Theo. I brooded over what you taught me last time and I understand perfectly how important it is for me to erase myself and leave room for the Divine within me. Yet, the fact of having to retreat completely is somehow disturbing to me: it makes me feel that I am like a puppet and that somebody else is living for me. As a therapist, I’m used to taking steps, to guiding my patient’s energies,
The points of heart.
and to applying the required care practices. The Elder – Similarly, it is for you to evaluate your work, to assess its impact and how it affects the meditator whose meditation you are guiding. You are the one who must know when to step back and make way for the Master, for the Lord. When you apply a technique, don’t hesitate to compare it with another one. I don’t say you should do nothing. I say you must let the Lord guide your action and enlighten your mind and your work in accordance with the meditator’s needs. Theo. – I’m left with the inner observer then. The Elder – Yes, but which one? What is the nature of your inner observer? Just have a try on me, will you? Feeling rather surprised and emotional, Theo got ready for giving his first sitting while the Elder had already closed his eyes. Both friends were soon in tune as they let themselves be absorbed by the sweetness of the transmission. Impatient, Theo solicited his inner observer. He looked for the five points, the five chakras in the Elder’s chest. He had to strain, to project his mind.
Then he perceived within him the Elder’s voice saying: – Let it go! Think your soul is the one who is observing… Silence – Now, go to the second level in your heart (the second star of the esoteric symbol). Let the Inner Master observe and do the work… Silence – Now, make way for the Lord (the heart Centre), remain focused and don’t slip into meditation. Don’t forget that you are assisting the meditation of the adept who is meditating opposite you.
The esoteric symbol.
Theo felt he was being carried away by a great wave of love that started from his heart and went to the Elder’s heart. He was amazed and carried by a very soft enthusiasm. Work had begun; it was very subtle and it operated all by itself in the Elder’s heart. At that very moment, his attention was naturally drawn to point 3, the point of fire, which cleaned itself and got illuminated. To his surprise, Theo felt that there was a relief within the Elder’s heart. There, point 3 resonated with one of the points in the cosmic region and seemed to be illuminating point 8. The Lord’s transmission started to pour down. It was not easy for Theo to resist being completely carried away by the flow of the transmission. As for the Elder, he was drawn into the depths of his Being. After a nondescript time, Theo felt that the meditation was coming to an end and he uttered the usual “That’s all!” to tell the meditator that transmission was over. Still amazed and impressed that he had had the Elder meditate, he thought that, though he was only a rookie in the job, it had been going quite well. The Elder opened his eyes and asked Theo: – Who conducted the meditation? Theo. – Not me, for sure, though I was there. The beam of my willingness was at work. It brought to light what had to be done. The Elder – What had to be done? Theo. – See, I cleaned your point 3, but you are far more advanced, aren’t you? How was this possible? The Elder – Don’t have any prejudice, even a positive one. Let the Inner Master decide on what is to be done and let him operate. He has subtly used your will in order to clean Point 3 and illuminate it. I needed such purification and it also shows that you can help someone meditate even if that person is more spiritually matured than you. Theo. – I was very happy to see that the Inner Master would himself start working on you. At first, I was rather impressed, but I relaxed and then the work seemed to be going on all by itself. But why did it concern point 3? The Elder – It just needed it. By the way, when you clean, always start with the whole region of the heart. Theo. – Actually, your point 3 rapidly attracted me, as it started resonating with your point 8. Then the transmission was on. It came from he depths of the heart. I even think that I let myself be carried away by it, though the observer in me was still there, in the back of my mind. The Elder – Did you guide the meditation? Theo. – Yes and no. I was there and away, at the same time, but I could watch and witness all that was happening. My will and my consciousness were cooperating, but only in a very gentle and subtle way. The Elder – What about your ego? Theo thought about it and had to admit: – Well, it was not there… Gosh, that’s interesting, isn’t it? The Elder – That is what we call the Inner Master. Furthermore, you did not feel as if you were a puppet, did you? Theo. – I was fully alert. It was just a sort of acting in a different way. The Elder – The actor without an actor, so dear to Babuji. Theo. – I was conscious, but I still can’t understand what happened. The Elder – Does it really matter? In any case, it was efficient; I can still feel the benefit of it. Was it not the intention? Theo. – What if I’d like to understand? The Elder – Ask inwardly, or just let your meditator speak. Theo. – OK. Then, speak to me. The Elder – This morning, I heard a news that first annoyed me and then made me very cross. I did not allow my emotions to gain ground within me, or my mind to take over. Theo. – Then what was that cleaning for? The Elder – There was still an echo of that anger within me, showing at point 3. It just revealed my inner tendency to resonate with fire and the impact it can have. What sort of impact? Theo. – Is it for me to say? The Elder – Let your intuition (2nd level of the heart) emerge. Theo pondered over it for a while and ventured an analysis: – I know you are impatient by nature, even though it does not usually show. So, a particular event, or some words made you angry and left a mark on point 3, the point of fire, which then had to be cleaned. The Elder – What impact do you infer it had on the other points of the heart? Theo concentrated and proposed: – Your inner peace had been disturbed at point 2; it affected your point 1, due to an emotional frustration, which could have confused your brain and make you lose touch with reality (point 5). But there was no fear, so point 4 was not affected. Once your heart and the point of fire had been cleaned, it all returned to normal and transmission could start flowing. The Elder felt proud of his student but he never showed it. He led him to further analyze how he felt about his experience: – Were you aware that transmission had begun? Theo. – It started by itself. The Elder – The Master made it start at the right moment. Theo. – It is like a valve opening. But who opened the valve? Was it the Master or did I do it? It is confused indeed. The Elder – It is not an issue, but only a fact. Theo. – And why point 8? The Elder – This is where it gets interesting. To begin with, you should know that a spiritual work is always a global one. It operates globally, but through the heart. Theo. – He is a great integrator and bears everything. I remember the esoteric symbol and its three levels. But you did not answer my question about point 8, did you? The Elder continued: – So this is how I understand it. When the unharmonious situation took place, irritation surfaced within me. Since I responded, it showed that the tendency was still there. Theo. – Tendencies and ego are related.
The circles to the Centre.
The Elder – That’s quite right. Theo. – I see! Now you are approaching the eleven circles of the ego. The situation is actually an opportunity the Lord gave you to let your ego surrender to God. So it was a blessing that revealed a tendency and at the same time gave you an opportunity to surrender to the Lord. The Elder – The purification you carried out through cleaning helped me a lot, too. Theo. – It highlights the maxim that says we should take the wrongs done by others with gratitude and as heavenly gifts (maxim n°7). The Elder – These are steps towards our soul’s liberation. Theo. – That is where we are grateful to whoever started it and helped us see the tendency that is going to be corrected! The Elder – Ideally, it’s true. But here, my gratitude goes to the Lord, rather than to the protagonists. Theo. – Their tendencies are what roused yours. As far as I can understand, it happened so that you may still better surrender to God (point 8). The Elder – It can be expressed differently: that tendency was what prevented me from plunging into God and surrendering to His infinite Love! – That is less warlike, more loving. Thank you for that beautiful opening. As usual, you took me back to His Love, Theo concluded, with a profound sense of admiration. To be continued…
Theophile the Elder An excerpt from Dialogues with Theophile the Elder Theophile the Younger’s initiation