The Fourfold Yoga – Part II

Union via Wisdom ( Jnana Yoga )

Jnana means Wisdom & Jnana Yoga means Union with the Divine via Wisdom.

Wisdom has been defined as organised Life. Wisdom and knowledge are different. Wisdom is a special kind of knowledge. What is the use of knowing everything if one doesn’t know the Self ? Knowledge of the Absolute Self alone is Wisdom. ( Sa Vidya Tan Mathir Yaya ).

The Quantum Field Theory

Quantum Mechanics postulate that the finest state of matter is the Vaccum State. The universal sea of matter exist in the Vaccum State. It is defined as the Field of all possibilities. This Vaccum State of the Quantum Field
corresponds to the Indestructible Being of transcendental philosophy.

Matter was studied and pursued till one day it vanished into energy. De Broglie’s Matter-Wave Hypothesis postulates that the electron is both a particle and a wave. This wave like nature of matter has taken Physics into the realm of Metaphysics, which hath already declared that matter is a form of Energy and Energy is a form of Consciousness.

The Sevenfold Chord of Being ( The Septenary Principles )

The Universal Substance, by which all this is pervaded, manifests with Its septenary principles with Matter as the lowest term and pure Being as the highest.

Matter ( Annam )
Life ( Prana )
Mind ( Mana )
Supermind ( Vijnana )
Existence ( Sat )
Consciousness ( Chit )
Bliss ( Ananda )

These are what the ancient sages meant by the sevenfold mode of cosmic existence, the septenary principles through which the Universal expresses itself.

These, then, are the seven colours of the light of Divine Consciousness, the seven rays of the Infinite, and by them the Spirit has filled in the canvass of his own selfexistence conceptually extended, woven of the objective warp of Space & the subjective woof of Time, the myriad wonders of his self-creation, great, simple & symmetrical in its primal laws and vast framings.The Light, the Sound is One;their action is sevenfold. ( Aurobindo )

How to overcome the Ego

All knowledge is threefold (” Thraigunya Vishaya Veda “). In Freudian Psycho-analysis we have three impulses, Id, Ego and Supergo. The Vedantic Satwa, Rajas and Thamas correspond to these impulses.
The mind is always gripped by these three impulses. Sometimes we are Rajasic ( worldly ) and go after wealth. When intense anger and other negative emotions grip us, we are Thamasic. When divine qualities like Love and Peace influence us, we are Satwic ( divine ).

The Ego with its ten heads ( symbolised as the ten-headed Ravana ) is the major block in attaining Self_Actualisation. The ten heads of the Ego are Lust,Anger,Pride, Avarice, Sloth, Covetousness, Attachment, Mind, Intellect, Conceit & Egoistic Mentality. Only when the ten heads of the Ego are removed can we hope to get Self-Realisation. ( Symbolically only when the Ravana in us is destroyed ).

When we do our yoga, we will be assailed by three type of Ego. Rajasic ( wordly ), Thamasic ( bestial ) and Satwic ( noble ). In order to overcome the three types of Ego, we are given certain commandments.

” Ma the Sanghostha karmani ” – (Let there be not in you any attachment to inaction. ) This commandment is given so that we can overcome the Thamasic ( bestial ) ego.

” Ma Karma Phala Heturbhoo ” – (“Dont expect any reward”) This commandment is given to protect us from the Rajasic ( wordly ) ego, which always expects rewards for work done.

“Ubhe Sukruta Dushkrute ” ( “Be beyond good and evil ” ) This commandment is given to us to overcome the Satwic Ego, for one should not hang on to Punya ( divine merit ).

In other words, during the process of Yoga we will be assailed by all sorts of negative thoughts. Our aim is to identify with the Source of all thought, the Self. We will find, as we progress on the path of yoga, that these negative thoughts leave us slowly and steadily. Conquering our negative aspect is not easy. The negative elements in man are the true villains. Alone, powerful, cruel are the dark and dreadful forces that profit from the reign of Night and Ignorance and they dont want any change in the body. We have to annihilate them one by one.

In tragic life, God wot
No villains need be, passions spin the plot
We are betrayed by what is false within !

The entire Vedic wisdom is contained in one word ” Transcend “.
Transcend both pain & sorrow, transcend the triune attributes of Nature.
Transcend negativity !.

More information about Transcendental Philosophy & Yoga can be had from http://www.astrologiavedica.com/html/yogamain.htm

We are always confronted by the negative qualities. Perfection has to be worked out, harmony has to be established. Ignorance, limitation, sorrow, – these are the negative qulities as pitted against Knowledge, Infintiy & Bliss. These negative qualities are merely the first terms of the formula – unintelligible, till we have worked out the wider terms and reintepreted the formulary. They are merely the initial discords of the Musician’s harmony. To rise from the Negative to the Positive, from Ignorace to Divine Knowledge, from limitation to the Illimitable, from sorrow to Bliss Infinite, from Matter to revealed Spirit, is Yoga. To achieve this end for ourselves and for our brethren is the aim of our Yogic practice.
– ( Aurobindo)

Wise men like Ramana Maharshi advises us to annihilate the Mind. For it is that which gives you pleasure that gives you pain. The root cause of all bondage and all sorrow is Mind ! Annihilate the mind by thinking on its real nature. The true Source of the Mind is the “I”, the primal Thought. Because of the Primal Thought, the mind exists! He advises us to enquire into the nature of the Self. The thought ” Who am I ” will lead
us to the annihilation of the mind. This thought ” Who am I ” is like the the burning log which will burn all other logs!

I am pure Being, by whom all things be !

The Negative Method in the Upanishads

In the Upanishads Reality is defined by a series of negatives because the Negative is less limiting than the Positive.

This is known as the Neti ( “Not this ” ) method. We deny the Finite in order to affirm the Infinite.

We say this is my shirt. That means that I am not the shirt. Similarly we declare my hands, my legs etc which means I am not the hands or legs. Then who am I ? The body is mine, therefore ” I ” am not the body. Then who is this “I” ? We therefore apply Intuitive Logic and deny everything. All these are mine, but I am not they. A state will come, during this process of denial, that I cannot deny one thing. What is this thing which I cannot deny? That which I cannot deny is “I”, the Self, the Consciousness !

The finite is negated to affirm the Infinite.

The Superconscient as the Base

The Superconscious Mind and not the subconscious is the base of all Life.

Let us analyse why the Superconscient is considered as the foundation.

Deep within the five sheaths which compose our being – the material, the the vital,the mental, the gnostic & the blissful – is the Absoulte Self , the divine component in us which Jesus referred to as the Kingdom of
Heaven ( ” The Kingdom of Heaven is within you and whomsover shall know himself shall find it ” ).

The dreadful forces or ” hostile forces” as they are known – lust, greed, anger, jealousy, sloth & covetousness – lie in the dark caverns of the Subconscious mind. Wisdom declares that they are our inner enemies.

Man houses dangerous forces in his house
The Titan, the Fury and the Djinn
Lay in the subsconscient’s cavern pit
And the Beast moved in his antre den

The Enemy means who ? Our inner enemies which lie in the Subconscient!

Socrates is poisoned. Jesus crucified. Bruno burnt alive. This phenomenon is known in Yogic Psychology as the downward pull of the mind, when the dark forces that lie in the subconscient triumph ( in the collective
subsconscient ). The reverse phenomenon, the upward pull of the mind is that which pulls us from death to immortality and realises in this body of earth the luminous Kingdom of Heaven ( Self-Actualisation ).

The four faculties of the Intuitive Reason – Revealation, Inspiration, Intuition and Illumination are all the properties of the Superconscious Mind and can be experienced if we make ourselves pure and make our mind still (” Be still and know that I am God ” – Bible ).

The aim of Yoga is pull ourselves out of the darkness of the subconscient into the Light of the Superconscient and to receive the intuitions and the revealations of the Self and ultimately lead us to Self_Actualisation. The aim of Nature is to effect Super-Nature. The aim of Yoga is Self, is
Self-Actualisation.

The great battle between good and evil which was depicted by the poets ( Iliad, Odyssey, Ramayana,Mahabharata etc ) is actually the great war happening in the human bosom between the conflicting forces of good and evil, ever locked in eternal combat. Utlimately the positive elements – Truth, Dharma, Peace, Love & the Discriminative Intellect will win over the negative elements in us and we will be transmuted into the Divine Man. This is the ultimate formula of Wisdom – the divine transmutation of Man!

Yoga as Divine Alchemy

Alchemy is the science of transmuting baser metals into gold. Yoga is divine alchemy as it transmutes base metals ( our human nature ) into gold ( divine nature ).

Scientifically, Alchemy is possible. By proton bombardment, the atomic number of any element can be increased to form another element. So, theoretically, any element can be converted into Aurum ( gold ).

Alchemy is symbolic and no physical transmutation is meant here. Divine Alchemy is the ultimate formula wherein we are transmuted into the Divine Being-Knowledge-Bliss!

This is what the ancient Yogis meant by Transmutation, Transformation & Transfiguration !

The Fourfold Yoga – Part I – An Introduction

Yoga is derived from the word “Yuj” which means to unite. Union with Cosmic
Creative Intelligence is the aim of Yoga.

The Fourfold Yoga has been prescribed for Cosmic Union in Oriental Philosophies.
They are

1. Union via Action ( Karma Yoga )
2. Union via Psychic Control ( Raja Yoga )
3. Union via Universal Love ( Bhakthi Yoga )
4. Union via Wisdom ( Jnana Yoga )

Union via Action is for the person of active temparament.
Union via Psychic Contro is for the person of adventurous temparament
Union via Universal Love is for the person of emotional temparament.
Union via Wisdom is for the person of intellectual temparament.

These four paths are not different from one another. They are all part of the Fourfold Yoga.

Certain qualities are to be inculcated in the seeker if he is to achieve the Ultimate Goal.

Prajna has been defined as the discriminative intellect. When the intellect discriminates between the Real & the Unreal. The intellect which discriminates between Being and Non-Being. This quality should be incorporated by the Intellectual Man if he is to progress in the path of Jnana Yoga.

Love is defined as the greatest of all the positive qualities of man. This quality is to be incorporated by the Emotional Man if he is to progress in the field of Bhakthi Yoga.

Control of Mind or Psychic Control through Raja Yoga should be incorporated
by the Adventurous Man if he is to progress in the field of Raja Yoga.

Selfless Service should be incorporated by the Active Man if he is to progress in the field of Karma Yoga.

In other words, since the Fourfold Yoga has been prescribed for mankind , all these four great qualities – Selfless service, love, psychic control & the discriminative intellect should be incorporated by the spiritual
aspirant to develop in the field of Yoga.

Yoga was defined by Aurobindo as a methodic process towards self-perfection through a development of the latent potential at the five levels of Being – physical, vital, mental, intellectual & spiritual. Normal man lives only in the first three sheaths – physical, vital & mental. Only when we use our hidden spiritual potential – the intellectual & the bliss sheaths – can be unfold our full mental potential.

The Seven States of Consciousness

Man lives in 3 relative states of Consciousnes- waking, dreaming & Dreamless sleep known in Sanskrit as Jagrata, Swapna & Sushupti. Now there is a Transcendental state of Consciousness known as the Fourth ( Tureeya ) & there are still higher states of Consciousness.

These are the seven states

1 .Waking
2. Dreaming ( REM sleep )
3. Dreamless Sleep ( non- REM )
4. Transcendental Consciousness ( T C)
5. Cosmic Consciousness ( C C )
6. Glorified State of Cosmic Consciousness ( G C )
7. Unified State of Cosmic Consciousness ( U C )

In his Phd Thesis “The physiological effects of Transcendental Meditation, a Proposed Fourth Major state of Consciousness ” Dr Robert Keith Wallace proved the existence of a fourth major state of Consciousness ( T C ).

Cosmic Consciousness is a state where TC & the 3 relative states coexist. More information about Transcendental Philosophy & Yoga can be had from http://www.astrologiavedica.com/html/yogamain.htm

The way to achieving Higher States of Consciousness- The Triune Meditation

Meditation is threefold

1. Physical Meditation

2. Verbal Meditation

3. Mental Meditation.

Reverence to preceptors & Yogis, worhsip of one’s Tutelary Deity, observance of Continence, non-violence – all these constitute Physical Meditation. Speaking kind words and not hurting anyone, Observance of Truth, Self-Study ( serious study of the Self ) – all these constitute Verbal Meditation.

Mental Meditation – Mental cheerfulness, humility, observance of Silence, mastery of the sense organs, purity of heart – all these constitute Mental Meditation.

The aim of Nature is to effect Super-Nature and the aim of Yoga is Self_ Actualisation. The Goal of Life is Self-Realisation, and in order to unfold our true potential, we have to follow the Fourfold Path.

He still keeps to the high & difficult road
That sole leads to the Eternal’s peaks!

Without Knowledge, without service, without psychic control & finally Love, who have ever realised his Self ?

And what is prerequisite for this Self_Realisation ? Sacrifice !

Only by hard sacrifice is high heaven earned ( Aurobindo ).

Attachment to the sensory world is Bondage. Sacrifice alone can give us Liberation or Self_Actualisation and the Ultimate Bliss.

Earth’s pains are the ransom of its prisoned delights
For Joy and not for sorrow was earth made ( Aurobindo )

By sacrifice, we become the Self_Actualising person of Abraham Maslow living in the widest possible frame of reference.

He who to none and nowhere overbound
By ties of flesh, takes evil things and good
Neither desponding nor exulting such
Bears Wisdom’s plainest mark ! ( The Song Celestial )

About the Land of Wisdom, extolled by Western scholars

Walt Whitman said

To India, to primal thought
To Reason’s early paradise
Of Wisdom’s birth and innocent intuitions
Of a fair creation.

Mark Twain said: ” India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition.”

Will Durant said ” India is the mother of us all; through Sanskrit, the mother of Europe’s languages, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity, through the Arabs, of higher mathematics & algebra; through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is, in many ways, the mother of us all”

Astronomic Trignometry : Vedic Astronomy & Trignometry

In the Great Circle of Light which is 360 degrees, ( the Bha Chakra, the Kala Chakra, the Zodiac ), the first 90 degrees are Oja Pada ( Odd Tri Signs ) and the next 90 degrees are Yugma Pada ( Even Tri Signs ). The degrees traversed by a planet is called Bhuja and the degrees yet to be traversed by a planet is called Koti in an Oja Pada. In a Yugma Pada, the degrees traversed by the planet is called Koti and the degrees yet to be traversed by a planet is called Bhuja. In other words, the degrees traversed by a planet is the same in the first 0 – 90 degrees and in the second Pada, it is 180 – degrees traversed. In the 180-270 degrees arc, it is distance traversed – 180 degrees and in the 270-360 degrees arc, it is 360 – distance traversed. This is known in Vedic Astronomy as the equation of Bhuja or Sin. Bhujajya is radius multiplied by modern Sine.

In the Mighty Circle of Light

The First 90 degrees is Oja called

The distance traversed is Bhuja called

Koti is the untraversed degree !

( Oja Yatra Bhujaira Kotirapara Meshadi Jookadhi Kau )

Brahmagupta, in his mathematical treatise, the Brahmasphuta Siddhanta used the word Jya which means 5 degrees of a 360 degree circle which is the Zodiac, which is the Ecliptic. Suppose a planet has traversed 42 degrees in the first Oja Pada ( From Aries to Gemini end ).The Bhuja is 42 degrees and the Bhujajya is the 9th Jya or the 9*5 th degree. Bhujajya by Trijya is Opposite Side by Hypotenuse or the modern Sine.

Jya Ganitha means Trignometry. The equation for Koti is different. It is Kotijya by Trijya or Adjacent Side by Hypotenuse ( the modern Cos ). As per Indian Learning it was Aryabhata, one of the greatest mathematicians ever, who first computed the celestial longitudes of planets ( Aryabhato Graha Ganitham ).

The calculations given for the perturbations of Moon, Jupiter and Saturn are as follows. First find out the Bhuja of the planet, the degrees traversed. Find out its Bhujajya or Sin ( Bhuja ). Multiply it by the value given ( which is in seconds) and add it to the mean longitude of the planet.

Meshadi , Thuladi, Karkyadi & Makaradi ( The First Points of Aries, Cancer, Libra & Capricorn )

From Aries to Libra is the Northern Celestial Hemisphere ( NCH ) and from Libra to Aries is the Southern Celestial Hemisphere ( SCH ). If the planet’s Kendra is in NCH, the values are to be subtracted and if in the SCH, it is to be added.

Karkyadi is the First Point of Cancer and the beginning of Dakshinayana, the Southern course of the Sun, his declination South. Makaradi is the First Point of Capricorn and the beginning of Uttarayana, the Northern course of the Sun , his declination North. At Meshadi, the Sun’s declination is 0 degrees and Right Ascension is 0 degrees. At Karkyadi, the Sun’s declination is +23 degrees 27 minutes and Right Ascension is 90 degrees. At Thuladi, the Sun’s declination is 0 degrees and Right Ascension is 180 degrees. At Makaradi, the Sun’s declination is -23 degrees 27 minutes and Right Ascension is 270 degrees.

The Perturbations of Jupiter

The equations given for Jupiter’s perturbations are as follows: Five major perturbations are included along with a major perturbation which is given below. ( The great Jupiter – Saturn perturbation ).

Kendra means an angle in Sanskrit . Manda Kendra means Mean Anomaly, the angle between position and perihelion and Sheeghra Kendra is the last angle formed before the ultimate reduction to perihelion. All Kendras are zero at perihelion.

The English Era + 3102 gives the Kali Era, the Era of the Hindu Calender. From that value 4660 is deducted and the value is divided by 918. This gives the Beeja Kendra. Find out the Sin ( Bhuja ) of that, multiply it with 1187 seconds and add it to Jupiter’s longitude if the Kendra is in NCH and subtract it if it is in SCH.

There are other minor perturbations which can be ignored.

( Lj = Mean Longitude of Jupiter; Ls – Mean Longitude of Saturn. These longitudes are Tropical or Sayana. ).

First Kendra (Sin ( Lj – Ls ) – 1. 15)* 81
Second Kendra Sin (( Lj – 2 Ls) – 13.08 )* 132
Third Kendra Sin ( 2 Lj – 2 Ls – 0.58 )* 200
Fourth Kendra Sin ( 2 Lj – 3 Ls – 61.57 )* 83
Fifth Kendra Sin ( 3 Lj – 5 Ls – 56.38 )* 162

The first value is to be added if the Kendra is Thuladi ( after the First Point of Libra ) and deducted if it is Meshadi ( after the First Point of Aries ). 2,3,4 & 5 are to be added if it is Meshadi and subtracted if Thuladi

The Perturbations of Saturn

First Kendra Sin ( Lj – 2 Ls ) -14.66 )*418
Second Kendra Sin ( 2 Lj – 4 Ls + 56.90 )* 667
Third Kendra Sin ( 3Ls – Lj + 77.38 )* 48

These values are to be added if the Kendra is Thuladi ( after the First Point of Libra ) and deducted if it is Meshadi ( after the First Point of Aries ). In Sanskrit it is called Meshadi Rinam & Thuladi Dhanam. Meshadi is the beginning of the Northern Celestial Hemisphere and Thuladi the begining of the Southern Celestial Hemisphere.

There are other minor perturbations which may affect only the Vikala ( second ) of the planet’s longitude and hence can be ignored.

The Perturbations of the Moon

(Ms – Mean Anomaly of the Sun; Mm – Mean Anomaly of the Moon; Ls – Mean Longitude of the Sun; Lm – Mean Longitude of the Moon; D = Lm – Ls ( Thidhi); Nm – Node of the Moon. These values are Sidereal or Nirayana )

14 Kendras are to be made and 14 trignometric corrections are to be given, according to astronomical savants. These 14 reductions are mandatory and only after these reductions can we get the true longitude of the Moon.

First Kendra Sin ( Ms + 180 ) * 658
Second Kendra Sin ( Lm – Ls ) * 121
Third Kendra Sin ( 2*D – Mm ) * 4467
Fourth Kendra Sin ( 2*D + 6 Signs ) * 2145
Fifth Kendra Sin (( 2*D – Mm -Ms ) + 180)* 198
Sixth Kendra Sin ( 2*D – Ms ) * 155
Seventh Kendra Sin ( Mm- Ms + 180 ) *112
Eighth Kendra Sin ( 2( Lm – Nm- Mm +180))* 85
Ninth Kendra Sin ( 2*Ls – Nm ) * 81
Tenth Kendra Sin ( Mm – Ms )* 73
Eleventh Kendra Sin ( 2*D + Mm ) * 60
Twelfth Kendra Sin ( 2*Mm – 2 D + 180 ) * 42
Thirteenth Kendra Sin ( 4*D – Mm ) * 35
Fourteenth Kendra Sin ( 4*D – 2*Mm +180)* 30

These trignometric corrections should be added to Moon’s Mean Longitude if the Kendra is in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere and deducted if the Kendra is in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere and then we get the Samskrutha Chandra Madhyamam or the Cultured Mean Longitude of the Moon. Manda Kriya ( Reduction to True Anomaly ) must be done. Then Parinathi Kriya ( Reduction to Ecliptic ) should be done and what we get then is the longitude of the Moon along the Ecliptic !

Viskshepa Vrittopa Gatho Vipatha
Thasmannayel Jyam Parinathyabhikhyam

Yugmaupada Swarnam Idam Vidheyam
Syath Kranti Vritteeya Ihaisha Chandra !

After the Reductions Fourteen, Sin M to be added or minussed thereby

To the Cultured Longitude Mean; The Node to be deducted &

Reduced to the Earth’s Path ( Ecliptic ); thus shall we get as the resultant Value,

Luna’s true Sidereal Longitude !

Sufism – The Path of Love

The word Sufi is derived from the Greek “Sophia”, meaning Wisdom. It is known as Tasawwuf ( Mysticism ) in Arabic, and is considered by scholars as the mystical, the inner or psycho-spiritual aspect of Philosophia Islamica. The great scholar, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, considered Sufism as the esoteric dimension of Al Islam.

Sufism emphasises on the Unity of Absolute Being, Wahdat al Wujud. Absolute Being alone exists in se and the Relative Universe is only a superimposition upon the Absolute Reality. Absolute Being is also Absolute Beauty, before Whose Beauty all earthly beauty is but a pale comparison !

The Influence of Neoplatonism on Sufism

Plotinus, the founder of Neoplatonism conceived the Divine as the Alpha and Omega of Existence, its Source & Goal. The translations of Plotinus provided the philosophical ground for Sufism. One is struck by the similarities which exist in both systems, with regard to the concept of God, the soul, the body, Vice and Virtue, Life and Death and Beauty !

Sufism was influenced by Orpheus and Pythagoreanism. Orpheus was a poet who lived in Anatolia in the 6th and 7th centuries BCE. He had divine qualities and he could influence wild animals with his music. He postulated that the human soul can achieve perfection by refining itself from all passions and worldly possessions. Soul travels from body to body for self purification and reaches the Perfect State. Pythagorus adopted Orpheus’ philosophy and integrated it with his own concepts. Plotinus, the founder of Neoplatonism took Plato’s Theory of Ideas and reinterpreted them from Protagoras’ point of view. Neoplatonism considers the Divine as the Alpha & the Omega. From Him everything comes into being, in Him everything exists, and to Him all return. Communion or Union with Him is the highest Goal, therefore. Our lives have only a symbolic meaning and it is good and necessary as a Becoming. But all Becoming has Being as its Goal and Fulfillment and God is the only Being !

Sufism is the Path of Love – Al Muhabba. The Lord is understood as Universal Love and the aim of Sufism is to unite with the Source of all Being, Universal Love ! Love without Philosophy is superstition and Sufism therefore encourages the adventures of the intellect, the scientific and the philosophical pursuit, Al Marifa !

When he was asked about Sufism, Junayd ( the preceptor of Mansur Al Hallaj ) said, “Sufism is that you should be with the Divine– without any attachment.”

Sufism emphasises upon the struggle to overcome the dominance that one’s Negative Ego ( Nafs ) has over one. The war depicted in the great Epics – Iliad & the Odyssey etc – depict the great war between Good and Evil happening inside the human bosom – where the great struggle for supremacy is fought out on the ground floor of our existence, between the black and white opposites of Virtue and Vice, Light and Darkness, prosperity & adversity. The Beloved ( God ) may manifest as Benevolence or Severity and the Sufi aspirant has to love both !

As Rumi said:

I am a lover of both His benevolence and severity!
Amazing it is that I’m in love with these opposites !

If the aspirant can overcome one’s Negative Ego, ( in the inner War, Jihad ul Nafs ) he can achieve Bliss, the Bliss for which the world’s derelict sorrows yearn !

If you could get rid of yourself just once,
The secret of secrets would open to you.
The face of the Unknown, hidden beyond the universe
Would appear on the Mirror of your perception. ~Rumi

Annihilation in the Divine Ocean

Like the waves of the Ocean, we are individual egos in the Divine Ocean of Existence. The aspirant, desirous of union with the Beloved, has to go through many stages of Consciousness. He has to lose his illusory individuality in the Infinite and this can only be achieved by Annihilation and Subsistence.

The Sheik of Naqshbandi wrote

In my annihilation of annihilation
In my annhilation
I found You !

Annihilation in the Divine Beloved.

For every initiate, there will be a Master ( Shaikh ). The Shaikh imparts his power to the disciple. The initiate goes through a process of purification and initiation. Once the initiate attains maturity, by the Grace of his Shaikh, he attains the state of Fana fi Shaikh, a state of annihilation in the astral plane.

The next stage is Fana fi Rasool, enjoying the qualities of the Prophet. Grace descends on him as he furthur advances on the path.

Next stage in the Evolution of Consciousness is the state of Fana fi Allah, annihilation in the Beloved. The initiate loses his identity in the all embracing Beloved, who he now understands is the Prime Mover of everything and who permeates the cosmos !

Rumi wrote

I thought about You so often
That I completely became You !
Little but little You drew near
Slowly but slowly I passed away.

This passing away is Annihilation in the Beloved ( Fana fi Allah ). There is another
intermediary state – Fana al Fana and the last state is Baqi bi Allah or Permanence in the
Beloved, which is the Eternal or Ultimate State. Fanah refers to Annihilation & Bakah refers to Subsistence.

The Universal Truth, extolled by all religions and philosophies, is the Essential Self, which is the substratum or the basis for the Persona, or the superficial personality. Every man has a Persona or Mask, but deep within him is the Ultimate Reality or Essential Self. Now to manifest the Essential Self, the initiate goes through a process of purification & transmutes his carnal ego into a refined ego, by the process of Prayer and Meditation. He seeks the Divine, loves the Divine, embraces the Divine, lives with the Divine and sacrifices for the Divine ! By his noble sacrifice, he earns for himself Heaven ! Only by hard sacrifice is high Heaven earned !

About Universal Truth, Ibn Arabi, the Great Master , ( al Shaikh al Akbar ) wrote

She has eluded the learned of Islam

And those who have studied the Psalms

The Jewish Rabbi

The Christian priest !

The greatest Sufi was Mohammed himself ( Peace be upon him ), he who said that ” Shariah ( Ethical Law ) is my speech, Tariqat ( the Way ) my actions and Haqiqat ( Truth ) my states ” !

Sufism can function as a Universal Religion & the well known scholar Kabir Edmund Helminski wrote thus about Sufism

” If Sufism recognizes one central truth, it is the unity of being, that we are not separate from the Divine. The unity of being is a truth which our age is in an excellent position to appreciate — emotionally, because of the shrinking of our world through communications and transportation, and intellectually, because of developments in modern physics. We are One: one people, one ecology, one universe, one being. If there is a single truth, worthy of the name, it is that we are all integral to the Truth, not separate. The realization of this truth has its effects on our sense of who we are, on our relationships to others and to all aspects of life. Sufism is about realizing the current of love that runs through human life, the unity behind forms.”

Inner & Outer Jihad ( Struggle ) in Sufism

“And those who perform jihad for Us, We shall certainly guide them in Our ways,
and God is surely with the doers of good”. (Quran XXXIX; 69)

“You have returned from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad” . (Hadith)

Jihad means struggle and there are two types of struggle. The lesser Jihad is struggle against the oppressors; the greater Jihad is the inner struggle against the inner enemies, the Seven Deadly Sins ( lust, greed, anger, jealousy, sloth, covetousness & gluttony). The outer struggle is defined as Al Jihad Al Asghar and the inner struggle is Al Jihad Al Akbar !

Fighting against one’s negative ego is the most difficult, as the most difficult conquest is the conquest of the Mind. Verily it is said that the noblest conquest is the conquest of Mind or the greatest conquest is the conquest of oneself.

In his journey, the aspirant ultimately overcomes his Negative Ego & he becomes the Perfect Man, Al Insan Al Kamil !

Transcendental Philosophy The New Age or the Aquarian Age & World Government

It is generally believed that the Aquarian Age started in the year 2000, 2160 years roughly being the Age of a Sign. The Piscean age started at around 200 BCE ( Before Common Era ). Let us study the symbolisms of the Piscean and the Aquarian Ages. As the Earth’s precession is 72 degrees per degree, 2160 years is an Age Cycle. 25920 years ( 12*2160) is a Precessional Cycle or a Great Plato Year or an Aeon.

Pisces means Fishes and Jesus was the Redeemer of the Piscean Age. The Piscean Age emphasised Faith. The two fishes of Pisces indicate Dualism and during this time, the conflict between Religion & Science intensified as Science rose against blind Faith. The belief in an external God was rejected by Science. Aquarius is ruled by two planets in Astrology – Uranus & Saturn. Uranus represents Independence and Saturn Universal Humanism. Humanism postulates that no dogma or political doctrine can save you; only you can save yourself. If you save yourself, you save society, you save the nation and the Planet Earth ! In other words, Universal Humanism will be the hallmark of the Aquarian Age.

The astrologic scholar Jeff Jawer remarks that the Aquarian Age has not arrived in his article ” On The Cusp between Pisces and Aquarius. ” The first Venus Transit occurred in 2004 & the next one wlll be in 2012. These 8 years will be like the Dark Night of the Soul, a chaotic period of purgatorial suffering as the Planet Earth goes through a dark phase.

Dr Jose Arguelles, the scholar who brought the concept of Harmonic Convergence, also thinks that the enlightening Age of Aquarius will dawn on 2012. The famous song on Aquarian Age states thus

When the moon is in the Seventh House

And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets

And love will steer the stars!

This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
The age of Aquarius
Aquarius!
Aquarius!

All freethinkers are excited about the New Aquarian Age where Wisdom will blossom and importance will be on Self development, Self Transformation, Self Realisation & Self Actualisation. Gone are the days of dogma & Blind Faith. Personal transformation will result in Planetary Transformation !

Dante, Bernard Shaw & Alice Bailey had highlighted in their writings that a World Government is the only solution to achieve permanent World Peace. Mahesh Yogi inaugurated the World Government in 1975 in Seelisberg, Switzerland ( ” In response to the call of time, a global organisation has been structured, the non-political, the non- religious World Government which has the knowledge and expertise to create an ideal society” ). Foster Bailey, the husband of Alice Bailey, said that ” Free Masonry is the descendent of a United World Religion, a divinely imparted Religion. Then came separativeness and religions. Now we are striving for a United World Order” There is also a move to create a World Stock Market & to control all governments in the world. The foundations behind the United Nations are spiritual. The Global Oneness Movement is gaining momentum and a Council of Global Governance has been constituted with Maurice Strong as the President.

Dr Wilhmhurst saw the dawning of the Aquarian Age as the fulfillment of the Plan and said that Free Masonry may be the vehicle for that fulfillment. Wise people point out that the New Age Movement is the Universal Religion which H G Wells predicted would one day take over mankind.

The hand of the Mysteries controlled the establishment of the United States Government and the signature of the Mysteries may still be seen on the Great Seal of the United States of America. The Seal discloses a mass of Masonic symbols, chiefly amongst them the American Eagle, which is a conventionalized phoenix. The U S Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter said ” The real rulers in Washington are invisible and exercise power from behind the scenes “.

The Third Testament

The New Age has been referred to as the Third Testament. While the Old & the New Testaments emphasised that Truth is Freedom ( Veritas vos Liberabit ), New Age Philosophy averrs that Knowledge alone is Freedom. Self Knowledge or Knowledge of the Absolute Self alone can make you free ! Global Oneness alone can save the world. Globalists alone can bring a planetary transformation and not those who champion the cause of a Nation or a Civilisation.

Some prominent globalists are Jeremy Rifkin, Norman Cousins, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, John Denver, George Lucas, Norman Lear, Alice Bailey, Alvin Toffler, Dr. Barbara Ray, Benjamin Creme, Levi Dowling, George Trevelyan, Fritjof Capra, Abraham Maslow, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Ruth Montgomery, Shirley MacLaine, J.Z. Knight, Marilyn Ferguson, David Spangler, Nelson Mandela & Gorbachev.

Marilyn Ferguson in her book ‘ The Aquarian Conspiracy’ remarks that the New Age Revolution is a Movement which is characterised by ‘ no political doctrines, no manifesto’. It is a Movement ‘more universal than reform’ and ‘more profound than a revolution ! ‘ The main chararacteristic of the New Aquarian Age will be Spiritual Democray. Global integration has been achieved via the Net, which implements the Global Village Concept. The Wonder – the World Wide Web – is the true World Encyclopaedia !

Always the teachings of the White Lodge ( the Philosophers ) were opposed by the Black Lodge ( Theology ), who maintain that Man and God are different. Giadarno Bruno, one of the greatest philosophers, had to give his life as a price for his mystical experiences. He was burnt as a heretic. Rising to this challenge, Isaac Bonewits formulated the Aquarian Manifesto, which gives the freedom and the liberty to worship the God of one’s choice. This Aquarian Manifesto protects psychics & mystics.

Piscean Symbolism – Dualism

Pisces is characterised by two Fishes – The Eastern Fish & the Western Fish. The Eastern Fish represents the Positive Aspect of Man & the Western Fish , the Negative Aspect. It indicates the fierce conflict between Science & Theology and conflicting ideologies – Marxism vs Mysticism, Existentialism vs Essentialism etc. The lower energies, such as greed, jealousy, ego & ignorance were expressed during the Piscean Age and higher energies like peace, love and truth will be exhibited in the Aquarian Age. The Internet and the World Wide Web are Aquarian concepts. The dot com drives for Profit were Piscean and did not work.The Dot Com disaster , the 9/11 WTC attack – all these are indicators that it is time for us, as a global community, to evolve to a higher level of Consciousness and usher in a New Age. The main reason for the 9/11 disaster was our lack of global unity and separativeness.

Global Integration

As it is a syncretic Movement ( Syncretism holds that all religions are
essentially One ), it will bring forth global integration & Spiritual Democracry. During the Taurean Age ( 4000 BCE ), worship of the Golden Calf was common in the Middle East. During the Arian Age ( circa 2000 BCE ), the Jews indulged in widespread ritual sacrifice of sheep and other animals in the Temple. During the Picean Age ( 160 BC – 2000 ACE ), many Jews walked away from animal sacrifice and embraced Christianity.

The Piscean Age was represented by Clash and an us against them mentality and we saw many clashes, Church against State, Science against Religion, Spirituality against Materialism, Right vs. Wrong, Evil vs. Good, etc. Many forgot that they are spiritual beings having a human experience as the external world was focussed

A Paradigm Shift to Global Order ?

Dr Thomas Kuhn in his book ‘ Structure of Scientific Revolutions” defined a Paradigm ( pattern ) thus “Science is a series of peaceful interludes, punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions “.After such revolutions, one conceptual world view is replaced by another. The New World View is Monism ( All is One) , Holism ( Reality is organically One ) & Pantheism ( The Universe is divine & earth is sacred ). All regressive thinking & negative tendencies will fade away and Enlightenment will dawn. The Aquarian Age will usher in a major Shift in intellectual thinking, as it is the Shift of of the Ages ! Astrology will regain its pristine glory and guide humanity. Those Great Revolving Heavens which maketh Providence a virtuous Power, those mighty ones which advance us when we have learned or retard us when there is still work to done, will be respected as the messengers of Universal Will. We have to evolve to Divinity and become the Perfected Whole !

The World Plan has been in motion for centuries as a New World Order cannot happen overnight. To achieve this difficult task, guns have to removed from the hands of private owners, currency has to be removed and replaced it with credit, and intelligence databases all around the world should be coordinated. Many people are becoming aware that something serious is going on and a World Plan to unite global currencies, trade boundaries & Nation States are in the offing. The principle of Global Economic Interdependence will unite all the economies of the world. There exists a benign Secret Power behind the scenes whose aim is to control all the goverments of the world. The innovative World Order is made up many elements of control – Mind control, gun control, IMF, The World Bank, FEMA, UN, Secret Societies, weather control and so on and on and on. Nothing but absolute control over everything; trade, banking, stock markets, oil, energy, technology, cyber world, nuclear capability, etc, is the New World Order.

Let us conclude this article with the Great Invocation, the World Prayer,
which belongs to all humanity.

From point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.

From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let Love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May the Coming One return to Earth.

From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.

Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth.

Transcendental Philosophy | Transcendental Philosophy averrs that all this is Becoming, mirrored as everything is in the Universal Mind. Jagat ( the relative Universe), Jiva ( the relative Ego ) & Para ( the relative Supreme ) are projections of the Universal Mind on the substratum of Pure Consciousness, Maya, upon the substratum of Brahman, the Absolute

Transcendental Philosophy | Transcendental PhilosophyRelative Being is the triad of Relative Universe, Relative Ego & Relative Supreme… the substratum is the Absolute Being, which is attributeless.

Integral Consciousness am I, the primal Self,
In Me there is neither Ego nor the Supreme Relative

Well, this is about philosophy transcendental.

Let us discuss the Unknown !