The Supreme Self by Swami Abhayananda

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Copyright 1984, 1998, 2002 by Swami Abhayananda

All rights resered. 1he reproduction or utilization o any part o this
book by any means whateer without prior consent rom the
publisher is prohibited.

819(:(; 5+ <56=(#22 <:4:*5=16= >16 >?&9*1@:4156 A:4:

Abhayananda, Swami, 1938-
1he supreme sel , by S. Abhayananda. -- 3rd re. ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical reerences ,p. 182,.
ISBN 0-91455-10-6
1. Spiritual lie. 2. Sel. 3. Abhayananda, Swami, 1938-
I. 1itle.
BL625.A3 1998
291.4`2--dc21 9-21590
CIP

Released for distribution in PDF format in September 2012.

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Lord oI the universe, Thou hast Iilled my heart with Thy love, and
led me to union; and I have promised to praise Thee and to beneIit
Thy children by declaring what Thou hast revealed to me. This is
my testament oI the giIt Thou hast given me. May it inspire others
oI Thy children to seek Thee in clarity oI vision. May it shine a
ray oI light on Thy Iace, and on the glory oI Thy ways.

Swami Abhayananda

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CON1LN1S

Preace ...................ix

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1. 1he Awakening........................................................................ 3
2. 1he Common Vision.............................................................. 9
3. Lnlightenment .......................................................................16
4. 1he Kingdom o God ..........................................................29
5. Lncounter \ith 1he Guru..................................................34
6. 1he \ae And 1he Ocean..................................................39

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1. Vedanta...................................................................................45
2. Sankhya...................................................................................52
3. 1aoism....................................................................................55
4. Buddhism...............................................................................60
5. Shaiism..................................................................................63
6 Judaism...................................................................................6
. Christianity .............................................................................2
8. Islam........................................................................................6

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1. Science And Gnosis..............................................................83
2. Consciousness .......................................................................9
3. Mind......................................................................................100

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CON1LN1S
,Continued,

4. Soul........................................................................................104
5. 1he Problem o Lil...........................................................109
6. Personality............................................................................112
. 1he Celestial Dynamics O Grace....................................115
8. lreedom Or Determinism ...............................................123

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1. 1he Appearance o Duality ...............................................131
2. 1he Ultimate Unity.............................................................144
3. Deotion And Grace..........................................................148

Appendix............................................................................................155
About 1he Author............................................................................169
Notes ...............................................................................................10
Bibliography ......................................................................................14

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...
This was my Iirst book, written in 1983, and published in
1984; but over the years I have made a number oI additions and
revisions. This edition oI The Supreme Self is thereIore the Iruit oI
many soul-searching attempts to explain the mystical experience as
it occurred Ior me, and to clariIy as best I can its implications Ior a
consistent religious worldview. Though the conventional modern
reader may be unIamiliar with the mystical experience and its
implications, there is a long history oI mystical convention that can
be Iound at the core oI nearly every religious tradition. And
though my experience and my views may seem radically at odds
with modern convention, I believe that they Iall very comIortably
within the esoteric, but historically universal, mystical convention.
Mystical experience, that reveals the nature oI the SelI and
the universe, does not occur to everyone, it seems; and so, it is an
unIamiliar subject to many. And, while such experience can be
described, it cannot be adequately conveyed except to those who
are intuitively receptive to the notion oI the divinity oI the soul.
For the mystical experience is the direct revelation oI that divinity.
It is an inner revelation oI Grace that puts the soul in direct contact
with the transcendent Reality. The advanced student oI philosophy
will recognize the existence oI such experience Irom the writings
oI Plotinus, Meister Eckhart, St. John oI the Cross, and many other
'mystics (Please see my Historv of Mvsticism). However, Ior the
many who have not studied the writings oI the Iamous mystics
throughout history, such an experience may be a completely
Ioreign concept.
In the ancient religious traditions oI India, and especially in
the Upanishads, such an experience is widely recognized. It is
described as 'the realization oI the paramatman, or Supreme SelI.
The divine Reality is not reIerred to as 'God, or 'Brahman, but
as 'the Supreme SelI, because, in the mystical experience, one
experiences the Divinity as one`s SelI. There is a uniting oI the
soul and God, so that soul no longer sees as soul, but sees as the

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eternal God, and knows that Divine to be the true SelI it has always
been. It knows its own deathless reality, beyond the illusory
personality it had previously identiIied with. And ever thereaIter it
bears with it the unassailable certainty oI its eternal and unlimited
Identity.
Though this book is essentially the story oI one man who,
drawn by grace to the love oI God, Iollowed his heart and obtained
the illumination he sought, it contains as well the reIlections on the
SelI accumulated over a liIetime, aided by a wide variety oI
sources: mystics, philosophers, scientists, astrologers, and saints.
And, while I have cited these many resources, it is my own
subjective experience oI the SelI which is the core and Ioundation
oI my certainty, and the impetus Ior my eIIort to communicate it.
It is my greatest hope that, Ior some Iew at least, this book will
open a door oI understanding through which a ray oI light may
shine upon the eternal verities.
Swami Abhayananda, 2002

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to: Rom Landau and George
Allen & Unwin oI London Ior permission to reprint extracts Irom
The Philosophv Of Ibn Arabi; David Bohm, Basil Hiley and
Foundations Of Phvsics magazine Ior permission to quote Irom the
article, 'On The Intuitive Understanding Of Non-Localitv As
Implied Bv Quantum Theorv; and William de Barry and Columbia
University Press Ior permission to reprint the poem oI Dara Shikoh
Irom Sources Of Indian Tradition.

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The Experience OI The SelI

'The knower oI Brahman becomes Brahman.

Mundaka Upanishad
THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SELF %

1. THE AWAKENING

Everyone has a spiritual awakening somewhere along the
way. For me, it was sudden and unexpected. It was 1966; I was
twenty-eight, and it was a very special time in my world. Laura
and I had moved Irom San Francisco to Los Gatos, CaliIornia, in
the mountains south oI San Jose. We had rented a beautiIul house
with a knotty-pine interior and a huge porch overlooking a
bubbling brook. I worked nearby at the Post OIIice on a split-shiIt
that gave me time in the aIternoons to sit on my beautiIul private
porch and drink coIIee and read, or work on the great American
novel I was writing.
In June oI 1966, I was Iascinated with the symbology oI
myths, and was reading Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, both oI
whom were speaking repeatedly about 'Vedanta, the mysterious
philosophy oI India. And so, when I saw in a local bookstore a
copy oI a book called Jedanta For The Western World, I bought
a copy. This book, edited by Christopher Isherwood, consisted oI
a series oI articles by such Iigures as Swami Prabhavananda and
Aldous Huxley, and spelled out in very easy-to-understand terms
the philosophy oI Vedanta.
Vedanta, I soon learned, reIers to the philosophy expressed
in the Upanishads, considered to be the Iinal appendages to the
Vedas. It is a nondualistic philosophy; that is to say, a monistic
one. It admits to an apparent duality between God and the world,
between Consciousness and matter, but this duality, says Vedanta,
is apparent only. In the 'mystical vision they are experienced as
one.
According to Vedanta, when a person becomes
enlightenedin other words, when he realizes the ultimate Truth,
or God, in mystical visionhe experiences an absolute Unity,
wherein everything is seen to be a maniIestation oI one universal
SelI. He knows Ior certain: 'I and the Father are one. This is not
a mere aberration oI consciousness, nor an illusory 'union oI the
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0
soul and God; it is a glimpse into the nature oI the underlying
Reality oI one`s existence. It is the revelation oI one`s
true and eternal SelI. This, says Vedanta, is the perennial teaching
oI all the sages and saints oI all times. For the experience oI Unity,
whether called samadhi, satori, or 'union with God, is the same
Ior all, and is the basis Ior all the various religions.
Reading oI this, I suddenly understood what the religious
mystics had been talking about. The teachings oI Jesus, the
Buddha, and all the saints oI all religions were seen to be based
upon this same experiential knowledge. Everything I had ever
puzzled over became clear; everything Iell into place, I had
scarcely Iinished with the Introduction to this book, and I knew
that I had acquired a new and proIound vision, which brought
everything together Ior me and answered all my questions Iorever.
I knew my liIe would never be the same. I knew I had Iound the
key to an extraordinary wealth oI understanding about myselI and
the nature oI reality.
It was as though a veil that I had previously been unaware
oI had suddenly been drawn away, revealing a world I had
heretoIore been looking at as through a hazy Iog. It was not so
much an intellectual revelation as a spiritual one, Ior suddenly I
saw everything bathed in light, and Irom deep within me there
welled up a happiness, a clear, bright joyIulness, that testiIied to its
truth, its rightness, more convincingly than any reason or merely
intellectual conviction could do.
As I continued reading this amazing book, I was introduced
to the 19th century mystic, Sri Ramakrishna, who was mad with
Iervor Ior 'the vision oI God Irom an early age, and who became
so one-pointed in mind through devotional love that he became
entirely lost to the world oI Iorms, aware only oI the all-pervasive
Reality. Reading oI the liIe oI Sri Ramakrishna and other such
saints, I Ielt I had entered into an elite society oI delirious madmen,
madmen who called themselves, 'the lovers OI God, who, turning
away Irom the normal transitory pursuits oI man, sought to become
intimate with the very Iountainhead oI the universe. Somehow, I
had never understood beIore that such a thing was really possible.
THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SELF 1
Reading the inspiring words oI Sri Ramakrishna, who had
clearly known the unitive Reality, I experienced a wave oI such
happiness that I could scarcely bear it. Sitting on my porch,
becoming aware oI these things Ior the Iirst time, I experienced a
shower oI golden light pouring down upon me, as though raining
on the back oI my neck, and awaking a deep and delicious chill in
my body that ran up my spine and caused my scalp to tingle.
For the Iirst time, I understood what drew men to religion.
I had previously attributed it to weakness oI mind. How much
grander was the heritage oI man than I had supposed. I had viewed
all this talk oI 'God through the ages as the superstitious babbling
oI Iools. But I had been the Iool. There was a Godbut it was not
what I had supposed men meant by the term. 'God meant not
some ethereal being with a white beard, etc.; God was Being
itselIthe eternal substratum oI Existence. And the prooI oI it
was that God could be experienced, actually realized, seen with the
inner eye oI unleashed awareness. For the Iirst time, I could
Iathom it; I understood the method in the madness oI the saints.
My mind was dazzled, ecstatic.
I was really extraordinarily happy. OI course, all my
Iriends thought I had suddenly gone mad. Their Iaces betrayed
their uneasiness when I began talking about God and the mystics
who had known Him. I began to realize that I had touched on
something that not everyone could, or was willing to, understand.
I read about 'Grace, the amazing descent oI Grace; and it seemed
to me that just such a thing was happening to me. By some
process oI awakening, to which I was an unwitting spectator, I was
seeing with an entirely new and diIIerent pair oI eyes. My old
Iriends were unable to understand or to share in any way the
intensity oI my Iervor, my excitement; and I realized that I would
have to go on this journey alone.
I had read, in one oI the chapters oI Jedanta For the
Western World, a story oI a man whose wiIe told him that their
neighbor had decided to renounce the world oI petty distractions to
Iocus on the realization oI God. When the man asked his wiIe how
the neighbor was going about this renunciation, she said, 'Well,
&'( )*+,(-( )(./

2
he`s renouncing a Iew things today, and then tomorrow he`ll
renounce a Iew more things, and so on, until he`s entirely Iree to
meditate solely on God. The man said, 'That`s not the way to
renounce the world! And the wiIe retorted, 'Well, how then
would you do it? And the man, by way oI answering her, tore the
shirt Irom his body, turned around and walked out the door oI his
home, never to return.
Impressed with the stark simplicity and decisiveness oI this
approach to the renunciation oI all restricting conditions, I decided
to Iollow the example oI the man in the story. Within only a Iew
days, my liIe took a startling and unalterable turn. I sent a note to
my employer stating that I would not be in on Monday '...Ior
reasons beyond my control; I then gave what I owned to Laura,
and went oII into the mountains oI Santa Cruz, into solitude, to
give my liIe to the quest Ior knowledge oI God.
Walking along a tree-shrouded mountain road, I came
across an empty cabin nestled down in the woods a little oII the
road, and, exploring it, I discovered that it had been long
uninhabited, except Ior the mice who had leIt abundant evidence oI
their assumed occupancy. I decided to take shelter there until I
could talk to the owners, and so I cleaned the place up, and then
went into Santa Cruz to look up the owner at the County Records
oIIice. I wrote to the two men who were the present owners, and
awaited their contact while I made myselI at home in the rustic
cabin.
The building had been leIt unIinished, and was really just a
shell with a concrete Iloor and a kitchen sink that drained directly
out onto the ground outside. There was no running water, but a
beautiIul pure stream oI water Ilowed just a Iew Ieet Irom the back
door oI the cabin in the Iorm oI a babbling spring-Ied brook.
There was a large picnic-type table in the main room and a
mattressless cot in one oI the two adjoining bedrooms. In the
kitchen was a cast-iron cooking stove, and next to it a canvas
director`s chair, along with a Iold-up card table. That was the
extent oI the Iurniture.
There was no electricity, but just out back, a previous
tenant had stacked a good cord oI seasoned oak to warm me
through the winter, and provide me with cooking heat as well.
Candles did the job oI providing me with light. Out Iront, just
beyond the old dilapidated garage, was a wooden outhouse, and
so, although I lacked what some might consider the necessities oI
modern liIe, I truly lacked Ior nothing, and I came to love the
simple liIe my situation required.
The two men who owned the property showed up one day,
and aIter I explained my intentions and my willingness to
saIeguard their property against hunters and trespassers, they
readily agreed to let me stay in the unused cabin. In Iact, we
became good Iriends, and they Irequently came to the woods on
weekends with their chainsaws to cut some live oak trees Ior their
own Iirewood and Ior me as well. They owned about 300 acres oI
beautiIul redwood groves, green meadows, rocky cliIIs and scenic
plateaus; this was surrounded by another 1000 acres oI similar
woodland owned and preserved as wilderness by the University oI
CaliIornia. And, Ior the next nearly Iive years, all this magniIicent
country was my own private garden oI meditation.
How romantic it was! I Ielt that I was a Francis oI Assisi. I
was Rumi, the SuIi poet. I was Basho, the Zen hermit. Walking
on the country roads in the early morning with my Ireshly baked
honey-bread in my brown canvas bag on my shoulder, I`d walk the
long winding mountain road to town to sell my loaves to the owner
oI a coIIee shop. And on the way, I`d sit myselI down in the grass
by the roadside and write Zen poems to the poppies in the Iields, or
to the cottontails that went suddenly hopping through the dewy
morning grass. Walking along, I would see the curving road
suddenly turn and open wide a breathtaking expanse oI sky and
green slopes and blue ocean rising up to meet the skyand a
tearIul joy would well up in me and drown me in a rapturous
sweetness I`d never beIore known.
There were places where the dense pine and redwood
Iorests Iormed a canopy over the narrow twisting mountain roads,
and the light would stream in green sprays and twinkling raindrops
&'( )*+,(-( )(./

4
oI beauty through the trees; and I`d stoop by the bubbling stream to
sink my cupped palm into the pebbly cold water and drink. And
again, that sensation oI chill that caused the hairs oI my neck to
rise, and the sweet delirious bliss oI dissolving into an all-
pervading light!
I was just a poor hermit oI the woods, singing the name oI
God. I had learned that, in the Indian tradition, one oI the names
Ior God was 'Hari, meaning the stealer oI hearts`. It was that
name I called: 'Hari! Hari! Hari! as I walked along in my
clumsy rags. I was a sweet bearded monk oI the Iorest and the
world was in my eyes the beauteously glorious Iorm oI the Divine;
all about me the playIul sport oI God!
2. THE COMMON VISION

I had come into the mountains to realize God, to know Him
as Sri Ramakrishna and others had done. But I also had an
insatiable hunger to know about those saints oI the past who had
succeeded in their attempt to know Him, and to know how they
had lived and how they had spoken.
The University oI CaliIornia was only a Iew miles away,
and the University library was very complete. So, nearly every
morning, I`d pack some bread in my sack and set out Ior the
University, where I`d read Ior the whole day, or bring home some
books to study. Though I was already Iamiliar with many
philosophers, both ancient and modern, I voraciously read or
reread every major philosopher and every saint in the Religion &
Philosophy section oI the University library, Irom the Greeks and
early Christian Fathers to the Hindu, Sikh, Moslem, Taoist and
Buddhist saints and sages. I read oI Catholic monastic disciplines
and Christian Science; I poured over the classics oI medieval
Indian and SuIi literature; I burrowed into the remote past through
the long-lost writings oI the Dead Sea scrolls and the Gnostic
apocryphal books; I re-examined Heraclitus, Epictetus, Philo and
Plotinus; and discovered the writings oI Swami Vivekananda, al-
Ghazali, Vidyaranya, Rumi and Shankara. It was a glorious time
oI wild excitement and uncontainable exhilaration.
The Upanishads were a revelation to me. These scriptures
oI the ancient Hindus were as old as the Jewish scriptures, but their
conception oI God was quite diIIerent Irom the jealous tyrant the
Jews had invented. He was knowable as the one all-inclusive
Reality, the one SelI oI the universe. I could not help Ieeling that
there had been a tacit conspiracy in the Western world by the
church, the state, and academia to conceal Irom me the Iact that
God could be 'seen and known. But, oI course, the truth oI the
matter is that the knowledge was always there; only I was simply
not ready to grasp these ideas until this moment, and it was only
&'( )*+,(-( )(./

56
now that I was able to comprehend what the Upanishads had to
tell:

He is beyond time and space, and yet He is the God oI
inIinite Iorms who dwells in our inmost thoughts, and
who is seen by those who love Him.
1

He cannot be seen by the eye, and words cannot reveal Him.
He cannot be reached by the senses, or by austerity or sacred
actions. By the grace oI wisdom and purity oI mind, He can
be seen indivisible in the silence oI contemplation.
2

He is the Eternal among things that pass away, pure
Consciousness oI conscious beings, the One who IulIills the
prayers oI many. Only the wise who see Him in their souls
attain the peace eternal.
3

Reading through the collection oI writings known as the
Upanishads, I had a sense oI recognition, a recollection oI truths I
had known beIore. 'OI course, oI course, I kept repeating as I
devoured the words oI the sages. Nothing in the Western cultural
tradition came close to the penetrating subtlety and clarity oI the
writings oI these ancient Indian seers who had penned these
immortal scriptures.
But the West did have its seersthough they do not appear
as early or as abundantly as their Eastern counterparts. In the
West, the experience oI Unity, 'the vision oI God, is only vaguely
implied by the early Greek philosophers such as Heraclitus,
Pythagoras, and Socrates (by way oI Plato). The later Stoics and
Philo oI Alexandria in the 1st century C.E. also reIer only vaguely
to such an experience, without any real attempt to oIIer a
convincing account. In Iact, it is not until Plotinus (204-270 C.E.)
that an explicit and unequivocal account oI 'the vision oI God is
oIIered in the West. Here is Plotinus` description oI his own
experience in an extensive passage Irom his Enneads:

The soul naturally loves God and yearns to be one with
Him, just as a noble daughter naturally loves her noble Iather...
And suddenly, |she| is upliIted and sees, without ever knowing
how; ... the Supreme has come to her, or rather has revealed Its
presence. She has turned away Irom everything around her and
has readied herselI, having made herselI as beautiIul as possible
and Iashioned herselI in likeness with the Divine by those
preparations and adornments which come unsought to those who
grow ready Ior the vision. And she has seen that Divine
presence suddenly maniIesting within herselI, Ior now there is
nothing between herselI and the Divine. There is now no longer
a duality, but a two-in-one; Ior, so long as that presence
continues, all distinction between them is dissolved. The
longing oI a lover to unite with his |human| beloved is a longing
Ior a mere imitation oI that Divine and perIect union.
.In this state oI absorbed contemplation, there is no
longer a relationship between a subject and an object; the vision
itselI is the one continuous Being, so that seeing and seen are
one thing; the object and the act oI vision have become identical.
.It is a knowing oI the SelI restored to its original
purity. No doubt we should not speak oI seeing; but we cannot
help speaking in terms oI duality, such as 'the seer and 'the
seen, instead oI asserting boldly that it is the attainment oI
absolute Unity. In this seeing, we neither regard an object nor
perceive distinctions; Ior there are not two. The man is altered,
no longer himselI nor belonging to himselI; he is merged with
the Supreme, sunken into It, one with It. .Duality exists only
in separation; by our holding ourselves apart Irom It, the
Supreme is set outside oI us. This is why the vision cannot be
described; we cannot separate the Supreme Irom ourselves to
speak oI It, Ior iI we have seen something separate and distinct,
we have Iallen short oI the Supreme, which can be known only
as one with oneselI.
.|In this vision| there are not two; beholder is one
with the beheld ... The man who has experienced this mingling
with the Supreme mustiI he but recalls It carry the memory
oI Divinity impressed upon his soul. He is become the Unity,
and nothing within him or without can create any diversity. Nor
is there any movement now, or passion, or outreaching desire,
once this ascent is attained. Reasoning is suspended and all
intellection as well, and evento dare the wordthe very self is
gone. Filled with God, he has in perIect stillness attained
isolation, aloneness.
... This is the liIe oI the gods and oI the godlike and
blessed among men, .the passing oI the alone to the Alone.
4

&'( )*+,(-( )(./

57
AIter Plotinus, perhaps the most lucid and explicit
description oI the experience oI Unity comes Irom the 13th century
German mystic, the Dominican Prior oI ErIurt, Meister Eckhart
(1260-1327). Eckhart`s Sermons and other writings were
'condemned by the Catholic Church in 1329; nonetheless, his
writings have carried the torch oI mystical experience over the
centuries by which the way oI many later mystics has been lighted.
Speaking oI his own experience oI Unity, Meister Eckhart
declares:

In this breaking through |oI consciousness|, I Iind that
God and I are both the same. Then I am what I |always| was; I
neither wax nor wane, Ior I am the motionless Cause that is
moving all things.
5

I am converted into Him in such a way that He makes
me one being with HimselInot a similar being. By the living
God, it is true that there is no distinction.
6

The eye by which I see God is the same as the eye by
which God sees me. My eye and God`s eye are one and the
sameone in seeing, one in knowing, and one in loving.
7

Here, one cannot speak oI the soul anymore, Ior she has
lost her nature yonder in the oneness oI divine essence. There,
she is no longer called soul, but is called immeasurable Being.
8
I Iound in me all things Iorgotten, my own selI
Iorgotten and awareness oI Thee, alone, O God. ... I Iound
myselI with Thee, being Thy being and speaking the Word and
breathing the spirit.
9

Here and there, I Iound other seers scattered along the
shores oI time, Irom legendary eras to the present: early Greek
philosophers, sages Irom the Vedic period oI India, Moslem SuIis,
Christians, Chinese Taoists and Buddhists; each telling the
experience oI Unity in terms that reIlect the time and tradition in
which he or she wrote. The women, in most cases, tended to color
their accounts with emotion and allegory, but it was clear that the
experience had occurred in them, and obviously showed no sexual
bias. In Iact, it appeared that all sorts oI people had experienced
the vision oI Unity; not only those who could express it in
philosophical or poetical terms, but also simple good-hearted
people who have leIt us no record oI their experience.
OI those who wrote, who recorded Ior posterity some oI the
insights gained in that vision oI truth, were many who said little or
nothing oI the experience itselI, but conIined themselves to
presenting a systematic philosophy based on that experience;
others, like the prophets oI early Judaism, wrote or spoke as 'holy
men, Ieeling that they were chosen to be spokesmen Ior God. And
some, like the Buddha and the yogis, in an eIIort to stem a tide oI
Iutile intellectual speculation, declined to speak at all oI the
traditional notions oI God, soul, and the nature oI reality, but
stressed instead the need to practice those disciplines which would
lead to the direct experience oI Truth, wherein all doubts and
speculations would be resolved.
Naturally, each oI these great beings spoke in his own
language, his own restricted terminology, and the consequence is
that today we regard each oI these eIIorts to reveal the nature oI
reality as disparate and unrelated 'philosophies or 'religions.
But the experience oI Reality is the same Ior all, oI course; and in
all the declarations oI the many prophets and Messiahs one can
hear the attempt to convey a common knowledge based on that
common vision.
It was thus I passed my days in the Iorest, devouring the
writings oI the sages and saints oI the world in whose company I
Iound great comIort and happiness. During the day I read, and in
the evenings I sat quietly, happily, in the presence oI God. The
growing clarity oI my understanding seemed to open my heart to
His ever-present reality, and little by little, I grew more aware oI
and Iilled by His Love. My intellectual curiosity had been
satisIied; and now there remained only the simple directing oI all
my attention, all my thought, to the God whom I desired with all
my heart.

&'( )*+,(-( )(./

50

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-D EFG#A #A <89 H==IJ
&'( )*+,(-( )(./

52
3. ENLIGHTENMENT

My little cabin in the redwoods was cool in the summer,
but damp in the winter, as I discovered that Iirst winter in 66. The
little babbling brook swelled to a cascading Colorado river in my
backyard, and I had to catch water coming down the slope Irom the
road in little waterIalls to get clear water Ior drinking or cooking.
Each night I sat close to the cast-iron cooking stove, with the little
side door open so I could watch the dancing blue and gold Ilames
sizzle the oak logs and turn them to glowing ash.
Day and night, during the CaliIornia winter, the rain
drizzled outside the window in a steady, gray, time-dissolving
continuum. In the mornings, I`d prepare oatmeal and a bath by the
stove; I`d pour hot water Irom a pitcher over my body onto the
concrete Iloor, and then sweep it outside. The rain would stop
sometimes during the day, and then I would go out and walk the
once dusty logging roads through the woods and up through the
meadows in the high ground. 'Hari! Hari! Hari! was my
continual call.
The dark skies kept my energies subdued, and my mind
indrawn. My days passed uneventIully. It was in the night that the
embers oI my heart began to glow keenly as I sat in the dark,
watching the Iire contained in the stove. A stillnesssharp-edged
and intenseIilled my cabin and I spoke very closely, very
intimately, with the God who had drawn me there. And He would
sometimes speak to me in the stillness oI the night, while I wrote
down His words.
Hari became my only thought, my only love. And while
the days and nights became endless stretches oI grayness, wetness,
my mind became brighter and brighter with an intense light that
displayed every wandering thought that arose as a compelling
drama in bold Technicolor and Panavision; and then I would pull
my mind back with 'Hari! I had realized that I could have or
become whatever I settled Ior in my mind; and I was determined to
reIuse every inspiration that was not God HimselI. I was
steadIastly resolved to reIuse all envisualizations, all mental
wanderings, holding my mind in continual remembrance and
longing Ior Hari alone.
In the evening twilight, I`d sing to Him, to the tune oI
Dannv Bov:

O Adonai, at last the day is dying;
My heart is stilled as darkness Iloods the land.
I`ve tried and tried, but now I`m through with
tryin`;
It`s You, it`s You, must take me by the hand,
And lead me home where all my tears and
laughter
Fade into bliss on Freedom`s boundless shore.
And I`ll be dead and gone Iorever aIter;
O Adonai, just You, just You alone,
Iorevermore.

Or, sometimes, I`d sing this song, to the tune oI Across The
Wide Missouri:

O Adonai, I long to see you!
All the day, my heart is achin`.
O Adonai, my heart is achin`;
O where, O where are you?
Don`t leave me here Iorsaken.
O Adonai, the day is over;
Adonai, I`m tired and lonely.
My tears have dried, and I`m awaitin`
You; O Adonai,
You know I love you only.

Sometimes, to Iocus my mind on Him, to bring devotion to
my sometimes dry and empty heart, I`d read Irom Thomas a
Kempis` Imitation Of Christa version which I had pared down
Irom the original; and this had the invariable eIIect oI liIting my
&'( )*+,(-( )(./

54
heart to love oI God, and brought me, as though by sympathetic
resonance, to the same sweet simple devotion and purity oI heart
evidenced by that sweet monk oI the 15th century. I Ielt so much
kinship with him, so much identiIication with him, that I came to
love his little book above all other works Ior its sweet eIIect on me.
Then, deep into the night, I`d sit in silent prayer; my
wakeIulness burning like a laser oI intensely Iocused yearning, a
penetrating, searching light-house oI hope in the black interior oI
the cabin, as I witnessed the play oI the Ilickering Ilames dying out
in the stove`s interior. On one such night, Iilled with Divine love,
the understanding came to me that it was just this Love that was
drawing me to ItselI within me. It was this Love that was the Soul
oI my soul, calling me to live in Its constant light. I lit a candle; a
song was being written in my notebook, and I was understanding
very clearly, very vividly, just what it was that I loved, what it was
that I was pledging my liIe to:

Thou art Love, and I shall Iollow all Thy ways.
I shall have no care, Ior Love cares only to love.
I shall have no Iear, Ior Love is Iearless;
Nor shall I Irighten any, Ior Love comes sweetly
and meek.
I shall keep no violence within me,
Neither in thought nor in deed, Ior Love comes
peaceIully.
I shall bear no shield or sword,
For the deIense oI Love is love.
I shall seek Thee in the eyes oI men,
For love seeks Thee always.
I shall keep silence beIore Thine enemies,
And liIt to them Thy countenance,
For all are powerless beIore Thee.
I shall keep Thee in my heart with precious care,
Lest Thy light be extinguished by the winds;
For without Thy light, I am in darkness.
I shall go Iree in the world with Thee
Free oI all bondage to anything but Thee
For Thou art my God, the sole Father oI my
being,
The sweet breath oI Love that lives in my heart;
And I shall Iollow Thee, and live with Thee,
And lean on Thee till the end oI my days.

November 18, 1966.

This was the night I was to experience God. This was the
night I learned who I am eternally. All day long the rain had been
dripping outside my cabin window. And now the silent night
hovered around me. I sat motionless, watching the dying coals in
the stove. 'Hari! my mind called in the wakeIul silence oI my
interior. During the whole day, I had Ielt my piteous plight so
sorrowIully, so maddeningly; 'Dear Lord, all I want is to die in
Thee, I cried within myselI. 'I have nothing, no desire, no
pleasure in this liIebut in Thee. Won`t you come and take this
worthless scrap, this Ieeble worm oI a soul, back into ThyselI!
'O Father, I cried, 'listen to my prayer! I am Thine alone.
Do come and take me into Thy heart. I have no other goal, but
Thee and Thee alone.
Then I became very quiet. I sat emptied, but very awake,
listening to God`s silence. I balanced gingerly, quakingly, on the
still clarity oI nothingness. I became aware that I was scarcely
breathing. My breath was very shallow, nearly imperceptible
close to the balance point, where it would become non-existent.
And my eyes peered into the darkness with a wide-eyed intensity
that amazed me. I knew my pupils must be very large. I Ielt on
the brink oI a meeting with absolute clearness oI mind. I hovered
there, waiting. And then, Irom somewhere in me, Irom a place
deeper that I even knew existed, a prayer came Iorth that, I sensed,
must have been installed in my heart at the moment oI my soul-
birth in the mind oI God: 'Dear God, let me be one with Thee, not
that I might glory in Thy love, but that I might speak out in Thy
praise and to Thy glory Ior the beneIit oI all Thy children.
It was then, in that very moment, that the veil Iell away.
Something in me changed. Suddenly I knew; I experienced inIinite
Unity. And I thought, 'OI course; it`s been me all the time! Who
else could I possibly be! I lit a candle, and by the light oI the
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76
Ilickering Ilame, while seated at the card table in my little cabin, I
transmitted to paper what I was experiencing in eternity. Here is
the 'Song that was written during that experience (the
commentaries in parentheses which Iollow each verse were added
much later):

O my God, even this body is Thine own!

(Suddenlv I knew that this entitv which I call mv bodv was Gods
own, was not separate from God, but was part of the continuous
ocean of Consciousness, and I exclaimed in mv heart, 'O mv God,
even this bodv is Thine own'` There was no longer anv me
distinct from that one Consciousness, for that illusion was now
dispelled.)

Though I call to Thee and seek Thee amidst chaos,
Even I who seemed an unclean pitcher amidst Thy
waters
Even I am Thine own.

(Heretofore, I had called to God in the chaos of a
multitude of thoughts, a multitude of voices and motions
of mindthe verv chaos of hell. And in mv calling, I
was as though standing apart from God, I felt mvself to
be an unclean pitcher immersed in the ocean of God,
dividing the waters within from the water without.
Though God was in me and God was without, there
had still remained this illusion of me. But now the
idea of a separating ego was gone. And I was aware
that Ithis whole conglomerate of bodv, mind,
consciousness, which I call 'I`am none else but that
One, and belong to that One, besides whom there is
nothing.)

Does a wave cease to be oI the ocean?

(A wave is onlv a form that arises out of the ocean
and is nothing but ocean. In the same wav, mv form was
as a wave of pure Consciousness, of pure God. How had
I imagined it to be something else? And vet it was that
verv ignorance that had previouslv prevented me from
seeing the truth.)

Do the mountains and the gulIs cease to be oI
the earth?

(Mountains and vallevs in relation to the earth, like waves in
relation to the ocean, seem to have an independent existence,
an independent identitv, vet thev are onlv irregularities,
diverse forms, of the earth itself.)

Or does a pebble cease to be stone?

(A pebble is, of course, nothing but stonefust as I now
reali:ed in growing claritv that I was none else but the one
stuff of Existence. Even though I seemed to be a unique
entitv separate from the rest of the universe, I was reallv a
piece of the universal Realitv, as a pebble is reallv a piece of
stone.)

How can I escape Thee?
Thou art even That which thinks oI escape!

(Thought too is a wave on the ocean of God. The thought of
separationcan that be anvthing but God? The verv tiniest
motion of the mind is like the leaping of the waves on the
ocean of Consciousness, and the fear of leaping clear of the
ocean is a vain one for the wave. That which thinks of
separation is that verv Consciousness from which there can
never ever be anv separation. That One contains evervthing
within It. So, what else could I, the thinker, be?)

Even now, I speak the word, 'Thou, and create
duality.

(Here, now, as I write, as I think of God and speak to Him as
'Thou,` I am creating a dualitv between mvself and God
where no dualitv exists in truth. It is the creation of the mind.
Having habituated itself to separation, the mind creates an
'I` and a 'Thou,` and thus experiences dualitv.)

&'( )*+,(-( )(./

77
I love, and create hatred.

(Just as for everv peak theres a vallev, so the thought of love
that arises in the mind has, as its vallev, as its opposite,
hatred. The impulse of the one creates the other, as the
creation of a north pole automaticallv creates a south pole, or
as 'beautv` necessitates 'ugliness,` or as 'up` brings along
with it 'down,` or as 'ahead` gives birth to 'behind.` The
nature of the mind is such that it creates a world of dualitv
where onlv the One actuallv is.)

I am in peace, and am Iashioning chaos.

(The verv nature of Gods phenomenal creation is also dual,
His cosmic creation alternates from dormant to dvnamic,
while He, Himself, remains forever unchanging. In the same
wav, while our consciousness remains unmoved, the mind is in
constant alternation. For example, when it is stilled, it is like
a spring compressed, representing potential dvnamic release.
The minds peace, therefore, is itself the verv mother of its
activitv.)

Standing on the peak, I necessitate the depths.

(Just as the peak of the wave necessitates the trough of the
wave [since vou cant have one without the other],
wakefulness necessitates sleep, good necessitates its opposite.
Exultation in fov is paid for with despair, thev are an
inseparable pair.)

But now, weeping and laughing are gone;
Night is become day.

(But now I am experiencing the transcendent 'stillness` of the
One, where this alternation, this dualitv, of which creation is
made, is no more. It is a clear awareness that all opposites
are derived from the same ONE, and are therefore dissolved.
Laughing and its opposite, weeping, are the peak and the
trough which have become leveled in the stillness of the
calmed ocean, the rippleless surface of the waters of
Consciousness. Night and dav have no meaning here. All is
eternitv.)

Music and silence are heard as one.

(Sound, silenceboth are contained in the eternal
Consciousness which cannot be called silent, which cannot be
called sound, It produces all sounds, vet, as their source, It is
silence. Both are united in the One of which thev consist.)

My ears are all the universe.

(There is onlv Me. Even the listening is Me.)

All motion has ceased;
Everything continues.

(The activitv of the universe does not exist for Me, vet
evervthing is still in motion as before. It is onlv that I am
bevond both motion and non-motion. For I am the Whole, all
motion is contained in Me, vet I Mvself am unmoving.)

LiIe and death no longer stand apart.

(From where I am, the life and death of individual beings is
less than a dreamso swiftlv generations rise and fall, rise
and fall' Whole eons of creation pass like a dream in an
instant. Where then are life and death? How do thev differ?
Thev too are but an artificial dualitv that is resolved in the
One timeless Self.)

No I, no Thou;
No now, or then.

(There is no longer a reference 'I` that refers to a separate
individual entitv, there is no longer anvthing separate to refer
to as 'Thou.` This one knowing Consciousness which is I is
all that exists or ever existed. Likewise, there is no 'now` or
'then`, for time pertains onlv to the dream and has no
meaning here bevond all manifestation.)

Unless I move, there is no stillness.

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70
(Stillness, too, is but a part of dualitv, bringing into existence
motion. Motion and stillness, the ever-recurring change, are
the dream constituents in the dream of dualitv' Stillness
without motion cannot be. Where I am, neither of these
exists.)

Nothing to lament, nothing to vanquish;

(Lament? In the pure skv of infinitv, who is there to lament?
What is there to doubt? Where there is no other, but onlv this
One, what error or obstacle could there be? What is there to
stand in the wav of infinitv? What is there other than Me?)

Nothing to pride oneselI on
All is accomplished in an instant.

(Pride belongs onlv to man, that tinv doll, that figment of
imagination who, engrossed in the challenge of conflict with
other men, prides himself on his pettv accomplishments. Here,
whole universes are created in an instant and destroved, and
evervthing that is accomplished is accomplished bv the One.
Where, then, is pride?)

All may now be told without eIIort.

(Here am I, with a view to the Eternal, and mv hand writing in
the world of creation, in the world of men. What a wonderful
opportunitv to tell all to eager humanitv' Evervthing is known
without the least effort. Let me tell it, let me share it, let me
reveal it')

Where is there a question?

(But see' Where evervthing is verv simplv and obviouslv
Mvself, what question could there be? Here, the possibilitv of
a question cannot arise. Who could imagine a more humorous
situation?)

Where is the temple?

(What about explaining the secrets of the soul, and how it is
encased in that temple of God called the bodv? That secret
does not exist, for, when all is seen and experienced as one
Being, where is that which mav be regarded as the receptacle,
the temple?)

Which the Imperishable?
Which the abode?

(Which mav I call the imperishable God, the Eternal? And
which mav I call the vessel in which God exists and lives?
Consciousness does not perish. The Energv of which this bodv
consists does not perish. All is eternal, there is no
differentiation here.)

I am the pulse oI the turtle;
I am the clanging bells oI joy.

(I am evervwhere' I am life' I am the verv heartbeat of even
the lowliest of creatures. It is I who surge in the heart as fov,
as surging fov like the ecstatic abandonment of clanging
bells.)

I bring the dust oI blindness;
I am the Iire oI song.

(I am the cause of mans ignorance of Me, vet it is I who leap
in his breast as the exultation of song.)

I am in the clouds and I am in the gritty soil;
In pools oI clear water my image is Iound.

(I am that billowing beautv in the skv, I plav in all these
forms' And the grittv soil which produces the verdure of the
earthI am that soil, that black dirt. I am everv tinv pebble of
grit, cool and moist. And when, as man, I lean over the water,
I discover Mv image, and see Mvself shining in Mv own eves.)

I am the dust on the Ieet oI the wretched,
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72
The toothless beggars oI every land.

(I live in the dust that covers the calloused feet of those thin,
ragged holv men who grin happilv at vou as vou pass them
bv.)

I have given sweets that decay to those who
crave them;
I have given my wealth unto the poor and
lonely.

(Each of mv manifestations, according to their understanding,
receives whatever thev wish of the transitorv pleasures of the
world, but the wealth of Mv peace, Mv freedom, Mv fov, I
give to those who seek no other wealth, who seek no other fov,
but Me.)

My hands are opennothing is concealed.

(I have displaved all Mv wealth, according to his evolution,
his wisdom, each chooses what he will have in this life.)

All things move together oI one accord;
Assent is given throughout the universe to every
Ialling grain.

(All is one concerted whole, evervthing works together, down
to the tiniest detail, in the flower-like unfoldment of this world.
All is the doing of the One.)

The Sun stirs the waters oI My heart,
And the vapor oI My love Ilies to the Iour corners
oI the world.

(Like a thousand-raved sunburst of fov, Mv love showers forth
as the universe of stars and planets and men. And then, this
dav of manifestation gives wav to the night of dissolution ...)

The Moon stills Me, and the cold darkness is My
bed.

(And the universe withdraws into Mv utter darkness of
stillness and rest.)

I have but breathed, and everything is rearranged
And set in order once again.

(The expansion and contraction of this entire universe is
merelv an out-breath and an in-breath, a mere sigh.)

A million worlds begin and end in every breath,

(And, flung out into the endless reaches of infinitv, worlds
upon worlds evolve, enact their tumultuous dramas, and then
withdraw from the stage once more. This cvcle repeats itself
again and again, the universe explodes from a single mass,
expands as gas, and elements form. Eventuallv thev become
living organisms, which evolve into intelligent creatures,
culminating in man. And one bv one each learns the secret
that puts an end to their game. And again, the stars reach the
fullness of their course, again evervthing is drawn back to its
source..)

And, in this breathing, all things are sustained.

^ ^ ^

AIter this, I collapsed in bed, exhausted by the sheer strain
oI holding my mind on so keen an edge. When I awoke, it was
morning. Immediately, I recalled the experience oI the night
beIore, and arose. I went outside to the sunlight, dazed and
disoriented. I bent, and took up a handIul oI gravel, letting it slip
slowly through my Iingers. 'I am in this? I asked
dumbIoundedly.
I Ielt as though I had been thrust back into a dream Irom
which I had no power to awaken. My only thought was to return
&'( )*+,(-( )(./

74
to that state I had known the night beIore. I rushed up the twisted
road and scrambled up the hill to the cliII on top oI the world,
above the Iorest and ocean, where I had oIten conversed with God;
and I sat there, out oI breath, praying, with tears running down my
cheeks, Ior Him to take me back into HimselI. BeIore long, a chill
blanket oI gray Iog, which had risen up Irom the ocean below,
swept over me, engulIing me in a misty cloud. And aIter a Iew
moments, I reluctantly went back, down the mountain.
4. THE KINGDOM OF GOD

That magical night, while sitting there beIore the Iire in my
dark cabin, I had entered into 'the kingdom oI God. I had been
privileged to see into the real nature oI my selI and all existence.
When the veil oI ignorance, which constitutes the ego, was liIted, it
was revealed that my true, underlying identity is, and had always
been, the one all-pervading Consciousness that is the Source and
substratum oI all that exists.
When God reveals HimselI, He is not seen as something or
someone apart. The soul is liIted up to identity with God, so that
there is no longer a soul, but God HimselI is revealed as one`s own
SelI. That SelI is eternal, beyond all maniIestation, never aIIected
by the ongoing drama oI worldly experience. It masquerades as
every being, all the while remaining purely Consciousness and
perIect Bliss. When my mind reached the highest state oI
contemplation, all opposites disappeared, resolved into that one
Existence. Weeping and laughing, night and day, sound and
silence, motion and stillness, liIe and death, I and Thou, past and
Iuturenone oI these exist in that Unity. Only the one eternal
Consciousness, containing all, exists alone as the supreme SelI oI
all.
This revelatory experience revealed that I am, and, by
extension, everyone is, the one Soul oI the universe. The slightest
movement oI the mind would initiate the recreation oI duality; but,
held singly on its concentrated Iocus, the mind remains immersed
in the Eternal. Raised to that eternal Consciousness, I saw that all
creation is one coordinated whole, that every movement oI every
tiny grain oI sand is in perIect harmony with the coordinated
unIolding oI the universe. My physical existence was then seen to
have no separate identity, but was part oI a uniIied continuum oI
creative energy.
The individualized soul, though it Ieels separate and
disconnected Irom God, is never actually separated Irom its source
and substratum any more than a wave is separate Irom the ocean.
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%6
Nothing, not even thought, is other than God; Ior nothing exists
outside oI the One. This one eternal Consciousness, experienced
as oneselI, knows that It is the liIe pulsing in every creature; It is
the joy oI exhilaration, It is the urge to song, and It is the producer
oI the obscuration oI ignorance. It exists as clouds, water, and
earth, and It appears as every man, woman and child. It is the dust
on the Ieet oI the saints. It gives worldly rewards and pleasures to
those who seek them; but It reveals ItselI only to those who have
no other desire but to know the Eternal, to those who, abandoning
all, go deliberately and alone to the meeting with God. These are
the two paths it openly presents beIore us.
The energy oI the Sun stirs the mind and heart to activity;
and, in the dark oI night, the heart and mind are drawn to rest. For
the Eternal, likewise, there is a period oI creation, and a period oI
rest. Though, Irom the vantage point oI man in time, the existence
oI the universe lasts Ior billions oI earth years, Irom the vantage
point oI Eternity, the universal maniIestation is seen to be created,
sustained, and withdrawn in the short space oI a breath. Like the
exhalation and inhalation oI a breath, this cyclic beginning and
ending oI time`s array goes on recurrently, while the eternal
Consciousness remains blissIully unchanged.
At the highest level oI consciousness, all is one existence;
but the mind, by its choices, creates the duality oI I` and Thou`,
good and bad, likes and dislikes. Only by learning to see
everything as God, does one approach the true vision oI Reality,
and the state oI equanimity. In this rare state, the ego is vanished,
and it is seen that all is perIect. Neither pride, nor assertion, nor
regret can arise, Ior all is seen to be accomplished by the One. No
questions arise in that perIect clarity. There is no longer a
distinction between the created body and the uncreated
Consciousness; all existence is seen to be one undiIIerentiated
continuum. Body and soul, matter and spirit, like ice and water,
are made oI the same substance.
I had seen clearly that I was the LiIe in all liIe, the one
Existence maniIest in all Iorms; and yet, that clarity had been all
too brieI, and I was now once again separate and isolated, no
longer aware oI my greater SelI, but projected back into a world oI
time and space, a world oI separable Iorms.
AIter some time, I adjusted to the Iact that I would have to
live out my liIe in this dream-like world, and would need to learn
to hold to the awareness oI my eternal identity, my real SelI, while
living in this Iigmentary body. I was as though born anew; I was
Iree to live as I chose, without Iear, without concern. And I lived
in a bright world glowing with nectarean light and shining with
God`s beauty.
I retreated Iurther into the woods, and oIten made camp Ior
days in a cliII top arroyo. There were times when I ran naked with
the deer on top oI the mountain, and times when I sat in the hollow
oI a burned out redwood tree, listening to the rain, and wondering
iI I would die in such a lonely place without anyone ever knowing
what I had known.
I Ioraged Ior dandelion greens along the roadsides, I
gathered Iallen lemons Irom beneath untended trees, I made soda
bread in my skillet on the iron stove, and I carried sacks oI perIect
golden delicious apples Irom the orchard oI one oI my neighbor
Iriends to lay on the windowsill oI my back porch to store through
the long Winter months. And there were cold clear Winter
mornings when I`d stand in that picturesque orchard and make my
joyIul breakIast on ripe red Iigs that looked like strawberry jam
when I broke them open.
For that Iirst year, I had reIused to touch money. Trusting
entirely in God`s mercy, I`d walk into town, pick a street, and
knock on doors, oIIering to do whatever work I could do Ior a
meal. This resulted in some unsavory and inadequate meals and
led to my eventual appreciation Ior the societal evolution Irom
bartered trade to the monetary system. ThereaIter, I accepted
money Ior my services, and purchased my own preIerred
IoodstuIIs. But this too proved inadequate, as I needed more than
sustenance; I needed to share my love and my giIt oI knowledge.
With that realization my liIe took on a new purpose.
Several times a week I`d walk the ten miles to town and take my
place Ior a couple oI hours on the corner in Iront oI the bookstore
&'( )*+,(-( )(./

%7
to hand out to passersby a small printed version oI my 'Two
Psalms. I`d enter into a state oI prayerIul contemplation while
standing there as a Iool beIore everyone, and the sweetness that I
Ielt Ior the universal Mother in evidence all about me shone on my
Iace and drew people to approach, wondering what on earth this
Iool was passing out.
I Ielt that in these two songsone oI love, one oI union,
spoken by God HimselIwas the whole oI the treasure I had been
given, that they contained God`s twoIold message that I was born
to deliver; and in those Iew years I handed out over two thousand
oI these little booklets to the pedestrians oI Santa Cruz. I wore a
slitted shoebox hung round my neck Ior donations, and with the
nickels and dimes given to me I`d later purchase a bag oI Ilour and
perhaps a box oI raisins, and then climb the long road back to my
solitary cabin.
Other days, when I didn`t go into town, there was always
the need Ior wood; so, Irequently, I`d spend the mornings dragging
dry Iir branches down Irom the hilltops to chop into kindling, or
split oak rounds with my axe into stove-sized lengths oI Iuel. And
in the hot aIternoons, tired Irom my wood-gathering, I`d set up my
card table outdoors and exult in the praise oI God, marveling at His
Goodness and Beauty, as I ate my soda bread and sliced apple and
lemonade in the shade oI my peaceIul Iorest home.
LiIe was good; I had the peace oI my Iorest, the coolness oI
my cabin, and the satisIaction oI delivering my giIts to others.
ReIlecting on my situation, I was very happy that I had attained
what I had come to the Iorest to attain, and very grateIul to God Ior
His immense blessings. Each morning I awoke with His name on
my lips, and His name Iilled my heart at night as I driIted oII to
sleep.
For Iour more winters I stayed, happy in my little cabin, but
never again Iinding my way to that place oI stillness where my
greater SelI lives. It seemed that my time oI meeting with the
Eternal had passed, and a time oI preparation Ior the sharing oI my
knowledge was now pressing me Iorward, Ior it was to that I now
Ielt my heart urging me. LiIe is never static, and the inevitable
pull oI destiny would eventually draw me out oI my woods aIter
nearly Iive years, and on to other lands, other adventures.
&'( )*+,(-( )(./

%0
5. ENCOUNTER WITH THE GURU

In 1970, I met Swami Muktananda when he was giving a
lecture at Stevenson College at the University oI CaliIornia at
Santa Cruz. I had been standing at my usual post in Iront oI the
downtown bookstore, when a kindly-Iaced man stopped to read my
little booklet oI Psalms. I asked iI he lived in Santa Cruz, and he
replied, 'No, I`m just passing through. We exchanged a warm
smile at the deeper meaning oI his words, and he put two dollars in
my little money box and then moved on. Later, I learned his name
was Baba Ram Das, and he was in town to introduce Swami
Muktananda, a Swami Irom India, at the College that night.
A young man, named Stephen, who Irequently visited my
cabin, brought tickets Ior the lecture early in the evening, and I
paid Ior mine with the two dollars I had been given earlier. It was
a magical night; the sky was Iilled with stars, and I Ielt strangely
exhilarated to be seeing this Swami Irom India. During the lecture,
I paid less attention to his words than to his presence. I was
mesmerized by his totally unexpected appearance and mannerisms.
He played with the microphone cord nervously as he spoke, and
seemed almost bursting with joyous energy. I was in the balcony,
and I kept losing his Iorm in a blue haze into which he seemed to
keep dissolving. I was totally enthralled by him.
When he was Iinished speaking, and leIt the stage, I rushed
down the stairs, and made my way up the aisle toward him. Baba
Ram Das was leading the chanting Irom the stage, and
Muktananda was heading down the aisle right toward me. I held
both my hands out to him, and he tipped up his sunglasses, which
he wore even in the relative darkness, to get a better look at me.
Then he slapped my outstretched hands, and went on out to his
waiting car. I had Iollowed him out, and stood outside the window
oI his car, waving to him, intoxicated with the sight and presence
oI him as I had never been beIore with any person. And then his
driver drove him away. I assumed I would never see him again.
It was several months later that a Iriend brought me a copy
oI Muktananda`s biography, called 'Guru (later retitled Chitshakti
Jilas, 'The Play oI Consciousness; and I read it with great
amazement and awe. I learned that Swami Muktananda (1908-
1982) had been a wandering sadhu in India since his early teens,
had lived in the ashrams oI various teachers and had met many
saints and holy men, but he had not met his spiritual master until
he was initiated by Bhagavan Nityananda in 1947. Nityananda
was a great and powerIul yogi who had wandered naked most oI
his liIe, meditating Ior long periods oI time in caves and
wildernesses, and who had Iinally settled in Ganeshpuri, about 30
miles north oI Bombay, where a small village and the Ashram oI
Swami Muktananda now exists.
Nityananda had been known as an avadhut, a renunciant
who had no more worldly attachment leIt, and who was Iree as the
wind, wandering with no house, no clothes, taking Iood as it came
to him. He was recognized as having enormous yogic powers; and
near the time oI his death in 1961, he had transmitted his immense
power to Muktananda, and Muktananda carried on the tradition in
the lineage oI SiddhasperIect masters. Earlier, Muktananda had
been sent by his guru into a prolonged period oI sadhana, or
spiritual retreat, and aIter years oI solitary meditation, during
which time he went through many amazing and wonderIul inner
experiences, as a result oI his kundalini having been awakened.
Eventually he became SelI-realized at the age oI Iorty-nine,
through the grace oI God and his guru.
It was late in the evening when I Iinished reading the book,
and when I held it to my Iorehead by way oI reverence, a great eye
appeared beIore my mind`s eye. It was large and as clear as
anything I had ever seen; and I stared at it wonderingly Ior quite a
while beIore it disappeared.
I had not previously thought I was in need oI a guru, but
aIter reading his book, I decided that such a teacher could help me
to progress in the spiritual liIe, and learn to retain the experience oI
my eternal SelI. And so, I wrote to him in India, to whence he had
returned, asking iI I could come there as his disciple. When I
&'( )*+,(-( )(./

%2
received his welcoming reply, I was overjoyed. I sadly, but
grateIully, said goodbye to my wonderIul cabin, where I had
experienced such joy and revelation, and went oII, halI way cross
the country, to work my way to India, as, at the time, I hadn`t a
dime. I met many hardships on the way; but, unexpectedly, the
Iriend who had given me Muktananda`s book wrote to me, asking
me to come back to CaliIornia, saying that he would give me the
money to purchase an airline ticket to India. And that is how I
made my way to the Ashram oI Swami Muktananda in
Ganeshpuri, India.
The Ashram was nestled on the outskirts oI a small village,
and as the local bus approached it, I could see a large castle-shaped
building with orange Ilags Ilying Irom its highest pinnacles. It was
breathtaking. Muktananda was unexpectedly sitting on a tree-
planter at the entrance when I arrived. I removed my shoes, bowed
to him clumsily, and then entered the Ashram proper, which
consisted oI a large stone-paved courtyard surrounded by several
buildings, including the meditation hall, the dormitories, and
Muktananda`s living quarters. There were about Iorty other
Westerners there at the time, both men and women, Irom the U.S.,
Europe, and Australia.
The atmosphere oI the place was very serene and holy,
while at the same time charged with an unIamiliar electric spiritual
energy. We arose at 3:30 AM Ior meditation, then chanting Irom
6:30 to 8:30. AIter a breakIast oI chai and chapattis or runny
cereal, we worked in the gardens or cleaned the toilets. More
chanting, lunch, more work, dinner and then the evening chants.
In between, there were the Irequent darshans (appearances) oI
Baba Muktananda, Ior which all the ashramities lived. When he
sat on his little perch, just outside his quarters, all oI us would
gather around just to gaze on his Iorm. Sometimes he would
receive visitors; sometimes he would just sit there quietly. He
appeared to be more oI a god than a man. His lightly chocolate
Iorm shone more brightly than burnished gold, and his divine
presence Iilled the courtyard with a blissIul serenity. We would
stand and look at him Ior as long as we were allowed to. He lived
in a state oI quietude so proIound that we were drawn into deep
meditation just by standing in his presence. At other times, he was
quite animated, directing the many activities oI the large Ashram.
There was no mistaking that he was a uniquely great and noble
being. I was to learn, much later, that he was Ilawed like all men;
but he was as close to a perIected being as I have ever known.
AIter a year and a halI at Ganeshpuri, I returned to
America, and worked with his other disciples to prepare Ior his
arrival in the U.S. Ior his second World Tour. When he
established a large Ashram in Oakland, CaliIornia, I remained
there as a member oI his staII; and, in 1978, I returned to India at
his invitation to take initiation as a sannvasin, a renunciant monk.
He gave me the name, Swami Abhayananda ('the bliss oI
Iearlessness), and I was sent to the New York Meditation Center
to train as a teacher.
Some time later, I was given the directorship oI a small
Ashram in Philadelphia, and a year later was sent to Chicago to run
the Iledgling Ashram in that city. AIter another year, I was sent to
Oklahoma City to establish an Ashram there. It was there, in June
oI 1981, I learned oI Muktananda`s long history oI sexual
indiscretions with some oI his young Iemale devotees, and the
threats and intimidations used to silence those who knew oI it.
Naturally, I was devastated by this revelation. With a Ieeling oI
conIusion and betrayal, I immediately leIt Muktananda`s service,
Ieeling that I could no longer represent him in good conscience.
My liIe had seemed, up to that point, a perIect one. My
greatest ambitions had been IulIilled: I had realized God, and had
become a Swami in the glorious Siddha tradition. But now, all had
been discredited; I was without a home, without a tradition, and
rejected as an inIidel by my Iormer companions. I had written an
open letter to his devotees detailing what I knew; but, naturally,
most reIused to believe their beloved guru capable oI the acts oI
which I had accused him. These accusations were later proven to
be true, but, at the time, I was regarded as a liar and an apostate.
I ended up in a Iarmhouse owned by an ex-devotee in
Fallsburg, New York, not Iar Irom Muktananda`s main Ashram,
&'( )*+,(-( )(./

%4
and remained in hiding, IearIul Ior my liIe, until Muktananda`s
death in October oI 1982, at the age oI 74. For seven years I
stayed in that isolated Iarmhouse, living as a recluse, attempting to
make sense oI the unIortunate turn oI events, which had brought
me to my present situation. It was there I began writing this book
and several others, including Historv of Mvsticism; and I published
them myselI under the imprint oI Atma Books. II I could no
longer teach, at least I could tell my story oI God-realization in
hopes oI beneIiting others.
AIter many years, I have learned to accept the Iallibility oI
the man I had regarded as inIallible; yet I love him still. During
my years with him, I came to know oI his godlike powers, and
received his amazing grace. To this day, I still hold Swami
Muktananda in the highest esteem, with great respect and love,
despite his inexplicable behavior. He will be remembered by all
who knew him as a great, though contradictory, soul. He was a
uniquely giIted yogi and an unIathomable personality, who blessed
the lives oI thousands oI devoted students throughout the world.
His most Iamiliar message, delivered at the end oI his many
lectures, was 'Honor yourselI, love yourselI, worship yourselI; Ior
your beloved God lives within you as you.

6. THE WAVE AND THE OCEAN

At some point it dawned on me that the Iact that I had
'seen, had clearly reali:ed, the absolute Truth oI the universe
was, and would always remain, oI very little relevance to the rest
oI the world. Scientists would go on searching Ior clues to the
nature oI the universe, religious proponents would go on believing
in their religious doctrines, atheists and agnostics would go on as
unknowing as beIore. Enlightenment, like all other experience, is
individual and non-transIerable. Whatever I might say or do to
pass this knowledge on to others, the knowledge was mine alone.
A concept, an understanding, could be transmitted perhaps, but
knowledge could not; that required the same direct 'seeing which
came to me.
How many others had sought to give the beneIit oI that
liberating knowledge to the world, and to what avail? See what
terrible misconceptions and misdirections have resulted Irom the
attempt on the part oI Moses, Jesus, the Buddha, al-Hallaj,
Eckhart, and all those others to give expression to the knowledge
oI the one universal SelI! Each oI us may presumably beneIit Irom
the verbalized expression oI the knowledge possessed by another,
and may derive clarity and understanding oI our own Irom those
shared descriptions, but we cannot know the bliss oI revelation, we
cannot experience the inner perception oI our eternal Identity
unless It makes ItselI known to us.
And so, I would tell oI my experience; I would, as all those
many others had done, tell everything I possibly could about it, but
I knew that others could only believe or not believe, understand or
remain incomprehending; that would be the most anyone could
gain by my telling, Ior no one could really know until that inner
experience made them to know.
I would tell oI it because there was something in me which
had to tell oI it. From the moment I had been given that revelation,
my liIe had no other meaning or purpose but to IulIill that longing
in my soul that had expressed itselI in my prayer: 'Make me one
&'( )*+,(-( )(./

06
with Thee, not that I might glory in Thy love, but that I might
speak out in Thy praise and to Thy glory Ior the beneIit oI all Thy
children. Whether anyone would truly be beneIited or not, I had
been shown the Truth, and I meant to speak oI It.
But I would come to realize that the experience oI Unity,
shared by Jesus, the Buddha, Shankara, Plotinus, Eckhart, and
many others, is impossible to describe; Ior to speak oI It is to assert
the paradox that the One is both an absolutely unchanging constant
and the very substance oI all phenomenal Iorms that we perceive
as inconstant and changing. That the transcendent God and the
temporal world are complementary aspects oI one and the same
Reality is not at all evident, and goes against the accepted Judeo-
Christian mythology. To those who have never experienced that
Unity, such declarations about It must appear illogical and selI-
contradictory. This apparent contradiction can be resolved and
understood, however, iI we recall the analogy oI the wave and the
ocean:
Imagine, Ior a moment, that there exists a wave who one
day hears another wave speaking oI 'The Ocean, Lord oI all the
waves. And so, being intrigued, our wave sets out in search oI
this 'Ocean. His search leads him to a wise old wave who
advises him, 'Look within, Ior the Ocean is within you. Then,
one day, while concentrating within himselI, and asking the Lord
Ocean to reveal HimselI, the wave suddenly awakens to the clear
awareness that he is the Ocean. The Ocean, he realizes, is who he
has always been, though he had identiIied with the limited wave-
Iorm. He realizes that he is the one reality that is maniIesting as all
the wavesand yet, though the waves Iorm and dissolve, and
again Iorm and dissolve, he, the Ocean-as-a-whole, remains the
same, continually unchanged and unaIIected. This is exactly what
the mystic experiences in his awakening to the universal SelI: he
is one oI the many maniIestations, but he has a larger Identity; he
is also the one Reality unchanging, eternal.
Shankaracharya, the great 8th century expounder oI the
non-dualistic philosophy oI Vedanta, called this apparent duality
between the many and the One, a 'superimposition:

Like ripples on the water, the worlds arise Irom, exist
in and dissolve into the supreme Lord, who is the material
cause and support oI everything.
The maniIested world oI plurality is superimposed
upon the eternal, all-pervading Lord whose nature is
Existence-Consciousness, just as bangles and bracelets are
superimposed on gold.
1

Various golden ornaments have their separate Iorms and qualities,
and yet, in the end, they are all only gold.
Another way oI explaining the 'superimposition oI the
phenomenal world on God is by analogy with the ordinary
experience oI the superimposition oI a thought or image upon
one`s own consciousness. Notice, Ior a moment, how a thought is
superimposed upon the background oI pure mental awareness: it
has a deIinite reality, albeit a temporary one, and yet it does not
mar or alter in any way that background consciousness. The
thought-Iorm or image and the background consciousness exist
simultaneously, with a deIinite distinction between them; however,
the thought is Iormed not only on consciousness, but of
consciousnessjust as a wave is not only on, but oI, the ocean.
In a way identical to this, the phenomenal world oI Iorms is
projected in and upon the supreme Consciousness: the world and
God are separate and distinctbut the world has no independent
existence; it is Iormed not only on, but oI, God. In the mystic`s
vision, one`s body is recognized as a Iorm whose substance is the
universal substance, and one`s consciousness is recognized as the
only consciousness there is. And then one knows that he has no
other identity, nor ever had any other, but the One, who alone is.
Though this realization was conceptualized in a rational
Iorm in the Upanishads oI India long beIore such concepts were
Iormulated anywhere else, there were undoubtedly some Iew in the
Near East and West, even in ancient times, who had experienced
this astounding revelation. However, there was as yet no language
Ior speaking oI itsave the language oI myth. For how was one to
convey such knowledge? How was one to speak oI a unitive
&'( )*+,(-( )(./

07
Reality, which is both One and many, both God and the universe?
How could such a paradox be made acceptable to the philosophers,
the scholars with their clever logic? How could it be possible to
explain a God who creates without creating, who sets a universe
within HimselI in motion without ever moving or changing, who
appears to be twoGod and universeand yet remains One?
It became apparent early on that what was needed was the
introduction oI two terms, each to designate one aspect oI this
dual-Iaceted Being, yet which would in no way represent two
separate and distinct entities, but Onea One with two Iacets.
There was a need Ior one term to represent the absolute,
unchanging Godhead, and another term to signiIy the creative
aspect, which maniIests as the universe. Here`s how each oI the
various religious traditions gave expression to this concept:

K K K

PART TWO:

The Philosophy OI The SelI

'The mystics' words appear in a hundred
diIIerent Iorms, but iI God is one and the Way is
one, how can their words be other than one? They
do appear in diIIerent guises, but in substance they
are one."
Jalaluddin Rumi, Discourses

THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE SELF 01
1. VEDANTA

Let us Iirst turn to India, and trace the beginnings oI the
duality-in-unity idea Irom one oI the earliest scriptures oI which
we know: the timeworn Jedas. No one knows just when they were
written, but scholars place this collection oI poetic hymns and
mystic lore in the second millennia B.C.E. The earliest oI the
Jedas (meaning 'Wisdom) are Irom a time oI the most primitive
agrarian society, and reveal a simple tribal mentality, which
regards the awesome mysterious Iorces oI the universe as
temperamental gods. Later additions to the collection, however,
reveal a developing sophistication, presaging the later development
oI the monistic philosophy oI the Upanishads. It is in such later
Vedic hymns that we Iind the seed oI the Hindu version oI duality-
in-unity. Here in the Creation Hvmn Irom the Rig Veda, an
unknown sage describes the knowledge unveiled in mystical
experience oI the eternal Unity existing prior to maniIestation:

1. Then, neither the non-Real (asat) nor the
Real (sat) existed.
There was no sky then, nor the heavens
beyond it.
What was contained by what, and where, and
who sheltered it?
What unIathomed depths, what cosmic
ocean, existed then?

2. Then, neither death nor deathlessness
existed;
Between day and night there was as yet no
distinction.
That ONE (tad ekam), by Its own power
(svadha) breathlessly breathed.

The author speaks oI that unitive state wherein the
(apparent) duality oI the subjective reality (sat) and the transient
objective universe (asat) does not exist; there is only the undivided
02 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

ONE. Then, he goes on to describe how this initial division took
place:

3. In the beginning, darkness lay wrapped in
darkness;
All was one undiIIerentiated (apraketa)
sea (salila).
Then, within that one undiIIerentiated
Existence,
|Something| arose by the heat oI
concentrated energy (tapas).

4. What arose in That in the beginning was
Desire (kama),
|Which is| the primal seed oI mind (manas).
The wise, having searched deep within
their own being,
Have perceived the (unitive) bond
(bandha) between the Real (sat) and the
unreal (asat).
1

Desire, springing up within the One undiIIerentiated Being,
gave rise to mind; i.e., the production oI thought, and that thought,
made maniIest as the universe, brings about the duality oI the
subject (the eternally witnessing consciousness) and the object (the
world oI Iorm). Both exist at once: the pure unmoving
Consciousness and the incessantly evolving universe. And yet,
though there is an apparent duality, it is an illusory duality; and
thereIore, the Unity remains undisturbed.
Though they are not two, the transcendent Reality is the
Source and essence oI the projected universe. This is the bond
between the Real (the Eternal) and the unreal (the temporal), which
is seen by those seers who search deep within themselves. II you
wish to understand it, take note oI your own consciousness and its
projection oI thought upon itselI. It is both the unmoving witness
and the active parade oI images. This play oI duality goes on
within you, and yet you remain always one, undivided.
Those who have experienced this Unity say that during
that experience it is realized that 'all motion has ceased; and yet
at the same time, 'everything continues. In other words, while all
this thought-produced universe remains in motion, at its Source
there is nothing but inIinite peace. This paradox was also
expressed by the author oI the Isha Upanishad:

It moves; It moves not.
It is Iar, and It is near.
It is within all this,
And It is outside oI all this.
2

But how is such a paradox to be logically spoken oI? It is
this, but It is also that. How is one to speak oI such a
contradiction? The experience oI the great Unity reveals a
dimension beyond time, which yet includes all that is within time,
though It remains unaIIected by the objects and activities in time.
Each oI these 'dimensionsthe temporal and the eternal
contain each other, while remaining separate. By a mysterious
Power possessed by the Eternal, the ephemeral world oI time and
space is projected upon ItselI. Those creatures living within that
ephemeral world are unaware that they live within and are
sustained by the Eternal Oneuntil, oI course, their minds become
illumined by the Eternal.
Philosophical thinkers oI the ancient world learned early on
that in order to speak oI what was both one and maniIold, both
eternal and temporal, two separate terms were required to
distinguish that which moves Irom that which does not, that which
is God`s Power oI creation Irom God HimselI. The unchanging
God was oIten called, Brahman; sometimes simply 'the Lord.
And His mysterious creative Power was called, Mava. An
explanation oI the concept oI Mava can be Iound clearly
Iormulated in the Svetasvatara Upanishad.

There is ONE in whose hands is the net oI Maya,
who rules with His power, who rules all the worlds with His
power.
3

With Maya, his wondrous power, He made all things,
and by Maya the human soul is bound.
04 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

Know thereIore that nature is Maya, but that God is
the ruler oI Maya; and that all beings in our universe are parts
oI His inIinite splendor.
4

By the time oI the Bhagavad Gita and the Puranas
(c. 500 B.C.E.), this terminology was traditional:

The Lord, though without Iorm and attributes, ... has
projected this universe out oI His divine Maya. Having
brought Iorth this universe, He dwells within all beings and
within all things. Yet He remains unaIIected, Ior He is pure
Consciousness.
5

But it was not until Shankara, the great acharva (teacher)
oI non-dual Vedanta, that the principle oI Mava was clariIied and
ampliIied into a deIinitive philosophical concept. Shankaracharya
is believed by some to have lived in the 7th century C.E.; others
say it was in the 9th century. What everyone does agree to,
however, is that Shankara was, along with the Buddha and Jesus,
one oI the most proIound thinkers and visionaries who ever lived,
whose teachings have continued over the centuries to shape and
reIine our vision oI reality.
Like Jesus, Shankara died in his early thirties, but not
beIore he organized a number oI monastic Orders, and wrote a
number oI works in which he set Iorth a comprehensive philosophy
oI Unityincluding commentaries on the Upanishads, the Brahma
Sutras, and a number oI independent treatises, chieI among which
is Jivekachudamani, 'The Crest-Jewel OI Discrimination. In this
small book, written as a dialogue between a Master and a disciple,
he expounds the philosophy oI superimposition based on his own
mystical experience.
Having experienced, during meditation, an expansion oI his
normally limited consciousness, he realized that he was truly the
one Consciousness oI all, the One who is maniIesting as all this
universe. He realized this one Supreme SelI to be the selI oI all
beings, though they live under the delusion that they are separate
individual entities. He realized that there was only this One, that It
was unlimited, undivided, eternal and unchanging; that It was the
THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE SELF 0C
supreme Consciousness, which the sages oI the Upanishads had
experienced and called Brahman.
Then, returning to the limited awareness oI the individual
soul, to the world oI multiplicity, division and change, he declared
that this world is really not diIIerent Irom Brahman, but is simply a
diIIerent perspective, bound by time and space, on the same one
Reality. Brahman is really pure Consciousness, but somehowby
a magic known only to ItselIIt maniIests as all these Iorms,
which collectively we call the universe.` 'Brahman, says
Shankara,

is the Realitythe one Existence, absolutely independent oI
human thought or idea. Though the universe seems to be
composed oI diverse Iorms, it is Brahman alone.
... No matter what a deluded man may think he is
perceiving, he is really seeing Brahman and nothing else but
Brahman. He sees mother-oI-pearl and imagines that it is
silver. He sees Brahman and imagines that It is the universe.
But this universe, which is superimposed upon Brahman, is
nothing but a name.
6

For Shankara, there is no real duality at all between the
absolute Brahman and the world, Ior the world is not other than
Brahman; it is an appearance projected, or superimposed, upon
Brahman, as we might superimpose the mirage oI a lake on a
stretch oI desert sand, or as we might superimpose an imaginary
snake upon a piece oI rope lying in the road. According to him,
the mystical vision reveals that there is but one Existence; the
world is not separate Irom It, but is simply an appearance oI
multiplicity oI Iorm where in Iact there is only the one SelI oI pure
Consciousness. Nowadays, we would say that Brahman and the
world are 'complementary perspectives on one reality, each
excluding the other, but both required to constitute and deIine the
whole.
This projection, says Shankara, oI the universe oI Iorms
upon Brahman is accomplished by His own Power which is called,
Mava:

16 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

Maya is the power oI the Lord. She is without
beginning, ... and is the underlying Cause oI all eIIects.
.It is She who brings Iorth this entire universe.
7

Note that Brahman is genderless, but as "the Lord," He is
reIerred to as masculine. Mava is always regarded as oI the Iemale
gender. He is the Father-God; She is the Mother oI all creation.
But Mava is not only the supreme Power that generates and
animates the universe, She is, at the same time, that very universe
which we perceive. She is at once the Cause (the creative Power)
and the eIIect (the phenomenal universe). But, Shankara reminds
us, Mava (the universe) is only an appearance; the Reality
underlying it is Brahman; and that is who we really are. All the
Iorms in this world, including man, are the appearances oI
Brahman, ThereIore, by understanding and contemplating one`s
true Identity, says Shankara, one can Iree oneselI Irom delusion,
and experience one`s SelI as Brahman.
Shankara`s entire philosophy may be summarized in one oI
his sayings:

brahma satvam
fagat mithva
fivo brahmaiva naparah

Brahman is the Reality,
The world is an |illusory| image;
The soul |or SelI| oI man, thereIore, is nothing
but Brahman.

Shankara teaches that, though our true Identity is concealed
Irom us by Mava, we can dispel this ignorance through the practice
oI discrimination, understanding that we are not the body, the
mind, or an individual soul, but are, in Iact, the uninvolved, eternal
Witness oI the mind, body and the soul. By meditating on this
truth, he says, we can realize, and become established in, the
awareness oI Brahman, the Supreme SelI:

The SelI is the ancient, supreme Being. It never
ceases to experience inIinite joy. It is always the same. It is
Consciousness itselI.
.It is the knower oI the activities oI the mind and
the individual soul. It is the witness oI all the actions oI the
body, the sense organs and the vital energy. It seems to be
identiIied with all oI these, ... but It does not act, nor is It
subject to the slightest change.
The SelI is distinct Irom Maya, the primal cause, and
Irom her eIIect, the universe. The nature oI the SelI is pure
Consciousness. ... With a controlled mind and an intellect,
which is made pure and tranquil, realize the SelI within you.
Know the SelI as the real I. Thus will you cross the
shoreless ocean oI this world, whose waves are birth and
death, and live always blessed, in the knowledge oI identity
with Brahman.
8

17 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

2. SANKHYA

One can easily imagine the diIIiculties oI explaining the
principle oI Mava satisIactorily, and oI deIending it against those
who choose to ridicule it as a 'world-negating concept. Perhaps
Ior that reason, in another part oI India, a diIIerent tradition had
been Iormed along the same pattern, but employing diIIerent terms
to represent the two aspects oI reality. It was, in Iact, one oI the
Iirst eIIorts to put the expression oI the duality-in-unity concept
into an organized philosophical system, and it was attributed to an
ancient sage by the name oI Kapila (ca. 900 B.C.E.). His
representation oI reality came to be known as Sankhva
('knowledge or 'wisdom).
Kapila asserted that there was an underlying universal
Consciousness that he called Purusha (the 'Person," the Male
principle), which was beyond all qualities and activities, and which
was the true Atman ('SelI) oI all beings. And that the aspect oI
Reality which was perceived as the multiIorm universe was an
undiIIerentiated creative Energy produced by Purusha which he
called Prakrti (Mother 'Nature," the Female principle). Man`s
ultimate goal, according to Kapila, was to penetrate beneath the
surIace appearance oI Prakrti, and realize his true underlying
identity as the one Purusha, the eternal SelI oI all.
In that great classic oI mystical literature, the Bhagavad
Gita, attributed to the sage Vyasa, but apparently written around
the same time as the earliest Puranas (ca. 500 B.C.E.), Kapila`s
philosophy Iound its Iullest and most inIluential expression. In it,
Krishna, represented as a maniIestation oI the Lord, speaks with
the voice oI the One, to his devotee, Arjuna, and more elaborately
explains His dual identity as Purusha and Prakrti:

Wherever a being may be born, Arjuna, know that My
Prakrti is his Mother, and I |Purusha| am the Father who gave him
liIe.
9

... Prakrti is the source oI all material things; it is the
creator, the creating, and the creation. Purusha is the Source oI
THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE SELF 1%
consciousness. ... The Purusha in man, united with Prakrti,
experiences the ever-changing conditions oI Prakrti. When he
identiIies with the ever changing, he is whirled through liIe and
death to a good or evil Iate. But the Purusha in man is ever beyond
Iate. ... He is the supreme Lord, the supreme SelI.
That man who knows that he is the Purusha, and
understands the changing conditions oI Prakrti, is never whirled
around by Iate, wherever he may be.
10

Purusha is the true Identity oI all beings; It is eternal and
absolutely Iree oI the transient appearance oI the world. Prakrti
constitutes all that appears as the world, both the subtle and the
gross; but Purusha is the Divine witness, the constant Source and
ultimate Ground oI all that is.

He who knows that he is, himselI, the Lord oI all, and is
ever the same in all, immortal though experiencing the Iield oI
mortality, he knows the truth oI existence.
.When a man realizes that the Purusha in himselI is the
same Purusha in all, he does not hurt himselI by hurting others.
This is the highest knowledge. He who sees that all actions,
everywhere, are only the actions oI Prakrti, and that the Purusha is
the witness oI these actions, he sees the truth.
11

. Through My Prakrti, I bring Iorth all creation, and all
these worlds revolve in the cycle oI time. But I am not bound by
this vast display oI creation; I exist alone, watching the drama oI
this play. I watch, while Prakrti brings Iorth all that moves and
moves not; thus the worlds go on revolving. But the Iools oI the
world know Me not; ... they know not the supreme Spirit, the
inIinite God oI all.
Still, there are a Iew great souls who know Me, and who
take reIuge in Me. They love Me with a single love, knowing that
I am the Source oI all.
They praise Me with devotion; ... their spirit is one with
Me, and they worship Me with their love. They worship Me, and
work Ior me, surrendering themselves in My vision. They worship
Me as the One and the many, knowing that all is contained in
Me.
12

So, as we see, the system oI Kapila and that oI the Vedanta
oI the Upanishads and later oI Shankara are philosophically
identical, and are diIIerentiated Irom one another only by their
10 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

terminology. Both oI these philosophical systems were born, not
oI a deliberate rational attempt to construct a plausible world-view,
but rather oI an ineluctable vision, revealed to the mind in the
transcendent experience oI unity, though occurring to two diIIerent
men at widely separated periods in history. It is a grave mistake,
in my opinion, to view these two explanations oI Reality, as some
historians and scholars tend to do, as mere intellectual
constructions to be analyzed Ior academic categorization. They are
both attempts, on the part oI men who had clearly experienced the
unitive Reality by the grace oI God, to share their vision, their
understanding, Ior the purpose oI oIIering guidance to sincere
aspirants to truth, and should be examined in that spirit.
3. TAOISM

In China, an equally ancient tradition called Taoism spoke
oI the two mystically perceived aspects oI Reality as Tao and Teh.
Its greatest spokesman was the venerable Lao Tze (b. 601 B.C.E.).
In his only book, a collection oI maxims called the Tao Teh Ching,
he characterized the absolute, unchanging and eternal aspect as
male, and its world-Iorming energy aspect as Iemale.
Lao had experienced in deep contemplation that pure
transcendent Consciousness which is the eternally remote and
unchanging absolute Being; he had known too Its outpouring
eIIulgence which is perceived as the creative energy which
constitutes the world oI Iorm. In himselI he had clearly
experienced the mystery oI creation emanating Irom the still and
constant Source. These two are the same undivided Reality,
declared Lao, yet they constitute two paradoxically dissimilar
aspects oI that Reality. In order to speak intelligibly oI these two
aspects, the unIluctuating Consciousness and Its power oI
universal maniIestation, he characterized Tao, the unchanging
Source, as the Father; and Teh, Its incomprehensible power oI
creative imagery, as the Mother oI all:

BeIore heaven and earth existed, there was
something Iormless, silent, alone, unchanging, constant and
eternal; It could be called 'the Source oI the universe. 'I do
not know Its name, and simply call It Tao.
13

.|But| the Tao that can be spoken oI is not the
absolute Tao |since to speak oI It is to make It an object
separate Irom oneselI|. That nameless |Tao| is the Father oI
heaven and earth; that which may be named |i.e., Teh, which
constitutes all that has name and Iorm| is the Mother oI all
things.
14

Chuang Tze, who Ilourished around 290 B.C.E., is no
doubt second in importance to Lao Tze as one oI the enlightened
mystics oI the Taoist school. Having experienced the identical
12 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

mystical revelation several hundred years aIter his illustrious
predecessor, he spoke with an equal authority oI the inexplicable
Absolute and Its indescribably miraculous power oI creation. In
the ancient world, the dual-Iacetedness oI Reality was never more
clearly expressed than in the writings oI these two patriarchs oI
Taoism. Here is how Chuang Tze describes the Tao:

That ONE called Tao is subtle, beyond vision, yet
latent in It are all Iorms. It is subtle, beyond vision, yet
latent in It are all objects. It is dark and obscure, yet latent in
It is the creative Power oI liIe |Teh|.
15

The visible world is born oI the Invisible; the world
oI Iorms is born oI the Formless. The creative Energy |Teh|
is born Irom Tao, and all liIe Iorms are born oI this creative
Energy; thus all creation evolves into various Iorms.
.LiIe springs into existence without a visible
source and is reabsorbed into that InIinite. The world exists
in and on the inIinite Void |Tao|; how it comes into being, is
sustained and once again is dissolved, cannot be seen.
It is Iathomless, like the Sea. Wondrously, the cycle
oI world-maniIestation begins again aIter every completion.
The Tao sustains all creation, but It is never exhausted. ...
That which gives liIe to all creation, yet which is, ItselI,
never drawn uponthat is the Tao.
16

While it is the Father who is the undiminished Source oI all
that is, it is the Mother who makes maniIest the bounty oI the
Father.

That which gave birth to the universe may be
regarded as the Mother oI the universe.
17
... |It is| the Womb
oI creation ... called the Mysterious Female; it is the root oI
heaven and earth.
18

All that is, including one's own selI as a living, breathing
creature, is born oI the Mother, yet partakes oI the Father who is
the Iountainhead and underlying Identity oI all.

The Tao is an empty cup, yet It is inexhaustible; It is
the Iathomless Fountainhead oI all things.
19
From the ancient days till now Its maniIestation has
never ceased; it is because oI this |Teh| that we perceive the
Father oI all. It is the maniIestation oI Iorms that reveals to us
the Father.
20
The Tao is never the doer, yet through It
everything is done.
21

The Tao Iathers, and the Teh brings everything Iorth as
the world oI Iorm, time, and space.
22

These two were not to be thought oI as separate, inde-
pendent Iorces, but are integral, and merely separated in language
in order to give names to the two aspects oI the one unitive
Existence.

These two are the same; they are given diIIerent
names in order to distinguish between them. Together, they
constitute the Supreme Mystery.
23

To hold to the Father, the uncreated, while living and acting
within the creation oI the Mother was the Irequent advice oI both
Lao and Chuang, as it is the message oI all mystics oI all times and
traditions.

He who holds to the Eternal |Tao| while acting in
the transient |Teh| knows the primal Source Irom which all
things maniIest.
24
ThereIore, the sage may travel all day,
yet he never leaves his |inner| store oI provisions.
25
He
who remains aware oI the Male |Tao|, while living as the
Female |Teh|, is a guide to all the people.
26

To hold to the remembrance oI one's eternal Identity in the
midst oI the distracting Ilux oI worldly activity, to hold to the
Ireedom and bliss oI one's truly limitless and unwavering SelI
despite the seeming contraries in the world oI appearance, was in
the estimation oI Lao and Chuang the true legacy oI spiritual
knowledge and the path to the blessedness oI the wise.

14 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

My teaching is very easy to understand and very
easy to practice, yet no one understands it and no one
practices it; |it is this:| the sage wears a tattered coat |the
body oI Teh| and carries jade |the treasure oI Tao| within his
breast.
27

|Know that| Teh is your clothing, and Tao is your
sanctuary.
28

This is just another way oI saying that the remembrance oI
one's real inner treasure, one's eternal identity, liIts one above the
petty concerns oI one's temporal liIe amid the hubbub oI the world,
and bestows calm, clarity, and a sweet joy that can never be
deIiled. The wise man's remembrance oI his eternal identity
bestows a security that knows no Iear, no distress, in even the most
dangerous circumstances, Ior

He dwells in the Foundation oI the Iorm, and not in the
Iorm; he dwells in the Iruit, and not in the Ilowering; thus he
holds to the one, and ignores the other.
29

ThereIore, he is not vulnerable to weapons oI war;
the horns oI the buIIalo cannot touch him; the claws oI the
tiger cannot rip him; the sword cannot cut him. Why?
Because he is beyond death.
30

To discover, as Lao and Chuang had discovered,
that secret oI existence, they advised the quieting oI the mind in
meditation or contemplation. For this wisdom was inherent in all;
and true vision was available to all who would silence the ever-
clamoring thoughts that Iilled the mind with mundane trivia and
peer deeply into themselves as into a rippled pond, awaiting the
clear reIlection oI eternity in the Iinally calm and serene surIace.

II you want to know the Tao, ... give a bath to your
mind; wash your mind clean. Throw out all your sage
wisdom!
31
... Repose brings good Iortune. Without inner
repose, your mind will be galloping about, even though you
are sitting still. Withdraw your senses within and cease all
activity oI the mind.
Concentrate your will. Let your ears cease to hear;
let your mind cease to imagine. Let your spirit be blank,
passively receptive. In such receptivity, the Tao is
revealed.
32

The man oI wisdom shuts his senses, closes all
doors, dulls his edges, unties all knots, soItens his light,
calms his turmoilthis is called attainment oI unity with the
One.
33

I guard my awareness oI the One, and rest in
harmony with externals. ...My light is the light oI the Sun
and the moon. My liIe is the liIe oI heaven and earth.
BeIore me is the UndiIIerentiated |Teh|, and behind me is
the Unknowable |Tao|. Men may all die, but I endure
Iorever.
34
26 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

4. BUDDHISM

In the 5th century beIore the Current Era, there lived in
India a sage known as 'the Buddha, the enlightened one, who
initiated yet another mystical tradition. Born into a princely liIe in
the bustling town oI Kapilavastu (named Ior the sage, Kapila), in
the kingdom oI Koshala, young Siddhartha oI the Gautama clan
grew up amid wealth and comIort. He married and had a son. But
at the age oI twenty-nine, he suddenly struck out alone into the
Iorest to enjoy the solitude and peace he Ielt necessary to the
contemplation oI truth.
Living alone in a wooded grove beside a river on the
outskirts oI a small village, Siddhartha gave himselI to deep
thought, endeavoring to penetrate the mystery oI existence. One
evening, sitting beneath a sheltering tree, he experienced an
unprecedented clarity oI mind, and the unity oI all liIe was directly
revealed to him. Suddenly, his mind, Iree oI its normal limitations,
was the all-inclusive Consciousness oI the universe, and all
sentient and insentient beings were realized to be maniIestations oI
himselI. Never again would he imagine that he was just this one
isolated selI oI Siddhartha; he was the SelI oI the whole world. He
had known himselI as the Eternal One, and everything was now
clear to him. Shortly thereaIter he began teaching his message oI
Enlightenment to others and gathered about him a small Iollowing
oI seekers.
In those times, as now, men possessed varying degrees oI
intelligence and learning, and thereIore many diIIerent views on
the meaning and purpose oI liIe were expounded. The teachings oI
the Upanishads and the Sankhya philosophy were known only to
the Iew and Iollowed by yet Iewer. In most cases, even these great
philosophies had became corrupted by those who had not
themselves attained enlightenment. For the most part, men and
women Iollowed a less stringent regimen, seeking, as they do
today, merely to lead conventional lives oI piety and righteousness,
giving respect to the holy and alms to the poor. Incapable oI
sustained contemplation, they worshipped their God through
service and priest-led ritual.
The priests who directed the course oI these rituals were oI
the social caste known as brahmins, as they supposedly maintained
an inner connection with Brahman through the repetition oI
Iormalized prayers Irom the Jedas, and through the ritualized
oIIerings oI sacriIices, or vafnas. Thus, the priesthood, supported
by the populace, maintained their positions as intermediaries
essential to religious worship by teaching a dualistic philosophy
based on the separation between man and God (just as priests
everywhere have always done)a separation which could be
breached only by their specialized intercession.
To the Buddha, however, such a religious tradition was
puerile and demeaning. He had known the Truth directly, and he
knew that only this direct knowledge had the power to satisIy the
longing Ior certainty in every man, and to Iree the mind Irom the
suIIering and sorrow connected with ignorance. And so, to the
eager and intelligent young men and women who Ilocked to hear
him, he taught the way oI Enlightenment.
It is a Iact oI religious history that, when the world Iorgets
the true spiritual ideals, and men lose sight oI the meaning oI liIe,
'reIormers appear to lead men back to the Iundamental and
ultimate goal oI God-realization. The Buddha, like all oI the
greatest oI the renowned saints oI every land and every religious
traditionShankara, Rumi, Nanak, St. Franciswas a reIormer in
the sense that he served to recall men to the perennial quest. He
was a mystic, one who had actually realized the Truth oI existence,
and who exhorted his brothers to that same attainment.
The Buddha was not interested in molliIying the weak;
there were enough priests already carrying on that work. Nor was
he interested in Iurther involving aspirants to Truth in the
elaboration oI metaphysical doctrines; his purpose was to enable
others to experience what he had, Ior he understood clearly that no
amount oI indoctrination oI metaphysics could take the place oI the
direct and immediate experience oI Enlightenment, oI nirvana.
27 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

For this reason, he continually exhorted his Iollowers to the
practice oI selI-introspection and contemplation.
Despite the Buddha`s reIusal to elaborate a complete
metaphysics, a metaphysics evolved within Buddhism, nonethe-
less, just as it must so long as men think and speak. The One, the
ultimate Reality, which the Buddha experienced came to be called,
Dharmakava ('the totality oI Being). Here, in a Buddhist
scripture called the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Dharmakava is
described:

The Dharrmakaya, though maniIesting ItselI as the
three worlds, is Iree Irom impurities and desires. ... It is
Iorever serene and eternal. It is the One, devoid oI all
determinations. ... There is no place in the universe where It
does not exist; but though the universe comes into being and
passes away, the Dharmakaya remains Iorever. Though It is
Iree Irom all opposites and contraries, still It works within all
beings to lead them to Freedom.
35

And just as Brahman has Its Mava, and Purusha Its
Prakrti, Dharmakava also has Its inherent Power oI Will which,
according to the Suvarna Prabha, 'creates all the physical bodies
and subtle bodies, while the Dharmakava, ItselI, does not suIIer
one whit oI change on this account.
36
This Power oI physical
maniIestation is called the Purvapranidhanabala ('the primary
Power oI Will).
So, as I hope the reader is beginning to perceive, the
various 'religions and their attendant philosophies, diIIer Irom
one another only in linguistic terminology. The experience they
describe is one, and their intellectual conceptualizations oI Reality
also are identical, despite the diIIerent terminologies adopted over
the ages.
5. SHAIVISM

India is a vast and ancient land, and her treasure oI seers,
sages and yogis is enormous. So it is not surprising that in yet
another part oI India, another tradition had been developing. It is
perhaps the oldest tradition alive today, dating back to pre-Aryan
civilization. It is known as Shaivism. In this ancient heritage, the
aspect oI reality, which is Absolute, and without attributes, the
counterpart oI Brahman and Purusha, is Shiva. The creative
Energy aspect, corresponding to Mava and Prakrti, is Shakti.
Shiva is a name used Ior the Lord since prerecorded time. Relics
Irom the ruins oI the ancient Dravidian cities oI Harappa and
Mohenjo-daro indicate that the great god, Shiva, was worshipped
perhaps as Iar back as three thousand years beIore the Current Era.
Shaivism, the worship oI Shiva, has no doubt continued
uninterrupted Irom beIore the arrival oI the Aryan intruders up to
the present time throughout India. One oI its most interesting
maniIestations, however, occurred around the 8th century C.E., in
Kashmir. At that time, a highly reIined religious philosophy
evolved that became known as Kashmir Shaivism.
Though there are a number oI philosophical works
representing this movement, its main text is a book oI maxims oI
highly concentrated meaning said to be revealed by Shiva HimselI,
called the Shiva Sutras. With the intention oI avoiding the
diIIiculties oI those who held that the universe was an 'illusory
product oI Mava, the philosophers oI this school made it very clear
that the maniIestation oI the universe was not an illusion, but was
as integral a part oI Shiva as light was oI Iire. They reiterated the
old truth that the universe is an appearance oI Shiva, a
maniIestation oI Shiva`s Power, or Shakti. The term, Shakti, is oI
course synonymous with Prakrti or Mava, and, like those other
names, is oI the Iemale gender; but it was most careIully and
clearly deIined so that it would be understood that it was
inseparable Irom Shiva, the Lord, being merely His 'Power oI
Will, so that there was no room Ior the possibility oI an illusionist
20 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

or dualistic interpretation. Here are a Iew such statements Irom
various sources oI the time:

He knows the true Reality who sees the entire
universe as the play oI the supreme Shakti oI supreme
Shiva.
37

.Throughout all these Iorms, it is the Lord
alone; He illumines His own nature. In truth, there is no
other cause oI all maniIestation except His Will (Shakti),
which gives existence to all worldly enjoyment and
liberation as well.
38

.In truth, there is no diIIerence between Uma
(Shakti) and Shankara (Shiva); the One consists oI two
aspects; oI this there is no doubt.
39

Shiva and Shakti are not diIIerent Irom each
other. Because Shiva contains Shakti, He controls all
activities in this multiIaceted universe.
40

The absolute Consciousness, oI Its own Iree
Will, is the cause oI the maniIestation oI the universe.
By the Power |Shakti| oI Its own Iree Will, it unIolds
the universe upon ItselI.
41

The entire world is the play oI universal
Consciousness. It has become the universe.
42

In India, thereIore, as elsewhere in the world, we Iind an
astonishing polyglot oI traditions intermingling and conIused with
one another. But it can be seen that underneath the apparent
diversity is a very simple and unvarying unanimity; as it is said in
the Rig Jeda: 'God is one; sages call Him by various names.
And His Power oI maniIestationwhether we call it Prakrti,
Mava, Purvapranidhanabala or Shaktiis also one. The vision oI
the seer has never changed, though it has been told and retold in a
million ways, and in countless tongues, since the beginning oI
time.
Over the centuries, India has seen the development oI
countless expressions oI the mystic`s vision oI reality; and always
we Iind this recurring pair: the Absolute and the relative, the
eternal One and the temporal maniIestation. And invariablyin
the Iolk-art and in the poetry oI the peoplethese two are
portrayed as an inseparable and complementary couple, as male
and Iemale, as Beloved and lover. Sometimes they are represented
in the person oI Narayan (Vishnu) and Lakshmi; in another place
they may be characterized as Krishna and Radha; in yet other
men`s eyes they are the mighty Mahadev (Shiva) and his consort,
Parvati (Shakti). Poets and artists make their stories and their
Iigures to represent these two philosophical abstractions and thus
tell in their own ways the tale oI the mystic`s vision. Thus we see,
Ior example, a statue oI Shakti, wild-Iaced and arms akimbo,
dancing on the prone Iigure oI Shiva in a graphic depiction oI the
relationship between the One who is the unmoving Ground and
Foundation oI all and His active Power oI universal maniIestation
and destruction. In the verses oI the medieval poet-saint,
Jnaneshvar, these two lovers are portrayed as 'the only ones who
dwell in this home called the universe:

The supreme Reality, which is One, appears to be
two. Through Her, the absolute Void became the primal
Person; and She derived Her existence Irom Her Lord. Shiva
Iormed his beloved oI HimselI; and without Her presence, no
Person exists. ... Because oI God, the Goddess exists, and
without Her, He is not. They exist only because oI each other.
How sweet is their union! The whole world is too
small to contain them, yet they live happily in the smallest
particle. They regard each other as their own SelI, and neither
creates so much as a blade oI grass without the other. Because
oI Her, He assumes the Iorm oI the universe. Without Her, He
is leIt naked. Although He is maniIest, He cannot be seen. It
is only by Her grace that He appears as universal Iorm. When
He embraces Her, it is His own bliss that Shiva enjoys.
He is the Enjoyer oI everything, but there is no
enjoyment without Her. She is His Iorm, but Her beauty
comes Irom Him. By their intermingling, they are together
enjoying this banquet.
43
22 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

It is a mistake on the part oI students oI Indian culture to
inIer Irom her works oI art that India worships primitive gods, just
as it would be a mistake on the part oI a student oI medieval
Western civilization to inIer Irom the Sistine Chapel paintings that
men oI that time and place worshipped a white-bearded, muscle-
bound God who imparted His spirit to men with a touch oI his
Iinger.
Artists and poets have no other media by which to represent
the Formless except Iorm; their portrayals oI God must necessarily
be Iigurative. And so naturally we Iind a great abundance oI
religious symbolism in a culture so religiously inclined: we Iind
Iigures oI three-headed gods (representing the three powers oI
Creation, Sustenance, and the Destruction oI the universe); we Iind
multi-armed goddesses oI Destruction (representing the multi-
Iaceted reciprocal Iorces oI Nature); and we Iind the oIten
misunderstood lingam and the voni (the male organ representative
oI the transcendent God and the Iemale organ representative oI His
creative Power). But let us understand that the visual and poetic
symbols oI Shiva and His inseparable Power are symbols only, and
point to an extra-sensual and undivided reality; they are merely
reminders, expressions, oI a proIound understanding oI the nature
oI our own Reality.
6. JUDAISM

The Judaic religion was, according to tradition, begun by
Abraham, a native oI the city oI Ur oI the Chaldees around 1900
B.C.E. Abraham`s trek Irom his adopted town oI Haran well north
oI Ur southward to the land oI Canaan, and the wanderings oI his
nomad progeny in that area is well documented in the religious
history set down by various hands over the years that Iollowed.
The various books recounting the stories oI the trials and
conquests, exiles and ultimate rulership by the descendants oI
Abraham over the people indigenous to the land oI Canaan were
written between the 9th and 6th centuries B.C.E., and gathered, in
the 5th century B.C.E., into a collection called the Torah, known to
later Christians as the Old Testament oI the Bible.
This great collection oI books constitutes not only a history
oI the Jews, but is a testament oI their religion as well, beginning
with a recounting oI the creation oI the world by God, whom they
called Yahweh. However, we must not imagine that these legends
oI creation were born in some sort oI cultural isolation; not at all.
They were retellings (or mistellings) oI ancient stories gathered
Irom a number oI pre-literate indigenous sources. The 'prophets
and documenters who wrote the books oI the Torah were greatly
inIluenced by the peoples and literature oI the land in which they
lived. And so there were Sumerian, Babylonian, Akkadian,
Egyptian, and Assyrian inIluences, Ior there had been a well
developed mystically based religious literature in these regions by
the time these books oI the Jews were written and collected.
The mystic`s vision oI an eternal Consciousness at the core
oI all universal maniIestation is the Ioundation oI nearly every
early religious tradition oI which we know. In such 'vision, one
experiences the Eternal Source as transcendent and unchanging;
the maniIested universe is seen as an eIIulgence emanating Irom
that unchanging Consciousness as a kind oI Thought-Energy,
which takes Iorm as the world. These two aspects oI the one
24 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

Reality appear in nearly every early mythology and religious
system, which has come down to us.
In the religious literature oI Egypt (c. 2500 B.C.E.), Ior
example, a rich literary heritage centered around the God oI the
Memphites, called Ptah, and His creative Thought or Word, called
Atum, by which all that is was created. To his Iollowers, Ptah was
the one unchanging Source; His Thought or Word produced all
creation. We Iind this same concept carried over in the book oI
Genesis, as God speaks the Word and so it comes to be: 'God
said, Let there be light,` and there was light.
In upper Egypt, the one God was known by the name,
Neter, and at other times, Amon-Re; and while the proliIeration oI
names and qualities, by diIIerent Egyptian civilizations over the
years, produces Ior us today the impression oI a polytheistic
pantheon oI separate deities, each oI these religious traditions
represent a common mystical theology: In nearly every historical
instance, the transcendent, unmaniIest Father-God is thought oI as
male, and His power oI creative Thought, which gives expression,
or utterance to the whole universe oI temporal Iorms is thought oI
as the Iemale element, the Mother oI all creation. Like a human
mind and its power oI thought, these two are integral
complementsa One with two diIIerent aspects oI being; one
unchanging, eternal; the other Iomenting constant temporal
change.
In the ancient Near-East, Irom Egypt to Sumer to Babylon
and Canaan, there was a widespread recognition oI these two
complementary aspects oI the one Divine Reality, personiIied as
male and Iemale, as they have been recognized and personiIied in
myth and allegory in nearly every culture Irom time immemorial.
The names given to these personalized Iorms oI the two
complementary principles were many: Ior the Sumerians, they
were An and Inanna. In Babylon, they were Apsu and Tiamat. In
the land oI Canaan, where many diIIerent cultural strains met and
intermingled, they were El and Athirat (or Asherah), or they were
Baal and Baala. It must be remembered, however, that, Ior the
mystic, these two are never separate Irom one another, but are
complementary aspects oI the one Reality, and complements as
well in the nature oI man.
During Biblical times (1900-900 B.C.E.), the tribes oI Jews
who came to live in this stretch oI land called Canaan Iound this
mystical religion oI duality-in-Unity oIIensive and promulgated
their own religious philosophy based primarily on their belieI in
their special Iavor in the eyes oI their own personalized tribal God.
It thereIore became a vested interest oI the religious leaders oI the
Jews to propagandize the theology oI the Canaanites as a primitive
dualism or even polytheism, and to warn their Iollowers against
tolerating the religion oI the Canaanites.
In several books oI the Old Testament, the anathema
against worshipping in the manner oI the Canaanites is repeated
both implicitly and explicitly. Those Iound using the image oI the
bull calI (symbol oI the Ba'al, or Male, complement oI Divinity) or
the ash tree or column (symbolic oI the Asherah, or Female,
aspect) in their worship were condemned and persecuted.
Nonetheless, the deeply ingrained cultural inIluences oI this
mystically-based religious tradition rubbed oII on the early Jews;
and they adopted the concept oI a creative Mother-power
emanating Irom Yahweh, their Father-God, which they called
Chokmah, or 'Wisdom. She is reIerred to in the Biblical book oI
Ecclesiasticus as 'the Word that was spoken by the Most High,
Irom which all the universe is Iormed:

Chokmah is Irom the Lord; She is with Him
eternally. ...It is He who created Her, ... and inIused Her into
all His works.
44

BeIore God made the earth and the Iields or the Iirst
dust oI the world, when He set up the heavens, I |Chokmah|
was there; ... When He laid the Ioundations oI the earth, I
existed as His instrument."
45

We can Iind reIerence to these complementary elements
also in the story oI Adam and Eve in the Garden oI Eden. It was no
doubt one oI those ancient allegorical tales by some early mystic
36 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

that was adopted by the early Jews, and included in Genesis as a
part oI their history oI the origin oI mankind.
The story oI Adam and Eve in the garden oI Eden tells oI
man`s dual nature: the Divine SelI (Male) and its cosmic
maniIestation (Female). The Female nature, enticed by her sexual
energy (the Snake), inIluences the Male to partake oI desire Ior the
pleasures oI earth, against the intuitive understanding inherent in
the SelI. When he succumbs to the promptings oI his Female
nature, he Ialls Irom the Divine state oI perIection (Paradise). This
Iall is said to result Irom the eating oI the Iruit Irom the Tree oI the
Knowledge oI Good and Evil. In other words, by Iollowing his
lower nature, by surrendering to desire, a man abandons his contact
with his Divine nature, and thereaIter experiences the duality oI
good and evil, pain and pleasure, and all other dualities, bringing
about his Iall Irom grace. It is a tale that warns us to seek only to
please God within us, and to avoid succumbing to our earthly
nature`s desire Ior worldly delights.
And so, while we can Iind in the Judaic scriptures traces oI
an original myth oI a Divine Consciousness which projects ItselI,
through Its power oI Thought, as a world oI living creatures and
objects, that myth, with its allegorical symbols, had undergone a
major transIormation by the time it reappeared in the Jewish
Patriarch`s retelling oI Creation. Instead oI an all-inclusive
Divinity, in whose very being the world exists, and Irom whom the
world and its creatures can never be separated, the Divine SelI
inherent in man had become a separate being, a god, standing apart
Irom His creatures as a vengeIul and tyrannical overlord. This is a
wonderIul example oI the sad but perennial corruption oI the
teachings oI the mystic seers by the uninitiated which results in the
objectiIication oI Deity as an entity separate Irom one`s own
identity and Irom all phenomenal reality.
Such a dualistic view oI reality is a Iailure oI vision, which
results in a narrow and selI-alienating view oI liIe. And yet it is
this very view, this mistaken version oI the nature oI reality, that
has inIluenced the culture oI Western civilization so greatly Ior the
last 2000 years that it can no longer be ignored, and must Iinally be
denounced as the Ialse doctrine that it is.
And while it is indeed true that many born into the Judaic
religious tradition have been graced, through their ardent devotion
to God, with the realization oI the great Unity; they have invariably
become, by virtue oI this very realization, exiled and excluded
Irom that tradition. For to experience and declare one`s unity with
God gives the lie to the Biblical mythology, and contradicts the
Judaic doctrine oI the eternal separation oI God and His Creation,
and the distinction between God and the eternal Soul oI man.
The mystical knowledge oI the transcendent God and His
Creative Energy existed elsewhere in the ancient world as well. In
the 6th century B.C.E., not Iar Irom the land oI the Jews,
Heraclitus oI Ephesus (540-480 B.C.E.) introduced his own
mystically-inspired concept oI duality-in-unity, attributing to God
(Zeus) the power oI Thought or Ideation (Logos) by which He, the
unmaniIested Absolute, created and governed the motion oI all
things. This term, Logos, was then adopted by the early Stoics,
who likewise meant by it the creative Will or Power oI
maniIestation which Ilowed Irom the Divine, and which
constituted the phenomenal universe.
The philosophy oI the Logos then reached its ultimate
expression in the writings oI an Alexandrian Jew, Philo Judaeus
(20 B.C.E. to 40 C.E.), a contemporary oI Jesus oI Nazareth. Like
Jesus, Philo was a mystic who alienated himselI Irom the Judaic
tradition into which he was born by speaking oI his experience oI
Unity. He attempted in his writings to reconcile Judaism with the
mystical philosophy oI the Greeks by declaring that the Logos was
synonymous with the Biblical term, Chokmah, characterizing the
Logos as 'the Iirst begotten oI God. 'The Logos, he explained,
'was conceived in God`s mind beIore all things and is that which
maniIests as all things.
46
Philo was a wealthy, aristocratic statesman and scholar;
Jesus was a poor rustic. Philo never heard oI Jesus, and Jesus
never read Philo. Nonetheless, their vision was essentially the
same.
37 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

7. CHRISTIANITY

Jesus was a Jew, born in Judea, and raised to manhood in
Galilee during the time oI the Roman occupation. As a child, he
was steeped in the ancient lore oI the Jews, and he showed an acute
interest in philosophy and religion Irom the time oI his early youth.
Around the age oI twenty-nine (when Saturn returns to its natal
position), Jesus met a teacher called John the Baptist, who served
to initiate the process oI his awakening to the Divinity within him.
Jesus then spent some time in solitude, praying to the God
whom he addressed as his 'Father; and one night, in the intensely
Iocused concentration oI his prayer and longing, his mind was
liIted into a pure silence by which it became absolutely clear. In
that clarity, in that silence, he transcended his own individuality
and entered into a realm oI awareness (the Kingdom oI God)
heretoIore unknown to him, wherein he experienced the clear
realization that he and the Father were onethat the one
Consciousness oI the universe was who he really was. His mind
became merged in the universal Mind, and he knew the star-Iilled
cosmos as his own radiating eIIulgence.
For some time he marveled at the inIinite glory oI his
newIound SelI, a SelI whom he had always been, but had
heretoIore been blind to. He who had, moments beIore, wept in
longing Ior his heavenly Father's embrace, now bathed in the
knowledge that He himselI was the one and only ocean oI bliss and
source oI all that was. It was a proIound and lasting revelation,
one that overwhelmed all previous notions oI a separate, individual
identity.
Jesus continued in solitude Ior some time, reIlecting on this
new knowledge, and searching his thoughts Ior some indication oI
what he was to do with it. Other possibilities presented
themselves, but he knew in his heart that he had no choice but to
spend his liIe gloriIying among men the One who had so
graciously revealed HimselI. Such knowledge could not be
withheld; it had to be shared with everyone. It was the knowledge
that would release men Irom their mistaken ideas oI the world, oI
their bewilderment and despair, and herald a New Age oI joy. It
appeared to him that it was he, Jesus oI Nazareth, who was called
upon to be the 'Anointed one whom the ancient prophets oI the
Jews had spoken oI in their predictions. And so Jesus returned to
his Iriends to share his 'good news, to tell others oI what had
been revealed in him.
Jesus recognized in the Psalms oI David a lineage oI
Iervent devotion to God, a lineage to which he himselI belonged;
and he sought only to attest to and reaIIirm that eternal religion oI
Lovethe inner puriIication oI the heart, which alone leads to the
clear vision oI God. This inner vision Jesus spoke oI as an
entering into 'the kingdom oI God. But the orthodox rabbis and
religious leaders, unaware oI the Iact oI mystical experience, did
not believe that God could be 'seen or known; nor did they
believe that they themselves were maniIestations oI God. Such
ideas went beyond their comprehension, and so were labeled
heretical.
The religious leaders oI the Jewish community thereIore
accused Jesus to his Iace oI portraying God contrary to the
traditions oI Judaism, and he answered to them: 'You say that He
is your God, yet you have not known Him; but I have known
Him.
47
And he attempted to explain to them that the
Consciousness within them, the SelI, which knows itselI as 'I
AM, is the eternal God, the everlasting SelI oI the universe, who
could be realized, as he had done, through Iervent devotion and
contemplation.
But the council oI elders and high priests were convinced
that to allow the teaching that man is God in essence would
undermine all morality, and corrupt the youth by inviting them to
claim that all their acts were the acts oI God. And so they voted to
condemn Jesus as a heretic, and they plotted to turn him over to the
Roman authorities as a criminal against the state. Thus, when
Jesus came to the city oI Jerusalem during the celebration oI the
30 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

Jewish holiday called Passover, he was arrested, tried, and
condemned to death by the high priests. He was then turned over
to the Romans and cruelly executed by them.
The tragedy oI Jesus was that oI a great lover oI God who
had realized the highest knowledge and tried to share it, but was
not understood by his own people, and was slain by them. But his
tragedy served to upliIt the consciousness oI the world, Ior today
he is remembered and honored everywhere as an inspiration to all
people who would know God by the path oI love and who would
maniIest His Love in their very lives.
Jesus never adopted the concept oI the Logos, nor did he
ever write out a concisely Iormulated metaphysics; but though he
oIten reIerred to the distinction between the absolute
Consciousness and the world oI matter as a duality oI the Spirit
and the Ilesh, or oI 'the Father and 'the son, it is clear that he
never regarded this duality as absolute and irresolvable; rather, he
saw the Ilesh as a maniIestation oI the spirit, the 'son as a
maniIestation oI the 'Father:

II you knew who I am, you would also know the Father.
Knowing me, you know Him; seeing me, you see Him. ... Do you
not understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? ...
It is the Father who dwells in me doing His own work.
Understand me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is
in me.
48

Although the concept oI the Logosa creative Energy
projected Irom and upon the universal Consciousness and
maniIesting as universal Iormwas never recorded as a part oI
Jesus` teaching, it is clear that had he known oI the term, he would
have acknowledged its validity. The author oI the Fourth Gospel
oI the New Testament, who lived about a hundred years aIter
Jesus, and who is known to us only as John, was Iamiliar with the
term, however, and was most likely well versed in the writings oI
Philo. He adopted the Greek word, Logos, in place oI the Hebrew
word, Chokmah, and began his recounting oI the liIe oI Jesus with
these Iamous words:

In the beginning was the Logos |oIten translated as
'Word|; the Logos was with God, and the Logos was
|conceptually separate Irom, but essentially identical with|
God.
... All things were made by the Logos; without him
nothing was made. It was by him that all things came into
existence.
49

John, Iollowing Philo`s characterization oI the
Chokmah/Logos as 'the only begotten oI God, reIers to the Logos
as 'him (despite the traditional characterization oI
Chokmah/Logos as Ieminine), and went on to assert that the Logos
had 'become Ilesh only in the person oI Jesus, thus limiting and
distorting the original meaning oI the term. For, originally, Ior
Heraclitus and Philo, as well as Ior the author oI Ecclesiasticus,
Chokmah/Logos represented the universal creative Energy which
'became Ilesh in the person oI each and every creature in the
cosmos.
Later, in the 2nd century C.E., during the years oI struggle
to Iormulate a viable set oI doctrines Ior a disorganized Church,
Clement oI Alexandria, Justin Martyr, and other Christian
apologists vehemently deIended the Johanine idea that the Logos
became Ilesh uniquely and exclusively in the person oI Jesus oI
Nazareth; and thereaIter, the Logos became popularly regarded as a
term synonymous with Jesus, 'the only begotten son oI God.
Since that time, the Logos has so oIten been associated with this
idea, that it has lost much oI its original meaning.
32 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

8. ISLAM

Islam, Iounded in the 7th century C.E. by Muhammad, is,
like Christianity, a monotheistic religious tradition that, while
being the teaching oI one man, has its primary theological base in
the more ancient Judaic scriptures. And, like Judaism and
Christianity, its oIIicial philosophy is dualistic; that is, it holds that
God and His creation are Iorever separate and distinct.
Nonetheless, as in Judaism and Christianity, there have been
occasional mystics within Islam who have not only realized but
proclaimed that God, the soul and the world are ultimately one;
and, as in Judaism and Christianity, they have always been
regarded by the orthodox oI their own tradition as blasphemers and
heretics. Thus, it is the common shame oI these three traditions
that the greatest oI their Iollowers, the most blessed oI their
seerstheir Spinozas, their Eckharts, their al-Hallaj`sare
invariably maligned and persecuted as heretics.
Within Islam, those seers who represent the mystic strain
are called 'SuIis,a term which reIers to the cotton garments worn
by the early mystics oI Islam. And in the early centuries oI Islam
many oI these SuIis conIounded the orthodox by speaking boldly
oI their experience oI the identity oI the soul and God. Abu Yazid
al-Bastami (d. 875 C.E.) cried out, 'Praise be to me! Mansur al-
Hallaj (d. 922 C.E.) uttered the Iamous 'an al-Haqq ('I am the
Truth), and added, in words similar to those oI Jesus, 'I am He
whom I love and He whom I love is I. We are two dwelling in one
body. II you see me, you see Him, and iI you see Him, you see us
both.
50
But a clear and concise philosophy oI unity was not
Iormulated until the appearance oI the giIted Muhyid-din Ibn al-
Arabi, known in the West simply as Ibn Arabi. Born in Spain in
1165 C.E., Ibn Arabi was a contemporary oI Saint Francis oI
Assisi (1182-1224), and oI two other Iamous mystic-poets oI the
SuIi tradition: the Persian, Jalal-uddin Rumi (d. 1273), and the
Turk, Farid-uddin Attar (d. 1230). Ibn Arabi held a view identical
to all others who have clearly 'seen the unity; he maintained that
the One and the many, the universal Consciousness and the
phenomenal universe, are simply two perspectives on the same one
Reality.
The terms Ibn Arabi employed to distinguish these two
perspectives, or aspects, oI Reality are Haqq and Khalq. When we
experience the unmaniIest One (in the transcendent state oI
consciousness), we are experiencing Haqq; when we experience
the world oI multiple phenomena (through our individual senses),
we are experiencing Khalq. 'But, says Ibn Arabi, 'the Haqq oI
whom transcendence is asserted is the same as the Khalq oI whom
immanence is asserted, although the one is distinguishable Irom
the other.
51
Thus, Ibn Arabi`s vision and his doctrine, like that oI
the other great mystics oI all religious traditions is one oI
complementarity.
For him, the world (Khalq) is simply the appearance oI
God (Haqq). It is simply our limited perspective as individual
perceiving entities that produces the appearance oI multiplicity.
'Multiplicity, he says, 'is simply due to the existence oI |multiple
subjective entities having| diIIerent points oI view, not to an actual
division in the one Essence.
52
And Unity simply means that,
'two or more things are actuallv identical but conceptuallv
distinguishable the one Irom the other; so in one sense the one is
the other, while in another sense it is not.
53

II you regard Him through Him |i.e., while one with
Him in the mystical experience oI unity|, then He regards
HimselI through HimselI; but iI you regard Him through
yourselI |i.e., at the phenomenal level, through the senses|,
then the unity vanishes.
54

.II you assert that only Haqq |the Transcendent| is
real, you limit God. And iI you assert that only Khalq |the
immanent| is real, you deny Him. But iI you assert that both
things are real, you Iollow the right course, and you are a
leader and a master in knowledge.
55

34 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

Here, Ibn Arabi describes how, when the mystical vision oI
unity dawns, it is seen that the One alone existsand that It is the
many:

When the mysteryoI realizing that the soul is one
with the Divine is revealed to you, you will understand that
you are no other than God. ... Then you will see all your
actions to be His actions and all your attributes to be His
attributes and your essence to be His essence.
.Thus, instead oI his own essence, there is the
essence oI God and in place oI his own qualities, there are the
attributes oI God. He who knows himselI sees his whole
existence to be the Divine existence, but does not experience
that any change has taken place in his own nature |consisting|
oI qualities. For when you know yourselI, your sense oI a
limited identity vanishes, and you know that you and God are
one and the same.
56

... There is no existence save His existence. ... This
means that the existence oI the beggar is His existence, and
the existence oI the sick is His existence. Now, when this is
admitted, it is acknowledged that all existence is His
existence; and that the existence oI all created things, both
activities and essences, is His existence; and when the secret
oI one particle oI the atoms is clear, the secret oI all created
things, both outward and inward, is clear, and you do not see
in this world or the next, anything except God.
57

Though Ibn Arabi was never appreciated or accepted by the
legalists oI Islam in his own time or later, still his writings
survived and had great inIluence upon the more daring oI medieval
thinkerswithin Islam and Christianity as well.
Another mystic oI Islam who deserves mention was Dr
Shikh (1615-1659), a great-grandson oI Akbar, the great Mughal
king oI India. Dr Shikh was tried and executed as a heretic by
the Ianatic Muslim king, Aurangzeb, Ior having realized and
proclaimed the great unity underlying all existence, and Ior
teaching that the scriptures oI India, the Upanishads, also taught
the true knowledge oI God. In his book, Risla-vi-Haqq-Num, he
speaks oI his vision oI Truth in terms Iamiliar to all who have seen
It:

Here is the secret oI unity; O Iriend, understand it:
Nowhere exists anything but God.
All that you see or know other than Him,
Though separate in name, is truly one in essence
with God.

Like an ocean is the essence oI the supreme SelI;
Like Iorms in water are all souls and all objects.
The ocean heaving and stirring within,
TransIorms itselI into drops, waves and bubbles.

So long as it does not realize its unity with the
ocean,
The drop remains a drop;
So long as he does not know himselI to be the
Creator,
The created remains a created.

O you, in quest oI God, you seek Him
everywhere;
But, truly, you yourselI are God, and not apart
Irom Him!
Since you are already in the midst oI the
boundless ocean,
Your quest is like that oI a drop searching Ior the
ocean.
58

K K K

PART THREE:

The Knowledge OI The SelI

'Frequently consider the connection oI all
things in the universe.
.Whatever may happen to thee, it was
prepared Ior thee Irom all eternity; and the
progression oI causes was Irom eternity spinning
the thread oI thy being.

Marcus Aurelius,
Commentaries
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF 4%
1. SCIENCE AND GNOSIS

Throughout history, men have used various words Ior
'knowledge. But there are, in Iact, two diIIerent kinds oI
knowledge: there is the direct knowledge oI the SelI, the
subjective reality, which we call gnosis; and there is the knowledge
oI nature, the objective reality, which we call science. Each kind
oI knowledge has its own methodologyand its own limitations.
Either kind oI knowledge alone without the balance oI its
counterpart is extremely lopsided and liable to error. The quest Ior
either kind oI knowledge to the exclusion oI the other is to Iocus
on only halI oI the equation. 'Science without religion |gnosis| is
lame, said Albert Einstein; 'religion without science is blind.
For a long time now, the civilizations oI the world have
recognized only science as knowledge. No doubt this has occurred
as a reaction to the horrors and excesses oI blind Iaith in the
utterances oI those claiming gnosis without beneIit oI reason or
perceptible evidence. And now, the horrors oI a science Iounded
on reason and perceptible evidence alone, crippled by a lack oI the
sense oI Divinity, are all too apparent as well. Hoping to
understand Reality solely through empirical, scientiIic study, we
have groped and stumbled along, blundering oIten in the wrong
direction; and Iinally we have come to see by our long eIIorts that
what those mystics whom we regarded as dreamy Iools had been
telling us Irom the beginning is in Iact the case.
Acknowledging this, the well-known astronomer and
author, Robert Jastrow, states that,

For the scientist who has lived by his Iaith in reason,
the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains
oI ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; and, as
he pulls himselI over the Iinal rock, he is greeted by a band oI
theologians who have been sitting there Ior centuries.
1

In short, the descriptions oI the universe by modern
physicists are sounding increasingly like the metaphysics
40 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

expounded by Eastern mystics Irom the beginning oI time. Let
me, then, recapitulate the metaphysics oI mysticism, so we can
compare it with the world-view oI modern physicists:
The mystics oI both East and West hold that the universe is
a maniIestation oI an insubstantial, yet intelligent, creative Energy,
which, maniIesting as Iorm, constitutes the entire phenomenal
universe. This Energy (called Mava or Shakti by the yogis) has no
independent existence oI its own, but is merely a projection oI and
upon a background oI pure Consciousness (whom the yogis call
Brahman or Shiva)in much the same way as the thought-energy
that constitutes mental images is a projection oI and upon the
consciousness oI an individual mind.
Thus, the transcendent Consciousness and the Energy,
which maniIests as the immanent world, are simply
complementary aspects oI the same one supreme Existencejust
as the water oI the ocean and the waves on the ocean are
complementary aspects oI the ocean. The duality created by
dividing Energy Irom Consciousness is thereIore clearly an
artiIicial one, Ior they constitute an indivisible whole.
Nonetheless, the recognition oI the apparent duality within the
whole is useIul, Ior it reveals the mechanics oI the subject-object
and the mind-body relationships, which otherwise would be
inexplicable.
The one universal Consciousness underlies all existence,
not only on the universal level, but on the human level as well. It
is the supreme Intelligence oI the universe, and it is also the light
oI awareness in man. It is this underlying Consciousness, which
gives liIe to the mind and body. The body itselIincluding the
brain, nervous system, and all bodily Iunctionsis a
maniIestation, as the entire universe is, oI the inIinitely creative
Energy inherent in the absolute Consciousness. Thus appears a
duality oI mind and body, oI subject and object; but this duality is
apparent only, because they are ultimately undivided, constituting
an unbroken Whole.
This 'Eastern metaphysic' which I've just described
represents a vision increasingly shared by Western science. And
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF 41
the discoveries oI modern science, won with such diligence and
dedication to the empirical method, continue to gather inexorably
toward a universal world-view, which clearly reiterates and
conIirms the model propounded by the mystical sages and yogis oI
thousands oI years ago. Let us see how the scientiIic community
has come to share with the mystics this vision oI the world as an
embodiment oI Energy:
In the late 19th century, matter had been Iound to be
divisible into molecules; later, molecules were Iound to be made oI
still smaller particles, called atoms; then, the atoms were Iound to
be constituted oI yet smaller sub-atomic particles, such as electrons
and nuclei, and Iinally, the nuclei were Iound to consist oI protons
and neutrons. Then it was determined that these 'elemental
particles consisted oI yet smaller entitities called quarks, which
come in various 'Ilavors: up, down, strange, charm, top, and
bottom.
The Iundamental constituency oI matter, the elementary
particles oI which everything and every Iorce in the universe
appears to be made, is said by the physicists to be reduced to
sixteen:
6 'Ilavors oI quarks:
up, down, strange, charm, top and bottom.
6 kinds oI leptons:
electrons, muons, electron-neutrinos,
muon neutrinos, tauons, and tau neutrinos.
4 types oI gluons:
gravitrons, weak gluons, colored gluons
and photons.
These quarks, electrons, photons, and so Iorth, are names
given to phenomena inIerred by theory and experiment; but, we
have to ask ourselves, what are all these things made oI?
Physicists, attempting to answer this question, and to
explain the apparently spontaneous creation oI all these so-called
'elementary particles, have theorized that these particles have no
real substance as entities at all, but are mere concentrations oI
Energy within a Iield. According to this theory, the Field is seen
42 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

as the Iundamental reality oI all phenomena, and the various
particles are merely local vibratory maniIestations oI Energy
Iorming and dissolving within the Field.
This concept oI a uniIied Iield resolves the age-old dispute
oI whether the world is made oI indivisible particles or oI a single
continuum. The 'Field is an invisible continuum which appears
as granular particles; i.e., as Iorm. The two apparently
contradictory conceptualizations oI reality are in Iact comple-
mentary, each representing the same reality Irom diIIerent Iocal
points, or Irames oI reIerence. As Albert Einstein noted,

There is no place in this new kind oI physics both Ior
the Iield and matter, Ior the Iield is the only reality.
2

Einstein himselI worked, Irom 1920 until his death in 1955,
to Iormulate a mathematical prooI oI a single 'uniIied Iield that
serves as the source oI all physical bodies and all interactions.
Such a Unified Field Theorv would show that gravitation, the
weak, the electromagnetic, and the strong nuclear interactions, are
simply varied convolutions in the Iabric oI the one all-pervading
space-time continuum. Recent advances in technology and
mathematical techniques are now pointing the way to the
completion oI a comprehensive UniIied Field Theory in the near
Iuture.
Noted physicist and author, Heinz Pagels, writes in his
book, The Cosmic Code. 'Today theoretical physicists working in
quantum Iield theory have Iound grand uniIied Iield theories`
uniIying the strong nuclear Iorce and the electromagnetic and weak
Iorces, and are currently striving to incorporate the Iorce oI gravity
into this uniIication. Should they accomplish this goal it would be
the completion oI physics as we know it now. Such a theory
would signiIy the completion oI physics simply because it would
answer all the questions; all physical phenomena would then
become explicable according to the mathematical laws oI the one
uniIied Iield.
One oI the most recent attempts to come up with such a
uniIying principle is 'String Theory. It is also reIerred to as 'The
Theory oI Everything. It theorizes that sub-atomic particles are
not the elemental reality, but are actually made oI minute 'strings
about a hundred billion billion (10
20
) times smaller than an atomic
nucleus) which, because oI their elasticity and mutability, are able
to resonate, like violin strings, at diIIerent Irequencies and tonal
values, thus producing the appearance oI the various 'elemental
particles. In other words, the diIIerent vibrational patterns oI these
Iundamental strings give rise to diIIerent masses and Iorce charges,
which not only appear as the various particles, but as the Iour kinds
oI Iorces also. According to some 21
st
century physicists,
evervthing is made oI these 'strings, which arise spontaneously in
an amorphous and invisible 'Iield oI universal energy. As to
what strings are made oI there is no answer. Indeed, to these
string theorists, there is no question: strings are the Iundamental
ingredient oI nature. They have no constituent parts. They are the
ultimate 'bits oI reality.
But what is this 'uniIied Iield Irom which all oI creation
supposedly proceeds in the Iorm oI energy strings? How are we to
envisualize it? We cannot; Ior it is again our old Iriend, the
Invisible Substratum, with a new name: an all-pervading,
intangible and untraceable something, like nothing so much as a
universal Mind which projects thought-Iorms upon its own screen.
We may call it, 'a Iield, a 'creative Void, or, borrowing a term
which has been used Ior over Iorty centuries to designate this
universal source oI phenomena, we may call it, Shiva, and name its
power oI maniIesting as Iorm, Shakti.
From one viewpoint, the universe is immensely complex.
From another viewpoint, it is immensely simple. It depends on
whether you are looking at the ocean or at the waves. From the
'simple viewpoint, the various Iorms that matter takes is not the
answer to what matter is made oI; matter is simply made oI the
Field (Shiva), in various degrees and permutations oI vibratory
excitation (Shakti or Energy), producing the illusion oI Iorm.
These 'illusions may appear as variously Ilavored quarks, nuclei,
44 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

atoms, molecules, complete elephants or supernova; but no matter
how intricately woven, the Iabric oI reality consists ultimately oI a
single continuum oI potentiality which continually maniIests and
dissolves all these Iorms upon itselI.
Those oI us who have actually witnessed the creation and
dissolution oI the universe Irom the perspective oI eternity are
witnesses to the Iact that this cosmos is a product oI the thought-
projection oI the one Consciousness. The attempt on the part oI
physicists to get to the bottom oI the nature oI energy and matter
must thereIore inevitably culminate in the discovery that the
'building blocks oI the universe are oI the nature oI thought.
These physicists may or may not produce instruments in the Iuture
that are capable oI detecting that intangible Iorce; they may or may
not discover that it maniIests as 'strings oI energy, or waves, or
blobs. The Iact is the universe is oI the stuII that dreams are made
oI; it is the maniIestation oI the conscious Energy that emanates
Irom the one transcendent Mind, known as the absolute
Consciousness, the eternal God.
The investigations oI physicists oI the 20th century into the
behavior oI subatomic particles have led to revolutionary
developments in all branches oI science, medicine, and industry,
enabling us to better understand the liIe-process and resulting in
the saving oI lives and in new means oI power and communication.
These scientists, with their cyclotrons and linear accelerators, have
contributed immensely to the accumulation oI knowledge oI how
the various elementary particles behave. But as to what these
particles themselves are made oIwe already knew that: they`re
made oI Shakti, the vibratory Energy oI maniIestation inherent in
the universal Mind-continuum called Shiva.
Now we`re prepared to understand a little better the
paradox spoken oI in the Upanishads.

It moves; It moves not.
It is Iar, and It is near.
It is within all this,
And It is outside oI all this.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF 4C

While Shakti is bubbling with activity, Shiva remains constant. He
remains constant whether there`s a universe or not. He remains
constant when the universe is expanding; He remains constant
when it is contracting; He remains constant when there is no
universe at all. He is the same constant even when the universal
maniIestation is only latent potentiality.
Let us make an analogy oI the ocean. Imagine that the
ocean is inIinite: iI we regard its 'water-ness, the ocean is one
whole, and is constant. But iI we regard its 'wave-ness, the ocean
is multi-Iormed and incessantly changing. Now, one may say that
only the water is real because it is the constant substratum, and the
waves are unreal because they are merely ephemeral transient
Iorms. But another, who Iails to make the generality, water, and
sees only the waves, may say that only the incessant motion oI the
waves is the reality, and the idea oI a permanent underlying reality
is only conjecture. A wise person, intervening, might point out to
both parties that the ocean has a dual-sided nature. It is always the
whole body oI water, and is thereIore a constant; and it is also the
moving Iorms oI the water known as 'waves, and is Irom that
viewpoint changing and inconstant.
Similarly, Irom the standpoint oI the all-inclusive One,
nothing is happening; all motion has ceased. It is eternally
constant; It is Shiva. From the standpoint oI the shiIting patterns
oI energy, which make up the incessantly changing Iorms oI
matter, It is still in motion; It is the inconstant Shakti. These two
are not even a hair`s breadth apart; they are simply two ways oI
looking at the same reality. They are the same, but they are
diIIerent.
Here`s another way oI understanding it: Shut your eyes;
become aware oI yourselI as a single personal entity. You will
experience vou as a complete and undivided being. Now, shiIt
your awareness to your body; become aware oI the billions oI cells
being born, living and dying within you in every Iraction oI a
moment. From this viewpoint, vou do not now seem so single, so
indivisible. Yet, there are not two oI vou, but only one. Similarly,
C6 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

the mystic experiences the constancy oI the One, while
simultaneously experiencing the continuance oI the motion within
the universe.
But how does this leap oI consciousness Irom the particular
to the universal, Irom man to God, occur? How does one become
suddenly hooked to another 'wave-length where he 'tunes-in on
the Consciousness oI the Whole? No one can say, except to say,
'By the grace oI God. What happens, though, is as mind-
boggling Ior a human being as it would be Ior a single cell in my
body iI suddenly its consciousness were to become 'switched to
my consciousness. 'I am not just this one cell! we might imagine
such a cell exclaiming; 'I am all these billions oI cells, and yet I
am greater than the mere sum oI these cells I am this one being
in whom all these billions oI cells exist, yet I am unaIIected by
their individual lives!
We can scarcely conceive oI how a single cell in our body
could be made to 'tap in Ior a time to the consciousness oI the
one in which it lives and which, truly, constitutes its larger
identity; but this is much like what happens to a human being by
some mysterious process which we call 'grace, during the
experience we reIer to as 'union with God. No doubt, an
individual cell would speak oI its experience in similarly religious
and mysterious terms.
One thing seems certain: when the experience oI the
Supreme SelI is going to happen to someone, that person`s mind
becomes automatically withdrawn Irom concerns oI a normal,
practical sort in regard to the individual liIe in the world; and
instead becomes centered on one all-consuming love, a singular
sort oI love, Ior the very source oI that blissIul love within. And in
the process oI consummating this love, solitude is procured, giving
the mind the opportunity to become detached Irom the pull oI
distracting thoughts and sense-impressions, and the mind is then
Iocused with great intensity upon its aim. Consciousness, like an
unIlickering Ilame in a windless room, becomes pure and clear.
And then suddenly It knows who It has always been.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF C5
The experience oI the SelI is preceded by meditation,
prayer, solitude; but are these then the cause oI the experience?
'No, say those who have experienced it; 'the cause is the
universal SelI ItselI. It is the cause oI everything. Today,
scientists are coming to understand this important truth, and are
coming to recognize what the mystics have recognized all along:
that all things in the universe are produced by a deliberate
Consciousness, and do indeed "move together oI one accord.
For centuries, one oI the primary assumptions oI science
has been the relationship between cause and eIIect. Most oI what
passes as scientiIic research is an enquiry into local causes. What
causes cancer? What causes black holes? What causes poverty?
And so on. Generally, we settle arbitrarily on a preceding event or
state, which we designate as 'the cause oI the present state. But
scientists are realizing that the universal web oI relationships is
endless. Investigations into the nature oI sub-atomic events has led
them to acknowledge that events are not caused by other isolated
events, but are rather linked in a complex web oI relationships
within a larger common Whole whose nature determines the nature
oI those constituent events.
In other words, the primary reality is no longer thought to
be the independent bits oI which the Whole is constituted, but
rather the other way around: the primary reality is the Whole, the
condition oI which governs the Iunctions and interrelations oI all
constituent parts within the Whole. The logical conclusion is that
all local causes must be reIerred to the condition oI the Whole,
which must in turn be regarded as the only actual cause.
Thus, in the newly emerging holistic world-view oI
modern science, the Iundamental reality is the unbroken Whole. A
remarkably lucid statement oI this view which warrants appearing
here in Iull is this Irom a 1975 article written by two respected
theoretical physicists, David Bohm and Basil Hiley. According to
them, the world which we perceive

cannot properly be analyzed into independently existent parts
with Iixed and determinate dynamical relationships between
each oI the parts. Rather, the 'parts are seen to be in
C7 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

immediate connection, in which their dynamical relationships
depend, in an irreducible way, on the state oI the whole svstem
(and indeed on that oI broader systems in which they are
contained, extending ultimately and in principle to the entire
universe). Thus, one is led to a new notion oI unbroken
wholeness which denies the classical idea oI analyzability oI
the world into separately and independently existent parts.
We have reversed the usual classical notion that the
independent 'elementary parts oI the world are the
Iundamental reality, and that the various systems are merely
particular contingent Iorms and arrangements oI these parts.
Rather, we say that inseparable quantum interconnectedness oI
the whole universe is the Iundamental reality, and that
relatively independently behaving parts are merely particular
and contingent Iorms within this whole.
3

What this means is that local causes do not exist in any real
sense, since all relationships are contingent on the condition oI the
Whole, and cannot be isolated Irom the context oI the Whole.
Imagine a rolling wave on the ocean: does not each
molecule oI water in that wave move in a place governed by, and
interrelated with, the placement and movement oI every other
molecule? Are not each oI the molecules oI water Iorming that
wave all moving 'together oI one accord? Now, expand that
illustration to include all the molecules oI the universe. Are they
not all rolling together interrelatedly and oI one concerted accord?
Is not the universe like one ocean, and the galaxies but eddies in
that ocean? Where, then, in the midst oI all this motion and
expanse can one point to small-scale local causes between entities?
Certainly there are countless interactions and relationships, but
there is only one impetus, or cause, at the source oI and governing
all motion and all relationships.
II we must speak oI causes at all, we must speak oI the
original Cause as the onlv cause, since the Initiator oI the world-
drama must be accounted responsible Ior all that Iollowed the
primary creative impulse. Imagine, Ior example, a number oI balls
on a billiard table. Each oI the balls ricochets oII the other in
various directions, and one ball Ialls into the pocket. What caused
the ball to go into the pocket? The last ball that hit it, oI course.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF C%
But what caused that ball to be rolling in that direction with just
that amount oI Iorce? Why, the ball that hit it. And what caused
that ball . etc. As you can see, by the process oI regression oI
causes, we must eventually come to the initial strike oI the cue ball
by the cue stick. That, we say, was the primary cause oI the ball`s
Ialling into a pocket.
Extending the regression oI causes ad infinitum will bring
us eventually to the one primary Cause Irom which all subsequent
causes were produced, and in relation to which they all become
eIIects. This 'Initiator has been called 'the Divine Will, 'the
Unmoved Mover, Maya, 'Shakti, and many more names.
Whatever we call It, It is responsible Ior everything that occurs in
this universe. It is the one Cause oI all that has Iollowed in an
inconceivably complex chain oI interrelationships. Not a single
sparrow`s Iall, or tumbling oI a grain oI sand, occurs external to
the universal order oI unicausal progression.
While it is no doubt true that the world oI sub-atomic
wave/particles does not Iollow such clear-cut trajectories as billiard
balls, and that the causal progression oI their motions is entirely
untraceable; nonetheless, the law oI unicausality is never broken.
There is, shall we say, an interlocking agreement, a perIect accord,
in the working oI the world, with no possibility oI anything at all
occurring out oI order with the rest. And yet this order is not
mechanical; it is more like the growth oI a living entity.
Just as the growth oI a tulip, Iilmed in time-lapse sequence,
shows the beautiIul, coordinated unIoldment oI the whole plant to
its glorious Ilowering, and subsequent demise, so does the
unIolding universe display just such perIect organic coordination
in its every detail. The point I wish to make is that, in the
unIolding oI the universe, there are no small-scale causes; and yet
there is an inIallible causality at workas inIallibly sure and
deIinite in its working as in the unIolding oI the tulip plant. For
there is one primary Cause, and the universe Iollowing the
unswerving laws oI motion and causality, is its eIIect.
For the mystic, to whom this interconnectedness oI the
universe has been revealed, it is a matter oI absolute certainty.
C0 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

This truth is not demonstrable, however, and thereIore is not
knowable by the empirical methods oI science. It can only be
known through gnosis.
Let us understand this issue clearly; it is important to
distinguish between science and gnosis, and to understand the
capabilities and limitations oI each: Empirical science is incapable
oI demonstrating causes; its only business is and has always been
simply to describe the behavior patterns oI phenomena. For
though science is capable oI describing the phenomena oI motion,
inertia, gravity, mass, space, energy, etc., it has never been able to
determine the cause oI these phenomena, as science is precluded in
principle Irom the realm oI the invisible, indemonstrable source oI
all phenomena, the Cause oI the maniIestation oI phenomena. For
the determination oI the Cause, science must deIer to the seers, the
mystics. The role oI science is then to show whether or not the
statements oI the seers are consistent with demonstrable evidence.
In the mystic`s 'vision, the entire universe is seen to be a
'projection oI the one absolute Consciousness, that pure
Consciousness being the sole Cause and Source oI all that is
maniIest. The maniIested universe itselI is seen to be oI the nature
oI 'thought, having no independent existence oI its own. It is
sometimes reIerred to by seers and mystics as 'dream-like or
'illusory in that it is a substanceless Iluctuating image whose
underlying reality is that eternal Consciousness which produced it.
From the mystic`s perspective, there is not the slightest doubt that
any attempt to discover the ultimate Cause oI phenomena by
observing the behavior oI phenomena is doomed to Iailure, as the
Cause is utterly beyond the reach oI sense-perception, being the
substratum oI both phenomena and perception.
David Bohm, in his book, Wholeness And The Implicate
Order, attempted to give scientiIic credence to this mystical world-
view, and succeeded in calling world-wide attention to the
possibility that such a description is consistent with empirical
evidence in general and with Quantum Theory in particular.
Indulging his metaphysical bent, he postulated, as a means oI
preserving the principle oI causality, a hidden indemonstrable
Source Ior the maniIestation oI universal phenomena. He posits,
as a sub-reality to the explicate orderi.e., the unIolded, or
maniIested, world oI quantum-based phenomena, an implicate or
enIolded order oI reality which gives rise to the explicate order.
Again, it is like nothing so much as the Iamiliar concept oI the
transcendent, unqualiIied Source underlying all phenomena that is
usually reIerred to by mystics as 'the Divine Mind or 'God.
Bohm, one oI the greatest scientists oI the twentieth
century, has admirably shown that empirical evidence and present
scientiIic theory are not inconsistent with the mystic`s vision, and
that a viable scientiIic worldview is compatible with the world-
view oI the mystics. This, truly, is as much as empirical science
can hope to achieve. By giving God and the world the new labels
oI 'implicate order and 'explicate order, Bohm oIIers us yet
another pair oI terms to signiIy the absolute and relative aspects oI
reality. But such verbal re-labeling does nothing, unIortunately, to
inIorm us regarding the hidden Source, and is totally useless as a
means to the actual reali:ation oI the true nature oI reality. For,
ultimately, reality is not subject to realization by means oI concept
Iormulation or verbal explication, but only by direct experience;
i.e., gnosis.
One may certainly infer the existence oI a transcendent
Cause Irom observing phenomena, and call It the implicate order,`
but that implicate order is still not subject to empirical prooI; i.e.,
to scientific knowledge. The only kind oI certain knowledge to
which It is subject is the knowledge obtained through intensely
Iocused introspection, as It constitutes the very consciousness
existing within every human being, and may only be known as
Identity. This kind oI direct knowledge is called gnosis.
The gnosis oI the mystics is subjective and indemon-
strable, but it is knowledge nonetheless. Gnosis is not simply a
designation Ior any and every kind oI subjective knowledge; it
reIers only to the direct Iorm-transcending knowledge oI universal
Identity, the knowledge oI the Absolute, the Godhead.
Historically, this knowledge has been relegated to the category oI
religion, and equated with 'belieI. Yet it is, and should be re-
C2 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

established as, the summit oI human knowledge, and the guiding
light Ior science.
Science and gnosis do not contradict each other; they are
complementary means oI knowledge appropriate to a Reality,
which consists oI two contrary but complementary aspects. Gnosis
looks to the realm oI Consciousness, while science looks to the
realm oI phenomena; yet both, as complementary viewpoints, are
absolutely necessary to the whole and complete knowledge oI
Reality. Indeed, it is the omission oI either one oI these
complementary viewpoints that so oIten gives rise to
misunderstanding and error.


2. CONSCIOUSNESS

In the Shaivite text, the Shiva Sutras, the very Iirst Sutra
states: Chaitanvam atma, "The SelI is Consciousness." This is a
knowledge that is attained, not through science, but through gnosis.
To the mystic who has known the unitive Truth, the one all-
pervading Consciousness is the sole identity oI everyone and
everything in the universe; It is, without doubt, the ultimate Source
and primary Reality Irom which the universe oI Iorm is projected.
There is a movement among modern scientists, however, to view
human consciousness as a by-product oI evolution, as simply an
'eIIect oI the complex organization oI matter. To the mystic, this
view is absurd. It is like saying that a dreamer is the effect oI a
suIIiciently complex dream, or that the thinker is the eIIect oI a
suIIiciently complex thought. In order to clariIy our understanding
on this issue, let us examine Ior a moment the meaning oI
consciousness.
Consciousness is not easy Ior our minds to grasp, because
we are It. It is closer than our jugular veins. It is the background
oI knowing, experiencing, being; it is the liIe that we regard as
selI. Consciousness can only be approached subjectively; what we
know about it we know Irom introspection. From the standpoint oI
the Vedantic sages,

The inIinite, all-pervasive, all supporting Brahman
(universal Consciousness) maniIests HimselI as the I in man.
He is the immutable witness oI the Iunctions oI the intellect in
this body.
4

I am is an immediately evident Iactperhaps the most
evident oI all Iacts. It is not necessary to think in order to be aware
I amDescartes` assertion to the contrary not withstanding. I am
is selI-evident and logically prior to thought, Ior it is the I oI I
think. This I am (Sanskrit: Aham; Hebrew: Ehveh) is synonymous
C4 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

with consciousness in man. It is the constant underlying
background, which serves as witness as well as substratum to all
possible mental states.
Just as the terms, 'Consciousness and 'matter represent
the apparent division oI the One at the cosmic level, the same
terms, 'consciousness and 'matter (or 'mind and 'body)
represent the same duality on the microcosmic, human, level.
Consciousness is the immutable, static witness; what it witnesses is
its own projection in the Iorm oI thoughts, Ieelings, and images, as
well as the impressions registered by the senses. Consciousness is
the subject, the seer, and everything else is the object, the seen.
Consciousness never vanishes; it is the one unIailing
constant witness to all the various mental states: Ior example, in
the waking state, consciousness is the witness oI two simultaneous
levels oI activity: the internal one oI thoughts, imaginations, etc.,
and an external one oI sense-data Irom the 'objective world.
In the dream state, consciousness witnesses only on the
internal level, viewing the eIIusive activity oI the imagination
known as dreams. And in the deep-sleep state, consciousness
Iinally gets a break, as there is nothing at all to witnessbut ItselI.
When waking Irom this state, we say we were 'unconscious, but
actually, consciousness was not absent; what was absent was the
thoughts, images, external sense-data, and dreams; i.e., the seen.
Consciousness always remains; It is eternal. Even in deep-sleep,
though It is devoid oI witnessing-content, the I remains; otherwise,
how would I recall when I awoke that I slept soundly?
There is yet another state oI consciousness besides these
three already mentioned: that is the state wherein consciousness
transcends the SelI-imposed limitation oI a separate ego-identity
the illusion oI being conIined to one particular bodyand
recognizes ItselI as universal. The I experienced in this state is not
a diIIerent I Irom the one which has always been experienced; it is
the same I, but happily divested oI the wrong notion oI who I is.
We may call this state, nirvana, samadhi, satori, the mvstic
marriage, oneness with God, or whatever we like; it is, more
precisely however, the startling experience oI the expansion oI
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF CC
one`s consciousness Irom its limited personal identiIication to an
unimaginably pure and lucid awareness that knows: I am the one
Consciousness of the universe' All this is mv Self'
Returning now to the idea prevalent in scientiIic circles that
consciousness is somehow the product oI the organization oI
matter: perhaps now we can understand that what we see in the
evolutionary process is not a production oI consciousness Irom the
suIIiciently complex organization oI matter, but an emergence oI
Consciousness Irom a SelI-imposed state oI involution, a state oI
lesser SelI-awareness, to an increasingly greater awareness oI ItselI
as the one Source and Substance oI the entire universe. This is,
indeed, the direction oI all evolution.
The truth is that Consciousness is the onlv reality. It is both
the seer and the seen; It maniIests as the experiencing I, and It
maniIests as the wave-particles, which we perceive as the world oI
'matter. It maniIests as the soul oI every sentient and insentient
being, temporarily identiIying with whatever Iorm It takes; and, as
the soul evolves in understanding over the period oI numerous
liIetimes, Consciousness studies ItselI in the mirror oI thought,
mental tangles become unraveled, and eventually the nature oI the
SelI becomes evident to ItselI. Consciousness thus plays a game oI
hide-and-seek with ItselI, maniIesting initially in ignorance oI
ItselI, and through the process oI soul-evolution, Iinally awakening
to SelI-awareness. In Its universal Totality, It is always SelI-
aware; but in Its play as 'matter and 'souls, It throws dust in Its
own eyes Ior the sake oI the game.
566 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

3. MIND

What, then, oI the individual mind? II we deIine mind in
the simplest possible way as the aggregate oI thoughts experienced
by an individual, it is not likely that anyone would deny that such a
thing exists. Surely everyone can veriIy the existence oI thoughts.
Then the question arises, 'What are thoughts? And the answer
given by the yogis and Vedantic philosophers is, 'Thoughts are the
vibrations (vrittis) oI consciousness. We should take notice oI the
Iact that thoughts, though registering as electrical energy on the
EEG machines oI psychological technicians, are Iormed oI
consciousness, and so must be understood as both consciousness
and energyin the same way that a beam oI light is understood to
be both a stream oI particles and also a propagation oI waves.
One cannot categorize mind as only consciousness, or as
only energy; it is bothjust as everything in this phenomenal
universe is both. In Iact, the maniIestation oI thoughts (i.e., mind)
by our own individual consciousness is a process identical to the
maniIestation oI the phenomenal universe by the universal
Consciousness. In both cases, Consciousness projects a vibratory
thought-Iorce which appears as Iorm; it is in this sense that man is
said to be a reproduction oI God, made in His image. The
diIIerence, oI course, is that the private consciousness oI man
produces a privately perceived world oI Iorms, whereas the
universal Consciousness produces a universally perceived world oI
Iorms.
Man and his mind is God`s miraculous projection oI
HimselI and His Power into the world oI His own Energy-creation.
The attempt to analyze and deIine the mind any Iurther is a
Iruitless endeavor, Ior the mind is, in the Iinal analysis, only the
activitv oI consciousness. It is much more pertinent to our
advantage simply to recognize who we are, and to cease to identiIy
with the creative eIIusion oI our minds.
It is the common experience oI everyone that thoughts
continually arise on the surIace oI consciousness. Day and night,
the activity oI the mind is a reality that cannot be ignored.
Nonetheless, the underlying consciousness remains as an
unchanging background, an imperturbable witness, to the
continuing play oI thought. That pure sky oI Consciousness will
always remainlong aIter the body has decayed, and the clouds oI
thought have dissolved. That pure Consciousness is the SelI which
you will always beunsullied, unaIIected by even millions oI
births, and countless thoughts and dreams. Focusing one`s
attention on that SelI has the eIIect oI calming the stormy sea oI
thought, and allowing the peace, clarity and joy oI pure Awareness
to be experienced.
The great sage, Patanjali, deIined the mind as the waves
(vrittis) on the ocean oI Consciousness (chitta). And Yoga, or
Union, he deIined as the stilling oI those waves (vogas chitta vritti
nirodha). By this, he did not mean that one is to make the mind
blank; rather it is an intensely concentrated state oI mind that
brings one to stillness, and through stillness, to the experience oI
enlightenment.
The strong desire to know Truth directly within the mind
precipitates a Iocusing oI the mind on the underlying Reality with
the aim oI relinquishing all other thoughts but the thought oI that
eternal Reality. One-pointed concentration is the means. However,
anyone who has attempted this kind oI concentration on one
thought to the exclusion oI all others knows the diIIiculty oI
accomplishing this Ieat Ior any length oI time. The mind scatters
extraneous thoughts into the Iield oI consciousness at light-speed,
and the diligence needed to exclude these extraneous thoughts and
keep solely to the one thought is mentally exhausting.
Extraneous thoughts keep exploding into the Iield oI mental
vision despite one`s best eIIorts, and the mind strains to return the
Iocus to the one thought, continually reIocusing on the Reality, and
thus eliminating the distracting thoughts. This may be done only
through a singular devotion to the Eternal. This devotion may take
the Iorm oI a dualistic love aIIair between the soul and God, or it
may take the non-relational Iorm oI SelI-enquiry. It is simply a
matter oI temperamental preIerence; but the end result is the same,
567 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

since the words 'God and 'SelI reIer to the same universal
Consciousness.
The accomplishment oI enlightenment is made even more
diIIicult due to the sometimes Iavorable, sometimes not-so-
Iavorable, energy patterns occurring in the solar system. There are
occasions that are more Iavorable Ior this pursuit, and occasions
when this pursuit is nearly impossible, depending on the planetary
arrangements in aIIect at the time. Favorable transiting and
progressed aspects in eIIect involving the Sun, moon, and other
planets, and in particular, Neptune, allows the mind to reach an
advanced state oI awareness. When the opposite is true; i.e., when
there are Iew such Iavorable conditions, or when there are adverse
conditions, the mind cannot reach a concentrated state or achieve
the transcendence oI the spontaneous eIIusions oI the mind.
To one who is intent on Iocusing the mind on the
transcendent Reality, such adverse periods are sheer torture. One
suIIers intense mental pain on the arising oI any thoughts that
distract Irom the desired mental Iocus, causing one to Ieel caught
in a Irustrating and chaotic whirl oI perpetual mental cloudiness
and warIare. One Ieels cut oII Irom the SelI by these mental
intrusions, just as one is cut oII Irom the vision oI the Sun on a
cloudy day. And so one suIIers an intensely Ielt Irustration at
being thwarted Irom concentrating solely on one`s objective. Such
a state has been termed a 'dark night oI the soul.
When the conditions are Iavorable, one more easily reaches
a state oI concentrated Iocus, and experiences the clarity,
contentment and vision available only to the quieted mind. Such
states are all too rare, but serve to whet the appetite Ior an increase
in the occasions oI such states oI mind. One learns to keep a tight
reign on the mind even during one`s active daily liIe, so as to
lessen the likelihood oI persistent mental distractions during the
period oI meditation. All desires and passions are renounced in
order to keep the mind Iocused on its preeminent and overriding
desire to become liIted into the eternal Consciousness. When one
reaches that state when the mind is disciplined to Iocus
continuously and spontaneously on the eternal SelI, automatically
rejecting all distracting impulses, that is the state described by
Patanjali as dhvan, or meditation, in which there is 'an unbroken
Ilow oI thought toward the object concentrated upon. The state oI
samadhi, or absorption, is when 'in meditation, the object alone
shines Iorth without the distortion produced by the mind. Then the
SelI alone shines Iorth in its own pristine nature, as pure
Consciousness. That is the state called 'enlightenment.
In the state oI enlightenment, the mind hovers tremulously
above all lower thought at the highest level oI Iocused clarity, and
the lower identity is lost in the awareness oI God-consciousness.
One becomes aware oI oneselI as the all-pervading LiIe in all, and
knows 'I am the pulse oI the turtle; I am the clanging bells oI joy.
I am in the clouds and in the gritty soil. As this awareness
deepens, one is liIted into the clarity oI eternal oneness,
transcending all maniIestation, knowing and seeing Irom the
vantage point oI the eternal One.
In this state, one is completely alone; one is the sole Being,
experiencing the emanation and withdrawal oI the temporal
universe in a cyclic rhythm. In an outIlowing and inIlowing
similar to an exhalation and inhalation, the universe oI time and
space is cast Iorth to run its course, and then is withdrawn again in
a seemingly endless repetitive cycle. This universal emanation and
universal collapse constitutes what we on earth know as 'temporal
reality, but the eternal Reality is the one Being who is never
aIIected by the illusory show oI time and space that is this cosmic
drama. That is our ultimate SelI, our eternal Identity, which
remains constant throughout every liIetime oI bodily
maniIestation.
Thus, we have two identities: our personal, individualized
identity in the (ultimately illusory) phenomenal universe; and our
ultimate identity as the one eternal Being, who transcends all
phenomena. Spiritual Ireedom consists in retaining awareness oI
one`s eternal Reality, while living in the illusory reality oI this
time-bound world. In other words, by identiIying with the contents
oI his own thought-activity (mind), and Iorgetting his permanent
Identity, a man experiences himselI as bound; and conversely, a
560 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

man enjoys Ireedom simply by retaining the awareness that he is
the one pure Consciousness, ever-Iree, ever-unaIIected by the
tumultuous activity oI the mind. For this reason, the great
medieval Indian sage, Shankaracharya, advised:

One should understand the SelI to be distinct Irom
the body, sense-organs, mind, intellect and instincts, and
always a witness oI their Iunctionslike a king |observing the
activities oI his kingdom|.
One should know, 'I am without attributes and
actions, eternal, without doubts, unsullied, changeless,
Iormless, ever-Iree and pure.
The constant awareness, 'I am truly the SelI is the
cure Ior the agitations caused by ignorance, just as medicine is
the cure Ior disease.
5

4. SOUL

It is necessary now to say something about the soul. The
existence oI thoughts, dreams, images, and psychic impressions
reveals to us the existence oI an aspect oI Reality that is subtler
than the physical phenomena experienced by the senses. God`s
shakti, or Power oI creative Energy, iI you preIer, has created a
vaster spectrum oI vibrations than just those perceived by the
senses. An examination oI the electromagnetic spectrum reveals a
range oI multiple octaves, Irom the high-Irequency light known as
gamma radiation to long radio waves; only a small Iragment oI that
spectrum is visible light. The soul also is oI a subtler stuII than
that we know as perceivable 'matter.
However, not everyone agrees on just what the soul is.
From the very remotest oI ancient times it was evident to man that
the principle oI liIe was something separate Irom matter. For as
long as that mysterious Iactor animated a body, it was alive and
conscious; but when liIe departed, the body became a mere lump
oI decaying matter. Thus, it was apparent even to primitive man
that the world consists oI two separate principles: spirit and matter.
Matter could be seen and touched, but the spirit oI liIe was
invisible and intangible; still, there was no denying that the spirit
really existed, Ior it was obvious that a living body contained a
deIinite something that was absent in a dead body; even a Iool had
to admit it. This invisible spirit oI liIe was called by various
names. To the Greek philosophers, it was pneuma, or psvche; to
the Romans, it was anima, or soul.
To the philosophers and theologians oI the West, this soul
was conceived oI as a concrete individual entity, which retained its
individualized existence Ior all eternity. But in the East, the soul
(or fiva) is regarded as identical with the universal SelIlimited
only by a Ialse sense oI individuality, or ego. This sense oI
individuality is regarded by Indian philosophers as a mere
ignorance (avidva) oI one`s greater, universal SelI. But this
ignorance is not the ordinary kind oI ignorance that can be easily
562 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

remedied by the learning oI Iacts; it is an ignorance that is 'built-
into our human existence; in other words, it is an ignorance that is
'God-given, and which can only be dispelled by His Grace, His
SelI-revelation. From this point oI view, so long as the illusion oI
individuality exists, the soul exists; and only when this illusion is
dispelled by the inner revelation oI the universal SelI, does the
illusion oI a separate soul cease to exist.
During the mystical experience oI Unity, there is neither
soul nor God, Ior that which imagines itselI to be an individual
soul becomes suddenly aware that it is the one and only
Consciousness oI the universe. In that pure Consciousness, there is
no soul, no God; the polarization oI subject-object exists only
while the veil oI ego-identiIication remains. This is not to say that
the soul is unreal, a mere personal illusion, like a mirage; the soul
is a maniIestation oI Shakti, or Divine Energy. II it is an illusion, it
is an illusion produced by the supreme Consciousness; it is a
product oI His Divine Power oI Illusion (Mava), and thereIore is as
real as any other oI His maniIestations. It continues its 'illusory
existence Ior liIetime aIter liIetime, and ceases to exist only when
He chooses to reveal HimselI.
In every tradition oI mystical philosophywhether
Christian, Vedantic, SuIi, or pagan Greekwe Iind complete
agreement that the personality, the individual consciousness, oI
man is distinct Irom his physical body, and continues aIter the
death oI the physical body as a subtle Iorm, or soul. There are
diIIerences among these traditions, however, as to how this soul
comes to be and what happens to the soul aIter bodily death.
According to those who believe the soul to be an eternally
independent entity, there is a heavenly realm where souls dawdle
away eternity enjoying pleasures oI sense similar to those enjoyed
during their sojourn on earth. According to the philosophy
prevalent in the East, the soul may very well experience periods oI
'heavenly or 'purgatorial respite, but then continues to take birth
in new bodies, evolving in understanding and love till at last it
experiences its Source, its universal SelI; and then, aIter bodily
death, continues to expand its universal awareness and love till it
becomes entirely merged in and indistinguishable Irom the one
Divine Consciousness. This is the view expressed in the
Upanishads:

As rivers Ilowing into the ocean Iind their Iinal peace
and their name and Iorm disappear, even so the wise become
Iree Irom name and Iorm and enter into the radiance oI the
supreme Spirit. ... In truth, one who knows God becomes
God.
6

According to these ancient teachings, the soul does not
reach its end in that perIect Purity, however, until it has rid itselI oI
every impurity oI ignorance, and is established in the awareness oI
the SelI. And, as every soul must pass the same test oI admittance
to that realm oI perIect Bliss, it is evident that, in the overall
scheme, no possibility oI injustice or Iavoritism exists. In a
'closed evolutionary system such as this universe is, justice is
complete and perIect; one cannot get out oI it without going all the
way to the end, and whatever wrong turnings are made along the
way must be balanced exactly by corrections beIore the end can be
reached.
To the ancient Greeks, this law oI causality governing the
subtle activity oI the soul was known as Adrasteia (just
retribution). It was supposed that, by virtue oI this universal law,
'we reap just what we sow. To the ancients oI India, this
principle was known as 'the law oI karma (actions). Implicit in
this law is the reincarnation oI souls as oIten as needed to satisIy
unIulIilled desires, right wrongs committed in the past, and evolve
toward perIection.
But why does God become individualized souls in the Iirst
place? And were they all made at once or at various times? I
don`t know Ior sure; and I`m also not sure that 'time is a relevant
concept in regard to the subtle level oI Consciousness in which all
events are contained in the eternal 'present. And, judging by the
variety oI explanations available on the origin and destiny oI souls,
it would seem that no one really knows Ior sure how or why this
process oI individuation comes about.
564 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

We can only surmise that it is the sport, or play, oI the one
Consciousness. But I do know one thing Ior sure: that the dawning
oI enlightenment, the vision oI ultimate Unity, puts an end to the
conceit oI individuation, and what we call the soul; Ior the Iinal
truth is that there is only one I who is playing all the parts oI all the
souls. And the realization oI this is what is reIerred to in the
scriptures as 'liberation Irom the wheel oI rebirth:

The realization oI one`s identity with Brahman is the
cause oI liberation Irom the bondage oI rebirth, by means oI
which the wise man attains Brahman, the One without a
second, absolute Bliss. It is this supreme Oneness which
alone is real, since there is nothing else but the SelI. Truly,
there remains no other independent entity in the state oI the
realization oI supreme Truth.
7

5. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

This brings us to consider the question oI why, iI the one
SelI is acting in and as all souls, does He so oIten make disastrous
choices and commit heinously wrong acts? Why, in short, is there
evil in the world?
To answer this question, we must understand the
evolutionary nature oI Shakti. Shakti, God`s power oI
maniIestation, produces a drama which unIolds Irom a simple
unity to a vast multiplicityIrom the Iirst stirring oI Desire, to the
Iormation oI particles, to the structuring oI chemical elements, to
simple liIe-Iorms, to mammals, to primates, to man, and ultimately
to SelI-realization. This is the process oI soul-evolution. Inherent
in all oI Shaktis eIIulgent production is the one Consciousness oI
which Shakti is the maniIestation; It exists in and as every particle
and Iorce in the universeas the interstellar dust, as the rocks, as
the plants, as the microbes, and so on. However, SelI-awareness is
merely latent, potential, until it has a Iully developed human soul
through which to Iunction.
The ape is conscious; the dog is conscious; but not until the
soul evolves to its Iullest capability as man does Consciousness
maniIest Its Iull potential and become aware oI ItselI. All liIe is
thereIore an evolutionary game oI knowledge gathering toward the
end oI becoming Iully developed and able to directly perceive the
answer to the puzzling question, 'Who am I? And this does not
occur until man reaches his highest stagerequiring a moral and
intellectual development that can only be acquired over the period
oI many human liIetimes.
This leads us to the answer to our original question about
evil: In the process oI evolution, while men are as yet unaware oI
their universal Identity, mistakes occur, wrong choices are made
just as children growing up make many mistakes beIore they reach
adulthood. During this necessary process oI evolution, mistakes
based on an ignorance oI the nature oI reality can be extremely
cruel and horribleevil, in Iact.
556 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

The will to act on such wrong understanding results in evil
acts. These are not acts oI a truly 'Iree will, Ior it is only the pure
mind, Ireed oI ignorance, that is able to act Irom a clear,
considered awareness oI what is correct action and what is not,
what stems Irom the illusory ego Ior personal satisIaction, and
what stems Irom a divine will Ior the greater good oI all. 'Free
will is nothing but the will oI God freed oI the passions and
impulses arising Irom the Ialse ego. The so-called 'Iree will oI
the murderer or thieI is not a 'Iree will at all, but one that is
constricted and obscured by the Ialse sense oI ego and its attendant
desires.
There is no question that cruel and evil acts do occur during
the process oI Shaktis unIolding, but it is just as certain that, in the
completion oI the evolutionary process, all evils and injustices
become justly resolved. On the subtle level oI the soul, these
resolutions occur by a reIormation oI the heart, or we might say, oI
the soul itselI. There is no end to the soul`s journeying until, aIter
many liIetimes, it has become 'perIect as the Father is perIect.
The same law oI causality, which is operative on the
physical level, is active on the soul level as well; we are able to
reach the happiness oI our true SelI only by the perIection oI our
souls. It is in this sense that we reap just what we sow. For, just as
the reIinement oI gold requires the burning oI all impurities,
likewise, the soul does not reach its Iinal stage oI Purity until it has
passed through the Iire oI remorse and correction which burns
away all evil propensities, and until it has been proved worthy in
the discerning eye oI our own divine SelI who witnesses all.
'All`s well that ends well, it`s truly said; Ior the
consummation oI the evolutionary processthe knowledge and
awareness oI our true, universal SelIreveals that the process oI
evolution is only a Ilimsy masquerade, that in Iact we have alwavs
been Iree, always been Divine and completely unaIIected by the
drama oI Shaktis unIolding. It is true that evil exists in the
process oI evolution; but He who is projecting that drama is ever
beyond good and evil, pain and pleasure; and that is whoit must
one day be realizedwe are.
II we see truly, we must see that we cannot Iail to reach
eventually to our highest potential; Ior He, as us, will continue to
choose according to the degree oI our understanding. He will keep
on striving, as us, to more thoroughly eliminate all error Irom our
endeavors. It is His drama, and each act will unIold according to
His script and His direction. It is He who is acting out all the parts,
as us, and experiencing all the joys and sorrows as well as the
transcendence oI them. There is no advice to oIIer, no corrections
to make; He is already in charge. He will continue to enliven our
minds, to inspire our intellects, to illumine our souls. It is to
ourselves that we must and will be true, Ior it is as our Self that He
will lead us unerringly on our uniquely special way.
557 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

6. PERSONALITY

The soul in the above context is really identical with
personality. What I mean by the word, personalitv, is the sum total
oI those qualities that go to make up the uniqueness oI an
individual, the stamp oI individuality which marks each being as a
speciIic and unique person. But why this abundance oI individual
personalities? How account Ior the amazing variety oI personal
characteristics possessed by each soul?
I would like to oIIer an hypothesis: Let us suppose that
each personality/soul corresponds to the planetary architecture
existing in the heavens at the time oI its terrestrial birth, and is
merely an expression oI the universal energy-pattern existing at
that moment in the evolution oI space-time. Just as the destined
role oI an atom is determined by the overall structure or chemical
organization oI the whole organism oI which it is a part, is it not
also possible that each individual soul, or personality, Iits precisely
into a larger overall scheme which demands its appearance at
precisely the time and place, and under the precise circumstances,
established Ior it; so that it is sent Iorth into the world on cue in
perIect correspondence with the planetary arrangement which
deIines its being?
Throughout known history discerning men who have
studied the heavens have asserted that something like this was
indeed the case, that a person`s characteristics and destiny were
written in the stars, and that a wise person who was able to read the
symbols oI that language could thereby read the secrets oI human
souls. On this very supposition, three Persian astrologers set out,
long ago, Ior Bethlehem, aware that whoever was going to be born
at that place at that time was undoubtedly a great being with a
great destiny; Ior it was Ioretold in the extraordinary
conIigurations oI the planets about to appear.
The discovery oI astrologythe understanding oI the
relationship oI planetary positions to the nature oI each individual
human soul and its destinyseems to have Iirst occurred among
the Chaldeans, a highly advanced people who, according to legend,
had mapped out the constellations as we know them today by the
year 2800 B.C.E., and had already gathered centuries oI scientiIic
observations oI the movements oI the planets, enabling them to
draw charts or 'horoscopes ('to see the hour) Ior the birth oI its
citizens.
Babylon, Iollowing their inIluence, was said by Cicero to
have spent 470 years in collecting observations oI the history oI
children born under particular combinations oI heavenly bodies in
order to perIect their astrological knowledge. This knowledge in
turn was adopted and reIined by the Persians, whose adepts were
known as Magi. And throughout the West this knowledge was
disseminated by the Arabs and Indian sages, resulting in its
popularization in medieval Europe. But with the decline oI
philosophical learning and the rise oI materialism and its
technology in the West, astrology became, Ior a time, a lost art.
Today, however, there is a new renaissance oI mysticism in
the West Iostered by the inIluence oI Eastern thought, and it is in
this climate oI renewed interest in the subtleties oI natural
philosophy that the ancient principles oI cosmic correspondence
have re-emerged into the light. For the past halI-century, many
great minds have contributed to the elaboration and validation oI
the secrets oI that most ancient oI all sciences. And today, there is
a growing segment oI proIessionals, including many practicing
Psychologists, who routinely counsel their clients on the basis oI a
thorough study oI their 'natal horoscope, the chart oI the
planetary positions at the time and place oI that individual`s birth.
Such a chart is, in eIIect, a still-Irame picture oI one
moment in the history oI the universe. It marks an exact and
unique event in the unIolding oI the universe oI time and space,
which occurs only once. For that reason, it is an absolutely
accurate indicator oI the nature oI liIe at that particular moment
and place (whether we may be capable oI accurately reading it or
not). The creature born at that juncture is, in a sense, an
embodiment oI the very unique arrangement oI the stellar and
planetary bodies existing at that particular 'Irame in the
550 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

unIoldment oI the universe. The positions oI the heavenly bodies
are thereIore related to the person born at a particular moment, not
in any causal way, but simply by virtue oI the Iact that they are
each embodiments oI the same moment in the coordinated
unIolding oI the universe.

7. THE CELESTIAL
DYNAMICS OF GRACE

Nearly ten years had passed since my experience oI
enlightenment in the Santa Cruz mountains, when I began to be
interested in the peculiar claims oI astrology, and came to have an
understanding oI the 'celestial dynamics, not only oI my own
personal characteristics, but oI all the ordinary and extraordinary
day-to-day transient conditions oI the mind, the body, and the soul.
There were, no doubt, some 'celestial inIluences accompanying
that dawning interest in astrological correspondences, but all I
knew was that I had become Iascinated with the clearly meaningIul
connections between my own natal planetary positions and my
personal characteristics and Iluctuating mental states; and as I
eagerly consumed what literature I Iound on the subject, I became
more and more convinced oI the validity oI the astrological
principle oI correspondence between the planetary positions and
the varying conditions oI my psyche.
According to the principles oI astrology, one can discover
the secrets oI a soul`s unique characteristics (the psychology oI a
personality) by drawing a map oI the heavens as it appeared at the
exact moment and place oI birth, which serves as a sort oI
blueprint oI that particular soul. But how, when, and in what
sequence the events oI the person`s adventure on earth will take
place is told in the progressions oI the planets (one day in the
ephemeris represents one year in the liIe), and by the daily transits
(actual transitory positions) oI the Sun, moon and planets as they
pass through and relate to the natal map.
All oI the planets move (transit) through the twelve signs oI
the zodiac which comprise the 360 oI the ecliptic; some slowly,
some more rapidly. The Sun moves approximately one degree per
day, and the moon one degree approximately every two hours.
The outer planets take weeks or months to move through a degree.
But always the overall architecture oI this 'atom which we call
552 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

the solar system is altering its design moment by moment. And
we, who are within the conIines oI this 'atom are continually
experiencing the changes in our own energy-patterns according to,
and corresponding with, the changes in the angles Irom which the
various planets and stars relate to us.
This implies, oI course, that evervthing that happens to us
in our lives will be accompanied by a planetary arrangement,
which, in its relationship to the positions oI the planets at the
moment oI our birth, will symbolize that event. One day, it
occurred to me that, iI these principles were true, there would have
to have been a conIiguration in the progressed and transiting
positions oI the planets on the night oI my 'mystical experience
that was signiIicantly extraordinary. In other words, that Divine
experience which we reIer to as 'grace must also have been
signiIied in the planetary patterns in eIIect Ior me on that very
night.
This was a mind-boggling concept that was to stand many
oI my most cherished presumptions on their heads. In order to
explain why this should be so, let me take a moment to describe
some oI those presumptions regarding that mysterious thing called
'grace, which is, Irom the standpoint oI its recipient, a new and
radical change in consciousness, and, subsequently, in the
personality, which arises seemingly Irom out oI nowhere:
From the moment my soul Iirst awakened with 'spiritual
understanding, and the love and desire Ior God Iirst entered my
heart, I had attributed that awakening to God`s grace. And there
was no question in my mind that my later, 'mystical, experience
was the giIt oI grace, Ior there was absolutely no denying the Iact
that this experience had been given to me. I had not earned it; I
had practiced no technique, no method; by no means could I be
said to have produced it. There was no other word to describe this
giIt other than 'grace.
Traditionally, gracethe grace oI Godwas thought oI as
the Ireely-given intercession oI God to a humbled soul, liIting it
momentarily to mergence in the universal Consciousness. In this
experience, the Ialse, but insistent, illusion oI a separate soul-
identity, or ego, is dissolved, and the Divine Intelligence, which is
the inIinite and eternal SelI oI all, is revealed. How could the
illusory, individual selI imagine that it had accomplished this Ieat?
Let those who think they can accomplish it do so. When the SelI is
realized, that separate selI is no longer even there! The eternal SelI
appears only at its demise. And it has not the ability to slay itselI;
it is only the divine revelation oI God that, in an instant, dissolves
that tenacious illusory ego. It is grace.
Listen to what that enlightened 15th-century monk, Thomas
a Kempis, had to say about grace:

When spiritual comIort is sent to you oI God, take it
meekly and give thanks humbly Ior it. But know Ior certain
that it is oI the great goodness oI God that it is sent to you, and
not oI your deserving. And see that you are not liIted up
thereIore unto pride, nor that you joy much thereoI, nor
presume vainly therein, but rather that you be the more meek
Ior so noble a giIt, and the more watchIul and IearIul in all
your works; Ior that time will pass away, and the time oI
temptation will shortly Iollow aIter. When comIort is
withdrawn, despair not thereIore, but meekly and patiently
await the visitation oI God, Ior He is able and oI suIIicient
power to give you more grace and more spiritual comIort than
you had Iirst.
Such alteration oI grace is no new thing, and no
strange thing to those who have had experience in the way oI
God; Ior in all great saints and in all lovers oI God similar
alteration has oIten been Iound.
. II almighty God has done thus with holy saints, it
is not Ior us, weak and Ieeble persons, to despair, though we
sometimes have Iervor oI spirit, and are sometimes leIt cold
and void oI devotion. The Spirit comes and goes according to
His pleasure, and thereIore Job said: 'Lord, Thou graciously
visitest Thy lover in the morning, that is to say, in the time oI
comIort; and suddenly Thou provest him in withdrawing such
comIorts Irom him.
.He who knows the comIorts that come through the
giIt oI grace and knows also how sharp and painIul the
absenting oI grace is, shall not dare think that any goodness
comes oI himselI; but he shall openly conIess that oI himselI
he is very poor and naked oI all virtue.
8
554 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

What Thomas said conIormed to my own experience. The
Iervor oI devotion was not always the same; it came and went,
apparently according to its own pleasure. Likewise, the clarity oI
understanding was sometimes absent, and at other times inspiration
seemed to Ilood my mind with the wisdom oI God. One day I
might be Iilled with love and Iervor; another day I might be dry or
lethargic, or physically energetic, or contemplative. One day I
might be bubbling with creative energy; another day I would be
dry as a bone. There was no telling what kind oI inner state each
day would bring.
The experience oI union, or Unity, had come to me only
once. Why on that day, at that time? I could only explain it, as
Thomas a Kempis did, as God`s inexplicable grace. But now I was
beginning to understand something oI the celestial dynamics oI
grace, i.e., the principles oI astrological correspondence. And so I
drew up a chart Ior that night oI November 18, 1966.
What a revelation it was when I beheld that chart! The
correspondence was undeniable. Here beIore my eyes was clear
and unequivocal prooI oI the 'science oI astral correspondences.
Any impartial astrologer viewing the progressions and transits to
my natal chart which occurred on that evening would have to
acknowledge that this was indeed a night oI destiny, an undeniably
magical night oI mystical vision, a once-in-a-liIetime night oI
incredible potential Ior the meeting with God. The extraordinary
emphasis on the planetary position oI Neptune (known as the
planet oI mystical experience) at that particular time is eloquently
conclusive.
IIas many people thinkthere is really no correlation
between the planets and the human psyche, then what an
extraordinarily grand coincidence it was, what a marvelous
accident oI nature, that at the same moment that I was experiencing
the Godhead, the planets were proclaiming it in the heavens! I
think any reasonable person with even a little astrological acumen,
on viewing the 'inIluences in eIIect Ior me that night, would have
to acknowledge that the signiIicant planetary picture at the time oI
my 'enlightenment experience does, in Iact, seem to provide
evidence oI the validity oI the contents oI that experience,
conIirming that all things do indeed 'move together oI one
accord, that nothing happens that is not ordained to happen, that
the universe is one coordinated Whole. (For details on the
Astrological conditions existing at the time of mv
'Enlightenment,` see the Appendix at the back of the book.)
But, along with the excitement oI discovery and validation
which I Ielt on viewing this chart, there was a nagging question
that leIt me baIIled and conIused: II this 'mystical experience
was described in the heavens since the beginning oI time, and
thereIore entirely predestined, where was 'grace? Where was the
Ireely-given giIt oI God that I had experienced as occurring at just
that moment? II everything was strictly predetermined, where was
grace and Iree will and the possibility oI spiritual endeavor?
Where was choice or merit or virtue? Where was blame or
culpability? And where was the hope or possibility oI 'spiritual
experience Ior those in whose astrological Iorecast the
prerequisite planetary conditions were not present? II God`s
universe is merely the mechanistic unIolding oI an undeviating
script, then are we all merely mechanical pawns, and our trials and
triumphs, our perseverings and deIeats, merely dramatic plot-twists
in a story that`s already written, typeset and published?
It is important to emphasize at this time that the planets, in
themselves, do not have the power to cause either good or ill-
Iortune, though many (including myselI) habitually speak oI
'planetary inIluences as though they were independent causes
determining our Iate. In ancient times, oI course, as planetary
conIigurations were seen to correspond to deIinite kinds oI
psychological and behavioral eIIects, the naive supposed that
planets were thereIore independent Iorces, responsible Ior the
destiny oI man. Each planet was Iitted out with its own individual
personality, and was assumed to have independent power to aIIect
events on earth. This was the basis Ior the myths oI the 'gods.
The great Roman mystic, Plotinus, writing in the 3rd
century C.E. on the subject oI Are The Stars Causes?, noted that a
576 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

belieI in the independent power oI the planets is 'tenable only by
minds ignorant oI the |true| nature oI a Universe which has a
ruling Principle and a First Cause operative downward through
every member.
9
He explained:

Each |planetary| entity takes its origin Irom one
Principle and, thereIore, while executing its own Iunction,
works in with every other member oI that All. ... And there is
nothing undesigned, nothing oI chance, in all the process: all
is one scheme oI diIIerentiation, starting Irom the First Cause
and working itselI out in a continuous progression oI eIIects.
10

This perIectly unIolding progression oI eIIects Irom the one
all-ruling Cause is clearly seen by all who have been graced with
'the vision oI God. It is that 'vision which is the experiential
basis Ior the assertion that 'all things move together oI one
accord; that 'assent is given throughout the universe to every
Ialling grain. Still, the question oI how the transiting 'planetary
inIluences operate, i.e., by what process Neptune or any other
planet transmits to individual souls its eIIects, is a legitimate one.
And the matter oI how progressions operate (which are not even
present-time events, but 'symbols oI planetary events already
past) is even more perplexing. These questions cannot be answered
by present-day knowledge, but many astrologers guess that
something like the Iollowing is the case:
As the planets oI the solar system change their angles to
one another and thus rearrange the structural design oI the entire
system and its relationship to the design at one`s nativity, there is a
corresponding change in the pattern oI conscious energy (Shakti)
which makes up our psychic and phenomenal reality. The energy-
pattern (produced by the angular positions oI the Sun, Moon and
planets), which exists at the time oI an individual`s birth,
corresponds to the conscious energy-pattern, or aggregation oI
qualities, oI that individual soul. And the subsequent alterations oI
the planetary positions aIter that moment spell out in decipherable
terms his or her destiny.
It seems to me, however, that the search Ior a cause-effect
relationship between the transits and progressions oI planets and
the lives oI individual souls on earth is indicative oI humanity`s
long-standing mistaken view oI reality. Plotinus saw in the 2nd
century what is true eternallythat there is one Cause, and all else
is Its eIIects. The planets do not Iocus beneIicent or malevolent
rays or Iorces in our direction; they do not put Iorth any Iields oI
inIluence that impinge on us at all. In short, they are not causes at
all, but merely signs oI the activity oI the one Cause, which is God,
revealed to those who can read them.
I believe it is very important to understand that, although
the planets signal psychic and physical events experienced on
earth, they are not themselves responsible; they are not the cause,
but are only coincident eIIects synchronous with the eIIects
perceived upon earthly liIe. In short, the 'inIluences oI the
planets are really the inIluences oI the unbroken Whole,
maniIesting locally as speciIic patterns oI relationships. The
planets do not determine our Iate; they merely reveal it. Our lives
are determined by the One in whom the planets move. This is a
view consistent with the view oI Plotinus, and I believe it will be
consistent with the enlightened understanding oI the Iuture.
The evolution oI the soul occurs over many liIetimes, with
its summit being the Iull openness to selI-surrender in the Love oI
God, and the subsequent realization oI its supreme Identity. And
because the evolution oI the universe reIlects the evolution oI each
soul, the stellar and planetary positions, which signal that soul`s
enlightenment, will coincide perIectly with that moment in the
soul`s evolutionary summit. And the question oI whether it is the
soul`s evolutionary struggle or the planetary alignments, which
brings about enlightenment must be answered, 'Neither. They
are coordinated events in the unIolding oI God`s cosmic drama;
both events are simultaneous eIIects oI the one Cause, occurring in
HimselI in the ordered unIoldment oI His will. All is one
coordinated whole, and all that occurs within it is a maniIestation
oI His grace.
577 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

The complexity oI such a universea universe in which
the destiny oI each succeeding maniIestation oI a soul on earth is
in synchronization with the ongoing motions oI planetary bodies
is indeed beyond our present ability to conceive or visualize.
Nonetheless, we must acknowledge that it is impossible to separate
the birth oI any individual Irom the cosmic conditions in which it
occurs. For the universe is an integral Whole, and every event in it
is in interlocking agreement with every other; not even the tiniest,
most seemingly insigniIicant, event may be considered as an
isolated phenomenon.
Within this Whole, where 'all things move together oI one
accord, the division oI small-scale events into categories oI cause
and effect is imaginary and has no real meaning. For it is the Lord,
God, Shivacall Him what you willwho, by means oI His
Power oI Will (Shakti), is the sole Cause oI the entire maniIested
array oI the cosmos and thereIore oI every single event which
takes place within it. This truth is seen clearly and unmistakably in
the unitive experience oI the mystic.

8. FREEDOM OR DETERMINISM?

This startling empirical evidence oI an astrological
correspondence to the experience oI enlightenment leads us to
some unavoidable conclusions: It appears evident that
enlightenment, the vision oI Godwhatever we may wish to call
itis a Iated and determined event. This is a staggering thought!
'Well, you may ask, 'Can grace be a predetermined event? Is
enlightenment merely a matter oI Iate? These questions are
not easy to answer, but I will try: From our limited viewpoint in
time, the experience oI unity appears to be a product oI
instantaneous grace. But time, Irom the viewpoint oI eternal
Being, is another thing altogether. To It, the entire universal cycle,
Irom 'Big Bang to Iinal implosion, is but the blinking oI an eye,
the rising and Ialling oI a breath; and the universe, including all
our experiences within it, evolves according to the undeviating law
oI causal progression. All things do indeed move together oI one
accord; and there is no event, however subtle, that is not
determined Irom the Iirst by God, who is the ultimate Cause.
Frequently it happens that those who commit themselves to
a liIe oI devotion and service to God do so at a time when they are
newly awakened by grace. That amazing grace is experienced as a
suddenly growing intensity oI their experience oI the Divine
presence in their lives and a Iervent clarity oI their inner vision.
No doubt some heavenly body (or bodies) is beginning at that time
to enter into a signiIicant relationship with Neptune`s place in the
pattern oI planetary positions existent at their birth. Perhaps, at the
moment that body (or bodies) culminates its relationship to
Neptune`s natal position, they will have a proIound experience oI
the One as their own eternal SelI.
Then, as time passes, those who once thrilled to the touch
oI God`s invisible hand and peered into the inIinite peace and
wonder oI God`s eternal SelI no longer Ieel the nearness oI His
presence nor any longer see with the same clarity. It may be that
570 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

they will come to Ieel that God has abandoned them, or that
perhaps they have gone astray and are being punished Ior their
inIidelity. No doubt, they will long Ior those earlier days when
their thoughts never strayed Irom His praise and their hearts were
never without the Iullness oI Divine love, when they were
consumed with selIless desire Ior His enveloping embrace.
But the heavens change, and the earth spins on through
endless space, and the celestial inIluence which God once brought
to pass in their lives moves on to aIIect and inspire another. God
has not withdrawn His grace; it was but a momentary opening oI
the aperture oI the psyche, a glimpse into the eternal Source,
signiIied by the momentary arrangement oI the ever-changing
positions oI the planets, stars and galaxies in this Iathomless
universe as they relate to this one human entity in time and space.
In short, that receptivity, that mysterious opening oI
awareness, that drawing oI the human heart and mind to immersion
and complete abnegation in the heart and mind oI that universal
Being which we call God was coincident with the conditions
occurring in the natural unIolding oI God`s universal drama, oI
which He is the producer, director, stage, actors, and scenery. In
short, it was His giIt, His grace. It was He who planted that
moment in amongst all the moments, that arrangement in amongst
all the possible arrangements oI the heavenly bodies in the
universe, and that 'mystical experience in amongst all the
experiences known to man. What else shall we call it but His
grace? And what are all other moments, arrangements and
experiences that Iollow in a liIetime but His grace as well?
As Ior the question oI man`s 'Iree will in a universe
entirely determined by the will oI God, the nineteenth century
saint, Sri Ramakrishna, perhaps the greatest mystic and seer the
world has ever known, had this to say:

The Englishman |i.e., the Western materialist| talks
about Iree will, but those who have realized God are aware
that Iree-will is a mere appearance. In reality, man is the
machine and God is the Operator. Man is the carriage and
God its Driver.
11

For many, such a declaration implies a strict determinism,
which they regard as unacceptable. The prospect oI a universe oI
strict causality appears to them a dismal one, reducing the status
oI men to that oI helpless cogs in a machine whose Iunctioning had
been preordained Irom the day oI its creation. Yet most men oI
science Iind it necessary to acknowledge that iI the universe is
ruled by the principle oI strict causality, then all men`s acts,
thoughts, desires are also governed by that principle. Max Planck,
the Iounder oI quantum mechanics, once said:

The principle oI causality must be held to
extend even to the highest achievements
oI the human soul. We must admit that the
mind oI each one oI our great geniuses
Aristotle, Kant, or Leonardo, Goethe or
Beethoven, Dante or Shakespeare
even at the moment oI its highest Ilights
oI thought or in the most proIound inner
workings oI his soul was subject to the causal
Iiat and was an instrument in the hands oI
an almighty law, which governs the world.
12

We all Ieel, however, that we have some Ireedom in our choices,
that we are able to do whatever we want. Yet we must recognize
that the 'wants which govern our 'doing are given Iactors,
results oI precious causal Iactors. The German philosopher, Arthur
Schopenhauer, noting this, remarked: 'You can do whatever you
want, but you cannot want whatever you want. Many another
scientist or philosopher has reIlected on the possibility oI 'Iree
will in a deterninistic universe. Baruch Spinoza, Ior example,
declared:

There is in the mind no absolute or Iree will,
but the mind is determined in willing this or
that by a cause, which is determined in its turn
by another cause, and this by another, and so
on to inIinity.
13

572 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

... Men think themselves Iree because they
are conscious oI their volitions and desires,
but are ignorant oI the causes by which they
are led to wish and desire.
14

This may indeed appear a 'dismal view to some, but really
it is not so dismal iI seen in the proper perspective. In the context
oI the One, the unbroken Whole, men are not 'cogs, but
instruments oI Divine Will, and expressions oI Divine Joy. II the
universe is to be seen as a machine, it must be seen that it is a
living one, and that the liIe oI the parts is the liIe oI the whole. It
is the Creator HimselI who is playing out the drama. Who, then,
are the victims? And who is the tyrant whose will is being thrust
upon us? Us is Him. And our willing is His willing. Our
dreaming and discovering, our joys and despairs, and even our
doubting, is His doing. There are not two.
The universe is determined; it is determined by the One
who is maniIesting as the universe. But, though a man`s liIe is
destined, still he is Iree. Man`s true and eternal Ireedom lies in his
eternal Being; he may do only what lies in his destiny to do, but he
is always Iree in his Being. He may be gloriIied or viliIied; he
may be crowned or nailed to a cross; but as the One, as the
unchanging sky oI pure Consciousness, he is ever Iree, untouched
by the raging storm oI the world.
Still, you may object to what is seen as a world oI
strict determination, and ask, 'II every event in our lives is
determined by God, where, then is our Ireedom oI choice? Where
is the possibility Ior virtue, Ior choosing the path oI righteousness
over the path oI evil? And how is it even possible to progress
spiritually by one`s own eIIorts iI all is in God`s hands? How can
we be held responsible Ior our acts iI every sentiment, emotion,
thought, or act is determined by God?
These are questions, which must occur to anyone who
thinks deeply about such matters. But these questions are Iramed
on a presumption oI duality where none in Iact exists. For we and
God are ultimately not two. And it is only a linguistic quandary
that we Iall into when we regard ourselves and God as separate
entities, and consider one to be determining the other. There is
only One in this universe; it is He who, as us, is Ireely making all
the choices.
Each individual being (soul) chooses according to his or
her evolutionary development, but it is He alone who is
maniIesting as each individual at every step on the evolutionary
scale. ThereIore, we must admit that everything is determined by
God`s Will. And ... we must also see that, since we are Him, we
are Iree to choose. When these two, man and God, are recognized
to be one, this question oI whether we are Iree or determined in our
willing is easily resolved: Determinism and Iree-will are both true;
they are 'complementary truths, each representing one aspect oI a
dual-sided reality. As the one eternal Consciousness, beyond time,
we are Iorever Iree; as individualized souls, in time, we are
determined by the law oI causality, and are thereIore under the
decree oI Iate.
Thus, the question, 'Are we responsible Ior our acts? must
be answered, 'No, Irom the standpoint oI our individualized
souls; and 'Yes, Irom the standpoint oI the SelI. For, as the one
Consciousness, we are the witness oI all the thoughts and impulses
oI our nature, and are Iree to grant or withhold consent to her
promptings. ThereIore, ultimately, we are responsible Ior our acts.
It is on the basis oI our Divinity that all civil and criminal law
intuitively recognizes the culpability oI the individual. For, iI we
were not the eternal SelI in essence, iI we were not absolutely Iree
Irom causal necessity, but merely unwitting, mechanical pawns,
we could not be held responsible Ior what we do. But our SelI is
God, we are Iree; and thereIore, we are responsible.
The question oI 'Iree will is one which has Iascinated the
minds oI men since Iirst man looked to the heavens and deduced a
Creator. And, though the answer to the problem is very simple, it
is diIIicult Ior most minds to assimilate, which have not gotten into
the habit oI allowing Ior two answers to be true which contradict
each other. Such an attitude is required oI physicists Ior whom
light, and energy itselI, must be seen as both a particle (quanta) and
a wave, whose respective qualities are mutually exclusive. What is
574 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

required is the ability to Ireely shiIt one`s viewpoint Irom one
Irame oI reIerence to another.
The answer to the question, 'Do I have Iree will? is
determined by who I is; in other words, to which "I" you are
reIerring. II you are identiIying with the body, mind and soul, the
answer is, 'No, you do not have Iree will. Nothing happens in this
drama that was not in the original script. Omar Khayyam has
rightly said: The Iirst morning oI creation wrote what the last
dawn oI reckoning shall read. The Will that Ilung Iorth the
universe is its only Cause, and all that Iollows is eIIect. All eIIects
are implied and contained in their cause, as the tree is contained in
its seed. Even your apparent choosing is His choosing; even the
choosing is Him. In short, there is no escaping Him, Ior He is
even that which thinks oI escape.`
On the other hand, iI by I you reIer to the one and only true
SelI, the one universal Consciousness; iI by I you mean the eternal
Lord and Witness oI all this drama, then you already know the
answer: 'Yes, you have Iree will. Your will is the only will; You
are Freedom itselI!
K K K

PART FOUR:

The Worship OI The SelI

'OI all the means to liberation, devotion is
the highest.
"To seek earnestly to know one`s real
naturethis is said to be devotion.
1

Shankaracharya,
Jivekachudamani

'Devotion consists oI supreme love Ior God.
It is nectar. On obtaining it, man has achieved
everything; he becomes immortal; he is completely
satisIied.
"Having attained it, he desires nothing else,
he strives Ior nothing else. Having realized that
supreme Love, a man becomes as iI intoxicated; he
delights only in his own intrinsic bliss.
2

Narada,
Bhakti Sutras
THE WORSHIP OF THE SELF 5%5
1. THE APPEARANCE OF DUALITY

The two quotations which preIace this sectionone by
Shankaracharya, and the other by the legendary saint, Narada
recommend precisely the same devotion to the very same Reality;
but see how diIIerent are the words each oI these men use: one
speaks oI earnestly seeking 'to know one`s real nature, while the
other extols 'love Ior God. Shankaracharya deIines devotion as
'continual meditation on one`s own true SelI; and Narada,
recognized as the greatest ancient authority on the philosophy oI
love, declares devotion to be 'the constant Ilow oI love towards the
Lord. These two paths, oI course, are not in any way diIIerent
Irom one another; meditation on the SelI is the love oI God. It is
only that Shankaracharya identiIies with the SelI, while Narada
preIers to identiIy with the soul (fiva). Both are methods oI
Iocusing upon the one Reality, and each, inevitably, produces the
same result.
Nonetheless, this complementarity oI identities necessi-
tates two entirely diIIerent mental attitudes, or states oI awareness.
When we Iocus on the SelI, we are Iocusing on our own identity,
and become aware: I am the one infinite Existence-Consciousness-
Bliss. But when we take the attitude oI love toward God, we are
Iocusing on That which is other and greater than our individual
selIhood, and we become aware: I am Thv creature and Thv
servant, O Lord. And it is the paradoxical Iact that both attitudes
are correct and valid which accounts Ior the conIused oscillation
many dedicated truth-seekers Ieel between the attitude oI SelI-
knowledge (fnan) and the attitude oI devotion (bhakti).
Devotion may be thought oI as the love oI the soul Ior God;
i.e., a relationship requiring two parties. For that reason, devotion
is considered a 'Dualistic practice. The entire Judeo-Christian
tradition, as well as the Muslim and Hindu traditions in their
popular Iorm, are Iundamentally dualistic in nature; that is, they
take as their starting point the distinction between God and the
created universe. This naturally implies a distinction as well
5%7 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
between God and the created soul. These two they regard as
intrinsically separate, and the objective oI their practice is to unite
the one to the other.
However, there are some other religious traditions, which
seem to practitioners oI devotion to be entirely alien to religion
altogether, as they only proIess to seek knowledge oI the SelI.
Such traditions, like the yogic, the Vedantic, and the Buddhist, in
their esoteric Iorm, are Nondualistic; that is, they take as their
starting point the non-diIIerence between the individual`s identity
and the Cosmic Identity. Their practice is intended to uncover or
reveal the underlying unity oI the individual selI and the universal
SelI. Put a little diIIerently, they seek to reveal the Divine Identity
inherent within us all.
Both oI these religious practicesthe dualistic which
aspires to union with the Divine Reality through prayer, and the
nondualistic which aspires to revelation oI identity with the Divine
Reality through meditationare capable oI bringing the
practitioner to the realization oI the Divine Reality, the ultimate
Truth. Yet, how alien to each other are these two practices, or
paths! How can we ever hope to reconcile these two, so
Iundamentally opposed to one another? The dualistic path oI
devotion (bhakti) is the path taken by the soul in search oI God.
Whereas, the nondualistic path oI knowledge (fnan) does not even
acknowledge the reality oI the soul, but clings steadIastly to the
identiIication with the one Divine SelI, the true Reality. How
diIIerent these two paths seem! How could anyone possibly assert
that they have anything in common?
And yet, look more closely at the actual process that takes
place within the devotee and the fnani. When we call to God,
where is it we look Ior His answer? Is it not within ourselves? It
is not in some external location high above that we seek God`s
presence, but rather we turn our eyes upward within ourselves to
our own highest consciousness. At the initial, mental, level, the
soul busily pleads and prays to God; but at a more proIound level it
simply calls His Name within, or merely searches the inner sky in
THE WORSHIP OF THE SELF 5%%
silence, awaiting the balm oI His peace, His love, to have its aIIect
within.
The love oI God looks to the center oI one`s own
consciousness, raises to the greatest height one`s inner gaze in
search oI That which is beyond the activity oI the mind, beyond
the critical intellect, beyond the searching soul, at the hidden core
oI being and awareness. This, too, is where the eye oI knowledge
looks Ior Him: Beyond the concerns Ior selI that Iorm as thoughts
and dreams, in the silence oI an inward wakeIul gaze unobstructed
by the clouded haze oI memories or Iantasies, it scans the heart oI
darkness, and becomes enraptured in the upward-streaming light.
At the mental, conceptual, level, the love oI God, with all
its moods and bargainings, is quite a diIIerent thing Irom the
meditation on the SelI, which is quiet, empty, unwavering, and
keenly discriminative. It is only when each reaches to a level oI
nonverbal sweetness, high above the bustling commerce oI the
mind, above the conniving oI the intellect, and the selI-
involvement oI the soul, that the two paths become single, oned in
a common stream oI upward-Ilowing joy which knows no
separation, knows no duality oI kind or purpose.
And so, while each oI these methods oI reaching to the
ultimate Truth are separate and distinct, and maniIest in extremely
diverse ways at the mental level, their diIIerences dissolve and
their divergent methods converge as they near the object oI their
quest. In the high reaches oI the mountain`s peak, all paths must
come to a single point; likewise, when the lover and the meditator
come to taste the silent Bliss that characterizes the approach to the
pinnacle oI Truth, they have entered the subtle and ethereal realm
where love and knowledge are one. Here, there is no distinction
such as lover and knower; here is only the eternally blissIul and
all-inclusive I`, who is neither God nor individual soul.
During the time I spent in my Santa Cruz cabin, I had a
photo oI the fnani, Ramana Maharshi, on one wall, and a picture oI
the bhakta, Sri Ramakrishna, on the other wall. At one time, I
would Ieel entirely committed to the continued awareness oI my
identity with inIinite unqualiIied Consciousness, and would
5%0 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
identiIy with Ramana, whose sadhana consisted oI questioning
within 'Who am I? At another time, I would Ieel certain that
devotional love Ior God was the only attitude Ior me, and I would
identiIy with Sri Ramakrishna, who was the simple child oI God,
crying Ior his Divine Mother`. And although the duality between
the soul and God is, ultimately, an imaginary, or artiIicial, duality,
still it exists so long as the active mind dialogues with that other.
I knew, intellectually, that the duality between 'me and
'God was an artiIicial one. I knew that to take the attitude oI love
Ior God required a sort oI pretense oI 'two-ness; but the very
existence oI the active mind demanded such a relationship. In
order to disengage my mind Irom its aimless wandering and to
Iocus it on the eternal Silence, I had to have a point oI Iocus, and
that point oI Iocus was that inIinite Intelligence which I addressed
as 'Hari. Yes, I knew that this ego-selI was included in and
inseparable Irom that greater SelI, but I also knew instinctually
that, iI I was to truly know the eternal Truth directly, I had to turn
away Irom conceptual knowledge and concentrate with all the
yearning oI my soul on that pure and silent Awareness that lived
beyond the active mind.
For me, it was love that ushered in the knowledge oI the
eternal SelI; it was love that erased the sense oI individual
selIhood, allowing the true SelI to be revealed. Previous to that
unitive revelation, I sought God as a servant, as a soul at the Ieet oI
my Lord and Creator, Ieeling the delicious yet still distant presence
oI His love and guidance within me. 'I was this separate person,
living in the wilderness, and 'He was the Divine Source oI all, to
whom I prayed, and who I sought to know through submission to
His Will and through the continual remembrance oI His presence
in and as the world about me.
I had so oIten Iound great inspiration in the Imitation of
Christ, but, aIter I was blessed with enlightenment on that
November night, I tore that once Iavored book a handIul oI pages
at a time Irom its binding, and Ied those pages to the Iire in my
stove. Why? Because it was now clear that the duality oI 'me
and 'Him was a charade, a Ilimsy myth oI two-ness` that had
been discredited and burst asunder by the revelation oI the unitive
SelI. That illusion oI duality had been necessary to bring me to the
point oI perIect love, to open my mind and heart to the 'vision;
but once revealed, that Unity swept away all previous delusion oI a
separate individual identity.
I think that, Ior many oI us mortals, the devotional path is
the only way we can reach enlightenment. And yet, ultimately, it
is a path that is Ialse in nearly all oI its assumptions. The
experience oI Unity reveals that there were never two, that the
prolonged and agonizing dialogue and relationship with God was
an 'imaginary relationship. The One we call 'I was always the
only one who ever was.
However, long aIter the destruction oI my beloved
Imitation Of Christ, I came to see that, even aIter the realization oI
the eternal SelI, there persists the stubborn habits oI thought and
the convincing sense oI bodily separateness and individuality; and
it is that Ialse individuality (ego) which necessitates the re-
establishment oI the dualistic relationship with the true SelI. So
long as that ego exists, duality exists; and the devotional
relationship between the soul and God must go on. And the
occasions when the ego is dissolved in God, and Unity alone
reigns, are Iew and Iar between. It seems that the SelI, the One,
insists on taking the role oI both God and devotee in order to enjoy
the relationship oI loving soul to loving God. Whether we like it
or not, the One will not be denied the enjoyment oI playing this
game oI duality with HimselI; and so there is no way to avoid this
dualistic drama oI devotion.
I had been shown that the consciousness that lived in this
body, that animated the thoughts that arose as wisdom, and moved
this body and all bodiesthat consciousness was, and had always
been, the one Consciousness that Iilled all things. I was not merely
the wave; I was the Ocean. But the wave continued to exist! I was
not simply the Ocean; I was the wave as well. I was a fnani, but I
was still a bhakta as well.
I came to understand that there are two identities living
within every individual: there is the eternal and unchanging
5%2 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
Consciousness, the Witness, the true SelI; and there is a
superimposed ego-identity called the soul`, which is a contracted
and separate selI with individual desires and goals. This
superimposed selI is oI the stuII oI dreams; it is real enough to go
on evolving through numerous liIetimes, but it is ultimately
imaginary, and must eventually be dispelled. It is dispelled only
when the truth oI the real Identity shines Iorth. Then the
superimposed selI disappears, the way a wrong conviction
disappears when it is seen to be unIounded in truth.
And yet, even aIter the realization oI the eternal SelI, the
stubborn habits oI thought and the convincing sense oI bodily
separateness and individuality reassert themselves; and so the
duality oI SelI and soul continues to exist. However, the
knowledge oI the SelI, once revealed, dissolves the Ioundation Ior
belieI in a separate identity, and continually erodes the selI-
centered habits that condition the ego-mind. The will and
paramount desire oI the projected selI becomes the will and desire
oI the true SelI; i.e., becomes universal and divine Love.
Disillusioned, and no longer interested in separative attainments
once it has known its own universality, the selI has no other will or
desire than the extolment oI Truth Ior the joy and disillusionment
oI all beings.
Frequently, the clear realization dawns within me that there
are not two, but only I AM. And at such times I embrace the non-
dualistic attitude expounded by the fnanis. At other times, I am
the humble servant oI God, trembling in His Light, asking only to
IulIill the service I have pledged to my merciIul and gracious Lord.
These two paths, though they seem so contrary one to the other, are
both necessary and true Irom their own perspectives. The unitive
view is, oI course, the truth, the Iinal and only Truth. And yet, the
world-illusion has its own sort oI reality, as it is produced by God,
and the appearance oI a separate identity also has its own
ephemeral reality by God`s design.
To say, 'I am God, as Mansur al-Hallaj did, is oIIensive to
the bhakta, Ior it denies the separate existence and Iallibility oI the
individual soul; and to say, 'I am the servant oI God, does not
satisIy the fnani, Ior it asserts a duality where none in Iact exists. I
am convinced that, iI we are to speak truly and to live realistically,
it is necessary to embrace both attitudes, and to relinquish the
logic, which begs Ior an either/or approach to identity. The greatest
contemplatives who`ve ever lived, having pondered this quandary,
have come to the same conclusion, and have taken a position,
which deIies categorization into one classiIication or another.
The best example I know is that oI Jesus oI Nazareth. He
had realized his true, eternal, SelI; and had exclaimed, 'I and the
Father are one. And yet he taught his disciples to pray to 'Our
Father, who art in heaven. He embraced both his eternal Identity
and his earthly creature identity. At times he identiIied with the
eternal SelI, and at other times he adopted the role oI suppliant to
God, and advised his disciples to do likewise. To his close
disciples he taught the truth that, 'You are the Light oI the world.
But he knew that Iew could understand the Iact that man`s true SelI
is identical with God, and that many would react angrily to such a
saying. So he said to his disciples, 'II they ask you, Are you It?`,
say, We are Its children; we are the elect oI the living Father.`
Another example is the Blessed Jan Ruysbroeck, a 14th
century disciple oI Meister Eckhart, who wrote:

Though I have said beIore that we are one with God,
... yet now I will say that we must eternally remain other than
God, and distinct Irom Him. ...And we must understand and
Ieel both within us, iI all is to be right with us.
3

Because the path oI love and the path oI knowledge are
equally valid, it is possible to love God while being at the same
time aware that God is the all-pervading Reality which includes
one`s own selI. In the Iollowing song oI that Iamous 15th century
poet-saint oI India, the incomparable Kabir, we can hear that
perIect blending oI the devotion oI the bhakta and the unitive
knowledge oI the fnani:

O brothers, the love oI God is sweet!
Wherever I go, I oIIer salutations to the Lord;
5%4 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
Whatever I do is an act oI worship to Him.
In sleep, I reverence Him; I bow my knee to no other.
Whatever I utter is His Name;
Whatever I hear reminds me oI Him.
Whatever I eat or drink is to His honor.
To me, society and solitude are one,
For all Ieelings oI duality have leIt me.
I have no need to practice austerity,
For I see Him smiling everywhere
As the supreme Beauty in every Iorm.
Whether sitting, walking or perIorming actions,
My heart remains pure, Ior my mind remains Iixed on
God.
Says Kabir: 'I have experienced the divine state
Beyond joy and suIIering, and I am absorbed in That.
O brothers, the love oI God is sweet!
4

More than seven hundred years ago, the great Maharashtran
saint, Jnaneshvar, also spoke oI this blending oI knowledge and
devotion. When he was but a youth, he spoke eloquently oI the
spontaneous love oI God that arises even in the hearts oI the
enlightened. He called this 'natural devotion. His poetic
expression oI this wisdom, Irom the 9th chapter oI his
Amritanubhav called 'The Secret OI Natural Devotion, is
unsurpassable:

Just as a nose might become a Iragrance, or ears
might give out a melody Ior their own enjoyment, or the eyes
might produce a mirror in order to see themselves; ... just so,
the one pure Consciousness becomes the enjoyer and the
object oI enjoyment, the seer and the object oI vision, without
disturbing its unity.
.One may purchase a necklace, earrings, or a
braceletbut it is only gold, whichever one receives. One
may gather a handIul oI ripplesbut it is only water in the
hand. ... Likewise, the sensible universe is only the vibration
oI the SelI. ... There is really no action or inaction; everything
that is happening is the sport oI the SelI.
The undivided One enters the courtyard oI duality oI
His own accord. Unity only becomes strengthened by the
expansion oI diversity. Sweeter even than the bliss oI
THE WORSHIP OF THE SELF 5%C
liberation is the enjoyment oI sense objects to one who has
attained wisdom. In the house oI bhakti (devotion) that lover
and his God experience their sweet union.
... God HimselI is the devotee; the goal is the path.
The whole universe is one solitary Being. It is He who
becomes a God, and He who becomes a devotee. In HimselI,
He enjoys the kingdom oI Stillness.
... Everything is contained in the Being oI God. .II
a desire Ior the Master-disciple relationship arises, it is God
alone who must supply both out oI HimselI.
Even the devotional practices, such as fapa
(repetition oI God`s name), Iaith and meditation, are not
diIIerent Irom God. ThereIore, God must worship God with
God, in one way or another. The temple, the idol, and the
priestsall are carved out oI the same stone mountain. Why,
then should there be devotional worship? |Why should there
not be devotional worship?| A tree spreads its Ioliage, and
produces Ilowers and Iruits, even though it has no objective
outside oI itselI.
.A wise person is aware that he, himselI, is the
Lord, Shiva; thereIore, even when he is not worshipping, he is
worshipping. No matter where he goes, that sage is making
pilgrimage to Shiva. And iI he attains to Shiva, that
attainment is non-attainment. . No matter what his eyes Iall
upon at any time, he always enjoys the vision oI Shiva. II
Shiva HimselI appears beIore him, it is as iI he has seen
nothing; Ior God and His devotee are on the same level.
. This spontaneous, natural devotion cannot be
touched by the hand oI action, nor can knowledge penetrate it.
It goes on without end, in communion with itselI. What bliss
can be compared to this? This natural devotion is a wonderIul
secret. It is the place in which meditation and knowledge
become merged.
.O blissIul and almighty Lord! You have made us
the sole sovereign in the kingdom oI perIect Bliss. . . .
We are Yours entirely. Out oI love, You include us as Your
own, as is beIitting Your greatness. ... Would the scriptures
have extolled You, iI, by sharing it with Your devotee, Your
unity were disturbed? O noble One! It is Your pleasure to
become our nearest and dearest by taking away Irom us our
sense oI diIIerence Irom You.
5

506 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

Just as the SelI and the soul cannot be separated one Irom
the other, neither can fnan and bhakti be separated; though
mutually exclusive, they co-exist as complements in everyone.
And as our knowledge grows, we must learn to adapt our vision oI
the world to accept and embrace apparently contradictory views.
We must learn to Ieel comIortable with the notion that a quantity
oI energy is both a wave and a particle; that our lives are
determined, and that we are Iree; that our identity is both the
Whole and the part. We are the universal SelI; we are the one
Consciousnessand we are also the individualized soul, which
consists oI the mind and its own private impressions. We are the
Oceanbut we are also the wave.
We are Shiva, but we are also Shakti. We are perIect, but
we are also imperIect. We are the eternal Reality, but we are also
the ephemeral image It projects on Its own screen. We are indeed
the Dreamer, but we are also the dream. We are entitled to say, 'I
am Shiva, but so long as the Shakti-mind exists, it must sing the
song oI love and devotion to its Lord. While we live and move in
this phantasmagoria, we are His creatures, and are utterly
dependent upon His grace. ThereIore, iI we truly understand our
own double-Iaceted reality, we must learn to sing two songs: one,
the song oI Love; the other, the song oI our own immortal SelI.
Neither, without the other, is complete.

THE SONG OF LOVE

Thou art Love, and I shall Iollow all Thy ways.
I shall have no care, Ior Love cares only to love.
I shall have no Iear, Ior Love is Iearless;
Nor shall I Irighten any,
For Love comes sweetly and meek.
I shall keep no violence within me,
Neither in thought nor in deed,
For Love comes peaceIully.
I shall bear no shield or sword,
For the deIense oI Love is love.
THE WORSHIP OF THE SELF 505
I shall seek Thee in the eyes oI men,
For love seeks Thee always.
I shall keep silence beIore Thine enemies,
And liIt to them Thy countenance,
For all are powerless beIore Thee.
I shall keep Thee in my heart with precious care,
Lest Thy light be extinguished by the winds;
For without Thy light, I am in darkness.
I shall go Iree in the world with Thee
Free oI all bondage to anything but Thee
For Thou art my God, the sole Father oI my
being,
The sweet breath oI Love that lives in my heart;
And I shall Iollow Thee, and live with Thee,
And lean on Thee till the end oI my days.

THE SONG OF THE SELF

O my God, even this body is Thine own!
Though I call to Thee and seek Thee amidst
chaos,
Even I who seemed an unclean pitcher amidst
Thy waters
Even I am Thine own.

Does a wave cease to be oI the ocean?
Do the mountains and the gulIs cease to be oI
the earth?
Or does a pebble cease to be stone?
How can I escape Thee?
Thou art even That which thinks oI escape!

507 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
Even now, I speak the word, 'Thou,and create
duality.
I love, and create hatred.
I am in peace, and am Iashioning chaos.
Standing on the peak, I necessitate the depths.
But now, weeping and laughing are gone;
Night is become day.

Music and silence are heard as one;
My ears are all the universe.

All motion has ceased; everything continues.
LiIe and death no longer stand apart.
No I, no Thou;
No now, or then.
Unless I move, there is no stillness.

Nothing to lament, nothing to vanquish,
Nothing to pride oneselI on;
All is accomplished in an instant.
All may now be told without eIIort.
Where is there a question?
Where is the temple?
Which the Imperishable, which the abode?

I am the pulse oI the turtle;
I am the clanging bells oI joy.
I bring the dust oI blindness;
I am the Iire oI song.
I am in the clouds and in the gritty soil;
In pools oI clear water my image is Iound.

I am the dust on the Ieet oI the wretched,
The toothless beggars oI every land.
I have given sweets that decay to those who
crave them;
THE WORSHIP OF THE SELF 50%
I have given my wealth unto the poor and
lonely.
My hands are opennothing is concealed.

All things move together oI one accord;
Assent is given throughout the universe to every
Ialling grain.
The Sun stirs the waters oI my heart,
And the vapor oI my love Ilies to the Iour
corners oI the world;
The Moon stills me, and the cold darkness is my
bed.

I have but breathed, and everything is
rearranged
And set in order once again.
A million worlds begin and end in every breath,
And, in this breathing, all things are sustained.
500 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

2. THE ULTIMATE UNITY

Even today, over thirty years aIter that November night in
1966, I continue to experience that same alternation between
Unity and duality, between fnan and bhakti. There are times when
the recognition oI my own SelI as the ultimate Reality bestows
proIound inner joy. My own consciousness becomes Iree oI
thought; and supreme peace, bell-like clarity, and an imperturbable
happiness Iills my whole being. The sound oI my own breath
becomes the mantra, So-ham, 'I am That; and my mind is bathed
in the calm certain awareness oI my eternal Identity.
Then, unexpectedly, the heart speaks, and once again
duality raises its head. The image addresses the Imager; the
projected soul, Ieeling powerless, reaches toward its governing
Source, and the love oI God is born anew. It is born oI that
inherent tendency in the unitive Divinity toward SelI-division,
toward the dualistic play oI subject and object, oI 'I' and 'Thou.
At such times my heart is Ilooded with gratitude to my
Lord, my God, and thrills rush through my body and my soul,
causing tears oI love to cascade down my cheeks. Such love oI
God is truly the awareness oI my greater SelI, and I am overcome
by the Iervent desire to praise Him and to express my loveeven
though I know that this poor mind is only pretending to be
separate, and its babbling is only God`s grace expressing its own
love in me. The soul loves, but it is His Love that carries on this
play oI lover and Beloved. He himselI is the sweet song oI love
that sings in my heart.
Such alternation between bhakti and fnan will ever
continue. It is not a product oI indecisiveness, but is a product oI
the complementary nature oI Reality. For we live simultaneously
in two Irameworks oI reality: that oI the divisible world oI multiple
phenomena, and that oI the eternal SelIthe pure Consciousness
oI the unbroken Whole. All the great issues and arguments oI
science, philosophy and theology are solved in one stroke by the
understanding oI this dual-sidedness oI reality. From the
standpoint oI my Shakti-identity, my liIe in the universal drama is
Iixed and determined. From the standpoint oI my Shiva-identity,
as the eternal witness, I am ever Iree.
When I identiIy myselI as Shakti, I am an individual soul
guided by the hand oI God; and the planetary conIigurations
relating to my position on earth correspond to my mental,
emotional and physical being. When I identiIy myselI as Shiva, I
am the one all-pervading Soul oI the universe; I am the Cause oI
all, the one Consciousness in whom the stars and planets exist, and
I remain unaIIected by the changes taking place within the
maniIested world.
When I identiIy myselI as Shakti, I am Shivas servant; I
worship Him as my Lord, and I am surrendered to His will. When
I identiIy myselI as Shiva, there are not two, but only oneand I
am that One. These two identities are not a hair`s breadth apart;
Ior the one is superimposed upon the other. Our separative identity
and our inIinite Identity, the wave and the Ocean, are
complementary aspects oI the same one Reality.
God is always accessible to us as our own SelI. We have
only to quiet the mind to become aware oI our eternal Identity.
And even when we are active in the world we are continually in
His presence. II we can reIine our vision, and become aware oI the
dual-sidedness oI our own nature, we will then be able to see that
not only are we the SelI, but everything around us is also the SelI.
The subject is the SelI; the object is the SelI. Truly, no matter who
or what I see or speak to, it is really only my own SelI. II we could
really grasp the truth oI this, what a revolution would occur in our
thinking and behavior!
Just as waves on the ocean are only water, just as golden
ornaments are only gold, so all the various Iorms in the universe
are Iorms oI our own SelI. Becoming aware oI this, we would
begin to revel in that joy which had been missing in our lives
beIore. We would begin to drink the nectar oI the unending Love
Ior which we had been thirsting beIore. And we would begin to
take delight in just being and living and acting in the world in a
502 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
way we had been unable to beIore. The universal division into
respective subjects and objects does not cease; the world goes on,
even Ior the enlightened. It is just that she knows in her heart, with
an indomitable certainty, that she and the universe are one.
Just as a chess-player retains the awareness that the
antagonism between him and his opponent is merely a temporary
game oI role-playing, and that, at the end oI the game, both the red
and the black pieces will be thrown into the same boxin the
same way, one who has clearly experienced the unbroken Whole
retains the knowledge oI the ultimate Unity, and sees the play oI
subjects and objects as the ongoing pretense or play oI the one SelI
in whom all contraries must Iinally merge.
This is why, aIter more than thirty years since His revelation
to me, I cannot Iorget Him: He is always in my thoughts; His
name is sounded in my mind at every moment, and I see Him
around me in every Iorm, in every activity. When I walk, I walk in
His presence in great gladness; when I sit, I sit in the awareness
that all is perIect, all is His glorious play. I play out the role He
has given me to play, and I watch Him in all His other Iorms
playing out the roles destined Ior those souls: the mother, the
businessman, the sports hero, the physicist, the druggist, the
doctor, the artist.
Each soul is limited by its role; none can be all things, but
each must accept the limitation required Ior success in the
perIormance oI its own purpose. And all are but that one bright
Consciousness masquerading as individual souls. All is God; there
is nothing here that is not Him. Listen, once more, to Jnaneshvar:

There is nothing else here but the SelI. Whether
appearing as the seen or perceiving as the seer, nothing else
exists besides the SelI. ... Just as water plays with itselI by
assuming the Iorms oI waves, the SelI, the ultimate reality,
plays happily with HimselI. Though there are multitudes oI
visible objects, and wave upon wave oI mental images, still
they are not diIIerent Irom their witness. You may break a
lump oI raw sugar into a million pieces, still there is nothing
but sugar. Likewise, the unity oI the SelI is not lost, even
though He Iills the whole universe. He is seeing only His own
SelI like one who discovers various countries in his
imagination, and goes wandering through them all with great
enjoyment.
6

504 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
3. DEVOTION AND GRACE

Just as there are many religious devotees (bhaktas) who
reIuse to acknowledge man`s supreme Identity as God, the one
transcendent SelI, there are also many philosophical Monists
(fnanis) who reIuse to open their hearts to the Love oI God,
protesting that the Iact oI unity precludes such an attitude, and that
the preservation oI an 'I-Thou relationship only prolongs the
delusion oI duality. I would like to point out to such people that so
long as we are not liIted into the experience oI unity by the grace
oI God, duality continues to exist Ior uswhether we admit to it or
not. The grace oI God is an experience oI Love, a Love that draws
us to the experience oI unity. Without it, we can never know God
as our supreme SelI.
The Love oI God is not a love between a subject and an
object; Ior in this case, the subject, the object, and the Love itselI,
are one. Nor is this Love the result oI a conclusion based on a
rational premise; it is an inner experience. It is something quite
realbreathtakingly and intoxicatingly real. It stirs Irom within,
and centers on itselI within. It is not a thought-out construction
based on philosophical reasoning, but a sweetness that is itselI the
object oI devotion. It is this Love that bhaktas love. It has no
location but the human heart, yet its source is the universal Being.
It is His gracious giIt, and only those who have experienced it
know what it is.
It is oI this Love that Sri Ramakrishna sang:

How are you trying, O my mind, to know the nature oI
God?
You are groping like a madman locked in a dark room.
He is grasped through ecstatic love;
How can you Iathom Him without it?
When that Love awakes, the Lord,
Like a magnet, draws to Him the soul.
7

THE WORSHIP OF THE SELF 50C
Such love-longing Ior God always precedes the experience
oI enlightenment because it is the natural expression, the indicator,
oI a shiIt in the consciousness toward the transcendent Unity. All
oI the outer events as well as the inner ones will conspire to bring
one`s liIe to that point where enlightenment is experienced. When
it is time Ior it to come, it will produce itselI, and it will announce
its coming by a great wave oI love that steers the heart irresistibly
to the source oI that Love, and eventually reveals itselI unaided
Irom within.
Consider the great Shankaracharya`s Iinal message to the
disciple in his Jivekachudamani.

Gurus and scriptures can stimulate spiritual aware-
ness, but one crosses the ocean oI ignorance only by direct
illumination, through the grace of God.
8

No one has ever realized God except those to whom He has
revealed HimselI. On this point all SelI-realized beings are
unanimously agreed. As one commentator says, in the Tantric
text, Malini Jifava Jartika: 'The learned men oI all times always
hold that the descent oI grace does not have any cause or
condition, but depends entirely on the Iree will oI the Lord. The
case may be made, oI course, that 'grace is the subjective reading
oI the inIluence oI the planetary patterns evolving into eIIect at the
time, and not a spur-oI-the-moment volitional act by a supreme
Being. But, we must object, is not the supreme Cause guiding the
unIoldment oI the evolving universe? Do not all things move
together oI (His) one accord? And is He not, thereIore, ultimately
responsible Ior every single event in this universe, including the
movements oI the planets, and man`s ultimate realization oI his
eternal Identity?
Another Tantric scripture, the Tantraloka, states:

Divine grace leads the individual to the path oI
spiritual realization. It is the only cause oI SelI-realization and
is independent oI human eIIort.
9

516 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
What is grace, then, but God`s unconditional giIt, given oI
His own Iree will? Were it dependent upon conditions, it would
not be absolute and independent grace. What, indeed, in all this
universe oI phenomena, could be considered apart Irom His grace?
Can we imagine that His highest giIt, His realization, is an accident
outside oI His doing? No.
The experience oI SelI-realization occurs when the mind is
concentrated to a Iine laser-point and Iocused in contemplation oI
God; but this happens only by the power oI the universal SelI, oI
God HimselI. This is not a denial oI the eIIicacy oI selI-eIIort, but
merely an assertion that every eIIort or desire to remember Him,
every intensiIication oI concentration on Him, is instigated by
HimselI, Ior He is our own inner SelI, the inner Controller. It is
He who inspires, enacts, and consummates all our eIIorts. II the
planetary patterns also reIlect the arising oI divine Consciousness,
and the dawn oI mystical experience in our lives, that is merely
additional evidence that 'all things move together oI one accord,
that He is indeed the Lord oI the universe.
Among the Christian mystics, we Iind complete agreement
on this issue; Saint Bernard oI Clairvaux, Ior example, says: 'You
would not seek Him at all, O soul, nor love Him at all, iI you had
not been Iirst sought and Iirst loved.
10
And Meister Eckhart
acknowledges: 'It is He that prays in us and not we ourselves.
11

The Blessed Jan Ruysbroeck concurs:

Contemplation places us in a purity and radiance
which is Iar above our understanding, ...and no one can attain
to it by knowledge, by subtlety, or by any exercise
whatsoever; but he whom God chooses to unite to HimselI,
and to illumine by HimselI, he and no other can contemplate
God.
12

We Iind the same agreement among the SuIi mystics, the
Hindus and the Buddhists. It is always soalways. And though
the attempt is oIten made by charlatans to translate the description
oI the mental state oI the mystic at the time oI his experience oI
unity into a sort oI 'method or 'scientiIic technique Ior the
attainment oI God, no one has ever claimed that the Iollowing oI
such a technique has actually produced the advertised result. For,
by themselves, the practices oI shallow breathing, Iixed stares, and
cessation oI thought, will never produce the experience oI unity.
This experience comes only by the Will oI God. Nanak, the great
Iounder oI the Sikh tradition, acknowledging this truth, wrote:

Liberation Irom bondage depends upon Thy Will;
there is no one to gainsay it. Should a Iool wish to, suIIering
will teach him wisdom.
13

An even more telling remark is made by Dadu, a mystic-
poet who lived shortly aIter Nanak, and who, like him, eschewed
both Islamic and Hindu religious traditions:

Omniscient God, it is by Thy grace alone that I have been
blessed with vision oI Thee.
Thou knowest all; what can I say?
All-knowing God, I can conceal nothing Irom Thee.
I have nothing that deserves Thy grace.
No one can reach Thee by his own eIIorts; Thou showest
ThyselI by Thine own grace.
How could I approach Thy presence? By what means could I
gain Thy Iavor?
And by what powers oI mind or body could I attain to Thee?
It hath pleased Thee in Thy mercy to take me under Thy wing.
Thou alone art the Beginning and the End; Thou art the
Creator oI the three worlds.
Dadu says: I am nothing and can do nothing.
Truly, even a Iool may reach Thee by Thy grace.
14

The desire Ior union with God or enlightenment is a very
special grace, not given to all. When that desire arises, it Iires the
heart and Iills the mind, just as other desiressuch as the desire
Ior a wiIe, children and other worldly objectspossess the minds
oI so many. And just as those desires precede and give impetus to
their IulIillment, so does the desire Ior God precede the IulIillment
oI that desire, resulting in the soul`s experience oI union with God.
517 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
When He draws the mind to HimselI, the mind becomes
still automatically. It is not necessary to attempt to still the mind
by austere practices or artiIicial methods. The body becomes still,
the mind becomes still when the heart is yearning sincerely Ior
Him alone. Everything happens very naturally by His grace. One
begins to begrudge the mind any thought save the thought directed
to God. And with the aim oI centering the mind continually on
Him, one begins to sing His name in the inner recesses oI the
mind.
It doesn`t matter what name is used; Christians call Him,
'Father, Muslims call Him 'Rahim, Jews call Him 'Adonai,
Buddhists call Him 'Buddha, and Hindus call Him 'Hari; Love
responds to whatever name is called with love. To one who loves,
His name is nectar; it is like a cold drink oI water to a thirsty man.
It is no discipline, nor is it an austerity. It is the living oI a joyIul
liIe. It is the sweetness oI peace; it is the delight oI delights.
Since there is really nothing else but that inIinite Being
wherever one may look, as one begins to sing the name oI God,
that awareness dawns, and the bliss oI recognizing one`s own SelI
both without and within begins to well up. The more one sings His
name, the more one revels in that bliss, and the more clearly one
perceives His continual presence. Inherent in that perception is all
mercy, all right-judgment, all tenderness, all loving-kindness. It is
the natural devotion by which a man`s heart is transIormed, and by
which he becomes Iit Ior the vision oI God.
It seems that everyone, sooner or later, in this liIe or the
next, comes to experience the grace oI God. It is experienced as an
awakening oI the soul, a prerequisite to the direct knowledge oI
God, one`s eternal SelI. This 'awakening very oIten coincides
with the hearing or reading oI the words oI someone who has had
an intimate experience oI the SelI, and who is able to communicate
the understanding he or she has acquired. It is in this way, through
our intellects, that God reaches to our hearts.
Speaking Irom my own experience, the moment I learned
oI the ultimate identity oI man`s selI and the universal SelI, and oI
the Iact that many have actually experienced this truth, a delicious
THE WORSHIP OF THE SELF 51%
joy arose in me coupled with a certainty that it was indeed true. I
felt that inner grace; I knew that I had Iound the truth oI existence,
and I rejoiced in that blissIul knowledge! This, I believe, is a
common experience, a universal symptom oI the Iirst Ilush oI the
soul`s awakening to the SelI.
Sometimes this awakening is accompanied by thrills oI joy
that run up the spine into the head. Sometimes there are interior
visions, either oI saints or temples or simply oI a golden light. But
it is unmistakable; it is truly an awakening oI the soul, and is
known and experienced as such.
One can be sure that, at such a time, the planetary
progressions and transits are relating to one`s natal planetary
conIigurations in a unique, though temporary, manner, involving in
most cases the placement oI planets in prominent and signiIicant
relationship to the natal position oI Neptune. Such events, both
cosmic and mundane, happen rarely in the course oI a liIe, and
signal a transient period oI increased sensitivity to the spiritual
reality in which we live. It is clear that, as our destinies unIold, as
the heavens tell the passing oI our days, the Iocus oI our awareness
undergoes gradual changes. A decade ago, we sought quite
diIIerent goals Irom those which we seek at present; and yet
diIIerent objectives motivated us ten years beIore that. These
changes occur so gradually that we scarcely notice that we have
changed; yet each new era in the unIolding oI our destiny has its
own Iocus, its own learning experiences.
Eventually, each oI us passes through a speciIic period in
our lives during which our understanding is awakened to the
eternal SelI, when we are most keenly receptive to the awareness
oI God`s presence and Love. Years later, our ability to experience
that same sense oI God`s presence and Love may wane; perhaps
we shall pass into a period oI more mundane considerations during
which we will learn to carry the understandings which we gained
in those more ecstatic and spiritually receptive moments into our
daily lives, and to remain obedient to that acquired wisdom. There
is, as the author oI Ecclesiastes tells us, to everything a season, and
510 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
a time to every purpose under heaven; a time Ior sowing, and a
time Ior reaping, a time Ior giving, and a time Ior receiving.
The point I wish to make is that the time oI peak
receptivity, the time oI grace, is short; and should be cherished and
utilized with care. Once that unmistakable awakening has
occurred, Iind some time to enjoy a period oI solitude with God.
You will learn more in such moments than in a thousand
congregational lectures. Forge your link with God, and He will
lead you to HimselI. He will draw you to love Him, Ior He
HimselI is that Love that has awakened in you as love Ior God. He
will draw you to seek Him in prayer and in silent longing, Ior He is
your own heart. Follow, and you will reach Him. Draw near to
Him in the silence oI the night and He will reveal HimselI to you
as your very deepest SelI, your eternal Identity.
There are some who Ieel the need to Iollow closely in the
shadow oI some great spiritually aware personage in order to learn
how to live in harmony with their own Divinity; but they should be
wary oI surrendering their own innate intelligence in service to
another, however holy he or she may seem. Teachers are oIten
necessary, and their Divinity is worthy oI honor; but dependence
on another is Iull oI danger, and is to be avoided. Depend upon
God; it is His grace you seek, and the awakening oI Love within
your own heart. That is the only Iee Ior entrance into the kingdom
oI God.
Keep on loving Him, keep on trusting in Him to guide you,
and keep on praying to Him. And when He puts it into your heart
to know Him, He will liIt aside the veil, and reveal that, all
along, it was He who prayed, who sought, who sorrowed as you;
and that, all along, it was vou who Iorever lives beyond all sorrow,
as GodIorever blissIul, Iorever Iree.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
APPENDIX 155
/++43!67

This Appendix is added Ior the beneIit oI those who have
some Iamiliarity with astrological principles and are able to
understand the signiIicance oI the Iollowing charts:
The Iirst chart, chart A, is the chart oI the transiting
planetary arrangement in eIIect at the time oI my 'experience oI
unity. The lines connecting those planets in opposition (180)
trine (120), and sextile (60) aspects to each other show the
angular relationships between these transiting planets.

This, in
itselI, is a remarkable conIiguration. But to Iully appreciate the
signiIicance oI this transiting planetary arrangement, it must be
seen in relationship to the positions oI the planets at my birth.
This may be seen in chart B. It is a composite chart,
showing the positions oI the planets in my natal, progressed, and
transiting charts, shown in consecutive wheels. In the center
wheel, my natal chart, calculated Ior 6:01 P.M., August 14, 1938,
at Indianapolis, Indiana; in the intermediate wheel, my progressed
chart Ior 9:00 P.M., November 18, 1966, at Santa Cruz, CaliIornia;
and in the outer wheel, the transiting chart Ior the same time and
place.

512 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

APPENDIX 157

514 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
Natal Aspects.
Sun conjunct Mars
Sun trine Saturn
Sun square Uranus
Mercury trine Uranus
Mercury conjunct Neptune
Mars square Uranus
Saturn semisextile Uranus
Uranus trine Neptune

Progressed Aspects (to natal planets).
Moon conjunct Saturn (exact)
Moon semisextile Uranus (exact)
Sun conjunct Neptune (exact)

Transiting Aspects (to natal planets).
Moon sextile Saturn (exact)
Moon square Uranus (exact)
Sun conjunct Midheaven
Mercury square Sun (exact)
Mercury conjunct North Node (exact)
Venus conjunct Midheaven (exact)
Venus square Jupiter (exact)
Mars conjunct Neptune
Jupiter trine Moon (exact)
Uranus conjunct Neptune
Neptune conjunct North Node (exact)
Neptune square Sun (exact)
Pluto conjunct Neptune (exact)

Note: planets within 1 aspect are considered to be exact.
APPENDIX 159
In examining this composite oI charts, the Iirst thing that
stands out to the trained eye is the highly signiIicant progression oI
both the Sun and the Moon (middle wheel) to exact conjunctions
with natal planets (center wheel). The Moon`s progression to an
exact conjunction to my natal Saturn is a conjunction which occurs
only once every twenty-eight to thirty years; while the Sun`s
progression to the natal position oI Neptune occurs in one`s chart
only iI one`s Sun position is natally within 60 or so, clockwise, oI
Neptune`s positionand then, only once in a liIetime. The
likelihood oI both the Sun and Moon Iorming progressed
conjunctions to (major) natal planets simultaneously is obviously
very remote, and when it does occur, is highly signiIicant oI an
extraordinary event.
Neptune, to which the progressed Sun is conjoined, Iigures
quite prominently in my natal chart, as it Iorms there a conjunction
to Mercury and a trine to Uranus. In my early deliberations about
my own chart, I had come to look on it as a representation oI a
certain mental receptivity to poetic inspiration. But Neptune
represents much more than that; with beneIicial aspects Irom other
planets it can represent an access to the very subtlest oI spiritual
realms. One astrologer, Robert Hand, who is a recognized
authority on astrological symbols, says about Neptune:

Neptune symbolizes the truth and divinity perceived
by mystics. (Keep in mind that the planet is an agent or a
representation of an energv, not the source of the energv.) At
the highest level, Neptune represents Nirvana, where all
individuality is merged into an inIinite oneness oI being and
consciousness.
6

Notice that the massive conjunction oI transiting Mars-
Uranus-Pluto (outer wheel) is precisely over my natal Neptune,
along with the progressed Sun, and that the conjunction oI
transiting Mercury-Neptune is precisely over my natal North Node
oI the Moon. There were, on that night oI November 18, 1966,
two exact conjunctions oI progressed planets to natal planets, and
ten exact aspects oI transiting planets to natal positions, Iive oI
526 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
which were conjunctions. The concentration oI energy over my
natal Neptune position was clearly intenseintense enough Ior
even a thick-headed person like myselI to catch a glimpse oI God.
II it could be shown that, in all cases, the mystical
experience oI Unity coincided with progressed solar and/or lunar
aspects to Neptune in the charts oI the experiencers, we would be
in possession oI a neatly consistent Iormula Ior anticipating
mystical experience. However, that does not seem always to be
the case. When one examines the charts oI known mystics oI the
past progressed to the date oI their transcendent experience, one
encounters a very inconsistent collection oI varied inIluences,
although aspects to the natal Neptune position do seem to Iigure
strongly.
For example, in the chart oI Sri Aurobindo (born August
15, 1872), at the time oI his reported enlightenment (January 15,
1908) the progressed moon is exactly conjunct his natal Neptune,
and the progressed Sun is exactly quincunx Neptune`s position. In
the chart oI Sri Ramakrishna (born February 18, 1836), progressed
to the date oI his Iirst samadhi at the age oI twenty-nine (February
1, 1865), the progressed moon is exactly sextile his natal
Neptune`s position, while there are no major aspects Irom the
progressed Sun. And in the progressed chart oI Sri Ramana
Maharshi (born December 30, 1879), who became enlightened at
the age oI sixteen (September 15, 1896), the progressed moon is 3
past a conjunction with natal Jupiter, and the progressed Sun
makes only one aspect: a trine to natal Pluto. Even with so brieI a
sampling, it is clear that there is a wide range oI variation in the
progressed solar and lunar aspects occurring at the time oI
enlightenment.
Strangely enough, the one modern mystic whose
progressed aspects at the time oI his enlightenment most closely
resemble the planetary aspects present in my own enlightenment
chart is someone who was personally known to meSwami
Muktananda.
Muktananda`s natal horoscope reveals him to have been an
immensely powerIul personality, but it only hints at the
APPENDIX 161
tremendous personal power he came to possess through the legacy
oI shaktipat transmitted to him by his guru, Nityananda, and
through his liIelong retention oI that power. He was totally unique
in his masterIul attainment, and his liIe oI sharing his spiritual
realizations was also amazing and unique; but his experience of the
Self was the common experience of all the enlightened.
While our paths to enlightenment, our visions, our
circumstances, personalities and destinies (as symbolized in our
individual horoscopes) were very diIIerent, the enlightenment
experience which revealed the eternal SelI to Muktananda was
identical (by deIinition) with that which I experienced. What`s
more, the planetary signiIicators oI enlightenment were nearly
identical in both our cases.
Despite the unique elements oI Muktananda`s sadhana,
which diIIered considerably Irom my own experience, both oI our
actual enlightenment experiences, though nearly ten years apart,
coincided with a strong aspect oI the progressed moon to one oI
the outer natal planets, at the same time that the progressed Sun
was forming an exact confunction with the natal position of
Neptune. There was also, at the time, an extraordinary and
signiIicant array oI transiting planets in the heavens in both cases.
Here is a chart showing the positions oI the transiting planets on
the day oI Muktananda`s enlightenment (determined to be July 30,
1957):
527 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

APPENDIX 163
And here, on the Iollowing page, is a composite chart Ior
the time oI Muktananda`s enlightenment (the inner wheel is his
natal chart (May 16, 1908, at Mangalore, India; 6:00 AM INT); the
middle wheel is the progressed chart; and the outer wheel
represents the transiting positions oI the planets on that day, July
30, 1957:
520 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
APPENDIX 165

Natal Aspects.

Sun conjunct Ascendant
Sun opposite moon
Mercury sextile Jupiter
Venus conjunct Neptune
Venus square Saturn
Mars conjunct Pluto
Jupiter trine Saturn (exact)
Uranus opposite Neptune

Progressed Aspects (to natal planets).

Sun-Mercury conjunct Neptune (exact)
Moon sextile Neptune (exact)
Jupiter quincunx Uranus

Transiting Aspects (to natal planets).

Sun-Uranus conjunct Jupiter
Sun-Uranus trine Saturn
Moon-Jupiter trine Sun (moon exact)
Mars-Pluto square Sun
Saturn trine Jupiter
Saturn trine Saturn

Note. Planets within 1 aspect are considered to be exact.

522 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
In Muktananda`s natal chart, notice the powerIul stellium
oI planets in the 2nd House, along with the Sun-moon opposition
closely conjunct the 1st-7th House cusps. Mars conjunct Pluto,
and Venus conjunct Neptune give some indication oI his spiritual
evolution and the great IorceIulness oI his personal energy. Jupiter
in the 3rd House shows his learning and speaking ability, and
Uranus on the 9th House cusp relates both to his advanced
philosophical views and his amazingly broad travels. (For a
thoughtIul and thorough examination oI his liIe Irom an
astrological point oI view, see the excellent treatment by my good
Iriend, Greg Bogart, in his book, Astrologv And Spiritual
Awakening, published by Dawn Mountain Press.)
The progressed chart shows the progressed Sun and
Mercury in exact conjunction with his natal Neptune, and the
progressed Moon in exact sextile to natal Neptune. In addition to
these highly signiIicant aspects, Jupiter is progressed to an exact
quincunx to natal Uranus.
The transiting aspects are equally notable: a transiting Sun-
Uranus conjunction is conjunct natal Jupiter, trining natal Saturn,
while transiting Saturn is Iorming a grand trine with natal Saturn
and Jupiter. A transiting Moon-Jupiter conjunction is trining the
natal Sun, while transiting Mars, Pluto, and Mercury are in close
square to that natal Sun position. All in all, it is a remarkable set
oI circumstances, signaling a remarkable occurrence. Clearly, it is
as uniquely powerIul a set oI progressed and transiting aspects as
those which occurred in relation to my own chart in November oI
1966.
It is my opinion that this discovery oI the correlation oI
celestial dynamics and Divine grace is a breakthrough in
knowledge comparable to those brought about by Copernicus and
Galileo, and has the potential to revolutionize our understanding oI
'spiritual experience. However, it requires so bold a departure
Irom traditional ways oI thinking that it is unlikely to have a great
inIluence on the understanding oI any but the most discerning. In
Iact, many so-called 'spiritual teachers will Iind this inIormation
embarrassing and will reject it, Ior it makes a Iolly oI their
APPENDIX 167
contention that it is practices and techniques which bring about
SelI-realization. For without God`s celestial grace, without the
timing oI God`s heavenly motions unIolding in one`s liIe, no
illumination will come.
The present-day understanding oI how astrology works` is
as Iar Irom a comprehensive resolution as is the science oI
microphysics. It was a mystery to the ancients, and it is a mystery
today (although the Bohmian concept oI the immediate
interconnectedness oI everything within 'the unbroken Whole
hints at the way ahead). And while 'the science oI the astrology
oI enlightenment is in its inIancy today, I am hopeIul that the data
that is here provided will point the way to greater exploration and
understanding oI the relation oI astronomical phenomena to
mystical experience in the years to come.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

524 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 169
/8(9' 1:" /9':(,

Swami Abhayananda was born Stan Trout in Indianapolis,
Indiana on August 14, 1938. AIter service in the Navy, he settled
in northern CaliIornia, where he pursued his studies in philosophy
and literature. In June oI 1966, he became acquainted with the
philosophy oI mysticism, and experienced a strong desire to realize
God. Abandoning all other pursuits, he retired to a solitary liIe in a
secluded cabin in the mountain Iorests near Santa Cruz, CaliIornia;
and, on November 18, oI that same year, became enlightened by
the grace oI God.
He spent Iour more years in his isolated cabin, and
subsequently met Swami Muktananda who visited Santa Cruz in
1970. Shortly thereaIter, he joined Muktananda in India, as his
disciple, and later lived and worked in Muktananda`s Oakland,
CaliIornia ashram. In May oI 1978, he returned to India and was
initiated by his master into the ancient Order oI sannvas, and given
the monastic name, Swami Abhavananda, 'the bliss oI
Iearlessness.
As a Swami, he taught in various cities in the U.S., but in
1981, unwilling to condone what he saw as abuses oI power,
Abhayananda leIt Muktananda`s organization, and went into
retreat once again, this time Ior seven years, in upstate New York.
It was during this time that this book was written, along with
Historv of Mvsticism, and Jnaneshvar, and Atma Books was
Iounded to publish them.
At present, Swami Abhayananda is residing on the
Treasure Coast oI Florida, where he continues to teach, write, and
publish his works on the knowledge oI the SelI.
536 &'( )*+,(-( )(./

NOTES

"#$% &'()
1;4 47+40643<4 2= 1;4 >4?=

1. Svetasvatara Upanishad. 6; Mascaro, Juan, 1965;
p. 95
2. Mundaka Upanishad: 3.1; Ibid., p. 80
3. Katha Upanishad: 5; Ibid., p. 64
4. Plotinus, Enneads. VI:7.34, 36; VI: 9.5-11
5. de B. Evans, C., Eckhart, Vol. I., p. 221
6. Blackney, R.B., Meister Eckhart. A Modern
Translation,
7. Ibid., p. 206
8. Huxley, Aldous, 1944; p. 12
9. de B. Evans, C., op. cit., Sermon XXI.

"#$% %*&)
1;4 +;6?2>2+;@ 2= 1;4 >4?=

1. Rig Jeda, X.129
2. Isha Upanishad, 5
3. Svetasvatara Upanishad, 3:1; Irom Mascaro,
1965; p. 89
4. Ibid., 4.10, p. 93
5. Srimad Bhagavatam, Irom Prabhavananda,
1978; p. 5
6. Jivekachudamani, Irom Prabhavananda, 1947;
pp. 82-84
7. Ibid., pp. 58-59
8. Ibid., pp. 63-64
NOTES & BIBLIOGRAPHY 171
9. Bhagavad Gita, 14:4; based on Mascaro, Juan,
1962
10. Ibid., 13:20-23
11. Ibid., 13:27-34
12. Ibid., 9:7-15
13. Lao Tze, Tao Teh Ching, 25
14. Ibid., 1
15. Ibid., 21
16. Chuang Tze, Ch. 22
18. Ibid., 6
19. Ibid., 4
20. Ibid., 21
21. Ibid., 37
22. Ibid., 51
23. Ibid., 1
24. Ibid., 14
25. Ibid., 26
26. Ibid., 28
27. Ibid., 70
30. Ibid., 50
32. Ibid., Ch. 4
35. Avatamsaka Sutra, Irom Suzuki, D.T., 1963;
p. 268
36. Ibid., p. 268
37. Spanda karika
38. Paramartha-sara
39. Linga Purana
40. Somananda, Shiva Drshti, I:2
41. Pratvabifnahridavam, 1:1
42. Vasugupta, Spanda Karika, II:5
537 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
43. Amritanubhav, I:13, 26-28, 10-12, 34-45, 39-40;
Irom Abhayananda, Swami, 1989
44. Ecclesiasticus, I: 1-6
45. Proverbs, 8:22-30
46. Philo, Quod a Deo somm., 19; de posteritate
Caini, 63; de vita Mosis, II:134
47. The Gospel of John, 8:54
48. Ibid., 13:40
49. Ibid., 1:1
50. de Barry, William T. (ed.), 1958; p. 415
51. AIIiIi, A.E., 1939; p. 21
52. Ibid., p. 11
53. Ibid., p. 11
54. Ibid., pp. 10-11
55. Ibid., p. 21
56. Landau, Rom, 1959; pp. 83-84
57. Ibid., p. 83
58. de Barry, William T. (ed.), 1958; pp. 445-446

"#$% %+$(()
1;4 A32B?4!C4 2= 1;4 >4?=

1. Jastrow, Robert, 1978; Introduction
2. Einstein, Albert, quoted by Capek, M., 1961;
p. 319
3. Bohm, David & Hiley, B., 1975; pp. 96, 102
4. Shankaracharya, Atma Bodha. 8.9
5. Shankaracharya, Atma Bodha. 18, 34, 37
6. Mundaka Upanishad: 3.2; Mascaro, Juan, 1965
7. Prabhavananda, Swami (trans.), 1947;
8. Abhayananda, S., Thomas a Kempis, 1992;
pp. 74-75, 78
9. Plotinus, Enneads, II:3:6
10. Ibid., II:3:7
11. Nikhilanda, Swami, 1942; pp. 379-380
12. Max Planck, Where Is Science Going?
13. Baruch Spinoza, Ethics, II.48.
14. Ibid., I. Appendix

"#$% ,&-$)
1;4 B20>;6+ 2= 1;4 >4?=

1. Shankaracharya, Jivekachudamani,
Prabhavananda, Swami, 1947
2. Bhakti Sutras oI Narada, I:1
3. Ruysbroeck, Jan, The Sparkling Stone, X
4. Kabir, adapted Irom Shastri, H.P., 1941; p. 49
5. Abhayananda, S., 1989; Amritanubhav, IX. 1, 7,
12, 13, 15, 28, 29, 30, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42,
43, 49, 53, 55, 56, 59, 60, 61, 65, 67, 70, 71.
6. Ibid.,JII. 240, 135, 143, 144, 146, 163
7. Nikhilananda, Swami, 1944;
8. Prabhavananda, Swami, 1947; p. 131
9. Tantraloka
10. Bernard oI Clairvaux, On The Song Of Songs,
Sermon LXXXIV.4
11. Blackney, R.B., 1941; p. 109
12. Ruysbroeck, Jan, The Sparkling Stone, IV.
13. Singh, Trilochan, et al., 1960; p. 42
14. Orr, W.G., 1947; p. 142
530 &'( )*+,(-( )(./
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