Meditation - My Experiance, Am I Allowed To Share?

[Sat1176]

Thanks Bhagat Singh for the advice. I remember that shabad and am glad you reminded me of it. Will try my best to stay on the field of battle and go as far as I can with his grace. Hopefully conquer the fort.

[Singh123456777]

If you can try having an akhand paath done as soon as possible.Place a pitcher of water near the gurbani and make sure the water hears every word of gurbani.After the akhand paath do ardas and give some of the water(now Amrit)to the little singh.

Also if your not amritdhari yet just take it(anmrit).Whats there left to do that is stopping you from taking Amrit?(This suggestion is only if your not amritdhari)

[Sat1176]

Singh123456777, I think my son's condition has diverted the direction and conversation and aim of this topic. As correctly suggested by Bhagat Singh I should keep my personal situation private because it will have high and lows. I truly appreciate everyone concerns and suggestions and I will let you know of the outcome which ever way it goes. If anyone is concerned or has anymore suggestions then please send me a private message.

If NEO ji so wishes he can delete the posts previously made relating to my personal life and we should try stick to title of this thread or matters relating to it so that it can help us all with possible stages, hurdles or even inspire us to do more naam abhiyaas.

My whole view of Guru Maharaj has totally changed now since I read for myself. That is a completely different topic and not one I want to go into at this present time. There are so many things one could try do spiritually in Sikhi which we would like to think will help. Some of your suggestions of mahapursh blessings & ardas, administering akhand path amrit have and are being given. Everyone will have their suggestions but at the present time I have had to return to work after a number of weeks off and then whatever time I have in the evenings and weekends are at the hospital with my son. My ardas is always before my Guru that he showers his grace. I pray and hope my Guru doesn't want bribes or undertaking sukh's (promises) of fulfilling certain actions should he get better. For now I continue to remember my Waheguru and stand before him as far or near as I might be seeking the charity of his kirpa if he so deems fit. He is the ultimate writer of this story and will do as he so desires. Our history and teachings of our great faith have clearly told us good and bad unexplainable things happen in life and we have to learn to accept his overall will whilst also making reasonable efforts ourselves. I will try my best to follow these teachings. Apologies if I said anything wrong.

Edited November 29, 2013 by Sat1176

[Sat1176]

Was feeling a little lost this morning so picked up my ipad and turned to my Guru for guidance. Did a little antar ardas to be shown the way, said Satnaam Sri Waheguru and pressed the Take Hukam button. Guru ji took me to Ang 679 and I started to read....

Dhanaasaree, Fifth Mehl, Seventh House:

Dhanaasree mehlaa 5 ghar 7

One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:

ik-oNkaar satgur parsaad.

Meditate in remembrance on the One Lord; meditate in remembrance on the One Lord; meditate in remembrance on the One Lord, O my Beloved.

har ayk simar ayk simar ayk simar pi-aaray.

He shall save you from strife, suffering, greed, attachment, and the most terrifying world-ocean. ||Pause||

kal kalays lobh moh mahaa bha-ojal taaray. rahaa-o.

With each and every breath, each and every instant, day and night, dwell upon Him.

saas saas nimakh nimakh dinas rain chitaaray.

In the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, meditate on Him fearlessly, and enshrine the treasure of His Name in your mind. ||1||

saaDhsang jap nisang man niDhaan Dhaaray. ||1|

Worship His lotus feet, and contemplate the glorious virtues of the Lord of the Universe.

charan kamal namaskaar gun gobid beechaaray.

O Nanak, the dust of the feet of the Holy shall bless you with pleasure and peace. ||2||1||31||

saaDh janaa kee rayn naanak mangal sookh saDhaaray. ||2||1||31||

Dhanaasaree, Fifth Mehl, Eighth House, Du-Padas:

Dhanaasree mehlaa 5 ghar 8 dupday

One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:

ik-oNkaar satgur parsaad.

Remembering, remembering, remembering Him in meditation, I find peace; with each and every breath, I dwell upon Him.

simra-o simar simar sukh paava-o saas saas samaalay.

In this world, and in the world beyond, He is with me, as my help and support; wherever I go, He protects me. ||1||

ih lok parlok sang sahaa-ee jat kat mohi rakhvaalay. ||1||

The Guru`s Word abides with my soul.

gur kaa bachan basai jee-a naalay.

It does not sink in water; thieves cannot steal it, and fire cannot burn it. ||1||Pause||

jal nahee doobai taskar nahee layvai bhaahi na saakai jaalay. ||1|| rahaa-o.

It is like wealth to the poor, a cane for the blind, and mother`s milk for the infant.

nirDhan ka-o Dhan anDhulay ka-o tik maat dooDh jaisay baalay.

In the ocean of the world, I have found the boat of the Lord; the Merciful Lord has bestowed His Mercy upon Nanak. ||2||1||32||

saagar meh bohith paa-i-o har naanak karee kirpaa kirpaalay. ||2||1||32||

Edited November 30, 2013 by Sat1176

[Sat1176]

Due to my current state of mind this weekend I asked Veer Manpreet Singh ji to focus his kirtan on Ardas and benti before the Guru. He most kindly honoured my request and sang some beautiful shabads. Thought I'd share with you all as he touches upon keeping one's faith in Naam.

http://soundcloud.com/satwant14/20131201-veer-manpreet-singh

1) Jeea kee birathhaa hoe so gur pehi aradhaas kar ||

When your soul is feeling sad, offer your prayers to the Guru.

http://www.sikhitothemax.com/page.asp?ShabadID=1960

2) kirapaa karahu dheen kae dhaathae maeraa gun avagan n beechaarahu koee ||

Have mercy on me, O Generous Giver, Lord of the meek; please do not consider my merits and demerits.

http://www.sikhitothemax.com/page.asp?ShabadID=3289

Edited December 3, 2013 by Sat1176

[Lucky]

Hoping that Sat and family continue receiving Guru's blessings, I shall continue a little with the wonderful and inspirational thread that Sat has contributed so much to.

Sat has truly been a major core of my personal sadh sangat to inspire me to continue with more devotion.

Waheguru

I've been watching this sensation recently which seems to happen after a few minutes of japing and have just realised what is happening. Powerful diaphragmatic movement/breathing is automatically engaging and perfectly synchronizing with the jaap. That is giving the sensation of a strong up down motion between chest and stomach. The diaphragm is acting like a vaja.

I have been doing simran very deeply at times for the last few weeks. I have had this same sensation of jap entering the heart along with some other encounters.

When it first happened, I got a little scared thinking that i had consumed too much coffee or some unknown stimulant, but then I suddenly remembered this description in this earlier post.

It all started when one early morning at amrit vela, I went into very deep silent jaap rapidly. This was helped because even before i had started and was composing myself physically, I had already made my mind quite 'steady'. This steadiness quickly induced the Anhad naad at a much clearer and louder tone than usual which prompted me to go into silent jap immediately. I then found myself in this void of bliss and completely immersed into it whilst being fully aware and lost in it, at the same time !

I should also mention that i remember thinking that my breathing and chest movements had slowed down dramatically with me taking longer breaths but with much less lung capacity at use ?

I thought to myself that this must be some level of samadhi where there were absolutely no thoughts that I was letting my mind follow. I kept going into this deep depth for a few minutes at a time and then realised that i had been doing it for nearly an hour. (it was about 3.30am now!)

Anyway, that very early morning, I was so in love with what i had experienced that I couldn't even go back to sleep for the usual couple of hours that I normally do.

It felt so familiar, as if my jeev knew all along exactly what it was and yet it seemed so new at the same time as well !

I ended up doing jaap non stop until around 7am and I thought i may be quite tired, but i was full of energy instead.

After doing this for a few days then, one morning i started to feel the presence of the anhad naad very central in my head, compared to my right side up until now.

Then at the same time when i thought that my breath would get shallow, my heart started pumping from real deep within. It seemed be in rhythm with a vibration where i could feel the naad, and all i had to do was synchronize the jap along with it just as Sat pointed out above.

This immense feeling of jap in the hirda can only be described as another sensation of spiritual ecstasy. It reminded me of that feeling of joy you get as a kid when you receive a present or toy that was the best toy you could ever wish for........(Hope you understand what i mean !)

But as a kid with a toy, this feeling lasts just a very short while, whereas this was being made continuous with the jaap.gave me

In all honesty, it gave me an even more clearer explanation of ''Sachiya sahiba kya nahin ghar tere...........vaajay shabad ganairy'

I'm not sure if Sat noticed, but because I have had these experiences just after 2.30 am or so...I find that again, I am full of energy and adrenaline.

I have gone with just 4 hours sleep most nights but i still don't experience the tiredness in the day !

It's been a good few weeks of progress for me, but i have also encountered some of the obstacles you face along the way.

I know i mentioned in an earlier post that i was finding it difficult to just listen to jaap and naad because i had been so accustomed to focusing on the trikuti.

Now, i have actually stopped worrying abut that and continue to focus on trikuti as well as jaap and naad. I find this is easier because even in my kundalini yoga, I don't think I can experience the transcendent joy of heightened spirituality without the 3rd eye focus.-It's funny because sometimes you see your instructor demonstrating and showing you something and you think it's no big deal until you actually do it as prescribed whilst focusing on your 3rd eye. There are countless times that i do this and think to myself ''wow!..that's what it was about '' !

Therefore, with my current experience, I think that i should continue this way but I am also aware that I am more susceptible to distracting obstacles of visions and what have you along the way.

I know some months back, I had some preconceived and mixed ideas of what anhad naad should be or will be once you hear them. And this was due to some of the confusing and not so straightforward references that i had come across. I hope that we can all help each other learn and develop by doing this with devotion and discussing appropriately.

All the members on here have been the best listeners where i can feel comfortable talking about my personal spiritual progress and encounters. I hope we can all continue to share and learn in this manner. Once again, a big thank you to Sat for giving me this extra inspiration and reassurance.

Waheguru

[Sat1176]

I am so happy for you Lucky. You seem to have gone deeper within that I can only hope to experience one day. Thank you for sharing and inspiring me.

What does your anhad shabad sound like?

I'm no expert here but if your having thoughts in this elevated stage then there is still some way to go. But when you first experience anything it is only natural to react. I was once told that thoughts should cease the deeper you go within and if you have even a single thought then you fall back down again. So my advice to you is the next time you experience try not to think of anything, even the thought wow this is amazing brings you back down. Keep the mind locked on listening to the shabad. If your hearing the shabad at the trikuti then this is just too good.

Waheguru

[Singh123456777]

Waheguru

[Lucky]

I am so happy for you Lucky. You seem to have gone deeper within that I can only hope to experience one day. Thank you for sharing and inspiring me.

What does your anhad shabad sound like?

Hey Sat, come on.... you have been more than just an influence for me

If my documenting can help just one person be a better sikh now or in the future, then it's worth the effort of putting this stuff into words.

It's difficult to explain what the naad or shabad sounds like but i have looked around to see if i can find anything similar. I have heard a few binaural beat videos at some weird frequencies that are supposedly helpful in activating chakras. These get pretty close but you won't feel the depth or the decibel octaves.

I read somewhere that it is the 'primordial unstruck sound' - meaning the sound and vibration from our Mool or origin.

I did have my doubts at first for quite a while and i am not sure if i was connecting to it in the same way ? (it's difficult to express in words isn't it)

I know it's just the very basic beginning stage, but amazingly and somehow you feel very familiar and at home with it.

It's as if, your jeev or soul knows that it belongs at home with it. This is what gives that unexplainable feeling of comfort and feel as if you have found a long lost treasure that was always very close by !

Do you get this same kind of feel or you comprehend what I mean ?

I am keen to know if Sant Waryam singh ji mentions something in his books, because i haven't ever read them just a few parts that have been posted on here and other sites.

Controlling the thoughts is probably the hardest part because you have to try and concentrate to not think !

I TRY and just let the thoughts pass or just let them come and go without following them. Then i keep getting these short moments of real deep 'being lost' where i feel so connected with the naad, trikuti and silent jaap at the same time. (what i have been calling the hint of samadhi) It's as if they all blend in together. It invokes feelings of tears/joy/anand/bliss......and then before i know it, i'm out of it and realise that i am sat on my bed in my surroundings. Then I try again trying to make it happen and prolong it.

I have to keep doing reality checks with myself, hoping that i am not getting attached to the wrong thing. I often worry that i may be losing my focus to Guruji because these feelings are pulling me ? It leaves me a little confused, which is why i felt i should share it on here

Some days i look so forward to having just a few hours of sleep before i get up at 2am, the other night i was so keen that i got up at 1.15am and tried going back to sleep at about 4am (still had this unknown source of energy).

[Sat1176]

You made me smile bro when you stated it's hard to describe in words which even I found. I guess a musician who can relate to sounds, notes, pitch and tempos would better succeed in describing or even reproducing. I wish I could put in as much effort and dedication as you do. Much respect to you bro.

I feel mental stillness when I jap. Hard to describe that state. When I hear the anhad it's more difficult to focus and listen to it. Maybe eventually I will fall in love with it like it takes time to fall in love with Waheguru Gurmantar at first.

Edited December 4, 2013 by Sat1176

[namdhari555]

Waheguru thanks to everyone for sharing there experiences, you are helping me alot.

I read or listened to this a while ago. So im not sure if its correct or not. They said there are two kinds of sounds one of the body and the other of anhad shabad. When you listen to the real shabd it automatically stops your thoughts. When you hear the shabad of the body its good but its not the real sound. The real sound stops all your thoughts. I am not sure if this is right or not so dont believe me.

Baba ji in this video talks about naad

[Sat1176]

Great share bro. Amazing how he covers Ida, pingula and sukhmana. At their union the shabad is heard. Here is the previous bit to the video.

Anyone have the complete divan as I would love to listen.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Sat1176

[Lucky]

That's good

Great share bro. Amazing how he covers Ida, pingula and sukhmana. At their union the shabad is heard. Here is the previous bit to the video.


Anyone have the complete divan as I would love to listen.

Agree, some good clear material.

I keep trying very hard to NOT follow any thoughts and I'm sure that the naad get clearer and louder when your surat goes totally within. At this stage, i'm sure that the thoughts do stop because you completely lose track of time and presence. When I say presence, I mean that you can't possibly be any more in the present time than you actually are, because when we have thoughts they can be in the past or the immediate past -like, ''what just happened'' or in the future- where you thinking...''what shall i do, or what will happen if....blah blah.......''

So when I try and think back about when I was so deep, i can't actually remember too much because there were no thoughts that were acting as some memory markers !

It's kind of strange because at first, it left me feeling as if I wasn't fully awake or aware, BUT i couldn't have been any more aware of my own awareness at the time.

At the same time, my emotions and love for Waheguru are very high and so are energy levels. Whereas sleeping and eating is very low and it reminded me of the gurbani tuk that mentions ''Eat little, sleep little.....''

Whilst doing jaap, i get immense feelings of wanting to not just throw my self and jeeva into the shabad, but also onto WaheGuru's charan.

I feel as if I had always been lost before and never realised that Waheguru was so close within and around me all along. What a fool and sinner I was.

I kept letting the 5 chor direct me and the ego veils just got thicker and thicker.

I'm trying and I sooo much want to get there to my true home.

Waheguru

[Sat1176]

Just thought I'd share that last night I woke up in the middle of the night all of sudden to the sound of a really loud constant horn "Thhuuuuuuuu" being heard from my right ear. It was ever so loud and really distinct. I have heard a finer variation of this before but this one was much more deeper. Lasted for a few minutes and then slowly faded away as I tried to focus my consciousness on it. I know I was dreaming just before I woke up. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.

I really beginning to wonder if there is a correlation of hearing anhad sounds more during the night than during the day. I'm noticing more and more that between the hours 12am and 3am the sounds are much more noticeable. Maybe there is such a thing as ambrosial/amrit vela hours even though I was beginning to think anytime you remember Waheguru is amrit vela for he is beyond the concept of time.

Just looked for refences to horn in SGGS and found the following.

dhasamee dheh dhis hoe ana(n)dh ||
On the tenth day of the lunar cycle, there is ecstasy in all directions.
shhoottai bharam milai gobi(n)dh ||
Doubt is dispelled, and the Lord of the Universe is met.

eaekaadhasee eaek dhis dhhaavai ||
On the eleventh day of the lunar cycle, if you run in the direction of the One,
baaras baareh ougavai soor ||
On the twelfth day of the lunar cycle, twelve suns rise.
ahinis baajae anehadh thoor ||
Day and night, the celestial bugles (horn) vibrate the unstruck melody.
dhaekhiaa thihoo(n) lok kaa peeo ||
Then, one beholds the Father of the three worlds.

Ang 360

In the Lord`s City, he sits in his Yogic posture, and he forsakes his desires and conflicts.

siv nagree meh aasan baisa-o kalap ti-aagee baadaN

The sound of the horn ever rings out its beautiful melody, and day and night, he is filled with the sound current of the Naad.

sinyee sabad sadaa Dhun sohai ahinis poorai naadaN.

Ang 605

The Ambrosial Nectar of the Naam, is the sweetest juice; through the Word of the Guru`s Shabad, its taste is revealed. ||Pause||

amrit naam mahaa ras meethaa gur sabdee chakh jaapai. rahaa-o.

The Beloved Himself is the Yogi`s horn, and the sound current of the Naad; He Himself plays the tune.

aapay sinyee naad hai pi-aaraa Dhun aap vajaa-ay aapai.

Ang 730

Nectar rains down, celestial music resounds, and deep within, wisdom is obtained.

nijhar jharai sahj Dhun laagai ghar hee parchaa paa-ee-ai.

When the horn is blown without being blown, then you shall attain the state of fearless dignity.

vaajay baajhahu sinyee vaajai ta-o nirbha-o pad paa-ee-ai.

Ang 834

Following the Guru`s Teachings, I have obtained the Ambrosial Water of the Naam, and the fire has been put out. The Word of the Guru`s Shabad has put it out.

gurmat naam amrit jal paa-i-aa agan bujhee gur sabad bujha-ee-aa.

This mind dances before the True Guru. The unstruck sound current of the Shabad resounds, vibrating the celestial melody of the horn.

ih man naachai satgur aagai anhad sabad Dhun toor vaja-ee-aa.

The horn of consciousness vibrates the unstruck sound current; Your Light illuminates each and every heart, Lord. ||4||

sinyee surat anaahad vaajai ghat ghat jot tumaaree.

Edited December 9, 2013 by Sat1176

[harsharan000]

Dear brothers Sat and Lucky,

you are real examples of devotion, from whom all of us can learn. Wahiguru showers His unlimited grace, on those who just like children, turn their faces towards Him. None of us knows how to do true bhakti, but He is so Dayalu, that even with our "kachee" bhakti, He is delighted and blesses us with His unlimited love.

As it is said, you take one step towards Him, and He comes running 100 steps towards you... It is He who plants His love in us for Him. Who are we? Just moorakhs, agyanis, and sinners...

I feel so happy for you, and anybody who tries sincerely to get closer to Him.

Needless to say, but be gratefull to Him, from the bottom of your hearts, for this His "bakshish". And keep steadfast with your spirutual practices at all times and under any conditions, so that He keeps showering us with His "prem bhakti", as this is the only wealth(Nam Simran), we shall take with us, when we depart from this perishable world.

As much as possible, keep your experiences with you, as these are individual and intimate with Him. Otherwise there is a danger, of even sukhyam ahankar arising in us ...people will praise you and get attracted to you, and if we are attacked by ahankar, we shall fall down from this narrow and slippery path.

The secret and success on this path, is based on humility, faith, and regularity in the practices, just like we eat food daily, the soul also needs the Amrit of Nam, to recover its strength and consciousness , then only, it can rub and shed the impurities(karmas, sanskaras, vices...) engraved on it since aeons, and get cleaner and purer, to move in the right direction, towards it´s Father´s House, Sach Khand.

We may do any other things, but if we have not done the bhakti described and glorified in the Granth Sahib, we shall achieve nothing, and go empty handed.

As the bani says: Bin Naavay, nahee kou thau. Without Nam bhakti, you have no place to lean on, and we all know, if we are in the ocean(creation), and we have nothing to lean on as support, we shall simply get drowned .... no rituals, no cereminies, fastings or pilgrimages are needed ....just one pointed devotion for Akal Purukh, at His Lotus Feet.

Our aim is to become one with Wahiguru, and the Bani beautifully says, do only one thing, which is: Jin Har Jaapiya, se Har hoeeya. Means, do the jaap of the Lord Har, and then only, you shall merge in Him, and become one with Him

Amazing, in its beauty and depth, In just a line of 6 words, Guru Sahiban reveals us the secret of becoming one with our true Father, Wahiguru Akal Purukh.

May God bless you

Edited December 12, 2013 by harsharan000

[Sat1176]

Dearest Harsharan Veer,

We appreciate your feedback on this thread as we all trying to walk on the path towards waheguru. I don't believe any of us are doing this with a view to build up some following and become some internet babay. We are merely sharing our experiences with each other to see whether they relate and try and guide and inspire each other as sikh brothers and sisters if at all possible. We fully appreciate there maybe differences or similarities in each persons experience. No one is going to say your approach is right or wrong. We all will offer suggestions if someone asks and then it's up to the individual to choose what sounds right to them. Where at all possible we try and stick to the teachings within Sikhi for this marg or little snippets of knowledge we have encountered in our search which might help us progress deeper with in. There are countless resources out there for techniques relating to simran which we all have read and heard. But how many have helped us progress or left us even more confused about which one to choose and use. Was there a fault in our technique or are we over looking the basics.

Anything that has been discussed to date isn't really anything so unique that it hasn't been mentioned in Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji or other meditation related resources. Yes there is quite a strong view within this field that one should keep such things gupt. Speaking for myself I only took this step of documenting any experiences after I heard one abhyassi pursh state it is perfectly ok to talk amongst fellow gursikhs about what stage one is reaching as it helps and inspires others and might also guide you forward. But one should only talk about one's own experience and not that of others, and be very vigilant, like you stated, it doesn't lead to pride in which case it can become a hindrance I also believe Guru ji can't be so cruel to say, you talked about it so now you lost that stage. He is cannot be like that where he gives one moment then takes back on another. Personally speaking my experiences come and go all the time and I don't believe it's because I mention them on here but more because the effort put in is not consistent.

[harsharan000]

Dear Sat,

please please please forgive me, it is not all I meant, the impression you got from my post. I only said, we should be vigilant in revealng our experiences, not at all that we are to become internet babay... I respect and appreciate you a lot, inspite of not knowing you much, but the hearty and sincere welcome, you and some more brothers gave me, made me feel indeed very glad and comfortable, for which I am very much thankful, believe me. Your efforts in spiritual practices are valued, and we all know, we are weak and imperfcet yet, that is why we are not consistent, but then too, in His eyes, each and very effort of ours, counts and does not go unnoticed by Him, almost all of us do kachee bhakti... but even then He says, give me your this kachee bhakti, I will make it pakee bhakti... He is so gracefull.

As I told you in the private messenger, take me as brother and share with me whatever you may like, any topic on spirituality ...

And we all know, when you call someone a brother, it is only because you have only good feelings and wishes for him, so please do not get me wrong at all.

Of course, Guru ji is not going to put off anyone, He is all mercifull, He is Dayalu... How can He do so? His job is not to judge, but to love and forgive, it is only one of the five vices(ahankar), which may enter in our house as thief, and rob us...that is it.

But never ever Guru Ji , if He were to sit and judge, then believe me, we had no way to escape. He is Sadbhakshanhar ...

From Him, only Daya Meher is got...

[Sat1176]

Nothing to forgive Brother. Looking forward to your contribution. Your posts oooze piyaar...

[Guest]

Nothing to forgive Brother. Looking forward to your contribution. Your posts oooze piyaar...

Totally agree with sat veer ji..looking so fwd to more of contributions from harsharan veer ji.

[harsharan000]

^{Below is the experience of a disciple with his master, once that master had passed away …… it may seem long to read ….but do not desist, it is worth, and it is a comforting and encouraging experience for all of us humans. Most of us have enquires, about how is life, or existence, once we leave this earthly plane.}

^{It deals mainly with spirituality, not with any particular dharam or mazab, as the spiritual nature in essence, is the same in all beings.}

^{And the finer or higher the spiritual realms...more purity in all senses, is required to abide there, until, we are totally inmaculate, to merge in our origin: Wahiguru Akal Purukh.}

^{I was deeply impressed, when I read and went through this wonderfull passage... so I thought to share it with the sangat, may all find and get some answers, to our natural human queries.}

Chapter 43: The Resurrection of Sri Yukteswar

"Lord Krishna!" The glorious form of the avatar appeared in a shimmering blaze as I sat in my room at the Regent Hotel in Bombay. Shining over the roof of a high building across the street, the ineffable vision had suddenly burst on my sight as I gazed out of my long open third-story window.

The divine figure waved to me, smiling and nodding in greeting. When I could not understand the exact message of Lord Krishna, he departed with a gesture of blessing. Wondrously uplifted, I felt that some spiritual event was presaged.

My Western voyage had, for the time being, been cancelled. I was scheduled for several public addresses in Bombay before leaving on a return visit to Bengal.

Sitting on my bed in the Bombay hotel at three o'clock in the afternoon of June 19, 1936-one week after the vision of Krishna-I was roused from my meditation by a beatific light. Before my open and astonished eyes, the whole room was transformed into a strange world, the sunlight transmuted into supernal splendor.

Waves of rapture engulfed me as I beheld the flesh and blood form of Sri Yukteswar!

"My son!" Master spoke tenderly, on his face an angel-bewitching smile.

For the first time in my life I did not kneel at his feet in greeting but instantly advanced to gather him hungrily in my arms. Moment of moments! The anguish of past months was toll I counted weightless against the torrential bliss now descending.

"Master mine, beloved of my heart, why did you leave me?" I was incoherent in an excess of joy. "Why did you let me go to the KUMBHA MELA? How bitterly have I blamed myself for leaving you!"

Wikipedia:Yogananda Image Gallery (KRISHNA, ANCIENT PROPHET OF INDIA, A modern artist's conception of the divine teacher whose spiritual counsel in the Bhagavad Gita has become the Hindu Bible. Krishna is portrayed in Hindu art with a peacock feather in his hair (symbol of the Lord's lila, play or creative sport), and carrying a flute, whose enrapturing notes awaken the devotees, one by one, from their sleep of maya or cosmic delusion.)

"I did not want to interfere with your happy anticipation of seeing the pilgrimage spot where first I met Babaji. I left you only for a little while; am I not with you again?"

"But is it YOU, Master, the same Lion of God? Are you wearing a body like the one I buried beneath the cruel Puri sands?"

"Yes, my child, I am the same. This is a flesh and blood body. Though I see it as ethereal, to your sight it is physical. From the cosmic atoms I created an entirely new body, exactly like that cosmic-dream physical body which you laid beneath the dream-sands at Puri in your dream-world. I am in truth resurrected-not on earth but on an astral planet. Its inhabitants are better able than earthly humanity to meet my lofty standards. There you and your exalted loved ones shall someday come to be with me."

"Deathless guru, tell me more!"

Master gave a quick, mirthful chuckle. "Please, dear one," he said, "won't you relax your hold a little?"

"Only a little!" I had been embracing him with an octopus grip. I could detect the same faint, fragrant, natural odor which had been characteristic of his body before. The thrilling touch of his divine flesh still persists around the inner sides of my arms and in my palms whenever I recall those glorious hours.

"As prophets are sent on earth to help men work out their physical karma, so I have been directed by God to serve on an astral planet as a savior," Sri Yukteswar explained. "It is called HIRANYALOKA or 'Illumined Astral Planet.' There I am aiding advanced beings to rid themselves of astral karma and thus attain liberation from astral rebirths. The dwellers on Hiranyaloka are highly developed spiritually; all of them had acquired, in their last earth-incarnation, the meditation-given power of consciously leaving their physical bodies at death. No one can enter Hiranyaloka unless he has passed on earth beyond the state of SABIKALPA SAMADHI into the higher state of NIRBIKALPA SAMADHI. {FN43-1}

"The Hiranyaloka inhabitants have already passed through the ordinary astral spheres, where nearly all beings from earth must go at death; there they worked out many seeds of their past actions in the astral worlds. None but advanced beings can perform such redemptive work effectually in the astral worlds. Then, in order to free their souls more fully from the cocoon of karmic traces lodged in their astral bodies, these higher beings were drawn by cosmic law to be reborn with new astral bodies on Hiranyaloka, the astral sun or heaven, where I have resurrected to help them. There are also highly advanced beings on Hiranyaloka who have come from the superior, subtler, causal world."

My mind was now in such perfect attunement with my guru's that he was conveying his word-pictures to me partly by speech and partly by thought-transference. I was thus quickly receiving his idea-tabloids.

"You have read in the scriptures," Master went on, "that God encased the human soul successively in three bodies-the idea, or causal, body; the subtle astral body, seat of man's mental and emotional natures; and the gross physical body. On earth a man is equipped with his physical senses. An astral being works with his consciousness and feelings and a body made of lifetrons. {FN43-2} A causal-bodied being remains in the blissful realm of ideas. My work is with those astral beings who are preparing to enter the causal world."

"Adorable Master, please tell me more about the astral cosmos." Though I had slightly relaxed my embrace at Sri Yukteswar's request, my arms were still around him. Treasure beyond all treasures, my guru who had laughed at death to reach me!

"There are many astral planets, teeming with astral beings," Master began. "The inhabitants use astral planes, or masses of light, to travel from one planet to another, faster than electricity and radioactive energies.

"The astral universe, made of various subtle vibrations of light and color, is hundreds of times larger than the material cosmos. The entire physical creation hangs like a little solid basket under the huge luminous balloon of the astral sphere. Just as many physical suns and stars roam in space, so there are also countless astral solar and stellar systems. Their planets have astral suns and moons, more beautiful than the physical ones. The astral luminaries resemble the aurora borealis-the sunny astral aurora being more dazzling than the mild-rayed moon-aurora. The astral day and night are longer than those of earth.

"The astral world is infinitely beautiful, clean, pure, and orderly. There are no dead planets or barren lands. The terrestrial blemishes--weeds, bacteria, insects, snakes-are absent. Unlike the variable climates and seasons of the earth, the astral planets maintain the even temperature of an eternal spring, with occasional luminous white snow and rain of many-colored lights. Astral planets abound in opal lakes and bright seas and rainbow rivers.

"The ordinary astral universe-not the subtler astral heaven of Hiranyaloka-is peopled with millions of astral beings who have come, more or less recently, from the earth, and also with myriads of fairies, mermaids, fishes, animals, goblins, gnomes, demigods and spirits, all residing on different astral planets in accordance with karmic qualifications. Various spheric mansions or vibratory regions are provided for good and evil spirits. Good ones can travel freely, but the evil spirits are confined to limited zones. In the same way that human beings live on the surface of the earth, worms inside the soil, fish in water, and birds in air, so astral beings of different grades are assigned to suitable vibratory quarters.

"Among the fallen dark angels expelled from other worlds, friction and war take place with lifetronic bombs or mental MANTRIC {FN43-3} vibratory rays. These beings dwell in the gloom-drenched regions of the lower astral cosmos, working out their evil karma.

"In the vast realms above the dark astral prison, all is shining and beautiful. The astral cosmos is more naturally attuned than the earth to the divine will and plan of perfection. Every astral object is manifested primarily by the will of God, and partially by the will-call of astral beings. They possess the power of modifying or enhancing the grace and form of anything already created by the Lord. He has given His astral children the freedom and privilege of changing or improving at will the astral cosmos. On earth a solid must be transformed into liquid or other form through natural or chemical processes, but astral solids are changed into astral liquids, gases, or energy solely and instantly by the will of the inhabitants.

"The earth is dark with warfare and murder in the sea, land, and air," my guru continued, "but the astral realms know a happy harmony and equality. Astral beings dematerialize or materialize their forms at will. Flowers or fish or animals can metamorphose themselves, for a time, into astral men. All astral beings are free to assume any form, and can easily commune together. No fixed, definite, natural law hems them round-any astral tree, for example, can be successfully asked to produce an astral mango or other desired fruit, flower, or indeed any other object. Certain karmic restrictions are present, but there are no distinctions in the astral world about desirability of various forms. Everything is vibrant with God's creative light.

"No one is born of woman; offspring are materialized by astral beings through the help of their cosmic will into specially patterned, astrally condensed forms. The recently physically disembodied being arrives in an astral family through invitation, drawn by similar mental and spiritual tendencies.

"The astral body is not subject to cold or heat or other natural conditions. The anatomy includes an astral brain, or the thousand-petaled lotus of light, and six awakened centers in the SUSHUMNA, or astral cerebro-spinal axis. The heart draws cosmic energy as well as light from the astral brain, and pumps it to the astral nerves and body cells, or lifetrons. Astral beings can affect their bodies by lifetronic force or by MANTRIC vibrations.

"The astral body is an exact counterpart of the last physical form. Astral beings retain the same appearance which they possessed in youth in their previous earthly sojourn; occasionally an astral being chooses, like myself, to retain his old age appearance." Master, emanating the very essence of youth, chuckled merrily.

"Unlike the spacial, three-dimensional physical world cognized only by the five senses, the astral spheres are visible to the all-inclusive sixth sense-intuition," Sri Yukteswar went on. "By sheer intuitional feeling, all astral beings see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. They possess three eyes, two of which are partly closed. The third and chief astral eye, vertically placed on the forehead, is open. Astral beings have all the outer sensory organs-ears, eyes, nose, tongue, and skin-but they employ the intuitional sense to experience sensations through any part of the body; they can see through the ear, or nose, or skin. They are able to hear through the eyes or tongue, and can taste through the ears or skin, and so forth. {FN43-4}

"Man's physical body is exposed to countless dangers, and is easily hurt or maimed; the ethereal astral body may occasionally be cut or bruised but is healed at once by mere willing."

"Gurudeva, are all astral persons beautiful?"

"Beauty in the astral world is known to be a spiritual quality, and not an outward conformation," Sri Yukteswar replied. "Astral beings therefore attach little importance to facial features. They have the privilege, however, of costuming themselves at will with new, colorful, astrally materialized bodies. Just as worldly men don new array for gala events, so astral beings find occasions to bedeck themselves in specially designed forms.

"Joyous astral festivities on the higher astral planets like Hiranyaloka take place when a being is liberated from the astral world through spiritual advancement, and is therefore ready to enter the heaven of the causal world. On such occasions the Invisible Heavenly Father, and the saints who are merged in Him, materialize Themselves into bodies of Their own choice and join the astral celebration. In order to please His beloved devotee, the Lord takes any desired form. If the devotee worshiped through devotion, he sees God as the Divine Mother. To Jesus, the Father-aspect of the Infinite One was appealing beyond other conceptions. The individuality with which the Creator has endowed each of His creatures makes every conceivable and inconceivable demand on the Lord's versatility!" My guru and I laughed happily together.

"Friends of other lives easily recognize one another in the astral world," Sri Yukteswar went on in his beautiful, flutelike voice. "Rejoicing at the immortality of friendship, they realize the indestructibility of love, often doubted at the time of the sad, delusive partings of earthly life.

"The intuition of astral beings pierces through the veil and observes human activities on earth, but man cannot view the astral world unless his sixth sense is somewhat developed. Thousands of earth-dwellers have momentarily glimpsed an astral being or an astral world.

"The advanced beings on Hiranyaloka remain mostly awake in ecstasy during the long astral day and night, helping to work out intricate problems of cosmic government and the redemption of prodigal sons, earthbound souls. When the Hiranyaloka beings sleep, they have occasional dreamlike astral visions. Their minds are usually engrossed in the conscious state of highest NIRBIKALPA bliss.

"Inhabitants in all parts of the astral worlds are still subject to mental agonies. The sensitive minds of the higher beings on planets like Hiranyaloka feel keen pain if any mistake is made in conduct or perception of truth. These advanced beings endeavor to attune their every act and thought with the perfection of spiritual law.

"Communication among the astral inhabitants is held entirely by astral telepathy and television; there is none of the confusion and misunderstanding of the written and spoken word which earth-dwellers must endure. Just as persons on the cinema screen appear to move and act through a series of light pictures, and do not actually breathe, so the astral beings walk and work as intelligently guided and coordinated images of light, without the necessity of drawing power from oxygen. Man depends upon solids, liquids, gases, and energy for sustenance; astral beings sustain themselves principally by cosmic light."

"Master mine, do astral beings eat anything?" I was drinking in his marvelous elucidations with the receptivity of all my faculties-mind, heart, soul. Superconscious perceptions of truth are permanently real and changeless, while fleeting sense experiences and impressions are never more than temporarily or relatively true, and soon lose in memory all their vividness. My guru's words were so penetratingly imprinted on the parchment of my being that at any time, by transferring my mind to the superconscious state, I can clearly relive the divine experience.

"Luminous raylike vegetables abound in the astral soils," he answered. "The astral beings consume vegetables, and drink a nectar flowing from glorious fountains of light and from astral brooks and rivers. Just as invisible images of persons on the earth can be dug out of the ether and made visible by a television apparatus, later being dismissed again into space, so the God-created, unseen astral blueprints of vegetables and plants floating in the ether are precipitated on an astral planet by the will of its inhabitants. In the same way, from the wildest fancy of these beings, whole gardens of fragrant flowers are materialized, returning later to the etheric invisibility. Although dwellers on the heavenly planets like Hiranyaloka are almost freed from any necessity of eating, still higher is the unconditioned existence of almost completely liberated souls in the causal world, who eat nothing save the manna of bliss.

"The earth-liberated astral being meets a multitude of relatives, fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, and friends, acquired during different incarnations on earth, {FN43-5} as they appear from time to time in various parts of the astral realms. He is therefore at a loss to understand whom to love especially; he learns in this way to give a divine and equal love to all, as children and individualized expressions of God. Though the outward appearance of loved ones may have changed, more or less according to the development of new qualities in the latest life of any particular soul, the astral being employs his unerring intuition to recognize all those once dear to him in other planes of existence, and to welcome them to their new astral home. Because every atom in creation is inextinguishably dowered with individuality, {FN43-6} an astral friend will be recognized no matter what costume he may don, even as on earth an actor's identity is discoverable by close observation despite any disguise.

"The span of life in the astral world is much longer than on earth. A normal advanced astral being's average life period is from five hundred to one thousand years, measured in accordance with earthly standards of time. As certain redwood trees outlive most trees by millenniums, or as some yogis live several hundred years though most men die before the age of sixty, so some astral beings live much longer than the usual span of astral existence. Visitors to the astral world dwell there for a longer or shorter period in accordance with the weight of their physical karma, which draws them back to earth within a specified time.

"The astral being does not have to contend painfully with death at the time of shedding his luminous body. Many of these beings nevertheless feel slightly nervous at the thought of dropping their astral form for the subtler causal one. The astral world is free from unwilling death, disease, and old age. These three dreads are the curse of earth, where man has allowed his consciousness to identify itself almost wholly with a frail physical body requiring constant aid from air, food, and sleep in order to exist at all.

"Physical death is attended by the disappearance of breath and the disintegration of fleshly cells. Astral death consists of the dispersement of lifetrons, those manifest units of energy which constitute the life of astral beings. At physical death a being loses his consciousness of flesh and becomes aware of his subtle body in the astral world. Experiencing astral death in due time, a being thus passes from the consciousness of astral birth and death to that of physical birth and death. These recurrent cycles of astral and physical encasement are the ineluctable destiny of all unenlightened beings. Scriptural definitions of heaven and hell sometimes stir man's deeper-than-subconscious memories of his long series of experiences in the blithesome astral and disappointing terrestrial worlds."

"Beloved Master," I asked, "will you please describe more in detail the difference between rebirth on the earth and in the astral and causal spheres?"

"Man as an individualized soul is essentially causal-bodied," my guru explained. "That body is a matrix of the thirty-five IDEAS required by God as the basic or causal thought forces from which He later formed the subtle astral body of nineteen elements and the gross physical body of sixteen elements.

"The nineteen elements of the astral body are mental, emotional, and lifetronic. The nineteen components are intelligence; ego; feeling; mind (sense-consciousness); five instruments of KNOWLEDGE, the subtle counterparts of the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch; five instruments of ACTION, the mental correspondence for the executive abilities to procreate, excrete, talk, walk, and exercise manual skill; and five instruments of LIFE FORCE, those empowered to perform the crystallizing, assimilating, eliminating, metabolizing, and circulating functions of the body. This subtle astral encasement of nineteen elements survives the death of the physical body, which is made of sixteen gross metallic and nonmetallic elements.

"God thought out different ideas within Himself and projected them into dreams. Lady Cosmic Dream thus sprang out decorated in all her colossal endless ornaments of relativity.

"In thirty-five thought categories of the causal body, God elaborated all the complexities of man's nineteen astral and sixteen physical counterparts. By condensation of vibratory forces, first subtle, then gross, He produced man's astral body and finally his physical form. According to the law of relativity, by which the Prime Simplicity has become the bewildering manifold, the causal cosmos and causal body are different from the astral cosmos and astral body; the physical cosmos and physical body are likewise characteristically at variance with the other forms of creation.

"The fleshly body is made of the fixed, objectified dreams of the Creator. The dualities are ever-present on earth: disease and health, pain and pleasure, loss and gain. Human beings find limitation and resistance in three-dimensional matter. When man's desire to live is severely shaken by disease or other causes, death arrives; the heavy overcoat of the flesh is temporarily shed. The soul, however, remains encased in the astral and causal bodies. {FN43-7} The adhesive force by which all three bodies are held together is desire. The power of unfulfilled desires is the root of all man's slavery.

"Physical desires are rooted in egotism and sense pleasures. The compulsion or temptation of sensory experience is more powerful than the desire-force connected with astral attachments or causal perceptions.

"Astral desires center around enjoyment in terms of vibration. Astral beings enjoy the ethereal music of the spheres and are entranced by the sight of all creation as exhaustless expressions of changing light. The astral beings also smell, taste, and touch light. Astral desires are thus connected with an astral being's power to precipitate all objects and experiences as forms of light or as condensed thoughts or dreams.

"Causal desires are fulfilled by perception only. The nearly-free beings who are encased only in the causal body see the whole universe as realizations of the dream-ideas of God; they can materialize anything and everything in sheer thought. Causal beings therefore consider the enjoyment of physical sensations or astral delights as gross and suffocating to the soul's fine sensibilities. Causal beings work out their desires by materializing them instantly. {FN43-8} Those who find themselves covered only by the delicate veil of the causal body can bring universes into manifestation even as the Creator. Because all creation is made of the cosmic dream-texture, the soul thinly clothed in the causal has vast realizations of power.

"A soul, being invisible by nature, can be distinguished only by the presence of its body or bodies. The mere presence of a body signifies that its existence is made possible by unfulfilled desires. {FN43-9}

"So long as the soul of man is encased in one, two, or three body-containers, sealed tightly with the corks of ignorance and desires, he cannot merge with the sea of Spirit. When the gross physical receptacle is destroyed by the hammer of death, the other two coverings-astral and causal-still remain to prevent the soul from consciously joining the Omnipresent Life. When desirelessness is attained through wisdom, its power disintegrates the two remaining vessels. The tiny human soul emerges, free at last; it is one with the Measureless Amplitude."

I asked my divine guru to shed further light on the high and mysterious causal world.

"The causal world is indescribably subtle," he replied. "In order to understand it, one would have to possess such tremendous powers of concentration that he could close his eyes and visualize the astral cosmos and the physical cosmos in all their vastness-the luminous balloon with the solid basket-as existing in ideas only. If by this superhuman concentration one succeeded in converting or resolving the two cosmoses with all their complexities into sheer ideas, he would then reach the causal world and stand on the borderline of fusion between mind and matter. There one perceives all created things--solids, liquids, gases, electricity, energy, all beings, gods, men, animals, plants, bacteria-as forms of consciousness, just as a man can close his eyes and realize that he exists, even though his body is invisible to his physical eyes and is present only as an idea.

"Whatever a human being can do in fancy, a causal being can do in reality. The most colossal imaginative human intelligence is able, in mind only, to range from one extreme of thought to another, to skip mentally from planet to planet, or tumble endlessly down a pit of eternity, or soar rocketlike into the galaxied canopy, or scintillate like a searchlight over milky ways and the starry spaces. But beings in the causal world have a much greater freedom, and can effortlessly manifest their thoughts into instant objectivity, without any material or astral obstruction or karmic limitation.

"Causal beings realize that the physical cosmos is not primarily constructed of electrons, nor is the astral cosmos basically composed of lifetrons-both in reality are created from the minutest particles of God-thought, chopped and divided by MAYA, the law of relativity which intervenes to apparently separate the Noumenon from His phenomena.

"Souls in the causal world recognize one another as individualized points of joyous Spirit; their thought-things are the only objects which surround them. Causal beings see the difference between their bodies and thoughts to be merely ideas. As a man, closing his eyes, can visualize a dazzling white light or a faint blue haze, so causal beings by thought alone are able to see, hear, feel, taste, and touch; they create anything, or dissolve it, by the power of cosmic mind.

"Both death and rebirth in the causal world are in thought. Causal-bodied beings feast only on the ambrosia of eternally new knowledge. They drink from the springs of peace, roam on the trackless soil of perceptions, swim in the ocean-endlessness of bliss. Lo! see their bright thought-bodies zoom past trillions of Spirit-created planets, fresh bubbles of universes, wisdom-stars, spectral dreams of golden nebulae, all over the skiey blue bosom of Infinity!

"Many beings remain for thousands of years in the causal cosmos. By deeper ecstasies the freed soul then withdraws itself from the little causal body and puts on the vastness of the causal cosmos. All the separate eddies of ideas, particularized waves of power, love, will, joy, peace, intuition, calmness, self-control, and concentration melt into the ever-joyous Sea of Bliss. No longer does the soul have to experience its joy as an individualized wave of consciousness, but is merged in the One Cosmic Ocean, with all its waves-eternal laughter, thrills, throbs.

"When a soul is out of the cocoon of the three bodies it escapes forever from the law of relativity and becomes the ineffable Ever-Existent. {FN43-10} Behold the butterfly of Omnipresence, its wings etched with stars and moons and suns! The soul expanded into Spirit remains alone in the region of lightless light, darkless dark, thoughtless thought, intoxicated with its ecstasy of joy in God's dream of cosmic creation."

"A free soul!" I ejaculated in awe.

"When a soul finally gets out of the three jars of bodily delusions," Master continued, "it becomes one with the Infinite without any loss of individuality. Christ had won this final freedom even before he was born as Jesus. In three stages of his past, symbolized in his earth-life as the three days of his experience of death and resurrection, he had attained the power to fully arise in Spirit.

"The undeveloped man must undergo countless earthly and astral and causal incarnations in order to emerge from his three bodies. A master who achieves this final freedom may elect to return to earth as a prophet to bring other human beings back to God, or like myself he may choose to reside in the astral cosmos. There a savior assumes some of the burden of the inhabitants' karma {FN43-11} and thus helps them to terminate their cycle of reincarnation in the astral cosmos and go on permanently to the causal spheres. Or a freed soul may enter the causal world to aid its beings to shorten their span in the causal body and thus attain the Absolute Freedom."

"Resurrected One, I want to know more about the karma which forces souls to return to the three worlds." I could listen forever, I thought, to my omniscient Master. Never in his earth-life had I been able at one time to assimilate so much of his wisdom. Now for the first time I was receiving a clear, definite insight into the enigmatic interspaces on the checkerboard of life and death.

"The physical karma or desires of man must be completely worked out before his permanent stay in astral worlds becomes possible," my guru elucidated in his thrilling voice. "Two kinds of beings live in the astral spheres. Those who still have earthly karma to dispose of and who must therefore reinhabit a gross physical body in order to pay their karmic debts could be classified, after physical death, as temporary visitors to the astral world rather than as permanent residents.

"Beings with unredeemed earthly karma are not permitted after astral death to go to the high causal sphere of cosmic ideas, but must shuttle to and fro from the physical and astral worlds only, conscious successively of their physical body of sixteen gross elements, and of their astral body of nineteen subtle elements. After each loss of his physical body, however, an undeveloped being from the earth remains for the most part in the deep stupor of the death-sleep and is hardly conscious of the beautiful astral sphere. After the astral rest, such a man returns to the material plane for further lessons, gradually accustoming himself, through repeated journeys, to the worlds of subtle astral texture.

"Normal or long-established residents of the astral universe, on the other hand, are those who, freed forever from all material longings, need return no more to the gross vibrations of earth. Such beings have only astral and causal karma to work out. At astral death these beings pass to the infinitely finer and more delicate causal world. Shedding the thought-form of the causal body at the end of a certain span, determined by cosmic law, these advanced beings then return to Hiranyaloka or a similar high astral planet, reborn in a new astral body to work out their unredeemed astral karma.

"My son, you may now comprehend more fully that I am resurrected by divine decree," Sri Yukteswar continued, "as a savior of astrally reincarnating souls coming back from the causal sphere, in particular, rather than of those astral beings who are coming up from the earth. Those from the earth, if they still retain vestiges of material karma, do not rise to the very high astral planets like Hiranyaloka.

"Just as most people on earth have not learned through meditation-acquired vision to appreciate the superior joys and advantages of astral life and thus, after death, desire to return to the limited, imperfect pleasures of earth, so many astral beings, during the normal disintegration of their astral bodies, fail to picture the advanced state of spiritual joy in the causal world and, dwelling on thoughts of the more gross and gaudy astral happiness, yearn to revisit the astral paradise. Heavy astral karma must be redeemed by such beings before they can achieve after astral death a permanent stay in the causal thought-world, so thinly partitioned from the Creator.

"Only when a being has no further desires for experiences in the pleasing-to-the-eye astral cosmos, and cannot be tempted to go back there, does he remain in the causal world. Completing there the work of redeeming all causal karma or seeds of past desires, the confined soul thrusts out the last of the three corks of ignorance and, emerging from the final jar of the causal body, commingles with the Eternal.

"Now do you understand?" Master smiled so enchantingly!

"Yes, through your grace. I am speechless with joy and gratitude."

Never from song or story had I ever received such inspiring knowledge. Though the Hindu scriptures refer to the causal and astral worlds and to man's three bodies, how remote and meaningless those pages compared with the warm authenticity of my resurrected Master! For him indeed existed not a single "undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveller returns"!

"The interpenetration of man's three bodies is expressed in many ways through his threefold nature," my great guru went on. "In the wakeful state on earth a human being is conscious more or less of his three vehicles. When he is sensuously intent on tasting, smelling, touching, listening, or seeing, he is working principally through his physical body. Visualizing or willing, he is working mainly through his astral body. His causal medium finds expression when man is thinking or diving deep in introspection or meditation; the cosmical thoughts of genius come to the man who habitually contacts his causal body. In this sense an individual may be classified broadly as 'a material man,' 'an energetic man,' or 'an intellectual man.'

"A man identifies himself about sixteen hours daily with his physical vehicle. Then he sleeps; if he dreams, he remains in his astral body, effortlessly creating any object even as do the astral beings. If man's sleep be deep and dreamless, for several hours he is able to transfer his consciousness, or sense of I-ness, to the causal body; such sleep is revivifying. A dreamer is contacting his astral and not his causal body; his sleep is not fully refreshing."

I had been lovingly observing Sri Yukteswar while he gave his wondrous exposition.

"Angelic guru," I said, "your body looks exactly as it did when last I wept over it in the Puri ashram."

"O yes, my new body is a perfect copy of the old one. I materialize or dematerialize this form any time at will, much more frequently than I did while on earth. By quick dematerialization, I now travel instantly by light express from planet to planet or, indeed, from astral to causal or to physical cosmos." My divine guru smiled. "Though you move about so fast these days, I had no difficulty in finding you at Bombay!"

"O Master, I was grieving so deeply about your death!"

"Ah, wherein did I die? Isn't there some contradiction?" Sri Yukteswar's eyes were twinkling with love and amusement.

"You were only dreaming on earth; on that earth you saw my dream-body," he went on. "Later you buried that dream-image. Now my finer fleshly body-which you behold and are even now embracing rather closely!-is resurrected on another finer dream-planet of God. Someday that finer dream-body and finer dream-planet will pass away; they too are not forever. All dream-bubbles must eventually burst at a final wakeful touch. Differentiate, my son Yogananda, between dreams and Reality!"

This idea of VEDANTIC {FN43-12} resurrection struck me with wonder. I was ashamed that I had pitied Master when I had seen his lifeless body at Puri. I comprehended at last that my guru had always been fully awake in God, perceiving his own life and passing on earth, and his present resurrection, as nothing more than relativities of divine ideas in the cosmic dream.

"I have now told you, Yogananda, the truths of my life, death, and resurrection. Grieve not for me; rather broadcast everywhere the story of my resurrection from the God-dreamed earth of men to another God-dreamed planet of astrally garbed souls! New hope will be infused into the hearts of misery-mad, death-fearing dreamers of the world."

"Yes, Master!" How willingly would I share with others my joy at his resurrection!

"On earth my standards were uncomfortably high, unsuited to the natures of most men. Often I scolded you more than I should have. You passed my test; your love shone through the clouds of all reprimands." He added tenderly, "I have also come today to tell you: Never again shall I wear the stern gaze of censure. I shall scold you no more."

How much I had missed the chastisements of my great guru! Each one had been a guardian angel of protection.

"Dearest Master! Rebuke me a million times-do scold me now!"

"I shall chide you no more." His divine voice was grave, yet with an undercurrent of laughter. "You and I shall smile together, so long as our two forms appear different in the MAYA-dream of God. Finally we shall merge as one in the Cosmic Beloved; our smiles shall be His smile, our unified song of joy vibrating throughout eternity to be broadcast to God-tuned souls!"

Sri Yukteswar gave me light on certain matters which I cannot reveal here. During the two hours that he spent with me in the Bombay hotel room he answered my every question. A number of world prophecies uttered by him that June day in 1936 have already come to pass.

"I leave you now, beloved one!" At these words I felt Master melting away within my encircling arms.

"My child," his voice rang out, vibrating into my very soul-firmament, "whenever you enter the door of NIRBIKALPA SAMADHI and call on me, I shall come to you in flesh and blood, even as today."

With this celestial promise Sri Yukteswar vanished from my sight. A cloud-voice repeated in musical thunder: "Tell all! Whosoever knows by NIRBIKALPA realization that your earth is a dream of God can come to the finer dream-created planet of Hiranyaloka, and there find me resurrected in a body exactly like my earthly one. Yogananda, tell all!"

Gone was the sorrow of parting. The pity and grief for his death, long robber of my peace, now fled in stark shame. Bliss poured forth like a fountain through endless, newly opened soul-pores. Anciently clogged with disuse, they now widened in purity at the driving flood of ecstasy. Subconscious thoughts and feelings of my past incarnations shed their karmic taints, lustrously renewed by Sri Yukteswar's divine visit.

In this chapter of my autobiography I have obeyed my guru's behest and spread the glad tiding, though it confound once more an incurious generation. Groveling, man knows well; despair is seldom alien; yet these are perversities, no part of man's true lot. The day he wills, he is set on the path to freedom. Too long has he hearkened to the dank pessimism of his "dust-thou-art" counselors, heedless of the unconquerable soul.

I was not the only one privileged to behold the Resurrected Guru.

One of Sri Yukteswar's chelas was an aged woman, affectionately known as MA (Mother), whose home was close to the Puri hermitage. Master had often stopped to chat with her during his morning walk. On the evening of March 16, 1936, Ma arrived at the ashram and asked to see her guru.

"Why, Master died a week ago!" Swami Sebananda, now in charge of the Puri hermitage, looked at her sadly.

"That's impossible!" She smiled a little. "Perhaps you are just trying to protect the guru from insistent visitors?"

"No." Sebananda recounted details of the burial. "Come," he said, "I will take you to the front garden to Sri Yukteswarji's grave."

Ma shook her head. "There is no grave for him! This morning at ten o'clock he passed in his usual walk before my door! I talked to him for several minutes in the bright outdoors.

"'Come this evening to the ashram,' he said.

"I am here! Blessings pour on this old gray head! The deathless guru wanted me to understand in what transcendent body he had visited me this morning!"

The astounded Sebananda knelt before her.

"Ma," he said, "what a weight of grief you lift from my heart! He is risen!"

Edited December 13, 2013 by harsharan000

[Sat1176]

Sant Baba Bhagwan Singh (Begowal Rara Sahib) - simran techniques.

Technique given at time index 23 minutes of first video and more in second video. Real pity it's the not the complete video.

Edited December 14, 2013 by Sat1176

[harsharan000]

Very much inspiring.

[Sat1176]

Following my post from a few days ago a reader of this forum kindly sent me some information confirming which directions and locations various anhand shabads are known to be heard. Thought I'd share with you all for reference purposes. The only point I would make is don't go looking for these in particular directions. Let what ever happens occur naturally in it's own time. Then come back and cross check if it agrees with what you are experiencing.

Just thought I'd share that last night I woke up in the middle of the night all of sudden to the sound of a really loud constant horn "Thhuuuuuuuu" being heard from my right ear. It was ever so loud and really distinct. I have heard a finer variation of this before but this one was much more deeper. Lasted for a few minutes and then slowly faded away as I tried to focus my consciousness on it. I know I was dreaming just before I woke up. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.

I really beginning to wonder if there is a correlation of hearing anhad sounds more during the night than during the day. I'm noticing more and more that between the hours 12am and 3am the sounds are much more noticeable. Maybe there is such a thing as ambrosial/amrit vela hours even though I was beginning to think anytime you remember Waheguru is amrit vela for he is beyond the concept of time.

This was documented by a Jagjivan Saheb in the 1700s

He who has been hit by Anhad Shabd which is Nirguna Nam(devoid of or beyond three Gunas) and Nirvan (Brahm Pad), meditates upon Rarankar and seeks Shikhar(Sunn) (1-2)

He who is absorbed in Ajapa-jap ie.,in the internal Shabd, beholds Jyoti (flame) in Gagan (sky). He hears the melodious flute in the middle, the fiddle and violin on the left, and bell and conch on the right. In short, various sounds coming from various invisible regions above are audible to him. (3-5)

Edited December 17, 2013 by Sat1176

[namdhari555]

Here is a video by Baba Waryam Singh Ji

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O84bHZ4mZk#t=0

Edited December 17, 2013 by namdhari555

[Lucky]

Quote

He who has been hit by Anhad Shabd which is Nirguna Nam(devoid of or beyond three Gunas) and Nirvan (Brahm Pad), meditates upon Rarankar and seeks Shikhar(Sunn) (1-2)

He who is absorbed in Ajapa-jap ie.,in the internal Shabd, beholds Jyoti (flame) in Gagan (sky). He hears the melodious flute in the middle, the fiddle and violin on the left, and bell and conch on the right. In short, various sounds coming from various invisible regions above are audible to him. (3-5)

I couldn't help notice the similarities in the ways outlined above with how I would describe it.

From what i remember, I'm sure that I heard or felt the conch at first and I wasn't too sure what it were. I'd probably have described it akin to insect noise at the time.

The Right side of ear-YES !

Then some time later I could say bells but I think I had read and heard about such bell sounds and i automatically expected a single bell sound, but what i encountered was many bells going simultaneously.

Then after quite a number of different visual/trikuti experiences - where i actually felt i was stuck for a while, ...I think I encountered the thundering sounds of drums. The only way i could describe this was many, many, hundreds of drums going in a rhythmic sequence which reminded me of the ''battlesound of nigara drums'' mentioned in gurbani.

I'm sure that Sat veerji may agree or remember here....that you actually hear these sounds but don't even realize that they are happening at the time because you are so absorbed in the jap.

In other words, It is all going on in the background but you are actually in the forefront and captivated in the jap/simran.

So, the sound vibration just continues going but up till some time later until your attention goes there andthen you self-acknowledge it. Here is when, immediately your surti starts to get withdrawn from the inner self, and you come out of the deep state. (and think to yourself..''that sounds like ....'')

In other words, you take a few steps back and out into the background to acknowledge what is happening.

Therefore, in all honesty I can agree that you should NOT go looking for them or be trying to think about your right ear or try to predict such a sound to expect.

I have often thought that these naad come on when you are absorbed in a deeper,calm and steady state, and maybe they are there to distract you !!

Because they have certainly pulled me out at numerous times !!

The ONLY thing that i personally acknowledge them for is as a reassurance that i am doing my walk on the path correctly. Personally, i think i need this as an encouragement to get me walking and going further. I make it serve like a divine message to keep me digging and getting deeper through the veils and layers of ego built around my jeeva.

I had probably read about some of these naad before hand just like some of you may be reading, and you automatically build a preconceived idea of some expected naad vibrations ....BUT, when it actually happens it is nowhere near your predicted assumptions and you don't even realise like i said until you step outwards on to a few layers of self-ego !

Also, just to add.. ... the only central sounds that i can remember starting central were the sounds of something similar to 'shainney' being shaken in rhythm.

All others have seemed to start from the right side at first and either stay there at times or may go central- or maybe I don't really know because my focus goes on the jap/simran. and the brain stops telling me where the sound is coming from ???

Sat veer ji.... with the below-

Quote

......- I like to think of it as the Divine Waheguru ''calling me'' or 'talking to me'.

Although, i can't remember being woken up by it, but i have certainly felt it quite loud when i get up at 1.45/2am before i get in the shower.

When this happens, it pleases me and makes me really psyched up for a good blissful simran/jap session. For some reason, it puts that smile on my inner self that in some way reminds of the many references of ''husband lord and soul wife' in gurbani. I always sense that i am getting a little hint of the feelings that Guruji tries to invoke in these specific shabads about the love and desperation to be with husband lord.

I know that this sounds a little bit egoistic, but it does help me relate to these references in gurbani more clearly.

For all the members out there trying to grab these ropes, i strongly suggest that you always keep focus on jap/simran.

Never start doing simran hoping to hear something new or expect some colourful visions.

Always try to not get tricked by your self but instead make the EFFORT to find your true self.

The other advise that i would give is to find your own personal method that helps you stay in the PRESENT. Being in this 'Present moment' helps to prevent you following thoughts about past or future.

You want to try and experience or find your Nirgun(formless) self.(when you start getting a little closer or getting a few little glimpses, then you will know what i mean!)

Waheguru works in wondrous ways.

Please make the effort to jap and find him.

For every one step you take forward, he takes hundreds more towards you.

 

Waheguru