "I do"). The energy which is usually expended by the crudest part of the mind, reproducing all sorts of images and sounds upon the inner mental
plate, is now directed towards a subtler part of the mind. The bucking broncos have been tamed to some extent and for brief moments these partially tamed propensities do follow the
flow from Citta into Ahamtattva. At these moments the meditator enjoys bits and glimpses of bliss. Tears of bliss may even roll down his cheeks.

Not only does the sadhaka (meditator) enjoy more internal success at this period, but he enjoys more success with his environment as well. Friends and relatives have become somewhat
reconciled to his other-worldly pursuits by this time and no longer plague him as before.

In the third stage of sadhana, Ekendriya, the mind is being made even more subtle, and the Ahamtattva ("I do" ego) is merging with the Mahattattva ("I exist" ego, subtlest part of the
mind). At this period the meditator gains control over a single propensity or "organ" ("eke" means "one" and "indriya" means "organ") and this control gives him some occult power. This
power marks a great advance, but also threatens further success. If the sadhaka becomes intoxicated with these powers he may bring about his own downfall. Use of powers to command
respect or devotion from others is falling into a trap of Avidyamaya, that aspect of the Creative Force which hides the infinite in the cloak of the finite. Such vanity or pride will
50

give a serious setback to further progress. Use of power to relieve suffering is also dangerous for it is a presumptuous gesture against the nature of the world. If a man is suffering a dread
disease there are samskara reasons for it. Supernatural cure of the disease will only postpone the fulfilling of the samskara and may even require that he return for a few more lifetimes.
Suffering of mankind must be alleviated, but not by supernatural means.

Use of sadhana -begotten power is blasphemy for it challenges the natural order of the world. Walking on water or through fire contradicts the nature (dharma) of both water and fire.
Thus we should accept the acquisition of these powers as signs of our progress but we should never find ourselves using them.

The gift gained by success in the fourth stage is so magnificent that the powers of the third are no temptation in comparison. This last stage of sadhana is called "Vashiikara". At this point
Mahattattva ("I exist" ego) has merged completely into unit consciousness (Atman) and we are totally free of the limitations of our unit ego. All of our propensities are well under control
and our worldly friends and relatives have completely given us up as a lost cause. We are now merged into the permanent and lasting Self, Brahma.

Requests for Help

As we meditate during sadhana the only request we should make of the Supreme Force is help in our progress. Boons for self or family by way of cure for disease or other aids to
alleviate suffering should never be requested, for such boons contradict samskara. If given, boons are simply an. adjustment in time, shape, or quantity of what the meditator is entitled to

51

by way of his samskara. If we attempt to acquire power beyond our due, we shall find ourselves unable to handle it and actually plagued by it.

Such was the dilemma of one poor fellow who received as a gift the dried hand of a monkey, capable of granting three wishes. The first wish requested was the receipt of
$50,000.00. In a few moments there was a knock at the door and a man appeared with $50,000.00. But the money represented the insurance payment of his son who had died suddenly in
an accident.
Losing no time, the grieving father immediately asked for the return of his son. A few moments later a clattering sound disturbed the tranquility of the house as the skeleton form of his
son appeared down the road. The father was so terrified by this apparition that he immediately asked the dried monkey hand to take the skeleton away. With the disappearance of the boy
Vent also the disappearance of the power of the dried hand . So the father received his $50,000.00 but lost his son.

Sadhana is not a form of begging or cajoling the Supreme Consciousness (Brahma). Sadhana is a sustained effort which leads us to the Self within. Through our sadhana our limited self
merges with the unlimited consciousness; thus we need no longer ask for anything.

The Moral Code of Yoga

The first step of sadhana is morality. Morality is the base. Sadhana is the means. Highest Coff6iousness is the goal. Morality is conduct which takes to us to the last point, after which
there is no movement further.
Morality often negative as well as positive. We are told not to commit theft, not to indulge in falsehood. As such
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morality can never be a goal in life. The only goal is the Oneness with Consciousness (Brahma) which makes thought of theft or falsehood impossible. Sadhana brings us to that state of
Oneness, but morality helps keep us on the proper path I until we achieve our goal. A sadhaka who deviates basic moral conduct, who finds himself still coveting mundane pleasures,
may use his sadhana-begotten powers- to quench his physical thirsts and will fall into great disrepute and infamy. Thus we must make certain that we are adhering to proper moral codes
until such time that such codes become redundant and unnecessary. In yoga these codes are known as" Yama-Niyama". They are the Ten Commandments of the sadhaka's life.

Yama: Five Forms of Control

The five principles of Yama teach control by various means. These five branches are known as: Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacarya, and Aparigraha.

Non-injury: Ahimsa

Ahimsa means not inflicting pain or hurt on anyone by thought, word, or deed. Unfortunately this word is wrongly understood by many. For a long long time many in India have been
plagued by a narrow interpretation of the word which made life impossible and drove many to atheism. Use of plows in tilling the land was forbidden on the basis that innumerable
insects were destroyed in the process. Medicines were prohibited because they destroy germs and viruses. But as Baba pointed out in Guide to Human Conduct, the very act of respiration
involves the death of numerous microbes. Eating anything has caused the death of something. Drinking filtered

53

water would be forbidden by such an interpretation of Ahisma, for the filtration process destroys the insects causing the impurity; but drinking impure water is no alternative, for then the
insects might die in the stomach. So we must give up breathing, eating, and drinking in order to guarantee that we will destroy no lives. However such abstinence will lead to the
destruction of our own life.

Such a narrow interpretation of Ahimsa is obviously ridiculous and useless. It is unlikely to tempt any of us into adhering to it. But another misinterpretation of Ahisma has brought
many followers to its fold. This second interpretation took Ahisma to mean non-violence or non-application of force. This understanding is also contradictory to the life process for in all
actions of life the unit progresses by winning over the opposing forces. Life develops through the medium of force and struggle.

When non-violent political movements use boycotts or psychological pressures to achieve their goals, they are using a form of force; they are inflicting a type of hurt upon the adversary.
Thus they cannot be said to be truly non-violent. Anyone who willingly inflicts pain on his opponent, whether physical or mental pain, is using some form of force, some type of violence
and cannot say himself to be following this interpretation of Ahimsa. Interpreting non-violence and Ahimsa synonymously leads to hypocrisy in order to justify behavior.

So what must we do when confronted with an adversary? If we cannot use subtle force as a means of Ahimsa how do we combat evil? According to Baba it is far better to combat the
evils that plague society than to flatter ourselves as being non-violent moralists. Whenever any person or nation attempts to occupy the whole or part of another nation, the use of
physical force against such an invading force is not against
54

Ahimsa. If you are not adequately equipped to oppose the evil-doer, you must make every effort to gain power and must make proper use of whatever power is gained. By this
interpretation not fighting evil is Himsa (Injury) and doing battle is Ahimsa, because abstinence from the fight will leave many people suffering and in great pain. One of the greatest of
India's religious epics, the Magavad Gita, tells of the god Krishna coming to earth and unifying the people of India by leading them in bloody wars. When evil predominates, good must
fight to destroy it. When words will not succeed, we must resort to arms. Silence is equal to support and thus may be a form of Himsa (Injury).

Force must not be used indiscriminately, however. If we take to bombing the symbols of the enemy before we have gufficient means to repel their counterattack, we have done nothing
but increase the repressive measures likely to be taken against us. Force must be applied intelligently, not in the manner of a hurt child throwing rocks at school windows. We must assess
our strength and carefully determine the proper mode of force before any action is taken. Injustice will gain temporary triumphs if a fight is started without first gathering sufficient
strength and developing the best mode of opposition. However, if the aggressor is bent on destroying us, if a large number of them are armed and at our door, even though we have no
time to collect our strength, we must at least give a blow to the best of our ability. Passivity in the face of evil is never a proper response.

As for Baba's answer to the other interpretation of Ahimsa, the one which would have us cease breathing and eating, we are told to select food, as much as possible, from life having
Comparatively little consciousness. Thus if vegetables are available, animals should not be slaughtered. Before killing any

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animal we must consider whether it is possible to live healthily without taking its life. The nature of our living cells is formed in accordance with the type of food we eat. Ultimately even
our mind is affected to some extent. If we feed our cells with rotten, bad-smelling food or from the flesh of animals with mean natures, our minds will tend towards meanness or
rottenness as a consequence. Our diets are, therefore, not determined only on the basis of Ahimsa but also for mental and physical health.

Discriminating Truthfulness: Satya

The second principle of Yama is Satya, which means "discriminating truthfulness". It is not at all the same as the English concept of "true" or "truth" which would be translated into
Sanskrit as "Rta" ("to state the fact"). Satya is not stating facts but using words best in the spirit of welfare. Satya is a much more relative concept than Truth.

Suppose, for example, a father is beating his child severely. The child somehow manages to escape and runs in your direction, seeking refuge behind a tree nearby. The father, running
after him, accosts you, asking the whereabouts of his child. If you were to follow Rta, or Truth, you would guide him to the tree, but you must consider yourself responsible for the pain
inflicted upon the child. If you follow Satya, you will tell him that the child went that a way. Thus you must discriminate as to the proper behavior in each situation. If the child was
extremely naughty and the father's behavior is properly correctional, your response might be completely different. Thus comes the sense of "discriminating truthfulness".
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Non-steafing: Asteya
Non-stealing, Asteya, is the third principle of Yama and is subdivided into four different varieties:

1. Physical theft of any material.

2. Intention or desire for physical theft, prevented only through fear of the law or adverse social criticism.

3. Depriving others of their due, thus becoming responsible for their loss.

4. Intention to deprive others of their due.

The last two categories are the ones that most of us fall prey to, for much of society almost condones cheating the government, the Establishment, or the well-to-do. Selling an inferior
quality product to a customer and reserving superior stuff for friends, sneaking rides on the subway by ducking under the turnstile, flying on a youth-fare discount by borrowing someone
else's card, all fall into these categories of Asteya. The moralist, the sadhaka, must be very careful not to fall into this trap of theft through deprivation. Not only will our sadhana be
adversely affected by a consciousness allowing itself elements of immorality, but our service will also be adversely affected. Ralph Nader is an excellent example of a moralist whose life
was a positive part of his social service. His behavior was so flawless that detectives hired by the automobile industry could uncover nothing with which to smear his name and claims,
thus actually strengthening his position. Baba wants us to lead such perfect lives that we become examplars to the rest of society, we become living proof that perfection is possible and
rewarding.

Attachment to Brahma (Absolute Consciousness): Brahmacarya

Brahmacarya is the fourth principle of Yama and, as Satya

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and Ahimsa, is often misunderstood. The correct meanin .9 of

Brahmacarya is attachment to Brahma (Absolute Conscious
ness), perception of the entire world as Its manifestation.
Another term for the same concept is Madhuvidya, knowledge
of the world as honey - a explained that when we have

One day in darshan Bab advanced far in our spiritual development, we will no longer think of ourselves as "I" but as "this man" or "this woman", for we will have a Brahma's- eye
perspective of ourselves; we will perceive all as Brahma, ourselves included. He then asked a sadhaka to step forth and taking his hand, Baba had him point to himself and say: "This
man is as sweet as honey to all others." Then, pointing his hand at everyone in the room, "and all others are as sweet as honey to this man." Then Baba asked a Swiss sadhaka to stand up
and repeat the same sentence in German. Whatever language one speaks, Brahma is everywhere and everywhere It is as sweet as honey.
Once we are able to perceive Brahma everywhere, our minds become subtle.
When we perceive the world as crude, we There is a story about a sadhaka
which illustrates are also crude.

this idea. One night as he was returning to his shelter in the woods, he fell into a state of ecstasy by the roadside. A thief wandered by and, seeing a man lying beside the road, assumed
the man to be a thief in hiding from the police. "Whoa!" thought the thief. "I'd better get out of here quickly. If the police come by looking for him, they might find me also!" So saying
he quickly fled down the road.

Some time later a drunkard came by and also spied the man beside the road. "Aha!" thought he proudly. "Here's a drinker unable to hold his own. I'm still on my feet though." So saying
he slowly staggered on.

Finally another sadhaka came along. Seeing the sadhaka lying by the road, he recognized that the man had fallen into a
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state of ecstasy. So realizing, he sat by the man and stroked his feet until he should awaken.
When once we have made our minds subtle enough, we shall be able to recognize the Consciousness which is everywhere manifesting Itself. When we are able to perceive
everything as manifestations of Consciousness, of Brahma, our normal mental waves are converted into the infinite one; our ego feeling is enlarged to include the entire world. We
become as a husband whose wife is the world. Husband and wife think of themselves as a single unit. They refer to At our children" and "our home" and "our car". So shall we come to
understand ourselves to be a single unit with the rest of Brahma's manifestations. There will no longer be any interruption between our sadhana moments and other moments. We shall
always be immersed in that Consciousness.
Unfortunately Brahmacarya has long been misunderstood as preservation of semen. Yet the word has absolutely no relevance to this concept. Originally only the actual meaning of
Brahmacarya was followed, but then an exploitive class of monks gained domination. Realizing that they had to maintain a special status if they were to exploit successfully, they
deliberately created a false idea of the spiritualist in order to keep the common man separate from the yogi. As most common men were married, celebacy was made mandatory for
spirituality. Baba states explicitly, however, that marriage is as natural a function as bath, food, and sleep. The important idea

behind Brahmacarya therefore has nothing to do with semen but with a true understanding of the entire universe as the manifestation of Brahma.

Non-indulgence in Life's Amenities: Aparigraha

The last principle of Yama is one near and dear to many of

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us and goes by the name "Aparigraha". Non-indulgence in the enjoyment of such amenities and comforts which ire superfluous for the preservation of life is Aparigraha. Because men
differ, their requirements also differ and there can be no single limit set for all men. What is Apar4raha for one man may be essential for another, varying according to time, place, and
person. The society may be able to establish certain standards, but the ultimate decision of limits must remain with the individual. Aparigraha is an endless fight for reducing one's own
objects of comfort out of sympathy for those not as fortunate. We must always insure, however, that we have enough to maintain our own and our family's physical, mental, and spiritual
needs.

Brahmacarya: Highest on Priority Scale

Of these five principles of Yama, Brahmacarya is considered to be most important. When one achieves the state of Brahmacarya all the others naturally fall into a place. A man who
perceives himself as Brahma rather than as a separate ME will not be at all capable of over-eating when the Brahma of the belly becomes overtaxed because of it and the Brahma of
other men are not eating enough. Nor will he be capable of theft, for how can Brahma take from Brahma? Killing Brahma wantonly, lying to Brahma with intent to hurt, are also
impossible actions. Thus four of the principles of Yama are subordinate to the fifth, for they are inseparable from the realizations that come with the practice of Brahmacarya.

Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Injunctions: Niyama

Niyama is also comprised of five principles, four of which

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are subordinate to the fifth. These principles are. Shaoca, Tapah, Svadhyaya, Santosa, and Iishvara-Pranidhana. Whereas Yama is basically a system of constraints or abstinences
(Brahmacarya may be thought of as "non-ignorance") and is mainly confined to the physical and mental strata, Niyama is a system of positive injunctions or observances and has
influence in the spiritual as well.

Internal and External Cleanliness: Shaoca

The first principle of Niyama is Shoaca which means purity or cleanliness and pertains to both the internal and the external spheres of life.
The proper use of water and other cleansers to keep the body, clothing and surroundings clean is the external cleanliness. At one darshan (audience) with Marga Mata (Baba's
worldly wife and spiritual equal), she explained to us that the body is to the sadhaka what the temple, church, or mosque is to the religious person. Through the centuries man has
glorified his place of worship as a means of enticing the divine spirit to dwell therein and to make the environment conducive to the worship of Him. So must we also care for our
personal place of worship, our physical person, in order to keep ourselves in the proper state for reaching the Self.
Caring for our physical person has wider application than

is first obvious. Keeping the body and clothing well-scrubbed and clean seems futile if each cell of the body is being polluted by the air we breathe and the food we eat. Ecology has
become such an important issue that little need be said about it here except that we have a personal responsibility to the temple of our bodies to guarantee the cleanliness of the entirety of
our surroundings. Supposedly DDT has been discovered in the fat of

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South Pole penguins. The world is such a unified whole, the harmony of Brahma demands such perfect balance, that we cannot allow any part of the world to become polluted.
But pollution is not the only threat to the temple. Aside from the poisons consumed with our food due to pollution, many people unthinkingly poison themselves with improper diet.
Almost every diet system condemns white sugar and refined flour as being worse than non-nutritious. The common American diet of ground meat and deep fries and white-flour
tissue-paper bread and soda pop or beer is not the best offering to the abode of Brahma. Yoga does not ask us to eat ascetically, only properly.
Finally we should pay some heed to the internal functioning of the body. People often wonder at the agelessness of advanced yogis. Their secret is a simple one. The lymph of the
body keeps the skin firm, the hair young, the face youthful. As we get older our lymph glands tire and produce less lymph. Yogic postures work almost entirely on properly balancing the
secretions of the various lymph glands. These glands, in turn, maintain the internal and external health of the body. So we can keep our temples in order by the daily performance of a few
asanas or yogic postures.
Although Ananda Marga does not stress the physical side of yoga, a proper foundation is important for a firm structure; a clean and orderly temple is far more inviting to the divine
than an unkempt one.
Internal cleanliness, on the other hand, is purity of mind, Mind unalloyed with distractions or impediments, mind focused on Self. St. Matthew in his Gospel most beautifully
expressed the idea of internal purity: "If thy eye be single, thy being be full of light." Sadhana is the process of making one-pointed the
 62

mind, of making the eye single. The bliss achieved through success in sadhana is the light that Matthew spoke of.
Thoughts of Me or Mine are the Primary impurities which alloy the singleness of mind. Selfishness and pride are two of the greatest obstacles to the peace and bliss achieved
through sadhana, for satisfying their needs is as impossible as pushing Sisyphus' rock over the summit of the hill of hell. Thus Baba recommends that we constantly focus on the
Embodiment of Purity, that we make our whole life sadhana, and we shall gradually find our selfishness dropping away and concern for self giving way to devotion to Self.

Contentment, mental ease: Santosa

Santosa, the state of mental ease or contentment, is the second principle of Niyama and is related to Shaoca. We shall discover that when our minds are one-pointed, we are more
content than we could ever have imagined. True contentment is impossible as long as we are constantly fracturing our energies into the many directions of the mundane world. The
single-minded concentration developed through sadhana produces the only true contentment.

Selfless Service and Sacrifice: Tapah

The contentment realized through sadhana should not prevent us from recognizing how ill content is all the rest of humanity. As R. Buckrninister Fuller, the American social
philosopher and architect, has said: "When one man is starving, the whole human race starves." We cannot be fully content until all of mankind is content. Thus the third principle of
Niyama is Tapah, selfless service or selfless sacrifice. Ananda

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Marga has created a large force of saffron-clad full-timers who work thirty-six hour days in the service of humanity, building and running schools, orphanages, retiring homes, schools
for the crippled and the deaf, dumb, and blind, nursing homes, literacy programs, women's welfare units, medical campus, etc. They work with love and devotion and without any reward
or desire for reward.
We need not abandon our present lives, but we must do something to guarantee that all men may finally become comfortable enough to begin sadhana. When the world is starving
and screaming in pain, when violence threatens from every doorway, none of us can remain content. We must serve them in order that all may enjoy the bliss of sadhana.

Understanding Consciousness Through the Scriptures: Svadhyaya

And in our spare time, time remaining after sadhana and service, we should follow Svadhyaya, the fourth principle of Niyama. In its literal meaning Svadhyaya would have us
come to a clear understanding of the Scriptures. Reading and truly understanding the words of realized men will help carry us to personal realization. But so often these men are
misunderstood; for example, when Christ said "My way is the only way," He did not mean that all Moslems, Hindus, or Jews would be damned. By "My way" He meant the way of
devotion to His Father, to the Absolute Consciousness which has spoken through other prophets, in other languages, in other times than the single appearance of Jesus. The way of Jesus
is the way of Yoga, the way of realizing the Self within us as He did, the way of recognizing that His Father is also our Father. In reading the Scriptures, therefore, we should make an
effort to understand
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the meaning behind the prophet's words and not accept the rigidified interpretation handed down by churches and ministers

trying to preserve their jobs and positions.

As the essence of Svadhyaya is understanding the words of men who have recognized the Consciousness which flows through life, Svadhyaya may also be interpreted as an
understanding of all art; for a true artist moves in "unison with the flow of life".* Understanding the artist's work moves us into that flow. In her article on literature in the Cosmic Society
Anthology, Marga Mata has said that the true artist must possess the "capacity of deep penetration into everything and be able to identify [his] own mind with every mind." True art is
created with a sense of service, a desire to lead others to the Supreme. Much of contemporary art rings with a tone of defeatism or with a blast of sensory stimulation. Neither type of
artist has a commitment to his audience. As Mata wrote, such artists should be called "traders in literature," painting, film, etc., for they "do not think of Service, they consider people
only as customers of their works." The great artists, the great filmmakers, the great writers have all understood the principle which underlies life and understanding their work helps bring
us to a similar understanding.

Accepting the Shelter of the Supreme: Iishvara-Pranidhana

Iishvara-Pmnidhana, the last and most important principle of Niyama, is also the most effective in bringing us towards Self. "Iishvara" means "Controller of the Universe," "Controller of
the thought waves of the Universe." "Pranidhana" means

*Marga Mata. "What is Literature." Cosmic Society Anthology. Renaissance Universal Publications, New Dehli, 1967.

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44 understanding clearly" or "adopting something as a shelter." Therefore Iishvara-Pranidhana means "adopting the Controller of the Universe as our shelter," accepting Iishvara as the
only ideal of life.

The process of lishvara-Pranidhana accelerates the speed of our movement towards the Supreme Shelter. The process begins with the withdrawal of the mind from worldly propensities
and its redirection towards Iishvara. Then the mind is withdrawn from the limited "I" feeling and is fixed in a point which is conceived of as being surrounded by the Macrocosm. The
mantra given at the first initiation helps considerably in this whole process. Though all of creation is moving back towards the Source, the sadhaka who meditates upon his mantra and
adheres to Iishvara-Pranidhana is moving at a much faster rate than all the rest of Creation.

Iishvara-Pranidhana can be practised both individually and collectively. When done collectively, the combined mental efforts work together, giving added speed to the sadhaka's progress.
Thus Ananda Marga holds a weekly group meditation, Dharmacakra, to provide the sadhakas with an opportunity for meditating together.

Moral Exemplars
If each of us were to follow Yama-Niyama strictly and constantly, examples of perfect living would be provided throughout the society and no one would be able to excuse his immoral
behavior as the only possible mode. Once we change our own lives, the entire society is postively affected.
BRAHMACAKRA: ANANDA MARGA'S THEORY OF CREATION

BRAHMA CAKRA: ANANDA MARGA'S THEORY OF CREATION

Close your eyes for a minute. Thank you. Now, keeping them closed, picture in your mind a cow, any cow. What color is your cow? White and black? All black? Brown and black? No
difference, as long as it's a cow. But now, still keeping your eyes closed, conjure up the picture of a green cow. Got one? Good. Now a red cow. Fine, thank you. You may open your eyes
again.

Internal Reproducer of the External World: the Citta

The reason for this little exercise was to demonstrate that we all possess a part of the mind capable of visually reproducing anything and everything, real and imaginary. In Indian and
Ananda Marga philosophy, this part of the mind is called the "Citta" (pronounced chee-tah). Not only does this part of our mind reproduce the world visually, but it also 'reproduces data
picked up by all the other senses as well. Remember for a moment a few bars of Sergeant Pepper or some other music that comes readily to mind. The same part of your mind that
witnessed the cow is now enjoying the Beatles. Though we can
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have a great deal of fun with this part of our mind, it is a very limited part. Its only task is the internal reproduction of data picked up by our senses.

Although we tend to think of the "real" world as being "out there,", our actual perception of it occurs within our own mind. As was said earlier, a sensation of touch is only perceived
once the mind registers the neurological changes carried from the fingers along the arm up to the brain. If the nerve connection is severed anywhere along that line, we will have no
sensation of the furry warmth of the cat we are stroking, although in the "out there" world of reality, our fingers are upon its fur. Likewise many of us have experienced head colds which
prevent us from tasting the food that our mouths are breaking down for digestion. It is not enough that we physically encounter the real world "Out there", we must mentally encounter it
as well. The plasticene of our Citta must bend and twist and take on the form of the cat we are holding. The vibration of the Citta must move sympathetically with that of the music
entering through our ears. The movie screen of the Citta must have projected upon it the image of the person our eyes are beholding. The cat and the Beatles and Our friend may actually
be "out there", but our only knowledge of them occurs "in here". The brain is capable of comprehending the external world only because our Citta has reproduced it internally, while
taking the help of the sensory organs, the gateways of external vibrations.

The Director of the Citta's Functioning: the Ahamtattua

Sometimes, however, our sensory gateways will bring in stimuli from the external world and our nerve connections will be in Proper functioning order and yet we will still not perceive

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the external data. For example, sometimes we are so absorbed in our thoughts or problems as we walk down the street that our best friend can walk up to us and stand nose to nose before
we notice his existence. Our eyes were bringing his form and image through the gateways to the brain, but the mind was not reproducing the image until he was standing upon our toes.
The Citta was not reproducing his image because it had not been given the order to do so. The movie screen can show us no picture without the movie projector. The Citta cannot bend
and twist and take on the cat's form unless it is instructed to do so.

The part of the mind which gives the instruction, which projects the picture onto the screen, is a subtler part of the mind than the Citta. It is known as the Ahamtattva. (Aham means
"I" and tattva means "theory".) The
Ahamtattva is often equated to our sense of ego. Whereas the Citta unthinkingly performs its job upon orders, the Ahamtatva seems to be thinkingly giving those orders. It is the
Ahamtattva which decides which
jobs the Citta will perform and which it will not. Moreover because the Ahamtattva is ' so intimately connected with the activity of the Citta and because the Citta is so inseparably
connected with our perception of external
data, the Ahamtattua is said to be that part of the mind, that sense of ourselves, which feels responsible for all the activity of our unit being. In brief, if one could ask the A ham
tattva'what it does, it would respond: "I do."
The Citta's response to the same question would be: "I have done." The Citta is the passive part of the Ahamtattva's directives.

The Commander-in-Chief: the Mahattattva

Notice that the statements of both Citta and Ahamtatffia rely upon the notion of "I". The movie screen and the projector

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are both ineffective without the film.

Although we tend to seek our identity through our activity and behavior, we all have a sense of identity which is independent of this activity and behavior. We all have a sense that
we have a "real" or "true" identity which goes by unnoticed by most of the external world. One goal of every love affair is the mutual encountering and recognition of the true identities,
rather than of those identities which are put forth to the world at large.
The real and full sense of identity seems to lie deep within, wound around so many spools and wheels of the projector that it seems to get lost in the show. But without the film the
projector would be only light and heat and hum without form. Without the sense that "I exist", the Ahamtattva would have little control over the activity of the Citta. The name for this
sensation of existence, for this subtlest part of the mind , is "Mahattattva." ("Mahat" means "great" and "tattva" means "theory".) The Mahattattva is the greatest part of the mind, the
Commander-in-chief of all behavior and perception. Without a sense of existence, a sense of immutable identity, there could be no actor of activity, no perceiver of perceptions. Without
the sense of "I" there can be no sense that "I do."
Together these three sensations ("I exist": Mahattattva, "I do": Ahawattva, and "I have done": Citta) comprise the mind. At no point should this mind be confused with the brain. The
brain is a physical entity composed of minutely small physical cells. The mind is a subtle entity which cannot be located in any particular cell of the brain but which seems to need the
brain in order to manifest itself. Just as the body needs the brain in order to function, the brain needs the mind in order that it operate. And the mind needs the brain in order that its sense
of identity may be actualized in physical and intellectual activity.

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The mind may be likened to a Pill which fizzes when added to water. The fizz is inherent in the pill but is only actualized by the presence of the water. Identity is inherent to the mind, but
the brain is necessary for its actualization. Mind, brain, and body all work together as a single system.

Witnesser of the Mind: the A tman

But they are not the whole system. There is still one very important component. All of our discussion and dissection of the mind indicate~ the existence of a fourth factor; we not
only have the ability to recognize that we exist, but we also seem capable of making a statement about that recognition. We are capable of making the extremely subtle statement: "I know
that 1 exist." And we seem to be the only animal capable of this subtlety. This awareness of existence, awareness of ego, is the highest stage of the evolutionary process; it is the
electricity which permeates our film metaphor, silently allowing us to enjoy the show. In the first chapter we compared this awareness to a bird on a tree, quietly observing another bird
eat. Eating is a function of the mind: eyes and nose must pick up the existence of food, Citta must internalize its existence and location, Ahamtattva must command the Citta to perform
the internalization, and Mahattattva must be constantly infusing the operation with a sense of identity; the "I" must, be desirous of finding and absorbing the food or no action can take
place. The observation of the eating is a separate activity; therefore it is represented by a separate bird. The observing bird does not desire to eat, does not order sensory and motor organs
to Illiterate and digest food. It merely witnesses the fact that all this activity is occurring.
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Such witness-ship might also be compared to a light bulb hanging the ceiling of a room. In one corner of the room a -man is reading holy scriptures. In another corner a man is forging
cheeks. The lightbulb is not engaged in either activity, but its light witnesses and allows for both activities. Without light neither man would be capable of functioning, yet the light is not
part of their function. Without our observing consciousness, our mind would also be incapable of performing its necessary functions. Without electricity, the movie projector is incapable
of projecting the film onto the screen. Just as the electricity is a completely different entity from the film, projector, and screen, existing in the realm of energy rather than matter, so is
consciousness also a completely different entity from the components of the mind. It is the energy which enables the mind to function. Consciousness is the supreme and subtlest force
which guarantees the functioning of all the other parts of the individual. The name for the consciousness of the indicidual is "Atman". It is often loosely translated as "soul' .

Origin of Mind and Consciousness

So we now know that our minds are divided into three parts, one of which gives sense of identity, one provides sense of action, and one internalizes the exterior world. And above all
three, providing the juice to the system, there exists a witnessing consciousness. So what? Well, think about this for a minutele. Do you agree that in possessing this three-part mentality
and consciousness that you've got something that no other life has, but for your fellow man? Does the red or brown cow that you imagined earlier know that it exists? Does it have a
Mahattattva infusing its Ahamtattva telling its Citta how and when to perceive good-looking, good-smelling, good-tasting,

72

life-giving grass? And if your cow lacks this ability, what of the grass?
Does it have the mental capacity to determine for itself the location of the life-giving nutriments?
And there are even more mindless things than grass in the world.
How does the ocean know when to flow and when to ebb?
What part of the amoeba's mind gives it the command to divide and multiply? How does the earth know how to produce oil and diamonds from organic "wastes"?
Certainly even man, in spite of his magnificent intellect, hasn't had the time, occasion or ability to have prepared for himself such a wonderful earth. Our clever, tri-part minds, by the
time that they have become aware of themselves, find themselves located in magnificent temples of technological perfection. The human body is a monument to the concept of
harmonious relationships.

So there are many aspects of our immediate environment over which our mind seems to have little causal relationship, for we find that the mind did not even cause or bring into
being its
own shelter. And there are many parts of the world at large which seem to have no mind at all. Yet this world is constantly manifesting such a high degree of order and intelligence that
we
must be forced to admit that we can't be the only consciousness inhabiting this earth. It is a well-known fact that a tool or instrument can never create something which is finer than itself.
How then did something as fine as our minds and consciousness, something as balanced and well-integrated as the natural world, something as deliberately ordered as the basic elements
as
displayed in the Periodic Table, how did all of these come into being? The instrument which made them must be fine beyond our conception.

Here is where our egos must come to terms with the fact that they did not create themselves, let alone the rest of the material universe. We come to realize that most probably we
73

must give credit for Creation to that same consciousness whose ordering is manifest everywhere.

The Creating Consciousness

This consciousness which everywhere manifests itself on earth, in the amoeba, in the grass, in the ocean's ebb and flow, must also manifest itself beyond the earth, keeping the moon
rotating and the sun shining and organizing activity even beyond our wildest guessing. So, then, this consciousness is not limited to a single shelter, as our mind identifies with a single
body and brain, but seems to permeate the universe at large, and thus must be larger than the universe; for that which creates and controls a being must be outside and beyond that being.
In Ananda Marga philosophy, this consciousness is known as "Brahma".

Two, States of Consciousness: Nirguna and Saguna Brahma

Brahma is like a vast ocean of consciousness, without beginning or end in either time or space. Time and space are both relative factors created by and weaker than this supreme
consciousness. Within this ocean, certain parts are colder than others and huge icebergs have formed and are forming. The coldness of spots is due to an imbalance in climatic conditions.
The icebergs of this ocean of Brahma are sites of creation, of consciousness sufficiently condensed that it has become aware of itself, allowing for creation to occur; for before product
there must be producer and before producer must come sense of existence. The water frozen into form is consciousness qualified by a sense of "I". The water which has not solidified into
ice is pure consciousness, consciousness totally unaware of

74

itself, consciousness unqualified by an "I" sense.

In Ananda Marga philosophy the name for this water, whether frozen or free, is "Purusa". If the Purusa is "unfrozen", it is said to be not bound by qualities, existing in form so pure that it
has not even a sense of itself. This form of Purusa is known as "Nirguna Brahma". ("Nir" means "without", "guna" means "quality".) When the Purusa is frozen, as into an iceberg, it has
taken on form and sensation, it has become constricted by qualities, and thus it is referred to as "Saguna Brahma". ("Sa" means "with", and "guna" means "quality".)

The name given to the climatic conditions which determine which parts of the water freeze is "Prakriti". Prakriti is often thought of as a female, wedded to the male Purusa. Purusa and
Prakriti always are, always have been, and always will be wedded. Whether we are talking of Nirguna or Saguna Brahma, Brahma is always composed of the consciousness Purusa and
the qualifying principle Prakriti. They are as inseparable as fire and its burning capacity, as flowers and their fragrance. In English the closest sense of Purusa would be 66essence" and of
Prakriti would be "substance". It is the climatic force which gives form and substance to the formerly free-flowing essence of being and consciousness..)

In the state of Nirguna Brahma (Unqualified Consciousness), even though Prakriti exists along with Purusa, Purusa is able to remain unaware of itself, unqualified and unbound, because
Prakriti is weaker and unable to get a hold of him. Such unbound Purusa is known as "Paramapurusa" (Great Purusa). It is in the parts of the ocean of Brahma that are more condensed
that Prakriti is able to hold her sway. These are the parts frozen
by the cold climate; here Prakriti gets the upper hand, and this Part of the ocean is therefore said to be Saguna Brahma (Qualified Consciousness).
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The first binding of Purusa: Cosmic Mahattattva

When Prakriti first binds Purusa and gives him substance, she binds him with the softest and finest of chains. The first effect of this constriction of Supreme Essence is the subtlest of
sensations: Purusa begins to experience the awareness that: "I exist." Because this is the same awareness that man has in the highest level of his mind, we may call it by the same name:
"Mahattattva". But to differentiate it from man's mind, we may refer to it as: "Cosmic Mahattattva".

Prakriti achieves this substantiation of Purusa by "freezing" him just enough to awaken this awareness in him. Yet he can hardly be said to be frozen solid at this point. The waters have
only begun to cool. Prakriti's "temperature" has not yet fallen to the "freezing point". She is still somewhat temperate. A special name is given to her, indicating her "temperature" and
representing the degree to which she is able to "cool down" Purusa: she is said to be "sentient Prakriti", for the substance given to Purusa at this stage is the primary sensation, that of
existence. This first substantiation is therefore also known as the sentient quality ("Sattvaguna": "Sattva" means "sentient" and "guna" means "quality".) Brahma is no longer Nirguna
(without qualities) but has become Saguna (with qualities). Sattvaguna is only the first of the three qualities which give substance to the essence, which "freeze" consciousness to a
heightened and functioning awareness of itself.

The Triangle of Creation

The Other two gunas which give substance to the essence are Rajah and Tamah. All three are different aspects of Prakriti,

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representing the different degrees to which she is able to bind Purusa. The chains of Tamahguna are the strongest and the heaviest. These are the chains which bind Purusa to the rocks
and the earth.

Although Sattvaguna is the first quality capable of binding Purusa, all three qualities always exist in Prakriti in potential form. They are always in conflict with one another. Sometimes,
however, they come together and join forces, forming intricate polygonal shapes and forms. And sometimes they come together in the most simple and stable of forms, the triangle.-jt is
this triangle which is largely responsible for Creation. Purusa is trapped within the triangle as the forces of Sattva and Rajah and Tamah dance around him. Finally however, Purusa
breaks free, forcing himself out one of the vertices of the triangle, but as he escapes, Satvaguna grabs hold of him, and Creation begins. It must always be Sattvaguna that first captures
the fleeing Purusa, because Purusa is the subtlest essence of the universe and Sattvaguna is the subtlest substance. In their turn the other two gunas have opportunity to bind the
ever-crudifying and solidifying Purusa, but it is always Sattuaguna which has.the first priority. The triangle from which Purusa bursts is like the icebergs of the ocean. Because of the
stability of triangular figures, Prakriti has more power here than at any of the other places in the ocean of consciousness. Thus it is that here the iceberg forms. Of course the ocean has
more than one iceberg. Carrying the metaphor on we can see that there may be many different sites of Creation.

At the moment, however, we are concerned with only one of the manifestations of Creation. It provides sufficient material for a single discussion. 77
The Second Binding of Purusa: Cosmic Ahamtattva

It is only after Purusa has come to awareness of itself that the rest of creation can occur, for existence must be prior to action; the sense "I exist" is necessary for existence to act. But
this sense is not sufficient for action; there must also be the sense "I do". The next phase of Prakriti, therefore, is the qualifying of the Cosmic Mahattattva in such a way that the Cosmic
Ahamtattva will be formed and the cosmic sense of "I do" shall arise. In this capacity Prakriti is said to be applying the Rajahguna, the quality which gives Purusa the awareness of its
ability to act. ("Rajah" literally means "mutation" or "change"; all action implies change of some sort.) The temperature of Prakriti at this point is colder than it had been previously. The
waters have cooled down considerably. The flow has begun to solidify. Each of these gunas or qualities marks a restriction on the flow of the cosmic waters of consciousness; each
represents an increased freezing of the waters to an ever more solid state.

The Third Binding of Purusa: Cosmic Citta

Now that Purusa has been given the sense of action and change, the first change brought about is an objectified sense of itself. For action to occur, not only must there be an actor (in
this case, Cosmic Mahattattva) as well as the possibility of change (brought about by Cosmic Ahamtattva), but there must also be that which is acted upon. "Doing" is a transitive verb
and, as such, always requires an object. Thus, for Cosmic Ahamtattva to act upon its sense or doing, it must first objectify a part of itself so that there will be "doer" and "done to". Part of
Cosmic Mind is thus solidified even more. Prakriti

78 drops her temperature even further and freezes Part of the Cosmic Mind sufficiently that action may be performed upon it. This third part of Cosmic Mind
corresponds to the movie screen, plasticene, tape recorder of our minds, and thus is called -cosmic citta".

The Drama of Creation

Now the play can begin. Ahamtattva, much like a master playwright or novelist, creates an entire drama on the screen of Citta, the Great Blank Page in the Sky. All of the universe
which we know by our sense, even vast areas of the universe beyond our wildest dreams, comes into existence because the cosmic imagination through the agency of Ahamtattva makes
it manifest on the screen of Citta. Thus everything is basically imagination. Though the world seems real to us, though we can pinch it, smell it, taste it, yet all is pure imagination, from
Brahma's perspective. The novelist, having conceived of the characters, has them play out dramas within the confines of the book's covers. The characters themselves do not know of the
book's existence, do not know of their paper-thin reality, but take each other deadly seriously, loving, suffering, living, and dying with incredible earnestness. They perceive each other as
real because the novelist has created them to do so, but from the novelist's perspective they are merely aesthetic figments of his fertile imagination, created and transposed to paper.

Although the characters move around with a great deal of activity within the plot of the novel, they are actually static on the page. John met Alice on page 25 when I read the book
first, he met her on page 25 when I read the book next , and he will still meet her on page 25 if I ever read the book again. Thus even sense of time depends upon the perceiver's
perspective.
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The characters think that they are really moving. The novelist, once he has performed the action of creation, perceives the characters in a static reality. In the same way, although we
humans think ourselves as engaged in constant activity, we are actually static forms on the cosmic screen of Citta. The Citta is nothing but the cosmic television screen or page upon
which creation is imagined and peopled with static forms. Thus, though the qualifying attribute which formed Ahamtattva out of Mahattattva was called the mutative quality, or
Rajahguna, the qualifying factor which formed Citta from Ahamtatta and creation upon Citta is called the static principle, or Tamahguna. Ahamtatta needs time to produce creation, for
action occurs in time. Thus its principle is mutative. Citta functions through time stilled, through reflecting the images created by Ahamtattva; thus its principle is static. Mahattattva
functions irrespective of time: 1 exist now; I have always existed; I know of no time that 1 have not existed; time does not exist, I merely know that I exist. Thus its principle is sentient:
sensing rather than timing.

Comparing to Genesis

By now we have seen that the first pots created by Prakriti from the clay of Purusa were Cosmic Mahattattva, Ahamtatta, and Citta, and we have noticed that the elements of cosmic mind
are identical with our own, only the scale differs. So, finally, we can comprehend what was-meant in Genesis when it was said that man was created in the image of God. Contrary to
popular belief, God is not an elderly fellow with a long white beard. God is Pure consciousness which, when it takes on the attributes of mind, forms the prototype of the human mind.
Man's mind was created in the image of God's mind. And only

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man's mind is in this image, for although all of creation is God (everything is the direct manifestation of Brahma's imagination), only man's mind is in the image of God.
Also in Genesis we notice that God is reputed to have said: "Let there be Light." And there was light. Notice that God is using the command form of the verb "to be". He did not say
"There should be light so there is light" or some other simple statement of fact. He commanded that light should corne into existence. But every comrnand presupposes a person who is
commanded as well as the person making the command. Whom was God commanding? The answer must be that the author of Genesis understood God to be consciousness, having
separate levels of awareness of existence and action. According to Genesis, Cosmic Ahamtattva seems to be commanding Cosmic Citta. "I do" is commanding creation to be borne upon
the cosmic screen. Thus Genesis does not really differ from the Ananda Marga understanding of the creation of the universe.

Factors of Creation

As the theory of creation in Genesis and those propounded by Charles Darwin and other scientists, Ananda Marga's theory of creation does not presume that the universe burst full-bloom
out of the imagination of Brahma onto the screen of Citta. No creation works in this manner. We tend to think of the writer having a burst of inspiration and pouring forth his creation
onto paper, but there are many, many factors of his creation, some so subtle that they go by unseen and unnoticed. Before a man can write he must know how to write, by which is meant
that he must know how to set ideas on paper, he must be capable of creating and expressing ideas. For this ability he needs language, for language is the tool of thought. However before
he can even
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have language, he must have the ability to categorize reality and to form abstractions on the basis of these categorizations. Only man of all creation is capable of forming abstract
concepts as love and bliss and goodness and these result from his ability to differentiate and categorize the world around him, to perceive that all is not lovely and blissful and good.

So an author must be capable of these processes of differentiation and also of their translation into language. Only then is he ready to undertake the process of literary composition. But
he still is not ready to write. He must have some theme, some unifying idea upon which to base his story or the whole novel will be pointless and will be falling apart at every turn. And
then he must have a story to tell, a plot, and characters to convey the plot. And a particular setting is necessary and a time or era when all takes place. Finally he must have pen and paper,
or the whole work would have to remain in his mind, related from mouth to mouth, intangible.

Space: the Subtlest Bhuta

In like manner does the Citta work in creating this material universe. Rocks and trees and ocean do not suddenly appear on the cosmic screen. First come more subtle factors comparable
to the mental clisthenics of the author's mind. The subtlest factor is created first, just as the subtlest ability (that of categorizing and abstracting reality) was the necessary precondition for
all the other factors of the writer's mind. The subtlest fundamental factor (Bhuta) of existence is space (Akasha) and it is formed by the continued action of static Prakriti upon Cosinic
Citta, qualifying Citta in such a way that a portion Of it crudifies and becomes space.

Space is the substance in which the universe takes place,

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but it is so subtle that it goes unnoticed by those living in the universe. However space is crude compared to the mind from which it has developed. Citta is more subtle than space, for
Citta is part of Cosmic Mind and space is but one of its creations. And Ahamtattva, the creator of Citta, is still more subtle than Citta. The same is true of Mahattattva, the subtlest part of
the Cosmic Mind. The movement of creation can thus be seen to be from the subtle to the crude, from pure consciousness to solid matter.

Sound: the First Tanmatra (Vibration)

The factor which differentiates space from its parent Citta

is space's ability to contain the vibration (tanmatra) of sound. Citta was so subtle, prior to the formation of space, that it was incapable of allowing for any vibrations, even that of the
subtle sound. Of course the sound contained within space is an inaudible one. Air is necessary for the transmission of sound waves and air has yet to be created. There are parts of the
universe where space exists independently of air, although air always exists within space. Scientists have examined the necessity of air for the transmission of sound by placing a bell and
a microphone inside a vacuum jar. Although the clapper can be 'seen to be striking the bell, no sound is picked up by the microphone. The sound of the bell in the jar or in the vastness of
space is thus a theoretical rather than an audible sound. Yet just the presence of this theoretical vibration is sufficient to differentiate space from the Citta which formed it, marking space
as the first of the created fundamental factors (Bhutas). Air: the Second Bhuta (Fundamental Factor)

The next stage of creation comes about by the continued

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influence of static Prakriti (Tamahguna), this time qualifying space and transforming it into the next slightly cruder factor of creation. This second factor or Bhuta carries the vibration of
touch over and above the already existing capacity for sound. This second factor is air or gas, called "Vayu" in Sanskrit. Now that air exists and the sounds may touch the ear, establishing
a sympathetic vibration, sound finally becomes audible.

Luminosity: The Third Bhu ta

Due to the ever-increasing influence of the static Prakriti an internal clash arises in the air factor and sparks of light are given off, thus bringing about the conversion of air into the
third, or luminous, factor (Tejas). This factor transmits three tanmatras: sound, touch, and light. Moreover this luminous factor has the special property of sense of vision. Without the
luminous factor, vision would be impossible in this world.

Liquid and Solid: the Fourth and Fifth Bhutas

The continued influence of static Prakriti further creates the last two Bhutas, liquid and solid. These two factors are the densest of all. Liquid has the added ability to carry taste
vibrations and solid has this tanmatra as well as the tanmatra of smell.
These five Bhutas are not formed abruptly, but gradually. Each factor slowly phases into the next, without the first being "used up," because it is constantly recreated by the action of
Ahamtattva upon Citta. The sun is in anIntermediate stage between the aerial and luminous factors; and the earth, in its infancy, was in a stage midway between luminous and liquid.

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Gradually the earth was converted into a liquid body whose

outer surface slowly hardened into solid. The inner portion of the earth today is still liquid and the interior part is composed of luminous and gaseous factors which are being converted
into liquid. Thus the transformation may be seen to be gradual and simultaneous. All the factors co-exist simultaneously and it is by their various combinations that physical creation
occurs. First they come together to form inanimate matter and later they were responsible for life on this earth and in this universe.

Saincara: Movement from Subtle to Crude

With the creation of inanimate matter we have completed the first and primary stage of creation. The cosmic ball has not

only been thrown but caught. Up until this point the creative process was one of movement from subtle to crude. The pitcher

in this cosmic ball game is subtlest consciousness. The catcher is crudest matter. The ball has been moving gradually slower as it meets the air resistance of creation; as consciousness has
become cruder it has provided greater resistance to the magic ball. Once the ball has been caught, the game has seemingly come to an end. There is no greater control for Prakriti to exert
than she exerts over Purusa in the form of inanimate matter. She now has him entirely within her grasp. Mind can take on no
cruder form than rock. The ball must stop when it comes in contact with the glove. This throwing of the ball from Purusottama (the nucleus of Saguna Brahma) to rock, the ultimate in
inanimate matter, is named "Saincara" in Ananda Marga philosophy. Saincara represents the movement from the most subtle to the most crude.
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Prati-Saincara: Movement from Crude to Subtle

But the game of catch is no fun if the catcher holds onto the ball once he receives it. The natural tendency is to return the throw. This is also the tendency of creation, for once
Prakriti has crudified Purusa to the ultimate degree, Purusa makes a movement to break out of bondage and return to his liberated state. Thus the ball is thrown back to Purusottama and
the movement returns to its source, progressing this time from the most crude to the most subtle. This time the movement is called "Prati-saincara". ("Prati" means "counter" and
"saincara" means "movement".) From the moment life is created out of inanimate matter, Prakriti has begun to lose her total control over Purusa and the movement is towards regained
awareness of consciousness.

Creation of Life

Life comes about when the Tamahguna exerts so much pressure, called "Bala", upon the solid matter that it creates a tension of forces within the object. One force assists the Bala,
moving also inwards, putting pressure on the center of the object. The other force counter-acts these two, moving from the center outwards. If the center-seeking forces triumph over the
circumference-seeking force, a nucleus is created within the object and life begins. If the circumference-seeking force predominates, the object is no longer able to maintain its solidarity
and it explodes into billions of pieces. This explosion is known as "Jadasphota". The ingredient factors of the object, the ether, the air, the luminosity, etc., all return to their like
substances (ether returns to ether, air to air) and are available for re-use later as the Tamah9una fashions further solids from

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Cosmic Citta. Thus no factors of existence are ever lost, and the eventual death of the universe is seen to be impossible. Moreover, because the object does not explode any ingredients
subtler than ether, because cosmic Citta remains unaffected by Jadasphota, Cosmic Mind is never endangered by the disruptions and explosions which occur in the physical sphere. Thus
Cosmic Mind goes right on creating. Like water in a waterfall, there is always some coming over the top as other water is crashing to the bottom. Creation continues constantly unabated.
Only with the creation of man, however, does the movement really begin to take on steam. Just as the ball moved faster through the spaces of cosmic mind than the spaces of
fundamental factors, due to lesser interference in the realm of cosmic mind, so too does it only begin to regain speed as Purusa takes on the form of man, the only creature whose mind is
a full reflection of cosmic mind. Plants and animals all have minds of a sort. In fact, all of creation, even the rock, has consciousness, for creation is nothing but Purusa, consciousness, in
various crudified forms. But Prakriti has such a great deal of control over most of creation that it is incapable of recognizing its debt to Purusa. Only by the tinle the ball has gotten so far
away from the catcher's glove (inanimate matter) and Purusa has taken on the form of man, may Purusa regain awareness of itself.

Instincts and Intellect

Man's mind, as we saw earlier, is a small replica of the cosmic mind, for it contains Citta, Ahamtattva, and Mahattattva. Most creatures have only Citta minds and they rely on the
Cosmic Ahamtattva and Mahattattva to function
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properly. It is the cosmic mind which directs the Citta of most animals and plants, telling them, in the form of instincts, what pictures to form and how to respond to them. But man
directs his own mind, for his mind is complete: it is in the image of "God's" mind.
During the process of Prati-saincara, as the ball is returning to its source (Purusottama), life is formed; this life, as it progresses higher on the evolutionary scale, develops ever-
greater mental capacity. Up until the point when unit Ahamtattva comes into being, static Prakriti has been at work and she has been working hard, for she got up early and went to work
when mutative Prakriti retired, way back there with the creation of Cosmic Ahamtattva. Now, after eons of devoted service, static Prakriti is about to be retired. And mutative Prakriti,
well-rested, is about to return to work. With the influence of mutative Prakriti upon unit Citta (the Citta of the various units of creation, the plants and the animals), unit Ahamtattva is
created. And with the influence of sentient Prakriti, sleeping since the creation of cosmic Mahattattva, unit Mahattattva is created. Thus unit mind is created in the image of cosmic mind
by the same forces which created cosmic mind, but it is created out of matter, backwards (Citta to Ahamtattva to Mahattattva) rather than being created out of pure consciousness
(Nirguna Brahma) forwards (Mahattattva to Ahamtattva to Citta).
Matter was necessary for the creation of unit mind because only solid matter can be subdivided into units. It is impossible to speak of anything as subtle as ether, air, or luminosity in
terms of units. Light two matches; bring them together; two flames become one indistinguishable flame. The fire cannot be said to have unitary characteristics. One cannot draw a line of
demarcation between the two flames. There is no individual
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entity of fire or flame. The same is true of liquid. And the test is extremely difficult when applied to air; impossible when applied to ether. But take a handful of rocks; mix them
with another handful; now divide them into two distinct parts again. It is only solid which maintains individual identity. Thus Prakriti had to crudify Purusa to the state of solid in order
for unit or individual minds eventually to arise. Saguna Brahma had to assume a crude form in order to divide himself into innumerable units, in order for the drama to become exciting
and meaningful.
As we said earlier, every author must have a theme before he begins writing his novel or the book will not hold together. Just so did Saguna Brahma have a theme before Creation
could begin. The theme of Brahma was the creation of individual units which would first be lost to their existence in the grand cycle of Creation but which would eventually develop to
the degree that they could recognize their relationship to Purusa and make every effort to return to him. Thus was the creation of solid necessary, for only solid could produce individual
units. And thus was the creation of man necessary, for only man can recognize his affinity to the ultimate.
Once unit Ahamtattva has evolved from unit Citta, and unit Mahattattva has evolved from unit Ahamtattva, mind on earth can be said to have fully replicated cosmic mind. Unit mind has
then become complete and only in this complete state can it serve as a mirror for cosmic consciousness. Each unit mind is like a pail of water on a field on a moonlit night. Each Pail will
find reflected in it the entire face of the moon. The moon is like cosmic consciousness; each reflection of the moon is unit consciousness, or Atman, and each pail is unit mind. Only man
possesses a full consciousness, for only he has the means for reflecting it fully. All of creation has consciousness, 89 as was said earlier, for all of creation is nothing but consciousness
crudified. But man is not so crude. Because of his possession of a mind in the image of Brahma's, he can fully realize his affinity to consciousness; only he, by fully reflecting cosmic
consciousness, is capable of finishing the cycle and eventually returning to his source. Man is thus uniquely blessed. Eventually, however, all of creation will develop and return to its
source. But creation shall also be constantly re-created. The ball is constantly being thrown (Saincara) and returned Prati-Saincara). And the name of the game is "Brahmacakra"
(movement from subtle to crude and from crude back to subtle, unceasingly).

ANANDA MARGA ANATOMY

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ANANDA MARGA ANATOMY

According to Ananda Marga philosophy, there are many parts of the body that are so subtle that they have yet to find their way onto a "scientific" anatomy chart. These parts of the body
were discovered not through the usual technique of physical dissection and observation, but through a dissection and observation reached only by advanced sadhana (medi

I.- tation). As one makes progress in his sadhana, he encounters various anatomical centers which must be developed and opened for progress to continue. These centers often seem to
work in series, as for example, the kosas of the mind. These

Nc kosas are much like the layers of an onion. (An Indian shall tell you that they're like the petals of a banana flower.) Once you have peeled off one layer, you discover another layer or
sheath below. Progress up the spinal cord works in much the same way. Once Baba has pulled your consciousness through one nerve center, or cakra, and achieved some feeling of
accomplishment and bliss, some absorption into the infinite (samadhi), you are enabled to climb up the spinal column a bit more but only to encounter another nerve center or cakra!
Because the practice of sadhana is going to bring you into contact with these various

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subtle anatomical parts, it might be helpful for you to understand this Yogic anatomy a bit better.

Kulakundalini: Coiled Consciousness

Assume for a moment that you are meditating: sitting quietly, eyes closed, legs twisted about in the pretzel-like lotus posture, back straight, diligently concentrating on the Sanskrit
sounds given to you by your guru through your Acarya. If you have just begun meditating, your consciousness is quite crude, and is located in a nerve center at the very base of your
spine, in the anal area. Yogis say that, until you begin meditating, your consciousness is actually asleep, coiled up in a stupor at the very base of your spine. At your initiation and as your
sadhana progresses, your consciousness awakens and it leaves this shelter at the spinal base and works its way up the spine, awakening other cakras (vibrational centers) along the way.
The awakening of the consciousness creates a sensation in the sadhaka (meditator) much like that of a serpent uncoiling. Thus the stupefied consciousness is thought of as the Sleeping
Serpent, and the name given to the spiritual force which creeps up the spine is "kulakundalini" which means "coiled serpentine force."

Muladhara Cakra: First and Crudest Vibrational Center

The lowest and crudest of all the cakras, the sleeping place of the serpentine force, is called the "Muladhara". Located in the anal area, the Muladhara Cakra controls the solid factors of
the body and is directly related to the excretory function of the anus. Solid matter being the crudest of all Creation (the turning Point of the Saincara process), that part of the body which
controls solid must also be of the crudest. But don't become
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dismayed by the thought that you've been sitting on Your consciousness all these years. Even though the Muladhara Cakra is crude, bliss is felt once the serpentine kulakundalini has
awakened and crawled through it. This bliss comes from the feeling that the sadhaka (meditator) is not really a lowly being, far below the "feet" of Brahma (Absolute Consciousness), but
is actuauy on the same plane as Brahma. The feeling is somewhat like the bliss experienced by the lover when he realizes that his beloved is not inaccessible, that even if she is indeed
the goddess that he imagines her to be, he is yet worthy of her love.

At first we tend to have fierce inferiority complexes, not realizing that our consciousnesses are one with the cosmic consciousness. As a mirror reflects the sun's rays, so do our minds
reflect the cosmic consciousness. Our unit consciousness is not a separate entity from the cosmic one. It seems to be separate only because our mind, acting like amirror, reflects it onto
our unit plate. As we progress in sadhana we shall transcend the unit plate, break the mirror, and we shall discover that our unit consciousness was only a reflection and that our true
consciousness is the same as the source, the same as the sun.

However, in the early stages of meditation, when our legs ache in the lotus position and we can't quite get our knees to touch the floor and our minds wander more than they keep still,
our inferiority complexes are quite huge. Yet we have already made progress, for our very effort to perform sadhana demonstrates that we no longer are fooled by the beauty of the
physical world but recognize the higher beauty. Thus, when we have finally awakened the kulakundalini and gotten it to creep through that first cakra (vibrational center), no wonder we
experience bliss at the discovery that Brahma and we are on the

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same plane. This discovery is not at all an intellectual one, such as you are making right now in reading this page, but is felt from within by the whole being.

With this first samadhi (blissful absorption into the ultimate), the sadhaka (meditator) had begun to reap the bliss sown by his sadhana. As the mantra seed matures, and the serpentine
force uncoils further up the spine, piercing the other cakras, the bliss becomes even more intense. This first bliss is experienced by a relatively crude consciousness in the crudest of all
cakras. As sadhana continues and the consciousness becomes more subtle, the serpentine force crawling higher up the spine to the subtler cakras, the sadhaka is better able to experience
even stronger connection to the ultimate.

Suadhisthana Cakra: Second Vibrational Center

If the crudest cakra controls the solids of the body, the next slightly subtler cakra must control liquid, for liquid is the factor (Bhuta) which comes next to solid on the crude/subtle scale.
And as the Muladhara Cakra, the solidcontroller, was related to the anus, controller of the body's solid excretion, the Svadhisthana Cakra, the liquid-controller, must be related to the
genitals, controllers of the body's liquid excretion. Located slightly higher on the spine, the Svadhisthana Cakra lies behind the genital area. Once the serpentine kulakundalini has crept
this far up the spinal cord and pierced through this second cakra, bliss is again experienced. This time the sadhaka (ineditator) feels that not only is he on the same plane as Brahma, but
that he is coming near to Brahma on that plane. The distance between them has greatly reduced. They have sidled closer on the love-seat of sadhana, Thus the bliss experienced here is
even greater than the first experienced.
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Manipura Cahra: Vibrational Center of the Navel Area

As the bliss of the second cakra was greater than that of the first, the bliss of the third is greater still. We have now had our consciousness pierce through one of the subtler cakras, for the
third cakra, located in the navel area, (that part of the body where oxidation occurs) controls the more subtle fire or luminosity factor. This cakra is known as the "Manipura Cakra" and
the bliss experienced here comes from the feeling that the sadhaka is in close touch with Brahma. Now the distance has decreased to the point that we actually feel contact with the Self.
The lovers are holding hands.

By now we have been meditating for quite some time. I am not speaking of a single sitting but of months or years. Along with the particular feelings of bliss experienced with the
piercing of the various cakras, we have also experienced other wonderful effects from our sadhana. A greater peace than we could ever have dreamed of has become real for us. And our
desire for ultimate merger with Brahma, for our birthright as human beings, for complete transcendence over our animal natures, has become so strong in us that we can hardly remember
a time when we did not know this desire, hardly believe that not everyone shares this desire with us. Our serpentine force has crawled half-way up our spine, bringing greater and greater
gifts, and we have become more and more impatient for our final union with Consciousness. There is a story about Ramakrishna which beautifully describes this intense longing for the
Divine:

ASPIRANT (to Ramakrishna): "Guru, how can one develop divine love?"

RAMAKRISHNA: "Through restlessness - the restlessness a child feels for his mother. The child feels bewildered when he is

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separated from his mother, and weeps longingly for her. If a man can weep like that for God he can even see Him.

"At the approach of dawn the eastern horizon becomes red. Then one knows it will soon be sunrise. Likewise, if you see a person restless for God, you can be pretty certain that he hasn't
long to wait for His vision.

"A disciple asked his teacher, 'Sir, please tell me how I can see God Come with me,' said the guru, 'and I shall show you.' He took the disciple to a lake, and both of them got into the
water. Suddenly the teacher pressed the disciple's head under the water. After a few moments he released him and the disciple raised his head and stood up. The guru asked him, 'How did
you feelT The disciple said, 'Oh I thought I should die; I was panting for breath.' The teacher said, 'When you feel like that for God, then you will know you haven't long to wait for His
vision.'

"Let me tell you something. What will you gain by floating on the surface? Dive a little under the water. The gems lie deep under the water; so what is the good of throwing your arms
and legs about on the surface9 A real gem is heavy. It doesn't float; it sinks to the bottom. To get the real gem you must dive deep."

Anahata Cakra: Located in the Yogic Heart

By the time our serpentine force has pierced through the fourth cahra, the Anahata Cakra, located in the center of the chest and in control of the aerial factor, as are the lungs, its closest
neighbor, we have begun to satisfy our longing for the divine; but we continue on the path because the satisfaction is not yet complete. With the piercing of this fourth cakra we no longer
feel that we are near Brahma or touching Brahma, but we
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feel that we are almost the same as Brahma. We feel as the lover does, contemplating his beloved: the very thought that his beloved loves him seems to give him a very special beauty and
grace. Our new proximity to Brahma, the intimacy that he is now sharing with us, seems also to give us a special beauty and grace; we seem to be taking on the magnificence of the
Beloved.
Our new proximity with Brahma makes our old involvement with the material world seem very very distant. We no longer find ourselves desiring the pleasures of the physical
creation. Instead we find ourselves pursuing only the bliss which comes through union with the Supreme. In fact, this desire for bliss becomes our only desire, for all samskaras (future
actions that must be performed to balance past actions and desires) have been burned away by the time we have awakened the Anahata Cakra. All worldly desires, actions and reactions
have ceased. We are now on a path headed directly towards the Divine. We are able to perceive the material world as the thought projection of Brahma and desire now union with the
source rather than involvement with the projection. We are in the world as a man is at the cinema; we laugh and cry at the appropriate places, but we know the action to be celluloid; we
are always aware that we are at the movies. Once we have achieved this state of detachment from the material, of fierce longing for the divine, we are said to be "jivanmukti", liberated
from the bondage of the physical world. The jivanmukti takes on samskara (a desire to serve mankind) at the moment of samadhi, enabling him to remain in the world in human form.
The bliss of this cakra is very great indeed.

Vishuddha Cakra: Vibrational Center in the Throat

With the Piercing of this fourth cakra we begin to feel a

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sameness, an identity, with Brahma. With the piercing of the next, the fifth cakra, the Vishudda Cakra, the feeling of identification is complete. This cakra, located in the throat area and
in control of the most subtle factor, space, produces in us the feeling that "I am He." It is also at this point that we are able to hear the cosmic sound, produced at the very beginning of
creation. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (Genesis) And the Word is oM. Now that we are God, the Word is with us too. However,
although we can now hear the Word, we never reproduce nor meditate upon it, for the sound is perfect and cannot be reproduced by man, even by a man who has reached the divine state
of the Vishuddha Cakra.
So we have now internally and with our total being entirely transcended our former inferiority complex and recognized our affinity to the infinite. What is left? Is the throat as high
up on the body as the serpentine force can crawl? Can anything be more blissful than the recognition that He and I are one?

Ajina Cakra: Vibrational Center of the Mind

Keep meditating. Sit still, eyes closed. Pain in the legs has long ago ceased. Effort can hardly be remembered. Meditation has become the most effortless and rewarding experience
of many lifetimes. So keep meditating. And the serpentine power shall crawl higher still. There are yet two more cakras to be reached, so subtle that they are beyond connection with any
of the five fundamental factors. The sixth cakra, the Afina Cakra, is located at the Trikuti (three hills), so called because of the burnp of the nose and two eyebrows. Located directly
above the nose and between the eyebrows, this cakra produces a
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special kind of bliss when crossed. There is no longer any feeling of "I" or "He" but only the feeling of "You- ("Thou Art."). We have totally transcended our limited egos, broken our
mirrors, poured the water of Self from the glass back into the ocean. This state of bliss, of total merger into Brahma, is known as "Savikalpa Samadhi." Samadhi means "absorption" and
the absorption here is with Saguna Brahma (Brahma in the qualified state, Purusa dominated by Prakriti, consciousness aware of itself). Although we have lost sense of "I", we still have
all awareness; we are still able to form the concept of "Thou." The duality of I and He has disappeared, but awareness still remains.

Not until we merge with the highest, purest state where consciousness is unaware, Purusa unqualified by Prakriti, the state of Nirguna Brahma (Brahma Without Qualities) do we lose all
awareness. Only then does absorption become complete. Obviously, if we are totally immersed in unqualified consciousness, we can have no awareness of the merger, no wonderful
feeling of final success. But when we come down from this state, the feeling of bliss is incredible indeed. Eventually however, when we become subtle enough, we will no longer even
desire to come down, but will enjoy the pure state of Nirguna Brahma more than the feeling of bliss. At this point of permanent merger our purpose within Creation has been fulfilled and
we have come home at last.

Sahasrara Cakra: Highest and Subtlest Vibrational Center

Piercing of the lastj the seventh, cakra, brings us to a merger with Nirguna Brahma and this merger is known as "Nirvikalpa Samadhi." The subtlest cakra, the Sahasrara Cakra, located at
the very center and top of the head, brings us to a total absorption into Nirguna Brahma. Whereas the Ajina Cakra

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had produced transcendence of Ill", the Sahasrara Cakra has us even transcend "Thou". Now there only IS. We are then like the bit of salt which attempted to measure the depth of the
ocean but a divine attraction occurred and it was lost in the~ immeasurable expanse. The bliss is complete and total. Man has become infinite. There is nowhere else for him to go, for he
is now everywhere. Our sadhana has brought us the ultimate.

Layers of the Mind: Kosas

In moving towards the ultimate not only has our consciousness crept up our spinal cord, moving from crudest to subtlest, awakening the cakras along the way, but we have also dived
deep into the mind, peeling off the crude layers and working our way in towards the blissful perfection inside.

Most of us are only aware of two layers of the mind, the conscious and subconscious. These are the crudest layers. Lying within them, sheltered by the outer layers or sheaths, lie three
more layers and these are the key to our Self.

Kamamaya Kosa: Conscious Mind

The first layer of the mind we rarely think about, for it does the thinking for us. This is the crudest layer, the one which as well as controlling the crudest of the cakras, the Muladhara,
controls all of our physical activities. In Yoga it is called the "Kamamaya Kosa.11 ("Kosa" means "sheath" or 44cover" and thus all the layers are called "kosas".) In western terminology
this layer is called the "conscious mind." All the basic physical 'InPulses of the body are detected and the necessary motor responses are controlled by this outer, crude layer. Desire for
food, sex, warmth, etc. and eating, intercourse, shelterseeking are all the domain of this kosa.
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PROUT: Ananda Marga Social Theory

Because the outer kosa controls the body and is the protector and cover for all the more subtle kosas, Ananda Marga recognizes that the needs and desires of this kosa must be met before
man will be free to peel off the other layers. Thus part of Ananda Marga's philosophy is of a worldly, practical nature. The Path of Bliss cannot be entirely spiritual for man's mind and
consciousness are sheltered by a physical body. The worldly part of Ananda Marga's philosophy is called PROUT (Progressive Utilization Theory) and one of its basic tenets is the
guarantee that everyone will have all that he needs for the maintenance of his physical existence, varying with time, place, and person. This variation means that a doctor should be
guaranteed a fast vehicle, insuring his immediate service to those in need, whereas a student might only be guaranteed a bicycle, allowing him time to ruminate on his way to class.

Another worldly side of Ananda Marga is its recognition that the sadhaka (meditator) cannot and should not be forced to- renounce his physical desires. When he first begins on the
path, the sadhaka may have a
Kamamaya Kosa which is constantly directing him towards food. Food is enjoyed and consumed in large quantity not because it is needed for physical sustenance, but for the sensual
pleasure of its taste. Ananda
Marga does not deny the beauty of a good tasting meal and does not encourage the sadhaka to reduce his eating habits, for such a forced reduction would only cause conflict in the novice
sadhaka and there is
sufficient conflict already just in the early stages of sadhana. Ananda Marga, aware of the three hidden layers that lie within the mind, and of the peeling off process which occurs as
sadhana progresses, allows the
sadhaka to

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continue in his overindulgence. As he continues his sadhana and discovers the gems that lie within his own person, he will no longer be fooled by the temporary satisfaction of a good
meal, will begin to feel discomfort from the overtaxed stomach, suffering after a physical overindulgence, and Will naturally curb his own physical tendencies, eliminating the need for
conflict.
The Kamamaya Kosa is the outer part of evereyone's Mind even of the most highly realised yogi, and it demands that certain physical needs be met. However once we have control
over this kosa, rather than unthinkingly allowing it to control us, its functioning ceases after the needs are met, and it does not continue to distract us with the transient lures of the
physical world.

Because the Kamamaya Kosa is the crudest of. our mind's sheaths, it is associated -in -the body- with--the- crudest of our cakras. This is the part of the mind said to control the
Muladhara Cakra, the vibrational center located in the very base of the spine. As we pierce through this basic cakra, we begin to control this crudest of kosas. Thus, as we are guiding opr
consciousness up the spinal cord through our sadhana, we are also gaining control over the various layers of our minds.

Manomaya Kosa: Subconscious Mind

The sheath which controls the Svadhisthana Cakra, the vibrational center in the genital area, lies just within the Kamamaya Kosa and is called the "Manomaya Kom." This sheath is also
known as the "subconscious" or "subtle mind". Being concerned with mental rather than physical processes, it is considered subtle in comparison to the Kwnamaya Kosa, but it is still
crude compared to the three layers which lie within it. This kosa, being subtler than the previous one, directly controls
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the previous one. The impulses of the conscious mind come from the subconscious mind whose main functions are contemplation and recollection. This sheath is the seat of and memory,
the storage house of all of our past experiences. it Is also in this sheath that data picked up by the physical organs is assimilated, is put into coherent order and digested. All of our
thinking processes, our ability for cognition and conceptual. ization, are carried out within the confines of this kosa. Our dreams also issue forth from here, compiled from memory data
as well as data received from our daily activities. Because this sheath is the controller of the one which guides physical wants and fulfilments as well as the source of mental desires and
urges, it is in this sheath that samsakaras are created.

Samskara: Record of Reactions

Samsharas result from each of our actions and are the record of the necessity for a reaction to befall us. If I do evil to someone, or desire to do evil to someone, this action is
recorded by my mind, disturbing its balance or equilibrium. The balance will not be restored until an equal action or pain falls onto me, for subconsciously I recognize my evil thought or
deed and desire its requital. The same is true for good deeds and thoughts , each of which requires a "reward". The record of unfulfilled requittals or rewards is called "samskara". The
Manomaya Kosa, having created the desire or controlled the action which fulfilled the desire, is said to be the originator of all of our samsakara.

Atimanas Kosa: Beginning of the Caumd Mind

Although the Manomaya Kosa creates our samskara, it is

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the Atimanas Kosa which stores it. Located within the Manomaya Kosa, this third sheath is unfamiliar to most of us. However certain western Psychologists and theologians, such as Carl
Gustav Jung and Teilhard de Chardin, were subtle enough to have peeled off the outside layers and discovered this gem within. This sheath is the beginning of the causal mind, for it is
beyond the realm of relative factors and of ordinary mental activity. it is directly related to the causal force which initiated the Creation. The causal mind of the cosmos is the seed which
preceded and sprouted into Cosmic Mahattattva and all that comes after. The causal mind of the unit is the seed of the unit's spirituality, sprouting only once these inner kosas have been
watered through sadhana.
This sheath is beyond temporal, spatial, and personal categories. All of time and space are simultaneous here. Eternity is the only clock of this realm. Access to this layer thus allows
the sadhaka knowledge of all time, places, and persons. He has the eternal knowledge of Brahma at his disposal. Edgar Cayce, the American prophet and seer, who cured thousands of
people of many diseases and who predicted events which have occurred in history, was obviously attuned to the Atimanas Kosa. Jung, aware of the data made available by access to this
sheath, called it the "Collective Unconscious". Chardin's term for the same concept was "Noosphere". The number of people throughout history who have had "strange" powers of
prophecy and healing indicates the incredible scope of this third layer.
Because the Atimanas Kosa is beyond time, space, and person, and thus can perceive everything simultaneously, it is also the storage area of our samskaras. Samskaras, or potential
reactions, can only be fulfilled at the exact moment in the relative realm of time, space, and person. If a person has committed an action which requires him to experience the pain
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of losing hi s father when he reaches the age of eleven, then he must be born into a family whose father has the samskara that he must die when his son reaches the age of eleven. And the
mother's samskara must be such that she experience the pain of loss of husband when her son is eleven. And if there are other children in the family, their samskara must function
accordingly. It is thus no simple matter to determine the time and place of reincarnation of a unit mind so that all of its samskara will be worked out properly. Such a process must be
within the realm of eternal knowledge, not limited human knowledge. Thus samskara is stored within the eternal realm of the Atimanas Kosa and when the moment is right, each
samskara is acted out and fulfilled. Because the A timanas Kosa has access to all time, space, and person, it "knows" when samskara is about to be fulfilled, and sometimes, in our more
subtle moments, we pick up a warning in the form of a premonition.

Access to the Atimanas Kosa is gained once we have guided our serpentine kulakundalini all the way up to the third cakra, the Manipura. The A timanas Kosa controls this cakra and the
piercing of this cakra provides access to this third sheath.

Vijinanamaya Kosa: Perceiver of Reality

The fourth kosa is also a powerful one, and also provides the sadhaka with strange and beautiful powers. The Viiinanamaya Kosa, subtler than any of the previous three, is also Part of the
causal mind. The main function of thise kosa is the total perception of reality of the objective physicalities. Ordinary sense perception is dependant on the sense and motor Organs, and
these are capable of handling and perceiving only those tanmatms (sense vibrations) which are reflected off the

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objective world. However, most tanmatras are refracted; thus ordinary sense perception picks up less than one-eighth of the total objective reality. Refracted rays, such as ultraviolet light,
are unperceivable to the human eye. But in the Vijinamaya Kosa, absolute perception of reality is possible. When our serpentine force has broken through the Anahata Cakra, the cakra
controlled by this fourth kosa, we gain the ability to know the reality hehind the changing phenomena of the world. We can perceive the vibrations that emanate from people (in the form
of auras), each one having its own color. We can know what a person is thinking and exactly how he is feeling. We can even retaste food eaten years earlier, or re-experience the pain of a
leg broken in childhood. It is with access to this kosa that we have gained true wisdom.

We are now capable of living our lives with spiritual perfection, for we can truly distinguish between right and wrong, between worldly and spiritual knowledge (apara and para). This
ability to distinguish between apara and para comes from our new and full insight into apara. We now perceive the mundane world for the Maya (Camouflage) that it is. But we have yet
to fully realize para, to comprehend the spiritual world in its fullness and beauty. This comprehension shall occur only when the serpentine force has pierced through the sixth cakra, the
Afina. It is in this cakra that we experience Savikalpa Samadhi and come to full knowledge of spiritual reality. However, the perfect discrimination achieved with access to the kosa
Vijinana-kosa, thise true conscience, is known as Viveka and is one of the finest fruits plucked along the spiritual path.
The physcial world is no longer a lure or a threat to us. There is no longer any question of our submission to transient Physical pleasures. To paraphrase Archie J. Bahm's beautiful
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translation of the Tho Teh King*, we perceive that:

Brahma's brightest day fades into night.

Brahma's most luxuriant growth ages toward decay.

Brahma's smoothest plain erodes itself away into rough terrain.

Brahma's most harmonious adjustment generates conflict.

Brahma's most beautiful objects grow grim and ugly.

Brahma's greatest prize soon becomes despised.

Brahma's strongest power eventually weakens.

Brahma's soundest supports gradually rot away.

Brahma's squarest corners soon become rounded.

Brahma's grandest structures sooner or later are destroyed.

Brahma's loudest sounds are finally silenced.

Hence, Brahma, although beyond comprehension and description,

Knows how to bring about, alternately, all initiating and completing.

The knowledge and bliss now known to us enable us to perceive the material world for the toy that it is and we are now too old to play with toys. Renunciation of physical enjoyments is
no longer a struggle at all, but is similar to the renunciation that we underwent at childhood's end when we found the world far more enjoyable to play with than our dump trucks or dolls.
The new alternative is so wondrous that we no longer- have desire for the old. We have finally achieved true renunciation, effortless renunciation, "Vaeragyha."

Together Viveka (discrimination) and Vaeragyha (renunciation) link the individual to his Self. They are the only two
*Archie Bahm, Tao Teh King. Fredrich Ungar Press, New York, 1958

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media which can bring the spiritual aspirant to state of unqualified consciousness. Ramakrishna once compared these qualities to the immunity of the snake charmer. A snake will bite an
ordinary mortal who tries to catch it, but the snake charmer can carry seven snakes around his neck and even put them through many tricks. Just so can the householder, after he has
mastered Viveka and Vaergyha, live in the world without being poisoned or polluted by it. Viveka and Vaeragyha are comparable to the "enchanted dust" which is said to afford immunity
to the snake charmer.

Maya: Cosmic Camouflage

We have now almost completely broken through the veil of Maya. In most yogic systems this term is taken to mean "illusion," for Maya is manifested as material-world; Maya is the
creative faculty which "hides" Purusa under a cover (Avaranii) of material solidarity. In ancient yogic interpretations the solid material was considered to be false or illusory; the physical
world was accepted as only dreamlike hallucination. Only the source of the dream was considered to be real. Ananda Marga recognizes that touching, tasting, smelling, and standing
upon the earth prove it to have a physical reality. If we project in our minds the image of a monkey in a tree, the tree is very real to the monkey. Our physical senses can only determine
reality on the physical plane, and they do show all indication that the physical plane exists. Of course only so much of truth can be revealed to us as our instruments of discovery are
subtle enough to reveal. Before the days of the electron microscope, whole areas of reality were hidden from Our inquiring eyes. Physical equipment can only prove the truth Of the
Physical. We must turn to more subtle instruments to

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reveal the more subtle truths. Through the subtle tool of sadhana we can confront the source of all truth, the projector of the physical world. It is then that we discover that the physical
world is only relatively true. It is true only in terms of the relative factors of time, space, and person. The source of the relative truths is timeless, changeless, and infinitely omnipresent.
Maya is not illusion. It is merely a camouflage of the absolute truth. One of the root meanings of Maya is "art". The physical universe may be thought of as the grandest art work of all
times. Although we may not be able to walk our bodies down a street in a Rembrandt painting, we certainly cannot call the painting an illusion, for our minds are moving along that
street. Thus Ananda Marga never refers to Maya - as illusion, but as the creative faculty.

Because of the camouflage, the covering (Avaranii) created by Maya, man develops inferiority or superiority complexes. He tends to believe that he is a lowly animal whose only purpose
is physical indulgence, not recognizing his Brahmahood. Or else he believes that he is the ultimate end, the apex of evolution. He believes that he controls the earth and may do with it as
he pleases. He begins to think of himself as being beyond the realm of Nature. Without recognizing his Brahmahood he thinks that his humanity is as far as he can progress; his false
sense of superiority prevents him from striving towards perfection.

When Maya creates in us the feeling that man is as far as evolution goes, that physical reality is the only reality, it is called "Avidya Maya." This form of Maya is in control of the

Saincara process, the movement from subtle to crude. We have been thrown so far from the source that we no longer believe in
its existence. This distance (Vikshepa, from the root word "to throw") is one of the tools which Avidya Maya uses to prevent

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us from recognizing the absolute reality. It is Vikshepa which rnakes us believe in the reality of the covering (A varanii).

With the crossing over from Saincara to Pratisaincara, we passed from the scope of Avidya Maya to that of Vidya Maya. Also a form of illusion, Vidya Maya is a more positive force than
its counterpart, for it leads us from the crude to the subtle. The moment that we became aware that life was meant for more than material pleasures and that we had a purpose to fulfill
greater than mere animal gratification, we came strongly under the influence of one of the two forces of Vidya Maya. This force which creates the first spiritual awakening in man, puts
him on the path, giving him the desire to shorten the distance between himself and the Great, is called "sambit." The meaning of sambit is "sudden realization of the state of things."
Although it seems the very beginning of the path, sambit actually occurs as the culmination of eons of years of plant and animal development which brought us to this moment of
awakening.

Because of this awakening we sought a guide, realizing that we could not achieve the ultimate on our own. The guide is called a "guru" (from the Sanskrit gu which means "darkness"
and ru which means "dispelling agent") or one who dispells the darkness from our minds. Through the guru we learn sadhana and from sadhana we encountered the second force of
Vidya Maya: hladinii, which means "bliss". This is the force which propells us along the path to the Supreme Entity, enabling us to fight Vikshepa, lifting us above all the trifles, bringing
us to The Great. It is the path of bliss which brings us to Brahma.

We have already experienced many different forms of bliss, as each of our cakras was awakened by the coiled force. Yet "lost of these bliss experiences are still part of Vidya Maya, are
still relative. Not until we achieve the last and highest bliss, the
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one in which we totally lose sense of "I" and "Thou" and merge entirely into the unqualified form of Purusa, Nirguna Brahma, not until then have we escaped the bounds of all forms of
Maya. As long as we still think in terms of 1, separating ourselves from the Entirety, or of "Thou" which also assumes a separation, we are still living and believing a relative truth.

With the piercing through of the fourth, Anahata Cahra, and the access to the fourth, Vijinanamaya Kosa, we have gained a great deal of knowledge and wisdom. We are wiser than many
of the world's greatest sages. We see the world for the beautiful and limited Avaranii (covering) that it is, and we eagerly choose the bliss (hladinii) of the spiritual path, rather than the
pleasures of the material world. But we still exist to choose; there is still an "I" deciding which path to take. Thus, though we are well on our way to escaping from the influence of Vidya
Maya, our wisdom is not yet complete -we have yet to get to the point which is even beyond wisdom.

Hiranyamaya Kosa: Innermost Sheath

With the unfolding of the last kosa we have begun the journey to the other side of wisdom. The last kosa of the mind is the Hiranyamaya Kosa and is the subtlest kosa of all. It is the
controller of the Vishudda Cakra and with its unfolding we have the sense of becoming very much like Brahma. We finally lose almost all sense of "I" and begin to merge into Saguna
Brahma (Qualified Consciousness). It is with access to this kosa that we experience a form of Savilkalpa Samadhi (Absorption into Saguna Brahma) for the first time. Only after
achieving Viveka (discrimination) and Vaergyha (renunciation) did we make ourselves pure enough for this taste of absorption into the Great.
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The Hiranyamaya Kosa is the innermost sheath of the mind but it is obviously not the end of our quest. The kosas are in control only of those cakras identified with the five fundamental
factors. The two cakras beyond these factors, the Ajina and Sahasrara Cakras, are also beyond the control of the kosas or mind. The Ajina Cakra, rather than being controlled by the mind,
controls the mind in its entirety. With the piercing of this cakra we experience Savikalpa Samadhi completely. We have culminated the experience begun by our access to the
Hiranyamaya kosa. The Sahasrara Cakra, the most supreme cakra of all, controls not the mind but the mind's witness, the Atman or consciousness. This cakra brings us to Nirvikalpa
Samadhi (absorption into Unqualified Consciousness), completing our quest.

The Eight Limbs of Yoga

For most of us our minds are out of control, which is to say that we have little say over the directions in which they lead us. The idea of Yoga is to bring us into control of our minds and
there are eight limbs of Yoga that help us to do this.

The first limb of yoga is the physical postures, called "asanas". These are not calisthenics designed to tone up the muscles, but are body positions which neutralize and also purify the
secretions of the various glands and help keep the body balanced and the mind equipoised. The purpose of the asanas is thus body control, and consequently mind control. As the body is
the outermost sheath of the mind, it too is a kosa, known as the "Annamaya Kosa".

The Kamamaya Kosa (crude mental stuff), the mental sheath in charge of the body, is controlled by three separate lirnbs: Yama and Niyama (the ten moral do's and don'ts of
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yoga) as well as the mantra learned at the first initiation.

The Manomaya Kosa (subtle mental stuff), the subconscious mind, is controlled by Pranayama special breathing exercises learned at one of the yogic initiations.

The Atimanas Kosa (supra-mental stuff), the first step of the causal mind and headquarters of our prophetic ability, is controlled by Pratyhara, withdrawal from attachments. Such
withdrawal is accomplished in two ways. At one of our initiations we are taught a song to sing after meditation, as well as the way in which we are to prepare the mind in order to sing
the song. This song, the "Guru Puja" (Worship of the Guru) and the mental frame with which we sing it, is one of the methods which helps us to withdraw from attachments and control
the Atimanas Kosa. The other method is the withdrawal of
consciousness througt the with which we begin our daily meditation.

The Vijinanamaya Kosa, fifth of the kosas and responsible for true wisdom, is controlled by Dharana. Dharana is taught during two of the initiations and is directly related to control over
and awakening of the cakras.

And the Hiranyamaya Kosa, innermost sheath, is controlled by Dhyana, contemplation on higher thoughts, essential for attaining the supreme stance, the state of Supreme Beatitude.

All of these masteries lead to different forms of samadhi (Absorption) and together they comprise the spiritual path of yoga.

Vayus: Regulators of Body Functionings

Kosas and cakras are very subtle controllers of the individual's spiritual growth. Yet there are other subtle factors

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of the body which influence the working of the kosas and cakras. Among the more important of these are the vayus, body flows which regulate and integrate the various body functions.
Vayu literally means "air" or "flow". In the human body there are said to be ten vayus, five of which are internal and five external.

The five internal vayus are: prana, apana, samana, vyana, and udana. Prana is controller of the body's vital energy, responsible for the inhalation and exhalation of air; thus it is controller
of all the vayus, while also being one of them. It is located between the navel point (the Manipura Cakra) and the vocal cords (the Vishudda Cakra), and thus also controls the functioning
of the heart, as well as the lungs. The Apana is located between the navel (Manipura) and the anus (Muladhara Cakra) and controls the excretion of liquid and solid matter. It also controls
the in and out movement of the diaphragm, and thus is related to the breathing process and to Prana. Samana is situated in the Manipura Cakra and its responsibility is the maintenance of
a balance between Prana and Apana, and thus a balance of the body as a whole. Udana resides in the throat area of the Vishudda Cakra and controls the vocal cords and voice. Vyana
permeates throughout the entire body, and is responsible for the circulation of blood and other secretions; moreover, with the help of the nerves it brings the sensory and motor organs
into contact with the objective external world and helps them act accordingly. Vyana also supplies the vibration necessary for the faculty of thinking.
Whereas the five internal vayus have specific locations within the body, the five external ones do not. They merely control various activities without having specific locations. The five
external vayus are: Naga, Kurma, Krikara, Devadatta, and Dhanainjaya. Naga (serpent) maintains body locomotion, and
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expansion of the limbs in general. Kurma (tortoise) controls the contraction of the limbs. Krikara helps in yawning and hiccupping. Devadatta is responsible for hunger and thirst.
Dhanainjaya produces sleep and drowsiness and also maintains the cohesion of the entire body.

Physical defect or deficiency in any part of the body weakens Prana and Apana. If Samana becomes unable to maintain a balance between these two vayus, a vehement struggle occurs in
the navel and throat areas. If Samana completely loses its vitality, it and the other two vayus, Prana and Apana, are merged into one and as a unit strike against the Udana. The result of
this striking is the merger of Udana with the three-in-one unit. The moment Udana loses its separate identity, Vyana is struck by the collective force and also merges with it. All the
internal vayus, functioning now as a single unit, move throughout the physical body with great force, striking every delicate point in search of an outlet. Finding one, the collective
internal vayus pass out of the body, taking with them as they go, all of the external vayus except Dhanainjaya. Dhanainjaya, being the vayu in charge of sleep, also causes the deep sleep
of death, and remains in the body long after all the other vayus have gone. If the body is cremated, or when it has finally completely decayed, Dhanainjaya also is free to go, but as the
others, remains in the cosmos, ready to act again according to the will of Prakriti.

The physical cause of death is thus directly related to the passing away of the nine (ten minus Dhanainjaya) vayus into eternal space. The vayus in their proper functioning are basic
necessities of life; in their absence, they are the basic cause of death.

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psycho-Physical Parallelism: Life and Death

But absence of the vayus is not the only cause of death. Each created entity has particular vibrations which differentiate it from all other created entities, for all of creation is actually
nothing but the thought vibrations of Brahma. Entities with Minds have two major vibrations, one emanating from the mind,
one from the body, though actually the body is a composite of rnany many vibrations. When the mental vibrations are parallel to the physical ones, then life is healthy and robust. But if
anything causes a disruption, illness sets in. Dissociation of these two major vibrations, disruption of the parallelism, is another cause of death. Such dissociation often occurs when the
waves of the physical structure get cruder due to old age or other physical deficiency. A physician may prolong life by readjusting the physical wave-length, but eventually the
re-adjustment falters and dissociation and death result.

Disruption of the parallelism occurs for other reasons as well. Rather than the physical vibrations becoming cruder, the mental vibrations may become too crude or too subtle. One's
mental vibrations do not remain constant throughout life, but are crudified or subtlified, depending on one's activities. If one keeps good company, suffers much psychic or physical clash,
and/or ideates upon the Supreme, one makes his mental waves more subtle. The very purpose of sadhana is the subtlification of the mental waves through Supreme ideation. Dissociation
does not occur, however, until ultimate subtlety is reached, for the body becomes subtle along with the mind through sadhana.

Bad company and ideation upon the material world can cause a degradation of mental waves. If, for example, a man and
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his pet dog live together as brothers, sharing the same bed and daily activities, the dog's mental waves become elevated due to contact and clash with the man's, and the man's waves may
become cruder.

Physical and mental clash both produce elevation, just as friction produces fire. Physical clash, such as athletics or the struggle for survival, tones up the body, elevating its waves; and
mental clash, such as that caused by intellectual or social conflict, tones up the mind, elevating its waves. Ahamtattva is said to grow out of Citta by the pulverizing of Citta resulting
from physical clash; Mahattattva grows out of Ahamtattva through a pulverizing process resulting from psychic clash. And Atman grows out of Mahattattva through a different type of
clash - through longing for the great. Simple life, such as vegetation, is pure Citta mind; complex life has greater and greater quantities of Ahamttattua and Mahattattva. Greater and
greater clash is what differentiates simpler from more complex life.

If a dog comes into intimate contact with a man, the dog is elevated by the necessary clash produced by the interaction with a higher mind. If the dog's mental wave length is elevated to
the point that it can no longer maintain a parallelism with the body's wave length, then the body will die and the mind will have to seek out a new body with the newly required vibration.
However, the psychic clash with higher thought that elevated the dog's vibrations can have the opposite effect on the man who has had contact with the meaner mind of the dog. Loss of
parallelism can occur here as well and the man's dissociated mind may go in search of a body with vibrations lower than a human being's.

Contact with higher wave-lengths can make subtle the psychic body of a lower animal or plant, so that it can take on

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human structure, but the reverse is also true; if the wave-length contact with mean thoughts, a human mind is made cruder by may take on an animal or plant body in a successive
reincarnation. A Miser, if he has spent a lifetime ideating upon money, may actually reincarnate as a coin. We are what we think about - a basic principle of sadhana, which makes us
perfect by having us ideate upon perfection.

Vibrations and Perception

Not only life and death, but also perception, is directly related to the functioning of vibrations. As an object gives off sense vibrations (tanmatras), a subtle body organ (Indriya) picks up
the vibrations and sends thern to the Citta where they are reproduced, to be comprehended by the Ego (Ahamtattva). There are ten subtle body organs (Indriyas), five are sensory and five
motor. Together they help the mind perceive, order, and act. The sensory Indriyas (eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin) aid the mind in perceiving and assimilating external tanmatras
(vibrations). Although these organs have the names of physical body organs, such as the eye and ear, they are not the physical eye and ear, but that part of the mind which perceives the
tanniatras brought in through the physical eye and ear. The Motor Indriyas (vocal cords, hands, legs, anus, and genitals) serve to create tanniatras which are transmitted in return for those
just received.

The Citta reproduces tanmatras not only when the Indriyas have received them from an external object but also when a sound associated with the object is perceived by the ear
Indriya. For example, you were able to hear the Beatles earlier simply because 1 suggested that you might, not because I put on
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one of their tapes. Your Citta associated the name Sergeant Pepper with previously recorded sounds, and gave you a happy treat. Association with words and names works in much the
same way. We hear a word, but the concept behind the word is not comprehended until the mental waves that the word creates make a connection with the previously created and
recorded waves of the physical object being named by or associated with the word. For example, a child sees a cat and hears his mother say, "See, my son, that is the cat that drank up
your milk yesterday!" The boy associates the word "cat" with the animal cat that he sees. In other words, he has established a parallelism between the mental waves created by uttering
the sound "cat" and the physical waves emanating from the physical being of the animal. The parallelism between the psychic (mental) sound wave and the physical animal wave is
called a "psycho-physical parallelism." Words create psychic waves, objects emanate physical ones, but the meaning of the words, the concept behind the name of the noun, is neither
psychic nor physical but the parallelism between the two.

The psycho-physical parallelism of a word's meaning may be either direct or indirect. Indirect parallelism occurs when the object (physical wave) expressed by the word (psychic wave)
is not perceived directly, and thus the physical parallelism cannot be made directly, but has been made previously and can be reapplied in the present situation. Thus, if you had never
heard the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper you would never have been able to instruct your Citta to reproduce it when I asked earlier. Your ability to reproduce it was an effect of indirect
parallelism. Had I played the tape for you and told you the name of the piece, the connection made in your mind would have been a direct parallelism.

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psycho-Spiritual parallelism.

If the mind ideates upon the Supreme me rather than upon a physical object, then the parallelism is said to be psycho-spiritual- As word meaning is psychophysical parallelisrn, idea
(always referring to the idea of the Supreme) is psycho-spiritual parallelism. The purpose of sadhana is to aid the spiritual aspirant in his spiritual ideation through facilitating
psycho-spiritual parallelism. The contemplation and repetition by the mind of the spiritual sound and meaning of the mantra creates a psycho-spiritual parallelism. This parallelism
elevates the individual until he merges with the infinitely calm cosmic vibration.

Life and its Causes: Food and Diet

But we have gotten away from the topic at hand. We were discussing death and its physical causes. Now we must investigate life and its physical causes.

Food is one of the essences of life. It is a daily reminder Of our inseparable connection with all of Brahma. The plants which grow, the bees which help fertilize them, the water which
quenches their thirst, the worms which aerate their soil, the sun which provides them with energy and a thousand other aspects of Brahma come together constantly to create our daily
food. Brahma feeds Brahma so that Brahma may return to Brahma.

In time we shall discover that certain diets are more favorable to our sadhana than others. Certain foods aid the mind, others distract. We shall find ourselves eliminating certain foods
from our diet, not because we are undergoing an ascetic dessire, but because the joy of sadhana has become paramount and anything which aids it adds to the joy; anything which
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distracts from sadhana decreases our joy.

Foods which are distracting to the mind and may or may not be harmful to the body are called "tamasic". They are named after the static principle (tamah), for they activate that part of
the body below the Manipura Cakra (navel), the realm controlled by the static principle. As this is the crudest part of the body, its stimulation is not good for sadhana. The flesh of large
animals, onions and garlic (in Oriental countries), mushrooms, stale food, hard alcohol, narcotics, the hallucinogens, marijuana (anything which stimulates or deadens the nerves is
harmful to body and mind) all fall into this category.

Foods which are beneficial to the body and may or may not be good for the mind are called "rajasc". They are named after the mutative principle (rajah) and stimulate the area of the
body around the navel, for it is controlled by the rajah principle. Certain meats, chocolate, coffee, tea, carbonated beverages, spices, sweets, wine and beer in small quantities, onions and
garlic (in Occidental countries) and other foods all fall into this category.

Foods which are good for the mind as well as good for the body are known as "sattvic". They are named after the sentient principle (sattva) and stimulate the Anahata Cakra (heart) and
Vishudda Cakra (throat) areas, the parts of the body controlled by the sentient principle. Fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and grains all fall into this category.

It must be understood, however, that these categories are not rigid. They always vary according to time, place, and person. For an eskimo, whale blubber and meat is essential for
existence; without them he would never be able to withstand the cold of his environment. However these foods would be almost fatal to a tropical-zone native. Moreover, food which is
raiasic to a person in a healthy state, may become sattvic if he

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falls into a weakened condition. (Chicken soup is an age-old panacea and may even be sattvic for an ailing sadhaka.)

At first these food categories may seem arbitrary and stringent, but as we progress through sadhana desire for tamasic foods disappears and sentient foods are eaten with the relish they
deserve.

Vrittis, The Desires Which Hamper Growth

Our discussion of food again raises the topic of abstinence and asceticism. Man's desires are so many that they seem to be constantly getting in the way. Man actually has more desires
than any other created being, for he is the most complex. Thus we come to the last aspect of Ananda Marga anatomy: the discussion of man's multitudinous desires and what produces
them.

According to Ananda Marga, there are fifty such desires or propensities in the human body and they go by the name of "vritti". Vritti literally means "to encircle or encompass" for the
result of these desires is the encircling of the mind.

The vrittis cluster in groups around the various cakras, influencing subtle glands in the area of the particular cakra. Desires can thus be said to be glandular, and control over desire comes
through control over these glands. But again, control is not forced. We do not cease eating because our desire for food is excessive. As we progress in sadhana and gain control over our
various cakras, we shall also gain control over our various distracting desires, or vrittis. When a cowboy comes across a wild bucking bronco, a horse out of control, he does not kill the
horse, for he will have gained nothing--but a dead horse. In order to control the horse he goes about a complicated, patient, and highly disciplined process of taming. And the result is
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rewarding. He and horse become one. No longer needing to rely on his own two legs, he gains the use of the horse's four strong ones. Man and horse as a single powerful unit, a centaur,
can roam all over the plains, bringing them into order.
According to Ananda Marga, there are fifty horses for the cowboy sadhaka to tame, and this is a grater number than any other being is possessed of. The number of vrittis an
organism possesses depends on the complexity of the organism's structure and will vary from twenty to fifty. The only stipulation for possessing vrittis is that the body must have a
vertebral column, for the vrittis are located and controlled by the various cakras along this column.
In the human organism, the base cakra, the Muladhara, is said to be composed of four petals and each of these petals controls a vritti. The four vrittis controlled in this area are:
1. Dharma: psycho-spiritual longing
2. Artha: psychic-longing
3. Kama: physical longing
4. Moksa: spiritual longing
The second cakra, the Svadisthana (genital area), controls six basic propensities:
1. Prasharya: over-indulgence
2. Avishvas: distrust
3. Avajina: disdain
4. Murccha: fainting, swoon, stupor
5. Sarvanash: fear of annihilation
6. Erurata: pitilessness, mercilessness
The third cakra, the Manipura, located in the navel area, controls ten propsensities or desires:
1. Laiia: shame, bashfulness
2. Pisunanata: backbiting, betraying, slandering
3. Iirsa: jealousy

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4. I'rsha: thirst
5. Susupti: laziness, lethargy

6. Visada: sadness, melancholy

7. Kasaya: cruelty that attraction is

8. Moha: attraction in spite of awareness

not good, over-attachment

9. Ghma: aversion, hatred
 10. Bhaya: fear ormal men.
These ten are very strong in n Anahata, located in the breast,
The fourth cakra, the

controls twelve propensities:

1. Asha: hope
2. Cinta: anxiety
3. Cesta: endeavour
4. Mamata: sense of possessiveness

5. Dambha: arrogance, vanity

6. Vikalata: langour
7. Ahanikar: conceit, egoism, pride
8. Viveka: discrimination between right and wrong, conscience
9. Lolota: covetousness, avarice
10. Kapatata: duplicity, hypocrisy
11. Vitarka: indecision, unnecessary argument
12. Anutap: regret, burning misery
The fifth cakra, the Vishudda, located in the throat, controls only psychic propensities. These vrittis have no English equivalents, but are sounds, mantras, which influence the mind
by their Particular vibrations. There are sixteen altogether:

1. Sadaja
2. Rsabha
3. Ghandharva
4. Paincama
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5. Madhyama
6. Dhaevata
7. Nisadha

8. Hum: this is the sound the kundalini makes when it is becoming aroused

9. Phat
10. Vousata
11. Vasata
12. Om
13. Svaha
14. Namah
15. Visa
16. Amrta

So far we have accounted for forty-eight of the fifty vrittis. The last two are controlled by the sixth cakra, the Ajina, located in the forehead, area of the trikuti (three hills). These last two
vrittis are Apara and Para. Apara is translated as "secular knowledge," and through control of this vritti we have control over all the forty-eight worldly vrittis which have preceded it.

Para is knowledge of the Supreme. Earlier we discovered that access to the Vijinamaya Kosa, the fourth kosa, gave us true wisdom: Viveka (discrimination between right and wrong) and
Vaeragyha (renunciation). We were able to renounce worldly desires easily, for we gained insight into their true worth. We removed the covering (Avaranii) of Avidya Maya (Cosmic
Camouflage) and no longer felt desire for the pleasures of the material world. With access to the Ajina Cakra we complete the knowledge begun in the Vijinamaya Kosa. Now not only do
we perceive the mundane for the transient and incomplete pleasures that it provides, but we also perceive the

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spiritual for the immortal bliss that accompanies it. We have gained Para , true knowledge, knowledge of the Supreme. We are in the state of Savikalpa Samadhi (absorption into Saguna
Brahma, Qualified Consciousness).

With Para we also pin control of fourteen superior qualities unknown to the normal man. With these qualities we become as God:

1. Kripa: mercy
2. Mriduta: mildness
3. Dhaerya: patience, constancy
4. Sampat: desire for more spirituality
5. Hasya: cheerfulness
6. Vinaya: humility
7. Romainca: rapture
8. Susthirata: quiethude
9. Dhyana. meditation
10. Gambhirya: gravity
11. Udyama: untiring effort, never disheartened
12. Aksobha: emotionlessness
13. Oudarya: magnaminity
14. Ekagra: concentration, one-pointedness
The purpose of sadhana, along with straightening our entitative rhythm so that it becomes one with the cosmic rhythm, is also to balance all the vrittis
until they are normal. We do not kill the vrittis, but bring the various glands to equilibrium so that the mind will be free of body disturbances This state of
equilibrium is known as "Shanti" (Peace). When the body is balanced and the mind is free from disturbance, we are capable of acting from Para. We are
ready to become one with the Supreme, knowing that for each step we take towards Paramapursa, He takes ten towards us.
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Conclusion

So saying we conclude the discussion of subtle anatomy and our introduction to Ananda Marga philosophy draws to a close. Before I close, however, 1 would like to share some
feelings that I had while spending a few days at the Ananda Marga haven for sadhakas, Anandanagar. Located about sixty miles from Ranchi, Anandanagar is an area of some hundreds
of acres owned by Ananda Marga and serving as home for an Ananda Marga university, school, hospital, leper's home, orphanage, and other activities. Because hundreds of yogis have
reached realization at Anandanagar in ancient times, the air is vibrant with spirituality and the area is considered to be a tantric peak. Looking something like the State of Arizona, the
area is still in something of a primitive condition, plumbing and electricity still being foreign to it. Because there are no wires and electrical poles, as well as nothing which might be
considered a road, the land appears to be omni-directionalthere is no shortest path between two points; each walk takes one on possibly untrod ground. The place is mysterious, magical,
and vibrant. One morning as I sat out in the sun, having just finished a fine meditation, the following thoughts came to me: What a surrealistic place is Anandanagar. Dry dry land with
tufts of dusty green and droppings of black rock, some Precariously balanced, threatening the few buildings that lie below. Buildings, randomly placed at distant spots of the landscape. A
lepers' home. The skeleton of a guest house, incomplete. A lone hospital with a hermit monk doctor who fills his time gardening the and land and performing sadhana. A hostel buillt
square around a dusty court, half of it crumbling in incompletion, Offering the sounds of young boys Baba-Naming in the early morning. The fragrance of good food, carried in by

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bullock cart over dusty rock roads from the distant train station and far-off town. Orange men with glowing black eyes flowing from room to room and across the dusty land. A school
perched on a neighbouring hill, the sound of children learning. The earth twinkling with jewels of quartz and mica sharing ground with the dust and the rocks. Baba everywhere. Baba in
the quartz. Baba in the dust. Baba in the black rocks crumbling soon to oblivion. Baba in the smile of the monk doctor. Baba in the voices of the young boys singing. Baba in the still still
silence. Baba in the crunch of feet over dusty paths. Baba in the slow-paced motion of the bullock cart. Baba in the kiss of the wind. Baba in the spots marked with X's where devotees
have found realization. Baba in the white bird flying through the iridescent blue sky. Baba in the peace - Baba in the bliss. Baba.

GLOSSARY

GLOSSARY

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Abhibhavana: Deep, thorough, and constant meditation. JAW + bhava. A bhi: intensity; moving or going towards; approaching. Bhavana: place or abode; a mansion; home; dwelling.

Thus, literally, dwelling in intensity; dwelling (referring to the mind) in a movement that approaches the goal, the
source.]

Absolute Truth: That which is immutable and invariant; that which maintains an unaltered state throughout all times (past, present, and future), and which is beyond all the

bounds of time, space, and forms. However, this Immutable camouflages itself and appears to become contained within these bondages. The relative truths of the material world, the
hardness of a rock, the wetness of water, are transformed states of this single immutable entity. Everything that is, is a form of this Truth, for this Truth is the infinite Being from

which all emerges. Nothing exists outside of or apart from Absolute Truth. Known in Sanskrit as Satya.

A'ca'rya: 1. Teacher of Intuitional Science (Ananda Marga's practice of spirituality). 2. One who teaches moral perfection by example. [A' + car + ghyan'. Car: to move or walk. A'+ car:
behavior; personal behavior.]
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Accident: A false and empty notion masquerading as knowledge. As Baba says, there can be no effect without a cause. When cause and effect occur together and are easily recognizable
as such, we label the occurrence as "incident". But when cause and effect are not obvious either because the time factor between them is too great or too short, we call that effect an
"accident". Many "accidents" have been so designated because of an ignorance of samskara (see), of the equal and opposite psychic reactions necessitated by each of our actions. Causes
occurring outside of our perspective are constantly producing effects that we perceive. It is only our unawareness of the cause which makes the perceivable occurrence seem purely
"accidental".

Action: 1. Transposition of an object from one position to another. 2. Transmutation of the imagery or other sense perceptions reproduced by the Citta (see), that part of the mind which
internalizes the external world so that it may be comprehended by the ego. When we turn our attention, for example, from the tree to a bird in the tree, our Citta actually changes form.
The tree image reproduced internally by the Citta fades and disappears and a bird image appears in its stead. Such change, even though internal, is known as "action". See also Karma;
Kriya.

Address: There is dress, no dress, and address. These are three temporary and superficial differences. The only permanent address is Paramapurusa, the Supreme Integral Entity.

Adhruva: Transient; unstable; impermanent. The most impressive example of an entity which is adruva is the phenomenal world. Everything in the manifest world is subject to the factor
of change. Because of the constant intransience of the things of this world, there can really be no such thing as ownership, no true feeling of "my this" or "my that".

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sothing remains in one state long enough to really belong to anyone. It is only momentary proximity that gives the feeling of possession. This or that has been near me for the past few
rnoments, months, or years, so I tend to associate it with me and call it mine. But look where it was before it was near me and where it shall go after it leaves me. For example, the shirt
that I Put on today was long latent in the earth. Then its flow appeared through the root of a cotton plant in the form of juice. it then took the form of a flower, then a fruit, and finally it
blossomed as cotton. Yet I still would not recognize it as the prior state of a shirt. out of that cotton came the yam and eventually the cloth. Finally the fabric was transformed into a shirt
in some factory and then alone did it come within the orbit of my vision and person and now I say that "it is my shirt". However, someday it and I will no longer be together. The
proximity will be widened. After some time the shirt will tear or wear and I will throw it into the garbage. It will gradually rot and become earth again. Thus everything that we take to be
"ours" has actually come from an unseen world and eventually returns to that world again. Everything, therefore, within this physical world could equally well serve as an example of
adruva. (A - dhru + an. A: not; negative. Dhru: patience; restraint; permanence.]

Agrya'buddhi: Pointed intellect; that part of our minds which can alone experience Truth. It is only through- agrya'buddhi that we eventually realize the Supreme Intelligence with our
entire beings, rather than with the conceptualizing part of our minds. Crude intellect is sufficient for the comprehension of crude objects; however to enter the domain of the subtle, crude
intellect is not enough. To understand the subtlest Entity, the intellect must be made subtle; it must be made as keen as the point of a needle. All desires and
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propensities must be centralized to a single point and that point must be focused on Consciousness. If a woman and a. man of equal weight should be wearing a pair of spiked heels or
business shoes, respectively, the amount of weight per square inch on her heel far exceeds that on his, because all of her weight is being thrust onto a tiny area while his is dissipated over
a much broader expanse. If the energies of our minds are likewise dissipated into thousands of different thoughts, we shall never be able to realize the Supreme Truth. However, if we
make our intellects pointed, as the spiked heel on a women's shoe, all of our energy will be directed towards the goal and we must succeed. Meditation is the way of sharpening the point
of the intellect.

Ahamtattva: That part of the mind, both unit and cosmic, which produces the sense that "I do". In cosmic mind it is created during the Saincara (see) process, that crudifying half of
creation which moves from the subtlest manifestation to the crudest. It comes into being through the influence of the mutative force on the cosmic Mahattattva (see), that subtlest part of
the mind which senses that "I exist". In the unit mind it is produced during the Prati-Saincara (see) process, that subtlifying half of Creation which returns from the crudest manifestation
to the subtlest. Unit Ahamtattva is also created through the influence of the mutative force, but evolving out of the unit Citta (see), the crudest part of the mind, rather than the
Mahattattva.

From a psychological perspective, the Ahamtattva is that part of the Mahattattva which has been activated into feeling "I do" by the force of action, the mutative principle. The
Ahamtattva is the master or doer of all acts and is also that part of the mind which enjoys or endures the consequences of all actions. Freedom from the consequences

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comes about once we recognize that our limited -17) is only c

part of a grand interaction, thus ascribing our actions to that interaction. When we no longer perceive ourselves as acting independently, but recognize that our action is an inseparable
part of a limitless whole, then only are we free of the consequences of all actions, for then only do the consequences fall onto the whole.

Also known as the "Doer I" or the "second subjective", the Mahattattva being the primary subjective, the first subject from which all else issues.

Ahim'sa': Not inflicting pain or hurt on anyone by thought, word, or action; a part of the yogic moral code, Yama (see). [A - him's. A: not (a prefix). Him's: to inflict pain.]

Aks'ara: Non-decaying. Another name for Brahma (Absolute Consciousness) in its pure, unbound condition. [A - Ksar. A not (a prefix). Ksar: that which undergoes metamorphosis.]
A'ka'sha: The ethereal factor. The first fundamental factor, created immediately after the creation of Cosmic Citta (see), the crudest part of cosmic mind. The first of the physical factors,
it is capable of carrying inaudible sound waves. These sounds are inaudible because air has yet to be created and air is necessary for the transmission of sound. Because it is thF first
entity created after Cosmic Mind, Baba has called it the 'crudest of the abstract and the subtlest of the crude. It is more or less a theoretical factor and as the subtlest of all the factors
(Bhu'tas), it has the maximum wavelength. Thus its flow faces no physical hindrance in passing through cruder substances. Within the human body, its controlling point is the Vishuddha
Cakra, located in the throat. [Ka'sh: sky; to shine. A': expanse.]

A'nanda: 1. Divine Bliss. One of the three factors on which individuals and society depend. The other two are asti and
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bhati. 2. Synonymous with Brahma, the attainment of which is the ultimate reality of life and the real purpose of one's existence. 3. Limitless happiness. 4. Bliss experienced subjectively
and not as a result of objective desire fulfillment. [Nand: to give pleasure or to enthral.]

Alnanda Marga: Path leading to Bliss Absolute. [Mrj: to wipe off, to rule, to carry; literally path or way.]

A'nanda Parivara: Those who believe in the ideology of a single world state, a world government. [Pari-vr ghaun. Vr: to encircle, to embrace. Pari literally means "family". A family
whose members are expected to delight the hearts of others.]

Annamaya Kosa: The physical body, as opposed to the mind or to consciousness. [Ad + kta + mayat'. Anna meaning food. Mayat': (in the sense of transfiguration) physical. Kos': to
cover as in a scabbord or a sheath.]

Anubhu'ti: The capability of merger with infinite consciousness. Intuitional susceptibility. If a man without Anubhu'ti seeks answers through the scriptures alone, his Brahma will ever
remain the bookish Brahma. Just as one seeing in water the reflection of a fruit hanging from a branch overhead cannot taste the fruit, similarly an erudite scholar, versed in philosophy,
will remain far away from Brahma if he refrains from Brahma-Sadhana' the spiritual practice which strengthens his Anubhuti.

Anu-caetanya: microcosmic consciousness; the consciousness of each unit of creation. [Anu: after. Cit + an = caetana + snya (innate nature). Cit: to know automatically (omnisceient
knowing). Thus a being whose innate nature is omniscience.]

Anucchu'nya' Prakrti: 1. The potential stage of the three principles (gunas) which give qualities to pure consciousness. In this stage the three forces have no clear identity. They flow into
each other. 2. Prakrti in the unmanifested state,

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Brahma having no feeling of 'I exist' or 'I do'. Brahma is thus

called Nirgu'na (beyond the qualities of Prakriti).

When Anucchunya becomes disturbed, the three

fundamental principles start functioning and Saguna Brahma
(Qualified Brahma) gets stirred into Being. Prakriti is then

known as Ucchunya' (activated).

Anujina' Yoga: The attempt or success of the unit in reaching the state of the Infinite. [Anu: after. Jina: knowledge]
Anujina'ta' Yoga: The process of ascribing oneness to the seemingly multifarious in order to merge with that Oneness.

Anurakti: Attachment to or attraction for a particular entity after understanding its essence.

If the entity is the Infinite Cosmic Consciousness, the attraction for Him is known as Paranurakti and the aspirant is known as a Bhakta. Paranurakti releases the Bhakta from the
influence of the Indriyas (sensory and motor organs) and establishes him in the senses of the Infinite Blessedness, beyond the bounds of the universe.

If the entity for which the attraction is felt is part of the mundane world, the attraction is known as Aparanurakti and the externalizing of attention renders the person crude, divesting him
of his spiritual forces. [Rakti: attachment.]

Apa'na: One of the ten vayus (airs), half of which are internal and half external. An internal vayu, Apana is located in the area between the anus and the navel and controls the excretion
of urine and stool. [Apa: air.]

Apara'jina'na: 1. Relative knowledge, subject to spatio-temperal-personal factors. 2. Knowledge of secular subjects. [Apara': distortion. Jinanan: knowledge. Hence knowledge of
Brahma's distortion; the physical creation.]

Aparigraha: Non-indulgence in the enjoyment of such amenities and comforts as are superfluous for the preservation of life.
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For existence we require food, clothing, and shelter. Provision for old age and maintenance for dependents are also essential. Anything else is considered superfluous and should be
reduced out of sympathy for those not so fortunate. [A-pari-grah + ghaun. Grah: to take.]

Arcana: To worship the deity with physical objects without ideating upon the Supreme Consciousness [Arc + anat + a (Fem).]

Artha: 1. One of the four basic desires, located in the body clustered about the Muladhara Cakra, like four flowers around a bud. Psychic desire; craving to understand with the mind;
desire for correlation of physical with mental strata. See Moksa, Dharma, and Kama.

2. Meaning; signification. We hear a sound, but the concept of word uttered is not meaningful until the mental waves create a parallelism with the physical concept involved therein. A
child hears the word "cat". He sees a cat and associates the word "cat" with the cat seen. That means he has established a parallelism between the mental (psychic) waves created by the
uttering of the word "cat" and the physical wave coming from the form of the cat. Hence it is the psycho-spiritual parallelism that makes a word meaningful.

If the mind contemplates a mental concept rather than a physical object, then the parallelism is said to be psycho-psychic.

If the mind contemplates the Supreme rather than a physical object or mental concept, then the parallelism is said to be psycho-spiritual.

As word meaning is produced by psycho-physical or psycho-psychic parallelism, idea is brought about by psycho-spiritual Parallelism. Idea always refers to the

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Supreme and Contemplation of Him is called Ideation.

A'sakti: Attraction for finite objects. [A: not. Sakti: detachment from worldly feelings or passions, free from ties.]

A'sana: 1. Easy posture. 2. Exercises that bring about purification of the physical body by harmonizing the functioning of such glands as the hormone and lymph. Not to be confused with
calisthenics, whose purpose is the strengthening of the musculature. [A's + anat. As: to sit.]

Asteya: Not taking possession of what belongs to others by: 1. Physical theft of any material. 2. Intention to perform physical theft, deterred only by the fear of the law or social criticism.
3. Depriving others of their due. 4. Intention to deprive others of their due. [A'- stena + al. Stena: to steal. I

Asti: Existence. One of the three factors on which the individual and society depends; the other two are bhakti and ananda.

Aseity: Unborn, generally referring to Brahma, for He is ever unborn; He is beginningless and without cause; He is shapeless and formless.
Astral Mind: The collective name of the three subtlest kosas: Atimanas, Viiiinanamaya, and Hiranyamaya. Also called causal or unconscious mind, the seat of true knowledge.

A'tata'yii: Any one who, by the use of brute force, wants to take possession of another's property, or wife, or moves towards him with a weapon and murderous intent, or Performs arson,
or similar evil deeds. Such a person must be stopped by whatever measures are appropriate, depending on the time, place, and person. Such a "man" has become a crazed animal and
should be treated accordingly. [Atata: stretched or drawn; having one's bow drawn to take another's life.]
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Atimana Kosa: Supra-mental mind, or the beginning of the causal mind. It is beyond the scope of relative factors and of ordinary mental motivity. All past samskaras are stored in
potential form in this layer. The past, present, and future are all simultaneous here. It is in this kosa that the inspiration of the soul becomes active for the first time. Here the first yearning
for sadhana awakens. [Ati: passing, going beyond. Manas: mind. Kosa: sheath.]

Atman: 1. That which gives factual substantiation and recognition to the existence of all mundane objects perceived by the individual. Although it is not active itself, it is only because of
the omnipresent witnessing of the A tman that the mind is able to function, that the mind is capable of receiving external tanmatras (vibrations). Thus Knowership and Doership
ultimately rest in the Atman. Picture two beautiful birds on a tree branch, both identical in plumage, but one is eating a fruit and the other is observing. The bird eating is the individual
mind. The bird observing is the Atman. The ultimate goal of the meditator is the attainment of a state of perfect peace and unification with the Atman. The eating bird shaU be devouring
the divine fruit of Anandam and the observing bird will enjoy the peace and tranquility of this fruit 2. The knower of the mind; the passenger in this chariot of the body, the charioteer
being the mind. 3. That which is omni-telephatic in the individual.

AUM: The sound made at the beginning of creation. Every sound in the Sanskrit language is a perfect psycho-physical parallelism. For example the word for "white" in Sanskrit creates a
sympathetic vibration in the mind as the color white produces. The "A" sound of AUM is the sound of creation; "U" is the sound of preservation; "Ma" is the sound of destruction. Baba
likes to joke that the derivation of the

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English word for "God" is the same:

"G" stands for generator, "0" for operator, and "D" for destroyer.

When one is in the market place he hears thousands of different sounds. One man is selling tomatoes and caring out his ware. Another is singing about cabbages. Each sound maintains a
particular distinctiveness. However when one is half a mile down the road from the market, all the sounds blend into one distinctive and familiar market sound. A UM is the sound of the
entire creation, as heard from a distance, it is the compilation of all the sounds of the market place. Thus when we finally come to hear this sound through our meditation we know we
have made great progress. see Onun'kara.

Auto-suggestion: 1. Self-hypnosis. 2. The process 6y which we bring ourselves closer to the source. When we constantly take to ourselves thoughts which are contrary to the mundane,
extroversive (external) tendencies of a worldly person, a change occurs in our nature and we are brought closer to Him. Thoughts of Him make us one with Him. It is we who bring
ourselves to Him by auto-suggestion, by controlling the thoughts of our own minds.

A'vadhuta: 1. Full-time monk of Ananda Marga, who initiate others into meditation and perform social service, working constantly to bring the entire world to a state of peace, harmony,
and moral-spiritual advancement. 2. An advanced yogi. 3. One who finds no difference between a burial ground and a house, between gold and a blade of grass, between his Own and
others, between his friends and foes, between fire and water; having such a balanced mind, one who moves all over the world. He is the second Shiva. (From a proverb given by Shiva)
[Shaken off, discarded, rejected, one who has shaken off from himself worldly feeling.]
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Avaranii: 1. An obstructive cover or camouflage created by Avidya Maya, hiding the pure state of Brahma under the manifold diversity of the material world. Physical pleasure,
especially that which so involves one that he is obstructed from spiritual realization. [To obstruct, enclose, contain, hinder, check.]

Avata'ra: 1. Generally understood to mean an incarnation of God, the term is incorrectly used. The idea that only a few men are incarnations is an illogical hypothesis. The whole universe
is being created out of Him and by Him; thus everything is His incarnation. It is illogical to consider that the macrocosm metamorphosed Himself directly into a highly advanced unit
structure. Each religious prophet or holy soul has had to undergo the same evolutionary process of Saincara and Prati-saincara as all other created beings. Their appearance is the result of
a gradual elevation and is not an abrupt descent of the deity in human form. A proper name for such great souls would be "Mahapurs'a", which literally means "Great Consciousness",
rather than Avatara which literally means "derivation, descent or degenerate."

Avidyamaya: 1. The operative force which creates diversity out of the oneness of Purusa; that part of Prakriti which camouflages Pure Consciousness under a masquerade of diversity;
the controlling force of the Saincara Process. 2. Outward movement, illusion or ignorance. [Avidya: spiritual ignorance, illusion. I See Maya.

Avidya': Material or extroversive force. Forces of microcosmic distraction.

Avikapla Yoga: The state of oneness with Pure Consciousness (Nirguna Brahma). Atman is in a purely cognitive state; there is no witnesship of the material world, no knower, knowing,
or known. The individual and the Absolute are completely

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rnerged. See Nirvikalpa Samadhi. [Absence of alternative; positive precept; not distinguished or particularized.]

Avivekii: A person whose propensities are allowed to run free, unbridled by the rein of discrimination or sense of proper behavior. Every act of the organs becomes illogical and devoid
of reason due to the absence of contact with the Buddhi (intellect), and the person becomes like an animal, running after only the perceivable objects of the sensuous world; an irrational
person. (see) [A: not. Viveka: discriminating faculty J

Bala: The external pressure of the static principle (Tamah) on the units of the created world, producing two forces within the object, one centerseeking (interial) and the other one
circumference-seeking (exterial). If the center seeking forces predominate, a nucleus is formed and life comes into being. If the circumference seeking forces predominate, the structure
loses its solidarity and explodes. See jadaspota. [Bala: power, strength, might, vigor, force validity.]

Base: That which is indispensible for the existence of every finite object, and is responsible for making each unit distinct from every other. Although no two beings may have the same
base, their bases may be similar; they may have similar entitative rhythms.

Each base is determined by the sam'skaras of the unit. These potential reactions influence the entitative vibration, determing the exact body that can serve as a base for those vibrations.
As the base is carved out of the mental body of the Supreme Brahma (it is one of Its thought forms) and as Its mental body is created by the domination of Prakrti over Purus'a the base or
physical body of each unit is also a creation of Prakrti's and is forced to abide by her laws.
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In the absence of a base, the unit merges into the ocean of the Cosmos. For example, a bucket may be thought of as the base for a given unit of water. As long as the bucket exists, the
water maintains its unit identity. However if the bucket is lowered into a well and then removed in an inverted position, the water within the bucket will lose its unit identity and merge
with the water in the well.

For the human unit the six kosas of body and mind are the equivalent of the bucket, serving as the base which gives Atman a unit identity. Known as Adhara in Sanskrit.

Bhadram: Another name for the Supreme Entity, it refers to It in Its role of the most benevolent and benign. Bhadram is the Brahma whose thought projection is leading every unit and
the entire world to the path of bliss and union. There never was, is, or will be anyone so benevolent as It. [Bhadram: blessed, auspicious, fortunate.]

Bhaerava: The witnessing aspect of Purusa at the very early stage of creation as he watches Prakrti sprout forth from the triangle of three qualities (gunas). See Saincara. [Bhaerava: light,
brightness, splendor.]

Bhaeravii Shakti: 1. Prakrti as the germ of evolution sprouting from any one of the vertices of the initial triangular receptacle; the first manifested state of Purusa and Prakrti. Purus'a is
now qualified (Sagun`a). 2. Name of Purusa as witnesser.

Bhagavad Gita: 1. Literally "The Lord's Song", sung to Arjuna by Lord Krishna 3,000 years ago. A celebrated mystical poem, it is interpolated into the Mahabharata where it forms an
episode of 18 chapters. Its form is that of a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, in which the Pantheism of the Vedanta is combined with a tinge of Samkhya philosophy, as well as the
later principle of bhakti (devotion to Krishna as

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the Supreme Being). 2. A portion of the Mahabharata dealing with the exploits of the historical Krishna, while metaphorically relating the struggles of the soul on the spiritual path.

Baba has explained that the text was sung to Arjuna before he went into battle. The text opens with the blind kind Dhritarastra asking Sanjaya what is happening in the battle between his
force of 100 and the Pandavas. "Dhritarashtra" literally means "that force which maintains the structure"; hence Baba interpreted it as being the mind, for the body falls apart in decay as
soon as the mind leaves it; it is the mind which maintains the body's structure. As explained later, Dhritarashta, was historically blind, metaphorically representing the blindness of a mind
acting independently of conscience. Thus did Dhritarashta, have to seek the help of Sanjaya, conscience or discrimination, in discovering what is occurring before him.

The battle occurs on the field of Kuruketra, which literally means "do, do" and thus was interpreted as being the earth or physical plane, for everything in this plane must do in order to
be.

The arena for the battle is Dharmaketra, literally the 44arena of spirituality". This is metaphorical of the physical body, for it is within the arena of the body that the spirit struggles and is
realized.
The mind, Dhritarashtra, is inquiring which force is winning. His is the force of 100, for the mind controls the ten IndriYas (motor and sensory organs) of the body and each of these
functions in each of the 10 directions (N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SE, SW, up and down). These are the depraving forces, the forces which draw us to sensual enjoyment and animality. The
opposing side is the Pandavas (Panda means
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"five" and " Self- Realizing") and represents the force which pierces the five cakras of the body in the battle Of spiritual realization. Thus although a historical battle did occur along the
lines of the story told, each factor of the historical battle represents a factor which occurs in the daily war that each of us wages on the path to Self-liberation.

Bagavata Dharma: 1. The Dharma (Innate Nature) which leads man to Self and infuses a craving for perfection. 2. That which distinguishes man from animals. 3. The Dharma based on
the four factors of: Vistara (expanding the mind by overcoming narrow, limiting identification); Rasa (flowing one's own mental flow into the cosmic flow); Seva (service both internal
and external); and Paramatman (merger of unit consciousness into cosmic consciousness). This Dharma is to be followed by all men from the age of five. [Bhagavad: dispenser, gracious
lord; possessing fortune, prosperous. Dharma: essential characteristic, nature.)

Bhajan: A spiritual song, sung alone, usually without instrumentation; there is only the singer and the Lord. See gita,kirtan, and samgita.

Bhakti: 1. Devotion: ideation upon the Cosmic Entity which diminishes mean and crude thoughts and strengthens the spiritual body. As Baba has said, "Only the one who has devotion
exacts his mercy." Bhakti is the primary key to spiritual success. 2. The bridge which connects the unit (jiva) with the Cosmic Consciousness (Shiva). Not a spitirual practice or cult in
itself, Bhakti is the result of sadhana and service. Baba has given a formulaic relation between action, knowledge, and devotion. He explained that action minus knowledge equals
Devotion. Through this formula Baba encourages us to emphasize service over knowledge. it is only when action is in excess of accumulated knowledge that the

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residual portion is transformed into devotion.

There are three grades of devotees. The first is superior: those versed in the scriptures, competent in Sadhana' practices, and of firm mind; second is intermediate: those who have
reverence but no knowledge of the scriptures; and thirdly, the wretched (inferior) are those neither having knowledge nor earnestness.

The true devotees love the world, the society, and everything of Creation because they perceive each and every manifestation of the artful Prakrti as a manifestation of Consciousness.
They love the finite as a portion of the Universal. They love the worldly pleasures as another manifestation of divine bliss, varied by time, place and person. They keep their mind-stuff
absorbed in the eternal currents of the divine flow. [Bhaj + ktin. Bhaj: to worship, distribute, assign, allot; forming part of, belonging to, engaged in, occupied with, attached or devoted
to, serving.]

Bha'rp: Brahmic effulgence, white radiance. [A compound word formed from Bha which means "by which the world is illuminated," Ra: that which has provided happiness for the living
beings; and Ga: that in which the entire creation merges after emanation therefrom.]

Bhati: Development and progress. One of three factors on which the individual and society depends, the other two being asti and ananda. Bhati means progress in the sense of a bud
becoming a flower; it is the natural movement of the created unit towards its specific goal. The literal meaning of the Sanskrit word for society, samaja, is "movement together". A true
society is thus conceived as being a coherent unit of individuals progressing towards their specific goal, which for mankind is anandam. Therefore the specific
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tool that aids the individual and the society in its bhati is sadhana. [Bhati: light, splendor, evidence, perception.]

Bha'va: 1. Idea, but only in the sense of the psycho-spiritual parallelism between unit mind and Cosmic Consciousness. 2. That whereby the Citta (mind-stuff) becomes purged of worldly
images and perceptions and is chiefly dominated by the sattva guna; that whereby all the ten directions (N, S, E, W, SE, SW, NE, NW, up and down) become brilliant with the rays of the
sun of love and whereby taste for the Self becomes enlightened, developing a oneness between the Citta and Consciousness. As a result of Bhava, man directs his natural attractive forces
towards the adored, but the adored is not outside him; the adored is the life of his life, the mind of his mind, the life master of his entire existence.

Bhava': 1. Creation. 2. Purusa in one of His roles as witness while Prakrti creates the manifest world in Her role as the Sequential Force. See Bhavanii Shakti. [Bhava': to become,
coming into existence, birth, origin.]

Bhavanii Shakti: Prakrti as creator of the manifest world, particularly in Her role as the Sequential Force, the force which guarantees that men will always beget men and trees will
always beget trees.

Bhaga-vritti: Fear instinct; one of the 50 vrittis (propensities which lead the mind to action, either internally or externally.)

Bhiis'an'am: Frightful, in the sense that the Supreme Entity is frightful to those who haven't yet realized It. Those who have realized Purusottama and for whom He is the Life of their
life, the Soul of their soul, for whom there is no difference between He and they, they alone will be free of this terrifying aspect of Him and will feel only His Love. [Bhiis'an'am:
terrifying, frightful.]

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Bhoga: Sufferings and enjoyments, reaped as a result of past deeds, which keep the mind so preoccupied that it is not capable of thoughts of Him; absorption of the mind on present
problems and joys, blocking the path to liberation. Only once one recognizes that He is present in everything, that all joys and sorrows are Him and part of His Plan, only then does one
escape from the consequences of past or present deeds. When every word, thought, or action is offered up to Him in recognition of His omnipresence, then He absorbs the samskara upon
Himself and the unit is freed for liberation. Such a state is known as Brahmacharya. [Bhoga: enjoyment, eating, feeding on.]

Bhurloka: 1. The cosmic equivalent of the unit's kamamaya kosa. 2. What is physical to the created units is part of the mental plate of the Cosmic Mind, known as the Bhurloka. If we
create the image in our minds of a monkey in a tree, both monkey and tree are imaginary to us, but the tree is very real to the monkey. Just so is the physical world real to us, but part of
the mental creation of Cosmic Mind. [Bhu: created. Loka: world.]

Bhuma Caetanya: 1. Paramatman. 2. Macrocosmic Consciousriess. Literally a being which is the aggregate of all existing things.

Bhu'ta: A created being, including ether, air, luminosity, liquid, and solid. [Bhu'ta: become, been, gone, past, actually happened, true, real.]
Bhuvah: Crude mental world. [Bhuvah: air, atmosphere.]

Bhu'varloka: The sixth of the seven levels of the cosmic mind not quite its crudest manifestation. That part of the cosmic mind where the physical world has just begun taking form but
has not yet been fully actualized; the level of Cosmic Mind which forms the crude mental world. [Lit. the world of
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the air.]
Black Peace: Peace in which the evil forces of society prevail over the good forces; peace maintained by force and repression. Also referred to as tamasic peace.
Bodhih: 1. Intuition; direct knowledge of a thing in itself; a perception of the data, facts, and experience of reality by a total and immediate identification of subject with object, all
distinctions between self and non-self disappearing. Whereas intellect fragments in order to comprehend, analyzing rather than synthesizing, perceiving in parts rather than wholes,
intuition deals with the totality wholistically. It is impossible to separate knower from known in the intuitional experience, for the process makes them one. Intuition further differs
from intellect in that intellect is selective and intuition is not. Ordinary perception demands that a few sensations be combined, while others are excluded. In intution there is no
limitation, isolation, or specification. All of past, present, and future is experienced simultaneously, for even those factors cannot be isolated or separated. Intuition is a non-analyzable
experience and thus cannot be properly communicated in words. 2. If the mind were to be pictured as a large circle with two concentric circles within it, the largest circle being the
Mahattattva and the two smaller ones being Ahamtattva and Citta respectively, then that part of the large circle which is not occupied by the smaller circles is said to be intuition; the
excess portion of Mahattattva over Ahamtattva and Citta. [Bodhih: perfect knowledge or wisdom; the illuminated or enlightened intellect.]
Bondage: That state of existence in which the unit (jiva) considers and experiences itself as separate and different from Paramapurusa (the Infinite Consciousness). This experience of
distance is due to the presence of samskar'as

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(reactive potential of past unrequitted action which give the unit its sense of individuality and result from that sense). These samskaras are initially formed due to the unit considering
itself the doer of action or the thinker of thought.
Once the unit recognizes that it is Brahma who is thinking and acting through him (see Brahmacarya), the Cosmic Mind takes on the samskaras and the unit is free to merge with
the Supreme.
There are three kinds of bondage: physical, mental and spiritual. Physical bondage is comprised of three parts: time, space, and person. No matter how fast our jet plane moves or
how much faster we can travel than our ancestors, it still takes us time to get from here to there. Moreover we can only be in one place at a time. And as long as we think of ourselves as
units, we are bound by the personal factors, by our likes and dislikes, by our ego.
Mental bondage is due to the impossibility of our ever answering all the questions which arise in our minds. As soon as we have satisfied ourselves on one point, another is raised.
Spiritual bondage arises from the difficulty of realizing the Supreme Self, of merging into the Ultimate. Religious services and rituals no longer seem to liberate from this bondage.
The key which unlocks the chains of all three bondages is sadhana. When we make a temple of our beings and worship the Self within by means of the mantra, liberation is a sure
guarantee. None of the three bondages can then keep us prisoner. We will recognize and experience ourselves as that One, Infinite, Blissful Entity.
Brahma: 1 - There is no exact English equivalent, but the closest is Cosmic Consciousness; the ultimate reality, the source and
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origin of all created things; the one self-existent impersonal spirit; the one Universal Soul; the one divine essence and source from which all created things emanate or with which they
are identified and to which they return; the Self-existent,; the Absolute; the Eternal (not generally an object of worship, but rather of meditation and knowledge). 2. The Great and He
who makes others Great. He is so Great that the human intellect can have no idea about Him, but like the piece of salt trying to measure the depth of the ocean, a successful
understanding leads to its becoming one with the ocean.
Because the mind takes the shape of the objects that it contemplates, when the mind will make Self its object, it will easily realize Self. Thus does He make us Great. The knower
of Brahma becomes himself like Brahma. 3. The composite of Purus'a and Prakrti, i.e. of the Cognitive and Operative Principles. 4. In classical Hindu mythology, the one impersonal
universal spirit manifested as a personal Creator and as the first of the triad of Gods: (Brahma- Vishnu-Shiva). [Brahma: from Brhat: great, beyond the realm of conceptual limitation.
Lit. growth, expansion, evolution, development, swelling of the soul or spirit.]
Brahma Cakra: The cosmic circle is but a dance in which every created object under the magic spell of the cosmos is moving in proper harmony and rhythm on its return to the source;
the composite of Saincara and Prati-Saincara; cosmological order. [Cakra: wheel, circle.]
Brahmacarya: Often misconstrued as being the equivalent of celibacy, Ananda Marga has returned the word to its original usage. As the root words suggest, Brahmacarya means
behaving constantly towards the finite objects of the world as manifestations of the Supreme. If we recognize Its presence

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in each of Its manifestations our minds will be constantly fixed on It and we shall realize the Supreme in short time. If we mistake unit entities for the crude objects they appear to be,
our minds will be absorbed in the world of crudity and progress will be greatly retarded. [Behavior + Brahma. See root for acarya.]
Brahmarandra- An abode of Brahma, located in an aperture in

the crown of the head.

Brahmatattva: The spiritual factor which recognizes all of existence as a manifestation of pure consciousness. [Tattva: factor.]
Brahmaviiina'na: Institutional science; literally a very special knowledge of Brahma, a knowledge gained through intuition rather than intellect. [A jina'ta' is one who completely
identifies with the object of his study in order to know or understand it. Vi means special or extraordinary knowledge.]
Briha't: So big that it is beyond the realm of limiting intellectual conception, used for Brahma. [Brihat: lofty, high, tall, great, large, vast, abundant.]
Buddhih: 1. The driver of this body-like chariot who possesses the power of judgment, discrimination, and conscience. 2. If Ahamtattva be pictured as a circle with a smaller circle of
Citta within it, that portion of the Ahamtattva circle not occupied by the Citta circle is called Buddhih or intellect. [Buddhih: the power of forming and retaining conceptions and
general notions; intelligence; reason; discernment; perception.]
Caetanya-Sarna'dhi: A trance of absorption into the Supreme Consciousness, attained by diverting energy from vritti or worldly desires to contemplation of the Supreme. [Cetani: to
cause, to perceive, or become conscious.]
Caksu'h Indriya: The point in the brain which receives the
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vibration from the optical fluid. [Caksuh: eye. Indriya: organ.

Cakra: One of seven psychic centers of the body, located along the spinal column. They are responsible for states of bliss and the achievement of psychic and spiritual powers gained by
forcing the consciousness or kundalini through them by the process of -sadhana. The first five cakras, located within the trunk of the body, are also responsible for controlling the five
fundamental factors (Bhutas) within the body. [Cakra: wheel, circle. 1

Catus'pada: Another name for Atman, particularly when the unit is in the wakeful state. It is considered a four-phasic state because all four states of mind [waking, dreaming,
deep-sleeping and Turiiya (the non-dualistic state of highest consciousness)] are all here in potentiality. [Catus': four. Pad: base or foot.]

Causal Cosmic Body: The initial stage of the centrifugal action (Saincara). ["Cause" means "see".]

Causal Cosmic Mind: That part of the Cosmic Mind which corresponds to the three subtlest kosas of the unit mind: Hiranamaya, Viijinanamaya, and Atimanas. Also called "Subtle
Cosmic Body". Known as Vira'ta'in Sanskrit.

Causal Mind: The collective name of the three subtlest kosas: Atimanas, Viiiinamaya and Hiranyarnaya. Also called astral or unconscious mind. Known as Vishva in Sanskrit.

Causal Soul: Another name for Brahma, in its role of initiator of the universe.

Cit: Consciousness; 1. On the macrocosmic level, that faculty responsible for the creation of the cosmos; 2. On the microcosmic level, that faculty responsible for the recreation of
external reality within the unit mind so that the external world may be experienced or realized.

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Citi-Shakti: The force of Consciousness.

Citt,a, 1. Mind-stuff; the "I have done- or "objective F' feeling produced in the Cosmic Mind during the Saincara process due to the influence of the static force on the Ahamtattva, and in
the unit mind during the PratiSaincara process due to the influence of the same force on inert matter. 2. That portion of the mind that accommodates its.,vibrations to the vibrations of the
external world and thus allows for perception. The agent of the mind which internalizes the external world. We do not perceive the external world directly but perceive only our Citta's
reproduction of it. 3. In the mind of undeveloped creatures and plant life the Citta forms the major component of the mind. In more developed animals and man, the Citta is
proportionately smaller and the AhamtatWa and Mahattattva predominate. In life having predominately Citta, necessary survival information is passed on to the unit Citta by Cosmic
Mind and is known as "instinct".

The purpose and function of sadhana is the steadying of the unit Citta. Thus calmed and steadied, the Citta loses its own characteristics and merges into the next subtler level, the
Ahamtattva. Continuation of sadhana brings about the merger of this level into the next, the Mahattattva, and finally of this level into the A tman or soul or Self. Eventually every chord
of the Citta becomes resonant with the honeYflowing melody of the universe and it loses its sense of everything but the refrain of the cosmic music. [Citta: to cause to comprehend; to
perceive, fix the mind upon, take notice.]

Citta-Bhumi: One of five levels of mentality determining the degree of mental control over the vagaries of the Citta: 1. ksipta, restless; 2. murdha, torpid; 3. Viksipta, distracted; 4.
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ekagra, concentrated; 5. nirudha, restrained. [Lit. The mental plane.]

Control: Restraint; in Sanskrit Yama (the Lord of Death), the prototype of restraint. Without control, or regulated Sa'dhana', it is impossible to attain the Self within. A'trna'or Soul is not
attainable without discipline or control. But restraint does not mean running away and giving up everything. Adequate and proper use of everything is restraint. One can honor adequately
every obligation of domestic life but must never lose his head to excessiveness. When the animal instinct of hunger arises one must eat but he must not invite disease by greedily taking
more food than needed.

Cosmic Consciousness: There is no exact Sanskrit equivalent, but Brahma and Paramapurusa are closest.

Cosmic Mind: 1. The combination of Cosmic Ahamtattva, Mahattattva, and Citta. 2. The early, subtle creation of Prakriti molding Purusa. First she takes the form of the Sattva guna,
sentient force, creating the Mahattattva or Cosmic Sense of I exist; then the form of the raja guna, mutative force, creating the Ahamtattva from the Mahattattva and giving rise to the "I
do" or "I work" feeling, and finally the tama guna acts on the Ahamtattva to produce the Cosmic Citta, giving rise to the feeling "I am an object" or "I have done". 3. The Cosmic Mind is
infinite, as are the Mahattattva and Ahamtattva portions, since they are not under the sway of time, place or person. The Cosmic Citta, however, is finite and limited because of the
bondage of tama guna.

Counter Prati-Saincara: See Negative Prati-Saincara.

Crude Cosmic Body: See kamamaya kosa.

Crude Cosmic Mind: See kamamaya kosa.

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Cult: Originally having the sense of "improvement" (as in

"agriculture" or "cultivate"), cult has come to mean a process of selfimprovement or improvement which leads to Self; the process of perfecting oneself; the practice of

sadhana. See occult.

Dagdhaviija: A person who has burned all the seeds of samskara and thus does not have to take further rebirths. [Dagdha': burnt, scorched, consumed by fire. Viija: seed.]
Darshan (General): 1. Sight of the guru.. 2. Although manv gurits sit quietly at darshan, allowing devotees to sit or pass in

front of them, benefitting from their spiritual vibrations, Baba generally maintains a verbal instruction at his darshans.

Sometimes he speaks; sometimes he has another explicate a Sanskrit sloka (proverb) while he interpolates comments, explanations, witty asides; sometimes he holds dialogues with
various of the disciples before him; sometimes he gives

spiritual demonstrations; sometimes he asks his disciples to sing and dance before him. His very presence is calming and elevating. His sight evokes love from the depths of one's

being, and brings forth the courage and resolve to go out and fight darkness at all levels. [Drsh: to see.]

Death: The result of a vibrational disparity in the

Psycho-physical parallelism. The conscious, subconscious, and unconscious minds become inactive, and the ten vayus become distorted and leave the body.

Detachment: A psycho-spiritual frame of thought in which the doer of actions realizes that he is Brahma rather than a Particular individual and that the people and objects with which he
is interacting are also forms of Brahma. Thus he lives only to serve Him in His various manifestations.

The attitude with which one performs activity influences the samskara. The consequences of action may be
155 annihilated through devoted service. Where there is arrogance of 'I" feeling, consequences exist with the actions, begetting corresponding consequences. Where the 'F is the doer of
actions, the same 'F must be the receiver of the consequences. In detached actions, the 'F is not the doer and as such is not liable to reap the consequences. In a detached action there is no
bondage of consequences, because whatever the unit does is consigned to Brahma, and therefore the consequences of the actions must also be consigned to Brahma. We are the
instruments of Na'rayana (A form of the Lord manifested as those in Need), and therefore we must go on doing work, but in a detached manner.

Deva: 1. Sensation -bearer, i.e. the organs and nerves. This fleshy body, through its organs and nerves, appropriates or expresses a sensation or sentiment, and thus the organs and nerves
are called Devas, or gods of the microcosmic body. 2. A particular vibrational expression of the divine effulgence. [Deva: god, a divine.]

Devadatta: One of the external ten vayus, responsible for thirst and hunger. [Datta: given.]

Devotion: Constant merger in the thought of Brahma; the response to the attraction created by the Supreme.

An uncovetous devotee, bathed in the purity Of devotion, wants nothing for himself. He wants only the Macro-Cosmic Self in exchange for his microcosmic self. At the time of merger
as he identifies himself with Him, he tastes of the boundless bliss. The pleasant waves of sensation that take place in the psychic body of the Supreme Entity as his devotee is returned to
Him are experienced by the sadhaka (meditator) on his return.
When the devotional depth is reached, love will POur forth from the devotee. He will be full and overflowing.

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When love will reach its completeness, its saturation point, self-surrender will become easy and simple. In that state alone will come the Inal realization of the Supreme Consciousness.
Where 'I' is, 'He' is not; where 'He' is, 'I' is not. Devotion is the pre-requisite of Sadhana` maturity of devotion is love and maturity of love is He. Known as Bhakti in Sanskrit.

Dhanainjaya: One of the external ten vayus, causing sleep and drowsiness.

Dha'ran'a': Attention or concentration; the sadhana' of introspective attention, as opposed to the external sadhana' of service or other effort; the steadying of the Citta or mental plate.
[Dharana: the act of holding, bearing, wearing, supporting, maintaining, concentrating the mind.]

Dharma: 1. Innate tendency. 2. Own nature. 3. The special characteristic of a thing by virtue of which that thing is what it is, and in the absence of which the thing loses its identity. Thus,
as the distinguished property of fire is its ability to burn, this ability is said to be the Dharma of fire. Without burning it will be a heap of ashes and not fire. Therefore for
self-preservation one must follow his own Dharma. 4. Often used synonornously for religion, for the innate property which distinguishes man from all other animals is his longing for the
Great, his drive to reach the Supreme. This drive has long been codified into systems of religion. In Ananda Marga, Dharma is not equivalent to this codification of the drive, but is the
drive itself. To distinguish this most important characteristic from all the other innate drives of man that are shared with animals (such as the drives for food, sleep, and procreating),
Ananda Marga terms this spiritual Dharma as Bhagavad Dharma. [Dhr: no exact English equivalent, closest 's: to sustain, to uphold, to grasp; that which the mind wants to stay in. 1
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Dharma Mahacakra: 1. Spiritual symposium; 2. A great gathering or circling of devotees about the guru. In Ananda Marga, the biggest ones are held at the first of the year and at the full
moon in May (Baba's birthday), but others are also held sporadically during the year. At the end of a discourse, given in the language of the majority of the people attending, Baba
holds his hands in a particular position (Barabhaya mudra) and raises the spiritual level of all present, sending many into states of samadhi. [Maha: great. Cakra: wheel, circle. I Often
abbreviated as DMC.
Dharma-Sadhana: The effort of man to attain the Great; the practice of spiritual Dharma. [Siddh: to try.]
Dha'ryas: A charge given to the Pranah (vital energy) by the psycho-physical state of the unit, influencing the total being of the unit, for the Pranah is all-pervading. Thus if the ears are
exposed to a beautiful melody, or if the unit breathes in joyfully, the pranah becomes positively charged and carries the joy throughout the body. If the ears pick up scandal, or if the
unit breathes in angrily, a negative charge is carried to every cell of the body by the pranah. Therefore if one is constantly ideating upon Brahma, Brahma will be carried to every body
cell. [Dharin: bearing, wearing, holding.]
Dhruva: The eternal entity which underlies all the transitoriness of the physical world. Once we recognize with our inner being that everything is flow and that we cannot truly 'own'
anything, then we encounter Dhruva. In order to convey the voice of the Great to one's heart, in order to live the constant recognition of the eternal underlying the transient, His eveq
thought-expression and every physical expression must be conveyed slowly and gradually to the internal region of the sadhaka (meditator) with all sweetness and devotion. As per the
degrees and the extent of this introversion, the sadhaka

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 will go on realizing more and more deeply the vastness of his target as compared to the changeable physical entities. He will not then try in vain to find Dhruva in the transitoriness of
physical elements, but only in the Supreme Eternal Being. [See Adruva.1
Dhyana: Meditation upon the Supreme; an advanced form of sadhana. [Dhira: steady, constant, composed.]
Discrimination: A subtle ability, gained only through advanced sadhana, of perceiving the reality behind the transient flow of the physical and mental world. One easily perceives the
6ernal within the temporal and is able to keep his mind fixed on the goal of the Absolute. Known as Nityanitya Viveka or simply Viveka in Sanskrit.
DMC: See Dharma Mahacakra.
Dreaming: That state in which the crude or conscious mind remains dormant while the subconscious and unconscious minds remain active. As opposed to the state of death, in dreaming
the vayus or vital airs remain intact. In this state the Self is wholly dependent on the psychic body for its sustenance; in other words there is no new input from the physical body and
all objects of enjoyment are limited to the domain of thought. The data of dreams comes directly from tanmatras (vibrations) stored up earlier in the day or from the potential reactions
(samskaras) of previous actions or thoughts.
Dukha: Pain; a state readily shunned by the mind due to the nOn-toleration of external vibrations; non-sympathetic vibration on either the physical or mental level. [Dukha: uneasy,
uncomfortable, unpleasant, difficult.]
Dying: The process by which the ten vayus pass out of the body with the exception of Dhanainjaya (controller of sleep and drOwsiness, as well as the deep sleep of death). When the
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dead body is burnt or becomes totally decayed, Dhanainjaya also leaves the body. It joins the other vayus and remains in the cosmos, ready to act again according to the will of Prakriti.
Education: That which liberates man from physical, intellectual, or spiritual bondages. 2. A training that effects the physical, mental and spiritual development of man, building his moral
character and awakening his Universal outlook. As Swami Vivekananda has said: "Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man. Knowledge is inherent in man. What a
man knows or learnsis what he really discovers. He discovers by taking off the cover of his own mind, and mining the Infinite Mind." (From Lectures From Columbo to Almora by
Swami Vivekananda Advaita Shrama, Calcutta 1963.) [Educere: to lead out.]
Ego: Ahamtattva; absent in primary stages of mental creation, in plants and undeveloped creatures. It may be a positive aid in the movement towards Purusottama (nucleus of Creation),
for when the unit mind under the push of the ego directs its potentialities toward the Great, it accelerates the Prati -Saincara process (the movement from crude to subtle).
Energy: See Principle.
ERAWS: The Education, Relief and Welfare Section of Ananda Marga.
Especial: Particular, as opposed to special which means "extra".
Fate: Requittal of earlier actions or thoughts, often of those performed in a previous life, and thus seeming to.have no causal relationship to the particular moment in which they occur.
Not the primary guiding factor of life because each person can mold his own fate by controlling his own actions. [Niyati: Ni + yam + kton: what is not seen with the eyes; that which
cannot be stopped (yacchati).]

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Food: Material taken to sustain the body; the physical cause of life. Food is divided into three categories: sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic.

Sattvic food is highly recommended for the meditator (sadhaka). Grains, cereals, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, sweets, and certain spices, comprise this category. These foods are
good for both mind and body.
Rajasic foods are good for the body but may or may not be good for the mind. These foods include chocolate, coffee, tea, onions, garlic, and the flesh of small animals.

Tamasic foods are bad for both body and mind. These include the flesh of large animals, mushrooms, and all stale or rotten food (even old delicacy cheeses).
These categories are not absolutely fixed but vary with time, place and person. Eskimos must eat the flesh of large animals in order to survive, but in tropical countries such food
is extremely unhealthy. Moreover foods which are rajasic when one is healthy may be sattvic when one is ill.
Force: In all actions of life whether small or big, the unit progresses by winning over opposing trends. Life develops through the medium of force. If this force is not properly
used, life becomes absolutely dull.
The champions of non-violence take to hypocrisy and falsehood whenever they preach a doctrine avowing the absence of force; economic boycott is as much a use of force as rifles and
bombs. If the people of one country conquer another country by brute force, the defeated population shall use force to gain freedom. Such a use of force may be crude, Or subtle, as a
result both the body and mind of the conquerors may be wounded. The alternative to wounding the aggressor is allowing the defeated population to be subjected to violence. Thus
non-violence to one party allows
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for violence to another. Only misunderstanding or hypocrisy justifies a political policy of non-violence.

Foreign: Whatever is good (throughout the civilizations and cultures of the world) is yours, whatever is bad is foreign.

Forgiveness: A quality that the individual may share with a fruit tree. The tree gives openly of its fruits without making any demand for return. It will even provide you with shade while
you are cutting it down. A society must take correctional measures against injustices perpetrated within or upon it, but the individual should follow the example of the fruit tree.

Fundamental Factors: The five components of the phenomenal world, being (in ascending order of subtlety): ksiti (solid), Apa (Liquid), Tejas (luminosity), Marut (Air) and Vyoma
(space). Known as Bhuta in Sanskrit.

Garbhodaka: When the influence of the mutative principle affects the Supreme Entity, He is called Garbhodaka or the Fluid of Creation. The corresponding state of the unit is called the
state of dream. [Garbha: to conceive, to have in the interior.]

Ga'yatrii-meter: An ancient Sanskrit meter of 24 syllables (variously arranged, but generally as a triplet of eight syllables each).

Gita: A song which may be sung with or without instrumentation. See bhajan, kirtan, and samgita.

Gnana: Knowledge. Though helpful in mundane life, knowledge often provides two dangers to the spiritual aspirant: vanity and lethargy. Men of knowledge tend to talk more than they
act, to theorize rather than practice, and often their talk includes the monosyllable 'I'. They tend to pride themselves on their internal file cabinets, crediting storage of material with a high
value.

There is a story of two such pundits (knowledgeable

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men) who were sleeping beneath the shade of a papaya tree. As a stranger passed by, one of the pundits called out to him, asking him to remove the papaya which had fallen onto his
belly. "Remove it yourself, why don't you?" retorted the stranger.

"Oh, you don't know him" responded the other pundit. "He's the laziest man in the world. Why just last night a dog came over and began licking me all over the face. When I asked him
to shoo away the dog, he was too lazy to move."

Knowledge when used to come to terms with the secrets of life and the world is a blessing and leads ultimately back to Self. But knowledge for its own sake is a danger and leads one far
from the path. Intellect must be used beneficently for the service of all Mankind.

God: 1. Generator-Operator-Destroyer. Known as Iishvara in Sanskrit, it is the Controlling Entity of the Universe. 2. Any of numerous gods that fall into two major categories: a) the
manifestation of soul is accomplished through the organs and so the organs are called Daehih Devata or the physical gods. b) the gods through whom the universe is manifested and
controlled are called Brahmi Devata or the Cosmic gods. See Iishvara.

Grace: The acceleration of spiritual unification with Parama Purus'a, granted by Him to devotees of great love. With the gaining of only a small amount of divine grace, the limited ego
starts disappearing from the crude human body and discrimination awakens, establishing the meditator in Brahmic consciousness. Limited ego expands into cosmic one. On the path,
devotion is the paramount factor. Where devotion is, God's mercy must be.

Guha'cara: Heart dweller, another name for Brahma. He is the Life of one's life, the Ego of one's ego, the Soul of one's soul.
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There is nothing so close to one as He. He alone is the Heart-dweller. [Guha: heart.]
Guna: One of the three qualifying principles that crudify Purus'a and bring about the Creation. The greater the qualification the cruder the object becomes. The three principles, which
together comprise Prakriti, are: sattva (sentient), rajah (mutative), and Tamah (static). [Guna: rope.]
Gun'a'dhiina: Brahma in created form, subject to the qualifying attributes (gunas); the nucleus of Creation, Pususottama.
Gun'aks'obha: That force which arises as a result of the never-ending clash amongst the three belligerent forces of Prakriti. It is this force which gives rise to growing internal friction and
produces the curvature in the projection of creation as it flows from the triangle of forces that bind Purus'a.
Guru: 1. The agent who leads others to spiritual emancipation. Brahma is the Supreme Guru, for He is bringing all back to Him. 2. One who dispells the darkness and ignorance of others,
leading disciples to the Supreme stance of true knowledge and bliss.
One need not worry for obtaining the address of a Guru. There is an old saying that when the disciple is ready, the Guru appears. Sometimes we may not even recognize that the
longing for the Great has awakened within us, but the Guru recognizes the awakening and appears before us to give initiation.
Once Siva and two friends were riding through a forest when they were accosted by a killer-bandit. The bandit demanded that they hand over all of their valuables. Siva promised
that he would comply, but only if the bandit would answer a single question. The bandit hesitantly, agreed. Siva

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asked whether the bandit was ready to take on himself the consequences of his deadly deeds.
-Of course not," replied the bandit. "My family shall share the consequences because it is for them that I rob and kill."
"Have you ever asked them if they will share the responsibility?" demanded Siva.
"No" came the robber's response.
"Then can you be so sure?" asked Siva.
"Because it must be so," came the quick reply.
"I will give you everything I have," promised Siva "but first you must go home and ask your family if they will share the consequences of your sins."
The bandit accused Siva of attempting a ploy to escape but Siva allowed himself to be tied to a tree as proof that he would not run away while the robber returned home.
Upon asking his wife if she would share the consequences of his sins, the robber received the immediate reply:
"Of course I won't. Why should I? It is your responsibility as my husband to support me. Why should I share the fruits of actions resulting from your responsibility'?"
Horrified the bandit sought out his son, then his aging father and mother, only to receive the same reply three more times.
Immediately he returned to the men whom he had left bound to trees and unbinding them, sought their help.
Siva proceeded to initiate the robber, telling him to pronounce the Lord's name Rama over and over. But the thief was incapable of uttering so pure a name. So Siva told him to
pronounce quickly a word that was close to his being:
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"mura" ("to kill"). When repeated over and over quickly, the syllables would invert and the thief would be repeating the Lord's name, Rama. Thus, although the thief had given no
thought to Supreme Subtlification, Siva had recognized that the moment was right and the guru had appeared.

There is also a story about Baba initiating a bandit when Baba was only a boy of sixteen. Even from earliest childhood Baba liked to take two brisk, long walks each day. One evening he
walked into a deserted area along a river bank, an area frequented by a deadly thief. Baba was sitting along the bank when a huge man approached him and demanded all his valuables.
Baba called the man by name and asked him to sit beside him, promising everything he had on him. After showing the thief his watch and wallet, Baba asked if these were the valuables
he wanted. As the thief eagerly reached for them, Baba explained that these were nothing compared to the other valuables he had with him. But the other valuables could not be held in
the hand or hidden in a robber's pouch.

The thief was astonished by the calm, warm composure of the boy, as well as his intriguing words about the valuables, so he complied by sitting next to him on the river bank. Baba then
proceeded to relate the thief's own life story to him, explaining that he could understand why the murders of his family by a band of robbers when he was just a child had eventually
driven him to a life of crime and violence. The bandit was astonished by these words, for he thought that none could know his life story but himself. He was so won over by Baba's
composure and wisdom that he begged initiation and ran off into the freezing water, first to purify himself. After taking initiation he insisted upon walking Baba

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hor-ne, to insure him safe passage from other robbers along the way. When they finally arrived at Baba's house, Baba stopped at the door and handed over to the thief/disciple the watch
and wallet, as he had earlier promised.

The new disciple was astonished and begged Baba to keep these possessions, thankful for the invaluable gift that Baba had bestowed upon him that evening. But Baba insisted, and
presented them, to him, always a man of his word.

Needless to say, that was the last night of thieving for this disciple. From that time all valuables came to him without stealth.

Hallucination: The external projection of an image created by the ego (Ahamtattva) upon the Citta which is perceived by the unit as being external to him. Also called "positive
hallucination." Should an actually existing external object not be reproduced upon the Citta, a "negative hallucination" is said to be taking place.

Happiness: A pleasurable experience resulting from contact of the unit's mental waves with mutually sympathetic waves from another person or object. Not to be confused with bliss,
which is experienced independently of the sensory organs.

Hari: 1. A thief. 2. One of the many names for Paramapurus'a, in His role as the thief of our sins. If Paramapurus'a were to appear before us and ask for our sins, who of us would be
capable of handing over our dirt and pain to the Lord. We would want only to offer Him flowers or love. Thus must He stealthily creep up upon us as a thief in the night and take on
Himself our sins without our knowledge. [Hri: to take away or remove evil or sin.]
Hiranyagarbha: 1. Comprehensively used name for Saguna Brahrna. 2. The cognitive Purusa (knower) as witnessed of Brahma's Manomaya Kosa.

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Hiranyamaya Kosa: 1. The highest level of the causal mind and the subtlest of the kosas (mental levels or sheaths). Locati., of the two rare divine qualities of Viveka (conscience or
discrimination between right and wrong) and Vaeragyha (renunciation or dedication). These two factors of the mind are linking threads between the unit and the Macrocosm, they are the
media through which the aspirant can attain Nirvikalpa Samadhi (the Supreme Trance of the Non-Qualified Consciousness), [Hiran: gold.)

Madinii: 1. Spiritual wine. 2. Introspective force and sublirnative force. 3. Bliss of spiritual realization which encourages the sadhaka (meditator) to continue on the path until he has
reached the ultimate Goal. [Madin: refreshing, comforting, gladdening, exhilirating.] Antonym: Avaranii.

Homogenesis: The sequential evolution of curvatures (kalas) from the initial triangular receptacle of creation, in which the difference of wavelengths increases as the wavelength
decreases. From these homogenetic waves the mental and physical worlds are created. It is on account of homoform curvilinear evolution that man begets man and tree begets tree.
However, although the difference between two successive creations or curvatures seems slight, over a period of time they are great. Thus man changes imperceptably from day to day, but
greatly from youth to old age. 2. Similitude. Also called Sadrsha painama in Sanskrit.

Homomorphic Evolution: The force which transforms the polygonal forms built of the three qualifying principles (gunas) into the perfectly balanced and stable triangles from which
creation can issue forth. Known as Svarupaparinama in Sanskrit.

Hridaya-Granthi: 1. Psychic knot found in the navel and throat, which prevents the rise of kundalini force. 2. Rivet of all

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involvements and attachments; the force which binds us to t.he world. [Lit. heart-knot, anything which binds the soul or grieves the heart.]

Humble: A frame of mind which resembles the behavior of a blade of grass. Even though elephants may trample upon the grass, the grass graciously bends over. Because it gives so
freely to the step of the elephant, the grass bends without breaking. So too should we serve mankind, bending without breaking or revolting under the pains of its tread.

jecha'viiia: Synonomous with Kamaviija, so named because in this point lies the Cosmic desire, or seed of desire for creation. [Iccha': desire. Viija: seed.]

Idea: The establishment of a parallelism between the psychic waves of the mind and the spiritual waves of the Atman (Soul). The word is often misunderstood and given worldly
connotations. Called Bhava (see) in Sanskrit.

Ideology: A coherent set of ideas; a structure of psycho-spiritual parallelisms. Not to be used in a political, social or economic sense.

Idolatory: The worshipping of the Supreme in a material manifestation, resulting in a greater crudification of the mind.
Ignorance: The state of mind in which man primarily considers himself a body first, and then a possessor of a soul; the state of a man bound by his ego to the bondages of time, space,
and person; the state of a man who identifies his Self with his ego or 'F rather than the Cosmic Self.

"'vara: 1. The name of Brahma in His role as Controller. Brahma controls everything in the universe: the ebbing and flowing of the ocean, the motion of the planets, the building of an
anthill. He controls all because all is but His thought projection. 2. The Entity unassailed by Karma (action),
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Vipaka (reaction) or predicament. 3. The possessor of occult powers. 4. The witnesser of the Universe; [the cognitive Purus'a (knower, witnesser) of Brahma's Kamamaya Kosa (the
physical universe)]. [Iish: to control, to be master of, to rule, reign, allow.]

lishvara-Pran'idhan'a: Complete surrender to God. He who controls the thought-waves of this Universe is lishvara. Pran'idah'na means: to understand clearly or to adopt something as a
shelter. Therefore IshvaraPran'idhana means to set oneself in the Cosmic idea and to accept Iishvara as the only ideal or shelter of life.

Impossibility: belongs only in a fool's dictionary, for there is no such thing as an impossibility. Paramapurusa Himself is capable of everything except creating another Paramapurus'a or
hating any of His creation. For the ordinary individual who experiences the world as primarily material and who involves himself in money or sex, mental expansion and cosmic
consciousness seem the remote prattling of daydreamers. But for the devottee who has surrendered his personal ego to Brahma, all things are possible.

Indra: A name for Brahma in His role as king of the universe. It is by His will and decree that life is created and maintained. [ Indra: king; great.]

Inanimate: See insentient.

Individual: An entity having one or two different kinds of 'I' feelings: one feeling results from the egoistic mind identifying the entity as the performer of actions and the thinker of
thoughts; the other results from the identification with the Supreme Soul (Paramatman) and the Cosmic 1. Known as Jiiva in Sanskrit.

Indriya: One of ten organs, five of which are sensory and five

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motor. The function of the sensory Indriya is to receive the different waves (tanmatras) emanated by external objects; the motor Indriyas create tanmatras which give expression to the
inherent potential reactions (samskara) and transmit them externally. [Indriya: fit for or belonging to Indra; power of the senses.]

insentient: A meaningless term, for everything is sentient; varying only in the degree to which Consciousness is manifested.

Instincts: A self-preservative response to external stimuli directed onto the unit Citta by the Cosmic Mind.

intellect: Buddhi; that force in man which acts as the discriminator of action. There are two varieties present in man: Brahmic and sensuous.

Sensuous intellect is mind turned outwards to crude matter; such a mind attempts to find pleasure in the transient world, in a piecemeal fashion, and thus is never at peace. A mind
preoccupied with fragments will never achieve the whole and thus will never achieve the bliss of recognizing its Brahmahood. A mind which dwells on the crude makes the being crude.

Brahmic intellect leads the aspirant to use everything (material, psychic, and spiritual) in such a way that he Progresses towards the Supreme Goal of unification with the SuPreme Entity.
By occupying the mind with subtle thoughts, it becomes subtler. By occupying it with the subtlest of thoughts, the ideation on Him, it will perforce becorne Him.

Intuition: See Bodhih.

Irrational: See Avivekii.

lst": Attractive, in the sense of a goal or terminus. [Ista: sought, wished, desired, agreeable, cherished.]
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Ista-mantra: Sounds, given to the sadhaka (meditator) by the Guru, the silent repetition of which leads to liberation. Identifiable because of its three composite elements: ideation,
pulsation, and incantation.
Ideation is always of Him. The meaning of the Istamantra must connote the Infinite; it is a sound represen. tation of the Infinite.
Pulsation is in rhythm with the sadhaka's breathing pattern; thus the Ista-mantra is always of two syllables.
Incantation is the rhythm of the pronunciation of the mantra; the sound of the syllables plays upon the individual's mind and expands it to the size of the Cosmic One, allowing the
unit Atman (Consciousness) eventually to merge with the Paramatman (Cosmic Consciousness).
Once when Swami Vivekandanda was speaking before a large audience at Harvard University, he told of the tremendous power of the Ista-mantra. One learned professor scoffed
at the possibility that a word or sound could have the power of merging an individual with the Cosmic. Thereupon Vivekananda publicly denounced the professor as a fool. The
scoffing scholar was so taken aback that someone could call him a fool, and do so in front of such a large audience, that he immediately delivered a loud and long tirade against the
Swami. When he had finally finished, Vivekananda turned to him and calmly pointed out the power of the mundane word "fool", for it had created such an avalanche of emotions
within the professor. "If such a simple word can call forth such an intense response, just imagine the power of a word that has been spiritually endowed by a Guru," Vivekananda
pointed out.
Part of the power of the word "fool" came from the context in which it was uttered. Part of the power of the

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Ista-mantra also lies in the context. Before repeating the rnantra to ourselves we must prepare the mind through a careful process and concentrate our attention onto a single specific
point of the body. Only then will the Ista-mantra have maximal effect.
Jada: A crude physical object.
Jada-Vasana: A longing for material happiness caused by the samskara (potential requittals or rewards of earlier actions) of previous less developed lives. [Jada: cold, frigid, stiff, torpid,
motionless, apathetic, stupid, dull.]
Jadasphota: The process by which dead or dying celestial bodies get dissociated into the five fundamental factors either by material explosion or by a gradual wearing away.
Even after the ultimate crudification of the Cosmic Mind into solid factors, the presence of the tamahguna continues, creating a tension of forces within the object. One set of
forces presses from the center to the cricurnference of the object while the other set pushes from the circumference to the center. If the center-seeking forces predominate, a nucleus is
formed and life begins. However, if the circumference-seeking forces predominate, the object is not able to maintain its structure and explodes. The five fundamental factors which
compose the object are exploded back into the universe, space returning to space, air to air, etc., ready to be re-used once more. Thus none of the elements of creation is ever lost.
Cosmic Citta remains unaffected by the explosion, by the jadashota, thus Cosmic Mind is not endangered; the source of creation is never endangered. Bursting apart is not a
 Phenomenon of withdrawal of the Cosmic Mind, but of a stirring UP of Its thought-waves, due to the pressure of the static Prakriti (tamahguna).
Gradual wearing away, (wear and tear), similar to the
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process of erosion, is also a form of jadasphota. This kind of jadasphota does not produce a simultaneous bursting apart of the fundamental factors, but takes place over a longer period of
time.

Jagat: World (Crude physical creation.)

All thought-processes are moving and restive. Thus this world, the psychic manifestation of the thought waves of Saguna Brahma, is also moving and restive (always changing). As Baba
said one day in darshan, in this world one must always be doing something. Without the in-and-out move. ment of the breathing process, life stops. Therefore, though we may cease all
other activity, we cannot cease this movement and still remain in the world. The world is thus the arena of movements. Therefore let us move but keep our minds calmly fixed on that
Absolute Entity. [Gam-kvip: moving.]

Janarloka: 1. Subliminal world. 2. A level of Cosmic Mind equivalent to the Viiiananmaya Kosa of the unit mind.

Japa: Repetition of a mantra, internally or in a whisper.

-Ji: A suffix indicating endearment, added to personal names, such as Vimilananda becomes Vimilanandajii. Originally it connoted an Aryan or noble person.

Jfiva: See IndividuaL [Jiv: to live, to make alive, restore to life.)

Jfivatman: The individual soul or the subjective counterpart Of the microcosm; the reflection of the Cosmic Soul onto the unit's mental plate, creating the impression of a separate and
distinct entity. Just as Narcissus mistook his own reflection in the pond and drowned while trying to embrace the beautiful youth in the reflection, so do we mistake our own unit entity as
being distinct and separate from the Divine Soul whose reflection we are. [JUva + A tman.1

Jina'na-Shakti-Na'da: The straight line with which creation first

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rnanifests itself as the bound Purusa bursts forth from the triangle of guna& [Jinana: conquering. Shakti: power. Na'da: line.]

jivan-Mukti: A unit that has become one with the Supreme Consciousness, thus burning all samskaras, yet taking on the single desire of serving mankind and thus preserving his physical
existence. One who is emancipated while still alive and thus liberated from the necessity of future births. [Jiiva: unit. Mukti: emancipated.]

jvalantam: The One who is the root Force or original Force of all forces; the central source of all effulgences; everything is radiant because of His radiance. [Jvalat: blazing, fire.]
Kaevalya: The fourth state of mind, beyond those of wakefulness, dream, and sleep, in which there is an absolute identity of the unit with the Divine Essence; no distinction remains
between Brahma and the unit. Both are one consummate Whole. [Kaevalya: exclusively one's own; only, sole, one, not connected to anything else, isolated, pure, uncompounded.]

Kaevalya Siddha: One who has attained absolute identity with the Divine Essence.

Kala: Curvature. In the process of the creation Prakriti sprouts from one of the vertices of the initial triangle of qualifying principles (gunas) and in the course of time, as a result of
internal clashes, the original straight line (Jinana-shakti-Na'da) begins to curve. [Kala: to push on, drive forward, drive before one's self or away.]

Kalpa: In mythology, one day and night of Brahma; equivalent to a period of 432 million solar years among mortals. [Klip: Practical, feasible, possible.]

Kama: Lustful desire; desire for finite objects; as a vritti (see), located at the base of the spine around the Muladhara Cakra. Kama and Artha (see) are the two qualities man shares with
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animals. While Dharma and Moksha are unique to him.

Kamamaya Kosa: Conscious mind; that portion of the unit mind which controls the Indriyas (see), sensory and motor organs, and the physical needs of the unit body.

Because it directly mediates contact with the crude physical world it is considered the crudest mental level of the unit mind. [Maya: Prakriti in manifestation. Kosa: sheath.]

Ka'ma Pfitha: The area of the body located near the base of the spine, at the coccyx, in which the kulakundalini resides. [Piitha: stool, chair.]

Kamaviija: The point at one of the vertices of the triangle of Creation from which Creation begins; the starting point of cosmic being. Also called the "point of fundamental positivity"
because it is the subtlest point of creation; while the base of the spine is called "the point of fundamental negativity", because creation there has become most crude, being the controller
of solid matter. [ Viifa: seed.]

Kaoshikii: A name of Prakriti, as the originator of different kosas. These are formed in the process of evolution after the formation of the initial bondage of Purusla.

Ka'rana'rn'ava: A name for Purusa when controlled by the static principle within the original triangle of gunas; from this static condition comes the first expression of creation. The
corresponding state of the unit is called "sleep". [Karana': cause. Arnlava: sea.]

Karma: 1. Physical action, which tends to give the performer of the action a sense of vanity, a sense that "I" have done this-and-that. 2. A spiritual action, performed while ideating upon
the supreme, thus precluding the possibility of vanity. 3. The collection of a unit's samskaras. See Action. [Kr + man. Kr: to do something. Man: establishment.]

Karma-phala-bhoga: The process by which the Citta returns to

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the peaceful state that existed prior to the creation of a samskara; this state is brought about by the requittal (in the form of pleasure or pain) for the samskam. The Citta can be compared
to a ball. Every thought or action makes an indentation upon the ball, preventing it from bouncing properly. Only another form of pressure will force out the first indentation, returning
the ball to a bouncing state. The indentation in the ball is equivalent to samskara. The return of the ball to the bouncing state is Karma-phalabhoga. [phala: to rebound, ripen, bear fruit.
bhoga: enjoyment, eating, feeding on.]

Karta: That portion of the physical body which controls energy.

Ka'rya: That which connects the unit with the external world through the media of the motor organs; a form of action. [Ka'rya: to be made or done or practiced or performed.]

Kavi: A seer of truth; one who recognizes that the path of sadhana (meditation) is a razor's edge and who warns that we must tread it with care, yet quickly for the time is short. Don't
stop; go forward; don't look back. [Kavi: gifted with insight, enlightened knowing.]

Kirtan: A collective group singing to the Supreme, begun by Dvija Chandidas over 750 years ago, but not popularized until 400 years ago when it was brought to the masses by Lord
Chitanya Mahaprabhu. The pundits of the Hindu religion had so alienated the masses that they were converting to other religions. Kirtan was introduced as a means of returning the
people to Hinduism. No longer was it necessary to become a philsophical scholar to achieve the Lord. Singing His name and praises with a group of friends was an equally acceptable
means of attaining Him.

There are four primary forms of Kirtan: a) Pada Kirtan:

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The devotees sing out their hearts to the Lord, praising Him and calling on Him. "Tarinarn Bena Mukti Millivena" and "Janume' Janume' " are examples of this type. (Pada means
"verses"). b) Nama Kirtan: Rather than singing to Him in verses, a group of devotees select one name for the lord and call upon him by repeating this name. "Baba Nam Kevalarn" is an
example of this type. Baba has repeatedly stressed that the singing of this kirtan will greatly accelerate sadhana and should always be followed by sadhana, for the intensity of devotion
created through singing can only be utilized when concentrated immediately afterwards by sadhana. (Narna means "name"). c) Akhanda Kirtan: the singing of a Narna Kirtan for at least
eight prahar (3 hour segments). Devotees relieve each other of the singing, never allowing the singing of His name to cease throughout twenty-four hours or more. (Akhanda means
"unbroken".) d) Nagar Kirtan: A processional singing of both Nama and Pada Kirtan, performed best in the morning.

Kirtan should always be sung by a group and should be accompanied by instruments. Kirtan should also be danced. (There is a very specific spiritual dance developed by Shiva.) [Kirtan:
mentioning, repeating, saying, telling.)

Knowledge: The name of that process, whereby the subject (Jina'ta') entirely identifies himself with the characteristics of an object.

Kosa: One of the five levels or sheaths of the mind, the outermost being the crudest and the innermost being the subtlest. Also, the sheath which protects the mind, i.e. the body. [Kosa:
sheath.]
Kranti: The forced acceleration of the movement of the social cycle from one age, controlled by a particular class or level of society, to the next, controlled by a different level or class.

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There is a natural tendency for social shifts within society, but kranti is a shift whose movement has been accelerated by the application of force. See Parakranti.

Krta,tman: Complete self-control.

Krikara: The external Vayu (see) which controls yawning.

Kripa: God's Grace, obtained by the performance of sadhana (meditation). As Shrii Ramakrishna said, first one must do for Him, then one will receive from Him. [Kri: to do. Pa: to get,
obtain His blessing.]

Kriya: Actions performed by the physical organs, without spiritual purpose. There are two types: Nityakriya, works which are essential for the preservation of human existence; and
Nairn ittikhriya, work done occasionally, without being essential for life. [Kirya: doing, performing.]

Ks'ara: Decay; that portion of Brahma (.0000000001%) which is bound by the three fundamental factors, and thus is subject to temperal-spatialpersonal distinctions. That part of Brahma
which is beyond these bondages and observes the decay is known as Aksara (see). [Ksar: that which undergoes metamorphosis.]

Ksatriya: One of the four primary social classes, acting in the capacity of physical guardians or warriors. See Shudra, Vipra, and Vaesha. [Kshatra': dominion, supremacy, power.]

Ksatriyocita: Serving humanity by protecting others, even to the extent of risking one's own life.

Ks'iira'vdhi: The name for Purusa when the influence of the sentient attribute is greater than the mutative or static. He is then called "Sea of Milk". The similar condition in the unit mind
is the wakeful state. [Kshira': milk, thickened milk.]

Kula: 1. The lowest part of the spine; thus the coiled force situated at this point is called the "kula kundalini." 2. That which is held by the world. 3. The human family or lineage,
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called Kula because it is held by the world. [Ku-1a-da. Ku: world; physical expression. La: to hold.]

Kula-Kundalinii: 1. The spiritual force found dormant in the Muladhara Cakra, upon whose awakening spiritual development commences. This awakening is begun in initiation and
continued by meditation. When the force is fully awakened and rises from the Muladhara Cakra to the Sahasrara Cakra, the sadhaka (meditator) attains the intuitive ability of visualizing
the Absolute; the coiled serpentine power. 2. The force of fundamental negativity. Creation began with the force of fundamental positivity issuing from the triangle of gunas and bringing
Cosmic Mind into being. As creation continues, Purusa becomes more and more bound by the gunas of Prakriti until He reaches the ultimate crudification (state of matter) at the end of
the Saincara process. Hence that part of the body which controls solid matter (the Muladhara Cakra at the base of the spine) is considered the ultimate manifestation of Cosmic
Consciousness and the force which resides in that area is considered the force of the fundamental negativity. [Kula: that which bears the burden. Kundalinii: coiled.]

Ku'rma: The external vayu which enables the body to contract. [Kurma: tortoise.]

Ku't'astha: Another name for Purusottama, the Nucleus of Creation.

Ku't'astha Caetanya: The nucleus of consciousness within the unit; also called Atman. [ See Cae tanya for derivation. I

Laks'niii: In Hindu mythology, the Goddess of wealth and prosperity; she is worshipped by lighting candles and setting off firecrackers at the festival of Diwali, held at about the same
time as Halloween. All of India glows with the flames of candles and oil lamps which line the walls, roof tops, fences,

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bullock-cars, and every space imaginable. It is thought that Laks'mi will visit brightly glowing homes and bless them with material prosperity. [Lask'mana: having marks or
characteristics, endowed with auspicious signs.]

Liberation: That state in which a sadhaka identifies Himself with the Cosmic Ego, and enjoys the bliss of savikalpa samadhi. See Muk ti.

Liila: 1. Divine sport; the play of Paramapurusa, the reason for which remains a mystery until realized through meditation. As opposed to krida which is the play of an individual whose
motivation is known to us. 2. The reason attributed to Brahma's creation of the Universe. [Liila: diversion, play, sport, amusement, mere sport or play, child's play, ease or facility in
doing anything.]

Life: The maintenance of a parallelism between the waves of the physical body and the mental bodies in the presence of pranah which supplies the vital air necessary for the sustenance
of both.

Lila'rup'a: The psychic manifestation of Brahma as Purusa and Prakriti; literally an inscrutable form. [Rup: form, figure, represent (esp. on the stage), view, inspect, contemplate, any
Outward appearance or phenomenon or color.]

Loka: One of the seven levels of Macrocosmic Consciousness, the crudest of which is Bhu (physical world), and in ascending order to Purusottama, are: Bhuvah (crude mental world),
Svah (subtle mental world), Manah (supramental world), Janah (subliminal world), Tapah and Satya. The microcosmic mind is also composed of levels, although there are only five in
number. These levels, called kosas, corresPond to various of the lokas, because they are contained within them. [Loka: region.]

Love: That state of mind in which the Supreme Serenity has

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been attained and a feeling of affection is experienced for all beings as manifestations of the Supreme.

Lymph: In the body's process of assimilating food, the stage in which food has been transformed into vital fluid. It functions to purify the blood and maintain the beauty and glory of the
body by flowing into the glands and enabling the proper secretion of hormones.

Macrocosm: Cosmic Mind; that mind which perceives the objective physical world as an internal thought and recognizes the uniformity underlying the apparent diversity.

Madhuvidya': Looking upon the finite world as the expression of the Infinite, recognizing that every unit of creation is as sweet as honey to Him. That state in which love for Preya (finite
units) and love for Shreya (Bliss, the Ultimate Goal) merge into one. [Madhu: Brahma as honey. Vidya': knowledge.1

Mahabhuta: The five fundamental elements: special, aerial, luminous, liquid, and solid.(Maha: great (in space, quantity, time or degree), extensive, abundant, ample. Bhuta: body.)

Maha'Purus'a: 1. An individual who is established in Brahma, setting the ideal for humanity. 2. An elevated psychic being unto whose holy feet one may offer flowers of devotion and
aspiration, but who does not desire crude earthly flowers and offerings. Often misinterpreted as equivalent to Avata'ra (see).

Maha'kaola: One who has roused his kulakundalini to the topmost cakra, the Sahasrara, and is capable of raising the kulakundalini of others to that cakra.

Maharloka: Supra-mental world; that level of the Cosmic Mind which is equivalent to the Atimanas Kosa of the unit mind.

Maha'sambhuti: The process by which Taraka Brahma physically appears among His creation by taking the help of the

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five fundaanental factors. [Maha: great; Sam' with; bhuti: factor of existence]

Niahattattva: 1. The first stage of Cosmic Mind, created by the

sentient force during the Saincara process and producing the pure sense that 'I exist'. 2. The last stage of evolution of unit mind, created by the sentient force during the Prati-Saincara
process and producing the sense that 'I exist'. See Aham

tattva, Citta. [Tattva: factor-1

Maha,visn'u: He who, through the medium of His mind, has

expanded His existence beyond the bound of all limitations. [Visn'u and maha both mean "great". Visn'u also means "all-pervading".1

Ma'rn'sa Saldhaka: A sadhaka (meditator) who constantly practices control over speech-habits.

Man: A mind-preponderant being; the greatest of all living beings whose goal of existence is the unification with ParamaPurus'a (Supreme Consciousness). Hence in Sanskrit

he is called "manusa" which means "mind-preponderant being".

Mariana: Contemplation; one of the capacities of the Manamaya Kosa, the other being recollection or memory. [Manas: mind . I

Ma'nas: Mind, in its widest sense as applied to all the mental Powers; intellect, intelligence, understanding, perception,

sense, conscience, and will. Not used in Ananda Marga Philosophy but equivalent to unit mind. (see).

Manamaya Kosa: Sub-conscious mind; that level or sheath of the unit mind which directly controls the conscious mind and

whose main functions are contemplation and recollection. (Manas: mind. Maya: Prakriti in manifested form. Kosa: sheath.)

Mantra: Incantation. A sound vibration used to awaken the

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Divine potential and thus bring about the spiritual realization of the unit; that which liberates the mind. See ista-mantra. [Man: mind. Tra: liberation.]

Ma'nus'a: Man or mentally developed being; intellectual being.

Marga: Path. [Mriga: to seek, look for, hunt.]

Marma: That faculty which retains the various emotional states of the unit and impresses them on the pranah which then carries them to every cell of the body. Thus if one is angry, the
pranah receives that vibration as it is inhaled and every cell of the body is charged with anger in turn. See Dharyas.

Material Science: Knowledge or study which unfolds the mysteries of the empirical world.

Matter: 1. The objective form of the Cosmic Mind; crudified Cosmic Citta, having the lowest vibratory rate of all creation. 2. That part of creation from which unit mind comes into being
through a process of pulverization resulting from physical conflict.

Maya: The Cosmic creative faculty; Prakriti in Her creative role; manifested form of Prakriti; relative rather than Absolute Truth. The manifested created flow which is always changing,
marked by varying speed (and pause) of created entities; unbalanced Prakriti, outside the triangular matrix. See Avidya and Vidya Maya. [Maya: art, wisdom, extraordinary or
supernatural power, illusion, unreality, deception, fraud.]

Microcosm: Unit mind; that mind for whom the objective world seems external and disparite and which is incapable of producing external realities through the process of imagination.
See Macrocosm.

Mistake: That questionable action done without directing one's thought to Brahma.

Mind: 1. That collective name of Mahattattva, Ahamtattva, and Citta. 2. That part of the unit which controls the Indriyas

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(Inotor and sensory organs), thus registering all pleasure and pain in connection with the physical world. The Indriyas are also the vehicles by which the mind expresses itself in the
world. 3. That part of the unit which receives and reproduces sensory impressions (tanmatras) from the physical world. We do not actually experience the physical world directly but only
perceive our internal mental projections of it. 4. That part of the unit having Infinite potentialities. Sadhana is the means by which these potentialities can be controlled. The unit mind's
single serious shortcoming is that it cannot think of two things concurrently. Human mind is unilateral and multipurposive. Cosmic mind is multi-lateral and unipurposive. Thus humans
can have many purposes in life but their mind can only think one thought or be in one place at a time. Cosmic Mind is always everywhere, but has only one purpose: the elevation of all
units. 5. The subject of all worldly acts of the unit, while also the object of Purusa as knower. When mind becomes its own object, through sadhana, it merges with the knower Purusa and
all distinctions between subject and object cease. As long, however, as mind remains subject and physical world remains object, the mind remains in a state as crude as the object it
perceives. If the energy expended towards the external is redirected by sadhana towards the internal, Brahma is quickly achieved. 6. That part of man which was made in the image of the
Divine. Unit and Cosmic Minds are identical, except that the physical world appears as external and diverse to the former and as internal and uniform to the later. 7. That which controls
the Pranah of the unit structure. 8. A stage in the process of motion, Possessing momentum which is expressed as vrittis. (see)

Moks'a: L Ultimate, final, non-qualified liberation; total merger

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with Paramapurusa or Nirguna Brahma (Pure unqualified consciousness). Once-and-for-all escape from the Brahmacakra cycle, the wheel of life and rebirth, accomplished only through
the Grace of Taraka Brahma (see), which resides at the tangential point between Nirguna and Saguna Brahma. The final goal of sadhana reached once the kulakundalini has pierced
through the seventh cakra (Sahasrara) and possible only when the sadhaka has absolutely no samskaras. Devotion is the best way of gaining His Grace and achieving Moks'a. See Mukti.

Morality: An effort to lead a well-knit and harmonious life; the basis of Sadhana. Not a goal in itself, but the means to the goal of liberation.

In India brick or metal fences are built around young trees to prevent the cows from eating them before they are big and strong enough to protect themselves. Morality is that fence
around the young tree of a beginner's sadhana.

Motor Organs: Five of the ten Indriyas, the other five being the sensory organs. These five control the body's locomotion and are: vocal chords, hands, legs, anus, and genitals.
Mrtyurmrtyum: That aspect of Parama Purusa as the death of death, as the liberator of souls in the cycle of life and rebirth. Death himself is afraid of Parama Purus'a andf his fear goads
him constantly to pursue units; death fears Him as much as a unit fear death.
[Mrty: death.]
Mudra: Any of thousands of positions of holding the hands, each of which has a particular effect on the audience; used in both yoga and classical Indian dancing.

Mukti: Qualified liberation; merger into Saguna Brahma; the state in which unit and Cosmic Mind become one. An extremely advanced state, gained after much sadhana, but not the
ultimate goal. Merger into Saguna Brahma removes

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one from the Brahmacakra cycle (the wheel of life and rebirth); but is not the final destination. Moksa (see) is the final goal of the sadhaka. [Mukta: loosened, set-free, relaxed,
slackened, emancipated.]

Mulla Prakriti: That state of Prakriti in which the three gunas are in equilibrium, prior to the bursting forth of Creation from the triangle of forces. [Mulati: to be rooted or firm. Lit. the
foot or lowest part or bottom of anything.]

Muni: A thoughtful and reflective man; anyone who attains Brahma through meditation; anyone who reaches the original cause of all elements by virtue of meditation. [Muni: anyone
who is moved by inward impulse; an inspired or ecstatic person.]

Mutative Force: One of the three imminent forces of Prakriti, which causes the feeling that 'I do' in the Cosmic Mind; that force which transforms the pure 'I feeling' into the 'Doer I'
feeling. Found particularly in the feet of each unit, due to its kinetic or locomotive characteristics. Called the "rajaguna" in Sanskrit.

Mysticism: 1. The link between the psycho -spiritual and the spiritual. 2. The science that deals with the super-rational and super-sensuous faculty of intuition. When the mystic
experience comes to a person of spiritual insight, it usually takes the form of the intuition of the union of the reflected unit consciousness with the Macrocosmic Nucleus (Purusottama).

Nada: The issuing force of Creation from the triangular matrix of Prakriti, making the sound AUM. Also called Shabda (sound) Brahma.

Na'ga: The external vayu, providing the power to jump, to extend the body, and to throw an object. (Naga: snake, serpent.]

Nanascar: A form of greeting or farewell which ascribes

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Brahmahood to the other person. The Indian equivalent of a handshake, the palms are pressed together and touched to forehead and heart to indicate that "with my mind and my heart I
recognize the divinity within you." [Namas: bow, obeisance. Cara: exclamation, homage or adoration.]

Na'ra'yan'a: A name for Purusottama, as the refuge of Prahriti. The Purana (a collection of books which relate Hindu mythology) tells of Narayana lying in the ocean of milk with
Laksmii (Goddess of wealth and prosperity) massaging his Feet . The ocean of milk refers to the state of wakefulness of Brahma; and Narayana is pictured as reclining, for this position is
associated with a master who directs a servant and is himself unassailed by worldly activity. Laks'mii massaging His feet, is symbolic of the fact that Prakriti is subservient to Him. This
great Narayana is beyond the purview of words and mind. 2. A form of the Lord appearing as one in need of service, giving His devotees an opportunity of rendering Him service. [Nara:
Prakriti. Ayana: refuge.]

Negative Prati-Saincara: A reversal of the Prati-Saincara process, in which the unit regresses to a crude state; a backward movement of a created unit, as when a man is reborn as an
animal. Only man is capable of countermanding the Divine Desire that creation progress towards Him; thus only man is capable of negative prati-saincara. Also called "Counter Prati-
Saincara. " [Prati: counter. Saincara: movement.]

Negative Saincara: The return of dead or dying celestial bodies into the five fundamental factors (bhutas) through the process of jadasphota. (see)

Niratishaya: Another name for the Infinite Macrocosmic Entity,

Nirguna Brahma: That stage of Brahma in which Prakriti Is dormant, Her three gunas (qualifying principles) having no

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control over Purusa; Pure Unqualified Consciousness; objectless consciousness. Also called "That" for no concept is capable of describing It. See Saguna Brahma. [Nir: without. Guna:
bondage.]

Nirudha: The highest state of control over Citta in which successive mental states and processes are stilled, mind or Citta being left in its original unmodified state of calmness and
tranquility. [Ni + rudh. To hold back, stop, confine, check, suppress, ward off.]

Nirvana Shakti: Located in the middle of the Nirvanakala, the subtlest portion of the pineal gland, it is described as being "lustrous like ten million suns, and is the mother of the three
worlds. She is extremely subtle, and like unto the ten-millionth part of the end of a hair. She contains within Her the constantly flowing stream of gladness, and is the life of all Beings.
She graciously carries the knowledge of Truth to the mind of the sages." Satcakru Nirupan V48P73 [Nir + va. Blow or put out, extinguished, calmed, tamed, dead.]

Nirvikalpa Samadhi: The highest form of samadhi (absorption into the Ultimate) in which the unit consciousness is merged into Pure Consciousness (Nirguna Brahma), the state of
absolute objectlessness in which there is no trace of ego or 'I' feeling; total suspension of the mind. [Nirvi: without alternative. Kalpa: action.]
Nitya: That which is uninfluenced by the time factor; that which is beyond past, present, and future. [Nitya: innate, eternal, perpetual.]

Nivritti: The waning or loss of desire (vritti) for the mundane world; detachment. [Ni + vri: to ward off, to refrain.]

Niyama: 1. Any of the five positive injunctions or observances which serve as a moral basis of sadhana: a) shaoca-cleanliness; b) Santosa-contentment; c) Tapah-penance; selfless
service;
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d) Svadhyaya-study of the scriptures; e) Ishvara-Pranidhana-self-surrender to the Supreme. 2. One of the eight limbs of Yoga, dealing with man as a social being. See also Yama. [,Ni +
yantr: to restrain, control. Yacchati: to stop, govern, regulate.]

Nrsim'ha: That aspect of Purussottma as the Supreme Authority or the Protector and Preserver of the sadhaka from all anti-spiritual forces. [Nr: man.]

Object: A physical manifestation of the Cosmic thought projections, serving as a benefit to the salvation of mankind while also progressing towards its own salvation. The Cosmic
teaches us through the media of the limited; thus everything is working together, as a team, for the collective good of all.

The natural tendencies of worldly objects is that the death of one brings about the birth of another; the renunciation of one form begets the formation of another; the loss of one means the
gain of another. But while the whimsical hand of time builds and rebuilds, He is untouched; for He is birthless and eternal. Although this fleshy body is destroyed and transformed, He is
never changed or destroyed.

Objectivity: A slow wave motion within the cosmic mind which is manifested as crudified citta.

Obstacles; That with which the sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) must do battle in order to reach his goal, the overcoming of which gives extra strength to the aspirant as he treads the path.

Occult: That which is the result of cult (see cult), generally associated with supernatural powers. See Siddhi.

Onunkara: See Pranava.

Ota Yoga: The association of Purusottama with each unit mind, separately and individually, whereby He functions as the

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witnessing entity for the individual unit mind; the direct concern of Purusottama with each unit entity.

Padmasana: The lotus posture; the pretzel-like sitting position in which the spine is kept erect while the knees are bent with both feet resting on top of both thighs; the most balanced
sitting position, most conducive to the balanced mental state sought in sadhana. For the beginning sadhaka the semi-lotus or half-padmasana is equally acceptable; in this posture one foot
rests upon the calf of the other leg. While the other foot is tucked beneath the other calf, while the spine is kept erect. The padma is a lotus flower, similar to the water lily, but having
petals of such texture that water droplets fall off without leaving a mark or sign of wetness. The goal of the sadhaka is to achieve such perfect composure that the droplets of mundane
desires can roll right off him without leaving a mark. [Padma + asana. Padma: lotus. Asana: posture.]

Padmanava: The name for Parampurusa as the center of the cosmos, as the navel is the center of the body. [Padma, lotus. navi: navel.]
Paincabhuta: This observable world, composed of the five fundamental elements. [see Bhuta.]

Pandite: A learned man; one who has attained the state of panda, of realizing that "I am Brahma. "

Para-Bindu: The thousand-petaled lotus; another name for the pineal gland; the abode of Shiva within the unit, thus also called "Parama Shiva".Para distant, remote, beyond, on the far
side of.]

Para-Dharma: The Dharma [nature] of animals such as eating, drinking, and procreation. Differentiated from Bhagavata Dharma. [see]

Param-Pada: The realization of Parama-Bindu; the piercing of

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the pineal gland by the unit's kula kundalini.

Paramapurusa: Great or absolute entity. The source of all creation; the everpresent entity whose thought is creation. As Baba explained in darshan, if the goddess of wisdom were to write
for eternity upon all of the firmaments of the world, using the tree of knowledge as her pen and the oceans of the earth as her inkwell, she could not even begin to describe the essence of
Paramapurusa. He is non-analyzable and indescribable.

He is everywhere, in every comer of creation, at every moment, for His thoughts are the clay from which creation is formed. When you are completely alone, thinking yourself
unwitnessed by anyone, you may find yourself thinking: "Ah, there is no one to see me; it will be quite safe if I slip this pearl into my pocket." He is also there, thinking of a similar
thought: "Ah yes, you are all alone, no one is here to see you, it will be quite safe for you to slip this pearl into your pocket."

Once Ramakrishna asked all of his disciples to find a private and secret place and therein to kill a pigeon, making sure that no one was watching. Some disciples went deep into the
forest, some to the summits of a mountain, some into the dark corners of a lonely room. When they finally reassembled before Ramakrishna, each of them carried a dead pigeon, as per
instructions. However, one disciple, who was later to become Swami Vivekananda, abashedly stood before Ramakrishna with a live pigeon cradled in his hands.

"Why have you brought me a live bird? Why have you not taken this bird's life?" Ramakrishna inquired.

Vivekananda replied that he had made every effort to follow the instructions. He had gone into the forest, climbed to a high summit, sought the privacy of a dark secluded

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chamber, but always there were two eyes before him, witnessing every action.

Upon hearing this, Ramakrishna commended him as the only disciple to faithfully follow the instructions; for He is everywhere and it is impossible to do anything without His
Witness-ship.
Baba has proven the truth of this omniscience in many

of the personal contacts that he gives to devotees. Not a few are beaten with Baba's magic stick and given a reason for each blow. Many are the sins of which devotees thought they had
private knowledge and for which they have been punished at personal contact.

Parama Shiva: The nucleus of the entire cosmic cycle; Puruso'ttama.

Paramatman: I. The Supreme Soul; that Cosmic Soul whose reflection forms each unit soul; the ultimate knower of the Cosmic Mind. The Supreme Soul is like a light bulb brightly
burning in a room. In one comer of the room a holy man is reading scriptures. In another corner a criminal is forging checks. The light shines on both equally brightly, allowing both to
perform their tasks, but completely unaffected by the task of either. 2. The name for purosottama as He relates

both individually [Prota-yoga) and collectively [ota-yoga) to all unit entities and souls.

Para' Shanti: The state of absolute peace, resulting from the balance of the three qualifying principles of Prakriti; that state of Brahma in which Prakriti remains dormant. [Shanti: Peace.]

paravidya': Knowledge of the Great. [ Vid: knowledge.

Parikranti: One complete round of the Social Cycle, in scheduled order, together with its recommencement. The Cycle is made up of the four primary classes and rulers of
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society. The first group to control society are the workers [shudras]. These people are influenced by objects and eventually become the slaves of the objects. Due to clash among these
people, leaders emerge with a warrior class [ksatriyas] to support them. These people, who enjoy objects by conquering them, generally establish a monarchy. Eventually they become
tyrants and a new clash ensues, frorn which the next dominating class is born. These are the intellectuals [vipras], the priests and ministers. Once they begin exploiting, they force the rise
of the last part of the cycle, the capitalists [vaeshyas]. As production increases under the vipras, those with a tendency to accumulate become society's leaders. They enjoy the
accumulation of an object rather than the object itself. The maximum exploitation occurs under the rule of this class, thus bringing on the revolution. Once the workers reacquire power at
the end of the revolution, the cycle has recommenced and the Parikranti is complete.

Society is always evolving through these four stages. Eventually, however, there will be a subtle change, a new class of leaders, moralist-intellectuals [sadvipras] will arise. Not actually
leaders themselves, they shall remain off to one side to insure that the ruling class, whichever of the four it may be, will not be an exploiting one.

Pa'shas: One of eight fetters which bind the unit to the mundane world: 1. hatred 2. doubt 3. fear 4. shame 5. censure 6. attachment 7. vanity of culture 8. false sense of prestige. [Pa'shas:
cattle, kine, any tethered animal.]

Passion: Attraction for mundane objects, not only those which are sexual; a characteristic of all units, linked to the drive for self-preservation, for it causes the unit to become attached to
crude, subtle, and causal factors, and to the drive for
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happiness; desire for attaining happiness. Called Kama in Sanskrit.

payu: Anus

penance: Service to others, even at one's own personal sacrifice.

perception: The recognition by the unit Ahamtattva of a vibration picked up through the gateways of the organs by

the different nerves or with the help of internal secretions (as the ear fluid) which reaches appropriate parts of the brain and causes the citta (mental plate) to vibrate sympathetically, thus
internally reproducing the external stimuli.

Personality: The composite of the physical body, the mental body, and the spiritual or supramental body.

Policy: The sum total of ways and means that are needed for materialising a principle.

Praja'pati Brahma: 1. The Lord of evolved objects; the

controller of all created entities. 2. Brahma as the creator. Every infant's birth is but His remanifestation.

Pra'jina: 1. Purusa as witness of the unit's Kamamaya Kosa. 2.

Omniscient soul, but not identical to the Turiiya state (see)-, the root of all, the giver of all inspiration, the cause of the existential ratification of the world (without its witness-ship, the
world would not exist for the unit).

Prakriti: 1. That attribute or characteristic of Purusa which gives form to the formless, materiality to the immaterial,

finiteness to the Infinite, time to the eternal; the omni-active entity whose dharma (nature) is variety. 2. The operative force; cosmic energy; the controller of activity and thought, as
opposed to the witnesser of such activity and thought. 3.

The collection of the three qualifying forces; sattva, rajah, and tamah. (see) 4. The unmanifested form of Maya (see) (Pra-Karoti-its: force creating kinds.]
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Pralaya: The merger of an object in its cause, such as the Citta merging into the Ahamtattva.

Pra'n'a: Power or Energy which exists more or less in all objects or elements, although its expression has not taken place or does not take place in them in equal proportion. 2. The
collective of exterial (circumferenceseeking) and interial (center-seeking) forces within each unit body. 3. One of the ten vayus (airs), whose jurisdiction in the body is between the navel
point and the vocal chords and whose function is the regulation of inhalation and exhalation; an internal vayu (see).

Pranah: 1. Vital energy, created within every object whose center-seeking forces predominate over the circumferenceseeking ones, thus bringing about the formation of a stabilizing
nucleus; a blind force, devoid of intellect.

At the embryonic stage, the foetus draws the vital energy from the vital forces of his parents and thereafter from the residue of vital secretions and blood-forming properties of his
mother's food; after birth he draws directly from his own food, drink, light, air, etc. Hence the source of the life of the unit lies in all the Brahma around him.

The receptive power of Pranah is greatly increased in a calm body, calm mind and calm organ and its retentive power wanes drastically during physical or mental restlessness. 2. The
collective name of the ten vital airs (Vayus).

Pran'ava: That which takes one to the Supreme rank: for the individual the ista mantra (see); for the universe, Onunkara (A UM). 2. An ideal devotee; one who worships Him in an
excellent manner. [Pra + nu + al. Nu: to worship.]

Pra'naya'ma: 1. A yogic lesson which produces a state of mental pause, allowing the paused unit mind to merge into the ocean of consciousness and providing the experience of the suPra'

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mental stratum. 2. That which gives control of the pranendriya.

[Yacchati: stopping.]

pranendriya: The sixth organ, beyond the ears, eyes, nose, tongue, and skin which correlates the activity of the 10

Indriyas, compiling sense perceptions. Located in the yogic heart (The Anahata Cakra) it enables the nerves to flow within its own pattern of flow. All of its activities are

pulsative, contracting and expanding (Indriya: organ.]

pranasha: Total destruction, in the sense of an object merging

into its cause and ceasing to exist in its original sense. See Pralaya.
Prasad: 1. Holy food 2. Food dedicated to Brahma 3. Food given as a gift to devotees, as during a Kirtan (see). An offering returned to a devotee by Paramapurusa, after the devotee had
made an offering to Him.

Prati-Saincara: 1. The movement of Creation from the ultimate in crudity (solid-the final creation of the Saincara process) to the ultimate in subtlety (Purusottama). 2. The synthetic
center-seeking (intoversal) half of the Brahmacakra cycle

(cycle of Creation). 3. The movement of creation from multiple units back to the singular Supreme. The creation of "animated" beings is the beginning of the process. [Prati: counter.
Saincara: movement.]

Prati-Viplava: The return of the social cycle to an earlier Position, usually due to the application of a great force; counter-revolution, which is much less lasting than counterevolution.

Pratyabhijinia: Awareness or consciousness of the underlying identity of a unit; suppose, for example, that you have not seen a Youth since he was a young child; although he will be
greatly changed you will be able to recognize him as Richard Ziegler because of his underlying identity. Your recognition
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is Pratyabhijina! This recognition occurs first in the subconscious mind and is then brought to the conscious mind.
Pravritti: A request from the divine which is only valid if greater devotion of His Guidance along the path are the goals sought. Requests for mundane or supermundane (intellectual) mat-
ters presuppose that He does not provide us with all the necessities; but He is like a mother who insures that her child has all that he may ever need. Requests for money, fame, cure for
disease, or the like are thus very displeasing to the Divine. What we think are personal shortcomings are actually the requittal of previous actions and thoughts, the experience of which
is necessary for progress along the path.
Preya: A temporary pleasure or relief which distracts from the spiritual goal. A finite, temporal entity gained through the sense organs which is an accessory to mental enjoyment only and
does not serve as a means of self-expression or expansion of one's soul. Preya is of two kinds: Priyabhava (Endearing Sentiment) and Priyarupa (Endearing Features). Priyabhava is the
sentimental attachment to an object rather than to its intrinsic value; for example an attachment to paper money in itself rather than for its utilitarian value. (Lit. meaning
"Pleasure-idea"). Priyarupa is the attraction to superficial charm and glittering, attraction to a woman's physical beauty rather than to her devotion to the Supreme. (Lit. meaning ~4
pleasure-form") Antonym: Shreya (see)
Prema, Divine Love; attraction for the soul and the whole rather than for the body and fragmented parts:
Passion is ego-centric incline
Passion Divine is Love Divine
Passions aim is self-gratification
Passion for Bliss is Love's inspiration. (Caetanya Caritamita.)

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Prakriti: 1 . Prakriti unmanifested; when manifested she is principle known as Energy. 2. That which aims at tracing out the nature and goal of the mode of life of individuals and society.
3. Spirit of a theory. 4. A fundamental foundation which if varied would alter a theory.
Problem: That which causes a yearning, an uneasiness, in the psychic sphere. There are two primary types: empirical and transcendental.
Empirical problems are those which originate in the mind and can be solved by analytical processes.
Transcendental problems are those whose solutions are beyond the precincts of mind. These solutions can be attained by intuitional sadhana alone.

For example, an atom's release of heat and energy is an empirical problem which a scientist can explain. But to the why of the atom and its property the scientist must be silent.
This is a transcendental problem whose solution can be found only by becoming one with the Transcendental Self, which is both the fundimental cause and stuff of the universe.
Progress: 1. Rhythmic march towards the Infinite Entity 2. Well directed movement. [Pro: forward. Gradi: to move.]
Prota Yoga: 1. Purusottama as the witnesser of the collectivity of unit minds; occurs during the Prati-Saincara process. 2. Purusottama as witnesser of the Cosmic Mind, occurs duririg
the Saincara process. 3. The yoga of pervasive assocation. See Ota yoga. [Pra+uta: Sewed.]
PROUT: A new economic theory designed to correlate and U'lifY man's physical, mental, and spiritual needs. [Progressive, Utilization Theory.)

Psychic Dilation: An expansion in volume and mass of the mind 'hich results from: 1. physical force, created by physical clash, 2. psychic force, created by psychic clash and 3.
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spiritual force, created by longing for the Great. The quantum of dilation depends directly on the proximity to Supreme Consciousness. As it gets closer to Purusottama, the mind
acquires more and more potentiality for multilateral ,activities.
Pulsation: The combination of pause and movement. Every movement is pulsative, both in the physical and intellectual spheres. Ordinarily the pulsation is not perceptible in the physical
sphere. A stage of pause in the intellectual sphere is called intellectual liberation, for the mind is no longer driven to find answers but can develop the answer it has discovered.
Punishment: A Moral lesson from the Divine, the purpose of which is to teach men to keep away from harmful actions.
Pura'na's: A collection of books which relate the stories of Hindu mythology so that people may simply and entertainingly learn spiritual philosophy.
Purashcavan: Awakening of kula-kundalinii.
Purusottama: 1. The Witnessing Entity of the entire creation; the controlling Nucleus of Creation; the central point of the triangle of forces from which Creation emanates and which links
the mid-points of the qualifying triangle. 2. The culminating point of the Prati-Saincara movement. 3. Best or greatest Purusa. [Ottama: best.]
Purus'a: The Supreme Being of the universe; the supreme consciousness from which all of Creation is derived; the supreme witness of the entire Creation; the cognitive faculty; when a
pure state, unbound by Prakriti, known as Pararnapurus'a.
Quinquelemental: Pertaining to the five fundamental factors Of space, air, fire, water, and earth.
Raga: Attraction, when for finite objects, is known as A Isakti; when for the Infinite, it is known as Bhakti. [Raga:

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attachment, the act of coloring or dyeing, red color, any feeling or passion.]
Rajaguna: See Mutative Force.
Rajasic: Of or pertaining to the mutative principle (rajaguna); that which is active or changing. See food.
Rama: 1. A fighter of Avidya, ignorance. 2. Hero of the Indian epic poem, Ramayana; not an actual historical figure. [Rama: causing rest; pleasing, charming.]
Rasa: The state of food after it is mixed with digestive fluids. [Rasa: sap or juice; any liquid; best or prime part.]
Rasa'Sadhana: The state of merging one's own mental wave into the cosmic mental wave. [Rasa': moisture, name of a mythical stream supposed to flow around the earth and
atmosphere.]
Rebirth: The re-establishment of a parallelism between a bodiless mind and a physical embryo, determined by the vibrations of both in accordance with samskara (see).
Relative Truth: Truth which is dependent upon or varies with time, space and person. See Absolute Truth. Known in Sanskrit as Apeksika Satya.
Riddhi: Success.
Religion: Any of several systems which codify the teachings of realized men, and which are usually 99% superstition, cemented by dogma. An approach towards spirituality which
suppresses rationality, dividing rather than unifying men, replacing practical cult of the Self with superficial ritual.
Renunciation: The spirit of detachment; the practice of living in the world as a referee at a great match, maintaining hearth and home but not becoming attached to them; one is like the
einerna-goer who laughs and cries at all the appropriate places but is always aware that the picture is celluloid.
Rs'is: One who hastens the advancement of human civilization
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by inventing or discovering new and good aids through his spiritual meditation. [Rish from dris: to see.]

Rta: Truth (relative); the statement of facts, without thought to their consequences. Compare with Satya. [Ritam; to go the right way; be pious or virtuous.]

Rudra: The God of thunder, name for Brahma when He, as our friend, saves us from the jaws of calamaties by virtue of His affectionate and tender touch. 2. He who makes you weep or
shed tears. [ Rud: weeping, howling. I

Sada'shiva: One Who is always absorbed in Supreme Conscious. ness rather than the mundane world. [Sad: seat, dwelling, abode. Svi: in whom all things lie.]

Sadguru: True Spiritual Preceptor. See Guru. [Sadas+guru.)

Sadhaka: One who practices sadhana (meditation); intuitional practicer.

Sadhana: 1. Meditation; spiritual practice; the fullest expression of love for Him. There are four stages: a. Yatamana in which mental propensities are redirected from mundane desires
toward Citta, creating mental conflict. There is also social conflict, resulting from the efforts of relatives and friends to dissuade the sadhaka from a path they fear may lead to asceticism
and other-worldliness. b. Vyatierka. The propensities are directed from the Citta to the Ahamtattva. Difficulties have diminished and occasional bliss is glimpsed. Relatives and friends
are somewhat reconciled. c. Ekendriya: The upward movement from Ahamtattva to Mahattattva. The sadhaka gains control over some single propensity or organ which results in occult
power. (Eke: one. Indriya: organ). d). Vashiika'ra, the propensities are directed from the Mahattattva to the one original Ultimate Self. All propensities are under control. Worldly friends
and relatives desert one as if already dead.

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2. The gradual process whereby the unit consciousness is absorbed into the Cosmic Consciousness or the individual entity into the Collective Entity.
3. That process by which the subtle and crude portions of unit mind can connect themselves with the subtle and crude portions of the Cosmic Mind. If milk is poured into a river, the milk
dissolves into the water and loses its identity. If milk is first churned into butter and then placed into the water, the butter will float on the surface. Sadhana is the process by which the
mind is churned, allowing one to remain in the river of the world without losing one's Divine Identity. [Siddh: to try.]

Sadvipra: 1. A spirtuo-moralist sadhaka who wants to put an end to sin and vice in society by the application of proper jurisdiction and to bring the society to its proper stance of aiding
each of its members to achieve Divine Realization. 2. A staunch adherent of Yama and Niyama who aspires towards realization of Supreme Self, while recognizing the need to help
everyone achieve that goal-, recognizable by his conduct, devotion to service, dutifulness, and moral integrity [Sadh: to go straight to any goal or aim; successful; promote.]

Sadrisha Parin'a'ma: The sequence of curvatures emanating from the triangle of creation. Each succeeding curve is not necessarily the same wave-length as the preceding one. In fact, the
difference goes on increasing, as the wavelength continues to decrease. Just as a son often closely resembles his father but looks little like his grandfather, so does curvature change with
succeeding "generation". [Sadrsha: like, resembling, similar to.]

Saguna Brahma: That portion of Brahma (consciousness) under the bondage of the three qualifying principles of Prakriti; the
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Sama'na: The internal Vayu located in the navel area, the function of which is the maintenance of a balance between pra'n'a' (the vayu responsible for inhalation and exhalation) and
Apana (the vayu responsible for the movement of urine and stool.)

Sanigita: A song accompanied by instrumentation. See bhajan, gita, and kirtan.

Sambhuti: In Tantra a name given to the whole creation. [Sam: with. Bhuti: factor of existence.]

Sam'kalpa'tmaka: One of the two vrittis controlled by the Pituitary gland which inspires the mind to seek the Great; the vritti leading to Paravidya' (knowledge of the Great).
[Samkalpatmaka: consisting of will or volition; resolve.]

Sa'ma'nyadeha: 1. The collective name for Mahattattva and Ahamtattva 2. The supra-causal body (the body between the Hiranyamaya Kosa and the unit's merger in Purusottamaa)

Samskara: 1. Consequential action necessitated by a previous thought or action, either of this or a previous life. Each thought or action is like a seed sown in the mind, changing the mind
from its original stance and necessitating a reaction (the young shoot or plant) in order to return to a state of equilibrium, Samskara is the necessary reaction; the reactive Momenta of the
mind. 2. That which determines a unit's individuality; the reactive momenta carry over from one lifetime to the next, determining the wave-length of the body that the mind shall next
inhabit as well as determining the situation of the unit (such as family life, country, religion, skin color, health or deformities: inherited samskara). Samshara acquired newly in this life
are called "acquired saniskara." [Samskara: putting together.]

Saniskrita': Ancient language of India, serving as the root of 'Ontemporary Asian languages as well as contemporary

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state of Purus'a in which He is bound by Prakriti; that part of Brahma from which all of Creation springs. [Sa: with. Guna: bondage.]

Sahaiata-Samskaras: Samskaras created by oneself in one's present life, as opposed to samskaras inherited from one's past life or acquired from one's environment. [Sahajata: born
together, or at the same time; innate.]

Sahasr'ara Cakra: The topmost and most supreme Cakra (vibrational center), located in the pineal gland at the center and top of the head and known as the abode of Shiva because control
over this cakra gives Nirvikalpa Samadhi (the most supreme stance of absorption). Also called the "thousandpetalled lotus" because it controls the 50 vrittis both internal and external
(50x2=100), in all the ten directions (100x10=1,000). Located ten fingers above the Ajina Cakra.

Saincara: Cosmic movement from subtle to crude; the movement of Creation from the single, Infinite Entity, from Purusottama (the nucleus of Saguna Brahma) to the many, finite
entities, to solid (the crudest manifestation of Cosmic Consciousness). The centrifugal movement in which Purusa becomes more and more bound by the gunas (attributes) of Prakriti.
The first half of the Brahmacakra cycle. See Prati-Saincara. (Saincara: movement.]
Sa'lokya: The first realization on the path to the Supreme, giving the sadhaka the feeling that the Lord is within him rather than external and far away.

Samadhi: 1. Absorption; used in Ananda Marga philosophy to indicate absorption or merger into the Cosmic Entity; caused by the unit's wave length becoming parallel to the Cosmic
One and producing a feeling of bliss in the unit; the state of

total equilibrium of the unit entity; suspension of mind. [Sam: to put together; join; union; completion.)
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European ones. The only perfect language, created by ancient Tantric yogis from a language brought to India by the Aryans. Each sound vibrates sympathetically with the object or
concept to which it refers; for example the word for "white" creates a sympathetic vibration with that created by the color white. [Samskrita': put together well; completely or perfectly
formed.]

Sarnkrarna: Saincara. [Samkrama: passing away.]

Sarn'vega: Momentum, acquired either directly from the Cosmic "I" (moving undeveloped plants and animals of the journey of Prati-Saincara) or by the ego of the unit mind. [Samvega:
violent agitation, excitement, flurry.]

Samyag: Correct

Sarn'yarna: Regulated conduct; restraint or control over the senses or organs, but not their annihilation. Restraint is not equivalent to extermination or murder, but indicates the judicious
use or application of impulses. The charioteer pulls the rein of the horses; he does not kill them. Killing the horses will only make the chariot immobile. [Samyati: to become calm or
tranquil; extinguished; fade away.]

Sannyasin: The system of religious medicancy; a monk. Literally one who is devoted to truth.

Santos'a: The second principle of Niyama (see); mental ease, contentment.

Saru'pa Parin'a'ma: The mutual exchange or transformation of the three forces (sentient, mutative, static) into each other. The conversion involves no bondage and though the sentient is
penetrating into the mutative, the mutative into the static and so on, there is perfect balance. The balanced Prakriti is addressed simply as Prakriti without any adjective. [Sa: with. Rupa:
form.]

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Sarva: All, as in the sense of all creation. [A combination of sa, the accoustic root for sattuic guna; ra, the root for energy, and va, the root for characteristics or property.]
Sarvatomukhan: The all-witnessing entity.

Sat-Karya-bada: The law which says that every effect is inherent to the situation in which it arises or that every effect exists in potentiality; for example, oil can be obtained from peanuts
or sesame seeds, but not from sand, for it exists in potentiality in the oil seeds but not in the sand.

Sat: That which undergoes no change; hence the Transcendental Entity; commonly erroneously translated as "Existence".

Sa'tishaya: Any of the innumerable finite entities.

Satsaunga: The keeping of good company, both externally (maintaining social relationships which are uplifting and conducive to liberation) and internally (maintaining the thought of
Him throughout the day, even while engaged in worldly activities). [Satsaunga: being with good people.]

Sattvaguna: 1. The sentient attribute; the most subtle of the three qualifying attributes of Prakriti; that bondage which gives to Purusa the sense that 'I exist' by creating the Cosmic
Mahattattva, and which also creates the unit Mahattattva, also giving the sense that 'I exist'. 2. The principle which controls the area of the vocal chords in the unit. Also called "Sentient
principle".

SaUvic: Of or pertaining to the sentient qualifying principle (sattvaguna); that which is sensing, knowing, or conscious; of or pertaining to the mind. See food.

Satya: 1. Truth (Absolute) 2. That which is intransmutable i.e., that which has no distortion and which is immune from Spatio-temporal-personal distinctions. 3. The proper
discriminative application of words and mind for the benefit of others; part of the moral code, yama. 4. Cidsvarupa, the
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characteristic consciousness of Purus'a. [Satya: true, real, actual, genuine, sincere.]

Satyaloka: The highest level of cosmic mind, having no equivalent in unit mind, the transcendental world, unchanging and unchangeable; causal body.
Savikalpa Samadhi: The state in which the sadhaka's (medita. tor's) unit mind is merged into the Cosmic mind, as opposed to Nirvikalpa Samadhi, in which unit consciousness is merged
into Cosmic Consciousness; the state in which Mahattattva is all-pervasive. (Kalpa: action. Savi: without alternative. Samadhi: absorption.]
Senselessness: A cessation of the functioning of the nerve cells, due to physical or mental deformity, which causes the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious minds to cease
functioning.
Sentient Pause of a wave: The point at which the upward movement is finally exhausted and the wave is about to start the downward movement; corresponds to "crest" in the physical
sciences.
Sentient: An occupation of the mind.
Service: 1. Acting appropriately with all created objects and beings. 2. One of the positive and tangible parts of spiritual practice in which one views the served as N&ray&na (The Lord).
3. Doing good to others as silently as the spring nourishes and revivifies life.
Setu:: Service of which there are two expressions: a. internal (Antaka) service rendered to Him by constantly ideating upon Him. b. external (Vahyika) physical, intellectual, economic, or
spiritual aid given to His various manifestations without any thought of reward.
Shadha: The state of sound as a psychic wave; occurs in the unit mind prior to utterance.

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Shiva: 1. The name given to Purusa when surrounded by the triangle of qualifying Principles, just prior to the issuance of Creation from one of the vertices. 2. Witnessing consciousness;
ocean of consciousness. Antonym jiiva (see) [Shiva: lying prone: witness. I
Shiva'n'ii: The name given to Prakriti as the creator of the triangle of qualifying principles which surround Shiva (Purusa). The difference betwen Shiva and Shivanii is merely
theoretical, for no actual manifestation has yet occurred.
Shaoca: The first principle of Niyama: cleanliness in the external sphere (body, home, etc.) and the mental sphere.
Shelter: 1. Refuge in Him. 2. The merger of the unit ego into the Cosmic; total self-surrender to the Supreme.
Shreya: 1. Beginningless and endless bliss; the omni-refulgent indivisible essence of the soul. 2. The blissful spirit towards which the sadhaka directs his mind and body in order to purify
his being.
Shu'dra: One of the four components of the social order: the toiling masses; laborers. See Parikranti.
Shrudrocita Seva: Physical service performed without desire for reward.
Shukra: The final essence of food, composed of lymph, sperm, and seminal fluid.
Shakti: 1. Another name for Prakriti (see) 2. Energy.
Shambu: The vortex of the triangle of qualifying principles, from which Purusa issues, beginning Creation. Also called Shambu Liunga,

Siddhi: 1. Attainment of the Supreme; that state in which the unit transcends his unit identity and becomes one with the Infinite; perfection; beatitude. 2. One of eight occult powers,
gained as the unit passes through his cakras (vibrational centers): a. anima': ability to become small in size or to view
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microscopic objects in full detail. b. mahima': ability t. expand in size or in space, viewing the far reaches of the universe. c. laghima': ability to offset the forces of gravity Or to make
one's body lighter than air. d. garima': the ability to increase one's weight, increasing gravitation, making it impossible to move. e. prapti: the ability of transporting oneself anywhere,
instantly, or of gaining something merely by reaching out and having it appear. f. prakamya: the ability of having every wish fulfilled, as well as the ability of becoming visible or
invisible. 9. isatva: the ability to create or nullify by thought. h. vasitva: the ability to control all creatures and elements (such as wind and rain). [Siddh: to be accomplished.]

Sleeping: That state in which the conscious and subconscious minds are dormant, with only the unconscious mind remaining active. A temporary cessation of conscious and subconscious
minds due to excessive physical and mental labor which fatigued the nerve cells and fibers. All ten Vayus remain undisturbed.

Sloka: A proverb-like verse which forms the basic unit of the ancient Sanskrit scriptures.

Once a Sanskrit scholar well-versed in thousands of slokas appeared at a darshan of Baba's. This scholar was an arrogant man, proud of his learning and mind. When Baba called him
"My boy" in darshan, asking him to stand up, he was appalled that someone could address him so meanly. When Baba asked if he could speak Sanskrit, the haughtY scholar was still
further appalled. As Sanskrit poured forth from his veins, such a question seemed to belittle his greatness. Finally Baba asked him to recite a Sloka to those assembled. But when the
scholar opened his mouth, no sound issued forth. Again Baba asked him to recite a sloka, any
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sloka. "Speak a sloka from the Gita, from the Vedas; any sloka shall do." But still no sloka came forth- Then Baba picked up his stick and touched the Sanskrit-filled vocal chords of the
scholar, explaining to the devotees that the

chords were being transformed into those of a young calf. The man bleated with the sound of a calf calling for its

mother. With another touch of the stick, the Sanskrit-filled tongue barked like a dog. Finally Baba returned human speech to the now ego-diminished scholar and asked him once again to
recite a sloka. Instantly the man responded with:

Guru Brahma. Guru Vishnu Guru Devo Mahesvarah

Guru eva Parama Brahma
Tasmae Shrii Gurave Namah
Guru, the Creator, Guru, the Preserver
Guru, God of Destruction Guru

that very Absolute Supreme Entity

To that Beloved Guru I offer salutations.
This ancient sloka forms the last stanza of the "Guru Puja" ("Worship of the Guru" learned at one of the initiations and sung after sadhana.)

Smaran'a: Recollection; one of the primary capacities of the Manomaya Kosa.

Social Cycle: The cyclical movement of the reigns of social control from Shudra to Ksatriya to Vipra to Vaeshya and lack to Shudra (worker to warrior, to intellectual to capitalism back
to worker) See Parikranti.

Soul: see Atman

Special: Extra, as opposed to especial, which mean particular.

Spirit: The philosophy which brings about the realization of the

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Absolute: the sadhana (meditation[) which leads toward the oneness of spirit.

Static Pause of a Wave: The point where the downward mocion of a wave is ended and upward movement is about to start; called "trough" in the physical sciences.
Static Principle: One of the three imminent principles of Prakriti, responsible from transforming the "Doer I" (Ahamtattva) into the "Done F', or "I have done" Citta. That which leads to
inertness.

Stuti: The praising of ParamaPurus'a. [Stuti + ktin: to praise to the very face.]

Sthirabhu'rni: The apperceptive plate of the Citta; the point to which external vibrations (tanmatras) are transmitted for reproduction after passing through the organs and brain. The more
control one has over his pranah (vital energy), the stronger and wider shall be this plate and thus the greater shall be its powers of retention. [Sthir'a: firm, hard, steady.]

Sthu'la Deha: The Annamaya Kosa of the unit, which is its crude body. [Sthula: large, coarse, gross. Deha: body.]

Sthu'la Manah: That portion of the unit mind which deals with the external physical world. Also called Kamamaya Kosa.

Subliminal Cosmic Mind: See Vijinananmaya Kosa.

Subsidiary Glands: Glands other than the pineal and pituitary.

Subtle Body: The five kosas of the mind.

Suicide: Self-murder brought about when one believes that he cannot find any pleasure in the physical or mental realms of existence.

Sukha: Pleasure; a state in which the mind likes to remain. [Sukh: to make happy, please, delight, rejoice, comfort.]

Su'ks'ma Manah: Subtle mind or Manamaya Kosa. [Suksma: minute, small, fine.]

Supra-Causal Body: Collective name for Ahamtattva and Mahat

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tattva. Also called Samanyadeha.

Sutreshvara: Name for Him as the controller which unites the entire world as on a thread, as pearls are united by a necklace thread; the unifying quality which maintains the
"individuality" of each unit. [Sutra: thread. Iishvara: controller.]

Svabha'va: Characteristic or nature. [Sva: own. Bha'va: idea.] Sva-Dharma: Dharma (nature) of man to practice spiritual meditation.
Svaldhya'ya: One of the principles of Niyama: working to have a clear understanding of the significance of any spiritual

subject by reading or listening to discourse, the scriptures, etc.

Svar'loka: Subtle mental world; a level of the cosmic mind equivalent to the Manomaya Kosa of the unit. In this level lies the seed of the Cosmic Desire to create. [Loka: region.]

Svarupa-Parinama: 1. The force which transforms the multitudinous polygonal shapes created by the three qualifying principles (gunas) during the state of Nirguna Brahma into the
stable triangular form from which creation can eventually emerge; Homomorphic Evolution. 2. The state of the triangle of gunas when each guna is constantly flowing into the next;
existing prior to the static state from which creation bursts forth.

Svarasa: 1. An individual's own flow. 2. The average mental wave-length of an individual. [Rasa: flow.]

Svayambhu Liunga: The ultimate point of manifestation, the

Point at which the force of Prakriti is greatest, hence the ultimate state of crudity. Antonym: Shambhu Liunga.

Taejasa: Purusa as witness of the subtle mind (Manomaya Kosa). [Tejas: light.]

Tarnasic: Of or pertaining to the static qualifying principle (tamoguna); that which is inert. See food. [Tamas: darkness,

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gloom. I

Tamoguna: See Static.

Tandra': Drowsiness.

Tanmatra: 1. Characteristic wave reflection of objects that enable sensory and super-sensory perception (see). 2. A microscopic fraction of a bhu'ta, carried by waves. [Tat: that; Ma'tra:
minutest quantity.]

Tantra: A scientific approach which is transcendental in nature and which leads to the realization of the Ultimate Truth. Morality is the base; intuition is the means; life-divine is the goal.
The objective of Tantra is the awakening of the kulakundalinii (see) which lies dormant in the lowest and crudest cakra (vibrational center) and unifying it with the supreme
consciousness whose abode is in the highest and subtlest cakra. First introduced by Lord Shiva 6,700 years ago. [Tantra: lit. that science which liberates man from the bondage of Tan
(the world); leading, principle, or essential part, system, or framework.]
Tapah: One of the principles of Niyama: the practice of penance; selfless service. The practicer recognizes that the served is not a finite man but is Brahma Himself, and thus is thankful
for the opportunity to perform service.

Tapahloka: One of the highest levels of Cosmic Mind, the seat of devotion, whose equivalent in the unit mind is the Hiranyarnaya Kosa.

Taraka Brahma:: 1. When Brahma takes on the role of liberator, He is Taraka and is said to reside at the tangential point between Nirguna and Saguna Brahma, capable of fulfilling the
functions of both. 2. The consciousness which bridges the empirical state of Saguna and the metaempirical state Of Nirguna; the bridge between idea and that which is beyond idea
(beyond the range of human knowableness). 3. The

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bridge between Absolute World and the relative world. It is only by the grace of Taraka Brahma that we can drop this limited unit-ego and become that Cosmic Ego and attain the final
stance of salvation, Nirvikalpa Sarnadhi. See Maha'Sambhuti. [Taraka: liberator.]

Tathastha: One who follows morality but who does not perform sadhana; therefore considered to be on the coast; there is no guarantee that he will not do evil in the future and fall into
the water. [Tatha: coast. Stha: standing.]

Tathya: Fact.

Teaching: The sharing of spiritual knowledge. Baba says, "Teach others the spiritual knowledge you have gained and instill in them the earnestness for treading on the path of virtue, and
then only will you justify your existence as a social creature. "

Tejastattva: Luminous factor; the third fundamental factor (bhuta) on the physical level, capable of carrying sound,

touch, and vision waves.

Telephathic Waves: The reflection of the unit's mental waves on his Soulplate (Atman).

Thought: Mental waves or vibrations.

Time: The mental measurement of the dynamism of action. A relative factor.

Triangular Receptacle: The form which is created when the

three fundamental principles of Prakriti (sattva, rajah and tamah) are in equipose and which is a prerequisite condition for the beginning of Creation.
Trikuti: 1. The junction of the two eyebrows and the ridge of the nose. 2. The seat of the conscious mind; location of the Ajina Cakra. [Tri: Three. Kuti: hills, formed by the two eyebrows
and the nose.]
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Turiiya: The fourth state of mind after wakefullness, drearfl, and sleep in which the influence of Prakriti is absent; the state of non-duality. [Turiiya: consisting of four parts.]

Turiiya Brahma: 1. A state of Brahma free of all attributes; 2. Brahma in His intransmutable form, which exists behind and supports all phenomena. 3. Shiva. 4. The One.

Uda'na: One of the internal ten vayus, controlling the vocal chords and voice and located in the throat.

Ugra: Merciful; He who upholds the world through the media of creation, preservation, and destruction, and by Whose strearn of mercy the Creation continues to go its rounds, surviving
the cycle of destructions, from time immemorial.

UMA: 1. Prakriti. 2. Formed from the transposition of the A in AUM. Whereas AUM represents the sounds of creation, preservation, and destruction, respectively, UMA begins with
preservation (because the world's have always been and always are) and ends with creation (because new worlds are constantly being created). Destruction comes in the middle because
death is part of what is, but is not the end of the all. Creation, the universe, shall never die, because it is constantly being recreated. UMA is a tantric rather than a yogic concept.

Unconscious Mind: The collective name of t e three subtlest kosas: Atimanas,

Vijinanamaya, and Hiranyamaya. Also called "causal" or "astral" mind.

Unification: A combining of two or more elements so that they merge into one element, as sugar dissolves in water. The true desire of a spiritual aspirant is unification with the Supreme
Entity. Compare with Union.

Union:A combination of two or more elements such that each retains its separate identity, as the mixture of sand and sugar.

Unit consciousness: See Atman.

Unit Mental Plate: See Mind.

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Upanis'ad: That which attains the proximity of Brahma. 2. A

collection of Hindu scriptures.

Usufructuary right: The right of use but not of exclusive

ownership.
Vaeragya: Renunciation of all sensual pleasures; detachment
towards finite objects; the discipline whereby the mind
remains uninfluenced by the attraction for worldly objects.

Vaeshvanara: See Virata.

Vaeshya: One of the four classes in the social cycle; the

capitalists. See Para-Kranti.

Vaeshyocita Seva: Service performed to humanity by rendering supplies, food, money, clothing, and the like.

Vanity: The sense or feeling that one is himself the doer of actions rather than the instrument of Brahma. When actions are performed for Brahma with the constant recognition that
Brahma is acting through oneself, such a feeling is called "sattvika vanity."

Varn'a: Color; caste.

Vasa': Fat; part of the process by which food is transformed into its final essence (Shukra).

Vayutattva: Aerial factor; the second fundamental factor created during the Saincara process, capable of carrying sound waves and touch waves.

Vedas: The collection of four treatises on spiritual knowledge. [Ved: to know something important.]

Vibhu: Another name for Brahma, in His sense of being the Eternal Being, without beginning and end.

Vidhehimanse: The bodiless mind that continues to exist after the death of the
body. [Vidheh: knowing. Manse: mind.]

Vidya: 1. Introvertive or spiritual force. 2. That force which leads the aspirant to greater proximity to the Supreme Consciousness. [Vidya: to know, understand, perceive.]
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Vidya'ma'ya': The force of Maya (creative faculty) which leads the aspirant back to Purusottarna (the Nucleus of Greation). Contrast Avidyamaya.

Vidya Shakti: Introversive force. Antonym: Avidya Shakti, [Shakti: power.]

Vijia: The point at which the resultant force bursts from the triangle of three qualifying principles, beginning Creation. At this point lies the innate desire of Creation. Also called
Ka'maviija.

Vijinanainaya Kosa: 1. The second portion of the unit's causal mind; the subliminal mind whose main function is the total perception of reality as opposed to the ordinary Perception
which only receives one eighth of the tanmatras (vibrations) transmitted. 2. The site of Absolute Perception of reality in the unit, where the unit becomes aware of the noncausal
noumenal reality existing as the subjective counterpart of the objective phenomena.

Viiram: Purus'ottarna in His role of braving every problem, and every condition of the universe by dint of His uncommon courage. With boldness He has been making decisions and
acting accordingly. [Viiram: brave.)

Vijina'na: Valid knowledge.

Vikalpa'maka:
1. The tendency of the mind towards the crude or mundane.
2. One of two chambers located at the pituitary. At midnight of each full moon, the pineal gland secretes a bliss-producing nectar which becomes ineffective if it passes through this
chamber but which produces a tremendous bliss if it passes through the other chamber provided that the sadhaka: a) has fasted on the fourth day before the full moon and b) is meditating
or thinking pure thoughts at midnight of the night of the full moon.

Vikranti: Counter/revolution of the social cycle; the return to

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an earlier social era by force. See Parakrant..

Vipaka: 1. Undergoing the consequences of one's good or bad deeds. 2. The return to balance of the mind after experiencing the consequences of one's deeds.

Viplava: The change from one era to the next by a greater application of force than would be necessary either for natural change or evolution.

Vipra: One of the four classes in the social order; the

intellectuals; intelligentsia. Also, a member of this class; an intellectual. [Vipra: stirred or excited inwardly; inspired; wise.]

Viprocita Seva: Service rendered to humanity by teaching spiritual knowledge and by instilling earnestness for treading the path of virtue.

Virata: The cognitive Purusa (Witness) of Brahma's Hiranyarnaya Kosa or Causal Cosmic Mind.
Vishva: The witnessing Purusa of the unit's unconscious mind; causal unit mind.

Visn'u or Vishnu: Brahma as the sustainer and preserver of the created universe. [Visn'u: great; all-pervading.]

Vistara: 1. Mental expansion, part of man's Bhagavata Dharma (see). 2. The elimination of narrow identifications, replaced by cosmic identification.

Vritti: 1. A desire or occupation of mind, found in all animals, but increasing in number as the complexity of the animal increases. In humans there are fifty such desires which are
expressed internally (as when I desire to eat a good meal) and externally (as when 1 actually eat the meal). These desires furthermore express themselves in all ten directions (N, S, E, W,
NE, NW, SE, SW, up and down). Thus there are said to be one thousand vrittis all together in man, which are controlled
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by the thousand-petalled lotus of the highest cakra (Sahas. rara). The degree of intensity with which a vritti expresses itself depends upon the different glandular secretions of the body. 2.
A mental thought-wave which swirls about as a whirlpool, leaving the unit in a state of turmoil until something is done about it; not like a thought which flows into and out of the mind,
but a persistent swirling which maintains itself until some action resolves it. [Vritti: to encircle or encompass the mind. Vr + Ktin.)

Vya'na: One of the internal ten vayus, the function of which is the regulation of blood circulation and the maintenance of the afferent and efferent nerves.

Wakeful State: The crudest state of the soul, for in this state the mind apprehends tanmatras (vibrations) from the crude world, desires things relating to it, materializes these desires and
makes them explicit or extroversive. Its thought wave is also crudely materialistic. It thrives on the crude; i.e. the crude world is its pabulum. Moreover it thrives on the subtle as well, for
the source of all materialistic actions lies in the subtle mind, as the expriences of pleasure and pain occur only in the mental sphere. This crude cognizant state is sevenfold: the
quinquelemental (five-part) Citta, the Mahattattva, and the ego. It is also nineteen-faced: ten sensory and motor organs, five airs (Vayus) mind, fundamental intellect, ego, and Mu'la
Prakriti (primordial Prakriti in equilibrium).

Wave: See Tanmatra.

White Peace: Peace in which the good forces of society are prevailing over the evil forces. Also referred to as "satvika peace." Contrast black peace.

Wisdom: That state of mind in which man considers himself primarily as a soul (consciousness) which possesses a body. The state of man no longer bound by his ego to the bondages

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of time, space, and person. The state of a man who identifies his Self with his Cosmic Self, rather than with the limited ego.

Witnessing Entity: The collective name given to: ultimate

knowership, doership, and existence in the Atman.

vajina: Action; synonym of karma (see). There are four

varieties. a) Bhuta-yajina: those services rendered to any entity of the manifested world, such as the watering of trees, serving cattle, or undertaking scientific exploration. b) Nr-yajina:
man's action that is designated for human welfare. c) Pitr-yajina. reverently remembering ancestors and sages who provided the base for our current level of scientific knowledge and
material well-being. d) Adhya'tma-yaiina: the complete mental resignation to the service of the Lord in whatever form He appears through appropriate action, suited to that person, time,
and place.

Yama: 1. Any of the five moral abstinences: a. Ahimsa': non-injury by word, thought, or deed. b. Satya: discriminating truthfulness. c. Asteya: non-stealing and non-depriving of others of
their due. d. Brahmacarya: devotion to God, originally misinterpreted as celibacy. e. Aparigraha: non-indulgence in things which are superfluous to the maintenance of life. Compare
Niyama. 2. One of the eight limbs of yoga, dealing with the restraint of animal propensities. 3. The Hindu God of Death; in mythology, the Controller. [Yama: stopping.]

Yoga: The arrest and negation of all mental modifications simultaneously with the Supreme Union of the Purusottama and the unit mind. Comprised of eight limbs: a. Yama: abstinences.
b. Niyama: observances. c. Asanas: physical postures. d. - breath-control. e. Pratyahara: withdrawal of the mind from the senses. of. Dharana: concentration. one. Dhyana:
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meditation. h. Samadhi: absorption into the Supreme Consciousness. [Yoga: yoking; joining.]
Yogi: One who practices Yoga. Once a thief had crept into a king's palace at a busy time of the day and closeted himself in the king and queen's wardrobe, awaiting opportunity to steal
their jewels and valuables. Gradually his ears began to pick up on the conversation between the king and his wife. The wife was accusing her husband of devoting so much time to
matters of state that he had ignored his duties to his family. Her daughter had come of age and yet no marriage had been arranged for her. Vehemently she denounced the king for
failure of responsibility.
The king became incensed that anyone should speak to him in such a manner, so he angrily retorted that he would go out the next day and accost the first yogi that he would spy,
asking him to take his daughter's hand. Of course no one could be less appropriate for the husband of a princess than a landless, moneyless, shabbily-dressed ascetic. Thus was the
king's anger great indeed.
Meanwhile the thief was listening intently to the dialogue. He soon realized that the few valuables that he might steal this night would be nothing compared to the lifetime of
valuables that would be his were he to be the first yogi spied the next day by the king.
Thus when the king and queen finally fell asleep, rather than slipping a few of their possessions into his sack, the thief slipped off into the night.
The next day when the king set forth to fulfill his word and find a yogi, he happily noticed such a man sitting in meditation not far from the palace. Relieved that he hadn't to spend
hours or days in the quest, he immediately asked the yogi (who was actually the thief in disguise) to return

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with him to the palace.

Back at the palace feasting was begun in honor of the princess's husband-to-be. Such reverence was paid to the yogi, so many came over to wash his feet, that gradually the
realization came to him that if so much reverence was paid to a fake yogi, how much greater would be the honor experienced by a true yogi. Thus awakened he pulled off his fake beard
and hair and ran out of the palace and up to the mountains where he settled into serious meditation.

Yuga: Age.

Yugasamkranti: In the evolution of the social cycle, the link between the end of one era and the beginning of the next.
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Devadatta and Nandita (formerly Michael and Caren Weisglas) 'were initiated into Ananda Marga Yoga in October, 1969, in Carbondale, Illinois, where they had been working with
Bucky Fuller's Design Department on the World Game. Upon realizing that conscious designing of the world was the function of a consciously designed mind, they set off for the Ananda
Marga world headquarters in Ranchi, India, as yoga seemed to be one of the best systems for thoroughly and scientifically solving the problem of mind design and control. Six months in
Ranchi (September, 70 - February, 71) brought them into intimate contact with men and women who were living proof of the power and possibility of mind control and reversed their
previous conception that such control might lead to a complacency and indifference towards the world's problems. The Margiis of India were actively engaged in alleviating ,such of the
world's problems as those caused by natural disaster, poor education, or unavailability of basic survival needs.

After absorbing the presence and wisdom of the guru, as well as witnessing, helping in, and befriending the workers of the Society, they desired to return home and share with others
their. -first-hand experience. They are now speaking at public school classes of all ages, church groups, universities, drug abuse centers, teachers' conferences, and other interested
groups.

For additional copies contact Devadatta and Nandita c/o Miss Inez Dame 19 white Avenue St. James., New York 11780