Theos-Talk Archives (November 2004 Message tt00056)

Nov 8 2004

Dear Gopi:

Wish you and your study group every success.

I don’t know of 

“Sri-chakra written by Ganapathi Swamiji of Bangalore, India. We are
all
experiencing a great depth of mystic levels”

What is meant by “mystic levels?” I am curious, please.

Here is an article on GAYATRI that may prove useful:

----------------------------




A COMMENTARY ON THE GAYATRI 

Unveil, O Thou who givest sustenance to the Universe, from whom all proceed,
to whom all must return, that face of the True Sun now hidden by a vase of
golden light, that we may see the truth and do our whole duty on our journey
to thy sacred seat. - The Gayatri 


I have adopted a translation as above, which is excellent in its giving of
the meaning of this verse. What is the Gayatri? It is the sacred verse of
the Hindus and begins with Om, their sacred word and letter. Its first words
are: Om, Bhur, Bhuvah! 

The first word contains in it a declaration of the three periods of a
Manvantara and the three powers of that great Being who alone Is. Of a
manvantara it is the beginning, the middle, and the end, and the three
powers are Creation (or manifesting), Preservation (or carrying on), and
Destruction. The three first words, Om, bhur, bhurvah, draw attention to and
designate the three worlds. The whole verse is an aspiration in the highest
sense. Every Brahman at his initiation is further instructed in this verse,
but from giving that I am necessarily excused, as I cannot give it in a way
in which I have not received it. 

Unveil is the cry of the man who is determined to know the truth and who
perceives that something hides it from him. It is hidden by his own Karmic
effects, which have put him now where the brain and the desires are too
strong for the higher self to pierce through so long as he remains careless
and ignorant. The cry is not made to some man-made god with parts, passions,
and attributes, but to the Self above who seeth in secret and bringeth out
to light. It is directed to that on which the Universe is built and
standeth, - no other than the Self which is in every man and which sitteth
like a bird in a tree watching while another eats the fruit. 

>From this the whole Universe proceeds out into manifestation. The ancients
held that all things whatsoever existed in fact solely in the idea, and
therefore the practitioner of Yoga was taught - and soon discovered - that
sun, moon, and stars were in himself, and until he learned this he could not
proceed. This doctrine is very old, but today is adopted by many modern
reasoners. For they perceive on reflection that no object enters the eye,
and that whether we perceive through sight or feeling or any other sense
whatever all objects are existing solely in idea. Of old this was
demonstrated in two ways. 

First, by showing the disciple the actual interpenetration of one world by
another. As that while we live here among those things called objective by
us, other beings were likewise living in and among us and our objects and
therein actually carrying on their avocations, perceiving the objects on
their plane as objective, and wholly untouched by and insensible to us and
the objects we think so material. This is no less true today than it was
then. And if it were not true, modern hypnotism, clairvoyance, or
clairaudience would be impossible. This was shown by a second method
precisely similar to mesmeric and hypnotic experiments, only that to these
was added the power to make the subject step aside from himself and with a
dual consciousness note his own condition. For if a barrier of wood were
erected in the sight of the subject which he clearly perceived and knew was
wood, impervious to sight and an obstacle to movement, yet when hypnotised
he saw it not, yet could perceive all objects behind it which were hidden in
his normal state, and when he pressed against it thinking it to be empty air
and feeling naught but force, he could not pass but wondered why the empty
air restrained his body. This is modern and ancient. 

Clearly it demonstrates the illusionary nature of objectivity. The
objectivity is only real relatively, for the mind sees no objects whatever
but only their idea, and at present is conditioned through its own evolution
until it shall have developed other powers and qualities. 

The request made in the verse to unveil the face of the True Sun is that the
Higher Self may shine down into us and do its work of illumination. This
also spreads forth a natural fact unknown to moderns, which is that the sun
we see is not the true sun, and signifies too that the light of intellect is
not the true sun of our moral being. 

Our forefathers in the dim past knew how to draw forth through the visible
Sun the forces from the True one. We have temporarily forgotten this because
our evolution and descent into the hell of matter, in order to save the
whole, have interposed a screen. They say in Christian lands that Jesus went
into hell for three days. This is correct, but not peculiar to Jesus. 

Humanity is doing this for three days, which is merely the mystical way of
saying that we must descend into matter for three periods so immense in time
that the logarithm of one day is given to each period. Logarithms were not
first known to Napier, but were taught in the pure form of the mysteries,
because alone by their use could certain vast calculations be made. 

Which is now hidden by a vase of Golden Light. That is, the light of the
True Sun - the Higher Self - is hidden by the blood contained in the vase of
the mortal body. The blood has two aspects - not here detailed - in one of
which it is a helper to perception, in the other a hindrance. 

But it signifies here the passions and desires, Kama, the personal self, the
thirst for life. It is this that veils from us the true light. So long as
desire and the personality remain strong, just so long will the light be
blurred, so long will we mistake words for knowledge and knowledge for the
thing we wish to know and to realize. 

The object of this prayer is that we may carry out our whole duty, after
becoming acquainted with the truth, while we are on our journey to thy
Sacred Seat. This is our pilgrimage, not of one, not selfishly, not alone,
but the whole of humanity. 

For the sacred seat is not the Brahmanical heaven of Indra, nor the
Christian selfish heaven acquired without merit while the meritorious suffer
the pains of hell. It is that place where all meet, where alone all are one.
It is when and where the three great sounds of the first word of the prayer
merge into one soundless sound. This is the only proper prayer, the sole
saving aspiration.
 
AN OBSCURE BRAHMAN
Path, January, 1893 

------------------------------

And here is another



A U M


Some Notes on the meaning of That which is called in English the Word, in
Latin Verbum, in the Greek Logos, and in Sanskrit O M .

Devotion To The Omnipresent Spirit Named as O M:


“Brahman the supreme is the exhaustless. Adhyâtma is the name of my being
manifesting as the Individual Self. Karma is the emanation which causes the
existence and reproduction of creatures. Adhibhûta is the Supreme Spirit
dwelling in all elemental nature through the mysterious power of nature’s
illusion. Adhidaivata is the Purusha, the Spiritual Person, and Adhiyajna
is myself in this body, O best of embodied men. Whoever at the hour of
death abandoneth the body, fixed in meditation upon me, without doubt goeth
to me. Whoso in consequence of constant meditation on any particular form
thinketh upon it when quitting his mortal shape, even to that doth he go, O
son of Kuntî. Therefore at all times meditate only on me and fight. Thy
mind and Buddhi being placed on me alone, thou shalt without doubt come to
me. The man whose heart abides in me alone, wandering to no other object,
shall also by meditation on the Supreme Spirit go to it, O son of Pritha.
— Bhagavad-Gîta, ch. viii.


A U M !


23.	The state of abstract meditation may be attained by profound
devotedness toward the Supreme spirit considered in its comprehensible
manifestation as Ishwara.

(It is said that this profound devotedness is a pre-eminent means of
attaining abstract meditation and its fruits. “Ishwara” is The Spirit in
the body.)

24.	Ishwara is a spirit, untouched by troubles, works, fruits of works,
or desires.

25.	In Ishwara becomes infinite that omniscience which in man exists but
as a germ.

26.	Ishwara is the preceptor of all, even of the earliest of created
beings, for He is not limited by time.

27.	His name is O M .

28.	The repetition of this name should be made with reflection upon its
signification.

29.	From this repetition and reflection on its significance, there come
a knowledge of the Spirit and the absence of obstacles to the attainment of
the end in view.

(Om is the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet. Its utterance involves
three sounds, those of long au, short "U", and the “stoppage” or labial
consonant m. To this tripartiteness is attached deep mystical symbolic
meaning. It denotes, as distinct yet in union, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, or
Creation, Preservation, and Destruction. As a whole, it implies “the
Universe.” In its application to man; au, refers to the spark of Divine
Spirit that is in humanity; "U", to the body through which the Spirit
manifests itself; and m, to the death of the body, or its resolvement to its
material elements. With regard to the cycles affecting any planetary
system, it implies the Spirit, represented by au as the basis of the
manifested worlds; the body or manifested matter, represented by "U",
through which the Spirit works; and, represented by m, “the stoppage or
return of sound to its source,” the Pralaya or Dissolution of the worlds.
In practical occultism, through this word reference is made to Sound, or
Vibration, in all its properties and effects, this being one of the greatest
powers of nature. In the use of this word as a practice, by means of the
lungs and throat, a distinct effect is produced upon the human body. In
Aph. 28 the name is used in its highest sense, which will necessarily
include all the lower. All utterance of the word Om, as a practice, has a
potential reference to the conscious separation of the soul from the body.)
—	From the Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali, with notes, as rendered by
William Q. Judge
—	
The system postulates that Ishwara, the spirit in man, when a firm position
is assumed with the end in view of reaching union with spirit through
concentration, comes to the aid of the lower self and raises it gradually to
higher planes.  

In this process the Will by degrees is given a stronger and stronger
tendency to act upon a different line from that indicated by passion and
desire. Thus it is freed from the domination of desire and at last subdues
the mind itself. But before the perfection of this practice is arrived at
the will still acts according to desire, only that the desire is for higher
things and away from those of material life.	From Preface to
Patanjali)


A U M by some is thought to be the sound made by a new born child when the
breath is first drawn into the lungs. The ancient sacred books say that
with that syllable the gods themselves address the most Holy One.

In the Chandogya Upanishad its praises are sung in these words:

Let a man meditate on the syllable O M called the udgitha (Hymn of Praise
to Brahm); it is the best of all essences, the highest, deserving the
highest place, the eighth.

It is then commanded to meditate on this syllable as the breath, of two
kinds, in the body — the vital breath and the mere breath in the mouth or
lungs, for by this meditation come knowledge and proper performance of
sacrifice.  

In verse 10 is found: “Now, therefore, it would seem to follow that bothhe
who knows the true meaning of O M , and he who does not, perform the same
sacrifice. But this is not so, for knowledge and ignorance are different.
The sacrifice which a man performs with knowledge, faith and the Upanishad
is more powerful.”

Outwardly the same sacrifice is performed by both, but that performed by him
who has knowledge, and has meditated on the secret meaning of O M partakes
of the qualities inhering in O M , which need just that knowledge and faith
as the medium through which they may become visible and active. If a
jeweler and a mere ploughman sell a precious stone, the knowledge of the
former bears better fruit than the ignorance of the latter.

Sankaracharya in his Sharir Bhashya dwells largely on O M , and in the Vayu
Purana, a whole chapter is devoted to it. Now as Vayu is air, we can see in
what direction the minds of those who were concerned with that Purana were
tending.  

They were analyzing sound, which will lead to discoveries of interest
regarding the human spiritual and physical constitution. In sound is tone,
and tone is one of the most important and deep reaching of all natural
things. By tone, the natural man, and the child, express the feelings, just
as animals in their tones make known their nature. The tone of the voice of
the tiger is quite different from that of the dove, as different as their
natures are from each other, and if the sights, sounds, and objects in the
natural world mean anything, or point the way to any laws underlying these
differences, then there is nothing puerile in considering the meaning of
tone.

[This is a part of the article AUM to be found in WQJ’s 1st Vol. of
Articles p 561 ]

Now we may consider that there is pervading the whole universe a single
homogeneous resonance, sound, or tone, which acts, so to speak, as the
awakener or vivifying power, stirring all the molecules into action. This
is what is represented in all languages by the vowel a , which takes
precedence of all others. This is the word, the verbum, the Logos of St.
John of the Christians, who says: “In the beginning was the Word, and Word
was with God, and the word was God.” This is creation, for without this
resonance or motion among the quiescent particles, there would be no visible
universe. That is to say, upon sound, or as the Aryans called it, N a d a
B r a h m a (divine resonance), depends the evolution of the visible from
the invisible.

But this sound "A" , being produced, at once alters itself into "AU", so
that the second sound "U", is that one made by the first in continuing its
existence. The vowel "U", which in itself is a compound one, therefore
represents preservation.  

And the idea of preservation is contained also in creation, or evolution,
for there could not be anything to preserve, unless it had first come into
existence.
If these two sounds, so compounded into one, were to proceed indefinitely,
there would be of course no destruction of them.  

But it is not possible to continue the utterance further than the breath,
and whether the lips are compressed, or the tongue pressed against the roof
of the mouth, or the organs behind that used, there will be in the finishing
of the utterance the closure or m sound, which among the Aryans had the
meaning of stoppage.  

In this last letter there is found the destruction of the whole word or
letter. To reproduce it a slight experiment will show that by no
possibility can it be begun with m, but that au invariably commences even
the utterance of m itself. Without fear of successful contradiction, it can
be asserted that all speech begins with au, and the ending, or destruction
of speech, is in "M".

The word “tone” is derived from the Latin and Greek words meaning soundand
tone. In the Greek word “tonos” means a stretching or straining. As to the
character of the sound, the word “tone” is used to express all varieties,
such as high, low, grave, acute, sweet and harsh sounds.  

In music it gives the peculiar quality of the sound produced, and also
distinguishes one instrument from another; as rich tone, reedy tone, and so
on. In medicine, it designates the state of the body, but is there used
more in the signification of strength, and refers to strength or tension.  

It is not difficult to connect the use of the word in medicine with the
divine resonance of which we spoke, because we may consider tension to be
the vibration, or quantity of vibration, by which sound is apprehended by
the ear, and if the whole system goes down so that its tone is lowered
without stoppage, the result will at last be dissolution for that collection
of molecules.  

In painting, the tone also shows the general drift of the picture, just as
it indicates the same thing in morals and manners.  

We say, “a low tone of morals, an elevated tone of sentiment, a courtly tone
of manners,” so that tone has a signification which is applied universally
to either good or bad, high or low. And the only letter which we can use to
express it, or symbolize it, is the "A" sound, in its various changes, long,
short and medium.  

And just as the tone of manners, of morals, of painting, of music, means the
real character of each, in the same way the tones of the various creatures,
including man himself, mean or express the real character; and all together
joined in the deep murmur of nature, go to swell the Nada Brahma, or Divine
resonance, which at last is heard in the music of the spheres.

Meditation on tone, as expressed in this Sanskrit word "OM" , will lead us
to a knowledge of the secret Doctrine. We find expressed in the merely
mortal music the seven divisions of the divine essence, for as the microcosm
is the little copy of the macrocosm, even the halting measures of man
contain the little copy of the whole, in the seven tones of the octave.  

>From that we are led to the seven colors, and so forward and upward to the
Divine radiance which is the Aum. For the Divine Resonance, spoken of
above, is not the Divine Light itself.  

The Resonance is only the out-breathing of the first sound of the entire
Aum. This goes on during what the Hindus call a Day of Brahma, which,
according to them, lasts a thousand ages.  

It manifests itself not only as the power which stirs up and animates the
particles of the Universe, but also in the evolution and dissolution of man,
of animal and mineral kingdom, and of solar systems.  

Among the Aryans it was represented in the planetary system by Mercury, who
has always been said to govern the intellectual faculties, and to be the
universal stimulator. Some old writers have said that it is shown through
Mercury, amongst mankind, by the universal talking of women.

And wherever this divine resonance is closed or stopped by death or other
change, the "AUM" has been uttered there. These utterances of "AUM" are
only the numerous microcosmic enunciations of the Word, which is uttered or
completely ended, to use the Hermetic or mystical style of language, only
when the great Brahm stops the outbreathing, closes the vocalization, by the
m sound, and thus causes the universal dissolution.  

This universal dissolution is known in the Sanskrit and in the secret
Doctrine, as the Maha Pralaya; Maha being “the great,” and Pralaya
“dissolution.” And so, after thus arguing, the ancient Rishees of India
said:  

“Nothing is begun or ended; everything is changed, and that which we call
death is only a transformation.”  

In thus speaking they wished to be understood as referring to the manifested
universe, the so-called death of a sentient creature being only a
transformation of energy, or a change of the mode and place of manifestation
of the Divine Resonance.  

Thus early in the history of the race the doctrine of the conservation of
energy was known and applied.  

The Divine Resonance, or the au sound, is the universal energy, which is
conserved during each Day of Brahma, and at the coming on of the great Night
is absorbed again into the great whole. Continually appearing and
disappearing it transforms itself again and again, covered from time to time
by a veil of matter called its visible manifestation, and never lost, but
always changing itself from one form to another.  

And herein can be seen the use and beauty of the Sanskrit. Nada Brahma is
Divine Resonance; that is, after saying Nada, if we stopped with Brahm,
logically we must infer that the m sound at the end of Brahm signified the
Pralaya, thus confuting the position that the Divine Resonance existed, for
if it had stopped it could not be resounding. So they added an "A" at the
end of the Brahm, making it possible to understand that as Brahma the sound
was still manifesting itself.

With us "OM" has a signification. It represents the constant undercurrent
of meditation, which ought to be carried on by every man, even while engaged
in the necessary duties of this life. There is for every conditioned being
a target at which the aim is constantly directed. Even the very animal
kingdom we do not except, for it, below us, awaits its evolution into a
higher state; it unconsciously perhaps, but nevertheless actually, aims at
the same target.


“Having taken the bow, the great weapon, let him place on it the arrow,
sharpened by devotion. Then, having drawn it with a thought directed to
that which is, hit the mark, O friend — the Indestructible.  

OM is the bow, the Self is the arrow, Brahman is called its aim.  

It is to be hit by a man who is not thoughtless; and then as the arrow
becomes one with the target, he will become one with Brahman.  

Know him alone as the Self, and leave off other words. He is the bridge of
the Immortal. Meditate on the Self as OM .  

Hail to you that you may cross beyond the sea of darkness.” 
— Mundaka Upanishad. 

(The Path, vol. I, p. 4)

----------------------------------------------------

Best wishes to you and friends,


Dallas

=====================================
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Gopi 
Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2004 5:41 AM
To: 
Subject: [bn-study] RE: How do the masters relate to these higher
hierarchies


Dear Dallas,

Your quotation is splendid!

We started a study group called Mitreya Center at our house. We have a
reasonable membership of say 30 with active membership of say 10-12. I
call it the 21st century Theosophy. We study scriptures deeply with input
from all, including their personal deep experiences. 

CUT