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Book notes written in 2015. I appreciated the author's bold
optimism. The world is growing kinder by reason of this dawning
consciousness.
# Chapter 1, The yogi conception of life
Life is a series of awakenings. Ideas dawn upon the mind from time
to time, are caught up by brain and body and find physical expression
as acts. It is quite necessary that we should pass through certain
experiences, that we rise from ideal to ideal.
There is a fire burning. Heap coals. The more coals, the brighter
and steadier the flame. All obstacles are really "coal" feeding the
"flame" of the spirit. They spur a man on. The vibrations of pain
are often blessings in disguise. They drive the lesson home.
# Chapter 2, The ideal, and the practical
A man is what his ideals are. All muscular actions, whether mental
or physical, are simply fragments from the ideal. The very fact of
the ideal being present in your mind foreshadows its fulfillment.
Each tree brings forth fruits of its kind. Our ideal is the hinge
upon which our future turns. We create our own fate.
The privacy of your own room, aye, of your own mind is the place
where you must play the man.
# Chapter 3, Read and reflect
Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. Our deeds are
accomplished best when we put heart in them. Diffusion of thoughts
leads to confusion of results. Reading conveys suggestions to the
brain and induces certain trains of thought. Now far greater
pressure is exerted if we think by ourselves. We should read only
those books which yield us fresh strong thoughts, in a line with our
own aims and aspirations in life. Read for five minutes; think for
ten.
Books contain thoughts. If these thoughts are clean, pure,
uplifting, stimulating, and instructive in nature, we should pause
upon them and suck all the life out of them. Let a student read a
sentence slowly; then try to grap the thought and think it over
intently. One thought suggests other thoughts. Thus stretch the
imagination in connection with that thought as far as possible, and
drop it only when arriving at a clear-cut, distinct conclusion.
Continue thus for fifteen minutes. One will possibly feel quite
tired at the end. As one continues the practice of deliberate
thinking, one will feel a new assurance of power awakening in the
mind.
# Chapter 4, Man, animal and divine
God is love. Love is unselfish. It burns for everyone. It does not
come easily. Only when we have suffered much, thought much,-then and
then alone gleams of this Universal Love shine upon us. It is the
dawn of divinity-Spiritual Awakening. To serve others is a high
privilege. Therefore train yourself to serve others, if only one
soul. If you have a father, a mother, or someone else depending upon
you, serve them with whole-hearted zeal. LIVE UP TO IT. If you
fail, rise again, and again and yet again.
# Chapter 5, Double consciousness
The Higher Mind or the Active Intellect in each individual is a ray
from the Universal Mind and since that is the common source, all
minds are resolvable into One Mind.
# Chapter 6, Spiritual unfoldment
Desire moves man more than aught else. All this unrest and
discomfort is quite in the nature of things. Something more abiding,
more permanent, is wanted. This yearning after the Eternal makes us
call a halt upon the pursuit of blind passions...
The abolition of Fear places in the hands of man a weapon of defence
and power which renders him almost invincible. Why do you not take
this gift which is so freely offered you? Let your watchwords be "I
am;" "I am fearless and free."
Thus we see that Spiritual Unfoldment means a gradual stripping off
of the dense and subtle sheaths in which man is clothed for the
manifestation of the spirit.
What is the Spirit? The spirit is the highest principle, the most
sublime attribute of Man. The spirit in man is a spark from the
Divine Flame. Man is not a finished product of nature. He is a
developing creature. We are all of us traveling God-wards. We have
not been born to dance to the orders of others; nor is enjoyment the
aim of life. None of us are spotless. If there is anyone who repels
us, let us not hate him.
# Chapter 7, Cause and effect
The lips of wisdom are closed except to the ears of understanding.
The One Thing that I want of you is EARNESTNESS. One must study to
know, know to understand, and understand to judge.
Give and it shall be given unto you. Everything is in a circle.
What we do, that we have. He who works his hardest, has the most
energy. Energy is ever withdrawn from those that would spend same
with a niggardly hand. The supply is exactly in proportion to the
exhaust. Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in
the year. No man has learned anything rightly until he knows that
every day is Doomsday. 'Tis the oldest secret of the gods that they
come in low disguises. To be able to appreciate greatness at its
full value, we must ourselves have the germs of greatness stirring
within us. Intensify yourself along these channels.
# Chapter 8, Man-the master
Man's central Being is infinite bliss. I am Happiness itself. I am
unhappy because my eyes have grown blind. Man is punished not for
his sins so much as by them.
... the parts of Infinity are an Infinity; you too are Infinite.
You wish, you command, you demand, you assent, and you get-what you
want; though you go to sleep, your thought if sufficiently
vitalized by concentration will come to pass. Determine the
breadth, the solidity, the soundness of the plank of life you stand
upon. You are your master. Here Life is self-determined.
# Chapter 9, Self-development
Man should ever strive to develop intrinsic worth. [Ben's note: as
opposed to utility value.]
You shall be at the top of your condition if you ever obey the
suggestions of your soul, for your heart shall never tell a lie
although your tongue may.
# Chapter 10, Developing the spiritual consciousness
One thing at a time and that with your entire heart and soul. The
ideal you have set up for yourself must absorb the best and richest
forces in you. Introduce the thin edge of the wedge. Each stroke
shall drive it deeper. Do not scatter your energy. Do not burn your
candle at both ends.
You must stand body and soul, for your ideas, taking up each and
quietly working them out in life.
One thought repeated for days, months and years will become very
strongly vitalized. Tremendous will be its telling force. It will
go to make or mar your destiny. Thought, then, is the fine cause.
Stamp it well upon your mind. It is a tremendous fact.
Your thoughts have been energized by constant repetition. Now you
must learn to dominate them: to command them to stillness: to relax
the tension which your mind is constantly putting itself: to save
your brain from giving way under this surcharge of unmarshalled
energy; to absolutely vanquish the waves of force that bubble up each
time you think of your ideal; for it is intoxication-the irresistable
spell of a "fixed idea."
Exercise is the first, last, and only condition of growth. Stand
rigidly by your ideal. Do not force it upon others. But do not be
forced out of it. Simply be earnest.
The vibrations of a stronger mind impinge upon your receptive
consciousness, shake up some if its grossness, and implant seeds
that, fructifying in the long run, work for your spiritual
upliftment. Associate with good men. Let their thought-magnetism
encircle you and exercise its subtle, mysteriously spiritualizing
influence upon you. The mere contact will act as a Living Force and
awaken your latent powers. It will shed benediction by its mere
touch. Spirituality is not intellectual gymnastics.
# Chapter 11, Who can be a yogi?
... conquer the flesh before you question the mysteries of life.
forces that act on man:
* Sathva -- rhythm. power used for good purposes alone.
* Rajas -- mobility. active. powerful.
* Tamas -- intertia. laziness. eat, drink, and be merry.
stages (states) of consciousness:
* Kshipta -- butterfly mind
* Mudha -- pleasures have lost their joy
* Vikshipta -- draws help from spiritual people and books. forms a
fixed ideal. Learns viveka, discrimination between the real and
the unreal. Learns ekagrata, one-pointedness.
* Vairagya -- dispassionate
* Nirudha -- self-controlled. spiritual activity.
You are great. Compared to your nature this world is but a pinch of
star-dust.
# Chapter 12, Constructive idealism
Constructive idealism is a process whereby we strive to construct,
develop and project an ideal personality on the spiritual, mental and
physical rungs of human evolution. It is training, self-imposed and
self-directed. A life-building assimilation of the highest and the
best within the reach of our mental and spiritual vision. A
determined effort to intensify ourselves along lines of human uplift
by a systemized application of the laws of psychology. It is the
putting forth of positive effort to develop and expand our spiritual
stature. Life in this world is a gymnasium for the exercise of the
will.
You have to develop a life-purpose. Our work is our life-preserver.
Power ceases in the instant of repose: it resides in the moment of
transition from a past state into a new state...
The first requisite in Constructive Idealism is self-reliance. You
must stand upon your own feet. Locked up in your soul is to be found
Infinite Knowledge, Infinite Existence, Infinite Bliss.
So not they that hear most, or read most, but they that meditate most
and pray most and in the silent mystic way of Love give out the most
are the most edified and nourished and enriched unto everlasting
life, here, now, and forever. Therefore, shut yourself up in your
room and with strenuous and earnest zeal, go on adding stroke after
stroke of steady work for your soul-expression. Results will come in
their own good time and that moment is best for you and the world
when you get great gleams of light from your higher nature.
# Chapter 13, Higher reason and judgment
Another requisite is Fearlessness. Few people possess this virtue.
You have to take them up and meditate upon them. Thus alone can they
become inwoven with your nature.
# Chapter 14, Conquest of fear
You must understand your own nature, if you are to be Fearless. How?
Learn to draw inwards and upwards. The lower mind ever darts
outwards. Abbyasa - constant practice, unremitting effort at control
of the mind. Vairagya - dispassion, renouncing mentally all
attachment to impermanent ends. Resolve to be perfectly Fearless and
so shall you be in according to the strength of your resolution.
# Chapter 15, The role of prayer
Nowadays it is the way with some to run down the intellect and to
give emotions the first place. Again, there are others who ask you
to kill out the seat of emotion and to give the the seat of reason
the first place. Both schools are dogmatic and their reasoning is
very shallow. The fact is; neither can be suppressed and crushed
out... each is great in its own place... complement themselves, and
both are ultimately resolvable into Infinity-which is Unity, pure and
simple.
The soul must contemplate the glories of the Infinite Intelligence.
Then, the love-force,-the all-consuming fire-shall inundate your
heart. It will make your whole being vibrate in tune with the
Infinite.
The worship of the worldly man has back of it the all-consuming
forces of pecuniomania. An infectious disease that plays man against
man. Worshipping the Golden Calf, praying to Plutus-the god of gold.
Did you ever see a man whose earnest enthusiasm and noble aims, shine
in his eyes, dwell in the ring of his voice, seem to have entered his
hands and feet and compel his entire being? These are true devotees
of the Supreme Intelligence.
Such alone can pray. Prayer is the sincere lifting of the soul to
the source of All-power. Prayer is the burning desire of the soul to
achieve inner wisdom. Prayer is the earnest strain upwards of the
intelligence to pierce the dark penetralia of Ignorance. Prayer is
the ceaseless pressure upon the Superconscious mind-the Divine part
of ourselves-to expand our sphere of insight. Prayer is the
deepening of the intellect and the expansion of the Heart. ...
Prayer is the struggle of the soul to free its wings; the flutter of
the heart through the awe of lofty Idealism; the instinctive leaning
on our secret selves; the drawing inwards for more light and life.
Prayer is the concentration of the spirit on the Problems of the
Divine life; the turning of the search-light of the
Super-conscious-self upon the riddles of existence. ... Prayer is the
meditation on the Infinite in the silence. Prayer is the
contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view.
It is a soliloquy of a beholding and jubilant soul. It is the spirit
of God pronouncing His works good. As soon as the man is at one with
the God he will not beg. He will then see prayer in all action. The
thoughts of a purified soul are all prayer.
"When thou prayest, enter into thy closet and when thou has shut thy
door, pray to thy Father in secret," says the Nazarene.
Now, reader, understand, once for ever, prayer is willing. ... The
Great Law operates always and everywhere. Here, then, you have all
the switches and levers of energy and inspiration.
# Chapter 16, Thought: creative and exhaustive
The right exercise of thought-power is an act of creation. Certain
thoughts exhaust the life-force, others create it. Injurious
thought-currents can be suppressed by raising an opposition wave.
Hatred should be replaced by love, worry by hopefulness, hesitation
by decision, anger by calmness and so forth: the finer always
suppresses the grosser, mark you. Training is necessary. Knowledge
must be gained. Strength of will-power must be developed.
The mind is capable of existing in two states-Positive and Negative.
Both are necessary for the up-keep of mental and physical equipose.
We must be able to call up either state at will and without the least
friction and strenuous effort. The positive state is a state of
tension, alertness, centrality. The negative state is an attitude of
receptivity, relaxation and non-resistance. The former if sustained
all through the day would mean exhaustion and nervous breakdown. The
latter, unless self-induced, would render us a victim to the world,
the flesh, and the devil. The former calls for an increase of
nerve-force. The latter conserves this force and replenishes the
store house.
The mind can think of only one thing at a time. Think nobly and
loftily and the evil thoughts will soon "take the hint" and cease to
disturb you. Express the Good, the Pure, the Powerful in yourself
and you can easily repress the Evil, the Impure and the Weak.
# Chapter 17, Meditation exercises
You are but part of the whole. The whole is Spirit. There is only
one Spirit, and God is Spirit. Therefore you are spiritual.
No kind of material trouble can affect the spiritual. Everything is
spirit. Lo! you are a being having everything in you. What you
want is within your grasp. You can be what you wish to be. All that
appears to be obstacles to your advancement is false, and does not
exist.
# Chapter 18, Self-de-hypnotisation
We have been under the impression that from external conditions we
can devlop inner stage of consciousness. This is the master-spell
which is an illusion or Maya. To pluck it out we must draw inwards
and realise that inner states of consciousness wield an evermoulding
influence upon matter and hew out ever varying forms, just as the
image projected upon the specular screen of a magic lantern is really
determined by the slide in the lantern. Change the slide images and
you have other images on the screen. Change the thought in your mind
and you change the form materialised thereby.
# Chapter 19, Self-de-hypnotisation II
We are half devil, half divine. Sheathed in our coat of flesh, our
powers hooped in by the physical form, we cannot expect to come face
to face with the Infinite. But there is within us, behind us,
before, above and around us, God's Spirit, and we can realize our
relation to it by putting ourselves En rapport therewith.
But there are more and more of these people every year-they are coming
in great numbers and when they reach a sufficient number, this old
earth will undergo a peaceful revolution. In that day man no longer
will be content to enjoy luxury while his brother starves, he will
not be able to oppress and exploit his own kind, he will not be able
to endure much that today is passed over without thought or feeling
by the majority of people. ... the man who has experienced this new
consciousness has broken down the old feeling of separateness, and
his brother's pain is felt by him-his brother's joys are experienced
by him-he is in touch with others.
From whence comes this uneasiness that causes men to erect hospitals
and other charitable institutions-from whence comes this feeling of
discomfort at the sight of suffering? From the Spiritual mind that
is causing the feeling of nearness to all life to awaken in the mind
of men, and thus renders it more and more painful for them to see and
be aware of the pain of others because they begin to feel it, and it
renders them uncomfortable and they make at least some effort to
relieve it.
The world is growing kinder by reason of this dawning consciousness,
although it is still in a barbarous state as compared to its future
condition.
# Chapter 20, Character-building
Self-control in Yogis is demonstrated by perfect Soul-Calm. A
perfect Yogi ... When he sees distress and pain, he does not make the
whole air throb with his cries but he calmly sets about finding a
remedy for the evil.
Habit is a rhythm established by the Will. It compels all organized
life. It works along sub-conscious lines of mentation. It is the
same pitch of vibration repeating itself.
The tool of thought and, shaping what he wills, brings forth a
thousand joys, a thousand ills:
> He thinks in secret and it comes to pass;
> "Environment is but his looking-glass."
> We build our future, thought by thought,
> Or good or bad, and know it not-
> Yet so the universe is wrought,
> Thought is another name for Fate-
> Choose then thy destiny, and wait-
> For Love brings Love, and Hate brings Hate-
> Again: All that we are is the result of thought.
> -- Lord Buddha, The Dharmmapada
Another important fact to remember is that if at some hour today you
go into your room and send forth an intense thought, the next day the
same thought shall start up in your mind at the same point of time.
This is known as Periodicity. Therefore supposing you want to
perform some difficult task with which your mind is not accustomed to
cope, sit up a few hours previous to that time and suggest to
yourself, "I wish you, subjective mind, to prepare yourself for the
performance of such and such a task tomorrow at 4 o'clock. Be sure
you do it. Now prepare yourself." Next day you will find yourself
quite prepared to accomplish the task. Suppose you wanted to get up
at 4 o'clock in the morning. Before retiring to bed say to yourself
on your subjective mind "Look here-I wish to get up (or wake me up)
at 4 o'clock. Be sure you do it." You will wake at that hour.
author: Mukerji, A. P., Swami
LOC: B132.Y6 M8 |
