Wednesday, February 5, 2014

VIII: 26

Chapter 8, Verse 26

"These are the two paths
That are forever:
The path of light
And the path of darkness.
One leads to the place of no return.
The other leads to the land of sorrow."

Paramahansa Yogananda:

Even accomplished Yogis who in Samadhi attain high states of divine consciousness but have not yet opened all the doors to freedom from the physical, astral and causal Soul-encasements, return from Samadhi to body-consciousness.  At death, the astral sojourn is a glorious one.  However, harboring unfinished material desires and karma, they are reborn on Earth, but with divine aspiration that predisposes them towards a spiritual life.

Sri Eknath Easwaran:

When the rising Kundalini reaches the center between the brows, St. Paul tells us in one of his letters to the Corinthians, "Now we see through a glass darkly, but then we shall see face to face."  The Hindu scriptures call this state Savikalpa Samadhi, a state of deep concentration in which we have the vision of our chosen spiritual ideal.  After that, we will see the Lord present everywhere, which means that we will never be able to bring ourselves to harm any living creature.

In a few very rare men and women, Kundalini finally rises to the seventh center.  There is nothing but light, a light that cannot be seen by the physical eye.  This is the complete unitive state called Nirvikalpa Samadhi.  The light is so bright that this is why it is so important to train the senses.  Otherwise, we will not be able to look at even a small ray of this light, let alone its dazzling radiance in Samadhi.

The six steps of ascent through the seven centers of consciousness is the bright path, the path of the Sun, the divine path.  It is this path that we set out upon when we make the choice to practice meditation regularly and turn our backs on petty, personal pursuits.

The more selfish we are, the more darkness there will be inside.  In the dark, we will be insecure.  Not knowing how to love or be loved comprises the path of darkness.  Rigidity increases.  After thirty years of age, it becomes increasingly difficult for almost all of us to change our ways.  There is no statement more poignant to me than an older person saying, "I can't change."  I hear this often, and not only from older people.  I always reply that everybody can change.  No matter how long we have spent on the path of darkness, we can always cross over to the path of light.

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