Theo. – I have understood that practicing meditation, cleaning and the prayer in a proper way would automatically lead to constant remembrance, and also that I could directly start with constant remembrance, which is the quickest and the most direct way.
The Elder – It is the simplest one indeed, but not necessarily the easiest.
Theo. – You told me that a channel between the heart and the Ultimate had to be kept open. Aren’t there any ‘tips’ that might help?
The Elder – What you call ‘tips’ are actually yogic means, which the aspirant will be given as he/she progresses.
Theo. – What are we supposed to do, to begin with?
The Elder – First, the aspirant will have to be connected with the source of energy through at least three initial meditations. Two forces will be present, the aspirant’s one and, most importantly, the power from the Source, which, once it has been open and connected with the heart, will be a precious help.
Theo. – How does it work?
The Elder – It all depends on the quality of the aspirant’s quest and on his/her human and spiritual maturity. At the beginning, the current will flow tenuously and sporadically. Then, the flow will infinitely grow.
Theo. – Is that the moment when a guide has to play his part?
The Elder – He then cleans the channel from all that may block the flow, slow it down or even hamper us. The Source, as well as the channel, has to be liberated if we want to be spiritually nourished.
Theo. – Now I can see that the prayer is just like a roadmap for going in the right direction and helping us reach the Goal. But above all, it is a contactor, the connector that will get us in touch with the Centre. I became aware of it as I was practicing. It is fantastic.
The Elder – It helps us practice raja-yoga. It is a mere transformation process aiming at our spiritual elevation.
Theo. – It also sounds like a very slow process, when I listen to you.
The Elder – Here again, it depends on your maturity and your willingness to move forward.
Esoteric symbol.
Theo. – Since we are in the Quantum physics Age, when space can be folded, and wormholes be created to help us go from one universe to another. I am sure you know some Sahaj Marg equivalents for it.
The Elder – In a way, I have already explained it on several occasions and particularly when I told you about the esoteric symbol. There is the path of the soul (yatra), which goes through thirteen holes or chakras; it crosses three regions (the heart and two stars), but you can also aim straight at the centre of the heart, the centre of the first star, then the centre of the second star, and finally plunge into the centre the luminous point represents.
Theo. – How do we do it?
The Elder – You have to create an absolute vacuum at the centre of your heart and plunge into it at the speed of light, at a super luminic speed… but then, I’m short of words.
Theo. – How is that possible?
The Elder – As far as I know, it is not possible if you are all by yourself, but who knows?
The yatra of the soul.
Theo. – What makes it so difficult?
The Elder – Few human beings have the capacity to focus simultaneously on the four levels of the Centre and remain there.
Theo. – How long can we hold doing it?
The Elder – Here we are talking about Quantum physics, and our benchmarks are different.
Theo. – The Heart and the Heart Region belong to Time. The Cosmic Region is in the Cosmic Time, and the central Region is beyond Time!
The Elder – Here you can see the paradox, when the difficulty emerges.
Theo. – What paradox?
The Elder – The Time – vs – No-time paradox.
Theo. – Still, how do we proceed?
The Elder – We have to suppress all notion of time, in order to be free from time. If ever you add a temporal component to the equation, then you are bound by time.
Theo. – So?
The Elder – You must start from a no-time dimension, rather than one that is beyond time, as it would still be related to time. The atman is of the same nature as God’s (Nirguna). You just have to let them merge through the Centre.
Theo. – And that’s what creates an action, isn’t it?
The Elder – The energy produced is what creates the action, and since that action belongs to time, it is bound to fail.
Theo. – So, what is the solution?
The Elder – Plunging straight into the Centre is the solution – I mean a zero power Centre – and letting it return to the surface of your heart.
Merging through the Centre.
Theo. – Since the Centre is God, then God is the one who operates. Is not He the objective of our quest?
The Elder – You are right. God looks for God and finds Him within us through and within our hearts.
Theo. (taken aback):
– What do we do, then?
The Elder – Nothing, practically nothing! To begin with, we open the door of our heart and we humbly offer Him that heart.
Theo. – And what does He do?
The Elder – He responds with love, His infinite love.
Theo. – And we ride the Infinite, from Him to Him… Not bad!
That would be ideal, for sure, but as my great niece Camela would say, “But what is it like, in real life?”
The Elder – All this requires preparation, a lot of preparation, for the magic to operate instantly. As Lalaji would say, “Just turn your head from here to there, and that’s it!”
Theo. – Atcha!
How can we achieve it rapidly and be in the proper condition, so that God may operate?
The Elder – We have already discussed it many times: through negating, which will allow us to attain the essence of the essence of all things.
Theo. – And the Essence of the essence is God, isn’t it? Could you refresh my memory, please?
The Elder – Take Love, for instance.
Think of someone you like a lot.
Feel that love.
Make it yours.
Let it invade your inner space, all your cells and particles… Silence
Remove that love… Silence
Feel the subtle vibration that is left behind… Silence
Remove that vibration… Silence.
That is the essence of Love.
Remove that essence… Silence.
That is the Essence of the essence… Silence.
That is God, nearly…
Theo. (whispering):
– How surprising! There is nothing left and yet I can feel a sort of Presence, a very subtle one. The challenge is to maintain such a purely divine condition… My external environment can so easily divert me from it. How could I maintain that mysterious condition?
The Elder – It is like a sublime fragrance, not easily retained…
Theo. – Haven’t you got an idea?
The Elder – That is the spiritual guide’s secret. Once you have found your place in his heart and be accepted there, the Master will take you within him until you reach your destination.
Theo. – Just like a mother will bear her child, is it? I have read that you only have to remain within the Master’s mental matrix for seven months to be born in the Brighter World as a Spiritual Entity.
The Elder – The problem is that we are more like a baby kangaroo and, out of sheer curiosity, leave our mother’s pocket far too often in order to explore the world, hence we find it difficult to stay for seven months within our Master’s mental matrix. His matrix is what will take us as we are and in our course of time, in order to have us travel beyond time, into eternity.
Theo. – For that, we need a realized Master I guess.
The Elder – He must have completed the journey. His heart has totally surrendered to the Ultimate. It has become God’s residence on Earth and it is a place where we are welcome.
Theo. – And it is also the moment when we shall be transformed and divinized, is it?
The Elder – We are at the Centre there, while being fully incarnated on Earth.
Theo. – Which is just another paradox: being both within and out of time.
The Elder – The process is what helps divinizing the Being and the environment it has to live in. That is the reason why Babuji would encourage us to maintain only one channel and to avoid creating new ones, as they would drain energy and power from the main channel.
Theo. – After all the explanations you gave me, I can now better understand why aspirants should take the usual way of yatra (the spiritual path). It may be a long one, but it is apparently more comfortable.
The Elder (smiling):
– It is also a sort of Quantum physics. The Way I have just described is only of a higher level. It is as if you were going through a black hole in order to reach another dimension, whereas the first part of yatra occurs in space and time. For an advanced yogi, the journey should normally take about three thousand years before he can attain the cosmic region. Now, since he is propelled by pranahuti (the yogic energy) and by his own mind and willpower, his journey will take only a few years. Once he is in the cosmic region, it will be more like an interstellar journey towards unknown remote constellations, and then…
There, Theo interrupted the Elder:
– That’s a real comfort. Do you give that kind of explanations to all the aspirants? Now I can understand why so few of them feel like going on such a journey.
The Elder – Not so long ago, people would travel around by horse. Nowadays, it comes as no surprise that we can be on a high-speed train travelling at 300 kph or in a plane that will take us to the end of the world within a few hours. The human mind can adapt to everything. It has already imagined spatio-temporal journeys through portals in order to go from one galaxy to another one… which might be possible one day or another, who knows? Everything man can imagine is already noted within him. We just have to wait for him to be further awakened.
Theo. – Which conditions must be fulfilled, if we are to set boundlessly on such an attractive journey within the divine flow?
The Elder – Lalaji has answered the question in his book Truth Eternal: “The soul of a human being will be clean in proportion to the power of discrimination (viveka) he possesses.”
Theo. – Could you elaborate, please?
The Elder – Babuji also answers it in his autobiography, when he says that discrimination is precisely the key to our character.
Theo. – And what is there to be discriminated?
The Elder – He mainly focuses on the link that permanently bounds our hearts to our Master’s heart. It’s a fulltime job.
Theo. – Which looks impossible!
The Elder – That is the reason why Babuji has offered the Sahaj Marg to humanity. It makes the path more easily travelled. You needn’t understand it all.
Theo. – I’m interested. I’m even dedicated to it. So, please, give me just a simple example.
The Elder – Going from Point 1 to Point 2, the atman Point, begins with setting the soul in motion towards Point 2. The journey can be undertaken in a comfortable way or not, riding a camel for instance, all through a beautiful arid desert. That caravan will take years of course. Recently, our Masters have opened a motorway between these two points and they have even coupled it with a high-speed way. In Chariji‘s times, taking a preceptor-to-be to the point of the soul would take a few days of intensive work.
Theo. – That is the plane you were talking about, isn’t?
The Elder – Nowadays, the same work can be done in quantic jumps. The route is travelled instantly and in a much easier way.
Theo. – Do the aspirants maintain their position when they reach that point?
The Elder – No! Unfortunately. We call that motion a mere ‘approach’. Then the person usually goes back to what he or she would know.
Theo. – Which is ….
The Elder – Point 1, the Earth point, the push and pull point, fraught with duality, pleasure and sufferings.
Theo. – Even though they know how good it is to be in that peace and love dimension the Presence in the atman chakra (Point 2) can provide?
The Elder – As they reach that dimension, some of them take fright and they halt just before entering it once and for all.
Theo. – What happens to them, then?
The Elder – At two-thirds of their yatra between Points 1 and 2, there is a border guard: the aspirant’s ego. It fears losing control of the world it knows. So, it urges the soul to go backwards, to stop doing anything that might be confusing and to return to the ‘normal way of life’ it was used to and has been able to control so far.
Theo. – I can’t understand how we could possibly shun that new dimension of Love.
The Elder – No soul really wants it, but the fear of the unknown, of what is mysterious, can frighten the aspirant. That is the reason why we teach him that raja-yoga practice. Through a gradual cleaning, the individual’s soul will be purified. In order to open our inner door, the guide will softly clear the path of all its obstacles.
Theophile the Elder
An excerpt from Dialogs with Theophile the Elder
Theophile the Younger’s Initiation