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ISBN: 978-81-89535-19-3 (paperback)

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Contents
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Gospel
Chapter 2: The Goal
Chapter 3: The Procedure
Chapter 4: The Revelation
Conclusion
Photographs
Swami Sri Yukteswar (Frontispiece)
Swami Sri Yukteswar and Paramahansa Yogananda, Calcutta, 1935
Swami Sri Yukteswar with Paramahansa Yogananda, last Solstice Festival,
Serampore, 1935

FOREWORD

Prophets of all lands and ages have succeeded in their God-quest.

Entering a state of true illumination, nirbikalpa samadhi, these saints have

realized the Supreme Reality behind all names and forms. Their wisdom

and spiritual counsel have become the scriptures of the world. These,

although outwardly differing by reason of the variegated cloaks of words,

are all expressions—some open and clear, others hidden or symbolic—of

the same basic truths of Spirit.

My gurudeva, Jnanavatar1 Swami Sri Yukteswar (1855–1936) of

Serampore, was eminently fitted to discern the underlying unity between

the scriptures of Christianity and of Sanatan Dharma. Placing the holy texts

on the spotless table of his mind, he was able to dissect them with the

scalpel of intuitive reasoning, and to separate interpolations and wrong

interpretations of scholars from the truths as originally given by the

prophets.

It is owing to Jnanavatar Swami Sri Yukteswar’s unerring spiritual

insight that it now becomes possible, through this book, to establish a

fundamental harmony between the difficult biblical book, Revelation, and

the Sankhya philosophy of India.

As my gurudeva has explained in his introduction, these pages were

written by him in obedience to a request made by Babaji, the holy gurudeva

of Lahiri Mahasaya, who in turn was the gurudeva of Sri Yukteswar. I have

written about the Christlike lives of these three great masters in my book,

Autobiography of a Yogi.2

The Sanskrit sutras set forth in The Holy Science will shed much light

on the Bhagavad Gita as well as on other great scriptures of India.

Paramahansa Yogananda

249 Dwapara (A.D. 1949)

1 “Incarnation of Wisdom”; from Sanskrit jnana, “wisdom,” and avatara, “divine incarnation.”

(Publisher’s Note)

2 See here. (Publisher’s Note)

PREFACE

By W. Y. Evans-Wentz, M.A., D.Litt., D.Sc.

Author of

The Tibetan Book of the Dead,

Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa,

Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines, etc.

“It has been my privilege to meet… Sri Yukteswar Giri. A likeness of

the venerable saint appeared as part of the frontispiece of my Tibetan Yoga

and Secret Doctrines. It was at Puri, in Orissa, on the Bay of Bengal, that I

encountered Sri Yukteswar. He was then the head of a quiet ashrama near

the seashore there and was chiefly occupied in the spiritual training of a

group of youthful disciples.… Sri Yukteswar was of gentle mien and voice,

of pleasing presence, and worthy of the veneration that his followers

spontaneously accorded to him. Every person who knew him, whether of

his own community or not, held him in the highest esteem. I vividly recall

his tall, straight, ascetic figure, robed in the saffron-coloured garb of one

who has renounced worldly quests, as he stood at the entrance of the

hermitage to give me welcome. He had chosen as his place of earthly abode

the holy city of Puri, whither multitudes of pious Hindus, representative of

every province of India, come daily on pilgrimage to the famed Temple of

Jagannath, “Lord of the World.” It was at Puri that Sri Yukteswar closed his

mortal eyes, in 1936, to the scenes of this transitory state of being and

passed on, knowing that his incarnation had been carried to a triumphant

completion.

“I am glad, indeed, to be able to record this testimony to the high

character and holiness of Sri Yukteswar.”

Sri Sri Swami Sri Yukteswar and Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda, Calcutta, 1935

Sri Sri Swami Sri Yukteswar and Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda during religious festival

held at Sri Yukteswar’s Serampore ashram, December 1935. The following day, the great Guru

summoned his beloved disciple and transferred to him the responsibility for his ashrams and

spiritual work: “My task on earth is finished; you must carry on.…I leave everything in your

hands.”

INTRODUCTION

[This Kaivalya Darsanam (exposition of Final Truth) has been written

by Priya Nath Swami,3 son of Kshetranath and Kadambini of the Karar

family.

At the request in Allahabad of the Great Preceptor (Mahavatar Babaji)

near the end of the 194th year of the present Dwapara Yuga, this exposition

has been published for the benefit of the world.]

The purpose of this book is to show as clearly as possible that there is an

essential unity in all religions; that there is no difference in the truths

inculcated by the various faiths; that there is but one method by which the

world, both external and internal, has evolved; and that there is but one

Goal admitted by all scriptures. But this basic truth is one not easily

comprehended. The discord existing between the different religions, and the

ignorance of men, make it almost impossible to lift the veil and have a look

at this grand verity. The creeds foster a spirit of hostility and dissension;

ignorance widens the gulf that separates one creed from another. Only a few

specially gifted persons can rise superior to the influence of their professed

creeds and find absolute unanimity in the truths propagated by all great

faiths.

The object of this book is to point out the harmony underlying the

various religions, and to help in binding them together. This task is indeed a

herculean one, but at Allahabad I was entrusted with the mission by a holy

command. Allahabad, the sacred Prayaga Tirtha, the place of confluence of

the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers, is a site for the congregation of

worldly men and of spiritual devotees at the time of Kumbha Mela. Worldly

men cannot transcend the mundane limit in which they have confined

themselves; nor can spiritual devotees, having once renounced the world,

deign to come down and mix themselves in its turmoil. Yet men who are

wholly engrossed in earthly concerns stand in definite need of help and

guidance from those holy beings who bring light to the race. So a place

there must be where union between the two sets is possible. Tirtha affords

such a meeting place. Situated as it is on the beach of the world, storms and

buffets touch it not; the sadhus (ascetics) with a message for the benefit of

humanity find a Kumbha Mela to be an ideal place to impart instruction to

those who can heed it.

A message of such a nature was I chosen to propagate when I paid a

visit to the Kumbha Mela being held at Allahabad in January 1894. As I

was walking along the bank of the Ganges, I was summoned by a man and

was afterwards honored by an interview with a great holy person, Babaji,

the gurudeva of my own guru, Lahiri Mahasaya, of Banaras. This holy

personage at the Kumbha Mela was thus my own paramguruji maharaj,4

though this was our first meeting.

During my conversation with Babaji, we spoke of the particular class of

men who now frequent these places of pilgrimage. I humbly suggested that

there were men greater by far in intelligence than most of those then

present, men living in distant parts of the world—Europe and America—

professing different creeds, and ignorant of the real significance of the

Kumbha Mela. They were men fit to hold communion with the spiritual

devotees, so far as intelligence is concerned; yet such intellectual men in

foreign lands were, alas, wedded in many cases to rank materialism. Some

of them, though famous for their investigations in the realms of science and

philosophy, do not recognize the essential unity in religion. The professed

creeds serve as nearly insurmountable barriers that threaten to separate

mankind forever.

My paramguruji maharaj Babaji smiled and, honoring me with the title

of Swami, imposed on me the task of this book. I was chosen, I do not

know the reason why, to remove the barriers and to help in establishing the

basic truth in all religions.

The book is divided into four sections, according to the four stages in

the development of knowledge. The highest aim of religion is Atmajnanam,

Self-knowledge. But to attain this, knowledge of the external world is

necessary. Therefore the first section of the book deals with  (veda) the

gospel, and seeks to establish fundamental truths of creation and to describe

the evolution and involution of the world.

All creatures, from the highest to the lowest in the link of creation, are

found eager to realize three things: Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss.

These purposes or goals are the subject for discussion in the second section

of the book. The third section deals with the method of realizing the three

purposes of life. The fourth section discusses the revelations which come to

those who have travelled far to realize the three ideals of life and who are

very near their destination.

The method I have adopted in the book is first to enunciate a proposition

in Sanskrit terms of the Oriental sages, and then to explain it by reference to

the holy scriptures of the West. In this way I have tried my best to show that

there is no real discrepancy, much less any real conflict, between the

teachings of the East and the West. Written as the book is, under the

inspiration of my paramgurudeva, and in a Dwapara Age of rapid

development in all departments of knowledge, I hope that the significance

of the book will not be missed by those for whom it is meant.

A short discussion with mathematical calculation of the yugas or ages

will explain the fact that the present age for the world is Dwapara Yuga, and

that 194 years of the Yuga have now (A.D. 1894) passed away, bringing a

rapid development in man’s knowledge.

We learn from Oriental astronomy that moons revolve around their

planets, and planets turning on their axes revolve with their moons round

the sun; and the sun, with its planets and their moons, takes some star for its

dual and revolves round it in about 24,000 years of our earth—a celestial

phenomenon which causes the backward movement of the equinoctial

points around the zodiac. The sun also has another motion by which it

revolves round a grand center called Vishnunabhi, which is the seat of the

creative power, Brahma, the universal magnetism. Brahma regulates

dharma, the mental virtue of the internal world.

When the sun in its revolution round its dual comes to the place nearest

to this grand centre, the seat of Brahma (an event which takes place when

the Autumnal Equinox comes to the first point of Aries), dharma, the

mental virtue, becomes so much developed that man can easily comprehend

all, even the mysteries of Spirit.

The Autumnal Equinox will be falling, at the beginning of the twentieth

century, among the fixed stars of the Virgo constellation, and in the early

part of the Ascending Dwapara Yuga (see Diagram).

DIAGRAM

Virgo is the sign opposite Pisces. The Autumnal Equinox is now

falling in Virgo; the opposite point, the Vernal Equinox, is perforce

now falling in Pisces. Western metaphysicians, who consider the

Vernal Equinox to have chief significance, therefore say the world is

now in the “Piscean Age.”

The Equinoxes have a retrograde movement in the constellations; hence, when the

Equinoxes leave Pisces-Virgo, they will enter Aquarius-Leo. According to Swami Sri

Yukteswarji’s theory, the world entered the Pisces-Virgo Age in A.D. 499, and will enter the

Aquarius-Leo Age two thousand years later, in A.D. 2499. (Publisher’s Note)

After 12,000 years, when the sun goes to the place in its orbit which is

farthest from Brahma, the grand centre (an event which takes place when

the Autumnal Equinox is on the first point of Libra), dharma, the mental

virtue, comes to such a reduced state that man cannot grasp anything

beyond the gross material creation. Again, in the same manner, when the

sun in its course of revolution begins to advance toward the place nearest to

the grand centre, dharma, the mental virtue, begins to develop; this growth

is gradually completed in another 12,000 years.

Each of these periods of 12,000 years brings a complete change, both

externally in the material world, and internally in the intellectual or electric

world, and is called one of the Daiva Yugas or Electric Couple. Thus, in a

period of 24,000 years, the sun completes the revolution around its dual and

finishes one electric cycle consisting of 12,000 years in an ascending arc

and 12,000 years in a descending arc.

Development of dharma, the mental virtue, is but gradual and is divided

into four different stages in a period of 12,000 years. The time of 1200

years during which the sun passes through a 1/20th portion of its orbit (see

Diagram) is called Kali Yuga. Dharma, the mental virtue, is then in its first

stage and is only a quarter developed; the human intellect cannot

comprehend anything beyond the gross material of this ever-changing

creation, the external world.

The period of 2400 years during which the sun passes through the

2/20th portion of its orbit is called Dwapara Yuga. Dharma, the mental

virtue, is then in the second stage of development and is but half complete;

the human intellect can then comprehend the fine matters or electricities

and their attributes which are the creating principles of the external world.

The period of 3600 years during which the sun passes through the

3/20th part of its orbit is called Treta Yuga. Dharma, the mental virtue, is

then in the third stage; the human intellect becomes able to comprehend the

divine magnetism, the source of all electrical forces on which the creation

depends for its existence.

The period of 4800 years during which the sun passes through the

remaining 4/20th portion of its orbit is called Satya Yuga. Dharma, the

mental virtue, is then in its fourth stage and completes its full development;

the human intellect can comprehend all, even God the Spirit beyond this

visible world.

Manu, a great rishi (illumined sage) of Satya Yuga, describes these

Yugas more clearly in the following passage from his Samhita:

[Four thousands of years, they say, is the Krita Yuga (Satya Yuga or the “Golden Age” of

the world). Its morning twilight has just as many hundreds, and its period of evening dusk is of

the same length (i.e., 400+4000+400=4800). In the other three ages, with their morning and

evening twilights, the thousands and the hundreds decrease by one (i.e., 300+3000+

300=3600; etc.). That fourfold cycle comprising 12,000 years is called an Age of the Gods.

The sum of a thousand divine ages constitutes one day of Brahma; and of the same length is its

night.]

The period of Satya Yuga is 4000 years in duration; 400 years before

and after Satya Yuga proper are its sandhis or periods of mutation with the

preceding and the succeeding Yugas respectively; hence 4800 years in all is

the proper age of Satya Yuga. In the calculation of the period of other Yugas

and Yugasandhis, it is laid down that the numeral one should be deducted

from the numbers of both thousands and hundreds which indicate the

periods of the previous Yugas and sandhis. From this rule it appears that

3000 years is the length of Treta Yuga, and 300 years before and after are its

sandhis, the periods of mutation, which make a total of 3600 years.

So 2000 years is the age of Dwapara Yuga, with 200 years before and

after as its sandhis; a total of 2400 years. Lastly, 1000 years is the length of

Kali Yuga, with 100 years before and after as its sandhis; a total of 1200

years. Thus 12,000 years, the sum total of all periods of these four Yugas, is

the length of one of the Daiva Yugas or Electric Couple, two of which, that

is, 24,000 years, make the electric cycle complete.

From 11,501 B.C., when the Autumnal Equinox was on the first point of

Aries, the sun began to move away from the point of its orbit nearest to the

grand centre toward the point farthest from it, and accordingly the

intellectual power of man began to diminish. During the 4800 years which

the sun took to pass through one of the Satya Couples or 4/20th part of its

orbit, the intellect of man lost altogether the power of grasping spiritual

knowledge. During the 3600 years following, which the sun took to pass

through the Descending Treta Yuga, the intellect gradually lost all power of

grasping the knowledge of divine magnetism. During the 2400 years next

following, while the sun passed through the Descending Dwapara Yuga, the

human intellect lost its power of grasping the knowledge of electricities and

their attributes. In 1200 more years the sun passed through the Descending

Kali Yuga and reached the point in its orbit which is farthest from the grand

centre; the Autumnal Equinox was on the first point of Libra. The

intellectual power of man was so much diminished that it could no longer

comprehend anything beyond the gross material of creation. The period

around A.D. 500 was thus the darkest part of Kali Yuga and of the whole

cycle of 24,000 years. History indeed bears out the accuracy of these

ancient calculations of the Indian rishis, and records the widespread

ignorance and suffering in all nations at that period.

From A.D. 499 onward, the sun began to advance toward the grand

centre, and the intellect of man started gradually to develop. During the

1100 years of the Ascending Kali Yuga, which brings us to A.D. 1599, the

human intellect was so dense that it could not comprehend the electricities,

Sukshmabhuta, the fine matters of creation. In the political world also,

generally speaking, there was no peace in any kingdom.

Subsequent to this period, when the 100-year transitional sandhi of Kali

Yuga set in, to effect a union with the following Dwapara Yuga, men began

to notice the existence of fine matters, panchatanmatra or the attributes of

electricities; and political peace began to be established.

About A.D. 1600, William Gilbert discovered magnetic forces and

observed the presence of electricity in all material substances. In 1609

Kepler discovered important laws of astronomy, and Galileo produced a

telescope. In 1621 Drebbel of Holland invented the microscope. About

1670 Newton discovered the law of gravitation. In 1700 Thomas Savery

made use of a steam engine in raising water. Twenty years later Stephen

Gray discovered the action of electricity on the human body.

In the political world, people began to have respect for themselves, and

civilization advanced in many ways. England united with Scotland and

became a powerful kingdom. Napoleon Bonaparte introduced his new legal

code into southern Europe. America won its independence, and many parts

of Europe were peaceful.

With the advance of science, the world began to be covered with

railways and telegraphic wires. By the help of steam engines, electric

machines, and many other instruments, fine matters were brought into

practical use, although their nature was not clearly understood. In 1899, on

completion of the period of 200 years of Dwapara Sandhi, the time of

mutation, the true Dwapara Yuga of 2000 years will commence and will

give to mankind in general a thorough understanding of the electricities and

their attributes.

Such is the great influence of Time which governs the universe. No man

can overcome this influence except him who, blessed with pure love, the

heavenly gift of nature, becomes divine; being baptized in the sacred stream

Pranava (the holy Aum vibration), he comprehends the Kingdom of God.

The position of the world in the Dwapara Sandhi era at present (A.D.

1894) is not correctly shown in the Hindu almanacs. The astronomers and

astrologers who calculate the almanacs have been guided by wrong

annotations of certain Sanskrit scholars (such as Kulluka Bhatta) of the dark

age of Kali Yuga, and now maintain that the length of Kali Yuga is 432,000

years, of which 4994 have (in A.D. 1894) passed away, leaving 427,006

years still remaining. A dark prospect! and fortunately one not true.

The mistake crept into almanacs for the first time during the reign of

Raja Parikshit, just after the completion of the last Descending Dwapara

Yuga. At that time Maharaja Yudhisthira, noticing the appearance of the

dark Kali Yuga, made over his throne to his grandson, the said Raja

Parikshit. Maharaja Yudhisthira, together with all the wise men of his court,

retired to the Himalaya Mountains, the paradise of the world. Thus there

was none in the court of Raja Parikshit who could understand the principle

of correctly calculating the ages of the several Yugas.

Hence, after the completion of the 2400 years of the then current

Dwapara Yuga, no one dared to make the introduction of the dark Kali Yuga

more manifest by beginning to calculate from its first year and to put an end

to the number of Dwapara years.

According to this wrong method of calculation, therefore, the first year

of Kali Yuga was numbered 2401 along with the age of Dwapara Yuga. In

A.D. 499, when 1200 years, the length of the true Kali Yuga, was complete,

and the sun had reached the point of its orbit farthest from the grand centre

(when the Autumnal Equinox was on the first point of Libra in the

heavens), the age of Kali in its darkest period was then numbered by 3600

years instead of by 1200.

With the commencement of the Ascending Kali Yuga, after A.D. 499, the

sun began to advance in its orbit nearer to the grand centre, and accordingly

the intellectual power of man started to develop. Therefore the mistake in

the almanacs began to be noticed by the wise men of the time, who found

that the calculations of the ancient rishis had fixed the period of one Kali

Yuga at 1200 years only. But as the intellect of these wise men was not yet

suitably developed, they could make out only the mistake itself, and not the

reason for it. By way of reconciliation, they fancied that 1200 years, the real

age of Kali, were not the ordinary years of our earth, but were so many

daiva years (“years of the gods”), consisting of 12 daiva months of 30

daiva days each, with each daiva day being equal to one ordinary solar year

of our earth. Hence according to these men 1200 years of Kali Yuga must

be equal to 432,000 years of our earth.

In coming to a right conclusion, however, we should take into

consideration the position of the Vernal Equinox at spring in the year 1894.

The astronomical reference books show the Vernal Equinox now to be

20°54’36” distant from the first point of Aries (the fixed star Revati), and

by calculation it will appear that 1394 years have passed since the time

when the Vernal Equinox began to recede from the first point of Aries.

Deducting 1200 years (the length of the last Ascending Kali Yuga) from

1394 years, we get 194 to indicate the present year of the world’s entrance

into the Ascending Dwapara Yuga. The mistake of older almanacs will thus

be clearly explained when we add 3600 years to this period of 1394 years

and get 4994 years—which according to the prevailing mistaken theory

represents the present year (A.D. 1894) in the Hindu almanacs.

[Referring to the Diagram given in this book, the reader will see that the

Autumnal Equinox is now (A.D. 1894) falling among the stars of the Virgo

constellation, and in the Ascending Dwapara Yuga.]

In this book certain truths such as those about the properties of

magnetism, its auras, different sorts of electricities, etc., have been

mentioned, although modern science has not yet fully discovered them. The

five sorts of electricity can be easily understood if one will direct his

attention to the nerve properties, which are purely electrical in nature. Each

of the five sensory nerves has its characteristic and unique function to

perform. The optic nerve carries light and does not perform the functions of

the auditory and other nerves; the auditory nerve in its turn carries sound

only, without performing the functions of any other nerves, and so on. Thus

it is clear that there are five sorts of electricity, corresponding to the five

properties of cosmic electricity.

So far as magnetic properties are concerned, the grasping power of the

human intellect is at present so limited that it would be quite useless to

attempt to make the matter understood by the general public. The intellect

of man in Treta Yuga will comprehend the attributes of divine magnetism

(the next Treta Yuga will start in A.D. 4099). There are indeed exceptional

personages now living who, having overcome the influence of Time, can

grasp today what ordinary people cannot grasp; but this book is not for

those exalted ones, who require nothing of it.

In concluding this introduction, we may observe that the different

planets, exercising their influence over the various days of the week, have

lent their names to their respective days; similarly, the different

constellations of stars, having influence over various months, have lent their

names to the Hindu months. Each of the great Yugas has much influence

over the period of time covered by it; hence, in designating the years it is

desirable that such terms should indicate to which Yuga they belong.

As the Yugas are calculated from the position of the equinox, the

method of numbering the years in reference to their respective Yuga is

based on a scientific principle; its use will obviate much inconvenience

which has arisen in the past owing to association of the various eras with

persons of eminence rather than with celestial phenomena of the fixed stars.

We therefore propose to name and number the year in which this

introduction has been written as 194 Dwapara instead of A.D. 1894, to show

the exact time to the Yuga now passing. This method of calculation was

prevalent in India till the reign of Raja Vikramaditya, when the Samvat era

was introduced. As the Yuga method of calculation recommends itself to

reason, we follow it, and recommend that it be followed by the public in

general.

Now, in this 194th year of Dwapara Yuga, the dark age of Kali having

long since passed, the world is reaching out for spiritual knowledge, and

men require loving help one from the other. The publishing of this book,

requested from me by my holy paramguru maharaj Babaji, will, I hope, be

of spiritual service.

Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri

Serampore, West Bengal

The 26th Falgun, 194 Dwapara

(A.D. 1894)

3 In 1894, when this book was written, Babaji gave the author the title of “Swami.” He was later

formally initiated into the Swami Order by the Mahant (monastery head) of Buddh Gaya, Bihar, and

took the monastic name of Sri Yukteswar. He belonged to the Giri (“mountain”) branch of the Swami

Order. (Publisher’s Note)

4 Paramguru, literally, “guru beyond,” hence the guru of one’s guru. The suffix ji denotes respect.

Maharaj, “great king,” is a title often added to the names of exceptional spiritual personages.

(Publisher’s Note)

Chapter 1

: THE GOSPEL

SUTRA 1

Parambrahma (Spirit or God) is everlasting, complete, without

beginning or end. It is one, indivisible Being.5

The Eternal Father, God, Swami Parambrahma, is the only Real Substance,

Sat, and is all in all in the universe.

Why God is not comprehensible. Man possesses eternal faith and believes

intuitively in the existence of a Substance, of which the objects of sense—

sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell, the component parts of this visible

world—are but properties. As man identifies himself with his material

body, composed of the aforesaid properties, he is able to comprehend by

these imperfect organs these properties only, and not the Substance to

which these properties belong. The Eternal Father, God, the only Substance

in the universe, is therefore not comprehensible by man of this material

world, unless he becomes divine by lifting his self above this creation of

Darkness or Maya. See Hebrews (Bible) 11:1 and John (Bible) 8:28.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not

seen.”

“Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the son of man, then

shall ye know that I am he.”

SUTRA 2

In It (Parambrahma) is the origin of all knowledge and love, the root of

all power and joy.

Prakriti or Nature of God. The Almighty Force, Shakti, or in other words

the Eternal Joy, Ananda, which produces the world; and the Omniscient

Feeling, Chit, which makes this world conscious, demonstrate the Nature,

Prakriti, of God the Father.

How God is comprehended. As man is the likeness of God, directing his

attention inward he can comprehend within him the said Force and Feeling,

the sole properties of his Self—the Force Almighty as his will, Vasana,

with enjoyment, Bhoga; and the Feeling Omniscient as his Consciousness,

Chetana, that enjoys, Bhokta. See Genesis (Bible) 1:27.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he

him; male and female created he them.”

SUTRA 3

Parambrahma causes creation, inert Nature (Prakriti), to emerge. From

Aum (Pranava, the Word, the manifestation of the Omnipotent Force),

come Kala, Time; Desa, Space; and Anu, the Atom (the vibratory

structure of creation).

The Word, Amen (Aum), is the beginning of the Creation. The

manifestation of Omnipotent Force (the Repulsion and its complementary

expression, Omniscient Feeling or Love, the Attraction) is vibration, which

appears as a peculiar sound: the Word, Amen, Aum. In its different aspects

Aum presents the idea of change, which is Time, Kala, in the Ever-

Unchangeable; and the idea of division, which is Space, Desa, in the Ever-

Indivisible.

The Four Ideas: the Word, Time, Space, and the Atom. The ensuing

effect is the idea of particles—the innumerable atoms, patra or anu. These

four—the Word, Time, Space, and the Atom—are therefore one and the

same, and substantially nothing but mere ideas.

This manifestation of the Word (becoming flesh, the external material)

created this visible world. So the Word, Amen, Aum, being the

manifestation of the Eternal Nature of the Almighty Father or His Own

Self, is inseparable from and nothing but God Himself; as the burning

power is inseparable from and nothing but the fire itself. See Revelation

(Bible) 3:14; John (Bible) 1:1, 3, 14.

“These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning

of the creation of God.”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word

was God.…All things were made by him; and without him was not anything

made that was made.…And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

SUTRA 4

The cause of creation is Anu or the Atoms. En masse they are called

Maya or the Lord’s illusory power; each individual Anu is called

Avidya, Ignorance.

Atoms the throne of Spirit the Creator. These Atoms, which represent

within and without the four ideas mentioned above, are the throne of Spirit,

the Creator, which shining on them creates this universe. They are called en

masse Maya, the Darkness, as they keep the Spiritual Light out of

comprehension; and each of them separately is called Avidya, the

Ignorance, as it makes man ignorant even of his own Self. Hence the

aforesaid four ideas which give rise to all those confusions are mentioned

in the Bible as so many beasts. Man, so long as he identifies himself with

his gross material body, holds a position far inferior to that of the primal

fourfold Atom and necessarily fails to comprehend the same. But when he

raises himself to the level thereof, he not only comprehends this Atom, both

inside and outside, but also the whole creation, both unmanifested and

manifested (i.e., “before and behind”). See Revelation (Bible) 4:6.

“And in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four

beasts full of eyes before and behind.”

SUTRA 5

The Omniscient Love aspect of Parambrahma is Kutastha Chaitanya.

The individual Self, being Its manifestation, is one with It.

Kutastha Chaitanya, the Holy Ghost, Purushottama. The manifestation of

Premabijam Chit (Attraction, the Omniscient Love) is Life, the

Omnipresent Holy Spirit, and is called the Holy Ghost, Kutastha Chaitanya

or Purushottama, which shines on the Darkness, Maya, to attract every

portion of it toward Divinity. But the Darkness, Maya, or its individual

parts,6 Avidya the Ignorance, being repulsion itself, cannot receive or

comprehend the Spiritual Light, but reflects it.

Abhasa Chaitanya or Purusha, the Sons of God. This Holy Ghost, being

the manifestation of the Omniscient Nature of the Eternal Father, God, is no

other substance than God Himself; and so these reflections of spiritual rays

are called the Sons of God—Abhasa Chaitanya or Purusha. See John

(Bible) 1:4, 5, 11.

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

“He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

SUTRA 6

The Atom, under the influence of Chit (universal knowledge) forms the

Chitta or the calm state of mind, which when spiritualized is called

Buddhi, Intelligence. Its opposite is Manas, Mind, in which lives the

Jiva: the self with Ahamkara, Ego, the idea of separate existence.

Chitta, the Heart; Ahamkara, Ego, the son of man. This Atom, Avidya,

the Ignorance, being under the influence of Universal Love, Chit, the Holy

Spirit, becomes spiritualized, like iron filings in a magnetic aura, and

possessed of consciousness, the power of feeling, when it is called Mahat,

the Heart, Chitta; and being such, the idea of separate existence of self

appears in it, which is called Ahamkara, Ego, the son of man.

Buddhi, the Intelligence; Manas, the Mind. Being thus magnetized, it has

two poles, one of which attracts it toward the Real Substance, Sat, and the

other repels it from the same. The former is called Sattva or Buddhi, the

Intelligence, which determines what is Truth; and the latter, being a particle

of Repulsion, the Almighty Force spiritualized as aforesaid, produces the

ideal world for enjoyment (ananda) and is called Anandatwa or Manas, the

Mind.

This diagram, prepared by the publishers, is intended only to show the

progression of development of various aspects of creation, and does not

purport to illustrate their spatial relationship to one another.

SUTRAS 7–10

Chitta, the spiritualized Atom, in which Ahamkara (the idea of separate

existence of Self) appears, has five manifestations (aura electricities).

They (the five aura electricities) constitute the causal body of Purusha.

The five electricities, Pancha Tattwa, from their three attributes, Gunas

—Sattva (positive), Rajas (neutralizing), and Tamas (negative)—

produce Jnanendriyas (organs of sense), Karmendriyas (organs of

action), and Tanmatras (objects of sense).

These fifteen attributes plus Mind and Intelligence constitute the

seventeen “fine limbs” of the subtle body, the Lingasarira.

Pancha Tattwa, the Root-Causes of creation, are the causal body. This

spiritualized Atom, Chitta (the Heart), being the Repulsion manifested,

produces five sorts of aura electricities from its five different parts: one

from the middle, two from the two extremities, and the other two from the

spaces intervening between the middle and each of the extremities. These

five sorts of electricities, being attracted under the influence of Universal

Love (the Holy Ghost) toward the Real Substance, Sat, produce a magnetic

field which is called the body of Sattva Buddhi, the Intelligence. These five

electricities being the causes of all other creations are called Pancha

Tattwa, the five Root-Causes, and are considered the causal body of

Purusha, the Son of God.

Three Gunas, the electric attributes. The electricities, being evolved from

the polarized Chitta, are also in a polarized state and are endowed with its

three attributes or Gunas: Sattva the positive, Tamas the negative, and

Rajas the neutralizing.

Jnanendriyas, the five organs of the senses. The positive attributes of the

five electricities are Jnanendriyas, the organs of the senses—smell, taste,

sight, touch, and hearing—and being attracted under the influence of

Manas, Mind, the opposite pole of this spiritualized Atom, constitute a

body of the same.

Karmendriyas, the five organs of action. The neutralizing attributes of the

five electricities are Karmendriyas, the organs of action—excretion,

generation, motion (feet), manual skill (hands), and speech. These organs,

being the manifestation of the neutralizing energy of the spiritualized

Atom, Chitta (the Heart), constitute an energetic body, called the body of

energy, the life force or Prana.

Vishaya or Tanmatras, the five objects of the senses. The negative

attributes of the five electricities are the five Tanmatras or objects of the

senses of smell, taste, sight, touch, and sound, which, being united with the

organs of sense through the neutralizing power of the organs of action,

satisfy the desires of the heart.

Lingasarira, the fine material body. These fifteen attributes with two poles

—Mind and Intelligence—of the spiritualized Atom constitute Lingasarira

or Sukshmasarira, the fine material body of Purusha, the Son of God.

SUTRAS 11, 12

The aforesaid five objects, which are the negative attributes of the five

electricities, being combined produce the idea of gross matter in its five

forms: Kshiti, solids; Ap, liquids; Tejas, fire; Marut, gaseous substances;

and Akasha, ether.

These five forms of gross matter and the aforesaid fifteen attributes,

together with Manas, Mind, sense consciousness; Buddhi, discriminative

Intelligence; Chitta, the Heart or power of feeling; and Ahamkara, the

Ego, constitute the twenty-four basic principles of creation.

Gross material body. The aforesaid five objects, which are the negative

attributes of the five electricities, being combined together produce the idea

of gross matter which appears to us in five different varieties: Kshiti, the

solid; Ap, the liquid; Tejas, the fiery; Marut, the gaseous; and Vyoma or

Akasha, the ethereal. These constitute the outer covering called

Sthulasarira, the gross material body of Purusha, the Son of God.

Twenty-four Elders. These five gross matters and the aforesaid fifteen

attributes together with Manas, the Mind; Buddhi, the Intelligence; Chitta,

the Heart; and Ahamkara, the Ego, constitute the twenty-four principles or

Elders, as mentioned in the Bible. See Revelation (Bible) 4:4.

“And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the

seats I saw four and twenty elders.”

The aforesaid twenty-four principles, which completed the creation of

Darkness, Maya, are nothing more than the development of Ignorance,

Avidya; and as this Ignorance is composed only of ideas as mentioned

above, creation has in reality no substantial existence, but is a mere play of

ideas on the Eternal Substance, God the Father.

SUTRA 13

This universe is differentiated into fourteen spheres, seven Swargas and

seven Patalas.

Seven Spheres or Swargas. This universe thus described, commencing

from the Eternal Substance, God, down to the gross material creation, has

been distinguished into seven different spheres, Swargas or Lokas.

7th Sphere, Satyaloka. The foremost of these is Satyaloka, the sphere of

God—the only Real Substance, Sat, in the universe. No name can describe

it, nor can anything in the creation of Darkness or Light designate it. This

sphere is therefore called Anama, the Nameless.

6th Sphere, Tapoloka. The next in order is Tapoloka, the sphere of the

Holy Spirit which is the Eternal Patience, as it remains forever undisturbed

by any limited idea. Because it is not approachable even by the Sons of

God as such, it is called Agama, the Inaccessible.

5th Sphere, Janaloka. Next is Janaloka, the sphere of spiritual reflection,

the Sons of God, wherein the idea of separate existence of Self originates.

As this sphere is above the comprehension of anyone in the creation of

Darkness, Maya, it is called Alakshya, the Incomprehensible.

4th Sphere, Maharloka. Then comes Maharloka, the sphere of the Atom,

the beginning of the creation of Darkness, Maya, upon which the Spirit is

reflected. This, the connecting link, is the only way between the spiritual

and the material creation and is called the Door, Dasamadwara.

3rd Sphere, Swarloka. Around this Atom is Swarloka, the sphere of

magnetic aura, the electricities. This sphere, being characterized by the

absence of all the creation (even the organs and their objects, the fine

material things), is called Mahasunya, the Great Vacuum.

2nd Sphere, Bhuvarloka. The next is Bhuvarloka, the sphere of electric

attributes. As the gross matters of the creation are entirely absent from this

sphere, and it is conspicuous by the presence of the fine matters only, it is

called Sunya, the Vacuum Ordinary.

1st Sphere, Bhuloka. The last and lowest sphere is Bhuloka, the sphere of

gross material creation, which is always visible to everyone.

Sapta Patalas, seven churches. As God created man in His own image, so

is the body of man like unto the image of this universe. The material body

of man has also seven vital places within it called Patalas. Man, turning

toward his Self and advancing in the right way, perceives the Spiritual

Light in these places, which are described in the Bible as so many

churches; the lights like stars perceived therein are as so many angels. See

Revelation (Bible) 1:12, 13, 16, 20.

“And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the

seven candlesticks one like unto the son of man.…”

“And he had in his right hand seven stars.…”

“The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven

candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”

14 Bhuvanas, the stages of creation. The above-mentioned seven spheres

or Swargas and the seven Patalas constitute the fourteen Bhuvanas, the

fourteen distinguishable stages of the creation.

SUTRA 14

Purusha is covered by five koshas or sheaths.

5 Koshas or Sheaths. This Purusha, the Son of God is screened by five

coverings called the koshas or sheaths.

Heart, the 1st Kosha. The first of these five is Heart, Chitta, the Atom,

composed of four ideas as mentioned before, which feels or enjoys, and

thus being the seat of bliss, ananda, is called Anandamaya Kosha.

Buddhi, the 2nd Kosha. The second is the magnetic-aura electricities,

manifestations of Buddhi, the Intelligence that determines what is truth.

Thus, being the seat of knowledge, jnana, it is called Jnanamaya Kosha.

Manas, the 3rd Kosha. The third is the body of Manas, the Mind,

composed of the organs of senses, as mentioned above, and called the

Manomaya Kosha.

Prana, the 4th Kosha. The fourth is the body of energy, life force or Prana,

composed of the organs of action as described before, and thus called

Pranamaya Kosha.

Gross matter, the 5th Kosha. The fifth and last of these sheaths is the

gross matter, the Atom’s outer coating, which, becoming Anna,

nourishment, supports this visible world and thus is called the Annamaya

Kosha.

Action of Love. The action of Repulsion, the manifestation of the

Omnipotent Energy, being thus completed, the action of Attraction (the

Omnipotent Love in the core of the heart) begins to be manifested. Under

the influence of this Omniscient Love, the Attraction, the Atoms, being

attracted toward one another, come nearer and nearer, taking ethereal,

gaseous, fiery, liquid, and solid forms.

Inanimate kingdom. Thus this visible world becomes adorned with suns,

planets, and moons, which we call the inanimate kingdom of the creation.

Vegetable kingdom. In this manner, when the action of Divine Love

becomes well developed, the evolution of Avidya, Ignorance (the particle of

Darkness, Maya, the Omnipotent Energy manifested), begins to be

withdrawn. Annamaya Kosha, the Atom’s outer coating of gross matter

being thus withdrawn, Pranamaya Kosha (the sheath composed of

Karmendriyas, the organs of action) begins to operate. In this organic state

the Atoms, embracing each other more closely to their heart, appear as the

vegetable kingdom in the creation.

Animal kingdom. When the Pranamaya Kosha becomes withdrawn, the

Manomaya Kosha (the sheath composed of Jnanendriyas, the organs of

sense) comes to light. The Atoms then perceive the nature of the external

world and, attracting other Atoms of different nature, form bodies as

necessary for enjoyment, and thus the animal kingdom appears in the

creation.

Mankind. When Manomaya Kosha becomes withdrawn, Jnanamaya

Kosha (the body of Intelligence composed of electricities) becomes

perceptible. The Atom, acquiring the power of determining right and

wrong, becomes man, the rational being in the creation.

Devata or Angel. When man, cultivating the Divine Spirit or Omniscient

Love within his heart, is able to withdraw this Jnanamaya Kosha, then the

innermost sheath, Chitta, the Heart (composed of four ideas), becomes

manifest. Man is then called Devata or Angel in the creation.

Free, Sannyasi. When the Heart or innermost sheath is also withdrawn,

there is no longer anything to keep man in bondage to this creation of

Darkness, Maya. He then becomes free, Sannyasi, the Son of God, and

enters into the creation of Light.

SUTRAS 15, 16

Just as the objects seen in our dreams are found, when we awake, to be

insubstantial, so our waking perceptions are likewise unreal—a matter

of inference only.

Sleeping and waking states. When man compares his ideas relating to

gross matters conceived in the wakeful state with his conception of ideas in

dream, the similarity existing between them naturally leads him to conclude

that this external world also is not what it appears to be.

When he looks for further explanation, he finds that all his wakeful

conceptions are substantially nothing but mere ideas caused by the union of

five objects of sense (the negative attributes of the five internal

electricities) with the five organs of sense (their positive attributes) through

the medium of five organs of action (the neutralizing attributes of the

electricities).

This union is effected by the operation of Mind (Manas) and conceived or

grasped by the Intelligence (Buddhi). Thus it is clear that all conceptions

which man forms in his wakeful state are mere inferential Parokshajnana—

a matter of inference only.

SUTRA 17

What is needed is a Guru, a Savior, who will awaken us to Bhakti

(devotion) and to perceptions of Truth.

When man finds his Sat-Guru or Savior. In this way, when man

understands by his Parokshajnana (correct inference) the nothingness of

the external world, he appreciates the position of John the Baptist, the

divine personage who witnessed Light and bore testimony of Christ, after

his heart’s love, the heavenly gift of Nature, had become developed.

Any advanced sincere seeker may be fortunate in having the Godlike

company of some one of such personages, who may kindly stand to him as

his Spiritual Preceptor, Sat-Guru, the Savior. Following affectionately the

holy precepts of these divine personages, man becomes able to direct all his

organs of sense inward to their common center—the sensorium, Trikuti or

Sushumnadwara, the door of the interior world—where he comprehends

the Voice, like a peculiar “knocking” sound, [the Cosmic Vibration that is]

the Word, Amen, Aum; and sees the God-sent luminous body of Radha,

symbolized in the Bible as the Forerunner or John the Baptist. See

Revelation (Bible) 3:14, 20 and John (Bible) 1:6, 8, 23.

“These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning

of the creation of God.…Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man

hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with

him, and he with me.”

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.…He was not that

Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.…He said, I am the voice

of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord.”

Ganga, Yamuna, or Jordan, the holy streams. From the peculiar nature

of this sound, issuing as it does like a stream from a higher unknown region

and losing itself in the gross material creation, it is figuratively designated

by various sects of people by the names of different rivers that they

consider as sacred; for example, Ganga by the Hindus, Yamuna by the

Vaishnavas,7 and Jordan8 by the Christians.

The 2nd birth. Through his luminous body, man, believing in the existence

of the true Light—the Life of this universe—becomes baptized or absorbed

in the holy stream of the sound. The baptism is, so to speak, the second

birth of man and is called Bhakti Yoga,9 without which man can never

comprehend the real internal world, the kingdom of God. See John (Bible)

1:9 and 3:3.

“That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the

world.”

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see

the kingdom of God.”

Aparokshajnana, the real comprehension. In this state the son of man

begins to repent and, turning back from the gross material creation, creeps

toward his Divinity, the Eternal Substance, God. When the developments of

ignorance are stopped, man gradually comprehends the true character of

this creation of Darkness, Maya, as a mere play of ideas of the Supreme

Nature on His own Self, the only Real Substance. This true comprehension

is called Aparokshajnana.

SUTRA 18

Emancipation (Kaivalya) is obtained when one realizes the oneness of

his Self with the Universal Self, the Supreme Reality.

Sannyasi or Christ the anointed Savior. When all the developments of

Ignorance are withdrawn, the heart, being perfectly clear and purified, no

longer merely reflects the Spiritual Light but actively manifests the same,

and thus being consecrated and anointed, man becomes Sannyasi, free, or

Christ the Savior.10 See John (Bible) 1:33.

“Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him,

the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.”

Baptized in the stream of Light. Through this Savior the son of man

becomes again baptized or absorbed in the stream of Spiritual Light, and,

rising above the creation of Darkness, Maya, enters into the spiritual world

and becomes unified with Abhasa Chaitanya or Purusha, the Son of God,

as was the case with Lord Jesus of Nazareth. In this state man is saved for

ever and ever from the bondage of Darkness, Maya. See John (Bible) 1:12

and 3:5.

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the Sons

of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the

Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Sacrifice of self. When man thus entering into the spiritual world becomes

a Son of God, he comprehends the universal Light—the Holy Ghost—as a

perfect whole, and his Self as nothing but a mere idea resting on a fragment

of the Aum Light. Then he sacrifices himself to the Holy Ghost, the altar of

God; that is, abandons the vain idea of his separate existence, and becomes

one integral whole.

Kaivalya, the unification. Thus, being one with the universal Holy Spirit

of God the Father, he becomes unified with the Real Substance, God. This

unification of Self with the Eternal Substance, God, is called Kaivalya.11

See Revelation (Bible) 3:21.

“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I

also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”

5 Swami Sri Yukteswarji stated these sutras (precepts) in Sanskrit only, as

shown. The translation has been provided by Yogoda Satsanga Society of

India/Self-Realization Fellowship. (Publisher’s Note)

6 That is, its presence in each man.

7 Worshipers of Vishnu, God as Preserver.

8 Matthew (Bible) 3:13 –17.

9 Union with God through Love, the Attraction, which is constantly

drawing man toward the kingdom of God. (Publisher’s Note)

10 That is, he becomes one with Christ Consciousness, the reflected

consciousness of the Eternal Father God in creation, immanent in the Word

or Aum, the Cosmic Vibration. Thus is he freed or saved from the darkness

of Maya, the delusion of separateness from the Father. (Publisher’s Note)

11 Literally, “isolation,” absolute independence or emancipation through

oneness with God. (Publisher’s Note)

Chapter 2

 THE GOAL

SUTRA 1

Hence there is desire for emancipation.

Liberation, the prime object. When man understands even by way of

inference the true nature of this creation, the true relation existing between

this creation and himself; and when he further understands that he is

completely blinded by the influence of Darkness, Maya, and that it is the

bondage of Darkness alone which makes him forget his real Self and brings

about all his sufferings, he naturally wishes to be relieved from all these

evils. This relief from evil, or liberation from the bondage of Maya,

becomes the prime object of his life.

SUTRA 2

Liberation is stabilization of Purusha (jiva, soul) in its real Self.

Residing in Self is liberation. When man raises himself above the idea

creation of this Darkness, Maya, and passes completely out of its influence,

he becomes liberated from bondage and is placed in his real Self, the

Eternal Spirit.

SUTRA 3

Then there is cessation of all pain and the attainment of the ultimate

aim (true fulfillment, God-realization).

Liberation is salvation. On attaining this liberation, man becomes saved

from all his troubles, and all the desires of his heart are fulfilled, so the

ultimate aim of his life is accomplished.

SUTRA 4

Otherwise, birth after birth, man experiences the misery of unfulfilled

desires.

Why man suffers. So long, however, as man identifies himself with his

material body and fails to find repose in his true Self, he feels his wants

according as his heart’s desires remain unsatisfied. To satisfy them he has

to appear often in flesh and blood on the stage of life, subject to the

influence of Darkness, Maya, and has to suffer all the troubles of life and

death not only in the present but in the future as well.

SUTRAS 5, 6

Troubles are born from Avidya, Ignorance. Ignorance is the perception

of the nonexistent, and the nonperception of the Existent.

What is ignorance? Ignorance, Avidya, is misconception, or is the

erroneous conception of the existence of that which does not exist. Through

Avidya man believes that this material creation is the only thing that

substantially exists, there being nothing beyond, forgetting that this

material creation is substantially nothing and is a mere play of ideas on the

Eternal Spirit, the only Real Substance, beyond the comprehension of the

material creation. This Ignorance is not only a trouble in itself but is also

the source of all the other troubles of man.

SUTRAS 7–12

Avidya, Ignorance, having the twofold power of polarity, manifests as

egoism, attachment, aversion, and (blind) tenacity.

The darkening power of Maya produces egoism and (blind) tenacity;

the polarity power of Maya produces attachment (attraction) and

aversion (repulsion).

Egoism results from a lack of discrimination between the physical body

and the real Self.

Tenacity is a result of natural conditioning (belief in Nature and her

laws as final, instead of belief in the all-causative powers of the Soul).

Attachment means thirst for the objects of happiness.

Aversion means desire for the removal of the objects of unhappiness.

Ignorance is the source of all troubles. In order to understand how this

Ignorance is the source of all other troubles we should remember (as has

been explained in the previous chapter) that Ignorance, Avidya, is nothing

but a particle of Darkness, Maya, taken distributively, and as such it

possesses the two properties of Maya. The one is its darkening power, by

the influence of which man is prevented from grasping anything beyond the

material creation. This darkening power produces Asmita or Egoism, the

identification of Self with the material body, which is but the development

of Atom, the particles of the universal force; and Abhinivesa or blind

tenacity to the belief in the validity and ultimate worth of the material

creation.

By virtue of the second of the properties of Maya, Ignorance or Avidya in

its polarized state produces attraction for certain objects and repulsion for

others. The objects so attracted are the objects of pleasure, for which an

Attachment, Raga, is formed. The objects that are repulsed are the objects

producing pain, for which an Aversion, Dwesha, is formed.

SUTRA 13

The root of pain is egoistic actions, which (being based on delusions)

lead to misery.

Why man is bound. By the influence of these five troubles—Ignorance,

Egoism, Attachment, Aversion, and Tenacity to the material creation—man

is induced to involve himself in egoistic works and in consequence he

suffers.

SUTRAS 14, 15

Man’s purpose is complete freedom from unhappiness.

Once he has banished all pain beyond possibility of return, he has

attained the highest goal.

Ultimate aim of the heart. With man the cessation of all suffering is

Artha, the heart’s immediate aim. The complete extirpation of all these

sufferings so that their recurrence becomes impossible, is Paramartha, the

ultimate goal.

SUTRAS 16–21

Existence, consciousness, and bliss are the three longings (of the human

heart).

Ananda, bliss, is the contentment of heart attained by the ways and

means suggested by the Saviour, the Sat-Guru.

Chit, true consciousness, brings about the complete destruction of all

troubles and the rise of all virtues.

Sat, existence, is attained by realization of the permanency of the soul.

These three qualities constitute the real nature of man.

All desires being fulfilled, and all miseries removed, the achievement of

Paramartha (the highest goal) is made.

The real necessities. Man naturally feels great necessity for Sat, Existence;

Chit, Consciousness; and Ananda, Bliss. These three are the real necessities

of the human heart and have nothing to do with anything outside his Self.

They are essential properties of his own nature, as explained in the previous

chapter.

How man attains Bliss. When man becomes fortunate in securing the

favor of any divine personage, Sat-Guru (the Savior), and affectionately

following his holy precepts is able to direct all his attention inward, he

becomes capable of satisfying all the wants of his heart and can thereby

gain contentment, Ananda, the Real Bliss.

How Consciousness appears. With his heart thus contented, man becomes

able to fix his attention upon anything he chooses and can comprehend all

its aspects. So Chit, Consciousness of all the modifications of Nature up to

its first and primal manifestation, the Word (Amen, Aum), and even of his

own Real Self, gradually appears. And being absorbed in the stream

thereof, man becomes baptized and begins to repent and return toward his

Divinity, the Eternal Father, whence he had fallen. See Revelation (Bible)

2:5.

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent.”

How Existence is realized. Man, being conscious of his own real position

and of the nature of this creation of Darkness, Maya, becomes possessed of

absolute power over it, and gradually withdraws all the developments of

Ignorance. In this way, freed from the control of this creation of Darkness,

he comprehends his own Self as Indestructible and Ever-Existing Real

Substance. So Sat, the Existence of Self, comes to light.

How main object of the heart is attained. All the necessities of the heart

—Sat, Existence; Chit, Consciousness; and Ananda, Bliss—having been

attained, Ignorance, the mother of evils, becomes emaciated and

consequently all troubles of this material world, which are the sources of all

sorts of sufferings, cease forever. Thus the ultimate aim of the heart is

effected.

SUTRA 22

All fulfilments of his nature attained, man is not merely a reflector of

divine light but becomes actively united with Spirit. This state is

Kaivalya, oneness.

How man finds salvation. In this state, all the necessities having been

attained and the ultimate aim effected, the heart becomes perfectly purified

and, instead of merely reflecting the spiritual light, actively manifests the

same. Man, being thus consecrated or anointed by the Holy Spirit, becomes

Christ, the anointed Saviour. Entering the kingdom of Spiritual Light, he

becomes the Son of God.

In this state man comprehends his Self as a fragment of the Universal Holy

Spirit, and, abandoning the vain idea of his separate existence, unifies

himself with the Eternal Spirit; that is, becomes one and the same with God

the Father. This unification of Self with God is Kaivalya, which is the

Ultimate Object of all created beings. See John (Bible) 14:11.

“Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me.”

CHAPTER 3

 THE PROCEDURE

SUTRAS 1– 4

Yajna, sacrifice, means penance (Tapas), deep study (Swadhyaya), and the practice of

meditation on Aum (Brahmanidhana).

Penance is patience or evenmindedness in all conditions (equanimity amidst the

essential dualities of Maya; cold and heat, pain and pleasure, etc.).

Swadhyaya consists of reading or hearing spiritual truth, pondering it, and forming

a definite conception of it.

(Meditation on) Pranava, the divine sound of Aum, is the only way to Brahman

(Spirit), salvation.

Patience, faith, and holy work explained. Tapas is religious mortification

or patience both in enjoyments and in sufferings. Swadhyaya is sravana,

study, with manana, deep attention, and thereby nididhyasana, forming of

an idea of the true faith about Self; that is, what I am, whence I came, where

I shall go, what I have come for, and other such matters concerning Self.

Brahmanidhana is the baptism or merging of Self in the stream of the Holy

Sound (Pranava, Aum), which is the holy work performed to attain

salvation and the only way by which man can return to his Divinity, the

Eternal Father, whence he has fallen. See Revelation (Bible) 2:19.

“I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works;

and the last to be more than the first.”

SUTRAS 5, 6

Aum is heard through cultivation of Sraddha (heart’s natural love), Virya (moral

courage), Smriti (memory of one’s divinity), and Samadhi (true concentration).

Sraddha is intensification of the heart’s natural love.

How the Holy Sound manifests. This Holy Sound Pranava Sabda

manifests spontaneously through culture of Sraddha, the energetic tendency

of the heart’s natural love; Virya, moral courage; Smriti, true conception;

and Samadhi, true concentration.

The virtue of Love. The heart’s natural love is the principal requisite to

attain a holy life. When this love, the heavenly gift of Nature, appears in the

heart, it removes all causes of excitation from the system and cools it down

to a perfectly normal state; and, invigorating the vital powers, expels all

foreign matters—the germs of diseases—by natural ways (perspiration and

so forth). It thereby makes man perfectly healthy in body and mind, and

enables him to understand properly the guidance of Nature.

When this love becomes developed in man it makes him able to

understand the real position of his own Self as well as of others surrounding

him.

With the help of this developed love, man becomes fortunate in gaining

the Godlike company of the divine personages and is saved forever.

Without this love, man cannot live in the natural way, neither can he keep

company with the fit person for his own welfare; he becomes often excited

by the foreign matters taken into his system through mistakes in

understanding the guidance of Nature, and in consequence he suffers in

body and mind. He can never find any peace whatever, and his life becomes

a burden. Hence the culture of this love, the heavenly gift, is the principal

requisite for the attainment of holy salvation; it is impossible for man to

advance a step toward the same without it. See Revelation (Bible) 2:2–4.

“I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them

which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast

found them liars.

“And hast borne and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast labored, and hast not

fainted.

“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”

SUTRAS 7, 8

Moral courage (Virya) arises from Sraddha, directing one’s love toward the guru,

and from affectionately following his instructions.

Those who remove our troubles, dispel our doubts, and bestow peace are true

teachers. They perform a Godlike work. Their opposites (those who increase our doubts

and difficulties) are harmful to us and should be avoided like poison.

As explained in the previous chapter, this creation is substantially

nothing but a mere idea-play of Nature on the only Real Substance, God,

the Eternal Father, who is Guru—the Supreme—in this universe. All things

of this creation are therefore no other substance than this Guru, the Supreme

Father, God Himself, perceived in plurality by the manifold aspects of the

play of Nature. See John (Bible) 10:34 and Psalm (Bible) 82:6.

“Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?”

“I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”

Out of this creation, the object that relieves us of our miseries and

doubts and administers peace to us, whether animate or inanimate, and

however insignificant the same may be, is entitled to our utmost respect.

Even if it be regarded by others as an object of vilest contempt, it should be

accepted as Sat (Saviour) and its company as Godlike. That which produces

opposite results, destroying our peace, throwing us into doubts, and creating

our miseries, should be considered Asat, the bane of all good, and should be

avoided as such. The Indian sages have a saying:

[Some consider the deities to exist in water (i.e., natural elements) while the learned

consider them to exist in heaven (astral world); the unwise seek them in wood and stones (i.e.,

in images or symbols), but the Yogi realizes God in the sanctuary of his own Self.]

To attain salvation men choose as their Saviour the objects that they can

comprehend according to their own stage of evolution. Thus, in general,

people think that illness is a dire calamity; and as water, when properly

administered, tends to remove illness, ignorant men may choose for their

Divinity water itself.

Philosophers, being able to comprehend the internal electrical Light that

shines within them, find their heart’s love flowing energetically toward the

Light that relieves them of all causes of excitation, cools down their system

to a normal state, and, invigorating their vital powers, makes them perfectly

healthy, both in body and in mind. They then accept this Light as their

Divinity or Saviour.

Ignorant people in their blind faith would accept a piece of wood or

stone as their Saviour or Divinity in the external creation, for which their

heart’s natural love will develop till by its energetic tendency it will relieve

them of all exciting causes, cool their system down to a normal state, and

invigorate their vital powers. The adepts, on the other hand, having full

control over the whole material world, find their Divinity or Saviour in Self

and not outside in the external world.

Regard the Guru with deep love. To keep company with the Guru is not

only to be in his physical presence (as this is sometimes impossible), but

mainly means to keep him in our hearts and to be one with him in principle

and to attune ourselves with him.

This thought has been expressed by Lord Bacon: “A crowd is not a

company, it is a mere gallery of faces.” To keep company, therefore, with

the Godlike object is to associate him with Sraddha, the heart’s love

intensified in the sense above explained, by keeping his appearance and

attributes fully in mind, and by reflecting on the same and affectionately

following his instructions, lamblike. See John 1:29.

“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

By so doing, when man becomes able to conceive the sublime status of

his divine brothers, he may be fortunate in remaining in their company and

in securing help from any one of them whom he may choose as his Spiritual

Preceptor, Sat-Guru, the Saviour.

Thus, to resume, Virya or moral courage can be obtained by the culture

of Sraddha, that is, by devoting one’s natural love to his Preceptor, by being

always in his company (in the internal sense already explained), and by

following with affection his holy instructions as they are freely and

spontaneously given.

SUTRAS 9–11

Moral courage is strengthened by observance of Yama (morality or self-control) and

Niyama (religious rules).

Yama comprises noninjury to others, truthfulness, nonstealing, continence, and

noncovetousness.

Niyama means purity of body and mind, contentment in all circumstances, and

obedience (following the instructions of the guru).

Firmness of moral courage can be attained by the culture of Yama, the

religious forbearances: abstention from cruelty, dishonesty, covetousness,

unnatural living, and unnecessary possessions; and of Niyama, the religious

observances: purity in body and mind—cleaning the body externally and

internally from all foreign matters which, being fermented, create different

sorts of diseases in the system, and clearing the mind from all prejudices

and dogmas that make one narrow—contentment in all circumstances; and

obedience to the holy precepts of the divine personages.

What is natural living? To understand what natural living is, it will be

necessary to distinguish it from what is unnatural. Living depends upon the

selection of (1) food, (2) dwelling, and (3) company. To live naturally, the

lower animals can select these for themselves by the help of their instincts

and the natural sentinels placed at the sensory entrances—the organs of

sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. With men in general, however, these

organs are so much perverted by unnatural living from very infancy that

little reliance can be placed on their judgments. To understand, therefore,

what our natural needs are, we ought to depend upon observation,

experiment, and reason.

What is natural food for man? First, to select our natural food, our

observation should be directed to the formation of the organs that aid in

digestion and nutrition, the teeth and digestive canal; to the natural

tendency of the organs of sense which guide animals to their food; and to

the nourishment of the young.

Observation of teeth. By observation of the teeth we find that in

carnivorous animals the incisors are little developed, but the canines are of

striking length, smooth and pointed, to seize the prey. The molars also are

pointed; these points, however, do not meet, but fit closely side by side to

separate the muscular fibers.

In the herbivorous animals the incisors are strikingly developed, the

canines are stunted (though occasionally developed into weapons, as in

elephants), the molars are broad-topped and furnished with enamel on the

sides only.

In the frugivorous all the teeth are of nearly the same height; the canines

are little projected, conical, and blunt (obviously not intended for seizing

prey but for exertion of strength). The molars are broad-topped and

furnished at the top with enamel folds to prevent waste caused by their side

motion, but not pointed for chewing flesh.

In omnivorous animals such as bears, on the other hand, the incisors

resemble those of the herbivorous, the canines are like those of the

carnivorous, and the molars are both pointed and broad-topped to serve a

twofold purpose.

Now if we observe the formation of the teeth in man we find that they

do not resemble those of the carnivorous, neither do they resemble the teeth

of the herbivorous or the omnivorous. They do resemble, exactly, those of

the frugivorous animals. The reasonable inference, therefore, is that man is

a frugivorous or fruit-eating animal.12

Observation of the digestive canal. By observation of the digestive

canal we find that the bowels of carnivorous animals are 3 to 5 times the

length of their body, measuring from the mouth to the anus; and their

stomach is almost spherical. The bowels of the herbivorous are 20 to 28

times the length of their body and their stomach is more extended and of

compound build. But the bowels of the frugivorous animals are 10 to 12

times the length of their body; their stomach is somewhat broader than that

of the carnivorous and has a continuation in the duodenum serving the

purpose of a second stomach.

This is exactly the formation we find in human beings, though Anatomy

says that the human bowels are 3 to 5 times the length of man’s body—

making a mistake by measuring the body from the crown to the soles,

instead of from mouth to anus. Thus we can again draw the inference that

man is, in all probability, a frugivorous animal.

Observation of organs of sense. By observation of the natural tendency

of the organs of sense—the guideposts for determining what is nutritious—

by which all animals are directed to their food, we find that when the

carnivorous animal finds prey, he becomes so much delighted that his eyes

begin to sparkle; he boldly seizes the prey and greedily laps the jetting

blood. On the contrary, the herbivorous animal refuses even his natural

food, leaving it untouched, if it is sprinkled with a little blood. His senses of

smell and sight lead him to select grasses and other herbs for his food,

which he tastes with delight. Similarly with the frugivorous animals, we

find that their senses always direct them to fruits of the trees and field.

In men of all races we find that their senses of smell, sound, and sight

never lead them to slaughter animals; on the contrary they cannot bear even

the sight of such killings. Slaughterhouses are always recommended to be

removed far from the towns; men often pass strict ordinances forbidding the

uncovered transportation of flesh meats. Can flesh then be considered the

natural food of man, when both his eyes and his nose are so much against it,

unless deceived by flavors of spices, salt, and sugar? On the other hand,

how delightful do we find the fragrance of fruits, the very sight of which

often makes the mouth water! It may also be noticed that various grains and

roots possess an agreeable odor and taste, though faint, even when

unprepared. Thus again, we are led to infer from these observations that

man was intended to be a frugivorous animal.13

Observation of the nourishment of the young. By observation of the

nourishment of the young we find that milk is undoubtedly the food of the

newborn babe. Abundant milk is not supplied in the breasts of the mother if

she does not take fruits, grains, and vegetables as her natural food.

Cause of disease. Hence from these observations the only conclusion

that can reasonably be drawn is that various grains, fruits, roots, and—for

beverage—milk, and pure water openly exposed to air and sun are

decidedly the best natural food for man. These, being congenial to the

system when taken according to the power of the digestive organs, well

chewed and mixed with saliva, are always easily assimilated.

Other foods are unnatural to man and being uncongenial to the system

are necessarily foreign to it; when they enter the stomach, they are not

properly assimilated. Mixed with the blood, they accumulate in the

excretory and other organs not properly adapted to them. When they cannot

find their way out, they subside in tissue crevices by the law of gravitation;

and, being fermented, produce diseases, mental and physical, and ultimately

lead to premature death.

Children’s development. Experiment also proves that the nonirritant

diet natural to the vegetarian is, almost without exception, admirably suited

to children’s development, both physical and mental. Their minds,

understanding, will, the principal faculties, temper, and general disposition

are also properly developed.

Natural living calms passions. We find that when extraordinary means

such as excessive fasting, scourging, or monastic confinement are resorted

to for the purpose of suppressing the sexual passions, these means seldom

produce the desired effect. Experiment shows, however, that man can easily

overcome these passions, the archenemy of morality, by natural living on a

nonirritant diet, above referred to; thereby men gain a calmness of mind

which every psychologist knows is the most favourable to mental activity

and to a clear understanding, as well as to a judicial way of thinking.

Sexual desire. Something more should be said here about the natural

instinct of propagation, which is, next to the instinct of self-preservation,

the strongest in the animal body. Sexual desire, like all other desires, has a

normal and an abnormal or diseased state, the latter resulting only from the

foreign matter accumulated by unnatural living as mentioned above. In the

sexual desire everyone has a very accurate thermometer to indicate the

condition of his health. This desire is forced from its normal state by the

irritation of nerves that results from the pressure of foreign matter

accumulated in the system, which pressure is exerted on the sexual

apparatus and is at first manifested by an increased sexual desire followed

by a gradual decrease of potency.

This sexual desire in its normal state makes man quite free from all

disturbing lusts, and operates on the organism (awaking a wish for

appeasement) only infrequently. Here again experiment shows that this

desire, like all other desires, is always normal in individuals who lead a

natural life as mentioned.

The root of the tree of life. The sexual organ—the junction of

important nerve extremities, particularly of the sympathetic and spinal

nerves (the principal nerves of the abdomen) which, through their

connection with the brain, are capable of enlivening the whole system—is

in a sense the root of the tree of life. Man well-instructed in the proper use

of sex can keep his body and mind in proper health and can live a pleasant

life throughout.

The practical principles of sexual health are not taught because the

public regards the subject as unclean and indecent. Thus blinded, mankind

presumes to clothe Nature in a veil because she seems to them impure,

forgetting that she is always clean and that everything impure and improper

lies in man’s ideas, and not in Nature herself. It is clear therefore that man,

not knowing the truth about the dangers of misuse of the sexual power, and

being compelled to wrong practices by the nervous irritation resulting from

unnatural living, suffers troublesome diseases in life and ultimately

becomes a victim of premature death.

Dwelling place of man. Secondly, about our dwelling place. We can

easily understand, when we feel displeasure on entering a crowded room

after breathing fresh air on a mountaintop or in an expanse of field or

garden, that the atmosphere of the town or any crowded place is quite an

unnatural dwelling place. The fresh atmosphere of the mountaintop, or of

the field or garden, or of a dry place under trees covering a large plot of

land and freely ventilated with fresh air is the proper dwelling place for man

according to Nature.

The company we should keep. And thirdly, as to the company we

should keep. Here also, if we listen to the dictates of our conscience and

consult our natural liking, we will at once find that we favour those persons

whose magnetism affects us harmoniously, who cool our system, internally

invigorate our vitality, develop our natural love, and thus relieve us of our

miseries and administer peace to us. This is to say, we should be in the

company of the Sat or Saviour and should avoid that of the Asat, as

described before. By keeping the company of Sat (the Saviour) we are

enabled to enjoy perfect health, physical and mental, and our life is

prolonged. If on the other hand we disobey the warning of Mother Nature,

without listening to the dictates of our pure conscience, and keep the

company of whatever has been designated as Asat, an opposite effect is

produced and our health is impaired and our life shortened.

Necessity of natural living and purity. Thus natural living is helpful

for the practice of Yama, the ascetic forbearances as explained earlier. Purity

of mind and body being equally important in the practice of Niyama, the

ascetic observances already explained, every attempt should be made to

attain that purity.

SUTRAS 12–18

Hence bondage disappears.

The eight bondages or snares are hatred, shame, fear, grief, condemnation, race

prejudice, pride of family, and smugness.

(Removal of the eight bondages) leads to magnanimity of heart.

Thus one becomes fit to practice Asana, Pranayama, and Pratyahara; and to enjoy

the householder’s life (by fulfilling all one’s desires and so getting rid of them).

Asana means a steady and pleasant posture of the body.

Pranayama means control over prana, life force.

Pratyahara means withdrawal of the senses from external objects.

The eight meannesses of the heart. Firmness of moral courage, when

attained, removes all the obstacles in the way of salvation. These obstacles

are of eight sorts—hatred, shame, fear, grief, condemnation, race prejudice,

pride of pedigree, and a narrow sense of respectability—which eight are the

meannesses of the human heart.

Awakening magnanimity of the heart. By the removal of these eight

obstacles, Viratwam or Mahattwam (magnanimity of the heart) comes in,

and this makes man fit for the practice of Asana (remaining in steady and

pleasant posture), Pranayama (control over prana, involuntary nerve

electricities), and Pratyahara (changing the direction of the voluntary nerve

currents inward). These practices enable man to satisfy his heart by

enjoying the objects of the senses as intended for Garhasthyasrama

(domestic) life.

Value of Pranayama. Man can put the voluntary nerves into action

whenever he likes, and can give them rest when fatigued. When all of these

voluntary nerves require rest he sleeps naturally, and by this sleep the

voluntary nerves, being refreshed, can work again with full vigour. Man’s

involuntary nerves, however, irrespective of his will, are working

continuously of themselves from his birth. As he has no control over them,

he cannot interfere with their action in the least. When these nerves become

fatigued they also want rest and naturally fall asleep. This sleep of the

involuntary nerves is called Mahanidra, the great sleep, or death. When this

takes place, the circulation, respiration, and other vital functions being

stopped, the material body naturally begins to decay. After a while, when

this great sleep Mahanidra is over, man awakes, with all his desires, and is

reborn in a new physical body for the accomplishment of his various

yearnings. In this way man binds himself to life and death and fails to

achieve final salvation.

Control over death. But if man can control these involuntary nerves by the

aforesaid Pranayama, he can stop the natural decay of the material body

and put the involuntary nerves (of the heart, lungs, and other vital organs) to

rest periodically, as he does with his voluntary nerves in sleep. After such

rest by Pranayama the involuntary nerves become refreshed and work with

newly replenished life.

As after sleep, when rest has been taken by the voluntary nerves, man

requires no help to awaken naturally; so after death also, when man has

enjoyed a full rest, he awakens naturally to life in a new body on earth. If

man can “die,” that is, consciously put his entire nervous system, voluntary

and involuntary, to rest each day by practice of Pranayama, his whole

physical system works with great vigour.

Life and death come under the control of the yogi who perseveres in the

practice of Pranayama. In that way he saves his body from the premature

decay that overtakes most men, and can remain as long as he wishes in his

present physical form, thus having time to work out his karma in one body

and to fulfil (and so get rid of) all the various desires of his heart. Finally

purified, he is no longer required to come again into this world under the

influence of Maya, Darkness, or to suffer the “second death.” See I

Corinthians (Bible) 15:31, and Revelation (Bible) 2:10, 11.

“I protest by our rejoicing which I have in Christ [consciousness], I die daily.”—St. Paul.

“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.…He that overcometh shall

not be hurt of the second death.”

Necessity of Pratyahara. Man enjoys a thing when he so desires. At the

time of the enjoyment, however, if he directs his organs of sense, through

which he enjoys, toward the object of his desire, he can never be satisfied,

and his desires increase in double force. On the contrary, if he can direct his

organs of sense inward toward his Self, at that time he can satisfy his heart

immediately. So the practice of the aforesaid Pratyahara, the changing of

the direction of the voluntary nerve currents inward, is a desirable way to

fulfill his worldly desires. Man must reincarnate again and again until all

his earthly longings are worked out and he is free from all desires.

Necessity of Asana. Man cannot feel or even think properly when his mind

is not in a pleasant state; and the different parts of the human body are so

harmoniously arranged that if even any minutest part of it be hurt a little,

the whole system becomes disturbed. So to comprehend a thing, that is, to

feel a thing by the heart clearly, the practice of the aforesaid Asana, the

steady and pleasant posture, is necessary.

SUTRAS 19–22

Smriti, true conception, leads to knowledge of all creation.

Samadhi, true concentration, enables one to abandon individuality for universality.

Hence arises Samyama (“restraint” or overcoming the egoistic self), by which one

experiences the Aum vibration that reveals God.

Thus the soul (is baptized) in Bhakti Yoga (devotion). This is the state of Divinity.

Smriti, the true conception. Man, when expert in the above-mentioned

practices, becomes able to conceive or feel all things of this creation by his

heart. This true conception is called Smriti.

Samadhi, true concentration. Fixing attention firmly on any object thus

conceived, when man becomes as much identified with it as if he were

devoid of his individual nature, he attains the state of Samadhi or true

concentration.

Pranava Sabda, the Word of God. When man directs all his organs of

sense toward their common center, the sensorium or Sushumnadwara, the

door of the internal world, he perceives his God-sent luminous body of

Radha or John the Baptist, and hears the peculiar “knocking” sound,

Pranava Sabda, the Word of God. See John (Bible) 1:6, 7, 23.

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

“The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might

believe.”

“I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.”

Samyama, the concentration of the self. Thus perceiving, man naturally

believes in the existence of the true Spiritual Light, and, withdrawing his

self from the outer world, concentrates himself on the sensorium. This

concentration of the self is called Samyama.

Bhakti Yoga or baptism, the second birth of man. By this Samyama or

concentration of self on the sensorium, man becomes baptized or absorbed

in the holy stream of the Divine Sound. This baptism is called Bhakti Yoga.

In this state man repents; that is, turning from this gross material creation of

Darkness, Maya, he climbs back toward his Divinity, the Eternal Father,

whence he had fallen, and passing through the sensorium, the door, enters

into an internal sphere, Bhuvarloka. This entrance into the internal world is

the second birth of man. In this state man becomes Devata, a divine being.

SUTRA 23

Translation same as following commentary.

Five states of human heart. There are five states of the human heart: dark,

propelled, steady, devoted, and clean. By these different states of the heart

man is classified, and his evolutionary status determined.

SUTRA 24

In the dark state of the heart, man harbours misconceptions (about everything).

This state is a result of Avidya, Ignorance, and produces a Sudra (a man of the lowest

caste). He can grasp only ideas of the physical world. This state of mind is prevalent in

Kali Yuga, the Dark Age of a cycle.

The dark heart. In the dark state of the heart man misconceives; he thinks

that this gross material portion of the creation is the only real substance in

existence, and that there is nothing besides. However, this is contrary to the

truth, as has been explained before, and is nothing but the effect of

Ignorance, Avidya.

Sudra or servant class. In this state man is called Sudra, or belonging to

the servant class, because his natural duty then is to serve the higher class

people in order to secure their company and thereby prepare his heart to

attain a higher stage.

Kali Yuga, the dark cycle. This state of man is called Kali; and whenever

in any solar system man generally remains in this state and is ordinarily

deprived of the power of advancing beyond the same, the whole of that

system is said to be in Kali Yuga, the dark cycle.

SUTRAS 25, 26

Passing beyond the first stage in Brahma’s plan, man strives for enlightenment and

enters the natural Kshatriya (warrior) caste.

He is propelled (by evolutionary forces) to struggle (for truth). He seeks a guru and

appreciates his divine counsel. Thus a Kshatriya becomes fit to dwell in the worlds of

higher understanding.

The propelled heart. When man becomes a little enlightened he compares

his experiences relating to the material creation, gathered in his wakeful

state, with his experiences in dream, and understanding the latter to be

merely ideas, begins to entertain doubts as to the substantial existence of the

former. His heart then becomes propelled to learn the real nature of the

universe and, struggling to clear his doubts, seeks for evidence to determine

what is truth.

Kshatriya, the military class. In this state man is called Kshatriya, or one

of the military class; and to struggle in the manner aforesaid becomes his

natural duty, by whose performance he may get an insight into the nature of

creation and attain the real knowledge of it.

Sandhisthala—the place between higher and lower. This Kshatriya state

of man is called Sandhisthala, the place between higher and lower. In this

state men, becoming anxious for real knowledge, need help of one another;

hence mutual love, the principal necessity for gaining salvation, appears in

the heart.

Motivated by the energetic tendency of this love, man affectionately

keeps company with those who destroy troubles, clear doubts, and afford

peace to him, and hence avoids whatever produces the contrary result; he

also studies scientifically the scriptures of divine personages.

When man finds Sat-Guru, the Saviour. In this way man becomes able to

appreciate what true faith is, and understands the real position of the divine

personages when he is fortunate in securing the Godlike company of some

one of them who will kindly stand to him as his Spiritual Preceptor, Sat-

Guru, or Saviour. Following affectionately the holy precepts, he learns to

concentrate his mind, directing his organs of sense to their common centre

or sensorium, Sushumnadwara, the door of the internal sphere. There he

perceives the luminous body of John the Baptist, or Radha, and hears the

holy Sound (Amen, Aum) like a stream or river; and being absorbed or

baptized in it, begins to move back toward his Divinity, the Eternal Father,

through the different Lokas or spheres of the creation.

SUTRA 27

The worlds or Lokas of creation are seven: Bhu, Bhuvar, Swar, Mahar, Jana, Tapo,

and Satya. (This earth, and the “earthy” stage of man’s consciousness, are called

Bhuloka.)

The Seven Lokas. In the way toward Divinity there are seven spheres or

stages of creation, designated as Swargas or Lokas by the Oriental sages, as

described in Chapter 1:13. These are Bhuloka, the sphere of gross matters;

Bhuvarloka, the sphere of fine matters or electric attributes; Swarloka, the

sphere of magnetic poles and auras or electricities; Maharloka, the sphere

of magnets, the atoms; Janaloka, the sphere of Spiritual Reflections, the

Sons of God; Tapoloka, the sphere of the Holy Ghost, the Universal Spirit;

and Satyaloka, the sphere of God, the Eternal Substance, Sat. Of these

seven planes, the first three (Bhuloka, Bhuvarloka, and Swarloka) comprise

the material creation, the kingdom of Darkness, Maya; and the last three

(Janaloka, Tapoloka, and Satyaloka) comprise the spiritual creation, the

kingdom of Light. Maharloka or the sphere of Atom, being in the midst, is

said to be the “door” communicating between these two—the material and

spiritual creation—and is called Dasamadwara, the tenth door, or

Brahmarandhra, the way to Divinity.

SUTRA 28

Entering Bhuvarloka (“air” or “the world of becoming”) man becomes a Dvija or

“twice-born.” He comprehends the second portion of material creation—that of finer,

subtler forces. This state of mind is prevalent in Dwapara Yuga.

Dvija or twice-born. When man, being baptized, begins to repent and

move back toward the Eternal Father and, withdrawing his self from the

gross material world, Bhuloka, enters into the world of fine matter,

Bhuvarloka, he is said to belong to the Dvija or twice-born class. In this

state he comprehends his internal electricities, the second fine material

portion of the creation; and understands that the existence of the external is

substantially nothing but mere coalescence or union of his fine internal

objects of sense (the negative attributes of electricities) with his five organs

of sense (the positive attributes) through his five organs of action (the

neutralizing attributes of the same), caused by the operation of his mind and

conscience (consciousness).

The steady heart. This state of man is Dwapara; and when this becomes

the general state of human beings naturally in any solar system, the whole

of that system is said to be in Dwapara Yuga. In this Dwapara state the

heart becomes steady.

If man continues in the baptized state, remaining immersed in the holy

stream, he gradually comes to a pleasant state wherein his heart wholly

abandons the ideas of the external world and becomes devoted to the

internal one.

SUTRA 29

In Swarloka (“heaven”) man is fit to understand the mysteries of Chitta, the

magnetic third portion of material creation. He becomes a Vipra (nearly perfect being).

This state of mind is prevalent in Treta Yuga.

The devoted heart. In this devoted state man, withdrawing his self from

Bhuvarloka, the world of electric attributes, comes to Swarloka, the world

of magnetic attributes, the electricities and poles; he then becomes able to

comprehend Chitta, Heart, the magnetic third portion of creation. This

Chitta, as explained in Chapter 1, is the spiritualized Atom, Avidya or

Ignorance, a part of Darkness, Maya. Man, comprehending this Chitta,

becomes able to understand the whole of Darkness, Maya itself, of which

Chitta is a part, as well as the entire creation. Man is then said to belong to

the Vipra, or nearly perfect, class. This state of human beings is called

Treta; when this becomes the general state of human beings naturally in any

solar system, the whole of that system is said to be in Treta Yuga.

SUTRA 30

Through true repentance man reaches Maharloka (the “great world”). No longer

subject to the influence of ignorance, Maya, he attains a clean heart. He enters the

natural caste of the Brahmanas (“knowers of Brahma”). This state of mind is prevalent

in Satya Yuga.

The Clean Heart. Man continuing Godward further lifts up his self to

Maharloka, the region of magnet, the Atom; then all the developments of

Ignorance being withdrawn, his heart comes to a clean state, void of all

external ideas. Then man becomes able to comprehend the Spiritual Light,

Brahma, the Real Substance in the universe, which is the last and

everlasting spiritual portion in creation. In this stage man is called

Brahmana or of the spiritual class. This stage of the human being is called

Satya, and when this becomes the general state of man naturally in any

solar system, the whole of that system is said to be in Satya Yuga.

SUTRAS 31, 32

Not merely reflecting but manifesting Spiritual Light, man rises to Janaloka, the

kingdom of God.

Then he passes into Tapoloka, the sphere of Kutastha Chaitanya.

Abandoning the vain idea of his separate existence, he enters Satyaloka, wherein he

attains the state of final release or Kaivalya, oneness with Spirit.

In this way, when the heart becomes purified, it no longer merely

reflects but manifests Spiritual Light, the Son of God; and thus being

consecrated or anointed by the Spirit it becomes Christ, the Saviour. This is

the only way through which man, being again baptized or absorbed in

Spirit, can rise above the creation of Darkness and enter into Janaloka, the

Kingdom of God; that is, the creation of Light. In this state man is called

Jivanmukta Sannyasi, like Lord Jesus of Nazareth. See John (Bible) 3:5 and

14:6.

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot

enter into the kingdom of God.”

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,

but by me.”

In this state man comprehends himself as nothing but a mere ephemeral

idea resting on a fragment of the universal Holy Spirit of God, the Eternal

Father, and understanding the real worship, he sacrifices his self there at

this Holy Spirit, the altar of God; that is, abandoning the vain idea of his

separate existence, he becomes “dead” or dissolved in the universal Holy

Spirit; and thus reaches Tapoloka, the region of the Holy Ghost.

In this manner, being one and the same with the universal Holy Spirit of

God, man becomes unified with the Eternal Father Himself, and so comes

to Satyaloka, in which he comprehends that all this creation is substantially

nothing but a mere idea-play of his own nature, and that nothing in the

universe exists besides his own Self. This state of unification is called

Kaivalya, the Sole Self. See Revelation (Bible) 14:13 and John (Bible)

16:28.

“Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth.”

“I came forth from the Father; and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and

go to the Father.”

12 Fruit comprises any part of plant life useful to man. The fruitarian diet referred to by Swami Sri

Yukteswar includes vegetables, nuts, and grains. (Publisher’s Note)

13 “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all

the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” —

Genesis (Bible) 1:29. (Publisher’s Note)

CHAPTER 4

 THE REVELATION

SUTRAS 1–3

Adeptship is achieved by purification of man’s three bodies. It is also attainable

through the grace of the guru.

Purification comes through Nature, penance, and mantras.

Through Nature there is purification of dense matter (the physical body); through

penance, purification of the fine matter (the subtle body); through mantras, purification

of the mind.

Adeptship is attainable by the purification of the body in all respects.

Purification of the material body can be effected by things generated along

with it by Nature; that of the electric body by patience in all circumstances;

and that of the magnetic body ( chitta, spiritualized Atom, Heart) by

regulation of the breath, which is called mantra, the purifier of the mind

(    ). The process of how these purifications

can be effected may be learnt at the feet of the divine personages who

witness Light and bear testimony of the Christ Consciousness.

SUTRAS 4, 5

Through the holy effect of the mantra, the Pranava or Aum sound becomes audible.

The sacred sound is heard in various ways, according to the devotee’s stage of

advancement (in purifying his heart).

By culture of regulation of the breath as directed by the Spiritual

Preceptor (Sat-Guru), the holy Word (,  Pranava or Sabda)

spontaneously appears and becomes audible. When this mantra (Word,

Pranava) appears, the breath becomes regulated and checks the decay of

the material body.

This Pranava appears in different forms at the different stages of

advancement, according to the purification of the heart (Chitta).

SUTRA 6

One who cultivates the heart’s natural love obtains the guidance of a guru, and

starts his sadhana (path of spiritual discipline). He becomes a Pravartaka, an initiate.

It has already been explained what Sat-Guru is and how to keep the

company thereof. Man, when endowed with the heavenly gift of pure love,

naturally becomes disposed to avoid the company of what is Asat and to

keep the company of what has been described as Sat. By affectionately

keeping the company of Sat he may be fortunate enough to please one who

may kindly stand to him as his Sat-Guru or Spiritual Preceptor. By keeping

his preceptor’s Godlike company there grows an inclination, Pravritti, in

the disciple’s heart to save himself from the creation of darkness, Maya, and

he becomes Pravartaka, an initiate in the practices of Yama and Niyama,

the ascetic forbearances and observances necessary to obtain salvation.

SUTRA 7

By the practice of Yama and Niyama, the eight meannesses of the human heart

disappear and virtue arises. Man thus becomes a Sadhaka, a true disciple, fit to attain

salvation.

It may be remembered that by the culture of Yama and Niyama, the eight

meannesses vanish from the human heart and magnanimity comes in. It is at

this stage that man becomes fit for the practice of ascetic posture and the

other processes pointed out by his Sat-Guru to attain salvation; when he

continues to practice the processes so pointed out to him by his Sat-Guru he

becomes a Sadhaka or disciple.

SUTRA 8

He progresses in godliness, hears the holy Aum sound, and becomes a Siddha, divine

personage.

On reference to Chapter 3 it will be found how a disciple, while passing

through the different stages, becomes able to conceive the different objects

of creation in his heart; and how he gradually advances through the states of

meditation; and how, ultimately, by concentrating his attention on the

sensorium, he perceives the peculiar sound, Pranava or Sabda, the holy

Word, at which time the heart becomes divine and the Ego, Ahamkara, or

son of man becomes merged or baptized in the stream thereof, and the

disciple becomes Siddha, an adept, a divine personage.

SUTRA 9

Then he perceives the manifestations of Spirit, and passes through the seven Patala

Lokas (or centres in the spine), beholding the seven rishis.

In the state of baptism (Bhakti Yoga, or Surat Sabda Yoga, absorption of

the Ego in the holy Sound) man repents and withdraws his self from the

external world of gross matters, Bhuloka, and enters into the internal one of

fine matter, the Bhuvarloka. There he perceives the manifestation of Spirit,

the true Light, like seven stars in seven centres or astrally shining places,

which are compared to seven golden candlesticks. These stars, being the

manifestation of true Light, the Spirit, are called angels or rishis, which

appear one after another in the right hand of the son of man; that is, in his

right way to Divinity.

The seven golden candlesticks are the seven shining places in the body,

known as brain, the sahasrara; medulla oblongata, the ajna chakra; and

five spinal centers—cervical, vishuddha; dorsal, anahata; lumbar,

manipura; sacral, swadhishthana; and coccygeal, muladhara, where the

Spirit becomes manifested. Through these seven centres or churches, the

Ego or son of man passes toward the Divinity. See Revelation (Bible) 1:12,

13, 16, 20, and 2:1.

“And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven

candlesticks one like unto the son of man.…And he had in his right hand seven stars.”

“The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden

candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven candlesticks

which thou sawest are the seven churches.”

“These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the

midst of the seven golden candlesticks.”

In this state of baptism (Bhakti Yoga or Surat Sabda Yoga) the Ego,

Surat, the son of man, gradually passing through the seven places

mentioned, acquires the knowledge thereof; and when he thus completes the

journey through the whole of these regions he understands the true nature of

the universe. Withdrawing his self from Bhuvarloka, the fine material

creation, he enters into Swarloka, the source of all matters, fine and gross.

There he perceives the luminous astral form around his Heart, Atom, the

throne of Spirit the Creator, provided with five electricities and with two

poles, Mind and Intelligence, of seven different colors as in rainbows. In

this sphere of electricities, mind and intelligence, the source of all objects of

senses and of organs for their enjoyment, man becomes perfectly satisfied

with being in possession of all objects of his desires, and acquires a

complete knowledge thereof. Hence the aforesaid astral form with its

electricities and poles, the seven parts thereof, has been described as a

sealed casket of knowledge, a book with seven seals. See Revelation (Bible)

4:3 and 5:1.

“And there was a rainbow round about the throne.”

“And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the

back side, sealed with seven seals.”

SUTRA 10

Then, because of yoga knowledge and power, man obtains supremacy over the seven

Swargas (heavens). He achieves salvation by dissolving the four original ideas (the “four

manus” or primal thoughts by which creation sprang into being).

Passing through this Swarloka, the son of man comes to Maharloka, the

place of magnet (the Atom), of which the ideas of manifestation (Word),

Time, Space, and particle (Atom) are the four component parts. As

mentioned in Chapter 1, this Maharloka represents Avidya, Ignorance,

which produces the idea of separate existence of self and is the source of

Ego, the son of man. Thus man (, manava), being the offspring of

Ignorance, and Ignorance being represented by the four ideas aforesaid,

these ideas are called the four manus ( +  = ), the origins or

sources of man.

SUTRA 11

Being thus victorious over the powers of Darkness and Ignorance, man becomes one

with God.

Maharloka, the place of Magnet (Atom), is the Brahmarandhra or

Dasamadwara, the door between two creations, material and spiritual.

When Ego, the son of man, comes to the door, he comprehends the Spiritual

Light and becomes baptized therein. And passing through this door he

comes above the ideational creation of Darkness, Maya, and entering into

the spiritual world, receives the true Light and becomes the Son of God.

Thus man, being the Son of God, overcomes all bondage of Darkness,

Maya, and becomes possessed of all aiswaryas, the ascetic majesties. These

aiswaryas are of eight sorts:

Anima, the power of making one’s body or anything else as small as he

likes, even as tiny as an atom, anu.

Mahima, the power of magnifying or making one’s body or anything

else mahat, as large as he likes.

Laghima, the power of making one’s body or anything else laghu, as

light in weight as he likes.

Garima, the power of making one’s body or anything else guru, as

heavy as he likes.

Prapti, the power of apti, obtaining anything he likes.

Vasitwa, the power of vasa, bringing anything under control.

Prakamya, the power of satisfying all desires, kama, by irresistible will

force.

Isitwa, the power of becoming Isa, Lord, over everything. See John

(Bible) 14:12.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also;

and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

SUTRA 12

Knowledge of evolution, life, and dissolution thus leads to complete emancipation

from the bonds of Maya, delusion. Beholding the self in the Supreme Self, man gains

eternal freedom.

Thus man, being possessed of aiswaryas, the ascetic majesties

aforesaid, fully comprehends the Eternal Spirit, the Father, the only Real

Substance, as Unit, the Perfect Whole, and his Self as nothing but a mere

idea resting on a fragment of the Spiritual Light thereof. Man, thus

comprehending, abandons altogether the vain idea of the separate existence

of his own Self and becomes unified with Him, the Eternal Spirit, God the

Father. This unification with God is Kaivalya, the ultimate goal of man, as

explained in this treatise. See Revelation (Bible) 3:21.

“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame,

and am set down with my Father in his throne.”

CONCLUSION

“Love rules the court, the camp, the grove,

The men below and saints above;

For love is heaven and heaven is love.”

The power of love has been beautifully described by the poet in the

stanza quoted above.14 It has been clearly demonstrated in the foregoing

pages that “Love is God,” not merely as the noblest sentiment of a poet but

as an aphorism of eternal truth. To whatever religious creed a man may

belong and whatever may be his position in society, if he properly cultivates

this ruling principle naturally implanted in his heart, he is sure to be on the

right path to save himself from wandering in this creation of Darkness,

Maya.

It has been shown in the foregoing pages how love may be cultivated,

how by its culture it attains development, and when developed, through this

means only, how man may find his Spiritual Preceptor, through whose favor

he again becomes baptized in the holy stream, and sacrifices his Self before

the altar of God, becoming unified with the Eternal Father forever and ever.

This little volume is therefore concluded with an earnest exhortation to the

reader never to forget the great goal of life. In the words of the illumined

sage, Shankaracharya:

[“Life is always unsafe and unstable, like a drop of water on a lotus leaf. The

company of a divine personage, even for a moment, can save and redeem us.”]

14 Stanza 2 from the third canto of The Lay of the Last Minstrel, by Sir Walter Scott.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sri Sri Swami Sri Yukteswar, an ideal exemplar of India’s ancient

heritage of illumined rishis, is venerated as a Jnanavatar (“incarnation of

wisdom”) by people all over the world who have been inspired by his life

and teachings. He manifested the self-mastery and divine attainment that

have been the highest goal of Truth-seekers throughout the ages.

His Early Life

Born Priya Nath Karar in Serampore (near Calcutta) in 1855, Swami Sri

Yukteswar was the only son of Kshetranath and Kadambini Karar. His

father, Kshetranath, was a wealthy businessman, and the family owned

several large estates in the area.

Even when he was a boy, young Priya’s incisive intellect and thirst for

knowledge were evident. As is often the case with great minds, however, he

found formal education more of a hindrance than a help; his academic

training was therefore not extensive.

Kshetranath Karar died when his son was still a boy. Consequently, at a

very young age Priya Nath had to assume the responsibility of managing

the family landholdings. In early manhood he was married, but his wife

died just a few years later; and their only child, a daughter, passed away as a

young woman not long after her marriage.

Priya Nath’s pursuit of Truth led him to the great master Lahiri

Mahasaya of Banaras, who extolled the sacred science of Kriya Yoga

meditation as the most effective means of attaining God-realization, and

who was the first to teach openly that ancient science in modern times.

Through the guidance of Lahiri Mahasaya and through his own practice of

Kriya, Sri Yukteswar achieved the supreme spiritual state, in which, as he

describes in The Holy Science, “[one] abandons altogether the vain idea of

the separate existence of his own Self and becomes unified with Him, the

Eternal Spirit, God the Father. This unification with God is Kaivalya, the

ultimate goal of man.”

Writing of The Holy Science

Sri Yukteswar recognized that a synthesis of the spiritual heritage of the

East with the science and technology of the West would do much to

alleviate the material, psychological, and spiritual suffering of the modern

world. He was convinced that tremendous advances could be made, both

individually and internationally, by an exchange of the finest positive

features of each culture. These ideas were crystallized by his remarkable

encounter with Mahavatar Babaji, the guru of Lahiri Mahasaya, in 1894. Sri

Yukteswar told the story of that memorable meeting as follows:15

“Welcome, Swamiji,” Babaji said affectionately.

“Sir,” I replied emphatically, “I am not a swami.”

“Those on whom I am divinely directed to bestow the title of swami never cast it off.” The

saint addressed me simply, but deep conviction of truth rang in his words; I was instantly

engulfed in a wave of spiritual blessing. Smiling at my sudden elevation into the ancient

monastic order,16 I bowed at the feet of the obviously great and angelic being in human form

who had thus honored me.…

“I saw that you are interested in the West, as well as in the East.” Babaji’s face beamed with

approval. “I felt the pangs of your heart, broad enough for all men. That is why I summoned

you here.

“East and West must establish a golden middle path of activity and spirituality combined,”

he continued. “India has much to learn from the West in material development; in return, India

can teach the universal methods by which the West will be able to base its religious beliefs on

the unshakable foundations of yogic science.

“You, Swamiji, have a part to play in the coming harmonious exchange between Orient and

Occident. Some years hence I shall send you a disciple whom you can train for yoga

dissemination in the West. The vibrations there of many spiritually seeking souls come

floodlike to me. I perceive potential saints in America and Europe, waiting to be awakened.…

“At my request, Swamiji,” the great master said, “will you not write a short book on the

underlying harmony between Christian and Hindu scriptures? Their basic unity is now

obscured by men’s sectarian differences. Show by parallel references that the inspired sons of

God have spoken the same truths.”

Returning to Serampore, Sri Yukteswarji began his literary efforts. “In

the quiet of night I busied myself over a comparison of the Bible and the

scriptures of Sanatana Dharma,”17 he later recounted. “Quoting the words

of the blessed Lord Jesus, I showed that his teachings are in essence one

with the revelations of the Vedas. Through the grace of my paramguru,18

my book, The Holy Science, was finished in a short time.”

His Training of Disciples

As the years went by, Swami Sri Yukteswar began accepting disciples

for spiritual training. His ancestral home in Serampore became his

hermitage; later he constructed an additional ashram by the sea at Puri,

three hundred miles south of Calcutta.

It was in 1910 that Sri Yukteswar met the disciple whom Babaji had

promised to send him for disseminating Yoga in the West: Mukunda Lal

Ghosh, on whom Sri Yukteswar later bestowed the monastic name of

Paramahansa Yogananda. In his Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansaji

has described in detail his many years of spiritual discipline under Swami

Sri Yukteswar, providing a fascinating biographical portrait of his guru,

from which the following composite of brief excerpts is taken:

“Daily life at the ashram flowed smoothly, infrequently varied. My guru

awoke before dawn. Lying down, or sometimes sitting on the bed, he

entered a state of samadhi.…19

“Breakfast did not follow; first came a long walk by the Ganges. Those

morning strolls with my guru—how real and vivid still! In the easy

resurrection of memory, I often find myself by his side. The early sun is

warming the river; his voice rings out, rich with the authenticity of wisdom.

“A bath, then the midday meal. Its preparation, according to Master’s

daily directions, had been the careful task of young disciples. My guru was

a vegetarian. Before embracing monkhood, however, he had eaten eggs and

fish. His advice to students was to follow any simple diet which proved

suited to one’s constitution.”

“Visitors appeared in the afternoons. A steady stream poured from the

world into the tranquil hermitage. My guru treated all guests with courtesy

and kindness. A master—one who has realized himself as the omnipresent

soul, not the body or the ego—perceives in all men a striking similarity.”

“Eight o’clock was the supper hour, and sometimes found lingering

guests. My guru would not excuse himself to eat alone; none left his ashram

hungry or dissatisfied. Sri Yukteswar was never at a loss, never dismayed

by unexpected visitors; under his resourceful directions to the disciples,

scanty food would emerge a banquet. Yet he was economical; his modest

funds went far. ‘Be comfortable within your purse,’ he often said.

‘Extravagance will bring you discomfort.’ Whether in the details of

hermitage entertainment or of building and repair work or of other practical

concerns, Master manifested the originality of a creative spirit.

“Quiet evening hours often brought one of my guru’s discourses:

treasures against time. His every utterance was chiseled by wisdom. A

sublime self-assurance marked his mode of expression: it was unique. He

spoke as none other in my experience ever spoke. His thoughts were

weighed in a delicate balance of discrimination before he permitted them

the outward garb of speech. The essence of truth, all-pervasive with even a

physiological aspect, came from him like a fragrant exudation of the soul. I

was conscious always that I was in the presence of a living manifestation of

God. The weight of his divinity automatically bowed my head before him.”

“With the exception of the scriptures, Sri Yukteswar read little. Yet he

was invariably acquainted with the latest scientific discoveries and other

advancements of knowledge. A brilliant conversationalist, he enjoyed an

exchange of views on countless topics with his guests. My guru’s ready wit

and rollicking laugh enlivened every discussion. Often grave, Master was

never gloomy. ‘To seek the Lord, men need not “disfigure their faces,”’ he

would say, quoting from the Bible.20 ‘Remember that finding God will

mean the funeral of all sorrows.’

“Among the philosophers, professors, lawyers, and scientists who came

to the hermitage, a number arrived for their first visit with the thought of

meeting an orthodox religionist. Occasionally a supercilious smile or a

glance of amused tolerance would betray that the newcomers expected

nothing more than a few pious platitudes. After talking with Sri Yukteswar

and discovering that he possessed precise insight into their specialized

fields of knowledge, the visitors would depart reluctantly.”

“Master numbered many doctors among his disciples. ‘Those who have

studied physiology should go further and investigate the science of the

soul,’ he told them. ‘A subtle spiritual structure is hidden just behind the

bodily mechanism.’”

“‘All creation is governed by law,’ he said. ‘The principles that operate

in the outer universe, discoverable by scientists, are called natural laws. But

there are subtler laws that rule the hidden spiritual planes and the inner

realm of consciousness; these principles are knowable through the science

of yoga. It is not the physicist but the Self-realized master who

comprehends the true nature of matter. By such knowledge Christ was able

to restore the servant’s ear after it had been severed by one of the

disciples.’”

“Master expounded the Christian Bible with a beautiful clarity. It was

from my Hindu guru, unknown to the roll call of Christian membership,

that I learned to perceive the deathless essence of the Bible….Never in East

or West have I heard anyone else expound the Christian scriptures with so

deep a spiritual insight as Sri Yukteswar’s.”

“Sri Yukteswar counseled his students to be living liaisons of Western

and Eastern virtues. Himself an executive Occidental in outer habits,

inwardly he was the spiritual Oriental. He praised the progressive,

resourceful, and hygienic ways of the West, and the religious ideals that

give a centuried halo to the East.”

“Sri Yukteswar was reserved and matter-of-fact in demeanor. There was

naught of the vague or daft visionary about him. His feet were firm on the

earth, his head in the haven of heaven. Practical people aroused his

admiration. ‘Saintliness is not dumbness! Divine perceptions are not

incapacitating!’ he would say. ‘The active expression of virtue gives rise to

the keenest intelligence.’”

“Sri Yukteswar’s intuition was penetrating; heedless of remarks, he

often replied to one’s unexpressed thoughts….The disclosures of divine

insight are often painful to worldly ears; Master was not popular with

superficial students. The wise, always few in number, deeply revered him. I

daresay he would have been the most sought-after guru in India had his

speech not been so candid.…”

“Amazing it was to find that a master with such a fiery will could be so

calm within. He fitted the Vedic definition of a man of God: ‘Softer than the

flower, where kindness is concerned; stronger than the thunder, where

principles are at stake.’”

“I often reflected that my majestic master could easily have been an

emperor or world-shaking warrior had his mind been centered on fame or

worldly achievement. He had chosen instead to storm those inner citadels of

wrath and egotism whose fall is the height of a man.”

In 1920 Swami Sri Yukteswar sent Paramahansa Yogananda to America

to carry out the mission spoken of many years earlier by Mahavatar Babaji

—to make available to Truth-seekers throughout the world a knowledge of

the liberating science of Kriya Yoga. For this purpose, Sri Yogananda

founded Self-Realization Fellowship, an international society with

headquarters in Los Angeles. During his three decades in the West, he

lectured to capacity audiences in most of America’s principal cities; wrote

numerous books and prepared a comprehensive series of yoga lessons for

home study; and trained monastic disciples to perpetuate the spiritual and

humanitarian work entrusted to him by Mahavatar Babaji and Swami Sri

Yukteswar.

In appreciation of his disciple’s devoted service and accomplishments in

America, Sri Yukteswar wrote to Yoganandaji on several occasions. The

following extracts from two such letters, written in the mid-1920s, convey a

poignant glimpse of the divine relationship of loving closeness that existed

between these two great souls:

Child of my heart, O Yogananda!

I am melting in joy to see [the photos of] your yoga students of different cities. Hearing

about your methods of chant affirmations, healing vibrations, and divine healing prayers, I

cannot refrain from thanking you from my heart.

***

I am so glad to see the photo of the Mount Washington mansion21 that I cannot possibly

express it in words. My soul desires to fly there and see it. You have worked hard to be the

instrument of God to create it. Carry on the work as you wish. There can never be any

difference of opinion between us.…

After I return to Serampore, I may try to get a passport for a tour ’round the world, but

conditions seem that with this body it may not be possible to do so. I would like to leave my

body near you in your place. In that thought I find great happiness.

About Puri, arrange as to who will take charge. Through Guru’s grace I am well. But I am

taking leave from all administrative matters connected with the various centers. I cannot

accomplish all this detailed work anymore. This is the beginning of my last efforts in

connection with organizational work.…I am waiting expectantly for you.

His Last Days and Passing

As foreseen by Sri Yukteswar, it was not the will of the Divine that he

travel to America. Nor was Yoganandaji able to wrest himself away from

his manifold responsibilities in order to visit India. Finally, in 1935,

receiving an urgent intuitive summons from his guru—a portent that his

guru’s days were drawing to a close—Yoganandaji returned to India for a

yearlong visit. He was accompanied by two of his American disciples. The

following account by one of them, Mr. C. Richard Wright, provides one of

the few personal descriptions of Sri Yukteswarji written by a Westerner:

In grave humility I walked behind Yoganandaji into the courtyard within the hermitage

walls. Hearts beating fast, we proceeded up some old cement steps; trod, no doubt, by

countless truth seekers. Our tension grew keener and keener as on we strode. Before us, near

the head of the stairs, quietly appeared the Great One, Swami Sri Yukteswarji, standing in the

noble pose of a sage. My heart heaved and swelled at the blessing of being in his sublime

presence.…

On bended knee before the master I gave my own unexpressed love and thanks; touching

his feet, calloused by time and service, and receiving his blessing. I stood then and gazed into

his beautiful eyes—deep with introspection yet radiant with joy.…

I easily perceived the saintliness of the Great One through his heart-warming smile and

twinkling eyes. Quickly discernible in his merry or serious conversation is a positiveness in

statement: the mark of a sage—one who knows he knows, because he knows God. The

master’s great wisdom, strength of purpose, and determination are apparent in every way.

He was simply clad; his dhoti and shirt, once dyed an ocher color, are now a faded orange.

Studying him reverently from time to time, I noted that he is of large, athletic stature; his body

hardened by the trials and sacrifices of a renunciant’s life. His poise is majestic. He moves

with dignified tread and erect posture. A jovial and rollicking laugh comes from the depths of

his chest, causing his whole body to shake and quiver.

His austere face strikingly conveys an impression of divine power. His hair, parted in the

middle, is white around the forehead, streaked elsewhere with silvery gold and silvery black,

and ends in ringlets at his shoulders. His beard and moustache are scant or thinned out, and

seem to enhance his features. His forehead slopes, as though seeking the heavens. His dark

eyes are haloed by an ethereal blue ring.…In repose his mouth is stern, yet subtly touched with

tenderness.

Though to all outward appearances Sri Yukteswarji’s health appeared to

be excellent, his time to leave the body was indeed drawing near. Late in

1935 he called Paramahansaji to him.

“My task on earth is now finished; you must carry on.” Sri Yukteswar

spoke quietly, his eyes calm and gentle.

“Please send someone to take charge of our ashram in Puri,” he went on.

“I leave everything in your hands. You will be able successfully to sail the

boat of your life and that of the organization to the divine shores.”

The great guru entered mahasamadhi (a yogi’s final, conscious exit

from the body) on March 9, 1936, in Puri. The Amrita Bazar Patrika,

leading newspaper of Calcutta, carried his picture and the following report:

The death Bhandara ceremony for Srimat Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri Maharaj, aged 81, took

place at Puri on March 21. Many disciples came down to Puri for the rites.

One of the greatest expounders of the Bhagavad Gita, Swami Maharaj was a great disciple

of Yogiraj Sri Shyama Charan Lahiri Mahasaya of Banaras. Swami Maharaj was the founder

of several Yogoda Satsanga [Self-Realization Fellowship] centers in India, and was the great

inspiration behind the yoga movement which was carried to the West by Swami Yogananda,

his principal disciple. It was Sri Yukteswarji’s prophetic powers and deep realization that

inspired Swami Yogananda to cross the oceans and spread in America the message of the

masters of India.

His interpretations of the Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures testify to the depth of Sri

Yukteswarji’s command of the philosophy, both Eastern and Western, and remain as an eye-

opener for the unity between Orient and Occident. As he believed in the unity of all religious

faiths, Sri Yukteswar Maharaj established Sadhu Sabha (Society of Saints) with the

cooperation of leaders of various sects and faiths, for the inculcation of a scientific spirit in

religion. At the time of his demise he nominated Swami Yogananda his successor as the

president of Sadhu Sabha.

India is really poorer today by the passing of such a great man. May all fortunate enough to

have come near him inculcate in themselves the true spirit of India’s culture and sadhana

which was personified in him.

His Legacy for Humanity

The awakened soul that comes into the presence of the Absolute knows

God as the only Reality, and sees the transitory scenes of life and death as

part of maya, illusion—a divine drama enacted in the omnipresence of the

Cosmic Creator. After his passing, Sri Yukteswar gave to the world a

profound last testimony to the truths he had so succinctly described in The

Holy Science. As Yoganandaji, grieving over the loss of his beloved guru,

made preparations for returning to America, Sri Yukteswar appeared to him

in resurrected form. The wondrous experience—and Sri Yukteswar’s

revelations of the true nature of cosmic creation, of life after death, and of

the continuing spiritual evolution of the immortal soul—is the subject of an

entire chapter in Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi.

“I have now told you, Yogananda, the truths of my life, death, and

resurrection,” Sri Yukteswarji said to his beloved disciple. “Grieve not for

me; rather broadcast everywhere the story of my resurrection.…New hope

will be infused into the hearts of misery-mad, death-fearing dreamers of the

world.”

“Too long has [man] hearkened to the dank pessimism of his ‘dust-thou-

art’ counselors, heedless of the unconquerable soul,” wrote Paramahansaji

in relating this divine experience with Swami Sri Yukteswar. By his life and

the imparting of his wisdom, and by his death and the glorious

demonstration of his resurrection, the great Jnanavatar bequeathed to all

humanity a sublime vision of mankind’s inherent divinity as immortal

children of the one God.

15 Recorded by Paramahansa Yogananda in his Autobiography of a Yogi, chapter 36.

16 Sri Yukteswar was later formally initiated into the Swami Order by the Mahant (monastery head)

of Buddh Gaya in Bihar. It was at that time that he adopted the monastic name of Swami Sri

Yukteswar (“united with God”) in place of his family name.

17 Literally, “eternal religion,” the name given to the body of Vedic teachings that are the foundation

of Hinduism.

18 The guru of one’s guru; in this case, Mahavatar Babaji.

19 Samadhi (lit., “to direct together”) is a blissful superconscious state in which a yogi perceives the

identity of the individualized soul and Cosmic Spirit.

20 Matthew (Bible) 6:16.

21 Reference to the Administration Building of Self-Realization Fellowship International

Headquarters atop Mt. Washington in Los Angeles, which Paramahansa Yogananda had acquired a

few months earlier.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON

THE KRIYA YOGA TEACHINGS OF

PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA

Yogoda Satsanga Society of India is dedicated to freely assisting seekers

throughout India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. For information regarding our

public lectures and classes, meditation and inspirational services at our

meditation centres, a schedule of weekend retreats at locations near our

meditation centres, Kendras and Mandalis, and other activities, we invite

you to visit our website or our Yogoda Satsanga Sakha Math:

www.yssofindia.org

Yogoda Satsanga Society of India

Paramahansa Yogananda Path

Ranchi 834001, Jharkhand

Tel: (0651) 2460071, 2460074, 2461578

YOGODA SATSANGA LESSONS

Personal guidance and instruction from Paramahansa Yogananda on the

techniques of yoga meditation and principles of spiritual living

If you feel drawn to the spiritual teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda,

we invite you to enroll in the Yogoda Satsanga Lessons.

Paramahansa Yogananda originated this home-study series to provide

sincere seekers the opportunity to learn and practice the ancient yoga

meditation techniques — including the science of Kriya Yoga. The Lessons

also present his practical guidance for attaining balanced physical, mental,

and spiritual well-being.

The Yogoda Satsanga Lessons are available at a nominal fee (to cover

printing and postage costs). All students are freely given personal guidance

in their practice by Yogoda Satsanga Society of India monks.

For more information…

Complete details about the Yogoda Satsanga Lessons are included in the

free booklet Undreamed-of Possibilities. To receive a copy of this booklet

and an application form, please visit our website or contact our

Headquarters.

Also published by Yogoda Satsanga Society of India…

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI

By Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda

Autobiography of a Yogi is an absorbing account of a singular search for

Truth, interwoven with scientific explanations of the subtle but definite

laws by which yogis perform miracles and attain self-mastery. The author

recounts his many years of spiritual training under Sri Sri Swami Sri

Yukteswar Giri, and his visits with exceptional personages of East and West

—including Ananda Moyi Ma; Mahatma Gandhi; Master Mahasaya, the

saintly disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa; Rabindranath Tagore;

Ramana Maharishi; Luther Burbank; and Therese Neumann, the Catholic

stigmatist.

Dispelling many misconceptions about Indian philosophy and religion,

this book provides an excellent introduction to the whole science of yoga.

Since its publication in 1946, Autobiography of a Yogi has become a classic

in its field, revealing the underlying unity of the great religious paths of

both East and West. It has been translated more than forty-five languages

and is used as a text and reference work in colleges and universities

throughout the world.

“The Autobiography of this sage makes captivating reading.”

—The Times of India

“Fragments of a wisdom so deep that one feels spellbound, permanently moved.”

—Haagsche Post, Holland

“Pages that will enthrall the reader, because they appeal to the aspiration and longing that

slumber in the heart of every man.”

—Il Tempo del Lunedi, Rome

“There are many books in Western tongues that expound Indian philosophy and

particularly Yoga, but none other reveals to us with such candour the experiences of one

who embodies and lives these principles.”

—Kurt F. Leidecker,Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, University of Virginia

OTHER BOOKS BY PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA

Available at bookstores or online at

www.yssbooks.org

Autobiography of a Yogi

(Audiobook, read by Sir Ben Kingsley)

God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita

—A New Translation and Commentary

The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You—A Revelatory

Commentary on the Original Teachings of Jesus

Man’s Eternal Quest

The Divine Romance

Journey to Self-realization

Where There Is Light: Insight and Inspiration for Meeting Life’s Challenges

Whispers from Eternity

The Science of Religion

In the Sanctuary of the Soul: A Guide to Effective Prayer

Inner Peace: How to Be Calmly Active and Actively Calm

How You Can Talk With God

Metaphysical Meditations

Scientific Healing Affirmations

Sayings of Paramahansa Yogananda

Songs of the Soul

The Law of Success

Words of Cosmic Chants

A complete book order form describing all of the Yogoda Satsanga Society publications and

audio/video recordings is available on request.www.yssbooks.org.

FREE INTRODUCTORY LITERATURE

Detailed instruction in the scientific techniques of meditation taught by

Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda, including Kriya Yoga, are available in the

Yogoda Satsanga Lessons. For free Introductory Literature, write to:

Yogoda Satsanga Society of India

Paramahansa Yogananda Path, Ranchi 834001, Jharkhand

Tel (0651) 2460071, 2460074, 2461578

www.yssofindia.org

AIMS AND IDEALS

YOGODA SATSANGA SOCIETY OF INDIA

As set forth by Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda, Gurudeva and Founder

Sri Sri Mrinalini Mata, Sanghamata and President

To disseminate among the nations a knowledge of definite scientific

techniques for attaining direct personal experience of God.

To teach that the purpose of life is the evolution, through self-effort, of

man’s limited mortal consciousness into God Consciousness; and to this

end to establish Yogoda Satsanga temples for God-communion, and to

encourage the establishment of individual temples of God in the homes and

in the hearts of men.

To reveal the complete harmony and basic oneness of original Yoga as

taught by Bhagavan Krishna and original Christianity as taught by Jesus

Christ; and to show that these principles of truth are the common scientific

foundation of all true religions.

To point out the one divine highway to which all paths of true religious

beliefs eventually lead: the highway of daily, scientific, devotional

meditation on God.

To liberate man from his threefold suffering: physical disease, mental

inharmonies, and spiritual ignorance.

To encourage “plain living and high thinking”; and to spread a spirit of

brotherhood among all peoples by teaching the eternal basis of their unity:

kinship with God.

To demonstrate the superiority of mind over body, of soul over mind.

To overcome evil by good, sorrow by joy, cruelty by kindness,

ignorance by wisdom.

To unite science and religion through realization of the unity of their

underlying principles.

To advocate cultural and spiritual understanding between East and West,

and the exchange of their finest distinctive features.

To serve mankind as one’s larger Self.

INDEX OF SANSKRIT TERMS

List of Sanskrit terms in the text, with English equivalent as given by

Swami Sri Yukteswar. Some of the following terms are not discussed at

length in the text, nor is their English rendering intended as a

comprehensive translation of the Sanskrit. They are listed here for the

convenience of readers particularly interested in Swami Sri Yukteswar’s

interpretation of Sanskrit philosophical terms pertinent to the context in

which he uses them in this work.

Abhasa Chaitanya (Sons of God)

abhinivesa (blind tenacity)

Agama (the Inaccessible)

ahamkara (ego)

aiswaryas (ascetic majesties or powers)

ajna chakra (medulla center)

akasha (ether)

Alakshya (the Incomprehensible)

anahata (dorsal center)

Anama (the Nameless)

Ananda (Bliss)

ananda (enjoyment)

anandamaya kosha (first sheath covering soul)

anandatwa (Manas; Mind)

anima (an ascetic power)

anna (nourishment)

annamaya kosha (outermost sheath covering soul)

anu (atoms, particles of creation)

ap (liquids)

aparokshajnana (true comprehension)

apti (an ascetic power)

artha (heart’s immediate aim)

asana (steady posture)

asat (bane of all good)

asmita (egoism)

Atmajnanam (Self-knowledge)

Aum

avidya (ignorance)

bhakti (devotion)

Bhakti Yoga

bhoga (enjoyment)

bhokta (to enjoy)

Bhuloka (sphere of material creation)

bhuvanas (fourteen stages of creation)

Bhuvarloka (astral world; sphere of electric attributes)

Brahma (the universal creative power)

Brahman (Spirit)

brahmana (“knower of Brahma”)

brahmanidhana (meditation on Aum)

brahmarandhra (the way to Divinity)

buddhi (discriminative intelligence)

chakras. See patalas.

chetana (consciousness)

Chit (Omniscient Consciousness or Feeling)

chitta (individual consciousness or feeling)

daiva yugas

dasamadwara (door between material and spiritual creation)

desa (space)

devata (angel)

dharma (mental virtue)

dvija (“twice-born”)

dwapara (a state of development)

Dwapara Yuga

dwesha (aversion)

garhasthyasrama (domestic life)

garima (an ascetic power)

gunas (attributes)

Guru (spiritual preceptor)

guru (heavy)

Isa (Lord)

isitwa (an ascetic power)

Janaloka (sphere of spiritual reflection)

jiva (the soul expressing through ego, or separate existence)

jivanmukta sannyasi (free soul)

jnana (knowledge)

jnanamaya kosha (second sheath covering soul)

Jnanavatar (incarnation of wisdom)

jnanendriyas (organs of sensory perception)

kaivalya (emancipation through oneness with God)

Kaivalya Darsanam (exposition of Final Truth)

kala (Time)

kali (state of development)

Kali Yuga

kama (desire)

karma (results of past actions)

karmendriyas (organs of action)

koshas (sheaths, coverings over the soul)

Krita Yuga (Satya Yuga)

kshatriya (warrior caste; one who strives for enlightenment)

kshiti (solids)

Kumbha Mela (religious fair)

Kutastha Chaitanya (Holy Ghost)

laghima (an ascetic power)

laghu (light in weight)

lingasarira (subtle astral body)

lokas (spheres of creation)

mahanidra (death)

Maharloka (sphere of the atom)

Mahasunya (the Great Vacuum)

Mahat (Heart)

mahat (large)

mahattwam (magnanimity of heart)

mahima (an ascetic power)

manana (deep attention)

manas (mind)

manava (man)

manipura (lumbar center)

manomaya kosha (third sheath covering the soul)

mantra (purifier of the mind)

manus (four primal thoughts)

marut (gaseous substances)

maya (delusion)

muladhara (coccygeal center)

nididhyasana (forming a definite conception)

nirbikalpa samadhi (illumination)

niyama (religious rules)

pancha tattwa (five electricities)

panchatanmatra (attributes of the five electricities)

paramartha (ultimate goal)

Parambrahma (Spirit or God)

paramguru (guru of one’s guru)

parokshajnana (correct inference)

patala lokas or patalas (seven centers of life and consciousness in man)

patra (atom). See anu.

prakamya (an ascetic power)

Prakriti (Nature)

prana (life force)

pranamaya kosha (fourth sheath covering the soul)

Pranava (Cosmic Vibration; Aum)

Pranava Sabda (the Holy Sound; Aum)

pranayama (control of life force)

prapti (an ascetic power)

pratyahara (withdrawal of senses from external objects)

pravartaka (initiate)

pravritti (inclination to save oneself from maya)

Prayaga Tirtha (place of confluence)

Premabijam Chit (Omniscient Love)

Purusha (the soul; Son of God)

Purushottama (Holy Ghost; Kutastha Chaitanya)

radha (luminous body)

raga (attachment)

rishis (angels manifesting in spinal centers)

sadhaka (true disciple)

sadhana (path of spiritual discipline)

sadhu (ascetic)

sahasrara (center of consciousness in man’s brain)

Shakti (Almighty Force)

samadhi (true concentration; identity with object of concentration)

Samhita (treatise by Manu)

Samvat era

samyama (restraint, concentration)

Sanatan Dharma

sandhi (period of mutation between yugas)

sandhisthala (place between higher and lower)

Sankhya

sannyasi (free)

sapta patalas (seven spiritual centers in body)

Sat (Existence, Eternal Substance)

Sat-Guru (savior, spiritual preceptor). See Guru.

sattva (positive attribute)

sattva buddhi (pure intelligence)

satya (a state of development)

Satya Yuga

Satyaloka (sphere of God)

siddha (adept)

smriti (memory of one’s divinity)

sraddha (heart’s natural love)

sravana (study)

sthulasarira (gross material body)

sudra (servant caste; state of spiritual ignorance)

sukshmabhuta (electricities)

sukshmasarira (lingasarira, or fine material body)

sunya (the Vacuum Ordinary)

surat (ego; son of man)

Surat Sabda Yoga (absorption of Ego in Aum)

sushumnadwara (sensorium)

sutras (precepts)

swadhishthana (sacral center)

swadhyaya (deep study)

swami; I receive title of

swargas (spheres of creation)

Swarloka (the causal world; the sphere of magnetic aura)

tanmatras (objects of senses)

tapas (penance)

Tapoloka (sphere of the Holy Spirit)

tejas (fire)

treta (state of development)

Treta Yuga

trikuti (sensorium)

vasa (an ascetic power)

vasana (will)

vasitwa (an ascetic power)

Veda (the gospel)

vipra (nearly perfect being)

viratwam (magnanimity of heart)

virya (moral courage)

vishaya (objects of senses)

Vishnunabhi (grand center of cosmos)

vishuddha (cervical center)

vyoma (ether)

yajna (sacrifice)

yama (morality; forbearances)

yoga

yugas (ages); state of man’s consciousness during each yuga

yugasandhi (period of mutation between yugas). See sandhi.

