Theo. – I’d like to go further into the way we should welcome the newcomers who want to start meditation.
The Elder. – You needn’t know the persons who are in front of you. You just have to be responsive, both inwardly and outwardly. You could just start with asking them to state the object of their own approach.
Theo. – Whether it is spiritual, for instance, or if they are only looking for some sort of wellbeing? I could ask whether they are familiar with the notion of goal, or the notion of God? I’d also like to know whether they practice a religion and how they feel about it. We could also approach the problem of which books they read and whatever spiritual way they already follow…
The Elder cheered and raised his hand to stop his friend’s stream of questions:
– That sounds like a police interview! You must be much simpler. Let them tell you what they want. You needn’t know anything else, all the more as you can wisely suggest it (sankalpa). What matters most is the inner ear you develop. The more questions you ask, the less you can hear your inner voice.
Theo. – Do you suggest I should keep silent?
The Elder. – The essential will appear through silence. But please, don’t fall into the opposite extreme. If you seem to be far too internalized, they will think that you are absent, aloof, or even disdainful. You must always pay attention to others and adjust to their responses.
Theo. – I’ve got the perfect tool: softness of the heart. You can warm up a whole audience that way. I have learnt your lesson on heart-to-heart communication and I apply it daily. At such moments, the observer I am will automatically emerge.
The Elder. – That is what will allow you to read properly the condition of the meditator who is sitting opposite you.
Theo. – Is that enough?
The Elder. – Of course not! That sort of communication is wonderful, but then, there is another one, and still another one.
Theo. – Which means?
The Elder. – At the second level, your soul communicates with the meditator’s soul. They both share information. So, if you listen carefully, you will know what is required for the meditator and his or her spiritual development.
Theo. – How shall I know what I have to do?
The Elder. – My own Master once clarified that for me: “When you meet someone, you absorb him within you, you accept him totally and, somehow, you comply with him.”
Theo. – And then?
The Elder. – When you are in that state you know exactly what the person needs and the spiritual work can begin.
Theo. – May I ask questions then?
The Elder. – You need not. The soul knows, and all the rest would be sheer curiosity and totally useless as far as the work you have to do is concerned. You’d better get in touch with the next level of communication, the Divine level, the Lord’s level. In such a state of communication, work proceeds by itself silently, and the Lord is fully active.
Theo. – And I become a mere spectator of His work…
The Elder. – And a grateful witness.
Theo. – That doesn’t look like work anymore, and I like it!
The Elder. – The top flight is when you don’t do anything anymore and let the Lord work through you.
Theo. – As far as I can understand, working as a trainer means that I must forget myself.
The Elder. – Self-forgetfulness is required, if you want to progress: you can only forget yourself when you are totally in the Presence of God, fully absorbed into Him, and when He has absorbed you completely.
Theo. – Just as I said.
The Elder. – Not exactly: to work as a trainer, you must be totally present to the meditator and at the same time, you must erase yourself completely.
Theo. – I’m not quite sure what you mean…
The Elder. – Babuji would say: “Being present in the absence, present in the Presence and absent in the Presence.”
Theo. (visibly annoyed):
– That does not really help, does it?
The Elder. – You must act like a mirror and be absolutely neutral. On one side, you reflect the divine light towards the meditator, on the other side you reflect his or her spiritual condition while he or she is sitting there, eyes closed, opposite you. But you can’t either let transmission carry you away or be absorbed as you would if you Theo. – The picture is clearer now: the observer I am is there, present and alert, so that I can be a sort of go-between, an interface between the Divine and the meditator’s soul.
The Elder. – That’s right. No part of you should interfere. It is the reason why I suggest you should voluntarily erase yourself, which requires your will indeed.
Theo. – How is the work done then?
The points of the heart.
The Elder. – You perceive zones of light and shadow in the meditator’s chest. You are already familiar with its map and what characterizes it (The five points of the heart).
Make the suggestion that the shaded zones…
Theo. – Which are due to samskaras….
The Elder. –… are cleaned and make way for the underlying light. The point, or chakra, regains its original condition. It is pure again. Then the meditator is freed from the impressions that contribute to more or less positive tendencies.
Theo. – Can I go further?
The Elder. – You can look more precisely at the darker areas, where there are more complexities. You know, for instance, that Point 3 is related to anger, but I advise you against it.
Theo. – Why? I find it interesting.
The Elder. – That would mean curiosity and you will lose your neutrality. You will be less efficient, less mirror-like.
Theo. – Yet the information could be quite useful.
The Elder. – In that case, and if it is necessary for the meditator, the information will reveal itself. This indicates that his/her anger is going to be cared for. You pay attention to it as if you were using a flashlight and Master ‘s work will begin.
Theo. – Can I see it, or is it reflected on me?
The Elder. – Both are possible. It all depends on you. Some trainers had rather feel it on themselves. Thus they can better be aware of the meditator’s feelings, and even of his/her thoughts and of the emotions resulting from the ongoing work, but it is neither necessary nor automatic.
Theo. – So, we’d better be really neutral, otherwise, watch out for projections and interpretations, and even for judgment!
The Elder. – That is why I prefer a direct reading. In any case, judgment should never interfere. There is a shadow, a disturbance, a complexity, no matter what it is. We just have to simply clean it.
Theo. – Working in such a non-conscious way may become tedious I guess!
The Elder. – Not necessarily. If you know the reason why, you can perceive the final result and the meditators will respond by sharing their impressions with you. Session by session, you will see them be transformed and progress, which is very pleasant and rewarding.
Theo. – But you keep saying that we should not be concerned with the result and leave that to the Lord!
The Elder (smiling) – A job well done will produce the requisite result. Therefore, you can appreciate the Lord’s work and be happy.
Theophile the Elder
An excerpt from Dialogues with Theophile the Elder
Theophile the Younger’s initiation