TREASURES OF KNOWLEDGE

A COLLECTION OF ARTICLES BY THE BRAHMAKUMARIS

In this world, many beliefs exist about God. As a result, people understand God in their own way and
often in their own imagination. But what is required is the understanding God as He is, what He is and
how He is. The correct understanding about God has to be given by God Himself!

There are some who don‟t believe in the existence of God, often the reason being His existence cannot be
proved like that of human beings. But because we cannot see God with the gross eyes, it doesn‟t mean
that God doesn‟t exist. Just like wind, which cannot be seen but can be very much felt, it is possible to
experience God‟s presence through Godly knowledge and meditation.

Who is God and what is His form and name?

We shall now try to understand who God or the Supreme Soul is. The term „Supreme Soul‟ means He is
supreme among all souls. It implies that, He is also „a soul‟, though He is the Highest of all. He is above
birth and death. God is the Supreme Father-Mother, Supreme teacher and Supreme Preceptor to all the
human beings and He himself has no father-mother, teacher and preceptor.

God is a subtle, infinitesimal point of Light. He is not visible to the naked eye but it is very much possible
to experience His presence and proximity in meditation. He is incorporeal in the sense that he does not
have a body of his own. He is not a human being nor does He have a human form. He is immune to
pleasure and pain unlike human beings.

Names are a means of identification of human beings after they are born. They do not speak of qualities
and actions of the person; they are simply proper nouns and are not attributive names. But the name of the
supreme soul or God is based on His qualities and actions. His self-revealed name is „Shiva‟. „Shiva‟
means doer of good or benefactor. God does good to all and therefore He is called Shiva. All souls ask for
salvation and beatitude i.e. peace and happiness from Him. People remember Him by many other
expressive names.

His Virtues
God is the Supreme Father of all. He is called the creator. He is oceanic in his virtues – the ocean of
peace, the ocean of love, the ocean of bliss, the ocean of knowledge, the ocean of happiness, the ocean of
mercy, etc. He is the truth. He is the Almighty and Authority. He is reputed to be the preserver or
sustainer of virtues and the destroyer of all evils. He is also the liberator, the guide, and the bestower of
salvation, therefore the sadguru. He dispels sorrow, bestows joy. God is perfect in all ways and absolutely
detached and loving. He is very benevolent and helpful and so souls ask all things of him. When in
sorrow and losing all hope, souls turn to him intuitively and inevitably.

Many are the religions and paths that souls take in their quest for reaching God. Many wars have been
waged in his name. However, he does not exclusively belong to anyone. He belongs to everyone equally.

The Supreme Father of all Souls

God is the father of all souls in this world. It is observed that all religions have images, idols or memorials
bearing one name or another to represent the form of Light that God is. All over India, the images of the
form that Shiva has is found installed; these images are without any human form, in the form of
linga, which is the symbol of an incorporeal Being. At Mecca, in the holy place of Kaaba, a stone image
with oval form is called “Sang-e-Aswad”. The devotees who go for Haj kiss this holy stone. Jesus Christ
said, “God is Light”. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism also sang the praise of Him who is „All-Light‟ (
ek Omkar) and is incorporeal. In olden days, the Jews held a stone of this shape in their hands while
taking a solemn oath and it is believed that Moses had vision of this form of God when he saw a flame
behind the bush. The Zoroastrians worship God as fire. The ancient Egyptians worshipped the sun as god.
A Buddhist sect in Japan focuses the mind on a small oval shape. They call it Karni, the peace giver.

It seems therefore that human beings, without realizing, have all been worshipping and trying to discover
the same God. There is only one God and His form is a point of light. He is called by different names in
different religions.

The Divine Abode of God

Where does God live? Is there somewhere one can go to see Him, to be with Him? God is a subtle point
of light, and He does not pervade the physical universe. Nor does he live in the heart of any human being
or in any matter. Neither is He omnipresent; nor is He having a human form. His home is the incorporeal
world, an infinite expanse of golden-red light, which is beyond this physical world we live. It is the
original abode of all souls as well. The incorporeal world is known as Paramdham or
Brahmlok. Knowing where the Supreme Father is, we can establish connection with Him through
thoughts during meditation.

The Divine Descent of God

God descends into this world when it is under the spell of extreme darkness of ignorance,
unrighteousness, moral turpitude, spiritual lassitude and religious decrepitude. This is described in
scriptures as “Dharma Glani”. Looking at the state of affairs today, it should not be difficult for us to
conclude that the time the world is undergoing at present is indeed the Dharma Glani. This is the period
of darkness when sins and crimes of all kinds usually take place; when man gropes around for want of
clear vision. It is at this time that God intervenes in the affairs of mankind. The divine intervention takes
place at the darkest hour of human history when the human soul is groping in the darkness of ignorance
about the self, the creator and the creation; when the souls are blinded by the vices of lust, arrogance,
anger, greed and attachment.

It is in this time that God descends in the body of an ordinary man to reveal the Godly Knowledge, which
paves way to victory over vices and cultivate divine qualities in life. This enables human beings to
transform into divine beings again

Sometime in the journey of life, some of the following questions might have crossed your mind. Even if
they haven‟t, they eventually will certainly occur !

* Who am I? What am I? What is my real identity?

* How do my thoughts and feelings interact with the body?
* How to make my mind powerful? Breaking the mysteries of mind;
* Understanding thoughts, how they come and go, how to regulate them
* Why do we come under emotions, feelings, tension and stress
* How does an individual develops behavioral patterns, traits etc;
how to transform them
* How to enjoy this precious life? How to lead a life of peace and bliss?

The first lesson is all about complete understanding of the self, which has remained a mystery that has
eluded scientists, philosophers, great thinkers and many other intellectuals.

Soul and body

The human body is a complex pattern of physical energies. Atomic particles build together to form the
organic structures and inorganic minerals, which perform the body‟s chemical interactions, thus forming
the basis of the hormonal and nervous control of the body. What we see as the old or young, ugly or
beautiful, male or female, are also the differing levels of physical energies. However marvelous a
machine the body may be, it is the presence of the non-physical conscious energy, the soul, which
makes it function.

What Am I?

I am a living entity different from the body! Just as a person who speaks with the help of a telephone or
listens to a call with the help of that instrument, has his entity different from that of the telephone – he
himself being a living person who has the faculties or characteristics of feeling, thinking, willing and
making effort. Similarly, the conscious entity in the body which uses the word “I” is different from the
body which has eyes, ears, nose etc as it‟s components. I am not the eyes, the ears or the mouth but I see
with my eyes, speak through the mouth, hear with the ears and am their master. I am a soul (Atma),
eternal and immortal. The body is mortal; I have got it to do actions and to experience the result of my
actions. I am the doer and the one who experiences.

The soul is like a driver in-charge of the body, which serves as a carriage to the soul. The soul is a
diamond, the body being the casket for it. When the soul leaves the body, the body is declared „dead‟.
Then people set about cremating it because, it‟s valuable owner, the soul, has already left and the body is
of no use. When the soul has relinquished the body, people say, “ the light (which is soul) has gone, that
which lived in it has departed and the drama is over”

Faculties of a Soul

The soul is a living or a sentient being. It is said to be conscient or living because it can think and reflect;
it can experience pleasure and pain, so also bliss and peace; it can bestir itself and make efforts and
actions – good or bad. A soul has three faculties – mind, intellect and predispositions.

Mind is the thinking faculty of the soul. It is the mind that imagines, thinks and forms ideas. The thought
process is the basis of all emotions, desires and sensations. It is through this faculty that, in an instant,
thoughts can be projected to a distant place, past experiences and emotions can be relived or even the
future can be anticipated. It is the mind that experiences the variations of moods. The mind is a faculty of
the metaphysical soul, not be confused with the heart or the brain.

Intellect is used to assess thoughts. This is the faculty of understanding and decision-making which stands
out as the most crucial faculty of the three. With the deepening and broadening of the intellect, clear
understanding and the realization of the knowledge becomes natural, and the power to decide and reason
becomes clear. It is the intellect which remembers, discriminates, judges and exercises its power in the
form of will.

Predispositions (called Sanskaras in hindi) are the “impressions” or “subconsciousness” which is the
record of all the soul‟s past experiences and actions. Sanskaras can take the forms of habits, talents,
emotional temperaments, personality traits, beliefs, values or instincts. Every action as an experience
either creates a sanskar ( this is how a habit begins) or reinforces an old one. Whatever impression is
etched in the soul remains within it, forming a complete archive of all the experiences that the soul has
had. When we speak of defects, specialties or virtues, we are referring to the sanskaras. The sanskaras are
the basis of the soul‟s individuality.

Seat of the Soul

The soul is located in the middle of the forehead in between the two eyebrows. This is the seat of the soul.
The brain is the “control-room”. Just as a driver controls the car using different parts of the mechanism
seated at one place, the soul employs the brain to control the body. Brain is the machine by means of
which the soul thinks, remembers, receives messages from or gives directions to the sense-organs. The
brain is the meeting place of all nerves, which carry sensations from all parts of the body to brain which
functions like a control-room and makes the body to work. It is in the brain that the soul, through the
nerves, puts the body to work and experiences physical sensations, pleasure and pain or happiness and
sorrow. But, the brain is separate from the soul, brain is a complex thing made of matter whereas the soul
has the life-principal or consciousness.

Nature of Soul

A soul is a tiny, metaphysical, conscient point of spiritual light. There are a finite number of souls. Each
soul is eternal. They were never created, and will never be destroyed. Each soul is unique. We are all
souls, unique and different and remain so eternally. As such, souls are invisible to the naked eyes, but one
can experience it‟s presence. A soul has no gender.

The intrinsic nature of the soul is that of love, peace, happiness, truth, bliss, purity. Therefore, souls
always desire for experiences of these
qualities. These are the qualities that naturally emerge when the soul is aware of itself, or in other words,
is soul-conscious.
Body-Consciousness – the root cause of all evils in the world

A person is in body conscious when he/she identifies himself or herself with the physical body, ie when
the thinking, feeling, actions and behaviors are with the awareness that he or she is a body. Being in body
conscious is the root cause of all the evils in the world because the vices like lust, anger, greed,
attachment and ego are all having their roots in body – consciousness

Soul Consciousness – the key for a blissful life

When a person is in the state of awareness that “I am a Soul and not this physical body”, then he/she
would be in soul consciousness. In other words, the person thinks, feels, acts, behaves, compares etc with
the awareness that he or she is a soul, the master of the body. When in soul-consciousness, the original
qualities of a soul naturally emerge. Then it is possible to experience lasting peace and bliss.

Karma Philosophy

There are times when thoughts of distress and tension raise their ugly head. There are situations when a
person searches for right answers. Here are some typical examples – Why are we here? Why was I born
here and he there? Why is she beautiful and I ugly? Why is so and so crippled for no apparent fault of
theirs? Why does the egotistical bully who browbeats his business companions, fiddles his income tax
returns and beats his wife, attain outstanding worldly success? Why does the timid, quiet little widow
who has never said a harsh word to anyone, live in appalling conditions and die unwanted and uncared
for? Why did he have to die? Why did he do that to me? Why is there so much suffering? Why this, why
that?

The answers lie in one eternal truth - based on the Law of Karma or the Karma Philosophy – that no one
can escape the result of his or her karma. Depending on the bad or good karma or action, one will suffer
or enjoy, either in this or the next life. No one can escape the result of his or her karma. The law of Karma
is inviolable. So everyone must act with a sense of responsibility. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. So
we must acquire right knowledge of what is good and what is bad action. The morale of the story – I have
to do right karma for my benefit; it is not for showing it to anyone outside.

Every human action has a moral aspect. If a person‟s certain act is morally good, the person gets
ultimately benefited. If, on the other hand, his acts are morally bad, he suffers. It would require a lot of
space to express what is morally good and bad. But in one sentence, it may be said that, if a person acts
under the influence of hatred, anger, lies, prejudice, greed, ego, partiality, lust and such other acts under
the influence of body-consciousness, then his actions are bad or negative. These create disharmony and
conflict and sufferings in the society.

On the other hand, if a person has a balanced judgment, stability of mind, peace of the spirit and acts with
the feeling of love, justice, sympathy, humility and the such other actions in soul-consciousness, then his
acts are good because such acts promote harmony, peace, unity and happy feelings.
The most powerful instrument that mankind possesses is thought power. Thoughts build our
consciousness and shape our attitude. One needs to know how important thoughts are. Every human
creation we see in this world is due to powerful thoughts in human minds. Thoughts shape our world.
Thoughts are fertilized by knowledge. A person with a certain kind of knowledge usually creates thoughts
in harmony with that knowledge. Knowledge gives wisdom; a person without knowledge is a person
whose thoughts will be formed in ignorance.

Every action is preceded by thoughts. The quality of thoughts determines the quality of our karma. The
karma in turn has good or bad effect on us. This again influences our thinking. So right thinking based on
right knowledge is essential for leading a peaceful and contented life. Raja Yoga meditation helps us in
doing the right thinking that leads to righteous actions. This also helps in remaining mentally strong
amidst turbulent situations.

With powers of purity, peace and love, we are able to fly above all obstacles and adverse situations.

Traffic jams are a fact of life in most cities today. Almost everyone who has lived in a city or visited one
has an experience of being stuck in the middle of vehicles inching along at snail‟s pace.

How does one feel in a traffic jam? One feels powerless to get out of it or to move as fast as one would
like to. This helplessness gives rise to impatience, irritation, anger, frustration or even despair. If one is on
one‟s way to an important appointment or to catch a train or a flight they would also be worried if stuck in
a traffic jam.

A common reaction in such a situation is to blame others for one‟s plight. One may fault the government
for not building wider roads, dismiss the traffic police as incompetent for letting a jam occur or even
question why the other motorists need to drive a car and why they can‟t use public transport instead. One
may also curse one‟s fate for having taken that route or chosen that particular time to travel.

The result of all this is a loss of ease and a negative state of mind.

Something similar happens when we experience a traffic jam of thoughts. Such a jam occurs when we are
thinking too much without having control over our thoughts. The thoughts come fast and the mind gets
swept away in their flow in such a way that it is incapable of stopping the thoughts or changing their
direction. This ordeal ends only after much time and mental energy is lost and one is left exhausted.

This traffic jam in the mind occurs only when we think waste or negative thoughts. Negative thoughts
come very fast and in large number and they deplete our mental energy. One example is worrying about
the future. One starts creating all sorts of possible negative scenarios that one may have to face, and gets
stressed by merely thinking of them. While the mind is caught in these negative thoughts one feels as if
they are actually experiencing those negative situations, forgetting that they are not real but a figment of
our own imagination.

Even if one is faced with a negative situation in real life - be it the behavior of other people or a
circumstance creation by others - if one gets influenced by its negativity, they may get caught in
whirlpool of negative thinking that will rob them of all powers of discernment, rational thinking, right
judgement etc. and leave them confused, weak, angry or despondent.

What is needed in such situations is the ability to see things as they are, decide on the best way of dealing
with them and then take the necessary steps, all in a calm way, without getting upset or upsetting others.
When faced properly, no situation can really cause us mental disturbance. It is only when we get on a
track of negative thinking that we get carried away by our own thoughts and make matters worse. Positive
thoughts, by their very nature, are slow, few in number and they calm and empower the mind, and not
drain it of energy the way negative thoughts do.

To avoid getting caught in a traffic jam of negative thoughts we need to learn the art of positive thinking,
which will steer us away from the wrong mental track that leads to negativity.

Rajyoga meditation teaches us to create positive thoughts and channel our mental energies in the right
direction. The basis of Rajyoga is the knowledge that we are souls, not bodies, and we are children of the
Supreme Soul. This knowledge makes us realize that all the souls in the world are our brothers as we all
have one Father, by whatever name we may call Him.

When we remember the Supreme Soul with this awareness, we start to receive His powers and qualities
of peace, purity, love etc. With regular practice of Rajyoga the soul gets empowered and enriched with
powers and virtues. Thus strengthened, the soul becomes capable of facing any situation without being
influenced by it. Negativities and vices cannot shake such a soul, whose elevated stage enables it to fly
above all obstacles unhindered, whereas earlier the same soul would have got caught up in the negativity
of situations and spent its time and energy struggling to get out.

Meditation has been described as the process in which I listen to God. In contrast to that, prayer is
sometimes described as the process when I speak to God. To speak to God is very important, but it is also
important to let the mind become quiet, stable and open to receive whatever God wishes to say to
me. Sometimes we may feel that God is so far away, so far out of reach that it is impossible to have a
living relationship with God. We may be contented to just perform rituals, devotion and prayers, or
perhaps even lose interest in the subject of God. But it is only a question of time until we come to the
point where we say, "Well may be God exists", or "Maybe He doesn't". Without focusing on the inner
aspects of religion and spirituality, or on any way of reaching out to God, we have lost that inner
experience and strength needed in our lives today.

When a pendulum reaches the end of its swing, it begins to swing back in the other direction. We have
been experimenting externally with the things of materialism within a consumer society, and the
pendulum of these actions has swung so far as to hit the wall. It is unable to go any further in that
direction. The pendulum now has to swing in the other direction. This is why people are again
rediscovering the beauty of spirituality, the joy of meditation and the appreciation of the need for a
spiritual relationship with the Supreme.

Meditation is very simple. It doesn't require years and years of study and practice. In fact, it can be
learned within a few minutes, but we will be able to receive complete benefit to the extent we are
interested and aspire to practice meditation. The process of actually understanding the technique of
meditation consists of a few simple steps.

The first step: Interest in meditation. I will be interested when I have experimented with the things the
external world has to offer and realise that these are not fulfilling the needs of the spirit.

The second step: Create time and space. When I consider something to be important or essential, I cut out
other things to make time for it. In the past people used to feel that meditation was a luxury, either for
those with excessive leisure time or for people who were old or retired and had nothing else to do. Today
I see mediation very differently. I see meditation as the mechanism for survival. We are facing a very
uncertain future. Meditation is definitely a method to enable us to survive in today's world. So let me
recognise its importance and give it time. Even little children today say how busy they are. Everyone is
busy in something or the other. It is very easy to shrug the shoulders and say, "Look, I am very
busy. What can I do?" But when I recognise that it is essential, I will make a space for it.

The third step: Study. A certain amount of information is required and is obtained through study.

The fourth step: Practise.

The fifth step: Remaining in a good atmosphere, with the right type of friends, free from any influences
that may pull my mind in a direction contrary to the direction that I want to take. I have chosen to
meditate and I have also acquired some instruction. Now I understand I am a soul and not this body. I sit
comfortably. I begin to focus my attention here on the centre of the forehead and I see myself as a soul.

In addition, meditation means silence and solitude, not necessarily isolation but inner
solitude. Meditation is very much a training to be able to focus inward in order to live life in the way it
should be lived. This type of meditation is not something that I practice a few minutes morning and
night. I have created a pattern of consciousness, an awareness of my own spiritual identity. I stop
identifying with the things of a physical body, and begin to understand my true identity of that inner
being. So as I walk, talk and move, I make sure that my vision of others is also spiritual. It means I am
not seeing others in terms of gender of man, woman or in terms of your age, nationality, physical
background, social status, education or occupation, but I am now seeing you, a soul as my eternal
brother. Even though the soul may be in a male or a female body, we describe the soul as brother and we
describe the relationships within the world in spiritual terms as being a brotherhood.

When I see you as a spiritual being, my attitude towards you change very quickly. I find that those
physical divisions and blocks that divide or obstruct, no longer exist. But the vision of the soul, seeing
others as souls and the interaction on the level of soul to soul creates a natural sweetness and respect
within my behavior. This experience reaches to the state where every exchange between human beings
gives happiness and joy and brings each other closer to God. As I practice this awareness, during the day,
of being a soul and seeing the soul, then when I have a few minutes to sit quietly, within one moment,
with just one thought I am able to experience a very natural and easy detachment from the consciousness
of the body. I am still in this world of matter and in the bondage of matter and yet I am free from this
bondage.

In this awareness of I the soul, I want to go further. I want to experience a connection, a relationship with
God. Just as there is knowledge and awareness of the soul as a being of light, there is also very simple
information about the concept of God, as a being of light. Not a physical image, just simply a being of
light. One who is absolute, absolute in truth, absolute in beauty, purity, love, peace and bliss. This is
why I want to be able to connect with the Supreme. On a human level the closer the relationship with
someone, the greater the influence. Remember the days of your childhood, of adolescence and maturity
and you will see the truth of this.

The deeper the connection with someone the greater the impact they have on the way you think, behave,
sometimes even the manner in which you speak. We pick up words, accents and concepts from each
other. We begin to talk the same. Certainly we then begin to think the same. This may or may not be
good. We often subconsciously choose our choice of food, our style of dress etc. or we just get carried
along by circumstances. Much later we may detach long enough to look at ourselves and say,: "That
period of my life was good. I had very good friends and they were able to help me in the positive
direction". Or perhaps we may say, "That period of my life was not as I wanted it to be, because the
friends and the company I had weren't as positive as they could have been".

In a similar way, the good company of God is also able to influence us. The path of meditation is a
personal and conscious choice to form a relationship with God and to experience this positive
influence. As I turn my attention to myself, the eternal soul, I consciously detach my awareness from this
physical body and I focus my mind on the awareness of God, a being who is Supreme. Being in the
presence of God, I experience a very beautiful discovery. This is a relationship I had ignored, forgotten
or been searching for a very long time. Certainly I hadn't actually been enjoying the experience of that
connection.

Someone once described how before finding an accurate method to actually connect with God, she had
felt so much love for God. She described it as having pen friend. Some of you may have had pen friends
to whom you have been writing letters for many years. I know I did this for many years during the early
years of my teens, but we never had an opportunity to meet. I had built up an image in my mind of what
she must be like, not just in terms of appearance because we had sent photographs to each other but in
terms of how she was as a person. When the opportunity came to meet her it was fascinating, because
certain aspects of her I could identify within terms of what I had thought about but there were obviously
other factors of her personality I did not know as they were never expressed through letters.

It was a whole new discovery even though our relationship had been going on for long time. In a similar
way, may be I have been searching for God for a very long time or I have had certain experiences of God
already or I have ignored Him. When I consciously choose to meditate, now I simply come to God in that
awareness of God as a being of light. I know God has no physical or angelic images and I have to go
beyond all deity, divine images. Now, I am actually meeting the Supreme as He is. I focus myself on this
being of light and make contact. Now in this connection I discover the infinity of the ocean, the vastness
of the attributes of God, the Supreme. And as I discover and experience those attributes, I begin to fill
myself with that unlimited peace, with a love that is completely nonjudgmental, unconditional, a love that
is not expecting not demanding a return. The soul feels those rays of peace and love coming from God
reaching the soul. It is very beautiful discovery! This first experience of trying to think of God while my
mind is scattering in many directions is called initiation.

With information and practice, I am soon able to focus my mind and I come to the state of meditation
where my thoughts are now focused around God, thinking of the form of Light, and the qualities of God,
and discovering the relationships with God. To describe those relationships in human terms is always
dangerous, because when I say God is our father, depending on whether your experience of your physical
father has been pleasant or harsh, those feelings and images positive or negative will arise within. But
think about those relationships in their absolute definition. What is an ideal Father like? The Supreme
Father is the ideal one. What is the Supreme Mother like? Think about it and that is who God is. In fact
I should say God is the Mother and then the Father. There is a very simple analogy that explains why it
should be so that whenever we sing to praise the God, we tend to say Mother first and then the Father
rather than the other way round. On biological level the first connection and relationship the child has, in
particular whilst in the womb, is only with the mother. After birth the relationship is then with the
father. So, the first relationship is with the mother, the one who actually generates, creates and sustains,
and the connection with the father. When I the soul go into the path of spirituality, the very first
experience is the experience of God's love coming back to the soul, to revive it, to give it a new life, a
new birth and then to nurture and sustain and give it strength.

There is another analogy in this mother and father situation. You know when a child goes out to play,
naturally he may return a little dirty or dusty. When a dusty child comes home, what will the father often
do? I do not know whether it applies in your household, but certainly it does apply in a majority of
households even today. The tendency of the fathers is to say, " Go to your mother and get cleaned up", or
just "Go and clean up". It is unlikely, that the father himself would pick up and clean the child. But the
response of the mother is a very different one. The mother will instantly pick up and clean the child with
a lot of love. In the same way when the soul first comes to God and experiences that connection with the
Supreme , we are aware of how many mistakes we have made, how much dirt and dust we have
accumulated within the self and so we may hesitate. How can I approach God if I am not worthy? But
God adopts the compassionate role of the Mother and simply accepts the soul, no matter what the
condition may be. So the first step and relationship: God, the Mother, the ocean of love, of forgiveness,
of mercy.

After taking strength from that love and experiencing a process of cleansing, I am able to see God in the
role of my Father, the one who gives me a very special in hesitance, that of happiness. In this way one
can develop all aspects of all relationships; God as the teacher, the Supreme Satguru, the guide, as
companion, beloved, and child. The important thing is to make time and start bringing God back
into the centre of my life, instead of letting God be on the periphery. In the morning and evening,
spend a few minutes, just concentrating, meditating on the subject of God. Throughout the day have the
awareness of God as your friend.

Let us spend a minute in meditation together. I will speak my own thoughts and I invite you to follow
those ideas:

As the body sits quietly......the attention of my mind turns within..... and in this awareness, of I...... the
eternal soul..... I focus my thoughts on the Supreme.... the being of light. God's light.... reaches the soul....
and purifies the soul... That light cleanses the soul... and I come back to that original state of purity and
peace

A Day of Silence - The True Retreat

Silence is the true retreat. It is a way of treating the self and others again and again to the healing qualities
of stillness. Just as a still lake becomes a mirror to reflect the beauty of nature, silence reveals the beauty
of our original nature. Such silence becomes both a physical and mental healing, the result is coolness and
serenity.

Silence is not just a discipline for the soul. It is a very natural stimulating and refreshing state. Silence
prevents loss of physical and mental power through fast activity. When the intellect races, the body
follows.

Great internal happiness comes to the soul interested in the virtue of introversion. Silence gives such
clarity to thought. In this, the "level of surrender" can be seen and how much egolessness has been
inculcated. In silence there is an increase in the power of purity - energy is stored in the soul.

In Silence it becomes clear that Maya - body consciousness - is something foreign to me. Maya can be
seen to be past falsehood, presenting itself in the clothing of truth. When we are involved we cannot see.
So we can't stand back far enough to view Maya, and thus recognise body consciousness for what it is.

In silence, we can monitor accurately, the effect of each look, each thought, every gesture, every word
and the motivation in each action. Also reactions, attractions, repulsions can be noted more clearly and
dealt with. The soul then desires to develop one vision for all souls.

It is good to suggest to the people that they make sincere efforts to effect transformation in the self, to
improve their relationships with others and to do service to others. If they make commitment for this and
implement an action-plan of their choice in this direction, it would definitely be a step forward towards a
Better World. After people have taken a step for the betterment of the world through self-change, or
through service to others, they will feel further impetus for taking longer and quicker steps in that
direction.
But while this strategy for bringing about a Better world has its validity and effectiveness, let us not
forget that the major break-through in man's efforts for self-change comes when he knows his real
identity. The present world crisis, which is generally known as the crisis of values, is in fact, a deep crisis
of self-identity. The crisis of values also has real identity of the self. The whole tragic situation around
us is due to loss of identity. While man has discovered many "lost" lands on the globe, this “land of the
self” has yet to be discovered or re-discovered by every one of us.

Thus man is first to be made aware of the truth that he has in him; a certain potential of divine qualities or
a core of human values and that these qualities or values, within him, have gone deep down in the sea of
the sub-conscious and the unconscious mind and now have to be brought again to the surface, into the
light, and have to be used as the keyboard for actions. Man has also to be given a realisation of the truth
that, with the cremation or burial of the dead body, man's all deeds - good or bad - done by him during his
life-time, or the abilities and qualities acquired by him over a period of time, are not all lost.

Unless and until man realises that, in truth, he is an eternal being a soul, a being -of-light and that so are
other beings, his outlook and his attitude towards all others does not undergo a total change. When he
realises his real identity, he takes a new 'mental birth' so to say. His life-style and his mode of thinking
and action undergoes a left-about-turn. For, man now thinks that he is not made of dust nor is he an
animal but, in his own true nature, he is a being-of-light, pure, peaceful and upright originally. This
realisation brings an attitudinal change in him and he now feels that he has not to give up his social life
but only to be his real self so as to lead a life of peace.

When man thus knows his real identity, then an improvement in his self and in his relationships with
others takes place automatically and naturally even as day follows night. In that new state of awakening
or altered state of consciousness, he naturally thinks of being good and doing good. He has then a natural
and constant inclination to do service to others also.

We may adopt whatever strategy we think is suitable for a particular country or a group of people. But let
us keep in mind that, sooner or later, we have to give to all those, who come in touch with us the
knowledge of the real identity of self. Without this knowledge, there is no way going nearer to our goal.

When we have given the knowledge of real identity of self, only then can we facilitate a love-link
between the self and the Supreme Soul. Without this mental and emotional link with the creator, it is very
difficult, if not impossible for a person to sustain the self with divine qualities or ethical values for
long. Let us note this secret and sacred truth that our relationship with God is the most important
thing. If this relationship does not matter, then nothing really matters. That, in truth, ought to be the first
relationship from which all other relationships should receive. 'The substance' (or call in whatever you
may) of love, divinity and unity. If one cannot maintain a faithful and loving relationship with God, it is
difficult to really maintain a worthwhile or worthy relationship with anyone.

One has so many relationships in the corporeal world, what then is one's difficulty in, or objection to,
having a relationship with God? If one says that he does not believe in God and does not know Him and
that he is the very embodiment of these and that, if he believes in goodness, kindness and morality, he
already believed in God even though indirectly. Let him realize that qualities always exist or rest in some
person or entity; they do not have any existence independent of, or separate from these. So, goodness,
kindness and morality also rest in someone at the peak point and that someone is called God. These
qualities are the characteristics of a conscient person. So, God is a conscient Person though He is
Incorporeal being-or-light. As such, we do have some relationship with Him as we have relationship with
others, for we are not in a vacuum.

In fact, all morality has its sanction from God. If one removes God from His consciousness, his moral
sense does not rest on any sound and firm foundation. God is the Fountainhead of virtues and high
values. We, therefore, in our own interest, ought to know Him and have very loving relationship with
Him. The knowledge of the identity of the self and of God will enable man to rid himself of the present
crisis.
Power in this mundane world comes with several shades of good and bad. We know that power corrupts.
More often than not, a person in power is on a roller coaster ride rather than a smooth one. Power comes
with a lot of limitations and burdens in this world. „Crown of thorns‟ is an oft-used phrase for the plight
of a person in power.

In this age when power and pelf have been the most influential factors that have caused moral
degradation, violence, crime and suffering, very few would think of a benign or positive power. Yet the
world bows with respect to the power that was manifested by saints, prophets and social reformers who
used truth, peace and love to rule the hearts of millions of people.

The most powerful among all power icons is a being before whom even the most potent ones - the
autocrats, emperors, tyrants, criminals, messiahs, prophets et al – bow. No matter how powerful a person
is in his sphere of influence, he seeks power from the omnipotent God.

God‟s power is incomparable. It is unconditional and unlimited. There are no strings attached to it. You
can take as much power as long as you want from Him. It does not cost any material wealth or resources.
God‟s power liberates a soul from suffering. It removes burdens, relieves tension and cleans the
impurities from within the soul.

On the one hand, God‟s power purifies and purges the soul of all waste and negative, on the other hand it
uplifts, elevates and empowers the soul with wisdom and virtues. A soul is filled with peace, joy, bliss
and blessings. God‟s power enables a soul to be good and do good under all circumstances. It gives divine
insight, foresight and clarity to protect oneself from evil and spread the fragrance of virtues. A person
who experiences God‟s power radiates spiritual charm, conducts himself gracefully and achieves all tasks
easily and effortlessly.

Human power can give us limited wisdom, success, wealth or support of some kind and at the most for
one lifetime. But God‟s power enables a soul to create the highest fortune for many lifetimes.

God is known as patit pawan – the purifier. By linking to Him, a soul regains his natural purity. God‟s
power enables a soul to live a truly happy life in Satyuga or Heaven created by God on earth. A pure soul
enjoys long and healthy life free from disease blessed with unimaginable prosperity and sweet
relationships. There is no suffering or dearth of anything for a soul blessed with God‟s power for many
births in Heaven.

Effectively, God‟s power is such that it not only purifies human beings but also the entire nature and
elements. The earth becomes bountiful and rich in Heaven and all elements work in harmony to serve the
pure human beings. Nature will not create any upheaval or calamity in Heaven. All this happens due to
God‟s power.

When does God manifest His power? At the end of Kaliyuga (Iron Age). God recreates Heaven with the
power of truth and non-violence. Shiva Jayanti is the commemoration of God‟s divine task of
creatingSatyuga and destroying Kaliyuga. He enables the human souls to conquer the vices like lust,
anger, greed and ego and to perform pure actions with the help of His wisdom and power. By becoming
soul-conscious and by staying in His loving remembrance, human souls regain their spiritual power.

God‟s power is the only means to combat the negativity in Iron Age. There are good souls in this world
but they do not have the power to eradicate evil and make the world good. Negative forces spread easily
and fast. Sin leads to suffering and enslaves the soul in the bondage of karmic burdens. In the course of
the conflict with evil, human souls lose the will power to do good or they are helpless to do good and
prevent evil from taking place.

God‟s power frees us from struggling with evil and being defeated by it. His power insulates and
empowers the soul from within constantly safeguarding and helping him to discern and destroy negative
forces before they attack. God‟s power cancels all karmic debts of human souls and completely eliminates
negativity from the world. It brings an end to all human problems and suffering and re-establishes purity,
peace and happiness on earth for a long period.

Meditation is the upbringing of the mind. It slows it down, feeds it, gives it exercise, education and love.
A well brought up mind can do wonders. It creates positive thoughts, is versatile and makes people
happy. A badly disciplined mind creates havoc. It thinks too fast and yet it is heavy and it makes people
miserable because it criticizes them. It turns molehills into mountains whereas strong mind will let
nothing destroy its enthusiasm and confidence. It hurts where a strong mind heals.

When the mind begins to grow up, it becomes more discerning. It doesn‟t just pick-up feelings from
anywhere: from the atmosphere, the state of the body, from its own past, from the minds of others. It
begins to choose and be careful. A meditating mind can see very clearly what is useful to it and what is
not and it has the power to act upon its perception.

There are many people who have a clear mind, but very few that have a mind deep and quiet enough to
change their own thinking totally. Because our minds are linked to other minds, we share between us an
old and muddled energy. There are moments when we spark each other off; there are many more when
we pull each other down.

Meditation is the connection of the mind with God. In that connection not just sparks fly, but a fire is
made and that fire burns everything that is hurting.
Social Harmony through change of thoughts

Today we find a lot of peacelessness and tension in our social atmosphere. The main reason for this is
disharmony in our relationships. This disharmony is reflected in various forms like jealousy, hatred,
revenge, greed, violence, etc. So much selfishness has crept in our behaviour that all the times we are
thinking and bothering about our own comforts, luxuries and gains, even at the cost of harming others.
Thoughts in our minds affect us and our environment in various ways as enumerated below.

Effect of Thoughts
Whatever good or bad we think, the vibrations of these thoughts spread around in the atmosphere just like
light and sound vibrations. Whoever comes in contact with these vibrations becomes charged temporarily
with these positive and negative thoughts. This is the reason why we feel so pleasant just by sitting
besides those who have good thoughts and feel constant restlessness by sitting besides the ones having
negative thoughts.

Whatever we think, impressions of these thoughts constantly sink down in our subconscious mind in the
form of sanskaras or latencies. If our thoughts are negative, then our subconscious mind is constantly
bombarded with negative impressions which make me, the soul, impure, due to which negativity in us
increases. So a vicious circle is formed which constantly increases disharmony in the atmosphere around
us. This vicious circle needs to be cut to restore us to our pure state.

The most important effect of the thoughts is that they have the power to get materialized into physical
conditions and circumstances are attracted to us accordingly. To quote an example, if you repeatedly have
this negative thought and fear in your mind that you may develop a particular disease, your will find that
the disease has actually started manifesting in you. So this is the power of mind or thought over matter.

Tackling negative influences

What about the negative thoughts, feelings and actions of others which constantly disturb us? The answer
to this is the practice of Rajyoga Meditation. Through this, we can increase our soul power to the extent
that these negative influences then cease to have any effect on us. We would have heard about the body
surrounded by an envelope of subtle radiations from our body called aura. The more the soul power, the
stronger and brighter will be the aura. If our aura is strong enough, the negative influences will not be
able to pierce through it and therefore we will remain totally immune to the negative influences around us
and our balance will not be disturbed.

Through Rajyoga, we can increase the soul power and counter the effect of any negativity on us. What is
Rajyoga? It means connection with God. As soon as this connection is established, a fountain of peace,
knowledge, bliss and power starts flowing towards us because God is the ocean of all these attributes.
This happens in the same way as when a battery is charged by connecting it to a high power source. By
connection with God, not only do I the soul increase my power, but also the impurities of my mind are
washed away, making me pure. In this condition, only good thoughts emerge in me.

Easy Connection
But this connection with God should be maintained not only during meditation but in our practical life as
well. The simple technique for this is that we should always feel the presence of God with us in whatever
we do. We should involve Him in all our activities. In other words, whatever we do, we should be always
holding His hand. Like a child who feels totally secure and light in the company of parents, so do we keep
ourselves always with God. Only then, will God take our complete responsibility in His hands.
You only have to pickup a newspaper to realise that the world is in a horrendous state. It is easy to
become negative. If I want to become negative I can find 1001 reasons to be so. If I allow all these factors
to influence me, then yes, it is as if 1000 guns were pointed at my head, so I feel extremely negative.
Another factor is the people I am surrounded by; it is very easy to become influenced by their negativity.
I may be influenced by people that I work with and sometimes it is their negativity attacking me. Then it
becomes difficult to maintain my balance, lightness and happiness because of their negative reactions and
responses to everything or it could be my negative response towards them. I might not like the way they
talk to me or look at me, so there is a gradual build-up of feelings of being pressured from all directions.
So how do I escape?

Even if I were to escape there will be another deep realisation - that the problem is not actually the world
outside or the people I am with. If I spend a few moments in honest reflection, I realise that whatever is
going on inside of me is the root of my negativity. This probably won't bring joy or lightness and may
even cause feelings of depression or heaviness because it means I have realised that the negativity is
coming from inside. How do I cope with it? First of all, I can try to understand it and by understanding
and realising it, I have gone a long way towards being able to put it right.

I understand that the period of history that civilisation is passing through now is a particularly dark one.
But it cannot last forever. The condition of the world is horrific but it will change. After the darkness the
light will come; night has to turn into day. This will happen with the passage of time; I cannot force the
day to come, I cannot force the pace of it, so I learn to be a detached observer. I can be part of the
movements that will bring the day and not allow things to affect my own inner state of consciousness.
This requires a bit of experimentation. I can draw on analogy here; an actor plays a role on stage and is
totally involved in all that is going on. Someone in the audience is aware of everything on the stage also
but has a different state of consciousness. I have to learn to be both in this game of life - I have to be an
actor and an observer. I have to be able to step aside and look at things from a distance. This will bring
faith and confidence in the fact that the darkness of night will pass and the light of day will come.

What about the negativity of other people? I know that if I am affected by the negativity of other people,
then I am going to be plunged into the cycle of actions, reactions and responses over which I have no
control. But if I see them, hear them, respect them as human beings and individuals and I understand their
point of view, I will not let myself to be moved from my position of inner stability. If I can make sure that
I remain my own master, their negativity will flow over me and above me and not influence me. I can ask
myself what it is that I want and then move in the direction to reach that goal. I can develop the art of
detachment, being friends and yet not allowing them to touch me. I can draw an another analogy here.
Think of the image of a lotus flower. It is found in dirty, stagnant water, yet the lotus has a waxy
substance on its petals and nothing can touch the surface; the dirt just rolls off. I can create that layer of
protection, so that my inner purity and stability remain unaffected by outside influences. Only in this way
can I be true to myself. Otherwise I become a puppet of circumstances and situations that others have
created and am no longer a master of my own feelings and destiny. I learn to have this protection through
the experience of detachment and the awareness of God and this will bring a canopy of blessings
influencing myself and others around me.

Is there a human being creating a shadow over you? Sometimes I find myself in a situation whereby I am
reacting against someone and then it becomes more and more difficult and irritating to manage that
individual. I am creating a huge burden for myself which will make it more difficult to live with myself,
as well as the individual. If I want to create an environment of peace and love around me, my response of
negativity towards anyone becomes extremely uncomfortable for me.

I must try not to allow this build-up of negativity to happen; if it has happened already, let me analyze the
whole process and I will see that it is a subtle form of ego because I think that the way I think, the things I
do and my understanding is all correct and the other person is wrong. So I am constantly criticising - this
will mean a build-up of this negativity. Appreciate that it has come from my own ego and learn humility
and respect, recognise the value of the individual and acknowledge the goodness in them.

Everyone has enormous value. I just have to have the right vision to be able to see it. When I start
appreciating their value, I will realise the negativity is my own. Yes, they do things in a different way
from me but there has to be variety, so let me appreciate that. I cannot change them or control them; what
I can do is change my attitude and my responses. If I continue to have the vision of love and respect for
them, I know that through this there is a very good possibility that I can influence them and help them in
their change process. If I react against them, I will not be able to influence them in the future because my
reactions will have set up a barrier between us, thereby making communication very difficult. If I change
my attitude in a genuine way - not from diplomacy or artificial courtesy; but by seeing their eternal,
original divine state, then with genuine respect, a good level of communication will arise, and perhaps, at
the right time, we can talk about things and a change can take place. But I must not allow this build-up of
negativity to destroy communication with them; otherwise walls will have been built up which will be
difficult to sort out later on.

Perhaps the most difficult thing for me to come to terms with is the negativity I feel about myself. I see
my weaknesses; I see the difficulties I have created; I see the emotional debts I have accumulated and I
wonder how it is ever going to be possible to deal with all of this. If I lose hope, things will become
difficult. Therefore, I do not allow the cycle of negativity to come into being, I do not lose hope for
myself or negative thoughts will pull me further and further down. As soon as I see that there is the
possibility of this negative cycle beginning, I make sure that I cut it at that point because cycles are
powerful; one weak thought after and it will get me entrapped. If I cannot stop it before it begins, it ties
me into a knot. Firstly I must see the cause and what needs to be done, and look at the future, so I can
prevent things from happening; then I take precautions so that it will not happen again. When I recognise
myself as an eternal soul, I alter my vision of myself completely. I come back to the realisation of my
own original form and feel the divine being that I truly am, and hope returns.

Coming into the awareness of this experience of my own immortality - of 'I' the soul - I am able to change
my vision completely. I know that in this awareness of being a child of God, I have within myself the
capacity for purity, peace and love. If I allow these qualities to emerge and spend a few minutes in silence
each day, just letting my mind become detached from all the other things that it's usually caught up in,
then I can value who I truly am. As this stage grows, the influence of this lasts longer each day. As I
develop this awareness of self respect and self esteem and I move outside the cycle of negativity that has
pulled me down, I make sure my vision, words and actions show this esteem. It is expressed in value and
respect for others and from them, I get the same response back.

Whilst I lacked esteem, I sought support and confirmation from the outside world and usually if I am
seeking something, it is denied. Only in the state where I am generating my own self respect within, can I
earn respect from others. This is the way I can change my own negative image about myself. When I
learn to remove negativity, I am drawn by the beauty that positivity can bring and, because I develop a
liking for this, I learn to accept positivity and reject negativity. I therefore have a greater impact on the
atmosphere around me and the people I am with.

Even one individual who comes into this awareness of making things positive, of learning to deal with
things in a positive way, makes a great difference. The heaviness of the world has come about because of
the accumulation of all our negative thoughts and actions and the only way we can transform and replace
it is through the power of positivity. This enables us to bring about change, firstly in our environment,
workplace, family and home which will inevitably reach out and change society. In the state of
hopelessness and lack of courage, the forces of darkness grow heavier and stronger.

If I become aware that I am a child of God, a being of light, an instrument of light and I let the light of
awareness, wisdom and truth change me, then I can be an instrument to bring light into the world around
me. In the state of negativity, there is a great deal of fear and ignorance. If I can understand this, then the
fear is reduced and gradually eliminated and there is greater understanding of the reasons for a negative
state of the world and of my karmic connections with other individuals. By understanding all these things,
light has entered the picture, darkness is removed and I know what to do and how to do it. I have to bring
light into the world and in this way darkness will not be able to influence me and I will be able to help
remove the darkness of others.
Have you ever thought about the fact that there is never a moment when you are not thinking and that
whatever happens in this world begins with a thought? Here are some simple steps to help you manage
your thoughts and achieve success and happiness in life.

Be aware of your thoughts

Start watching your thoughts. At the outset thoughts are like the waves of the ocean which do not stop
even for a moment like the watch ticking it's way. Do not be discouraged by the fact that you are
becoming a part of your thoughts. Just watch your thoughts as a detached observer.

You may even get carried away by your thoughts. Never mind. What you need to do whenever you
detect this, is to take yourself out of your thoughts immediately and get back as a detached observer. Just
watch; after some time you will be able to know your negative thoughts. Now concentrate on all the
positive thoughts that you can replace those negative thoughts in order to switch over to a mode of
positive attitude towards them. Unnecessary thoughts should be stopped to improve the quality of
necessary ones.

Identify your negative thoughts

Keep a log book of your thoughts. Write down the happenings of the day. The log book should record
both verbal and mental response. Were your thoughts positive, appropriate and adequate or were they
confused, superfluous and negative? Sometimes we ask others or simply to ourselves, or think about
something just like that. Ask yourself about what all provoked you to make the initiative to start a
conversation. Was it essential? What was the purpose? Did it serve the purpose? If not, then why
not? Were the words used appropriate, adequate and positive? Did you feel happy or satisfied after the
interaction with the other person or with your inner self? Can you find ways of improving your
performance as a thinker or a speaker? Keep in mind that log books are meant to get you started and make
you aware of your negative thoughts. It is very important to be aware of these thoughts when they are just
taking birth, rather than leave them for later analysis.

Replace with positive thoughts

This is an important and vital step for it is here that the actual switch-over to the desired state takes place.
The removal of your negative thoughts should be followed by the replacement by positive ones. Our
success and happiness depend on identifying our goals precisely and chasing them effectively. Both of
them in turn depend on how well we manage our thoughts. The quality of our thoughts decide the quality
of the outcome. Thoughts have the power to materialise themselves because they are instrumental in
channeling both mental and physical energies towards realizing the goal. External situations and the
remarks of others can harm us – again through our thoughts – but only to the extent our thoughts allow
them to. So think positive.

Talk positive quotable quotes of great people. Surround yourself with posters and cards bearing positive
messages. Keep them on your table. Hang them on the walls. Paste them near the bathroom mirror and
on the doors. Stick them on your watch strap. Keep them on the refrigerator. Have them on the dash
board of the car. Slip them under the glass on the table in front of you. Slide them in the inner side of the
briefcase you carry. Find other suitable places where you are bound to look at them every
day. Remember that these messages will stale with prolonged use. So keep changing their position
and contents.

Maintain the momentum

Do not let the momentum of these thoughts get weaker. Use them appropriately in response to specific
negative thoughts. The replacing thought must be positive in every sense. Apart from being inspiring
and assuring, it should also be suggestive. For example, if you confront a negative thought, "I can never
succeed", it will not suffice if your replace it with "Attack! I can succeed". This kind of replacement may
not be effective, for it sounds like wishful thinking and lacks assurance, depth and certainty. It is better to
break your replacing thought down into more definite and specific steps or instructions. The
replacing thought in this case may be "I can succeed. By earlier failures I have become rich in experience
and have come to know specific areas that require special attention. I will jot them down and
systematically think of the ways in which I can improve. I shall plan and then stick to it. There is
absolutely no reason why I should not succeed. I will assess, plan, execute, monitor, modify and carry on
with the plan, and finally succeed.
In fact, I think that success has already been achieved and only time separates my thoughts of success and
its transformation into reality. I am committing myself to all that is required to achieve success. I am a
river that knows no obstacles. I shall find my way any how - and if there is none I shall make one".
Thoughts like these can be further reinforced with emotions and images. All this may take longer than
one single replacing thought, but these are far more effective since they allow you to divide the desired
target into workable units.

The cause of all sickness and disease essentially is Karma. Even the psychosomatic diseases are caused
by Karma. Karma also applies to the mental attitude, not only to something I have actually done. My state
of mind is also my responsibility.

The majority of people who practice any form of yoga have at least a rudimentary concept and faith in the
philosophy of karma. The karma refers to the laws of cause and effect - the laws of action, reaction and
interaction operating within the field of human relationships. The law of Karma states that whenever any
action has been performed, there will be an equal and opposite reaction. The law of Karma is to the moral
plane what Newton's third law of motion is to the physical plane.

The law of Karma works in this way: if I have given sorrow there will be some form of sorrow returning
to me. It may not be precisely in the way that old-fashioned people would speak about an 'eye for any eye
and tooth for a tooth', but certainly some sort of seed has been sown. If it was a seed that gave pain and
sorrow then the fruit that I receive in turn will be bitter.

The time period between the performing of an action and the resultant reaction is variable. Just as
different seeds need different periods of time in which to germinate, to grow and to produce fruit, so one
cannot always determine which action it was that has led to this particular reaction but certainly if I am
seeing a reaction, an effect, there must be a cause and the cause is not an external cause. The cause is I
myself. In any situation that I find myself, nobody else, absolutely nobody else is responsible; it is I. It
seems to be a very bitter law sometimes, in that it is the one that is absolutely inescapable.

An understanding of the law of Karma teaches us how to do pure action; we can then guarantee that, for
the future, reactions will always be good, powerful and positive. It is possible to have a pill that can cure
sickness for all time and that is the pill of Karma.

One cause of sickness is past Karma, past actions, but the present negative tendencies ( the vices - lust,
anger, greed, attachment, ego etc) also create disease. The atmosphere of today's world also causes
sickness.

* Other Causes
* The Wonder Cure
* Worry and Anxiety
* Positive Thoughts

Other Causes
Nowadays people find that they can't live with others but they can't live alone either. There isn't the love,
which enables them to live with others. They want love from all but are not able to give love to others.
Essentially the reason is that the soul has become empty, devoid of peace, love and happiness and is filled
with vices. This is why there is sickness. A person does just a little bit and has great ego about it. Or a
person isn't able to do something and loses hope. Souls have become very weak.
Sickness also comes from blaming others. Some people constantly have a critical vision and are always
blaming, criticizing or having doubts about others. 'They must be like this, they must have done this. This
is why this has happened.' This faultfinding nature also causes much illness within. That illness is one that
spreads; it is infectious and causes a lot of pain. The ignorance of not being able to look after oneself also
brings sickness. Sometimes there is great attachment and possessiveness with those who have caused
sorrow and this will cause further sorrow and sickness.

When situations confront us because of attachment, blaming or ego, then there's the question, 'why is this
happening?' The question 'why' makes us stand in a queue of questions and this also causes illness. People
get tired waiting in queues. If a person is constantly asking 'why did you do this? Why did you say this?'
then there is distress.

Jealousy causes the heart to burn. The clash of personality traits also causes great sorrow, How can the
sorrow, which is burning the heart, be eliminated? In tiny situations, a reaction of great anger and ego
erupts and there's the thought 'I am the one who should be heard. Who are you? Why should I listen to
you? This causes a rise in temperature. Desires that are not being fulfilled also destroy true love, pure
love and then there is a desire to perform good action and yet there is not the power to do that which is
good, there is not the power to renounce that which is bad. These, the conflicts with each other and within
the self in action and interaction, are the deep, incognito reasons for the existence of sickness. Is there a
cure for this?

The Wonder Cure

To finish all these things the medicine of "Om Shanti" (which means "I am a peaceful soul") is needed.
The meaning of Om Shanti is very wonderful. Om Shanti is not only a word, but an experience which can
be achieved through meditation. It means put a full stop to everything and let the soul become completely
peaceful and still. This is the greatest medicine of all. When the soul is experiencing the significance of
Om Shanti, God, the supreme surgeon, will let the soul experience detachment from the body and through
that cure the sickness of the soul.

Normally because the soul is in the body, it experiences pain. When the soul is not in the body then
whether you burn the body or cut it up into pieces there is no experience of pain. By going into silence
and practicing, experiencing detachment from the body pain can be reduced, not just 80-90%, but even
99%.

The purpose of Rajyoga Meditation is to stabilize the mind, to keep it in balance; to be in the body and
yet experience the consciousness of the self, 'soul consciousness'. There's such clarity and wisdom in this
state that it becomes easy to see the cause of sickness and also to know the treatment to give oneself.
Sometimes the mind affects the body and sometimes the sickness of the body causes disease within the
mind. The power God gives through meditation is able to help both together.

If in reality there is sickness, Om Shanti is the medicine. If sickness is only in the imagination then also
this is the medicine. Imagination needs medicine as well. If there is imagination (in the form of
superstition) and I think that one medicine will work and another won't work, then I must also get rid of
this mental attitude with understanding. If there is sickness in reality, there must have been some cause.
That cause will also be annulled by Om Shanti. This is not to say that physical forms of medicine are no
longer needed, but medicine taken with understanding will work more effectively. If there is sickness in
reality and yet my mind is saying, 'No I don't want medicine' then this is not wisdom. One must have
enough sense to take medicine if it is appropriate.

To simply ignore sickness with indifference or acceptance with resignation is not enough to make it
disappear. One must try and really understand why it has some. Perhaps it has been caused by anger, or
by jealousy. If I can analyze this and change my reaction then I am changing the cause of sickness.
Understanding will take away half the illness.

Worry and Anxiety

Worry increases the magnitude of sickness, even if the sickness is just a tiny one. Yet the worry that an
individual has increases it to an enormous extent. Sometimes sickness isn't causing so much pain as one's
own anxiety about it. Anxiety causes further weakness and loss of energy and it shouldn't be encouraged.
It should be transformed or replaced. But it's impossible to free the mind from anxiety unless you feed it
with something else which is positive. If someone is hungry and you tell him not to eat, it's not going to
work. His hunger has to be satisfied. The mind also has to be given some food. To feed the mind with
knowledge, to entertain the mind with beautiful spiritual thoughts of self-realisation is a method of
keeping the mind free from other wasteful, negative things. To give good pure company to another and to
increase someone's courage and enthusiasm is also medicine.

Positive Thoughts
We should neither experience distress ourselves nor cause distress to anyone else, even if the cause of the
sickness is not known. The most sensible state is one in which I constantly maintain positive thoughts and
don't allow negative thoughts to come. If I am not able to do that, then the second stage would be to be
honest and speak about it. It will not help to become a martyr and put on an artificial smile and an act.
Now-a-days there is a great deal of fear and cowardice. Many souls are too weak to be able to speak about
what it is they feel, or they feel they cannot trust anyone and this causes even further weakness. It is also
wrong to speak about what one feels in such a way as to cause pain and sorrow in the name of being
honest. One must have such relationship with God that one has both the courage and the wisdom to know
what is the right balance to strike in such situations.

Rajyoga teaches how to have a good relationship with the self, with God, with my own body, with other
people, with my relatives and even with the elements of matter, with nature. It is also necessary to
understand the cause of any present negative situation and to find a preventive method. Nothing is new.
Learn to expect whatever is coming and learn not to be surprised by it, then you can cope with it. Use
medicine, use the power of yoga, don't allow confusion to come. Keep yourself powerful, silent and
tolerant. Remain peaceful and also do pure karma so that you have the blessings of God and the blessings
of other human beings. The sickness will go away.

It is a greeting of peace which, when said with understanding and real feeling, creates a beautiful
exchange of happiness. Within Just a few moments, there are feelings of closeness, of belonging, and of
knowing each other very well.
Feelings of closeness, of knowing each other very well, of all being part of one Family, are what come to
our mind when we Think of trust. They are examples of true feelings; that is, those filled with love. When
there are only feelings of this sort in the heart, it is very easy to have faith. It is easy to trust.

The beautiful way it works is this: holding only true feelings in the heart enables one to start trusting
his/her own self. We begin to develop faith in the aspects of our highest self. This self-trust becomes the
basis for trusting others. So trust is cultivated by cultivating true feelings.

POSITIVE vs NEGATIVE FEELINGS

In today's world hardly anybody trusts anyone anymore. Many parents don't trust their children; many
children mistrust their parents and even their own brothers and sisters, We don't trust our neighbors, nor
our politicians. Nations often interact on a basis of mistrust as well.

It is as if people don't feel they have enough time to trust; they don't have the time it takes to develop that
level of trust. Nowadays, people walk, talk, eat and even breathe very fast. The usual way of greeting
each other is a quick, "Hi, how are you?" and by the time you turn to give your response, you look around
and the person is already gone. A very hard and fast work life-style has replaced a life of peace and love.
There is no time to smile. Instead of sparkling eyes, a cheerful face, and a sharing of beautiful greetings,
there is only worry, day and night, "There's no time. I've not much to do," has become a king of modern-
day proverb.

What happened? How did we get this way? It began when we lost touch with our true feelings. Feelings
became negative and because of these negative feelings, the intellect began to question the value of its
own truth. Ultimately, doubts like this started to destroy whatever inner power or strength we had.

When the oil in the car runs low, the engine starts heating up. This is what happens to humans when the
'oil' of positive feelings begins to run low.
They continue to move along in their journey through life, but they are heated individuals, holding a lot of
anger inside. In one second they get irritated, annoyed and lose their inner peace. This is why there is so
little quiet, peace Conferences. Instead of peace, people have ended up simply dividing themselves into
more and more pieces.

BALANCE OF BRAIN AND HEART

Where there is no experience of true feelings, the lives of human beings become very empty.
Hopelessness, fear and discouraging feelings have made people's lives very shallow. However, the basis
of negative feelings is negative thinking.

Think less, think quietly, think in peace, don't think uselessly. This is what is really needed. Keeping the
heart filled with good, true feelings require the right balance between the brain and the heart. Actually
there is no need to think very much. The habit of thinking too much has made everyone's brain very tired
and weak, and therefore easily influenced, especially by the negative vibrations that are all around.

Because we have been using the brain far more than the heart, something somewhere has gone wrong
with feelings. The feelings of the heart have disappeared from life.

I have to be careful not to use my brain too much. My feelings are my main focus. Make sure that they
are pure and true, because I know that if my feelings are true then whatever the brain thinks will be right.
You could say it is like a different kind of intelligence, based on a completely different way of using the
brain. When feelings are pure, the brain automatically begins to think right thoughts, based on those
feelings.

TRUE FEELINGS

We need to understand deeply what true feelings are. True feelings are feelings which connect us to our
divinity... Our innermost, highest truth.
The idea that true feelings are the basis of trust is a message that should be made very clear and shared
with everyone.

Everyone should now experience their good, true feelings and begin to cultivate that faith. Go within and
experience these true feelings because a lot of feelings from situations in the outside world have
accumulated in the self and because of that, the true and natural feelings, like feelings of love, are not
being experienced. I need to separate myself from the feelings which have come from the outside, and
now experience my true, inner ones.

Start by taking the time to experience them, and then begin the practise of putting these true feelings into
your everyday life: your relationships, activities and so on. Three qualities emerge when your feelings
come from this level of positivity. They are purity, truth, and determination. With these, you will find that
the need to do a lot of thinking is removed. When faith operates on this level of truth, it is guaranteed that
the purest desires of your heart will definitely be fulfilled. If not today, then tomorrow.

Hopelessness disappears. In fact, it becomes impossible to feel hopeless. True feelings connect you to
your inner power and strength.

DOUBTS AND FEAR

People are distanced from their pure, true feelings because they have grown fearful of speaking up and
voicing them. In fact, many are not able to live by the truth. There is fear of standing up for what you
believe in. Inner truth, such as peace, power, happiness and many other values that are needed in your
life, can be easily discovered when you turn within for the purpose of internal change. Yet, it is as if
people have chosen to keep these treasures hidden. They think that if they were to start believing in such
things and behaving accordingly, they wouldn't be able to survive in this world. So they continue with
their lying, cheating and wrongdoings. And they support each other in this deception and dishonesty.
There might be moments when the intellect regains its faith, and for a while trusts the higher, inner voice.
However, within a short time, doubts emerge, such as, " How will I be successful if I continue like this?"
In this way, doubts are created about the value, of their highest truth. It is the beginning of not being able
to trust their own self. This, then, becomes the basis for not being able to trust anyone else.

DEPRESSION
When the brain is continually exposed to negative vibrations, sad and unhappy feelings are accumulated.
Figuring out how to contain all this is disturbing to the self, yet there is fear of speaking out. You are
afraid to communicate from the heart. Because you are unable to trust your own feelings, you are
reluctant to talk about them. There are doubts about how others will perceive what you say. You wonder
if it is all right to speak, whether the one you are speaking to will like it or not. You start thinking that,
maybe you
won't be understood, that, maybe there will be criticisms or comments, so it might be better not to speak
at all. Your self doubt creates fear, and this fear becomes an obstacle to communication. Because of this,
even though you desire to communicate, to express yourself, it doesn't work. Doubtful, negative thoughts
have weakened the brain, allowing misunderstandings to be created very quickly.

This is how Godly feelings, which are buried under the negativity and fear, get locked away even further.
Ultimately, this leads to depression.

THE SOLUTION
An open heart is a big part of the solution. Find the time to try and understand each other's feelings. When
the heart is open, it is easy to share your feelings. The face loses its sadness and becomes cheerful.

However, the basis of an open heart is trust. And the first step in this is self-trust. You will not be able to
trust yourself if you are distanced from your inner truth. Therefore, continue to cultivate your pure
feelings, and self-trust will grow automatically. This, then, becomes the basis for being able to trust
others.
THE HEART OF THE MATTER
True feelings create a clean heart. When the heart is honest and clean, it is easy to pick up on the true
feelings of others. When the heart is clean it is natural to feel what is in the hearts of others.

GOD
When our interactions are filled with the good qualities of pure feelings, God starts trusting us and that is
when everything really starts getting very beautiful. To work with pure feelings reflects faith in God and
this becomes the basis for God's trust in us. Faith in God is a very necessary first step. This is how I know
that everything will work out very well. Every step I take and every thought I create is filled with trust in
God's trust. When we work with courage in this way, God's help will always be with us. This puts an end
to hopelessness.

When people come to you with a look of hopelessness on their face, say "no, don't have such feelings",
because they will make one unconscious. It is when you go unconscious that the beautiful experience of
trusting God is lost and so you start feeling that there is no more hope. This is when people begin to do
things from ego. However, such motivation is not supported by true feelings or faith in the intellect, so
what will be the result?

The only way we will be successful is when we are able to work together as true companions in the task
of world renewal. The need of today's world is that we learn to work together in the right way. However,
before becoming companions to each other, we first need the steady companionship of our internal,
highest truth; that is, the true feelings that come from qualities like selflessness, honesty and humility.

There is only one God and of course, he will bestow peace on earth. However, before that can happen, we
must first become His honest, worthy instruments. We must become trustworthy; that is, trusted by God.
Experiencing His trust in us teaches us how to trust our inner voice. Ultimately this is what then allows us
to hear the voice of God.

Our own inner voice, the voice of God, the signals of time, and the needs of people - all these
'messengers' are telling us that what is really needed now is -'trust'. Our only aim now should be to raise a
collective, universal voice filled with that trust which is created from true feelings... the faith that no
matter what happens, truth will prevail.

Inner happiness and strength are the tangible rewards of this, which in turn help us to continue to move
forwards.

TRUST
When the heart works with pure feelings, it reaches out and touches the pure feelings in the hearts of
others. This enables the intellect to function at a purer level. Pure qualities in our behavior and
relationships emerge as a natural consequence.

TRANSFORMING THE WORLD

Feelings of genuine friendship are needed. Life depends on the quality of our feelings... just as the quality
of our relationships are founded on the caliber of our feelings. So the ability to transform the world is also
dependent on the quality of our feelings.

Scientists use their intellects to produce many wonders and miracles for the world. The intellect is used to
understand matter and transform it. However, the power of silence, also uses the intellect... for the
purpose of turning within and changing the self. Shouldn't the power of silence also be able to create
some miracles and wonders?

One feeling we should have always is that one day, across the entire planet, there will be only a sharing of
true feelings, based on faith. Let's easily share this vision with others by our faith in it. We all shall have
firm faith that change must happen.
Everything is possible. Everything is in our hands. It all depends on us.

In the state of Yoga or meditation, one experiences the rays of light and might or peace and bliss,
descending on him and spreading through him into the whole world, thus charging the atmosphere with
vibrations of purity, love and spiritual quietude. Sometimes one feels surrounded by divine light and
experiences extraordinary peace such as one had never experienced before taking to the practice of
Yoga. Sometimes he perceives himself in golden-red light with strong currents of spiritual might,
emanating from him in all directions as strong rays of spiritual light. He will be having deep realisation
of being separate from the body, which too he now sees being charged with these transcendental rays.
Again, he experiences very strong waves of deep-red light and might beaming out from him in all
directions and he perceives these ennobling and peace-giving vibrations going in all directions, with
good wishes to all. He also, at times, feels as if he is a brilliant point of light, with rays of very high
intensity, bursting or darting out from him for the service of the whole world; on such occasions, he
has even no feeling of his body and has no conscious thought except that he feels that he is absorbed in
peace and bliss and in God's fond Love, there being in him, sub-consciously though, the feeling of
fulfillment of life and of attainment of the ultimate. He feels in him a high tide to exhilaration and
satisfaction and he now regards himself a very fortunate person having achieved his goal.

A person practising meditation has these and many other such benign experiences. He either gets
visions, revealing great mysteries or becomes a visionary, having thoughts of high attitude. Even after
the meditation sittings, a person feels changed - a holy and happy man. He is now imbued with the
feeling of friendliness, affection and sympathy for his fellow-beings. While walking, he no longer feels
the weight of his body. He feels as if he carries his body light as feather or as if he were lifted from the
ground. He now feels enormous store of will power and exuberance of zest and indefatigable spirit. He
now remains totally unaffected by situations involving sharp contrasts - joy and sorrow, gain and loss,
praise and dispraise. He feels as if his weaknesses are now disappearing, his ignoble tendencies are
now making room for the dawn of purity and divine qualities. He feels like continuing in this unique
state forever. The whole world now appears to him as to be a wonderful Drama.

It has been aptly said that a thing of beauty is a joy forever. It has to be seen, however, to which kind of
beauty this saying applies.

It is observed that a person, having facial beauty, is not necessarily beautiful at heart. For example, a lady
who has attractive looks, no longer looks beautiful if she acts like an enraged bull in china shop. So, it has
been truly said that handsome is he that handsome does.
Again, beauty is subjective. For instance, anyone who is a lover of nature, cannot resist being drawn to a
beautiful flower, but to a bird a flower is only a thing to be nibbled at. So, beauty does not necessarily lie
in the colour or contours, rather it lies in the eye of the beholder.

Further, in this attitude towards beauty, man seems to be oblivious of what lies under the skin of the
person he loves. For, if he had remembered that, underneath of skin, is the net of nerves, mucus, bones
etc., his idea of beauty is only meaningless. Hence the saying goes that beauty is only skin-deep.

Again, time also leaves its own indelible marks in the form of wrinkles on the face. It points to one's
vanity due to one's beauty of form, because there is no element of permanence in the form of the face.
Disfigurement by accident also reveals that mere linear beauty of things is not a joy forever.

Furthermore, man's body and its beauty are nourished and brought into existence by what a man eats.
Hunger robs a man's face of what was until then called beauty. Similarly, disease, fatigue and worry also
eat away what is called loveliness.

Moreover, in fact, the colours and form look as they do because of the presence of light, and a colour is
nothing but the various rays with different wave-lengths, and undeniable is the fact that light itself is
beauty.

All these facts bespeak the truth that beauty, which has rightly been termed 'a source of joy forever',
should be something more lasting and divine. When we discover this kind of beauty in God, who is Light
personified, who knows no disease, no accident, no sorrow, no ageing, no injury, no wear and tear, no
fatigue, no weakness and is in fact, one who blesses divine beauty, beauty of the mind, the spirit, the form
and the actions. That beauty is exquisite, pure, natural, innocent and ennobling.

There is no person in this world that, at some given point of time, has no mood at all. It has been found
that the negative moods not only cause uneasiness or peacelessness to the person but they also affect his
health and disturb the atmosphere around him. For they set into action some such vibrations that cause
disturbances. So, there is need of knowing the art which enables one to keep happy always and in positive
moods.

The art of yoga enables one to achieve this object. But how? It has to be noted that the method of practice
of Raja Yoga is based on positive thoughts which give noble sentiments and a happy mood, for the saying
goes: "As you think, so shall you become." If, for instance, a man thinks that he is weak, his lack of
confidence in himself makes him tremble in the face of a difficult situation. So, this gives the clue to that
method one should adopt in order to have the right type of moods, namely that one has to change the
thoughts from negative to positive ones. This is exactly what a Raja yogi does. His positive thoughts are
the thoughts connected with one or the other positive virtues of God or, positive goodness of the world, or
the hopes about the future. This can be illustrated by the following example.

Suppose a person feels nervous in some situations because he thinks that he is unequal to his difficulties
and has no one to help him, or sympathise with him, or co-operate with him. Now, this feeling fritters
away his thought-power all the more and distracts his attention away from the problem so that, even
before he has given a good fight to the problem, he has surrendered his arms completely and thus denied
to himself even a trial or a chance. The way a person who practices meditation responds is different. He
has the firm faith that God is his infallible companion and his unfailing helpmate, and since God is
Almighty and invincible, he believes that even the remote question of his getting defeated does not arise.
Now, this faith works like many horsepowers of energy. He is able to push his cause and put his
maximum strength, with all the will power and concentration at his command. It has been found that in
many cases, he succeeds. This does not mean there are no failures, but his faith in God's companionhood
gives him the inner strength to withstand that harm and without any feeling of unhappiness. With the
practice of meditation, one will be able to make positive thoughts. Because of these thoughts, he feels
joyous, relaxed, introvert and acts with equanimity, confidence and tranquility and does not lose his
humour.

It is the divine qualities that make man a gentle or a noble man and enable a person to become great.

Cheerfulness stands high among these. As a flower spreads its freshness and fragrance all round in the
atmosphere, a smile on man's face cheer up the spirit of others who come in his sphere. Thus, a cheerful
man does silent service to others.

Tolerance and patience too are sterling qualities. They give to man's mind the strength of steel. Like the
seat-cushions or the buffer springs, they work as shock-absorbers in life. One who has these can
withstand great hardships and bumps.

Sweetness of language and temper is another great virtue. One who discerns only the good qualities of
others, is a man of great merit. As a bee collects sweetness from flowers, so does a man who has an eye
for others' merits, gather good points, and he himself also becomes a store of sweetness like a honey-
comb.

Humility is another high quality. One who thinks himself to be a humble man, is considered by others to
be a great man or a saint. A king, wearing a crown rules over his kingdom only, but a man having
humility, though without a crown, is a king in his own right; his kingdom knows not the barriers of
territory or time, for he rules over the hearts of men of all ages.

Fearlessness saves man from worries and suspicion that cause pain, as much as a person being hanged on
the gallows feels. Thus, he lives a carefree life as against a coward who, as the saying goes, dies many
times before death.

Contentment is of very great merit. A man who is contented is richer than the wealthiest man in the
world, for he is not riding the wild horse of unfulfilled wishes. He considers God's knowledge as so many
gems being showered on him by God, and looks upon his righteous actions and his yoga as the great
treasure.

Self-confidence is undeniably a very great task. It is this that enables man to consider a mountain as a
molehill whereas one who lacks in this quality looks upon a molehill as a mountain.

Straightforwardness enables man to fit better in society. People do not have to be afraid of his intrigues or
his tricks. On the other hand, a crooked man is like that nail or a peg which has many bends.

Again, service to others and the spirit of sacrifice are qualities that make a man truly great and happy.

These and many other divine virtues come naturally to anyone who practices meditation as he/she
establishes a link with God who is the perennial source of these.

Man today is unmindful of what effect his actions will have on others. He has scant regard for the welfare
of others. His insatiable greed has resulted in inhuman exploitation of others. In this, he has gone even to
the extent of depriving others of bare necessities of life. Black-marketing, hoarding, bribery and
adulteration hold no bar for him. He can adulterate even such things as food-stuff and spices and what are
called 'life-saving drugs'. He can sell spurious medicines though it may injure the health of others. He
even pollutes the atmosphere and the water-resources through the industrial wastes, chimney soot and
smoke from the motor vehicles to the detriment of all. To be brief, man is now living on brother man. He
has now become callous and cruel.

His anger is now more wild than even the wild animals themselves. Though possessed with language and
reasoning faculty, he strikes head against head to settle his disputes. And, his hand has horns too and his
hands have the claws too! He has spent astronomically high amounts to pile up atom and hydrogen bombs
for destroying 'civilization' and for feeding the cannon with fodder though millions of his brothers have
nothing to feed them with.

Sex-indulgence has now become a means of recreation. About forty million people are being added to the
world every year, with a grave danger to the human race.

One can go on adding endlessly to the list of crimes and vices, for man today has become barbarous, liar,
cheat and hypocrite. He wants to deceive God even after making money through unfair means!

Such being the state of society, let us warn that the world is heading towards a major catastrophe through
over population, nuclear war, natural calamities, civil strife and environmental pollution.
But, let it be noted that divine efforts are also going on to sow the seeds of a divine world order by
implanting divine qualities in the mind of those who are willing to listen to the divine call and to change
their ways. Those who would care would go via divine knowledge, Raja Yoga and virtues, to the divine
world.

Mental tension is the cause of the crimes in the world. Many diseases are also due to psychological
imbalance, nervous strain and hypertension. In order to feel relaxed, some people, now-a-days, take
tranquilisers, smoke marijuana or use LSD drugs but this does not provide them with a lasting relief.
Rather, these things have harmful effects on man's mental faculties and they make him a slave of the urge
to take them again and again. It has now been demonstrated that the best course to be free from mental
tension is to practise Raja Yoga daily, even though for a short while.

One would naturally like to know as to what exactly it is that leads man to mental tension and how Raja
Yoga helps to keep him free from it. In this connection, one should know that the main factor responsible
for the mental tension is man's attitude towards events, persons and things. It is well-known that the main
mechanism through which man reacts to external stimuli in the form of events, persons or things is man's
brain and the network of sensory and motor nerves with which the brain is connected. But it is the soul
which is the centre of the consciousness and the soul abides near the pituitary gland. The pituitary
receives the external stimuli through the hypothalamus which receives information from the cerebral
cortex of the brain and passes it on to the soul. Now it depends upon what attitudes, values or proclivities
the soul has. The soul reacts to those stimuli according to its tendencies, beliefs, values etc. through the
above-mentioned mechanism. Raja Yoga enables the soul to have proper attitudes, values,will-power and
bliss through link with God. If for example, the soul looks upon the world as a drama, it does not feel sad
in the face of adverse events. Rather, it takes them as mere passing panorama and remains as a witness.

Again, if the soul has the belief that he was originally calm and peaceful and that all other persons also
are souls, related to it as brothers, he treats all with love and if others act unrighteously, he pities them and
tries to extricate him rather than get disturbed.

Further, the soul, because of his belief in God as the omnipotent and merciful Father, who helps those
who help themselves by acting according to divine law, remains free of worry, feels secure and also get
love from Him. It experiences bliss and this saves the soul from the harmful impact of external stimuli on
his consciousness. Thus, Raja Yoga helps the soul to feel relaxed and peaceful.
A man gets absorbed in deep bliss and profound peace when he is stabilised in meditation. Another
important benefit of yoga is that it brings about a transformation in his day-to-day acts, behaviour,
manners, attitude and his whole life. He becomes a changed man. This fact will be clear to us if we
understand how one's actions (Kriti), outlook (Dristi) and one's mood or state of mind (Vritti) also depend
upon what thought his consciousness (Smriti) is occupied with. The following example will make it clear.

If a person had seen, once in his life, a dog biting a man and today, he himself meets a stray dog in the
street, his consciousness becomes occupied with the past memory of a dog having bitten a man. This in
Yoga terminology, is known as smriti, briefly, 'consciousness'. Now, this 'consciousness' changes into the
sentiments, feelings, mode or state of mind of that man, so that if he was previously normal, he now
becomes nervous or fearful. This, in turn, gives rise to the thoughts of caution, fear, aversion or to other
such thoughts. This third kind of thought is called vritti, i.e. 'mode of mind'. This means that his mind has
become tainted, coloured or toned in a particular way. Now, this in turn brings about a change in the
outlook (dristi) of the man. All this takes place in split second so that the time-gap between the one and
the other is unnoticed. The blending of all these is such as if they were non-different. This ultimately ends
in the man either taking stick to beat the dog with, or to run away from the situation out of fear and take
shelter and refuge somewhere. This action does not stop there but leaves an impact, impression or
samskãra on the mind of the man. Next time, this samskãra, unless transformed, again becomes a
springboard for action, if such situations occur in the future, or else it would remain dormant. Even when
unmanifest, the samskãras, or the resolves determine the personality, and, sometimes, these may also
manifest themselves in the form of dreams.

This sequence of different aspects of mind or spiral like movement of thought from 'consciousness
(smriti) into action (kriti) leads to the conclusion that, to transform action or behaviour the consciousness
or smriti has to be changed. In order to change the outlook (Drishti) also, the consciousness has to be
changed too. To change the state of mind (sthithi) or to make the state of mind eternally happy also, the
consciousness must be changed. Since a yogi changes his consciousness through the art and science of
yoga, he is able to bring about a change in his habits and behaviour and become a holy and happy man.