Daily Offerings from Alokda Archives

Are there special experiences on this Path and what they indicate?

Dear A., there are two main types of experiences that a sadhak has in the course of his spiritual journey.

The first and more common are subjective in nature and include states of consciousness such as feeling peace, wideness, joy, growth of aspiration, surge of devotion and faith, urge for progress, to surrender oneself to the Divine. Further along this line one can have flashes of intuition, inspiration, revelatory insight, feeling of oneness, bliss, infinity, cosmic consciousness leading to an enlargement of our being into others and taking of others into oneself, the sense of the Divine Presence within and in all. These eventually lead us to a growing identification with the Divine, knowing oneself as the psychic being, a change of consciousness leading to the growth of divine qualities and divine nature. As you can see this is what spiritual life is largely about with the change and reversal of consciousness being the main thing since it leads to the progressive transmutation of the human nature into the Divine. As a result of this one can develop certain powers spontaneously such as of intuitive knowledge, power of expression of higher truths, healing powers, and various other such possibilities depending upon our constitution and spiritual destiny.

There are other experiences that can be considered as objective since they are as if projected outside the limits of our being. They include visions and voices, subtle taste, touches, subtle hearing, subtle smells, conscious entry into other planes, seeing of lights and colours, going out of the body consciously, seeing the Divine everywhere, knowing the thoughts of others etc. There are a number of occult powers that one can encounter here too.

What is important is to understand that having visions, hearing voices, development of occult powers are not necessarily the sign of spiritual progress and they can often mislead the sadhak. The true signs of spiritual progress are threefold:

Psychic experiences leading to a growth of bhakti, love, faith, the urge to serve the Divine, to give oneself to the Divine, feeling oneself as the child of the Divine Mother or a portion, a part and parcel of the Divine, an inner certitude of immortality.

Spiritual experiences such a feeling of wideness and oneness, experience of the Divine Presence within, of oneness with all beings, knowing the One Self, the descent of Peace, Joy, Knowledge, opening to inspiration and intuition, feeling the Divine Presence in all and all in the Divine, all as the Divine.
Supramental experiences leading to a complete shift and transformation of nature within and without, becoming conscious of infinity and eternity, absolute certitude of a total all-comprehensive knowledge free from any possibilities of error, a Love that is all-powerful and all-inclusive in itself, a bliss and peace that are unvarying and undiminished, a state of continuous identification with the Divine in oneself and in all. Eventually a radical transformation of our mind, heart, life and body itself in its entire functioning.

The coming and going of experiences does not indicate that we are doing good or bad things. These are human notions. They depend upon a certain opening and receptivity of the consciousness to the Divine. This receptivity and opening are prepared through aspiration, sincerity, concentration, faith, surrender. These things take time to develop. One has to walk with a lot of patience and perseverance. However, yoga is not done for having experiences but for a change of consciousness from the human to the Divine. The change comes readily as the ego-centricity is diminished, the restless cry and clamour of desires stilled, and the consciousness is turned towards the Mother in a state of bhakti and surrender, concentrated more and more upon Her than upon oneself.

Affectionately,
Alok da

2024-11-22

Theism, Atheism and the Living Experience

Atheism is a phase through which the soul must pass in its search towards the Reality that it seeks. Trapped by belief systems and crushed under the weight of dead rituals it breaks free so as to discover a greater and wider Truth. It is this faith inbuilt within the soul that compels it to thus advance.

When belief ends then faith begins, and when we have denied all possible conceptions of God then the ground is cleared for the living experience of That which cannot be captured by any formula or shut in a scripture.

Theist is often satisfied with the image and the shadow. The Atheist is satisfied with his negation of the image. Both miss the greater truth that images, ideas and conceptions are at best scaffoldings and half-way inns towards the soul’s ascension out of a state of Ignorance towards Light and Truth and Freedom and Immortality.

But the atheist is unable to comprehend or find a way to experience That which is beyond Form and yet uses all forms for His Self-expression. If the Theist limits himself to the form, the Atheist limits himself to his temporary incapacity to go beyond the form and come in contact with the Consciousness that inhabits it.

The fact is that the limit of our sight is not the limit of Light, and Truth is wider than all our conceptions and forms.

2024-11-22

Songs of the Soul: November 22, 2024

Mother Divine, Thou art the health and the strength of our body and mind. Thou art the light of our intelligence, the love in our heart, the force that moves our life, the joy that keeps us on the dateless path, the faith that shows the way. Thou art the fire of aspiration in our soul, the will that makes every effort possible, the power that helps us grow sincere, the sweetness of our soul. Our life is but a wave of Thy infinity. Thy wave we call as our self rises to the surface impelled by Thy delight-to-be. Then impelled again by Thy delight it returns to Thy bosom to emerge again in new forms made more and more beautiful and strong to express Thee. Thus it goes on until we have explored all Thy delight and will to be within the limits of creation. Then one day, You carry us beyond the ocean and the waves into Thy utter Unity and Oneness.

Mother Divine, Thou art the ocean and its silent depths, the Force that forms as well as moves the waves.

All is Thyself and Thy Play, Thy mystery and Thy marvel. All is Thy Beauty and Wonder and Delight. All is Thy Peace and Thy Force, Thy Love, Thy Light in myriad forms.

Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa

2024-11-22

Q: Is it true that humans have not evolved physically in the last two hundred thousand years?

Q: Is it true that humans have not evolved physically since the missing link period which is two hundred thousand years ago?

ALOKDA: Our present human species has taken nearly nine sub-steps to emerge out of the first humanoid spanning over 2 million years. It looks long by our measure of time span especially when compared with one human life time. But when we see that it took nearly 6 million years to emerge for man to emerge from the Ape, a hundred million years for the reptiles to emerge from the amphibians, another nearly 60 million years for the dinosaur to shrink into a bird then we shall see the grand time scale through which Nature works. We are not even going into the time when Earth cooled enough for solid material forms to emerge and then the first life forms nearly 5 billion years back. So 2 hundred thousand years count for little when we look at the magnitude of Nature’s movements.

Now coming closer, humans have in fact never stopped evolving. It is through these micro-evolutions that the first African ancestor evolved into different varieties of humanity. We have grown taller and the brain has shrunk but it’s neuronal complexity has increased. The jaws receded and there are reports to suggest that the brain especially is continuing to evolve. At the chromosomal level, last hundred years has seen a shrinking of the Y chromosome and possibly a new sex-determinant gene in the offing. We have to also take into account the fact that human evolution brings new dimensions into play, unlike the animals. Psychologically and socially human evolution is uncontested. At present we also see the first signs of an imminent spiritual evolution. Most importantly human beings are the only species capable of conscious self-evolution at different levels.

What does all this indicate? That we have stopped evolving or we are preparing for a new leap? It is anybody’s guess. But leaving aside all this it is illogical to assume that the evolutionary process in Nature that has been working over billions of years will suddenly come to an abrupt halt, especially with such a half-finished creature called man! Any which way we look at it, evolution beyond human seems the most natural inevitable thing to happen. We may debate about the time, the process and the intent of Nature and God behind it but this much is obvious that we are destined to go further, – whether to a blank port in the Unknown or to acquire a new mind and body in the city of God is something that time will tell.

2024-11-21

Emotions, – a help or a hindrance

Emotions, like every other part of nature can be a help or a hindrance to the growth of consciousness.

If moved by the storms of lower passions and sullied by the poison of jealousy and hate, they sap away all our energies and keep us tied to the small and narrow fence of lower nature. The attendant result is suffering and pain or a momentary thrill, followed by exhaustion and indifference and a turning away from the object of love.

Nor does it help to suppress them by the mind since it maims rather than cures. Emotions are a tremendous source of energy, the powerful lever for human actions, often unrecognised but acting swiftly in our thoughts and actions.

What is therefore needed is their purification, and not suppression or a free indulgence. Only a greater and deeper feeling can release us from the lesser, which is a shadow and a limitation. Only Love can cure one of the lesser and distorted forms that love has taken in our human nature.

To try bringing out this deeper love from within, to love unselfishly, without expectation or preference and prejudice, to give oneself to the Divine and His creation in a sublime love that seeks nothing in return is the way to turn emotions into a powerful instrument for progress.

Thus purified, refined, uplifted, they not only become instruments for the growth of consciousness but also give us the key to the doors of delight that we knowingly or unknowingly seek.

2024-11-21

Songs of the Soul: November 21, 2024

Mother Divine, Mother of Might and Bliss, Maa a great churning seems to be going on all over the world under the pressure of the New Consciousness. This is throwing up things hidden for long, things dark and ugly as well as bright and beautiful. New ideas are being cast into the arena of human mind even as some old and dated beliefs that once sat on the powerful throne of outdated religions seem to be making a last ditch attempt to tightly grip the human consciousness and keep it in its stranglehold of rules and beliefs through terror and force. Yet behind all this one can see Thy Luminous Smile that saves, the Smile that once sanctioned the throne, now toppling them over while watching the votaries of the old fret and fume over the corpse of the dead world.
It is like the image of Krishna, the child of the New Creation, dancing over Kaliya, the poisonous serpent hidden in the subconscient.

Maa all this is so confusing to those who are not aware of the Grace that has come and the change that has begun. But those who are blessed with faith or the vision granted by Thy Grace, all this is not only a necessary passage, the steps of the human ascension to the summits of Thy Light and vastness hastening the manifestation of the New World. Such is the faith Thou hast put into our heart and the vision Thou grantest to all who keep their faith steadfast, ready to endure everything for the sake of Thy New Manifestation.

May all grow in this faith and vision.

Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa

2024-11-21

Songs of the Soul: November 20, 2024

Supreme Reality, Eternal Truth, Mother Divine, the action of Truth uncovers all the bright and dark passages of our being bringing to the surface beautiful possibilities as well as dark undercurrents running behind and beneath the appearances. Ordinarily the ego keeps them out of our awareness or colours them. All these elements have to be recognised for what they are, removing the dross and the gloss, purified of the baser and crude mixtures, offered to Thee, discarded what needs to be discarded and integrated with the New Life what is ready to change and transform itself. It is a long and complex work. Most often we are not even aware of what lies below the neat surfaces of life. Therefore it is so difficult to understand and appreciate the action of Truth. That is what we see happening in the world at large as well as groups and individuals. What will pass through the crucible and bear the exacting process and what will simply dissolve away, go out of creation, unable to bear the pressure, is something to be seen. But through all this Thy hand of Love is felt holding us, moulding and transforming us. If only we could open the doors to Thy Grace, not shut it off through doubts and blind resistances, if only we consciously and gladly surrender to Thee, to Thy Love, then all will be so much smoother and easier.

Maa may all open to Thy Love with faith and shedding all doubt and diffidence take the leap towards the future.

Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa Maa

2024-11-20

Fundamentalism

It is often said that religion is the birthplace of fundamentalism.

This is true only if we limit our idea of religion to a set of fixed rituals and narrow dogmas, especially when we believe that our conception of God, our Scripture, our way of life is the only true way. It is this exclusivity that makes a fertile breeding ground for fundamentalism.

But this exclusivity is not the sole property of religions. A scientist vehemently denying God even without taking a serious quest, an ideologue believing his ideology to be the only one that can save mankind and the world, are equally prone to fundamentalism. It may not translate into violent actions that seek to eliminate the ‘non-believers’ but oppose them with loud voices trying to stifle what it does not believe in.

It is therefore not religion but narrowness and an intellectual shallowness, an inability to deeper into the very heart of things, an incapacity to search for higher and higher truths, an intolerance of all that has a different way of life and conception of Reality is the birthplace of fundamentalism.

But Religion, Science, Idealism all have a positive side in their search for a better state and condition of human living. If their different approaches can fuse in a common aspiration, then we may discover something of THAT Reality which exceeds both Science and Religion, is beyond ideas and idealism and yet is the secret Source of all.

2024-11-20

Can bioengineered products be bad for our health?

Q: Nowadays most farmers are cultivating rice, wheat and vegetables which are bioengineered. Is it bad for our health or not?

ALOKDA: Everything is corrupted and polluted today from the air we breathe to the food we eat and the people we meet. The mind in trying to correct one thing ends up disturbing another.

We can say therefore that all mental solutions are inadequate. Instead of worrying about the possible effects of different types of food we should focus on the discovery of the Divine within us and leave our health and life and destiny entirely in Her hands.

2024-11-20