In the Hours of Meditation Brahman, Self, Purusha, Chaitanya, Consciousness, God, Atman, Immortality, Freedom, Perfection, Peace, Bliss, Bhuma or the Unconditioned, are synonymous terms. If you attain Self-realisation alone, you will be freed from the round of births and deaths and its concomitant evils. The goal of life is the attainment of final beatitude or Moksha. Moksha can be attained by constant meditation in the heart that is rendered pure and steady by selfless service, Japa, etc. Reality or Brahman can be realised by man. Many have attained Self-realisation. Many have enjoyed the Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Sankara, Dattatreya, Mansoor, Shams Tabriez, Jesus, Buddha were all realised souls who had direct perception of the Truth or cosmic vision or Aparokshanubhuti. But one who has known cannot communicate it to others for want of means. Even the knowledge acquired by the five senses, which are common to all, cannot be communicated to others. You cannot tell the taste of sugarcandy to a man who has never tasted it; you cannot communicate the idea of colour to one born blind. All that the teacher can do is to tell his disciple the method of knowing the Truth or the path that leads to the unfoldment of intuitional faculty. These are the signs that indicate that you are growing in meditation and approaching God. You will have no attraction for the world. The sensual objects will no longer tempt you. You will become desireless, fearless, I’-less and mine’-less. Deha-adhyasa or attachment to the body will gradually dwindle. You will not entertain the ideas, “She is my wife; he is my son; this is my house.” You will feel that all are manifestations of the Lord. You will behold God in every object. The body and mind will become light. You will always be cheerful and happy. The name of the Lord will always be on your lips. The mind will be ever fixed on the lotus feet of the Lord. The mind will be ever producing the image of the Lord. It will be ever seeing the picture of the Lord. You will actually feel that Sattva or purity, light, bliss, knowledge and Prema are ever flowing from the Lord to you and filling up your heart. You will have no body-consciousness. Even if there be body-consciousness, it will be in the form of a mental retentum. A drunkard may not have full consciousness that he has a cloth round his body. He may feel that something is loosely hanging from his body. Even so, you have a feeling of the body. You will feel that something is sticking to you like a loose cloth or loose shoes. You will have no attraction for the sex. You will have no sex-idea. Woman will appear to you as manifestation of the Lord. Money and gold will appear to you as pieces of stone. You will have intense love for all creatures. You will be absolutely free from lust, greed, anger, jealousy, pride, delusion, etc. You will have peace of mind even when people insult you, beat you and persecute you. The reason why you are not perturbed is that you get immense spiritual strength from the Indweller or the Lord. Pain and pleasure, success or failure, honour or dishonour, respect or disrespect, gain or loss are alike to you. Even in dreams, you are in communion with the Lord. You will not behold any worldly pictures. You will converse with the Lord in the beginning. You will see Him in physical form. When your consciousness becomes cosmic, conversation will stop. You will enjoy the language of the silence or the language of the heart. From Vaikhari (vocal speech), you will pass on to Madhyama, Pasyanti and Para (subtle forms of sounds) and eventually you will rest in soundless Omkara or soundless Brahman. Dispassion and discrimination, serenity, self-restraint, one-pointedness of mind, Ahimsa, Satyam, purity, forbearance, fortitude, patience, forgiveness, absence of anger, spirit of service, sacrifice, love for all, will be your habitual qualities. You will be a cosmic friend and benefactor. During meditation you will have no idea of time. You will not hear any sound. You will have no idea of the environments. You will forget your name and all sorts of relationship with others. You will enjoy perfect peace and bliss. Gradually you will rest in Samadhi. Samadhi is an indescribable state. It is beyond the reach of mind and speech. In Samadhi or the superconscious state the meditator loses his individuality and becomes identical with the Supreme Self. He becomes an embodiment of bliss, peace and knowledge. So much only can be said. You have to experience this yourself through constant meditation. Contentment, unruffled state of the mind, cheerfulness, patience, decrease in the excretions, sweet voice, eagerness and steadiness in the practice of meditation, disgust for worldly prosperity or success and company, desire to remain alone in a quiet room or in seclusion, desire for association with Sadhus and Sannyasins, Ekagrata or one-pointedness of mind are some of the signs which indicate that you are growing in purity, that you are prospering in the spiritual path. You will hear various kinds of Anahata sounds, of a bell, a kettle drum, thunder, conch, Veena or flute, the humming sound of a bee, etc., during meditation. The mind can be fixed in any of these sounds. This also will lead to Samadhi. You will behold various kinds of colours and lights during meditation. This is not the goal. You will have to merge the mind in that which is the source of these lights and colours. A student in the path of Vedanta ignores these sounds and lights. He meditates on the significance of the Mahavakyas of the Upanishads by negating all forms. “The sun does not shine there, nor do the moon and the stars, nor does this lightning shine and much less this fire. When He shines, everything shines after Him; by His light all these shine.” He meditates, also like this: “The

Mystic Experiences of Sadhakas “I had some peculiar sensation near my solar plexus in my meditation some three years back, that is to say, I noticed the whirling sensation of a flywheel rotating around. Then I came across some peculiar sights. I saw with the physical eyes a sort of white or blue hue of light all around the people’s head and also on the surface of the buildings. When I gaze at the open, grand expanse of sky in daytime I notice a living worm-like white light moving hither and thither. When I work intently in my office, white shining lights flash across my eyes. Sometimes little sparks of light are noticed on my books. This gives me a peculiar joy and I begin to chant the name of the Lord: Sri Ram, Jaya Ram, Jaya Jaya Ram.’ Nowadays when I am cycling to my office a round light-like ball is seen and is visible till I reach my destination. The same thing appears at times when I gaze at the beautiful Akasa.” ……… “S.” “I meditated for five hours daily for a month in Gangotri. One day I had a great deal of dejection for two hours. I could not find any peace. I found it difficult to bear the mood of dejection. I then sat on the bank of Ganga and began to meditate upon Mahatma Gandhiji. It gave me solace then. After a few days I saw meditating on Sri Ramachandra for one and a half hour. This Saguna meditation automatically turned into a Nirguna type. I felt perfect Santi for 10 minutes. My mind was fully engrossed in the meditation on OM. This continued for half an hour. One day I had a different kind of experience. I opened my eyes after meditation. I found everything as Brahman without the help of reasoning. I had this mood the whole day. A Brahmachari spoke to me for one hour on that day. I was only hearing but my mind did not attend to his speech. It remained in the same mood. I could not recollect even a word of his speech. “On another occasion I meditated for half an hour. I had a very ecstatic mood. But owing to some distraction from sounds from outside, the ecstatic mood dropped down. Again I began to meditate. I saw a beautiful light at the bottom of my heart. As soon as that light disappeared, I began to weep unconsciously. Somebody came to me and called me by my name. I did not know anything. He shook my body. I stopped weeping a little and looked at his face and wept again and again for 25 minutes.” ……… “V.” “I observed Mouna as a trial for the first time from 26-2-32 to 4-3-32.” “Mistakes”:-Occasionally I had to express my ideas by gestures. On the last three days I uttered the words Yes,’ enough,’ what’ absent-mindedly. I had the wrong imagination as if there was pain in the jaws. I had a great curiosity for speaking. “Benefits”:-I was able to do more work, reading, Japa and meditation for a longer period than usual. I could not sleep before midnight. The ideas of books were rolling on till midnight. No room for anger and irritability. I was not able to get anything by heart. I tried to get by heart a few Slokas but could not. It was due to my previous habit of uttering once or twice loudly. ………”Ram.” “I did Pranayama for a month and then began to hear some sweet melodious sounds or Nadas of different sorts, viz., flute, violin, bell-sound, Mridang, sounds from cluster of bells, conch sound, drum sound, sound of thunder, sometimes from right ear only, while at other times from both the ears.” ……”N.” “During concentration I used to smell extraordinary sweet fragrance and good smell.” ……..”R.” “I used to see during meditation in my Trikuti a blazing sun, a dazzling light and brilliant star. The vision was not steady at all.” ……..”G.” “I used to have Darshan of some Rishis in my Trikuti during the course of concentration. I used to see my Ishtam, Lord Krishna, with flute in his hands.” ……… “S.” “I used to see at times coloured lights, red, green, blue and white in Trikuti during my meditation. Sometimes I used to see a blue expansive sky. I myself appeared as a dot in that blue sky.” ……… “V.” “During meditation I used to see several Devatas and Devis with lustrous Tejomaya bodies with beautiful ornaments.” ……..”R.” “Sometimes during meditation I used to see a big void only.” ……… “T.” “During concentration I used to see my own face in the centre of a big light. Sometimes I used to see the faces of my friends. I could clearly recognise them.” ……… “R.” “I used to feel a current of electricity passing from my Muladhara to the back of the neck when I sat for meditation. Even at ordinary times I used to feel this.” ……… “K.” “During meditation some astral entities with ghastly hideous faces and long teeth, black in colour used to threaten me. But they did not do any harm.” …….. “A.” “When I sat for meditation I used to get jerks of the legs and hands. Sometimes my body used to jump from one place to another.” ……… “M.” “I used to see palatial buildings, rivers, mountains and gardens during my meditation.” ……… “S.” “I used to meditate with open eyes. One night I saw in front of me a brilliant light. In the centre of the light I saw Lord Krishna with flute in hand. My hair stood on end. I became speechless. I was struck with awe and wonder. It was 3 a.m.” ……… “S.” “One day I had deep meditation. I separated myself actually from the physical body. I actually saw it as a slough thrown out. I was floating in the air. I had a peculiar sensation of a mixture of

Lights in Meditation Various kinds of lights manifest during meditation owing to concentration. In the beginning, a bright white light, the size of a pin’s point will appear in the forehead in the Trikuti, the space between the two eyebrows, which corresponds tentatively to the Ajna-Chakra of the astral body. You will notice, when the eyes are closed, different coloured lights, white, yellow, red, smoky, blue, green, mixed lights, flashes like lightning, like fire, burning char-coal, fire-flies, moon, sun, stars. These lights appear in the mental space, Chidakasa. These are all Tanmatric lights. Each Tanmatra has its own specific colour. Prithvi (earth) Tanmatra has a yellow-coloured light; Apas (water) Tanmatra has a white-coloured light; Agni (fire) Tanmatra has a red-coloured light; Vayu (wind) Tanmatra has a smoky light; Akasa (sky) Tanmatra has a blue light. Yellow and white lights are very commonly seen. Red and blue lights are rarely noticeable. Frequently there is a combination of white and yellow lights. In the beginning, small balls of white light float about before the mind’s eye. When you first observe this, be assured that the mind is becoming more steady and that you are progressing in concentration. After some months, the size of the light will increase and you will see a full blaze of white light, bigger than the sun. In the beginning, these lights are not steady. They come and disappear immediately. They flash out from above the forehead and from the sides. They cause peculiar sensations of extreme joy and happiness and there is an intense desire for a vision of these lights. When you have steady and systematic practice of two or three hours in the morning, and two to three hours at night, these lights appear more frequently and remain steadily for a long time. The vision of the lights is a great encouragement in Sadhana. It impels you to stick steadily to meditation. It gives you strong faith also in superphysical matters. The appearance of the light denotes that you are transcending the physical consciousness. You are in a semi-conscious state when the light appears. You are between two planes. You must not shake the body when these lights manifest. You must be perfectly steady in the Asana. You must breathe very, very slowly. TRIANGLE (LIGHT) IN THE FACE One whose food is moderate, whose anger has been controlled, who has given up all love for society, who has subdued his passions, who has overcome all pairs (heat and cold, etc.), who has given up his egoism, who does not bless anyone nor take anything from others-such a man during meditation obtains it (the triangle) in the face. LIGHT FROM SUSHUMNA “Vishoka Va Jyotismati.” (Chap. I, Sutra 36. Patanjali- Yoga-Sutras). “You can attain Samadhi by meditation on the Effulgent One Who is beyond all sorrow.” Sometimes, during meditation you will see a brilliant dazzling light. You will find it difficult to gaze on this light. You will be compelled to withdraw your mental vision from this light. This dazzling light is the light emanating from the Sushumna in the heart. FORMS IN THE LIGHTS You will see two kinds of forms (1) lustrous forms of Devatas, (2) physical forms. You will see your Ishta Devata or tutelary deity (guiding Devata) in handsome dress and with various, valuable ornaments, flowers, garlands, with four hands and weapons. Siddhas, Rishis, etc., appear to encourage you. You will find a huge collection of Devatas and celestial ladies with various musical instruments in their hands. You will see beautiful flower-gardens, fine palatial buildings, rivers, mountains, golden temples, sceneries so lovely and picturesque as cannot be adequately described. DAZZLING LIGHTS Sometimes, during meditation, you will get very powerful, dazzling lights, bigger than the sun. They are white. In the beginning, they come and fade away quickly. Later on, they are steady, they become fixed for 10 or 15 minutes or half an hour according to the strength and degree of concentration. For those who concentrate on the Trikuti, the space between the two eyebrows, the light appears in the forehead in the Trikuti, while for others who concentrate on the top of the head, Sahasrara Chakra, the light manifests on the top of the head. The light is so powerful and dazzling sometimes, that you have to withdraw yourself from looking at it and break the meditation. Some people are afraid and do not know what to do and how to proceed further. They come to me for instructions. I tell them that this is a new sensation which they have not hitherto experienced. By constant practice, the mind engaged in concentration will be used to it, and the fear will vanish. I ask them to go on with the practice. Some people concentrate on the heart, some on Trikuti, and some on the top of the head. It is a question of personal taste. It is easy to control mind by concentrating on the Trikuti. If you are used to fix on the Trikuti, stick to it always. Do not make frequent changes. Steadiness is very necessary. The beings and objects with whom you are in touch during the early period of meditation belong to the astral world. They are similar to human beings minus a physical overcoat. They have desires, cravings, love, hatred, etc., just as human beings have. They have fine bodies. They can move about freely. They have powers of materialisation, dematerialisation, multiplying, clairvoyant vision of an inferior order. The lustrous forms are higher Devatas of mental or higher planes who come down to give you Darshan, and encourage you. Various Saktis manifest in lustrous forms. Adore them. Worship them. Do mental Puja as soon as they give you Darshan. Angels are beings of mental or higher planes. They also appear before your mind’s eye. Sometimes, you will feel an invisible help, possibly from your Ishta Devata when you are actually pushed from the physical body into the new plane. That invisible power assists in your separating

Anahata Sounds Anahata sounds (or the melody) are the mystic sounds heard by the Yogi at the beginning of his cycle of meditation. This subject is termed Nada-Anusandhana or an enquiry into the mystic sounds. This is a sign of purification of the Nadis or astral currents, due to Pranayama. The sounds can also be heard after the uttering of the Ajapa Gayatri Mantra, “Hamsah Soham,” a lakh of times. The sounds are heard through the right ear with or without closing the ears. The sounds are distinct when heard through closed ears. The ears can be closed by introducing the two thumbs into the ears through the process of Yoni Mudra. Sit in Padma or Siddha Asana, close the ears with right and left thumbs, and hear the sounds very attentively. Occasionally, you can hear the sounds through the left ear also. Practise to hear from the right ear only. Why do you hear through the right ear only or hear distinctly through the right ear? Because of the solar Nadi (Pingala) which is on the right side of the nose. The Anahata sound is also called Omkara Dhvani. It is due to the vibration of Prana in the heart. TEN KINDS OF SOUNDS Nada that is heard is of 10 kinds. The first is Chini (like the sound of the word Chini); the second is Chini-Chini; the third is the sound of bell; the fourth is that of conch; the fifth is that of Tantri (lute); the sixth is that of Tala (cymbals); the seventh is that of flute; the eighth is that of Bheri (drum); the ninth is that of Mridanga (double drum) and the tenth is that of clouds, viz., thunder.Before thou settest the foot upon the ladder’s upper rung, the ladder of the mystic sounds, thou hast to hear the voice of thy inner God (Highest Self) in 7 manners. The first is like the nightingale’s sweet voice chanting a song of parting to its mate. The second comes as the sound of a silver cymbal of the Dhyanis, awakening the twinkling stars. The next is as the melodious plaint of the ocean-sprite imprisoned in its shell. And that is followed by the chant of Veena. The fifth sound of bamboo-flute shrills in thine ear. It changes next into a trumpet-blast. The last vibrates like the dull rumbling of a thunder-cloud. The seventh swallows all the other sounds. They die, and then are heard no more.

Various Experiences in Meditation I. In the beginning of meditation, lights of various colours, such as red, white, blue, green, a mixture of red and green lights, etc., appear in front of the forehead. They are Tanmatric lights. Every Tattva has its own hue. Prithvi Tattva has yellow colour. Apas Tattva has white colour. Agni has red colour. Vayu has green colour. Akasa had blue colour. The coloured lights are due to these Tattvas only. Sometimes a big sun or moon, or lightninglike flashes appear in front of the forehead during meditation. Do not mind these appearances. Shun them. Try to dive deep into the source of these lights. Sometimes Devas, Rishis, Nitya Siddhas will appear in meditation. Receive them with honour. Bow to them. Get advice from them. They appear before you to help and give you encouragement. In the beginning of meditation and concentration you will see in the centre of the forehead a resplendent, flashing light. This will last for half or one minute and then disappear. The light will flash either from above or sideways. Sometimes a sun of 6 inches or 8 inches in diameter with or without rays will be seen. You will see the form of your Guru or Upasya-Murty also. When you get glimpses of the Self, when you see the blazing light, when you get some other extraordinary spiritual experiences, do not fall back in terror. Do not give up the Sad-hana. Do not mistake them for a phantom. Be brave. March boldly with joy. II. What sort of dreams do you get? What kind of thoughts arise in your mind as soon as you wake up, when you are alone in the room, when you walk in the streets? Are you able to keep up the same state of mind you have during meditation in a closed room when you walk in the street also? Introspect and closely watch your mind. If the mind is perturbed when you walk in the streets, you are still weak, you have not advanced in meditation, you have not grown in spirituality. Continue the meditation vigorously. An advanced student will have thoughts of Brahman even in dream. Understand the power of silence. The power of silence is infinitely greater than lectures, talks, orations and discourses. Lord Dakshinamurti taught the four youths, Sanaka, Sanan-dana, Sanatana and Sanatkumara through silence. The language of silence is the language of God. The language of silence is the language of heart. Sit silently and restrain the mental modifications. Sit silently and send out the inner spiritual force to the world. The whole universe will be benefited. Live in silence. Become silent. Rest in silence. Know the Self and be free. When you sit for meditation in the morning send out your love and peace to all living beings. Say: Sarvesham Santir Bhavatu. May peace be unto all: Sarvesham Svasti Bhavatu. May prosperity be unto all: Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavan-tu. May happiness be unto the whole world. In the peace all the pains are destroyed; for the intellect of the tranquil-minded soon becomes steady. When the mental peace is attained, there is no hankering after sense-objects. The Yogi has perfect mastery over his reason. The intellect abides in the Self. It is quite steady. The miseries of the body and the mind come to an end. During meditation you will have no idea of time. You will not hear any sounds. You will have no idea of environments. You will forget your name and all sorts of relationship with others. You will enjoy peace and bliss. Gradually you will rest in Samadhi. In the beginning, the aspirant remains in a state of bliss for some time. He comes down. By constant practice of incessant meditation, he continues to remain in that exalted state for ever. Later on, the body-idea completely vanishes. When you enter into deep meditation, you will have no consciousness of your body or surroundings, you will have equanimity of mind. You will not hear any sound. There will be stoppage of upgoing and down-going sensations. The consciousness of egoism will also gradually vanish. You will experience inexplicable joy and indescribable happiness. Gradually, reasoning and reflection also will cease. When you enter the silence through deep meditation, the world outside and all your troubles will drop away. You will enjoy supreme peace. In this silence is Supreme Light of lights. In this silence is undecaying Bliss. In this silence is real strength and joy. When you practise rigorous meditation, Kevala Kumbhaka or natural retention of breath without Puraka (inhalation) and Rechaka (exhalation) will come by itsejf. When Kevala Kumbhaka comes, you will enjoy immense peace and you will have one-pointed mind. The visions of the Rishis concerning the soul and such other transcendental matters, manifest themselves to one who is devoted to the constant duties prescribed by the Srutis and the Smritis, who is unselfish and who seeks to know the supreme Brahman. During deep meditation, the aspirant forgets the external world first and then the body. That feeling of rising up during meditation is a sign that indicates that you are going above body-consciousness. You will feel a peculiar Ananda (bliss) also when you experience this feeling. In the beginning this feeling of rising up will last for a minute only. After a minute you will feel that you have come back to normal consciousness again. You will enjoy a sort of higher type of indescribable peace during your meditation. But it will take a long time to get real spiritual experiences or merge the mind in your Lak-shya or chosen object of meditation or get over body-consciousness completely. Be patient. Persevere. You will succeed. The attainment of cosmic consciousness is permanent in realised souls. It is like a glimpse in the beginning. Through steady meditation, it becomes permanent or natural. III. Concentration is fixing the mind on any point, external or internal. During meditation the mind becomes calm, serene and steady. The various rays of the mind are collected and focussed in the object of meditation. The mind