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08 - Book Three, Sutras 1-36 - The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali · Sacred Texts Archive

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Book three Sutras one to thirty six Sutra one. The binding of the perceiving
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consciousness to a certain region is attention dah Rana. Emerson quotes Sir Isaac Newton
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as saying that he made his great discoveries by intending his mind on them.
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That is what is meant here. I read the page of a book while
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thinking of something else. At the end of the page, I have no
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idea of what it is about, and read it again, still thinking of
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something else, with the same result. Then I wake up, so to
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speak, make an effort of attention, fix my thought on what I am
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reading, and easily take in its meaning. The act of will, the
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effort of attention, the intending of the mind on each word and line of
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the page, just as the eyes are focused on each word and line,
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is the power here contemplated. It is the power to focus the consciousness on
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a given spot and hold it there. Attention is the first and indispensable step
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in all knowledge. Attention to spiritual things is the first step to spiritual knowledge
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Suit Tre two. A prolonged holding of the perceiving consciousness in that region is
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meditation Dianna. This will apply equally to outer and inner things. I may
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for a moment fix my attention on some visible object in a single penetrating glance,
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or I may hold the attention fixedly on it until it reveals far more
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of its nature than a single glance could perceive. The first is the focusing
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of the searchlight of consciousness upon the object. The other is the holding of
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the white beam of light steadily and persistently on the object until it yields up
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the secret of its details. So for things within, one may fix the
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inner gaze for a moment on spiritual things, or one may hold the consciousness
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steadily upon them, until what was in the dark slowly comes forth into the
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light and yields up its immortal secret. But this is possible only for the
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spiritual man, after the commandments and the rules have been kept. For until
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this is done, the thronging storms of psychical thoughts dissipate and distract the attention,
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so that will not remain fixed on spiritual things. The cares of this
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world, the deceitfulness of riches choke the word of the spiritual message. Sutra
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three. When the perceiving consciousness in this meditative is wholly given to illuminating the
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essential meaning of the object contemplated, and is freed from the sense of separateness
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and personality. This is contemplation Samadhi. Let us review the steps so far
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taken. First, the beam of perceiving consciousness is focussed on a certain region
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or subject through the effort of attention. Then this attending consciousness is held on
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its object. Third, there is the ardent will to know its meaning,
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to illuminate with comprehending thought. Fourth, all personal bias, all desire merely
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to endorse a previous opinion and so prove oneself right, and all desire for
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personal profit or gratification must be quite put away. There must be a purely
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disinterested love of truth for its own sake. Thus is the perceiving consciousness made
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void, as it were, of all personality or sense of separateness. The
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personal limitation stands aside and lets the all consciousness come to bear upon the problem.
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The over soul bends its ray upon the object and illumines it with pure
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light sutraphour. When these three attention, meditation, contemplation are exercised at once,
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this is perfectly concentrated meditation Sanyama. When the personal limitation of the perceiving
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consciousness stands aside and allows the all consciousness to come to bear upon the problem.
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Then arises that real knowledge, which is called a flash of genius,
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that real knowledge which makes discoveries, and without which no discovery can be made,
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however painstaking. The effort for genius is the vision of the spiritual man,
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and that vision is a question of growth rather than present effort. Though
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right effort, rightly continued, will in time infallibly lead to growth and vision.
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Through the power. Thus to set aside personal limitation, to push aside
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petty concerns and cares, and study the whole nature, and will in an
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ardent love of truth and desire to know it. Through the power. Thus
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to make way for the all consciousness, all great men make their discoveries.
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Newton, watching the apple fall to the earth, was able to look beyond,
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to see the subtle waves of force pulsating through apples and worlds, and
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suns and galaxies, and thus to perceive universal gravitation. The oversaul, looking
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through his eyes, recognized the universal force one of its own children. Darwin,
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watching the forms and motions of plants and animals, let the same august
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consciousness come to bear on them, and saw infinite growth perfected through ceaseless struggle.
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He perceived the superb process of evolution. The oversoul, once more,
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recognizing its own Fraunhoffer, noting the dark lines in the band of sunlight in
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his spectroscope, divined their identity with the bright lines in the spectra of incandescent
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iron, sodium, and the rest, and so saw the oneness of substance
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in the worlds and suns, the unity of the material of the universe.
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Once again, the over soul, looking with his eyes, recognized its own.
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So it is with all true knowledge. But the mind must transcend its
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limitations, its idiosyncrasies. There must be purity, for to the pure in
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heart is the promise that they shall see God sutrify. By mastering this perfectly
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concentrated meditation, there comes the illumination of perception. The meaning of this is
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illustrated by what has been said before. When the spiritual man is able to
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throw aside the trammels of emotional and mental limitation and to open his eyes,
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he sees clearly, he attains to illuminated perception. A poet once said that
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Occultism is the conscious cultivation of genius, and it is certain that the awakened
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spiritual man attains to the perceptions of genius. Genius is the vision the power
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of the spiritual man. Whether its possessor recognizes this or not, all true
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knowledge is of the spiritual man. The greatest in all ages have recognized this
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and put their testimony on record. The great in wisdom who have not consciously
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recognized it, have ever been full of the spirit of reverence, of selfless
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devotion to truth, of humility, as West Darwin. And reverence and humility
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are the unconscious recognition of the nearness of the spirit, that divinity which broods
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over us, a master or a slave Sutra six. This power is distributed
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in ascending degrees. It is to be attained step by step. It is
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a question not of miracle, but of evolution of growth. Newton had to
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master the multiplication table, then the four of arithmetic, then the rudiments of
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algebra, before he came to the binomial theorem. At each point there was
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a tension, concentration, insight. Until these were attained, no progress to
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the next point was possible. So would Darwin. He had to learn the
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form and use of leaf and flower, of bone and muscle, the characteristics
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of genera and species, the distribution of plants and animals. Before he had
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in mind that nexus of knowledge on which the light of his great idea was
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at last able to shine. So is it with all knowledge, so is
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it with spiritual knowledge. Take the matter this way. The first subject for
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the exercise of my spiritual insight is my day, with its circumstances, its
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hindrances, its opportunities, its duties. I do what I can to solve
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it, to fulfill its duties, to learn its lessons. I tried to
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live my day with aspiration and faith. That is the first step. By
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doing this, I gather a harvest for the evening. I gain a deeper
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insight into life in virtue of which I begin the next day with a certain
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advantage, a certain spiritual advance and attainment. So with all successive days,
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in faith and aspiration, we pass from day to day in growing knowledge and
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power, with never more than one day to solve at a time, until
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all life becomes radiant and transparent Sutra seven. This threefold power of attention,
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meditation, contemptation is more interior than the means of growth previously described very naturally
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so, because the means of growth previously described were concerned with the extrication of
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the spiritual man from the psychic bondages and veils. While this threefold power is
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to be exercised by the spiritual man, thus extricated and standing on his feet
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viewing life with open eyes Sutra eight. But this triad is still exterior to
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the soul vision, which is unconditioned, free from the seed of mental analyzes.
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The reason is this The threefold power we have been considering. The triad
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of attention, contemplation, meditation is, so far as we have yet considered
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it, the focusing of the beam of perceiving consciousness upon some form of manifesting
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being with a view of understanding it completely. There is a higher stage where
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the beam of consciousness is turned back upon itself, and the individual consciousness enters
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into and knows the all consciousness. This is a being, a being in
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immortality, rather than a knowing. It is free from mental analysis or mental
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forms. It is not an activity of the higher mind, even the mind
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of the spiritual man. It is an activity of the soul. Had Newton
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risen to this higher stage, he would have known not the laws of motion,
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but that high being from whose life comes eternal motion. Had Darwin risen
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to this, he would have seen the soul, whose graduated thought and being
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all evolution expresses. There are therefore these two perceptions, that of living things
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and that of the life, that of the soul's works, and that of
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the soul itself. Sutronin One of the ascending degrees is the development of control.
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First there is the overcoming of the mind impressive excitation. Then comes the
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manifestation of the mind impressive control. Then the perceiving consciousness follows after the moment
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of control. This is the development of control. The meaning seems to be
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this, some object enters the field of observation and at first violently excites the
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mind, stirring up curiosity fear one. Then the consciousness returns upon itself,
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as it were, and takes the perception firmly in hand, steadying itself and
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viewing the matter calmly from above. The steadying effort of the will upon the
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perceiving consciousness is control, and immediately upon it follows perception, understanding insight.
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Take a tried example, supposing one is walking in an Indian forest, a
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charging elephant suddenly appears. The man is excited by astonishment and perhaps terror,
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but he exercises an effort of will, perceives the situation in its true bearings,
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and recognizes that a certain thing must be done. In this case,
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probably that he must get out of the way as quickly as possible. Or
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a comet unheralded, appears in the sky like a flaming sword. The beholder
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is at first astonished, perhaps terror stricken, but he takes himself in hand,
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controls his thoughts, views the apprestion calmly, and finally calculates its orbit
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and its relation to meteor showers. These are extreme illustrations, but with all
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knowledge, the order of perception is the same. First the excitation of the
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mind by the new object impressed on it. Then the control of the mind
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from within, upon which follows the perception of the nature of the object.
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Where the eyes of the spiritual man are open, this will be a true
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and penetrating spiritual perception. In some such way do our living experiences come to
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us First with a shock of pain. Then the soul steadies itself and controls
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the pain. Then the spirit perceives the lesson of the event and its bearing
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upon the progressive revelation of life suit Tritenne. Through frequent repetition of this process,
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the mind becomes habituated to it, and there arises an equable flow of
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perceiving consciousness. Control of the mind by the soul, like control of the
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muscles by the mind, comes by practice and constant voluntary repetition. As an
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example of control of the muscles by the mind, take the ceaseless practice by
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which a musician gains mastery over his instrument, or a fencer gains skill with
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a rapier. Innumerable small efforts of attention will make a result which seems well
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nigh miraculous, which for the novice is really miraculous. Then consider that far
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more wonderful instrument, the perceiving mind, played on by that fine musician,
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the soul. Here again, innumerable small efforts of attention will accumulate into mastery,
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and a mastery worth winning. For a concrete example, take the gradual
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conquest of each day, the effort to live that day for the soul.
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To him that is faithful and to death, the master gives the crown of
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life. Sutra eleven. The gradual conquest of the mind's tendency to flit from
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one object to another and the power of one pointedness. Make the development of
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contemplation as an illustration of the mind's tendency to flit from one object to another.
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Take a small boy learning arithmetic. He begins two ones are two,
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Three ones are three, And then he thinks of the three coins in his
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pocket, which will purchase so much candy in the store down the street,
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next to the toy shop where our baseballs, marbles, and so on.
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And then he comes back with a jerk to four ones are four. So
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with us also we are seeking the meaning of our task. But the mind
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takes advantage of a moment of lackened attention and flits off from one frivolous detail
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to another, till we suddenly come back to consciousness after traversing leagues of space.
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We must learn to conquer this and to go back within ourselves into the
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beam of perceiving consciousness itself, which is a beam of the over soul.
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This is the true one pointedness, the bringing of our consciousness to a focus
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in the Soul Sutra thirteen. Through this, the inherent character, distinctive marks
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and conditions of being and powers according to their development are made clear by the
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power defined in the preceding sutra. The inherent character, distinctive marks, and
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conditions of beings and powers are made clear. For through this power, as
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defined, we get a twofold view of each object, seeing at once all
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its individual characteristics and its essential character, species and genus. We see it
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in relation to itself and in relation to the eternal. Thus we see arose
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as that particular flower, with its color and scent, its peculiar fold of
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each petal. But we also see in it the species, the family to
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which it belongs, with its relation to all plants, to all life,
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to life itself. So in any day we see events and circumstances, we
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also see in it the lessons set for the soul by the Eternal Sutra fourteen.
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Every object has its characteristics which are already quiescent, those which are active,
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and those which are not yet definable. Every object has characteristics belonging to
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its past, its presence, and its future. In a fir tree,
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for example, there are the stumps or scars of dead branches which once represented
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its foremost growth. There are the branches with their needs spread out to the
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air. There are the buds at the end of each branch and twig,
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which carry the still closely packed needles, which are the promise of the future.
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In like manner, the chrysalis has as its past, the caterpillar as
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its future, the butterfly. The man has in his past, the animal
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in his future, the angel. Both are visible even now in his face.
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So with all things, for all things change and grow Sutra fifteen.
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Difference in stage is the cause of difference in development. This but amplifies what
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has just been said. The first stage is the sapling, the caterpillar,
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the animal. The second stage is the growing tree, the crysalis, the
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man. The third is the splendid pine, the butterfly, the angel.
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Difference of stage is the cause of difference of development. So it is among
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men and among the races of men. Sutra sixteen. Through perfectly concentrated meditation
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on the three stages of development comes a knowledge of past and future. We
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have taken our illustrations from natural science, because since every true discovery in natural
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science is a dimidation of a law in nature attained through a flash of genius,
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such discoveries really represent acts of spiritual perception. Acts of perception by the
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spiritual man, even though they are generally not so recognized. So we may
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once more use the same illustration. Perfectly concentrated meditation, perfect insight into the
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chrysalis reveals the caterpillar that it has been, the butterfly that it is destined
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to be. He who knows the seed knows the seed pod or ear it
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has come from, and the plant that is to come from it. So
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in like man, he who really knows today and the heart of today knows
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its parent yesterday, and its child tomorrow. Past, present, and future
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are all in the eternal. He who dwells in the eternal knows all three
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Sutra seventeen. The sound and the object and the thought called up by a
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word are confounded because they are all blurred together in the mind. By perfectly
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concentrated meditation on the distinction between them, there comes an understanding of the sounds
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uttered by all beings. It must be remembered that we are speaking of perception
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by the spiritual man. Sound, like every force, is the expression of
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a power of the eternal. Infinite shades of this power are expressed in the
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infinitely varied tones of sound. He who, having entry to the consciousness of
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the eternal knows. The essence of this power can divine the meanings of all
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sounds, from the voice of the insect to the music of the spheres.
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In like manner, he who has attained to spiritual vision can perceive the mind
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images in the thoughts of others with the shade of feeling which goes with them,
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thus reading their thoughts as easily as he hears their words. Everyone has
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the germ of this power, since difference of tone will give widely differing meanings
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to the same words, meanings which are intuitively perceived by everyone. Sutra eighteen.
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When the mind impressions become visible, there comes an understanding of previous births.
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This is simple enough. If we grasp the truth of rebirth, the
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fine harvest of past experiences is drawn into the spiritual nature, forming indeed the
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basis of its development. When the consciousness has been raised to a point above
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these fine subjective impressions and can look down upon them from above, this will
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in itself be a remembering of past births. Sutra nineteen. By perfectly concentrated
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meditation on mind images is gained the understanding of the thoughts of others. Here
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for those who can profit by it is the secret of thought reading. Take
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the simplest case of intentional thought transference. It is the testimony of those who
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have done this that the perceiving mind must be stilled before the mind image projected
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by the other mind can be seen. With it comes a sense of the
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feeling and temper of the other mind, and so on in higher degrees Sutra
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twenty. But since that on which the thought in the mind of another rests
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is not objective to the thought reader's consciousness, he perceives the thought only,
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and not also that on which the thought rests, the meaning appears to be
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simple. One may be able to perceive the thoughts of someone at a distance,
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one cannot, by that means alone, also perceive the external surroundings of
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that person which arouse these thoughts Suitra twenty one. By perfectly concentrated meditation on
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the form of the body, by arresting the body's perceptibility, and by inhibiting
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the eye's power of sight, there comes the power to make the body invisible.
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There are many instances of the exercise of this power by mesmerists, hypnotists,
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and the like, and we may simply call it an instance of the
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power of suggestion. Shankara tells us that by this power the popular magicians of
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the East perform their wonders, working on the mind images of others, while
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remaining invisible themselves. It is all a question of being able to see and
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control the mind images. Sutra twenty two. The works which fill out the
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life span may be either immediately or gradually operative. By perfectly concentrated meditation on
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these comes a knowledge of the time of the end, as also through signs.
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A garment which is wet, says the commentator, may be hung up
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to dry and so dry rapidly, or it may be rolled in a ball
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and dry slowly, so a fire may blaze or smolder. Thus it is
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with karma, the works that fill out the life span. By an insight
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into the mental forms and forces which make up karma, there comes a knowledge
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of the rapidity or slowness of their development, and of the time when the
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debt will be paid Sure twenty three. By perfectly concentrated meditation on sympathy,
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compassion, and kindness is gained the power of interior union with others. Unity
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is the reality, separateness the illusion. The nearer we come to reality the
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nearer we come to unity of heart. Sympathy, compassion, kindness are modes
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of this unity of heart, whereby we rejoice with those who rejoice, and
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weep with those who weep. These things are learned by desiring to learn them.
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Suitra twenty four. By perfectly concentrated meditation on power, even such power
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as that of the elephants may be gained. This is a pretty image.
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Elephants possess not only force, but poise and fineness of control. They can
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lift a straw, a child's a tree with perfectly judged control and effort.
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So the simile is a good one. By detachment, by withdrawing into the
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soul's reservoir of power, we can gain all these force and finesse and poise,
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the ability to handle with equal mastery things small and great, concrete and
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abstract alike. Suit Her twenty five. By bending upon them the awakened inner
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light, there comes a knowledge of things subtle or concealed or obscure. As
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was said at the outset, each consciousness is related to all consciousness, and
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through it has a potential consciousness of all things, whether subtle or concealed or
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obscure. An understanding of this great truth will come with practice. As one
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of the wise has said, we have no concerent option of the power of
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meditation. Sutra twenty six. By perfectly concentrated meditation on the sun comes a
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knowledge of the world's This has several meanings. First, by a knowledge of
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the constitution of the sun, astronomers can understand the kindred nature of the stars,
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and it is said that there is a finer astronomy where the spiritual man
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is the astronomer. But the sun also means the soul, and through knowledge
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of the soul comes a knowledge of the realms of life. Sutra twenty seven.
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By perfectly concentrated meditation on the moon comes a knowledge of the lunar mansions.
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Here again are different meanings. The moon is first the companion planet,
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which each day passes backward through one mansion of the stone. By watching the
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moon, the boundaries of the mansion are learned with their succession in the great
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time dial of the sky. But the moon also symbolizes the analytic mind with
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its divided realms, and these two may be understood through perfectly concentrated meditation.
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Suitra twenty eight. By perfectly concentrated meditation on the fixed pole star comes a
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knowledge of the motion of the stars. Addressing duty stern, daughter of the
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voice of God, Wordsworth finally said, thou cost preserve the stars from wrong,
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and the most ancient heavens through thee are fresh and strong, thus suggesting
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a profound relation between the moral powers and the powers that rule the worlds.
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So in this sutra, the fixed pole star is the eternal spirit about which
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all things move, as well as the star towards which points the axis of
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the earth. Deep mysteries attend both, and the veil of mystery is only
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to be raised by meditation, by open eyed division of the awakened spiritual man.
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Suitra twenty nine, perfectly concentrated meditation on the center of force in the
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lower trunk brings an understanding of the order of the bodily powers. We are
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coming to a vitally important part of the teaching of yoga, namely the spiritual
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man's attainment of full self consciousness, the awakening of the spiritual man as a
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self conscious individual behind and above the natural man. In this awakening and in
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the process of gestation which precedes it, there is a close relation with the
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powers of the natural man, which are in a certain sense the projection outward
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and downward of the powers of the spiritual man. This is notably true of
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that creative power of the spiritual man, which, when embodied in the natural
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man, becomes the power of generation. Not only is this power the cause
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of the continuance of the bodily race of mankind, but further, in the
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individual, it is the key to the dominance of the personal life, Rising
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as it were, through the life channels of the body, it flushes the
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personality with physical force, and maintains and colors the illusion that the physical life
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is the dominant and all important expression of life. In due time, when
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the spiritual man has begun to take form, the creative force will be drawn
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off and become operative in building the body of the spiritual man, just as
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it has been operative in the building of physical bodies through generation in the natural
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world. Perfectly concentrated meditation on the nature of this force means first that rising
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of the consciousness into the spiritual world world already described, which gives the one
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sure foothold for meditation, and then from that spiritual point of vantage, not
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only an insight into the creative force in its spiritual and physical aspects, but
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also a gradually attained control of this wonderful force, which will mean its direction
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to the body of the spiritual man and its gradual withdrawal from the body of
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the natural man, until the over pressure, so general and such a fruitful
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source of misery in our day is abated and purity takes the place of passion.
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This over pressure, which is the cause of so many evils and so
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much of human shame, is an abnormal, not a natural condition. It
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is primarily due to spiritual blindness, to blindness regarding the spiritual man, and
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ignorance even of his existence. For by this blind ignorance are closed the channels
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through which were they open, the creative force could flow into the body of
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the spiritual man, there building up an immortal vesture. There is no cure
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for blindness with its consequent over pressure and attendant misery and shame, but spiritual
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vision, spiritual aspiration, sacrifice, the new birth from above. There is
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no other way to lighten the burden, to lift the misery and shame from
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human life. Therefore, let us follow after sacrifice and aspiration. Let us
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seek the light. In this way. Only shall we gain that insight into
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the order of the bodily powers and that mastery of them, which this sutra
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implies Sutra thirty. By perfectly concentrated meditation on the center of force in the
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well of the throat, there comes the cessation of hunger and thirst. We
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are continuing the study of the bodily powers and centers of force in their relation
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to the powers and forces of the spiritual man. We have already considered the
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dominant power of physical life, life, the creative power which secures the continuance
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of physical life, and further, the manner in which, through aspiration and
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sacrifice it is gradually raised and set to the work of upbuilding the body of
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the spiritual man. We come now to the dominant psychic force, the power
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which manifests itself in speech and in virtue, of which the voice may carry
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so much of the personal magnetism, endowing the order with a tongue of fire,
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magical in its power to arouse and rule the emotions of his hearers.
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This emotional power, this distinctively psychical force, is the cause of hunger and
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thirst, the psychical hunger and thirst for sensations, which is the source of
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our two sided life of emotionalism, with its hopes and fears, its expectations
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and memories, its desires and hates. The source of the psychical power,
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or perhaps we should say its center of activity in the physical body, is
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said to be in the cavity of the throat. Thus, in the Teityria
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Upanishad it is written, there is this shining ether in the inner being.
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Therein is the spiritual man formed through thought, immortal golden. Inward in the
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palate, the organ that hangs down like a nipple, This is the womb
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of Indra, and there where the dividing of the hair turns, extending upward
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to the crown of the head. Indra is the name given to the creative
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power of which we have spoken, and which we are told resides in the
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organ which hangs down like a nipple. Inward in the palate Sutra thirty one,
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by perfectly concentrated meditation on the center of force in the channel called the
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tortoise, formed comes steadfastness. We are concerned now with the center of nervous
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or psychical force below the cavity of the throat, in the chest in which
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felt the sensation of fear. The center the disturbance of which sets the heart
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beating miserably with dread, or which produces that sense of terror through which the
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heart is said to stand still. When the truth concerning fear is thoroughly mastered
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through spiritual insight into the immortal, fearless life, then this force is perfectly
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controlled. There is no more fear, just as through the control of the
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psychic power, which works through the nerve center in the throat, there comes
35:25
a cessation of hunger and thirst. Thereafter, these forces, or their spiritual
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prototypes, are turned to the building of the spiritual man. Always, it
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must be remembered the victory is first a spiritual one. Only later does the
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brink control of the bodily powers Suture thirty two. Through perfectly concentrated meditation on
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the light in the head comes the vision of the masters who have attained The
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tradition is that there is a certain center of force in the head, perhaps
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the penial gland, which some of our Western philosophers have supposed to be the
36:04
dwelling of the soul, a center which is, as it were, the
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doorway between the natural and the spiritual man. It is the seat of that
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better and wiser consciousness behind the outward looking consciousness in the forward part of the
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head, that better and wiser consciousness of the back of the mind, which
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views spiritual things and seeks to impress the spiritual view on the outward looking consciousness
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in the forward part of the head. It is the spiritual man seeking to
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guide the natural man, seeking to bring the natural man to concern himself with
36:31
things of his immortality. This is suggested in the words of the Upanishad already
36:37
quoted. There were the dividing of the hair turns extending upward to the crown
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of the head, all of which may sound very fantastical until one comes to
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understand it. It is said that when this power is fully awakened, it
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brings a vision of the great companions of the spiritual man, those who have
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already attained, crossing over to the further shore of the sea of death and
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rebirth. Perhaps it is to this divine sight that the Master alluded, who
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is reported to have said, I counsel you to buy of me, I
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salve that he may see. It is of this same vision of the great
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companions, the children of light, that a seer wrote, though inland far
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we be, our souls have sight of that immortal sea which brought us hither,
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can in a moment travel thither and see the children sport upon the shore,
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and hear the mighty waters rolling evermore Sutra thirty three, Or through the
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divining power of intuition, he knows all things. This is really the supplement
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the spiritual side of the sutra, just translated step by step as the better
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consciousness. The spiritual of you gains force in the back of the mind.
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So in the same measure, the spiritual man is gaining the power to see,
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learning to open the spiritual eyes. When the eyes are fully opened,
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the spiritual man beholds the great companion standing about him. He has begun to
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know all things. This divining power of intuition is the power which lies above
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and behind the so called rational mind. The rational mind formulates a question and
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lays it before the intuition, which gives a real answer, often immediately distorted
38:17
by the rational mind, yet always embodying a kernel of truth. It is
38:22
by this process through which the rational mind brings questions to the intuition for solution,
38:29
that the truths of science are reached. The flashes of discovery and genius.
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But this higher power need not work in subordination to the so called rational
38:37
mind. It may act directly as full illumination the vision and the faculty Divine
38:45
suit Tra Thirty four. By perfectly concentrated meditation on the heart, the interior
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being comes the knowledge of consciousness. The heart here seems to mean, as
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it so often does in the Upanishads, the interior spiritual nature, the consciousness
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of the spiritual man, which is related to the heart and to the wisdom
39:07
of the heart. By steadily seeking after and finding the consciousness of the spiritual
39:12
man, by coming to consciousness as the spiritual man, a perfect knowledge of
39:15
consciousness will be attained. For the consciousness of the spiritual man has this divine
39:21
quality while being and remaining a truly individual consciousness. It at the same time
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flows over as it were and blends with the divine consciousness above and about it,
39:31
the consciousness of the great companions. And by showing itself to be one
39:35
with the divine consciousness, it reveals the nature of all consciousness, the secret
39:39
that all consciousness is one and divine Sutra thirty five. The personal self seeks
39:50
to feast on life through a failure to perceive the distinction between the personal self
39:53
and the spiritual man. All personal experience really exists for this another, namely
40:00
the spiritual man. By perfectly concentrated meditation on experience for the sake of the
40:07
self, comes a knowledge of the spiritual man. The divine ray of the
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Higher Self, which is eternal, impersonal and abstract, descends into life and
40:19
forms a personality which, through the stress and storm of life, is hammered
40:22
into a definite and concrete, self conscious individuality. The problem is to blend
40:28
these two powers, taking the eternal and spiritual being of the first and blending
40:32
with it, transferring into it the self conscious individuality of the second, and
40:37
thus bringing to life a third being, the spiritual man, who is heir
40:42
to the immortality of his father, the Higher Self, and yet has the
40:45
self conscious, concrete individuality of his other parent, the personal Self. This
40:52
is the true immaculate conception, the new birth from above, conceived of the
40:57
Holy Spirit. Of this new birth, it is that which is born of
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the Spirit, is spirit, Ye must be born again. Rightly understood,
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therefore, the whole life of the personal man is for another, not for
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himself. He exists only to render his very life and all his experience for
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the building up of the spiritual man. Only through failure to see this does
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he seek enjoyment for himself, seek to secure the feasts of life for himself,
41:28
not understanding that he must live for the other, live sacrificially offering both
41:32
feasts and his very being on the altar, giving himself as a contrition for
41:37
the building of the spiritual man. When he does understand this and lives for
41:43
the higher Self, setting his heart and thought on the higher Self, then
41:46
his sacrifice bears divine fruit. The spiritual man is built up, consciousness awakens
41:52
in him, and he comes fully into being as a divine and immortal individuality
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Sutra thirty six. Thereupon are born the divine power of intuition and the hearing,
42:07
the touch, the vision, the taste, and the power of smell
42:12
of the spiritual man. When in virtue of the perpetual sacrifice of the personal
42:17
man, daily and hourly giving his life for his divine brother, the spiritual
42:22
man, and through the radiance ever pouring down from the Higher Self eternal in
42:27
the heavens, the spiritual man comes to birth. There awaken him those powers
42:31
whose psychical counterparts we know in the personal man the spiritual man begins to see,
42:37
to hear, to touch, to taste, And besides the senses of
42:40
the spiritual man, there awakes his mind that divine counterpart of the mind of
42:45
the physical man, the power of direct and immediate knowledge, the power of
42:51
spiritual intuition, of divination. This power, as we have seen, owes
42:55
its virtue to the unity, the continuity of consciousness, whereby whatever is known
43:00
to any consciousness is knowable by any other consciousness. Thus, the consciousness of
43:06
the spiritual man, who lives above are narrow barriers of separateness, is an
43:09
intimate touch with the consciousness of the great companions, and can draw on that
43:15
vast reservoir for all real needs. Thus arises within the spiritual man that certain
43:21
knowledge which is called intuition, divination, illumination. End of Book three,
43:30
Sutras one to thirty six.