Paul Foster Case Tarot

Here is a link to some of Paul Foster Case's interpretations of the tarot. Pretty interesting stuff regarding color and musical notes.

http://uk.lvx.org/?page_id=4

Video: What Would Jesus Buy?

Kind of off topic but I can't wait to see it.

Mantras

Mantras

(Sanskrit, literally "mind protection") A sacred word or sound. The use of sacred words and sounds is universal throughout all religions and mystical traditions, because the root of all creation is in the Great Breath or the Word, the Logos. "In the beginning was the Word..."

"When phonetic combinations are made with wisdom, mantras are produced. Therefore, a Mantra is a wise combination of letters whose sounds determine spiritual, psychic, and also physical effects... Mantras exist for each chakra; occult powers can be awakened with such mantras. Likewise, a great number of mantras exist for Astral projection, or in order to attain dominion over the Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. There also exist mantras that can defend us before the tenebrous entities, which dwell within the Abyss." - Logos Mantra Theurgy


Maha Mantra

Here is a link to an explantation of the meaning and benefits of the Maha Mantra.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Click to hear Maha-Mantra now

Aum Masi Padme Yum	"The mantra Aum Masi Padme Yum develops intuition when it is daily vocalized for ten minutes. This mantra is vocalized as follows: Ooooommmm mmmmaaaa ssssssssiiiiiiiii padddddmeeeee yommmmmm. This is the mantra of intuition." - The Revolution of Beelzebub
Belilin	For protection from negative forces. Belilin... Belilin... Belilin... Amphora of Salvation. I would like to be next to you; Materialism has no power close to me. Belilin... Belilin... Belilin... Click here for pronunciation.

HIRAM	“Hiram” is also a mantra of the Kundalini. The “H” is pronounced like a sigh. The “I” is vocalized like this: iiiiiii; and the rest like this: rrrrrrraaaaaaaaammmmmmm." - Esoteric Treatise of Hermetic Astrology
IAO	Pronunciation "I.A.O. is the mantra of sexual magic. The correct way to pronounce this mantra is to vocalize each letter separately, prolonging the sound of each vowel. The mantra I.A.O. must be vocalized during the moments of sexual magic in order to awaken our sacred fire." - Igneous Rose "The mantra IAO was also vocalized by Master Jesus during the trance of sexual magic; he knew how to withdraw in time from the sexual act in order to avoid seminal ejaculation; this is how Jesus awoke all of his occult powers. The mantra IAO is vocalized by breathing separately and prolonging the pronunciation of each of its three vowels; do not pronounce its three letters in one breath. IAO has the power of awakening the sacred serpent." - The Major Mysteries

Gate Gate Paragate	Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Swaha. "These mantras are not pronounced plainly. We have to learn how to chant them: yes, to chant them. With silence, empty mind, and relaxed body... So it is done, until one day in absence of the "I", the illuminating void (which is the truth) can be experienced." - 150 Answers Click here for pronunciation.

OM	"The mantra OM has the power to awaken the frontal and cardiac chakras, namely, clairvoyance and intuition. We attain enlightenment by meditating on the mantra OM." - The Major Mysteries

RAOM GAOM	The peppermint is intimately related with the Akasic records of Nature. The mantras of the peppermint permit us to remember our past reincarnations. These mantras are “RAOM GAOM”. These mantras can be vocalized mentally during the retrospection exercises performed in profound meditation, in order to remember our past lives. The mantras RAOM GAOM permit us to open the closed records of Nature’s memory in order to remember our past reincarnations. - Igneous Rose "It is urgent to combine the retrospective exercises with the following mantras: RAOM GAOM. Each word is divided into two syllables. One must accentuate the vowel O. These mantras are for the student what dynamite is for the miner. Thus, as the miner opens his way through the bowels of the earth with the aid of dynamite, similarly, the student also opens his way into the memories of his subconsciousness with the aid of these mantras." - The Perfect Matrimony
RUSTI	"The Gnostic takes advantage of the natural state of transition between vigil and dream in order to leave his physical body. This is done naturally, as when one is walking out of his home. The individual simply pronounces the mantra RUSTI , and in the moment when he is getting drowsy, he gets out of his bed - not with the mind, nor the imagination, but as if he is really doing it with his body of flesh and bones. Hence, the physical body remains within the bed. The mantra is pronounced many times like this: Rrruuusssssssssttiiiiiiiiiiiiii." - The Revolution of Beelzebub

Bhakti and Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti

"Bhakti means 'devotional service.' " (The Nectar of Devotion [NOD], p xii)

Bhakti connotes devotion, or love, and love implies service. Service refers to that activity which is intended to please the beloved. Thus "devotional service" is an eloquent definition of Bhakti.

Love is the most fundamental drive of every living entity. We cannot be happy without satisfying this desire to love, and we will not be able to perfectly fulfill this desire without permitting its expansion to the most inclusive extent.

"In the primary stage a child loves his parents, then his brothers and sisters, and as he daily grows up he begins to love his family, society, community, country, nation, or even the whole human society. But the loving propensity remains imperfectly fulfilled until we know who is the supreme beloved." (NOD, p. xv)

Love can become all-embracing only when we understand that Krishna is the supreme beloved, the root of all creation. By embracing Him we successfully embrace everyone, just as pouring water on the root of a tree successfully nourishes every leaf and branch.

The Nectar of Devotion teaches us the science of loving every one of the living entities perfectly by the easy method of loving Krishna.

Bhakti-yoga

The word yoga means "to connect." Though yogas are commonly used for health and fitness, the Vedic texts explain that yoga is meant to connect with God.

Bhakti means "devotion," or "devotional service," or "pure love." So Bhakti-yoga means to practice connecting with God, and reestablishing our relationship with Him, through acts of love and service, or devotional service.

Bhakti-yoga and Vaishnavism are synonymous terms.

Rosicrucian Symbolism

The Symbolism of the Rose-Cross

The basic rose cross symbol is that of a rose appended to the junction of the two lines of the cross - the center point. But the traditional Rosicrucian symbol is a cross of 6 squares whereon is a red rose of five petals. The cross is of 6 squares for a number of reasons. It relates the cross to the number six which is the number of the Tree of rife Sphere to which it corresponds, (See the Tree of Life diagram in the appendix) that is, the Sphere of Tiphareth (Beauty) also known as the Sphere of the Sun. The cross of six squares is also the unfolded cube of six faces. The perfect cube has been used to represent the Holy of Holies since Old Testament times. We know the tabernacle was 10 cubits in length, breadth, and height. The Sanctum Sanctorum of Solomon's Temple likewise was cubically shaped using the measure of 20 cubits. In Revelation (21:17-18) the New Jerusalem is likened to a perfect cube of pure gold. Gold is related to the cube, cross, and Sun sphere for a number of reasons. Gold is the metal associated with the sun. But also Qabalistically, the cube unfolds to a cross of six; this means that the units around the cross (the perimeter) add up to 14. The Hebrew word zahab means gold and the letters of the word add up to 14 (Zain + Heh + Beth or 7 + 5 + 2 = 14). In addition, all these symbols that correspond to six correspond geometrically to the hexagram.

The rose is, as mentioned before, related to the number 5 and the pentagram. It is the flower of Venus, the Goddess of Love. Also as mentioned before, it is a sign of secrecy (Cupid, Venus's son, is sometimes represented holding his finger to his lips as was the Egyptian Harpocrates.) Being the number five, it also is related to the hypotenuse of the 3-4-5 right triangle.

One of the earliest depictions of the rose and cross is in the manuscript titled the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians (Geheime Figures der Rosenkreuzer aus dem l6en und 17th Jahrhundert), published in 1785. (Again, see appendix) Around the upper part of the cross is written: "This is the Golden and Rosy Cross, made of pure gold, which every Brother wears on his Breast." The Rose-Cross Lamen of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn may be derived from this figure as they have very many common elements as will be seen upon comparison. I have included the Golden Dawn Rose-Cross lamen in the appendix in both black and white and in color (the approximate correct colors). Also given is a front view and the back view. Let us examine the Rose-Cross lamen in some detail.

The lamen is a cross with each arm representing one of the four elements: Fire - red, Water - blue, Air - yellow, and Earth - citrine, olive, black and russet. Each arm is depicted with an upright pentagram crowned with Spirit representing that he who wears this is Master of the Four Worlds. This is confirmed by the glyph of the hexagram surrounded by the planetary symbols with the sign of the sun at the center.

The ending of each arm of the cross is triple with each segment assigned to one of the three alchemical principles: sulphur, salt, and mercury. The three segments upon the four arms allude also to the 12 signs of the zodiac. At the center of the cross is the rose of 22 petals. The rose is divided into 3 petals at the center, 7 petals in the second circle, and 12 in the outer circle. They are depicted in the appropriate Hebrew letters and colors as such: the three so-called Mother Letters in the primary colors (yellow, blue, and red), the 7 double letters in the secondary colors, and the 12 single letters in the chromatic color scale. Of course they also represent the 3 elements (the fourth being an admixture), the 7 planets of the ancients, and the 12 zodiac signs. In the midst of this rose is another rose-cross. Behind this Rose-Cross lamen are rays of white light with the signs of L.V.X. and I.N.R.I. written thereon.

In order to strengthen the connection of this symbol with our Society's aims and teachings it might helpful to go over some of the correspondences and qabalistic allusions. First let us consider that in the Rose-Cross we are looking into the Mysteries of the Pentagram and the Hexagram. The Pentagram is a symbol that relates the 4 Ancients or Elements in a proper perspective to the Spirit. The elements are depicted by the symbol of the fixed signs of the Zodiac which relate to each one. That is the following:

    Fire          Water             Air            Earth
   Leo           Scorpio           Aquarius       Taurus
   Lion          Eagle             Man            Bull
   5th Sign      8th Sign          11th Sign      2nd Sign
   Yod (10)      Heh (5)           Vav (6)        Heh (5)
   Atziluth      Briah             Yetzirah       Assiah

(As an aside: Each side of the Vault is 8 x 5 or 8+5+8+5 = 26 which equals the Unpronounceable Name of God = Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh = 26) The hexagram represents all the cosmic forces because it not only depicts the planets but also the zodiac. But we must also consider that the planets depicted are also symbols of more esoteric doctrines. Some of the correspondences are as follows:

    Planet    Metal    Angel         Chakra         Location
   Mercury   mercury  Raphael       Sahssrara      Pineal gland
   Moon      silver   Gabriel       Ajna           Pituitary body
   Venus     copper   Anael         Vishuddha      Pharyngeal
   Sun       gold     Michael       Anahata        cardiac plexus
   Jupiter   tin      Tzadkiel      manipura       solar plexus
   Mars      iron     Kamael        Svadhisthansa  prostatic
   Saturn    lead     Tsaphkiel     muladhara      sacral plexus

At the end of the arms of the cross we have the alchemical symbols which mean much more than their mundane meanings. Their associations are as follows:

     Mercury            Sulphur            Salt
    Superconscious     Self-conscious     Subconscious
    Kether             Chokmah            Binah
    Sattvaguna         Rasguna            Tamasguna

It should be apparent that great care was taken in the design of this symbol. And it should be clear how this lamen synthesizes the entire First Order teachings as well as embodies that of the whole Rosicrucian Fraternity as well. It contains the Kabalah, numerology, the elements, the pentagram taught in the Zelator degree, the four worlds , the Hebrew Divine Name, the color symbolism found in the Theoricus grade, the alchemy taught in the Practicus grade, and alludes to the esoteric connections of the world religions, ancient philosophies and the deep mysteries of I.N.R.I.

Video: Master Samael talks Impressions

Videos: The Maya's advanced acoustics

These videos are a nice into to Mayan use of advanced sciences- acoustical engineering specifically. These are much shorter than the last, if you are pressed for time I reccomend the second one.

Art: Paul Laffoley

I am uncertain if his work is objective but it is certainly inspires a profound reaction inside of me. It has an entheogen flavor with universal themes. He has some questionable theories and beliefs but don't we all?





Laffoley attended Brown University, graduating in 1962 with honors in Classics, Philosophy, and Art History.

In 1963, he attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and apprenticed with the sculptor Mirko Basaldella before being dismissed from the institution. He was dismissed for "conceptual deviance", after the majority of his designs were given a grade that designates the project not as good or bad, but as 'currently technologically or physically impossible'.

Thereafter, he moved to New York to apprentice with the visionary architect Friedrich Kiesler. He was also hired for the design team of the World Trade Center, but was soon after fired by the chief architect, Minoru Yamasaki, for his unconventional ideas. He had apparently always been quite an 'unconventional' person. By Laffoley's account, he spoke his first word ("Constantinople") at the age of six months, and then lapsed into 4 years of silence, having been diagnosed with slight Autism. Laffoley has written that, in his senior year at Brown, he was given eight electric-shock treatments. As a child he attended the progressive Mary Lee Burbank School in Belmont, Massachusetts, where his draftsman's talent was ridiculed by his Abstract Expressionist teachers.

Laffoley later began work (and live) in an eighteen-by-thirty foot utility room to found the Boston Visionary Cell, where he continued for nearly 41 years.
In 1965, he completed the first paintings of a mature style in the household basement against the wishes of his father. Christmas (1968), after a quarrel with a first studio partner, Laffoley was in immediate need of a studio and living accommodations. Having only one day to relocate, Paul found an empty room on the second floor of a downtown office building at 36 Bromfield Street in Boston, and immediately moved in.

This studio would become infamously known as the Boston Visionary Cell (formally incorporated in 1971 as a non-profit art association encouraging art and architecture of the visionary genre). The room was stacked from floor to ceiling with books, journals, religious artifacts, diagrams, more books .. and of course dozens of paintings. Visitors reported seeing minimal or no kitchen arrangements and according to some there was NO BED, just the drafting table, art supplies and all the books.

Now clearly following his path as a painter, he began a highly original approach to the construction of the painted surface. Based on extensive hand written journals documenting his research, diagrams, and footnoted predecessors to various theoretical developments, Laffoley began to first organize his ideas in a format related to eastern mandalas that had captivated his interest in the spiritual. This format quickly developed into Laffoley’s three sub-groupings of work: Operating Systems, psychotronic Devices and their related Lucid Dreams. Conceived of as “structured singularities”, Laffoley never works in series, but rather approaches each project freshly, and individually.

10 Rules for Meditation

Excerpted from "Magic Runes"
by Samael Aun Weor

From: http://www.gnosticinstitute.org/lec-meditation.html

Scientific Meditation has ten basic fundamental rules. Without them, emancipation and liberation from the mortifying shackles of the mind is impossible.

1st Rule - To be completely conscious of the psychological mood in which we are situated, before the arising of any thought.

2nd Rule - Psycho-Analysis: To investigate the root and origin of each thought, remembrance, affection, emotion, feeling, resentment, etc. while they emerge from within the mind.

3rd Rule - To serenely observe our own mind; to put perfect attention on all mental forms which appear on the screen of the intellect.

4th Rule - To remember and recall the "Sensation of Contemplation" from moment to moment during the common and current course of daily life.

5th Rule - The intellect must assume a psychological, receptive, integral, uni-total, complete, tranquil and profound state.

6th Rule - A continuity of purpose, tenacity, firmness, constancy and insistence must exist in the technique of Meditation.

7th Rule - To assist any time we can in the Meditation Rooms of the Gnostic Lumisials is affable.

8th Rule - It is peremptory, urgent and necessary to convert ourselves into watchers of our own mind during any agitated or revolving activity, to stop at least for an instant in order to observe it.

9th Rule - It is indispensable and necessary to always practice with closed eyes, with the goal of avoiding the external sensorial perceptions.

10th Rule - Absolute relaxation of the entire body and the wise combination of meditation with drowsiness.

THE TEN RULES EXPLAINED

Beloved reader, the moment has arrived in order to judiciously weigh and analyze these ten scientific rules of Meditation.

1 - The principle, base and living foundation of Samadhi (ecstasy) consists of the previous introspective knowledge of oneself. To introvert ourselves is indispensable during the deepest meditation. We must start to profoundly know the psychological mood we are in before the appearance of any mental form in the intellect. It becomes urgent to comprehend that any thought which emerges from within our understanding is always preceded by pain or pleasure, happiness or sadness, like or dislike.

2 - Serene Reflection. Examine, estimate and inquire about the origin, cause, reason or fundamental motive of every thought, remembrance, image, affection, desire, etc., while they emerge from within the mind. Self-Discovery and Self-Revelation exist in this second rule.

3 - Serene Observation. Pay perfect attention to every mental form which makes its apparition on the screen of the intellect.

4 - We must convert ourselves into spies of our own mind, by contemplating it in action from instant to instant.

5 - The chitta (mind) is transformed into vrittis (vibratory waves). The mind is like a pleasant and tranquil lake. A rock falls in this lake, then bubbles emerge from the bottom. All the different thoughts are perturbed buckles upon the surface of the waters. Let the lake of the mind remain crystalline, without waves, serene and profound during the meditation.

6 - Inconstant people who are voluble, versatile, changeable, without firmness, without willpower, will never achieve Ecstasy, Satori, Samadhi.

7 - It is obvious that Scientific Meditation can be practiced individually or in an isolated way, as well as in a group of affine people.

8 - The soul must be liberated from the body, affections and the mind. It is evident, notorious and obvious that when the soul is emancipated from the intellect, it is radically liberated from the rest.

9 - To eliminate external sensorial perceptions during interior profound meditation is urgent, indispensable and necessary.

10 - It is indispensable to relax the body for meditation; no muscle must remain with tension. It is urgent to provoke and to regulate drowsiness at will. It is evident and unarguable that from the wise combination of drowsiness and meditation that which is called Illumination is the outcome.

RESULTS: Upon the mysterious threshold of the Temple of Delphi a Greek maxim was engraved in the stone and said: HOMO NOSCE TE IPSUM - "Man know thyself and thou will know the universe and the Gods." In the final instant, it is obvious, evident and clear that the study of oneself and serene reflection conclude in the quietude and in the silence of the mind. When the mind is quiet and in silence, not only in the intellectual level but in all and each one of the forty-nine subconscious departments, then the Newness emerges. The Essence, the consciousness, is unbottled, and the awakening of the soul, that is to say, Ecstasy, Samadhi, the Satori of the Saints, occurs.

The mystical experience of Reality transforms us radically. People who have never directly experienced the Truth live like butterflies fluttering from school to school. They have yet to find their center of cosmic gravitation. Therefore, they die as failures and without having achieved the so-longed for intimate Self-realization.

The awakening of the consciousness, of the Essence, of the soul or Buddhata, is only possible by liberating ourselves, emancipating ourselves, from mental dualism, from the struggle of the antithesis, from the intellectual waves.

Any subconscious, infraconscious or unconscious submerged struggle is converted into bondage for the liberation of the Essence (soul). Every antithetical battle, as insignificant and unconscious as it might appear, indicates, accuses, aims to, obscure points which are ignored and unknown within the atomic infernos of the human being.

To reflect, observe and know these infra-human aspects, these obscure points of oneself, is indispensable in order to achieve the absolute quietude and silence of the mind.

To experience that which is not of time is only possible while in absence of the "I."

Rumi : Intro to Sema

Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi

Mevlana who is also known as Rumi, was a philosopher and mystic of Islam, but not a Muslim of the orthodox type. His doctrine advocates unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love. To him and to his disciples all religions are more or less truth. Looking with the same eye on Muslim, Jew and Christian alike, his peaceful and tolerant teaching has appealed to men of all sects and creeds.

Sema:
Sema is part of the inspiration of Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi (1207- 1273) as well as of Turkish custom, history, beliefs and culture.

From a scientific viewpoint we witness that contemporary science definitely confirms that the fundamental condition of our existence is to revolve. There is no object, no being which does not revolve and the shared similarity among beings is the revolution of the electrons, protons and neutrons in the atoms, which constitute the structure of each of them. As a consequence of this similarity, everything revolves and man carries on his live, his very existence by means of the revolution in the atoms, structural stones of his body, by the revolution of his blood, by his coming from the earth and return to it, by his revolving with earth itself.

However, all of these are natural, unconscious revolutions. But man is the possessor of a mind and intelligence which distinguishes him from and makes him superior to other beings. Thus the "whirling dervish" or Semazen causes the mind to participate in the shared similarity and revolution of all other beings… Otherwise, the Sema ceremony represents a mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through mind and love to "Perfect." Turning towards the truth, his growth through love, desert his ego, find the truth and arrive to the "Perfect," then he return from this spiritual journey as a man who reached maturity and a greater perfection, so as to love and to be of service to the whole of creation, to all creatures without discrimination of believes, races, classes and nations.

Sema consists of seven parts. The first part The dervish with his headdress (his ego's tombstone), his white skirt (his ego's shroud) is by removing his black cloak spiritually born to the truth, he journeys and advances there. At the onset and each stop of the Sema, holding his arms crosswise he represent the number one, and testifies to God's unity. While whirling his arms are open, his right hand directed to the skies ready to receive God's beneficence, looking to his left hand turned toward the earth, he turn from right to left around the heart. This is his way of conveying God's spiritual gift to the people upon whom he looks with the eyes of God. Revolving around the heart, from right to left, he embraces all the mankind, all the creation with affection and love… It starts with an eulogy "Nat-I Serif" to the Prophet, who represents love, and all Prophets before him. To praise them is praising God, who created all of them. The second part is a drum voice, symbolizing God order to the Creation: "Be." The third part is an instrumental improvisation "taksim" with a reed "ney." It represents the first breath which gives life to everything. The Divine Breath. The fourth part is the "dervishes" greetings to each other and their thrice repeated circular walk "Devr-i Veled," with the accompaniment of a music called "peshrev." It symbolize the salutation of soul to soul concealed by shapes and bodies. The fifth part is the Sema (whirling). It consists of four salutes or "Selam"s. At the end of each as in the onset, the dervish testifies by his appearance to God's unity.
The first salute is man's birth to truth by feeling and mind. His complete conception of the existence of God as Creator and his state of creature. The second salute expresses the rapture of man witnessing the splendor of creation, in front of God's greatness and omnipotence. The third salute is the transformation of rapture into love and thereby the sacrifice of mind to love. It is a complete submission, it is annihilation of self with in the loved one, it is unity. This state of ecstasy is the highest grade in Buddhism, defined as "Nirvana" and in Islam "Fenafillah." However, the highest rank in Islam is the rank of the Prophet, he is called God's servant first and his messenger afterwards. The aim of Sema is not unbroken ecstasy and loss of conscious thought. At the termination of this salute, he approves again by his appearance, arms crosswise the Unity of God, consciously and feelingly. The forth salute Just as the Prophet ascends till the "Throne" and then returns to his task on earth, the whirling dervish reaching the state of "Fenafillah," return to his task in creation, to his state of subservience following the termination of his spiritual journey and his ascent. He is a servant of God, of his Books, of his Prophets and all his creation.	First Salute	Kiss of hand Permission to whirl (dance)
	Second Salute	Third Salute - Whirling
At the sixth part Sema ends with a reading of the Quran and specially of the verse from sura Bakara 2, verse 115, "Unto God belong the East and the West, and whither over ye turn, you are faced with Him. He is All-Embracing, All-Knowing." The seventh part is a prayer for the repose of the souls of all Prophets and all believers.

Mayan Studies: Daily Tzolkin Calendar

Ian Lungold was a Mayan Scholar who along with Carl Johan Calleman put these great mysteries into a language that I can understand. Calleman wrote a book that is the most informative and accessible of everything I have found on the subject called The Mayan Calendar Transformation of Consciousness.


Here is a link to Ian's site with a daily Tzolkin calendar so you can track whats going on with the Ray of Creation for the day.

In Gnostic studies, we have been taught that the Egyptians, Mayans and many other ancient mystic civilizations all were descendants from Lemuria and Atlantis. Food for thought.

Intro: The Teachings of Gurdjieff

Gurdjieff's teachings dealt with an enormous amount of subjects. His main explanations revolved around the following: Consciousness, Subconsciousness, Higher Consciousness, Conscience, Remorse of Conscience, The Physical Body's Functions, Higher Bodies, Centers, Self-Awareness, Knowledge vs. Understanding, Essence vs Personality, Universal Laws, Enneagram, Ray of Creation, Human History, Language, Hypnotism, Sacred Dance, Sacred Music, Humans' Natural Weaknesses...some are expanded below:

Self-Observation

Striving to observe in one's self the certain behaviors and habits which are usually only observed in others, and to observe them in one's self as dispassionately as one may observe them in others; to observe one's self as an interesting stranger.

Division of Attention - (Preliminary exercise to Self-Remembering)

Gurdjieff encouraged his students to cultivate the ability to divide their attention, that is, the ability to remain fully focussed on an external object or internal thought while being aware of oneself. One might, for instance, let part of one's attention dwell in one's little finger, while the other half is aware of our own presence. In the division of attention, in the initial stages one may need to go back and forth between one thing and another. However, experiencing them both fully and simultaneously is the aim.

Self-Remembering

Beyond the division of attention lies "remembering oneself" - a state, which is permanent in a "conscious" person, while fleeting and temporary in the average people. In this state a person sees what is seen without ever losing sight of himself seeing. Ordinarily, when concentrating on something, people lose their sense of "I," although they may, as it were, passively react to the stimulus they are concentrating on. In self-remembering the "I" is not lost.

The Need for Efforts

Gurdjieff emphasized that awakening results from consistent, prolonged efforts. These efforts are the ones that are made after a person is already exhausted and feels that he can't go anymore, but nevertheless he pushes himself.

The Many 'I's

Many I's is a term which indicates the different feelings and thoughts of ‘I’ in a person: I think, I want, I know best, I prefer, I am happy, I am hungry, I am tired, etc. These feelings and thoughts of ‘I’ usually have nothing in common with one another, and are present for short periods of time. They tie in directly with Gurdjieff's claim that man has no unity in himself. This lack of unity results in wanting one thing now, and another, perhaps contradictory, thing later.

Relaxation

Gurdjieff claimed that people's bodies are over-tensed during their actions, and thus they unnecessarily waste a lot of energy. Gurdjieff focused on ways of relaxing the physical body and minimizing the tenseness of the human muscles.

Centers

Main article Centers (Fourth Way)

Gurdjieff classified plants as having one center, animals two and humans three. Centers refer to apparatuses within a being that dictate specific organic functions. There are three main centers in a man: intellectual, emotional and physical, and two higher centers: higher emotional and higher intellectual.

Body, Essence and Personality

Gurdjieff divided people into three independent parts, that is, into Body, Essence and Personality. Body is the physical functions of a body. Essence - is a "natural part of a person" or "what he is born with". Personality - is everything artificial that he has "learned" and "seen". It was taught that Essence is the part of a being which is able to evolve.

Cosmic Laws

The two main cosmic laws on which Gurdjieff focused on are the Law of Three and the Law of Seven.

The Law of Three is also called "Triamazikamno" and is described by Gurdjieff as "the second fundamental cosmic law".

The law states that every whole phenomenon is composed of three separate sources, which are Active, Passive and Reconciling or Neutral. This law applies to everything in the universe and humanity, as well as all the structures and processes.

The Three Centers in a human, which Gurdjieff said were the Intellectual Centre, the Emotional Centre and the Moving Centre, are an expression of the law of three.

Gurdjieff taught his students to think of the law of three forces as essential to transforming the energy of the human being. The process of transformation requires the three actions of affirmation, denial and reconciliation.

The Law of Seven is also called "Heptaparaparshinokh" and is described by Gurdjieff as "the first fundamental cosmic law".

The law of seven is used to explain processes. The basic use of the law of seven is to explain why nothing in nature and in life constantly occurs in a straight line, that is to say that there are always ups and downs in life which occur lawfully. Examples of this can be noticed in athletic performances, where a high ranked athlete always has periodic downfalls, as well as in nearly all graphs that plot topics that occur over time, such as the economic graphs, population graphs, death-rate graphs and so on. All show parabolic periods that keep rising and falling. Gurdjieff claimed that since these periods occur lawfully based on the law of seven that it is possible to keep a process in a straight line if the necessary shocks were introduced at the right time.

How the law of seven functions is illustrated on the Enneagram. A piano keyboard is also a good place to begin one's study of the law of seven, as the seven notes of the major scale correspond exactly to it.

Law of Accident

Gurdjieff and his followers have written that one of the major aims of the Fourth Way system is to escape from the influence of the Law of Accident.

Moon symbolism

Gurdjieff was documented as teaching that people assimilate and transubstantiate certain matter which upon their death is released from their body and transferred to the Moon.^[22] The simplest way of explaining this theory is by comparing it to other Biogeochemical cycle such as the Carbon Cycle or the Nitrogen Cycle. In the nitrogen cycle, bacteria assimilate and transfer nitrogen from the soil into the atmosphere. Parallel to this, in Gurdjieff's moon theory, humans assimilate a certain type of matter in order that it is transferred from the Earth to the Moon. ^[23]

The use of symbols

In his explanations Gurdjieff often used different symbols such as the Enneagram and the Ray of Creation. Gurdjieff said that "the enneagram is a universal symbol. All knowledge can be included in the enneagram and with the help of the enneagram it can be interpreted ... A man may be quite alone in the desert and he can trace the enneagram in the sand and in it read the eternal laws of the universe. And every time he can learn something new, something he did not know before."^[24] The ray of creation is a diagram which represents the Earth's place in the Universe. The diagram has eight levels, each corresponding to Gurdjieff's laws of octaves.

Through the elaboration of the law of octaves and the meaning of the enneagram, Gurdjieff offered his students alternative means of conceptualizing the world and their place in it.

Working conditions and sacred dances

To provide conditions in which attention could be exercised more intensively, Gurdjieff also taught his pupils "sacred dances" or "movements" which they performed together as a group, and he left a body of music inspired by what he heard in visits to remote monasteries and other places, which was written for piano in collaboration with one of his pupils, Thomas de Hartmann.

Gurdjieff laid emphasis on the idea that the seeker must conduct his or her own search. The teacher cannot do the student's work for the student, but is more of a guide on the path to self-discovery. As a teacher, Gurdjieff specialized in creating conditions for students - conditions in which growth was possible, in which efficient progress could be made by the willing. To find oneself in a set of conditions that a gifted teacher has arranged has another benefit. As Gurdjieff put it, "You must realize that each man has a definite repertoire of roles which he plays in ordinary circumstances ... but put him into even only slightly different circumstances and he is unable to find a suitable role and for a short time he becomes himself."

The 4 Ways

THE FOUR WAYS

"Life is a series of events or outcomes accompanied by its respective state of consciousness: each one of us in search of the TRUTH, in search of oneself, seeking the spiritual path, looking for Self-Realization, are urged by impelent occult causes.

In that laborious search of Self-Realization, we could differentiate, several ways related with the different levels of inner development. Every path, more or less long, more or less hard, tends to lead man towards the same one direction, which is Self-Realization.

Self-Realization, Immortalization, is not a quality with which human beings are born, but it can be conquered, the ways are explained below:

1- The way of the FAKIR
2- The way of the MONK
3- The way of the YOGI
4- The DIRECT WAY

THE WAY OF THE FAKIR.

When we listen to this word, we set ourselves immediately in the East, particularly in the enigmatic and mysterious INDIA. In PERSIA the term "FAKIR" means BEGGAR or INDIGENT. In INDIA the jugglers, the clowns and tumbleseters, they call themselves FAKIRS (acetic or religious mendicant, especially one who performs feats of magic or endurance). The Europeans call FAKIR to YOGIS, also to the errant MONKS of different orders.

This -doubtful, long and difficult- way is of the struggle to develop on oneself, the physical power of will, to defeat pain, to achieve the power over the body. The goal is achieved through terrible sufferings and very hard trials.

The Fakir’s way is made of incredible fatiguing physical exercises: they keep themselves standing in the same position, without any movement, during several hours, days, months or years; or they stay seated over a naked stone under an implacable sun, under the rain, in the snow, etc.; they keep their arms stretched for indefinite length of time or they torture themselves with fire or with an ants’ nest in which they place their naked legs, and so forth.

In 1902 the fakir "Agastiya" of Bangladesh, India- raised an arm in straight position over his head. Agastiya was a Hindu for whom all the pleasures and pains of the body were MAYA -a mere illusion-. Agastiya adopted that peculiar posture -for the occidental mentality- departing from a religious conviction. During the first three months of having adopted that position, terrible pains are experimented, unless one truly is a master in the power of the “mind over matter.” Nevertheless, after three months of keeping the arm risen it is, in comparison, a children's game; for at this time, the limb is absolutely rigid, with very little or no blood circulation. Agastiya's arm didn't serve any kind of function, except for the palm, where a bird had built its nest. The shoulder’s articulation had been welded in such a way that even when Agastiya had wanted to lower the arm, he couldn't do it. Not even the death of the fakir, which occurred in 1912, succeeded in making the arm to rest in its normal position. When Agastiya was buried in his grave, the arm continued extended with the palm open.

Another fakir stayed day and night on the tips of his fingers and toes for 20 years. He could never stretch himself up, or move; his disciples had to carry him around, and take him to the river where they washed him like an object.

If the fakir doesn't get sick or die, he develops what we could call, physical will, but this does not mean the creation of the Body of Conscious Will or Causal Body. Furthermore, his emotional and intellectual functions, etc., remain without development. He certainly has developed his physical will, but has nothing in which to apply it, cannot make any use of it to acquire the Knowledge, or perfect himself, and usually he is too old to begin a new Work.

Some of them don't follow this way for religious feelings or because they understand the different possibilities of inner development, but by simple imitation caused by the impression of seeing other fakirs. In the East as in the West of the world, many fakirs give themselves up to a fanatic ascetism because they want to pay with pain their bad actions or their incapability to defeat temptations. For that, they whipped themselves with no mercy. They love pain by itself, they ignore that the physical body is the Temple of the Living God. No one can achieve Self-Realization through pain, because the origin of pain is the "I."

Additionally, it’s worthwhile to comment what the Bahagavad Gita, the "Lord's Chant," the Hindu Sacred Book says to this respect: "Those who practice severe austerities, not recommended by the Scriptures, just by Ostentation or Egoism; those attached and concupiscent, deprived of common sense, torture all the organs of the body and ME who also dwells within the body. Get to know them, they are of demoniac purposes!”

THE WAY OF THE MONK.

This is the path of Faith, of the religious sentiment and sacrifices. It is a conscious state in which the purpose is to develop the devotional sense, the Emotional aspect of the BEING.

The monk's work concentrates around his feelings, submitting his other functions to faith. Let’s take into account that faith in and of itself is awakened conscience. There are two types of faith: one, which moves an emotional state based in believes; the other, which is based in the mystical direct experience, therefore does not need to believe or doubt.

As far as the Monk’s Way is concerned they develop the will over the emotions, but the rest of their faculties may be kept without development. For Faith to be a sure bridge towards liberation, we must also cultivate the physical and intellectual capacities, which will be accomplished through new sacrifices and austerities. "A monk should become a Yogi and a Fakir."

There are very few monks who get far, there are even fewer monks who succeed over the difficulties that the Real Path imposes, because the Initiation is given by the Goddess Isis (The Divine Mother), the Alchemist’s fundament deeply taught by the Gnostic doctrine.

THE YOGI WAY.

The Yogi’s center of gravitation resides in the mind, in the psychic development. Nonetheless, there are different branches of Yoga.

Bhakti-Yoga, or Yoga of devotion. This develops the mystical part, the higher devotion, and could give us illumination, but could not take us to the Inner Self Realization of the Being.

Gnana-Yoga, the Mental Yoga. Gnana-Yoga is centered in the knowledge of one self; knows the different disciplines of the mind, achieves states of Shamadhi, but does not conquer Self-Realization.

Raja-Yoga. The purpose of Raja Yoga is the development of the Chakras, of the occult powers, etc. A certain development is achieved; no doubt about it, but that is not Self- Realization.

By the nature of the practice performed by Yogis there is no doubt that they develop some kind of Psychic powers such as mental relaxation, concentration (The power of telekinesis is well known, let's say, moving objects with the mental force at a distance), Telepathy, hypnotic powers, etc. But if by forgetting about the doctrine of the “Many I’s,” they can be led to paranoia or delirium of grandeur; they feel as if they have reached the authentic Mastership, but this only leads to the development of siddhis or inferior powers.

The Yogi works in the knowledge of the duality of the mind and there is not doubt that they reach sublime states, but that does not mean to have created the legitimate mental body.

There’s also Agni-yoga or the Yoga of Inner Fire, or Kundalini Yoga, this one lead us right to the doorsteps of the Fourth Way.

THE FOURTH WAY.

The Fourth Way encompasses the other three. This is the Royal Path, the Path of the Razor's Edge, the Gnostic Doctrine.

The Fakir seeks the total dominion over the corporal. The Monk pretends the development of the feelings (sentiments); the Yogi strives the perfection of the mind, transcending the duality in which the mind struggles, making the mind apt to receive the Knowledge. The Fourth Way, the way of the balanced Man, leads to perfection and to the harmonious development of all the centers of the human machine, through the awakening of consciousness, working simultaneously with the physical body, the emotions and thoughts.

A whole series of parallel exercises over these three levels: physical, animical and spiritual, are used for this goal. By doing this, The Fourth Way embraces and synthesizes the work of all the other three in perfect equilibrium.

The Fourth Way is the Path of the Perfect Matrimony, the road of the intelligent being, of the one who studies Kabala and Alchemy, applying them in the harmonious realization of all its infinite possibilities, synthesized in the Awakening of Consciousness, based in the disintegration of the psychological "I."

The Fourth Way is founded on the transmutation of the creative energies, achieving the development of the Inner-Fire. Progress is determined by the dissolution of the Ego and the sacrifice for Humanity.

This Way does not demand that the person retreats from the world, or abandon all contact with beings, things or events, but requires a preparation acquired in the psychological gymnasium of practical life. Its center of gravitation resides directly in the Conscience or Essence. It is necessary to be prepared to enter into the Fourth Way. One who wants to follow this Path has to have certain conditions in his life favorable to the Work, or at least have those that do not make it impossible. It is necessary to understand that in the exterior life as much as in the interior life, there are some conditions that could constitute insurmountable barriers for the Fourth Way.

The Fourth Way is the least known. The other three ways are the traditional ones. The Fourth Way is very exact and much more perfect that the other three."
Samael Aun Weor

Art: Krishna Radha

Some of my favorite paintings of the Eternal Couple. I know so little about their history, I would feel silly trying to explain it.

Lamasery Excersizes

The "Lamasery Exercises" or "Tibetan Rites" of the Gnostic tradition are a highly refined and synthetic condensation drawn from the ancient and highly sophisticated science of Yantra Yoga ('khrul 'khor), which is a series of very rigorous physical and energetic exercises practiced in all the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. They have some relationship with both Hatha Yoga (now very popular in the West) and martial arts, both of which originated with the intention of keeping the physical body fit enough to withstand the intense demands of spiritual development. Clearly, both Hatha Yoga and the martial arts have largely abandoned their spiritually-focused roots, the evidence of which is their complete inability to awaken the consciousness of their practitioners. The exercises below, however, are very different, and when practiced faithfully, can awaken the consciousness and provide many other essential benefits.

It is necessary to know that in our human body, in our cellular organism, we have some chakras that we can qualify as specific, special for our organic vitality. These are like vortexes through which Prana, life, enters into our organism. They are, namely:

1. First, the occipital,
2. Second, the frontal,
3. Third, the laryngeal located at the throat,
4. Fourth, the hepatic,
5. Fifth, the prostatic [or uterine],
6. Sixth and seventh are the two related chakras located at the knees.

So, these are the seven basic chakras; again, these are important for the vitality of our physical organism since through these chakras, the life, Prana, penetrates into our Vital body, which is the seat of all organic activity...

Meditation and prayer correspond with each posture or sadhana; in other words, when they change a rite-posture, they intensify their meditation and prayer on any of the mystical aspects, in accordance to what they are beseeching for.

The Divine Mother Kundalini is the central focal point of each sadhana. Thus, when we are performing these exercises, we must be in perfect concentration and prayer; we are beseeching, begging to the Divine Mother for our most urgent necessity. Through Her, we can ask of the Logos; She intercedes for us before the Logos, She pleads with us, She begs for us. She has great power, thus we beg to Her, the Divine Mother, to intercede for us before the Third Logos, so that She may beseech to the Logos for healing, for the awakening of our Consciousness, the awakening of any chakra, etc.

Each position is different and each implies an intensification of our prayer, our petition, our pleading, our begging.

In these exercises of meditation, concentration, and pleading, we may very well ask our Divine Mother to invoke, by Her own will, Her divine husband, the Third Logos, the very sacred Holy Spirit. We already know very well that the husband of the Divine Mother is the Holy Spirit.

It is necessary to beg and to intensely beseech to our Divine Mother so that She may, in turn, beg and beseech Her divine husband to heal us, and to relieve us from any illness or pain that is afflicting us; this way, She will concentrate in the Logos, Her husband, the Arch Hierophant or Arch Magus (as He is named) so that He may come and heal this or that sick organ that is hindering the rendering of our work.

In these moments, we must identify ourselves as being one with the Logos, with the Holy Spirit and, in a tremendous, imperative way, we command the sick organ saying:

BE HEALED! BE HEALED! BE HEALED!

WORK! WORK! WORK!

We must talk to the organ with true faith, with energy, with courage, since it has to unavoidably be healed.

We must definitely be concentrated on each cell of the sick organ, on each atom, on each molecule, on each electron of the sick organ, and commanding it to work, to be healed, to be cured, while being profoundly concentrated on the Logos, completely identified as being one with the Holy Spirit, who in those moments is performing the cure, the healing of the sick organ. Thus, in this way, the organ will have to be healed, it will have to be cured, this is obvious.

Therefore, it is commendable for each person to learn how to cure himself. Thus, through the strength of the Holy Spirit, we are able to cure ourselves; we are able to cure any illness. This problem of going around sick is very depressing, very painful, and those who walk on the path, as I have already stated, should not have the basis for being sick. So, these exercises develop the chakras and, on the other hand, they heal our organism.

For the full article and exercises.

Sivananda on Sexual Sublimation(Transmutation)

(Please keep in mind Sivananda is teaching the way of the Yogi. There are many paths to liberation, all of which have to do with controlling the sexual force. They do vary slightly.)

Suppression and Sublimation

In the practice of brahmacharya, what is wanted is elimination of lust, but not suppression. Suppression of the sex urge is not eradication. You can never be free of that which is suppressed. The suppressed sex desire will attack you again and again and will produce wet dreams, irritability and restlessness of mind.

Repression or suppression of the sexual desire will not help you much. If lust is suppressed, it will again manifest with redoubled force when a suitable opportunity arises, when the will becomes weak, when vairagya1 wanes, when there is slackening in meditation or yogic sadhana,2 when you become weak owing to an attack of disease.

Do not try to run away from women. Then Maya3 will chase you terribly. Try to see the Self in all forms and repeat the formula Om Ek Sat-Chit-Ananda Atma: “Om! I am the Self, the one Existence-Consciousness-Bliss” very often. Remember that atman4 is sexless. Mental repetition of this formula will give you strength.

Ignorant people adopt foolish methods to kill the indriyas.5 They fail eventually. Many foolish aspirants amputate the organ of reproduction. They think that lust can be eradicated by such a procedure. What a great foolish act! Lust is in the mind. If the mind is subdued, what can this external fleshy organ do? Some swallow tons of nux vomica to kill this organ. They fail in their attempts to be centred in brahmacharya. The state of their mind remains the same, though they become impotent by taking nux vomica.

What is wanted is a judicious control of the indriyas. The indriyas should not be allowed to run riot in sensual grooves. They should not be allowed to throw us ruthlessly into the deep pit of worldliness, like the turbulent horse carrying away the rider wherever it likes.

Brahmacharya means control, but not suppression, of the sex desire or sex force. The mind should be rendered pure by meditation, japa,6 kirtan7 and prayer. If the mind is filled with sublime divine thoughts by meditation, japa, prayer and study of holy scriptures, the sex desire will be devitalised or de-energised by the withdrawal of the mind. The mind also will be thinned out.

From sex energy to spiritual energy

The sexual energy must be transmuted into spiritual energy or ojas8 shakti by the practice of japa, prayer, meditation, study of religious books, pranayama9 and asanas. You must develop devotion and a burning desire for liberation. You must constantly meditate on the pure, immortal, sexless, bodiless, desireless atman. Then only the sexual desire will be annihilated.

If the sexual energy is transmuted into ojas or spiritual energy by pure thoughts, it is called sex sublimation in western psychology. Sublimation is not a matter of suppression or repression, but a positive, dynamic, conversion process. It is the process of controlling the sex energy, conserving it, then diverting it into higher channels, and finally, converting it into spiritual energy or ojas shakti. The material energy is changed into spiritual energy, just as heat is changed into light and electricity. Just as a chemical substance is sublimated or purified by raising the substance through heat into vapour which again is condensed into solid form, so also, the sexual energy is purified and changed into divine energy by spiritual sadhana.

Ojas is spiritual energy that is stored up in the brain. By entertaining sublime, soul-elevating thoughts of the Self or atman, by meditation, japa, worship and pranayama, the sexual energy can be transmuted into ojas shakti and stored up in the brain. This stored up energy can then be utilised for divine contemplation and spiritual pursuits.

Anger and muscular energy can also be transmuted into ojas. A man who has a great deal of ojas in his brain can turn out immense mental work. He is very intelligent. He has lustrous eyes and a magnetic aura in his face. He can influence people by speaking a few words. A short speech of his produces a tremendous impression on the minds of the hearers. His speech is thrilling. He has an awe-inspiring personality. Sri Shankara, an akhanda brahmachari,10 worked wonders through his power of ojas. He did digvijaya11 and held controversies and heated debates in different parts of India with learned scholars through his power of ojas. A yogi always directs his attention to the accumulation of this divine energy by unbroken chastity.

In yoga, it is called urdhvaretas. An urdhvareta yogi12 is one in whom the seminal energy has flown upwards into the brain as ojas shakti. There is now no possibility of the semen going downwards by sexual excitement.

The secret of sex sublimation

According to yogic science, semen exists in a subtle form throughout the whole body. It is found in a subtle state in all the cells of the body. It is withdrawn and elaborated into a gross form in the sexual organ under the influence of the sexual will and sexual excitement. An urdhvareta yogi not only converts the semen into ojas, but checks through his yogic power, through purity in thought, word and deed, the very formation of semen by the secretary cells of the testes or seeds. This is a great secret. Allopaths believe that even in an urdhvareta yogi, the formation of semen goes on incessantly and that the fluid is reabsorbed into the blood. This is a mistake. They do not understand the inner yogic secrets and mysteries. They are in the dark. Their drishti or vision is concerned with the gross things of the universe. The yogi penetrates into the subtle hidden nature of things through yogic chakshu or the inner vision of wisdom. The yogi gets control over the astral nature of semen and thereby prevents the formation of the very fluid itself.

The body of a man who is truly an urdhvaretas has the scent of a lotus. A man who is not a brahmachari, in whom gross semen is formed, may, on the other hand, smell like a buck goat. The semen dries up in those who practice pranayama seriously. The semen-energy ascends up to the brain. It is stored up as ojas shakti or spiritual energy and comes back as amrita13 or nectar.

The process of sex sublimation is extremely difficult. It demands constant and protracted sadhana and perfect discipline. That yogi who has achieved perfect sublimation has perfect control over lust. Complete sublimation is achieved through ceaseless meditation on atman and Self-realization. That yogi or jnani14 who has attained the highest nirvikalpa samadhi,15 in whom the seeds of samskaras16 are fried in toto, can claim to be a perfect urdhvaretas or one who has complete sex sublimation. There is no fear of his downfall. He is perfectly safe. He will be absolutely free from impurity. This stage is a very high stage. A microscopic minority only have attained this sublime exalted state. Shankara, Dattatreya, Jnana Deva of Alandi and others reached this stage.

There is another segment called “dhiryaretas,” or those persons, who, previously a prey to lustful thoughts and deviated from brahmacharya, later take to the practice of strict celibacy. Such a person, if he practices strict celibacy for twelve years, can acquire superhuman powers. Medha nadi or buddhi nadi is formed in him. By means of this, he can have retentive memory of anything as long as he lives, and he will be in a position to learn all kinds of subjects.

By observance of unbroken brahmacharya in thought, word and deed for a period of full twelve years, one is bestowed even with the vision of God, if one aspires for it. He can solve the most abstruse and complicated problems easily. But, this kind of observance should commence before the thirty-second or the thirty-fourth year.

That yogi who has disciplined himself through ceaseless protracted sadhana, continuous meditation, pranayama and atmic vichara,17 the practice of Sama,18 Dama,19 Yama20 and Niyama,21 is also safe, although he has not attained the stage of perfect sex sublimation. Women will hold no attraction for him. He has thinned out his mind. The mind is starved to death. It cannot raise its hood. It cannot hiss.

Total sublimation is difficult, yet not impossible

The process of sex sublimation is very difficult, and yet, it is most necessary for the aspirant in the spiritual path. It is the most important qualification for the Sadhaka,22 be he in the path of Karma Yoga,23 Upasana,24 Raja Yoga25 or Vedanta.26 It is a fundamental prerequisite for an aspirant. If one has this qualification or merit, all other merits will come and cling to him. All good qualities will come by themselves. You must achieve this at any cost. You will surely attempt this in future births. But why not now?

The total annihilation of the sexual desire is the ultimate spiritual ideal. Complete sublimation alone will make you free. But, perfect sublimation can hardly be achieved within a day or two. It demands continuous struggle with patience and perseverance for some time. Even the householders should keep the above ideal before them and try to realize it gradually. If the state of perfect sublimation is attained, there will be purity in thought, word and deed. No sexual thought will enter the mind at any time.

It is through constant vichara and Brahma-bhavana27 that the mind has to be weaned from lustful thoughts and tendencies. You must remove not only the sexual craving and the sexual impulses, but also the sex attraction. Think of the miseries that you get from a married life with its various entanglements and bondage. Make the mind understand by repeated autosuggestion and hammering that sexual pleasure is false, worthless, illusory and full of pain. Place before the mind the advantages, bliss, power and knowledge of a spiritual life. Make it understand that the exalted, eternal life is in the immortal atman. When it hears constantly these suggestions, it will slowly leave off its old habits. The attraction for sex will slowly die. Then only real sex sublimation will take place. Then only you will become an urdhvareta yogi.

There are two kinds of force in the mind, namely, hostile or antagonistic force and friendly or favourable force. Passion is a hostile force that drags you down. Pure reason is a favourable force that elevates you and transmutes you into Divinity. Develop, therefore, my child, pure reason to get unalloyed bliss and supreme Brahmic knowledge. Passion will die by itself.

Sex sublimation is within your reach if you wish to attain it. The path is quite clear, straight and easy if you understand it and if you apply yourself with patience, perseverance, determination and strong will, if you practice discipline of the indriyas, right conduct, right thinking, right acting, regular meditation, assertion, auto-suggestion and enquiry of “Who am I?.” atman is sexless. Atman is nirvikara.28 Feel this. Can there be any trace of lust or impurity in the etemal, pure atman?

Glory to those Yogis who have attained urdhvaretas or full sex sublimation and who are resting in their own swarupa!29 May we all practice perfect celibacy through the practice of sama, dama, viveka,30 vichara, vairagya, pranayama, japa and dhyana31 and reach the goal of life! May the Indweller of our hearts grant us spiritual strength to control the indriyas and the mind! May we all become full urdhvareta Yogis like Shankara and Jnana Dev of yore! May their blessings be upon us all!