Do not go to the garden of flowers! O Friend! go not there;
In your body is the garden of flowers.
Take your seat on the thousand petals of the lotus,
and there gaze on the Infinite Beauty.
Synopsis
| Name | Location | Plane it corresponds to |
| Bindu | Above the head | Superconscient |
| Sahasrara | Above the head | Superconscient |
| Guru | Above the head | Superconscient |
| Nirvana or Brahmarandhra(i.e.door of Brahman) | In the top center of the head | Higher Mind |
| Ajna | Eyebrows | Dynamic Mind, Will, Vision, Mental Formation |
| Vishuddha | Throat | externalizing physical mind |
| Anahata | Heart | Emotional being |
| Manipura | Navel | Higher Vital |
| Svadhisthana | Below navel | Lower Vital |
| Muladhara | Root of spine | Physical down to subconscient |
| <noname> | Below feet | Subconscient |
| <noname> | Below feet | Subconscient |
Picture of Chakras
See Susan Shumsky’s Exploring Chakras p 106
Twelve Chakras
According to the Mother, there are twelve Chakras in all:
“The tantrics recognize seven chakras,’ I believe. Theon said he knew of more, specifically two below the body and three above. That is my experience as well – I know of twelve chakras. And really, the contact with the Divine Consciousness is there (Mother motions above the head), not here (at the top of the head). One must surge up above.“
Description of the Chakras
This mental or psychical body, which the soul keeps even after death, has also a subtle pranic force in it corresponding to its own subtle nature and substance, – for wherever there is life of any kind, there must be the pranic energy and a substance in which it can work, – and this force is directed through a system of numerous channels, called nādī, – the subtle nervous organisation of the psychic body, – which are gathered up into six (or really seven) centres called technically lotuses or circles, cakra, and which rise in an ascending scale to the summit where there is the thousand-petalled lotus from which all the mental and vital energy flows. Each of these lotuses is the centre and the storing-house of its own particular system of psychological powers, energies and operations, – each system corresponding to a plane of our psychological existence, – and these flow out and return in the stream of the pranic energies as they course through the Nadis.
This arrangement of the psychic body is reproduced in the physical with the spinal column as a rod and the ganglionic centres as the Chakras which rise up from the bottom of the column, where the lowest is attached, to the brain and find their summit in the brahmarandhra at the top of the skull. These Chakras or lotuses, however, are in physical man closed or only partly open, with the consequence that only such powers and only so much of them are active in him as are sufficient for his ordinary physical life, and so much mind and soul only is at play as will accord with its need. This is the real reason, looked at from the mechanical point of view, why the embodied soul seems so dependent on the bodily and nervous life, –though the dependence is neither so complete nor so real as it seems. The whole energy of the soul is not at play in the physical body and life, the secret powers of mind are not awake in it, the bodily and nervous energies predominate. But all the while the supreme energy is there, asleep; it is said to be coiled up and slumbering like a snake, – therefore it is called the kuņdalinī śakti, – in the lowest of the Chakras, in the mūlādhāra. When by Pranayama the division between the upper and lower Prana currents in the body is dissolved, this Kundalini is struck and awakened, it uncoils itself and begins to rise upward like a fiery serpent breaking open each lotus as it ascends until the Shakti meets the Purusha in the brahmarandhra in a deep Samadhi of union.
[Sri Aurobindo, Synthesis of Yoga, Chapter 28, Raja Yoga]
The navel-centre (nābhi-padma) is the main seat of the centralised vital consciousness (dynamic centre) which ranges from the heart level (emotional) to the centre below the navel (lower vital, sensational desire centre). These three make the domain of the vital being. It is therefore clear that it was your inner vital being which had this experience, and its intensity and vehemence was probably due to the whole vital (or most of it) being awake and sharing in it this time. The experience itself was psychic in its origin, but was given a strong emotional-vital form in its expression. I may add, for completeness, that the centre of the psychic is behind the heart and it is through the purified emotions that the psychic most easily finds an outlet. All from the heart above is connected with the mental-vital and above it is the mind with its three centres. One in the throat (the outward-going or externalising mind), one between the eyes or rather in the middle of the forehead (the centre of vision and will) and one above, communicating with the brain, which is called the thousand-petalled lotus, and where are centralised the highest thought and intelligence, communicating with the greater mind planes (illumined mind, intuition, overmind) above.
[Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga, Experiences of the Inner and the Cosmic Consciousness]
Description of the Sahasradala Chakra
Above-head centre. Above the head extends the higher consciousness centre, sahasradala padma, the thousand-petalled lotus, commanding the higher thinking mind and the illumined mind and opening upwards to the intuition and overmind. The sahasradala centralises spiritual mind, higher mind, intuitive mind and acts as a receiving station for the intuition proper and overmind. It is the seventh and highest centre. Usually those who take the centres in the body only count six centres, the sahasrara being excluded. It is sometimes or by some identified with the brain, but that is an error; the brain is only a channel of communication situated between the thousand-petalled and the forehead centre. The former is cometimes called the void centre, sunya, either because it is not in the body but in the apparent void above, or because rising above the head one enters first into the silence of the self or spiritual being. The centre at the crown must be part of the sahasradala, the centre of communication direct between the individual being and the infinite consciousness above.
[M. P. Pandit, Sri Aurobindo on the Tantra]
Description of opening of the Chakras in Sri Aurobindo’s epic poem Savitri
A mighty movement rocked the inner space
As if a world were shaken and found its soul:
Out of the Inconscient’s soulless mindless night
A flaming Serpent rose released from sleep.
It rose billowing its coils and stood erect
And climbing mightily, stormily on its way
It touched her centres with its flaming mouth;
As if a fiery kiss had broken their sleep,
They bloomed and laughed surcharged with light and bliss.
Then at the crown it joined the Eternal’s space.
In the flower of the head, in the flower of Matter’s base,
In each divine stronghold and Nature-knot
It held together the mystic stream which joins
The viewless summits with the unseen depths,
The string of forts that make the frail defence
Safeguarding us against the enormous world,
Our lines of self-expression in its Vast.
An image sat of the original Power
Wearing the mighty Mother’s form and face.
Armed, bearer of the weapon and the sign
Whose occult might no magic can imitate,
Manifold yet one she sat, a guardian force:
A saviour gesture stretched her lifted arm,
And symbol of some native cosmic strength,
A sacred beast lay prone below her feet,
A silent flame-eyed mass of living force.
All underwent a high celestial change:
Breaking the black Inconscient’s blind mute wall,
Effacing the circles of the Ignorance,
Powers and divinities burst flaming forth;
Each part of the being trembling with delight
Lay overwhelmed with tides of happiness
And saw her hand in every circumstance
And felt her touch in every limb and cell.
In the country of the lotus of the head
Which thinking mind has made its busy space,
In the castle of the lotus twixt the brows
Whence it shoots the arrows of its sight and will,
In the passage of the lotus of the throat
Where speech must rise and the expressing mind
And the heart’s impulse run towards word and act,
A glad uplift and a new working came.
The immortal’s thoughts displaced our bounded view,
The immortal’s thoughts earth’s drab idea and sense;
All things now bore a deeper heavenlier sense.
A glad clear harmony marked their truth’s outline,
Reset the balance and measures of the world.
Each shape showed its occult design, unveiled
God’s meaning in it for which it was made
And the vivid splendour of his artist thought.
A channel of the mighty Mother’s choice,
The immortal’s will took into its calm control
Our blind or erring government of life;
A loose republic once of wants and needs,
Then bowed to the uncertain sovereign mind,
Life now obeyed to a diviner rule
And every act became an act of God.
In the kingdom of the lotus of the heart
Love chanting its pure hymeneal hymn
Made life and body mirrors of sacred joy
And all the emotions gave themselves to God.
In the navel lotus’ broad imperial range
Its proud ambitions and its master lusts
Were tamed into instruments of a great calm sway
To do a work of God on earthly soil.
In the narrow nether centre’s petty parts
Its childish game of daily dwarf desires
Was changed into a sweet and boisterous play,
A romp of little gods with life in Time.
In the deep place where once the Serpent slept,
There came a grip on Matter’s giant powers
For large utilities in life’s little space;
A firm ground was made for Heaven’s descending might.”
[Sri Aurobindo. Savitri — A Legend and a Symbol, pp 528-530]
Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo & The Mother 
Pingback: A Few Notes on Gender From a Mystical Perspective, Part II: the Mystical Meaning of Masculinity « mysticservant
Ramakrishna on Chakras:
About the visions in each centre (Chakra) while the coiled power goes up by the passage of the Sushumna, the Master used to say, “The Vedanta speaks of seven planes. The experiences in these planes differ from one another. The mind normally moves up and down in the three lowest planes. Its attention is fixed to the anus, the organ of generation, and the navel-to eating, dressing, coition and the like. If, however, it happens to transcend those three planes and reaches the heart, one has the vision of light. But although the mind rises sometimes to the heart, it comes down to the three lower planes again. If anyone’s mind goes up to the throat he cannot speak on any mundane topics. He will speak only of God.
(Saradananda, Sri Ramakrishna The Great Master, 6th ed., Chennai: Ramakrishna Math, p. 513)
Nagin : What is meant by “centres”?
Sri Aurobindo: The centres of consciousness, the chakras. It is by their opening that the Yogic or inner consciousness develops — otherwise you are bound to the ordinary outer consciousness. The more they open, the more the consciousness increases. They are reckoned as six usually — or with the one above the head, seven.
Nagin : May I know what the “Adhara” is?
Sri Aurobindo: The Adhara is that in which the consciousness is now contained — mind-life-body.
Nagin : The Vedanta speaks of seven planes. It says that the human mind tends naturally to confine its activities to the three lower centres. Does our Yoga accept this? What are the three lower centres?
According to our system the three lower centres are the vital, the lower vital and the physical — but the planes are quite different. The three lower planes are mind, life and matter and it is true that the human mind confines itself to these three activities. But it is not true that its activities are confined to the vital and physical things.
Nagin:The Vedanta also says that when one enters into the fourth centre one sees the Divine Effulgence. Is that a fact?
Sri Aurobindo: What is the fourth centre? In our system the fourth centre is the heart and the Divine is there in the psychic, behind the heart. But the fourth of our seven planes is the supramental which is far above the head but can be communicated with through the seventh centre, the Sahasradala padma.
[…]
Nagin: What part does the spine play in connection with the centres?
Sri Aurobindo: The spine is the support of the centres, and it is through the spine that in the Tantric sadhana the Kundalini rises.
(Nagin Doshi. Guidance From Sri Aurobindo, Volume 1, pp 8-10)
Hello, you have Incredible knowledge! Do you know of any Master Healers and Master Readers? I would truly appreciate any thing you could help with. Many Blessings
Thank you for your blessings!
No, I don’t know of any Master Healers or Readers.
Stephanie, just put up some pictures of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother in your house and ask them for what you need. People think that because they are’nt here in a physical body anymore, that they can’t be contacted. They are very close – just the other side of the veil, next to this world [subtle physical plane]. They are permanently positioned there. Contacting them isn’t difficult.
>> It is by their opening that the Yogic or inner consciousness develops …
what happens in sleeping state? Does the consciousness go within only after Chakra opening or does the soul have no constraint after one is in sleep as the outer being does not interfere anymore. Is there any correlation between Sahasradala padma and contact with psychic?
Thats a good question. I haven’t come across anything from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother on the matter, although when they state that one must meditate before sleeping, it is implied that one is concentrating on the Chakras.
The Buddhists have something to say about the connection between Chakra opening and dreams. They recommend that before going to sleep, one must visualize various symbols at the throat, forehead and heart and Muladhara(lowest) Chakras. This is said to improve the dreaming experience.
Most people doze off, enter the subconscious and experience incoherent dreams. The Buddhists call this “blind horse, lame rider” – the Prana(life-energy) is the exhausted horse and the uncontrolled mind is the lame rider.
Those who learn to concentrate on the higher Chakras begin to experience lucid dreams, and further on, those whose Kundalini is awakened and Chakras are all opened experience the clearest dreams because they are in Turiya (the fourth state).
For references to Buddhist books on this issue, follow these links:
Evans-Wentz “Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines“, Oxford, 2000, p 217.
Tenzil Wangyal Rinpoche “Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep“, Ithaca, NY : Snow Lion, 1998, pp 42-64.
Mullin (editor). Tsongkhapa’s Six Yogas of Naropa, Ithaca, N.Y. : Snow Lion, 2005, p 179.
Is there a correlation between mind and emotion and what is the difference between reflection of the sun on water and lamp in the dark room?
What does it mean if you see around a person something like dark envelope with a bit of brownish colour? Greed, tamas, low desires?
Amsha, l think it depends on the shade of the color. The lighter the better l think. Dark colors – like dark brown – probably suggests depression etc…
“Sri Aurobindo: The centres of consciousness, the chakras. It is by their opening that the Yogic or inner consciousness develops — otherwise you are bound to the ordinary outer consciousness. The more they open, the more the consciousness increases. They are reckoned as six usually — or with the one above the head, seven.”
l imagine that with the action of the Spiritual Force or Shakti in us, the Chakras would automatically open [eventually] without any effort on our part. Does that sound right??
Of course it ultimately depends on the Supreme Grace, but still…
Mike: l imagine that with the action of the Spiritual Force or Shakti in us, the Chakras would automatically open [eventually] without any effort on our part. Does that sound right??
Yes, that is the preferred mode in Integral Yoga (concentrate above the head or in the heart). There exist other Yoga paths which recommend that one concentrate on other Chakras like the one at throat, and even others.
“Those who learn to concentrate on the higher Chakras begin to experience lucid dreams, and further on, those whose Kundalini is awakened and Chakras are all opened experience the clearest dreams because they are in Turiya (the fourth state).”
Yes, but surely these aren’t dreams when we reach that point in sadhana. We become fully conscious outside our physical bodies, and in those other non-physical worlds. They can’t be dreams any more, because dreams are usually self-created scenario’s while outside the body, or perhaps created by influences or beings in those worlds.
l know that even The Mother [in agenda] said she was still having realistic dreams right up to the end, but l have a feeling She wasn’t dreaming as ordinary ppl do.
No you are right, the Mother wasn’t dreaming like ordinary people. She could chose which domain she wanted to go to.
Mike: Yes, but surely these aren’t dreams when we reach that point in sadhana.
I was quoting Buddhist references above so you would have to check them to see how they delineate the difference. The second reference I gave above (Tenzil Wangyal Rinpoche “Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep“ starting from page 61) defines three types:
1. Samsaric dreams due to personal Karmic traces. These are incoherent dreams resulting from the descent into the subconscious.
2. Dreams of clarity due to transpersonal Karmic traces (?). They say this occurs when the mind and prana begin to stabilize. One begins to get dreams which have some symbolic meaning. Most Yogis who live a disciplined life begin to get some feedback on how they need to proceed.
3. Clear Light dreams. You get these when you are very advanced on the path.
Dear Sandeep,
Is there a way for some one who don’t practice the yoga to prevent from dozing off to subconscient and have a peaceful sleep.At times even if one sleeps for more hours, doesn’t feel rejuvenated and restful, instead feel inert, may be due to continuous dreaming activity which depletes subtle energy.
For those who don’t practice Yoga, sleeping pills or hallucinogens might temporarily help. Sorry, couldn’t help joking 🙂
There is no quick fix to this problem as I told someone in an earlier comment https://auromere.wordpress.com/constitution-of-man/subconscient/#comment-4960.
Among the suggestions the Mother gave were
1. Meditate, chant a Mantra or at least spend a few minutes offering oneself in devotion before sleeping.
2. Break up the sleep into intervals. Wake up periodically at night for a while to regain consciousness (without using an alarm clock)
3. Sleep much before midnight and wake up early before dawn.
4. Eat less before sleep
5. Eat more invigorating food through the day. Give up street food, oily, spicy, sweet, etc.
Needless to add, you have to sleep alone, if you know what I mean. 🙂
Long term, you need a complete overhaul of your life. A lot of junk habits accumulated since childhood have to be thrown out.
The problem of television and computer usage did not exist during the Mother’s time. In our era, we have to account for these images which are being continuously beamed directly into our subconscious. You have to stop watching TV before sleep and later even give it up completely until some stability is attained.
For those who begin Yoga, things get worse before they better because once the subliminal opens up, one becomes lot more sensitive to the unobtrusive manner in which the subconscious absorbs impressions. Every strong thought and emotion we have in the day rises up and explodes at night creating unmanageable difficulties.
Have you read Towards more conscious sleep and dreaming and Four Austerities
The booklets on Sleep and Dreams sold by SABDA are also helpful.
I have listed them under https://auromere.wordpress.com/techniques/sleep-and-dreams/
There are herbs/supplements like Aswaganda or Holy Basil that can give a better sleep, l believe.
Thanks for the suggestions.I understand that the cleansing will happen only after psychic transformation before which one has to take the burden of subconscious , waking or sleeping.
Great, Thanks So Much! Wishing You A Miraculous 2013!
Pingback: Ways of navigating this blog | Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo & The Mother
Pingback: The exchange of vital forces during social interactions | Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo & The Mother
When there are random thoughts, it is usually around the throat. So must I focus on the throat to get rid of aimless thinking?
No, that might only exacerbate the problem.
Take your attention away from it. Center it above the head or within the heart or even on some external image (sky, ocean, deity picture).
I try to focus on top of the head, but sooner or later I feel a pressure at the back of my neck. So I give up. Do I just continue hoping the pressure would go away?
Also I experienced coolness for a while (on top head), but now it has disappeared completely.
As I already said, there is no instant Enlightenment. There will be ups and downs in the spiritual path.
This piecemeal Q&A is not going to be helpful to you or me. You need to find a teacher who can teach you a specific method. You should enroll for a meditation course somewhere and go from there. Try the Vipassana course at http://www.dhamma.org or ask around for someone who can teach you.
I have no one. this blog is the only place where i can learn.
It is difficult to learn meditation from a blog and more generally, over the Internet. The answer I provide to your questions could be wrong since I can’t perceive your personality.
You need to start with some local guidance. At the least, you could visit the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry and buy the booklets by M.P.Pandit on meditation. That will answer many of the basic questions you are raising here.
Sandeep, do you have any information on the sudarshan chakra? has aurobindo said anything about its symbology?
No, I dont know anything. Use the search engine @ http://motherandsriaurobindo.org and see what you find.
l hadn’t read this before and l always assumed the chakras were ‘opened’ by the Descent of Force [aka kundalini from above] but apparently it’s the Psychic Being that ‘opens’ them, according to this article – l believe he’s quoting SA as well:
“With regard to other aspects of classical Tantra, it is important to note that Sri
Aurobindo and the Mother did not recommend raising the kundalini shakti (force or
The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2004, Vol. 36, No. 2
124Page 15
Table 1
The Inner Being (based on Aurobindo, 1970a, pp. 328–9, 334–8, 364–77)
Chakra
Sri Aurobindo’s description
Sahasradala
Higher Mind, Illumined Mind
Thousand-petalled lotus; top of head;
blue with gold light
Commands the higher thinking mind (buddhi)
and the illumined mind, and opens upwards
towards the intuitive mind and Overmind.
Ajna
Dynamic Mind
Forehead; two petals; white
Commands thought, will, vision, inner mental
formation. ‘‘Third eye.’’
Visuddha
Externalizing Mind
Throat region; sixteen petals; grey
Commands expression and externalization of all
mental movements and forces; also called
physical mind when it gives a mental order to
external things and deals with them practically.
Different from gradations of consciousness
below that have no specific chakra:
Mechanical Mind (Mental Physical)
Repeats customary ideas and habits endlessly,
strong in childhood.
Vital Mind
Involved primarily in dreaming, imagining,
planning for the future (e.g., fantasies of
greatness, happiness, wealth, fame, heroism,
etc).
Mental Vital
Gives mental expression to vital movements
such as emotion, desire, passion, and nervous
sensations. Through this avenue vital
movements can rise up and cloud or distort
reasoning (e.g., rationalization).
Hrtpadma or Anahata
Emotional Mind and Higher Vital
Sternal region; twelve petals; golden pink
Seat of various feelings, such as love, joy,
sorrow, hatred, affection, etc. The ‘‘heart’’
chakra.
[Chaitya purusha, not a chakra per se
and not emphasized in older yogas]
Inner Heart (Psychic Being)
Perceived as deep inside center of chest, behind
the heart chakra; is the evolving soul that
grows from life to life and is the core of true
individual identity.
Nabhipadma or Manipura
Central Vital
Region from heart to navel; ten petals; violet
Source of the stronger vital longings and
reactions, such as ambition, pride, fear, love
of fame, attractions and repulsions, desires,
passions, will to power.
Svadhisthana
Lower Vital
Between the navel and base of spine;
six petals; deep purple red
Connects all centers above with the physical
consciousness below; is concerned with small
desires (food and sex), as well as small likings
and dislikings, such as vanity, quarrels, love
of praise, anger at blame, little wishes.
Muladhara
Physical Consciousness
Base of spine; four petals; red
Governs the physical being down to the
subconscious. When not transformed, is prone
to inertia, ignorance, repetition of habits,
slowness, resistance to spiritual consciousness.
The subconscious has no organized chakra,
but arises from below the feet.
Sri Aurobindo and Transpersonal Psychology
125Page 16
power) from below, because doing so can lead to a variety of psychological
disturbances acknowledged by transpersonal psychology (Scotton, Chinen, &
Battista, 1996, pp. 261–270). Instead, IYP proceeds by bringing forward the psychic
being and infusing the psychic into the entire inner being first, and then the outer
being, as well. The advantage of this method is that by virtue of its inherent contact with the Divine, the psychic being can gently open the chakras and canalize the
kundalini power without danger of inducing what transpersonal psychologists now
call ‘‘spiritual emergencies’’ (Aurobindo, 1970a, pp. 1146–51, 1091–1239).”
Sorry, l didn’t mean to post all the about the chakras. HPerhaps you can delete the above post sandeep and l”l repost it again here:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:PLqwcw_bNg8J:www.ipi.org.in/texts/others/michealmiovic-sa%26transpersonalpsychology.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=opera
“With regard to other aspects of classical Tantra, it is important to note that Sri
Aurobindo and the Mother did not recommend raising the kundalini shakti (force or
power) from below, because doing so can lead to a variety of psychological
disturbances acknowledged by transpersonal psychology (Scotton, Chinen, &
Battista, 1996, pp. 261–270). Instead, IYP proceeds by bringing forward the psychic
being and infusing the psychic into the entire inner being first, and then the outer
being, as well. The advantage of this method is that by virtue of its inherent contact
with Divine, the psychic being can gently open the chakras and canalize the
kundalini power without danger of inducing what transpersonal psychologists now
call ‘‘spiritual emergencies’’ (Aurobindo, 1970a, pp. 1146–51, 1091–1239)
This has been extremely helpful Mike. Thanks for posting this article!
Hi mark. Yes, l found it helpful myself, especially the last statement, which cleared up some confusion in my mind. Now l realise the Psychic Being can do everything necessary.
“Instead, IYP proceeds by bringing forward the psychic
being and infusing the psychic into the entire inner being first, and then the outer
being, as well. The advantage of this method is that by virtue of its inherent contact
with Divine, the psychic being can gently open the chakras and canalize the
kundalini power without danger of inducing what transpersonal psychologists now
call ‘‘spiritual emergencies’’ “
That particular quote brings me relief since I was not clear on how to open the chakra’s:
“All the inner centers must have burst open and released into action their capacities;…” SA TLD:931.
Mike: you may have read this or the like already:
http://savitri.in/blogs/light-of-supreme/posts/38-let-your-psychic-being-guide-you
I found it helpful.
Yes, thanks mark.
lt was very interesting; especially certain passages. l thought it was SA at first, but then l remembered the story about the Mother and that woman.
There were three passages that impressed me though:
1)That is why even though they are born far from one another, there is something which compels them to come together; it is the psychic being, the psychic consciousness that is behind….
People meet and recognise each other only to the extent they become conscious of their psychic being, obey their psychic being, are guided by it; otherwise there is all that comes in to oppose it, all that veils, all that stupefies, all those obstacles to prevent you from finding yourself in your depths and being able to collaborate truly in the work. You are tossed about by the forces of Nature.
2)There is only one solution, to find your psychic being and once it is found to cling to it desperately, to let it guide you step by step whatever be the obstacle. That is the only solution.
3)External motives are simply pretexts used by the psychic to realize itself. [that’s a comforting statement]….
And this “so they have taken an inner vow to continue to act together and collaborate” l’ve heard before described as a ‘Soul Contract’..
Mike: there is a recent article on the Psychic in Sraddha, February 2014 issue titled “The Experience of the Psychic Being and its Mutation – Part. I” by Alain Grandcolas: http://www.motherandsriaurobindo.org/Content.aspx?ContentURL=_StaticContent/SriAurobindoAshram/-09%20E-Library/-05%20Magazines/Sraddha/2014/-02_February%202014.pdf
I have not yet read it entirely but it appears comprehensive. Thought you might like it.
l find this confusing. When l’ve seen the two ajna chakra petals they appear as a purple/violet colour. Wikipaedia says below:
“Ajna is symbolised by a lotus with two petals, and corresponds to the colours violet, indigo or deep blue, though it is traditionally described as white.”
How can ‘white’ be the same as indigo or violet??
SA and others says their white in above posts, though.
These colours might correspond to the forces working on mental plane which in turn give shades or different appearance to chakra. Make sure you didn’t smoke.
Thanks amsha, l think you might be right. lt probably does correspond to that part of my mind that was seeing the chakra – and those who give varying description, of course.
l don’t smoke and l’m not on drugs so l think l’m safe there LOL
Hello. I was at the Aurobindo Ashram last week meditating with my friend. It was my second time there and her first. The first time I had been there, I was allowed to go inside into the meditation room which has The Mother’s bed. This time however, entry was restricted. Anyway, so there I was, trying to meditate. Something had happened a few hours earlier which had left me upset and I couldn’t hide it. After a while, this kind man tapped me on the shoulder and told me I could go inside into the meditation room. He said I could take my friend as well. Anyway, when we were leaving, the same man gave me a small envelope with The Mother’s picture on it and a pressed leaf or petal inside it and told me to go to the Samadhi, pray with it and then afterwards keep it with me forever. Does anyone know what this means? I’m touched that he gave it to me, just curious as to why and what it means.
P.S.- Had also donated some money on behalf of a friend; Could that have anything to do with it?
The envelope with the Mother’s picture and pressed leaf is a standard offering. It was the Mother who used to give out these envelopes on birthdays and special occasions.
Thanks for the reply. Just thought it was strange since he didn’t seem to be giving them to anyone else.
Yes, l had many in the past. l used to eat the petals – because l didn’t really understand at that time lol.
Not sure, but l think they also distribute bits of SA’s and M’s clothing too – don’t know if they still do this, though.
wow, it’s amazing that you guys know about these details from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. I’m indeed lucky to have found your online blog Sandeep & Mike. Sorry I have not been contributing any comments at all recently since I’ve had an inopportune accident and almost broke my shoulder. Hopefully I will be able to visit Pondicherry and the Ashram soon by next year hopefully!
Nizken: I’ve had an inopportune accident and almost broke my shoulder
So now you have a chip on your shoulder ! 🙂
Nizken, l should make it clear, this is Sandeep’s blog and l’m just a contributor like you.
Hope your shoulder heals fast, and good luck on your travels.
Mark. many thanks for that link. lt fits in with an experience l’m going through at the moment. l’m in the process of reading it now.
Yes, lt’s very interesting and l can identify with a lot of it from my own experience.
lt’s funny, because, every day l ask, by touching Mother’s picture, for ‘union with the ‘innermost Divine’ as quoted in the article. And the odd thing is, about a year or so ago, as l was doing this, l heard a voice in my head clearly say the french word ‘année’ – very clearly [l don’t know french, and l’ve never used that word and it would be the last thing l’d expect to hear]. lt means ‘year’ l believe – and in the article it mentions that it took Mother one year to attain the ‘psychic realisation’. Anyway, about a year after this, l had an experience walking through a mall. l suddenly felt a ‘burst’ of light [l could see something light a pinkish/white light] flooding out of my chest. lt filled the body and my immediate space and it seemed to stop all negativity from entering my atmosphere, lf that makes sense. Definitely, a change in my consciousness, while it lasted…. lt subsided after about a day, l think, but it seems to return now and then. l’m going through something at the moment, which is similar, but l’m not sure if it’s the same thing exactly….
l didn’t agree with the passage below, however. ln my experience the Descents of Peace/Force etc….can happen anywhere at anytime, either with my eyes open or closed, and the experience doesn’t stop when your moving about or active.. lt’s happened to me while walking, sitting, talking, reading etc.. l don’t think you can just limit it to meditation or being alone….
“This experience can occur while one is alone or while interacting with people,
with open eyes or with closed eyes and does not disappear when one opens
one’s eyes. Usually, spiritual experiences are characterised by a definite spiritual
change in consciousness and a specific sensation within the body (peace, force,
waves, current and electricity) or a vision. But as soon as the person having the
experience opens his eyes and joins the active life, it vanishes somehow; this is
not the case with the psychic experience.”
wonderful link, am glad to relate with these experiences of fellow aspirants to divinity. However the capacity to sustain the contact is a battle. But mother’s force and the knowledge from Sri Aurobindo keeps at this effort coming back again and again in Life.
The force from above seems automatic, works itself down .The psychic coming forward seems slighltly different process. It is a bottom up or inside out work that we have to strive for or labour for without losing patience or faith. Because the psychic is having to deal with the physical, the circumconscient not just its own but also the universal.
i have my own checklist of the psychic coming forward but afraid of putting them out unlike these brave souls in Auroville who have given the interviews.But in Mother’s words one finds enough indicators to find this fellow inside us.just becoming aware of the mother’s workings in us puts the right priorities back in Life. gives the much needed balance .
Also the following quote from Mother seems important if you are in a kind of Life having to deal with the external world life and achieve at the least a balance, if not a mastery.
“the more psychic one is, the more is he in contradiction with the present
state of the world. . .
The development of the psychic being has a double result, which is
concomitant. That is, with the development of the psychic being, the sensitivity
of the being grows. And with the growth of sensitivity, there is also the
growth of the capacity for suffering; but there is the counterpart, that is, to
the extent to which one is in relation with the psychic being, one faces the circumstances of life in an altogether different way and with a kind of inner
freedom which makes one capable of withdrawing from a circumstance
and not feeling the shock in the ordinary way. You can face the difficulty or
outer things with calm, peace and a sufficient inner knowledge not to be
troubled”
And in this i must add whatever the nature of mistake one commits the force above doesn’t seem to judge, but it acts.
Thanks all.
Mike and Gopal: Thanks for responding to the article on the Psychic.
I had a similar experience (recently) with the “year”, but, I have never been inclined to see color/s or hearing words. But I remember about a year ago, intuitively knowing that I needed “another year,” just that, and not knowing what that really meant. And just over this past holiday this latest movement began….
The article left me wondering what is really meant by “Psychic Transformation.” I had always imagined from my studies, a stable and permanent experience, one that does not fluctuate back and forth.
Also, in my case, I have experienced a widening-of-consciousness which is indicative to the Spiritual Transformation. I don’t recall (I may have to reread it) the article making any such reference to the Spiritual Transformation, or the interrelationship between the two.
Here is a short article by M.P. Pandit:
“The Psychic Not Enough
It is often asked if realisation of the psychic being is not enough as a spiritual goal. Why is it necessary to realise the Spirit, the Divine in the Universe? If the object is to attain union with the inner Divine, then indeed realisation of the psychic should be adequate. It is an individual achievement and goes no farther. If however, it is sought to extend the realisation to other parts of the being, particularly as related to the universe, then that is not enough. For the psychic is individual in character. One who is in union with it feels himself as one in many but not as one with many. For that purpose he needs to realise the Spirit on his higher mental levels. The mind is disciplined to open to the universal Self and identify itself with it. One who realises this Self realises also the Divine Reality as manifested in the universe. The Divine ‘I’ replaces the individual ‘I’.
The psychic may throw its influence on the rest of the being but by and large, the individual nature is left on its own steam. The psychic needs the individual for its functioning. That is not so with the spiritual Self. The Divine ‘I’ does not need to function on the basis of individual nature. The universal nature forms the needed instrumentation. In other words the emphasis shifts from personal to impersonal.
Strictly speaking, one who realises his identity with the cosmic Self on his higher mental levels and beyond, does not need to bring in the psychic in his scheme of things. It is only if he wants to transform his idividual being that it becomes necessary to turn his attention to the psychic being and establish its governance. The working of the psychic has a powerful purifactory effect on the rest of the being and that makes it easier to control and transform the vital nature and change the allegiance of the vital being.
It may be added that the two realisations are not two compartmentalised movements. Each can help the other. Spiritualisation does exert pressure on the being and the founts of the psychic open up and flow out. Similarly when the psychic casts its influence on the mental being, it loses its rigidity and fans out into the larger extension of the Spirit. It is certainly possible, as in the integral yoga, to work upon both simultaneously–in the heart and in the mind. At some stage one comes to realise that both the Self and the psychic are the same Reality in different functional poises.” M.P. Pandit, Selected Works of M.P. Pandit, Volume One: Sri Aurobindo.
Yes mark, l know what you mean by those ‘imperative knowings’, so to speak. lt’s probably the Psychic lntuition or something that always knows beforehand….
l too, always thought that the ‘Pychic Union’ or realisation/Transformation, would mean a Permanent Change or reversal. SA usually describes a Permanent experience as a Realisation. ln the Descent process we have many Spiritual experiences of Peace, Force, Ananda, Knowledge etc.. but He says when these experiences become ‘PERMANENT’ it’s called a Realisation…. [A Permanent Experience, that is]….
Even according to the Mother’s Psychic experience in Paris the Light only lasted for a few month’s and ‘the sense of THAT willing, THAT knowing, THAT ruling the whole life, THAT guiding everything ‘ was what remained..
l’m not sure what the Reversal is though – it’s said that ‘instead of being on the outside looking in, your on the inside looking out’….
:
“And then suddenly, for no
apparent reason – I was neither more concentrated nor anything else –
poof! It opened… It didn’t just last for hours, it lasted for months! It didn’t
leave me, that light, that dazzling light, that light and immensity. And the
sense of THAT willing, THAT knowing, THAT ruling the whole life, THAT
guiding everything – since then, this sense has never left me for a minute.
And always, whenever I had a decision to make, I would simply stop for a
second and receive the indication from there”
Also, in the article the author says that most don’t experience any light, as described below [some did]:
““an inner door will suddenly open and you will emerge into a dazzling
splendour” , the Mother writes.”
lf this doesn’t happen [l haven’t seen this light myself yet] l’m not sure it can be called a Real Psychic Contact.. because Mother seems pretty emphatic on that point. lt could be that going within is a different experience to when the Psychic comes forward by itself [to the front]…. l’m not sure..
“Strictly speaking, one who realizes his identity with the cosmic Self on his higher mental levels and beyond, does not need to bring in the psychic in his scheme of things. It is only if he wants to transform his idividual being that it becomes necessary to turn his attention to the psychic being and establish its governance”
That seems to answer the question why those so-called advanced souls in the article [the one’s who were around SA and M for years] weren’t concerned about knowing their Psychic Being – a bit strange if you ask me lol..
Considering the Mother said in the Agenda [after seeing the Psychic Being of one of her attendants] that the Supramental Transformation will happen through the Psychic..
At the moment, l feel like l have two movements going on – one above the head and the other at the Psychic Centre. There appears to be an connection of light between the two centre’s. According to the Mother we need to live in that consciousness above the head….
mark,mike,
the psychic discovery and it’s coming forward and the union with the psychic in all parts of the being are not the same but part of the process . It culminates in the transformation. That is my understanding.
the finality of the psychic transformation and what it is, i do not know. nowhere close to it….
regarding the realizations of the impersonal brahman or the UNIVERSAL, Integral yoga has them listed as part of the process, but now, this is very important, but the process in itself has no DEFINITIVE order. Now that doesn’t mean it is random. i would say it is DEFINITIVE RANDOM ORDER [DRO]. This was and is my understanding, from the point of living in the gross, imperfect, external world. Am willing to accept that i may be wrong in this description.
But the reason why i say it is DRO is because of 2 definitive experiences i had when i started becoming conscious. One of the experiences.. of the silent brahman kind, or probably from what i read later in a pdf full of glossary to sri aurobindo’s record of Yoga, it is termed .
susupta-svapna defined as
deep svapna samadhi bordering on susupta sam̄adhi, in which “memory, reason,
mental attention are all absent”, but activity of vij̃nana can proceed
and be inertly received by the mind.
Basically i woke up from sleep and was in a state of coma, but was aware without any memory of past present or future or any relativities of the world.
Another was the experience of this witness purusa what is called Sakshi . Sri Aurobindo calls it one of the three intuitive sense of the Purusha, without any great effort on my part . And it continues to develop.
These 2 experiences Always assure me the impersonal is not running anywhere be it in this Life or the one next.
Now where these the result of past Life yogic efforts, i do not know. The path i took after those kind of experiences will shock the puritans. and the spiritualists of the traditional order.
But the upshot of this path was an entry into the universal consciousness with various experiences .So it all seems like happening at the same time in the Universe . Intellect demands that these be in a certain order. But that approach is COUNTER INTUITIVE .what is more important is reason and discrimination. Sri Aurobindo calls it Viveka.
Having said that i fully understand that there can be no fixed rules. a lifetime of retreat in solitude probably in the Himalayas attaining to self realization, and then proceed to the next phases of transformation like a well charted out graduation semester ,if that is the way, i envy it.
Gopal M Said: “the finality of the psychic transformation and what it is, i do not know. nowhere close to it….”
Mike Said: “l too, always thought that the ‘Pychic Union’ or realisation/Transformation, would mean a Permanent Change or reversal.”
And I had said: “The article left me wondering what is really meant by “Psychic Transformation.””
I had found the answer, but after pondering both of your posts – TY!
“The Life Divine – The Triple Transformation:
“If you can concentrate upon the soul, if you can renounce all that is not emerging from the soul and if you can purify the mixtures of various kinds then that constitutes the process of yoga and then the soul can flower much more easily; the screen becomes more and more transparent and ultimately the screen can be completely removed even; or at least for the time being it can be removed. And even as it falls … A great Aspiration – inextinguishable aspiration – begins to burn in our outer being i.e. body, life and mind. And these three processes…of janayoga, of baktiyoga and karmayoga…are processes of purification, renunciation and concentration. … If that happens very successfully then the psychic personality becomes very powerful. … the real royal activities begin to operate: 1) Wisdom 2)Heroism 3)Love 4)Spontaneous Skills. … then starts the process of transformation. Till this time there is only a question of conversion … then these activities radiate and they flood the body, life and mind and tune everything in terms of the psychic consciousness and the mind is psychisized, life is psychisized, body is psychisized; in every nook and corner the presence of the soul is felt and experienced, then you have reached the state of psychic transformation.” Kireet Joshi http://www.auroville.org/organisation/kireet_joshi.htm [*the pages are not marked, I found it to be the 19th and 20th pages of his talk.]
Thanks to both of you for you assistance!
I just reread a previous blog where Sandeep had already included the above materials from Kireet Joshi here: https://auromere.wordpress.com/transformation/triple/psychic/
So thanks to all three of you!
Thanks for the link mark, lt actually led me to some things l needed to know [as usual lol].. indirectly so to speak.. like Sri Aurobindo coming back in the first Supramental Body – probably not in my lifetime, though lol..
hxxp://www.ipi.org.in/texts/ip2/ip2-1.1-.php
Also, some interesting stuff on ‘Reversal of Consciousness’:
“The Mother uses the term “reversal of consciousness” for another kind of total and radical change of consciousness, the change from the normal or ordinary consciousness in which one is ignorantly identified with the ego into the consciousness in which one is identified with one’s true self. She describes the phenomenon as a revolution of the basic equilibrium, that is, a total reversal of consciousness comparable with what happens to light when it passes through a prism. Or it is as though you were turning a ball inside out, which cannot be done except in the fourth dimension. One comes out of the ordinary three-dimensional consciousness to enter the higher four-dimensional consciousness, and into an infinite number of dimensions.
The Mother, Questions and Answers 1950-51 , p. 19
Speaking about the phenomenon in less abstract terms, the Mother says:
…when the phenomenon occurs, it brings with it an inexpressible something, so new and so definitive, that doubt and questioning are no longer possible. It is truly, in the absolute sense of the phrase, a new birth.
You become a new person, and whatever may be the path or the difficulties of the path afterwards, that feeling never leaves you. It is not even something—like many other experiences—which withdraws, passes into the background, leaving you externally with a kind of vague memory to which it is difficult to cling, whose remembrance grows faint, blurred—it is not that. You are a new person and definitively that whatever happens. And even all the incapacity of the mind, all the difficulties of the vital, all the inertia of the physical are unable to change this new state—a new state which makes a decisive break in the life of the consciousness. The being one was before and the being one is after, are no longer the same. The position one has in the universe and in relation to it, in life and in relation to it, in understanding and in relation to it, is no longer the same: it is a true reversal which can never be undone again.
The Mother, Questions and Answers 1957-58 , pp. 336-37
In the same context the Mother makes a further remark which has an important bearing on transformation. She says:
And since we are speaking of that, I shall remind you of what Sri Aurobindo has said, repeated, written, affirmed and said over and over again, that his yoga, the integral yoga, can begin only after that experience and not before.
So one must not cherish any illusions and fancy that one can begin to know what the supermind is and form any idea of it or assess it in any way, however minimal, before having had that experience.
Therefore, if you want to advance on the path, you must very modestly start on your way towards the new birth, first, and realise it before cherishing the illusion that you can have supramental experiences.”
The Mother, Questions and Answers 1957-58 , pp. 337
This implies that from the viewpoint of Integral Yoga, transformation which can come about only by the descent of the supramental consciousness into mind, life and body, can take place only after what the Mother calls a reversal of consciousness.
The nature of such a reversal can be best understood by looking at some of the basic characteristics of the ordinary consciousness. One of the most fundamental characteristics of our normal consciousness is our sense of an ego, that is, of a self that exists as a distinct reality, separate from the rest of the universe. Regarding this “egoistic ignorance” as Sri Aurobindo calls it, he writes:
..the ego is a falsification of our true individuality by a limiting self-identification of it with this life, this mind, this body: it is a separation from other souls which shuts us up in our own individual experience and prevents us from living as the universal individual: it is a separation from God, our highest Self, who is the one Self in all existences and the divine Inhabitant within us.” Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine, p. 740
Regarding the effect of a reversal of consciousness on the ego, the Mother says:
When this [a reversal of consciousness] happens to you, almost all the questions you ask yourself or ask me will be solved.
And anyway, your attitude in life will be so different that you will understand what is meant when one speaks of living spiritually. And at that moment you will also understand a great thing, a very great thing: how to live without ego.
Until then, you cannot understand it. The whole of life is so dependent on the ego that it seems absolutely impossible to live and act except with or by the ego, but after this new birth you can look at the ego with a smile and say to it, “My friend, I don’t need you any more.”
The Mother, Questions and Answers 1957-58 , p. 338″
Very good Mike. I found another comment under this blog (https://auromere.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/the-elusive-touch-of-the-psychic-being/), where both you and Sandeep discuss ROC.
What I find interesting is that the experiences I have are difficult to match by their words, their descriptions, for instance of the psychic. Apparently, my first psychic movement was back in the early 90’s. And since then I have had four, which includes this present one (I don’t like to discuss experiences until well after they have passed, so I will forgo any attempts to describe this present movement). One of the quotes of the Mother’s experiences that you had highlighted had given me the insight I needed to connect those experiences, only now do I know this and not before! And since this latest movement I can understand more readily, for instance Kireet Joshi’s talk above of which I had read before, even highlighted heavily, but was not able to see as clearly as I do now (many of Sandeep’s blogs are now accessible when before they were only accessible by half the insight I have now). Usually it is after the “experiences” (sometimes well after) that I can match their writings/experiences to them. Otherwise, I do find the writings useful for the practice of concentration and as well the other benefits that come by reading highly conscious writings. So, I still read prolifically. 🙂 …sometimes the writings come as an indication of what is about to open up. …This is why I shy away from any sort of research attempts, I have not that type of intellect, that which you, Sandeep and many other’s here have. I think I noticed a blog here that described me as having an aesthetic mind.
*Side point: And I read a comment somewhere in an older blog here-but lost track of it-where Sandeep recommends an essay titled “The Steps of the Soul” by Nolini Kanta Gupta (Gupta, of whom I have heard of but never read until this AM). He is very insightful and a very good writer! And that essay is really good. Thank You Sandeep! Now I am trying to find his collected works via on-line used books as they are out-of-print. I know his works are available on-line for download, but I specifically want a bound copy. I’m very excited about his work now.
Mike: I have a question. 12 years ago I had an experience and I wonder if you might know what it is called? I’ll try to describe it the best I can. I had been concentrating on the heart center for 13 years. This was my second movement – the first movement was 8 years before this and after five years of concentrating on the heart center. For three days I was in a state of ecstasy, felt like I was floating two feet above the ground (I was not levitating). In the location of the heart center, I felt and could actually see (best description I can offer) a crystalline energy geyser which projected directly out of the heart center about two feet out from my chest cavity – I literally could sit and watch it. This was subtle energy, no one else saw it. A few years ago I did find an image of the exact same experience on-line, but lost it. And now I cannot find anything about it. …Just wondering if you know what it is called? Thanks!
Mike: Another article I just read by Gupta here: http://www.motherandsriaurobindo.org/Content.aspx?ContentURL=_staticcontent/sriaurobindoashram/-00%20e-library@@@/-03%20disciples/nolini%20kanta%20gupta/Volume-3/-116_The%20Psychic%20Being.htm
What if those high spiritual realisations are not necessary anymore?
Darius: What if those high spiritual realisations are not necessary anymore?
There is a section of the IY folks who believe that the “atmosphere” has changed so much that they can just transform their cells without attaining anything else. Some of them mistakenly assume that Kundalini awakening is a sign of “cellular transformation”
I don’t believe so. I think those high spiritual realizations are necessary because they provide a stable base on which the rest of the work can be done. Without a tranquilized mind, the descent of Shakti and its stability is much more difficult
Sadeep said: “Without a tranquilized mind, the descent of Shakti and its stability is much more difficult.”
Sandeep, I wonder if this Shakti Descent is the same as the Ascent/Descent? SA has mentioned a non-descriptive “force,” and the “Mother/Shakti,” and the “Ascent/Descent.” I’m sure you have these details in a blog somewhere? 🙂
Sandeep: I read through all your postings on Ascent, Ascent/Descent, etc. It appears that Shakti is the Descending Force. Thank You!
“Now that doesn’t mean it is random. i would say it is DEFINITIVE RANDOM ORDER [DRO]”
Gopal, you’ve lost me on that one lol. ls there an order when something is ‘random’?
l’m probably missing your point. Perhaps, you mean that this ‘random order’ just appears random to our mental understanding, because it’s Divinely Ordered….
From what l understand, some have the Self-Realisation first and some have the Psychic-Realisation. But, we need one or the other before the Spiritual Life proper can begin..
“Basically i woke up from sleep and was in a state of coma, but was aware without any memory of past present or future or any relativities of the world”
lm also confused by the above. Can we be ‘AWARE’ if we are in a coma. Do you mean you were in a sort of blank mental state, like your mind had been wiped clean? Also, can we have a memory of the future?
Sorry, l’m not quite grasping your meaning here..
l think your saying that in a certain state of Consciousness, all these experiences [Psychic, Spiritual etc] just come together. That would obviously be a much later stage in the Yoga, l think, after we’ve had all the important realisations mentioned by SA and M..
Anyway, it’s interesting..
“What if those high spiritual realisations are not necessary anymore?”
Darius, it would be nice to think that we could become Supramental Beings without the necessary steps or realisations. Who knows, perhaps the Supramental contagion that is said to be taking place at the cellular level in humanity ATM. Perhaps it will create that possibility, or just naturally enlighten us without the effort of attaining realisation…..
Gopal, Mike: Thank You. …I’m unable to follow your experiences and understandings very well as they are quite personal. But thank you for your efforts! 🙂
“We read, we try to understand, we explain, we try to know.
But a single minute of true experience teaches us more than
millions of words and hundreds of explanations.” The Mother
Yes mark, we have to go beyond words.
Mike: I did attempt to reread both posts. It’s just a bit overwhelming for me. I do see some points, but not all. It’s okay. If I look back again in a few days or weeks, then more will make sense.
When I began reading SA & M’s materials, it did not mean much to me – Satprem’s “Adventure” book was the first one that spoke to me in-part. And I had tried to quit Integral Yoga more than once, but it keeps coming back to me, like it will not leave me alone. But things that were closed to me years back are opening to me now. I do not approach these materials intellectually, as though I were writing research. Rather, the effect, as best I can imagine, is like a tea bag in a cup of hot water. The things that open to me, that speak to me, I resonate with, but I usually cannot talk about it in an educated manner, like a teacher to his students. And I don’t ever want that responsibility.
Gopal, you’ve lost me on that one lol. ls there an order when something is ‘random’?
Mike please watch this 5 minute video on the famous double slit quantum experiment.
To recap-
he explains the random wave like behaviour of the electrons . But still it ends up creating a pattern. But when a measuring device is put there in one of those slits, it behaves like a particle or marbles , meaning it goes through only one of them.
The analogy
Now lets say one slit is high spiritual realization. Another slit is the psychic coming forward through all the trials and tribulations of the world. Electron is the individual soul. Invisible in all these is the Mother’s force. the act of putting a measuring device to find out which way the electron (soul) went is nothing but the individual mind looking at it that way. and that very act will make it go through only one.
Now this tells us about the power of the mind in giving precision. But the negative side to this is that it has ended up in this artificial division of life as two, one being spiritual another non spiritual.
Just want to emphasize that The rhythm of consciousness is dynamic , and it requires a dynamic Life to express it, even at the cost of a little chaos. Sri aurobindo says in Life Divine ” …And this again has eventually to become the happy shock of divine interchange, the strenuous clasp of Love replacing the convulsive clasp of strife. Still, strife is the necessary and salutary beginning. .” and Mother has also once stated this she calls it “Divine anarchy” again to explain what she means by that Sri Aurobindo in Life Divine says this “…..Nor will the knowledge, will and delight of one soul clash with the knowledge, will and delight of another, because by their awareness of their unity what is clash and strife and discord in our divided being will be there the meeting, entwining and mutual interplay of the different notes of one infinite harmony…
l think your saying that in a certain state of Consciousness, all these experiences [Psychic, Spiritual etc] just come together.
i dont even want to put this pressure of anticipation. But yes you are right and may i add that it may become a natural way for us just as it was with Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
Darius : “What if those high spiritual realisations are not necessary anymore?”
i will believe that provided there is a sort of world revolution in something say probably in Science or in politics where there will be a sort of convergence which Sri Aurobindo has predicted . That will be a statement from the cosmic godhead.
But that requires science and society to come to honest observations, and right conclusions. Science Even if it is honest in its observations , it is still coming to inadequate and wrong conclusions.
Do you mean you were in a sort of blank mental state, like your mind
had been wiped clean?
That would be a better description. The experience never recurred. i
woke up and sat on the floor for a few seconds in that state .
“We can give here the example of another revolutionary yogi, a companion of Sri Aurobindo, who was once bitten by a dog. Using his power of consciousness, he immediately blocked the effects of the virus and went on living without thinking about it (we should note in passing that had this happened yogi been in a perfect state of consciousness, he could never had been bitten). But one day, during a particularly stormy political meeting, he lost his temper and flew into a rage at one of his speakers. A few hours later he died in the terrible throes of rabies. A few hours later he died in the terrible throws of rabies. His power came only from the control of his consciousness. The moment his consciousness faltered, everything returned to the way it was before, because the laws of the body had not been changed, but only muzzled. Therefore the kind of change Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have in mind does not involve acquiring more or less temporary “supernatural” powers and draping them over our natural powers, but changing the very nature of man and his physical conditioning. It is not control but actual transformation.” Satprem, The Adventure of Consciousness.
What Satprem is depicting, how I see it, is a permanent bodily transformation. I wonder at what level of Transformation Satprem is talking about here, and in regards to the Triple Transformation? How is the Psychic involved in this Transformation in relation to the discussions held here recently? What is involved in reaching this level of transformation?
I appear to be finding the answers to my questions on my own, since they are already blogged here. Sorry that it is taking me so long to find what is already here! 🙂
Mark,
“For three days I was in a state of ecstasy, felt like I was floating two feet above the ground (I was not levitating). In the location of the heart center, I felt and could actually see (best description I can offer) a crystalline energy geyser which projected directly out of the heart center about two feet out from my chest cavity”
Don’t think l’m qualified to answer, but it certainly sounds like a Psychic experience from the little that l know.
Sounds like an identification with your Psychic Being [a Psychic Opening] and a vision of the Psychic Light flooding the external being, along with the Psychic Joy that is commonly experienced as well..
l’ve had a similar thing, except it was more like a Presence, and the Light was a whiteish/pink color, very much like a warm, comforting embrace.
l’ve also had this Psychic light streaming out of the heart centre and going to other people – resembling a bridge of light..
Yes Mark, Nolini has some good books. l remember that a friend of mine [dead now] liked his works a lot.
l particularly liked the last paragraph in the link you posted. The statement ‘a kind of incognito so that he may work in peace and quiet’ is something l can definitely relate to LOL…. Describes my whole life to a T.
“One who was a king, for example, as I already narrated once, who has had the experiences of power and authority and domination, the imperial heights, may choose to descend to ordinary life, to work as an obscure person without being troubled by the pomps of high position; he may choose very bourgeois surroundings, very humdrum conditions among humdrum men and things, to procure, so to say, a kind of incognito so that he may work in peace and quiet. Can you say it is a decline and a fall? It is only facing life, meeting its problems from another angle, another point of view. You must know that for consciousness, the true consciousness – the consciousness of the psychic – glory and obscurity are the same, success and failure are the same. What is important is the growth of consciousness. Certain conditions which to your human eye appear favourable, may in reality be quiet unfavourable for the growth of consciousness. With your ordinary thoughts and your ordinary reactions you judge everything according to success and failure. But that is the very last way of judging, for it is the most artificial, most superficial and absolutely contrary to truth. In human life, as it is organised at present, it is perhaps only once in a million cases, or even less than that, that truth is given the first place; always there is an element of show mixed up. When a man has success, much success, you may be sure there is mixed up with it as much show. “
Thanks for both response Mike. 🙂
Mother said that Theon had encyclopedical knowledge. So I wonder where did he get that knowledge if tradition speaks only of seven chakras? Was it Alma who told him about 5 more?
Don’t know. Maybe Mike knows
“Active sleep: When the subtle body becomes independently active, one gains conscious control over sleep”
Sandeep, l’m wondering what you mean’t by the ‘subtle body becomes independently active’.
“Mother said that Theon had encyclopedical knowledge. So I wonder where did he get that knowledge if tradition speaks only of seven chakras? Was it Alma who told him about 5 more?”
Darius, from what l’ve read it would seem that Alma had the occult knowledge.
“It was Alma who had the occult experiences and who communicated her knowledge to Théon”
hxxp://www.aurobindo.ru/workings/other/van_vrekhem-beyond_man.htm#05
Mike: Sandeep, l’m wondering what you mean’t by the ‘subtle body becomes independently active’.
One feels oneself separating from the physical body and floating via the subtle body.
Is there any truth to this idea that chakras can be spinning the wrong way? I cannot find any credible sources for this information except sketchy new age sites and people… I am skeptical but am wondering if there is any truth to it….
Never heard of it. Maybe they are building on a literal meaning of “spinning” of the Chakra.
The opening of the Chakra signifies opening to a particular plane of consciousness. How would direction of spinning matter ?
I read it somewhere years ago. I think it was in regard to the type of clairvoyance that hitler and his kind develop. Because it’s a left-hand ability in their case it was said that the chakra went anti-clockwise. I think it was either rudolf Steiner or Leadbeater (theosophist). Not sure though.
In Chinese medicine and reiki l believe they say that the chakras revolve in clockwise or anti-clockwise depending on the gender of the person. I’ve not read anything by SA or M on this subject (not yet anyway)..
I read a book about spirit attachment and spirit release therapy by a woman who said she had been clairvoyant from an early age (she’s well regarded in this field). Apparently, according to her, the rotation of chakras is different for each person. The quote below is from her book.
“A number of years ago a client came to me because she was constantly having spirits attach to her. We worked to remove them and then protected her each time she was cleared. The client diligently continued her protection techniques, but still collected spirits whatever she did. At one session I was guided to look into her Solar Plexus chakra and as I did so I was surprised to realize there was a gateway right in the center of the chakra. This gateway was operating in both directions as an entry and exit. I had never considered the possibility of a portal in a chakra before. I then checked her other chakras and found that another three also had similar gateways. The four affected chakras were all spinning in the wrong direction and were held open. Each person has an individual pattern of spin for their chakras. Many have chakras that all turn clockwise, other peoples turn anti- clockwise and some have chakras that alternate. In this latter instance the Crown might spin clockwise, the Brow center anti- clockwise, and so on down the body. Once you have established what the client’s pattern is then you can discover which chakras are spinning in the wrong direction. The key to gateways is to cleanse, close and then seal them and this is what I did. Her chakras returned immediately to their normal direction and speed of spin. When we closed and protected each they remained secure. Afterwards the client had far more control over her energy field and stopped collecting unwanted spirits. To have a gateway in one chakra is quite rare, but to have one in four chakras is extraordinary. This type of gateway is caused by trauma which can include the entry of a spirit, a cord, a past life issue, psychic attack or physical injury to that area of the body. Chakra gateways usually operate as both entry and exit, but it would be feasible for the entry to be at the front of the chakra and the exit at the back or vice versa. With a chakra gateway in place you will almost certainly find it impossible to close or protect the chakra. The chakra may become distorted, continue to spin in the wrong direction or even stop turning completely regardless of what you do to balance it. You may also be negatively affected by spirits, other people’s issues and be energetically unbalanced until the gateway is dealt with.”.
When they say meditate on sahasra chakra, what exactly do they mean? Just focusing on top of head?
Yes, keep the attention above the center of your head. That is where the Hiranmaya Patra is located
Is there any chakra in the mouth/tongue region (not the throat chakra)? When I focus in the mouth, the chattering stops.
No chakra there. Maybe just attention on the region helps