Divinity is a play and the Divine the way

The Great Master in stating that " Divinity is a play and Divine the way" in his message at Munich in 1980 was addressing the problem of the modern man in spiritual life in a way no Master has ever done till now.

What is Divine or God? We find in all cultures notions of gods, spirits and ancestors as supernatural agents, who are remarkably similar to humans. 'Where from these ideas originate?' is a question that has been the concern of students of Religion and more particularly Comparative religion and Life Scientists including Psychologists. More particularly we are not able to find any reason as to why they persist so strongly in the face of science that has over ruled the concept of original cause though they do not have any explanation more meaningful than this? The atheists or non believers are puzzled over this aspect.

It is felt that the new branch of Psychology called Evolutionary Psychology seems to hold some answer to this persistent problem. C. G. Jung the famous psychiatrist who is renowned for the original concept of collective unconscious, once said that although he could not prove the existence of God, as a psychiatrist he knew that the human mind was built to have an experience of God. In other words, just as our minds have "programs" that enable us to feel sadness, anger, and ecstasy, and to think creatively and learn a language, so too have we a program that can help us "read" life in a spiritual way. Even if we have not experienced this program personally, it is reasonable to assume that it exists, simply because so many sane and wise people, throughout time, have reported its benefits. The classical work of William James "Varieties of religious temperament" deserves mention in this regard. Providing that we can locate, download, and learn how to operate this program, it can give us a pretty amazing experience, an experience that many people call, among other names, Divine or God.

The greatest spiritual masters are those people who have accessed and mastered the most powerful applications of this program. We find that when they were asked about these really important questions of life and death, creation and evolution, they gave us a remarkably consistent set of answers, sometimes called the "cosmic game" or the "divine play". This view provides some fascinating, moving, and colorful answers to our most profound questions about why we are here, and what is the nature of reality.

Recently, these same basic conclusions have been rediscovered in a most surprising, and altogether modern context, confirming that the greatest spiritual truths exist in all of us, waiting only to be accessed. These findings were based on the leading researchers in the clinical use of LSD by Grof at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Grof has summarizing the clients' experiences, compared them to the perennial spiritual teachings, and presented them in a remarkable book called 'The Cosmic Game.' A brief summary of that may be, at the summit of a spiritual search they were faced with a direct experience of the ultimate, a kind of final destination. This experience gave them a feeling of immense satisfaction, as if they had discovered a clearing in the center of their soul, in which all things are embraced, and everything is profoundly at peace. From this perspective, beyond time and space, they felt that there are no limits or boundaries in the universe. Sometimes this is experienced as pure light, or pure mind, or pure possibility. They felt they were at Source and from the perspective of this Source, everything else appeared relative. What makes this study very interesting is that these clients were never exposed to any spiritual practice or even religious rigorous discipline.

The aspirants practicing PAM are aware that they have similar experience during meditation when we find the universe itself is only a part of the Infinity or a sub-division of the whole. Creation and ourselves as parts of creation are temporary assortments of this seamless whole, and so we are not really independent, separate things. In fact, we are not real but functional entities.

However this is not how we normally think of ourselves. In our normal state of consciousness, the world looks like it is composed of individual, finite, and separate beings and things. We know ourselves as a collection of feelings, thoughts and emotions that define us. We are a body with some feelings, some ideas of our past, and our imagined future. These things define our boundaries, that demarcates the line between what is "me" and what is "not-me". Almost everything we do is geared to preserving (and enhancing) those things that define us and not surprisingly we meet with failure in such attempts. The nature of Time is such.

But if we want to experience the divine Source, we can not do this as "we are", because we are just one bundle of boundaries, and the Source is limitless, eternal, and boundless. And this is why, if we are seeking the Source, we must ultimately empty our selves. We must erase our boundaries. Our sense of self must die, which is just another way of saying that we must discover that we are really 'Nothing' and what we think as self-entity is an illusion. What we thought we were is really just a set of limitations or borders. Tradition has its own language in saying this as the 'binds'. We are, in fact, the Source, pretending to be separate.

But why then are we trapped in this apparent world of time and space? Why do we believe our boundaries? Why does the Divine bother to create such an elaborate fantasy? The saints answered this by saying that "people need God and God needs people". More humorously Master said that otherwise God will die. It seems that being Eternal and Infinite can be a bit boring even for God. Or that even God can get lonely, and crave for a playmate. Thus God seems to have given birth to this world. Some felt that we are characters in a drama unaware of the drama we are in, unaware of the Director of the project. God is playing with us, and is playing through us, like a big hand with so many finger puppets.

In our secular world now where we are not bound by any philosophy or religious strictures, when spiritual aspiration takes even an elementary shape we find ourselves in a uniquely different situation than all our ancestors and elders. We seem to have a choice from a wide variety of paths each competing with the other and putting up its claims as the best. But the point to note is living in a secular context with no rules or tradition or philosophical and spiritual commandments we are really confused with the enormous problem of having to choose the best for ourselves. Further those who have ventured in to the field either on persuasion or 'let me try this' attitude for spiritual development seem to be more satisfied with the practical and direct experience of peace rather the really concerned with the basic spiritual doctrine that the method advocates and try to move towards the Source. This is the common experiences with many aspirants being satisfied with peace and calm that is felt during meditation and really enjoy their complacency. That explains the presence of so many systems. Further adding to this complexity the medical profession advises meditation as a relaxation means to control blood pressure etc., have promoted a mushroom growth of systems of meditation about which they have most of the time no direct knowledge and thus exposed a field which hitherto was essentially meant as a means for self realisation.

The Master in his message on 10th Oct. 1981 said "There is no question of separation. We are coming closer and closer. This is my message to all." Thereby indicating that the different traditions shall meet and a global awareness of the Reality is very much round the corner. This he reaffirmed in his perhaps the last message in August 1982 when he stated that "We are united in the common cause keeping towards proper order the good of man and humanity." He also warned in the same message by saying that "Co-operation is the life of the coming events also but if they are wavering they will be wasting power."

The Master was categorical in stating that there is only one path and that one is perpendicular towards Him or base or origin. It is the Divine way that attracts the people or aspirants to move out of the Ocean (obviously referring to the Ocean of Samsara) that is foaming and disturbing. The world where the 'sara' or essence of the 'Sam' or balance not being understood every one seeks a way out and moves into the path of Divinity so that he can clear himself of the problems of the life and perhaps life itself. Life which is a manifestation of the Divine may also be called divinity. This divinity has been understood by many mystics and saints as the play of the Divine or Lila. Unless the Divine breathes its real essence into the aspirant he will not find a way out of the problems of the Divinity or Leela or maya of God. Here we find the Master becoming mystical in his expression "..the master to breathe in the Real Essence." What a profound way of stating the nature of Pranahuti?

We find the Master echoing the statement of Lord Krishna "Daivi hyesa gunamayee, mama maya duratyaya, mam eva ye prapadyante, mayam etaam taranti te." (BG. VII-14) meaning 'This divine maya of Mine, consisting of the modes (three gunas) is hard to overcome. But those who take refuge in Me alone cross beyond it.' We the disciples of the great Master Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj are able to feel the 'nothingness' of our being and also experience our nominal identity.

But identity is not always the poise of the spirit. Unity pervades and manifests multiplicity and gives meaning to them as such: this is our initial Viveka experienced in the first knot in the path towards Infinity. We find that multiplicity and difference reveal the richness of the unity and identity. Both these are faces of mysticism or our direct awareness and we have no particular logic to defend this position. Our Surrender and consequent mystic awareness reveals to us that the Divine must be embraced or sought after not from any one part of our being or portion of experience but by all the parts of ones' being, the physical, mental, and vital and supramental. So long as any portion of the organic existence is left untouched by or unopened to the influx of the divine we find that there is conflict and disturbance. I personally feel that the disturbed states of mind the aspirants have during meditation when they are absorbed due to the effect of Pranahuti is essentially due to this non yielding to the Divine will in a particular plane of consciousness. Dr. K.C.Varadachari has stated that we are very loquacious about our surrender while in fact it is very conditional to the grant of our petty petitions to the Divine. These aspects are what I tried to present in the book "The Five Kosas Role in Sadhana under Pranahuti aided Meditation."

Being can only be experienced as personal and the Ultimate is experienced as the 'Personal More' as Tagore put it. Every one of the Advents narrated in the Indian puranas is a significant transcendence over the animal and the human, a new step in the History of Spirit -the play or Leela of the Divine. It is through these acts of loving kindness or Leela of the Divine we catch a chord and move towards the Divine. It is special expression of the Divine in the form of Advent or Special Personality that saves us from the Ocean of froth and foam. The need for a Master who can either be this or the one who can put us in the 'right channel' is unquestionably the greatest need in spirituality. To get such a Master and accepting Him as such would mean that we have completed our journey to the Homeland 99 percent. Master in this message makes a categorical assertion that "The problem cannot be solved without taking the Real and the Essence from the Master. I have not come across any such person except my Master who was my all and All. I think I am not mistaken because I put all things in the right channel."

When we understand the sublime truths of our Nothingness imperienced during our sadhana and understand that we have found our Master (Divine) who grants That we can say we have understood his Divinity. When we realize our self as completely empty and devoid of all form or shape or name we know, we seem to be wise and know what Divinity is. When we are aware of our Master as Personality incarnate and a way to our Base we seem to know the Divine showing us the path out of Divinity through the Divinity.

Divinity appears to be showing two different aspects of the path of spirituality or spiritual living. We have observed earlier that there appears to be 'program' in us seeking to know our source. Therefore spirituality may be defined 'as an innate human need to connect with something larger than ourselves.' It is safe to say that this larger than ourselves to be larger than our ego or self or imagined sense of self.

Sri Krishna said that at the beginning of time he declared two paths for the pure heart; jnana yoga, the contemplative path of spiritual wisdom, and karma yoga, the active path of selfless service.(Bhagavad Gita 3:1-3) Further the available material in the history of religions and mysticism makes us understand that there are two dimensions to this spirituality: the vertical and the horizontal. This is a modern way of putting the things that the Lord Krishna said 5000 years ago.

1.The vertical component may be stated as something that reaches its pinnacle in what is called sacred, divine, higher power, ultimate consciousness and the safaris in the path seek if necessary the help of the divine. This is purely an individual oriented or self centric approach. Hinduism was accused by many western scholars because of its exclusive concern to get out of samsara not minding what the repercussions in the family or society may be. Of course this is due to their thinking that Mayavada Advaita and Yogic traditions particularly the Jnana Yoga to be everything of Hinduism. The passive social attitude and an exclusive obsession with what is called spiritual progress has made us ignore even the foreign invasions and accepted everything as a divine decree. Pessimism was an alternative word used for Hinduism by majority of the western scholars.

2. The horizontal component is service to all beings, expressing compassion, sacrifice, empathy love and care to all that is. The greatness of Lord Buddha is in his stressing the need for the expression of these divine qualities or virtues and suggesting that they aid in the progress in spiritual life. Non violence, no greed and no usurpation are all the virtues that were taught by him first. Humility and forbearance were asked to be developed.

Master has stated there are many methods and they may be correct and it is for us to choose the correct one in the real sense. He has stated that the correct process is "the process which may put you in the undisturbed state. Vibrations should become all divine..." (Showers of Divine Grace p.26).

The system of yoga that is given to us by the Great Master takes both the vertical and horizontal aspects of spiritual life. As a matter of detail I may say that the vertical aspiration to reach the Ultimate is intertwined with the commandments of behaviour which is conducive to the spiritual vertical development. That is why we find the path zigzag and not straight or horizontal. The Divine way given to us by the Master is a beautiful and integral combination of both the dimensions of spiritual life.

The goal of the cosmic game is for us to discover, in a way that satisfies our own particular taste, that we are an aspect of the divine. This is the moment when we discover the God-program buried in us. In the search for this program, we have been challenged to let go of what we thought we were. Master says that "when heaviness is gone, then only the thing behind the scene opens to the mind. If any of the methods brings about desired result it is genuine, right and natural." (Ibid 26.) But even then, there will still be enough of 'us' left to enjoy the illusion of our life. What happens really is that we are no longer the same person we were. We are also divine, but having a once-in-eternity illusory experience of being separate. This type of feeling is what we have near about the Central region though in a sense this happens right from the beginning of Brahmand where we feel 'Aham Brahmasmi' and later 'so ham'. Several persons have spent large number of years meditating 'ham sa' hoping that one day it grants by inversion 'soham' experience. I do not knot much of that; but this much I am aware that due to the Pranahuti this experience is what I have felt and many other co travelers in the path have also felt. It is here that we need the Master of the caliber of our Master to breath in the real essence through Pranahuti.

Non-duality is a general term that covers several schools of thought, which point to the single source before and beyond all temporal experiences and apparent diversity. While reading texts of our Master we find the affirmation that Self-realization has no promise other than to release us from our belief in a separate self or ego. The dropping away of the illusion simply reveals this as it is, often summed up in the phrase "Before enlightenment chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water." Or Master said the beginning and the end are the same.

But as Master puts it the journey does not end here. We find that although the game is over, the playing is still there. Because with this new awareness (that life is not quite so real) and with our new, relaxed oneness as both divine and identity, we can watch and play and live our life with no fear and judgment. We can live more lively. We can watch the birth of new life and new love. We can witness new technologies and new cultures and new disasters and new heroic responses to disasters. This is the stage when one real lives in Complete Ignorance, Child like Innocence and total indifference to the drama that is being played.

This is where our self will and the Divine will is in complete agreement. It is but proper we should know what Divine Will is, to understand more the Divine way.

The Divine Will which should not be confused with the word Fate has certain very profound qualities. Only when we are able to align with them do we really feel as Divine. This happens when we move into the realm of Prapanna and Prapanna Prabhu. As Master puts it, it is then we partake in divine work.

The qualities of Divine Will are some of the most powerful forces in the universe. These forces cannot be used by any one without actually being prepared for using them. In our system those who are stabilized in Brahmand mandal have such capacity. At no stage the individual aspirant in the path has any direct knowledge of the same in as much as the pind mind cannot grasp the same. Some arm chair philosophers think they can consciously draw the divine will and improve their quality of life. Such are asuric souls. It is true however such an alignment assists us in participating with Divine Plan and the higher purpose of our life.

When an evolved person aligns with Divine Will he feels that the quality of his vision (sensitivity) has improved. We find our depth of intuition has increased. We feel we are released from limitations, and our spirit liberated from the bonds and we find ourselves enabled to do creative work all at the behest of the Divine Master. As you we live in the consciousness of the Divine Will we become more conscious of our higher path and of those activities that fulfill the meaning of our life in this earth. As we live in the Divine Will more and more we become more conscious of the plan of humanity and its higher purpose, the Masters and Enlightened Ones, and the larger whole of which we are a part.

When we are well aligned with the Divine Will we get certain capacities that are put into action. We first of all become capable of being permitted to do Masters work that is the capacity to Transmit.

1. Transmitting the Divine Will is the initial way of participating with the divine work. These persons can receive and transmit Divine Will to any area of life as per the divine injunctions. It should be clear to us that the Divine Will is not about reaching a goal or fulfilling the need to achieve by sheer force or determination. Divine Will is a powerful force of pure spiritual energy that comes from the Master. It creates an enormous infusion of spiritual energy into our life that awakens new consciousness and realizations. As we work with Divine Will we are strengthening our personal will, setting our intention, and aligning with our individual will. Divine Will infuses our personality with new skills and more power to carry out our spiritual goals and purposes. Working in this way we can create profound and wonderful changes in our life.

2.Transcending: When our will is in total alignment with the Divine Will our understanding becomes whole and complete and we gain capacity to see the past, present, and future if need be and if such a knowledge is required for doing good to the person or object which is under study. The divine will then transcends the limits of the personality self which is encased in the world of form and name.

3. Transforming: When Divine Will is transmitting it transforms that which receives its transmission. Human progress out of its ego-centricity to the cosmic centricity is the result of such cooperative and collaborative effort.

4. Transfiguring: The individuals who are assisted through the divine will to grow and transform into real human beings are enabled to seek the Source and in the process develop a global perspective. The individual no more is personal but becomes the transpersonal. Divine Will accelerates our evolution.

Transmitting the energies of Divine Will can help accelerate our and other's evolution. This is however possible only when the transmitting person is connected through proper line of Order of Masters to the 'right channel' that is straight and near most to the Base or God. Without such a connection it can only be delusion or our imagination. Divine support by way of the Divine Will does come when we call upon it with an attitude of yielding and submissiveness even as a servant. This is clearly explained by the Master in his treatment of the subject "suggestion". This is the Divine way.

Aspiration on the other hand comes to us from personal will. Aspiration works from the earth plane upward. Aspiration when coupled with a feeling of dire need becomes strong enough, such as the aspiration for spiritual growth and enlightenment, or the dedication to serve humanity. These aspirations surely have the support of the Divine Will and one will be successful to the extent one is craving and aspiring. Divine Will works from the higher planes and travels downward, transforming every level of our being and all the energies it contacts. This is what Master meant when he stated that the higher centers take charge of the lower ones in Efficacy of Rajayoga.

It is a matter of experience that those who stumbled on the path of PAM seeking Pranahuti to fulfill their personal petty desires find the flow of the Divine energy into their system. That is the Divine will has apparently acceded to the prayer and desire of such persons also. But what is intriguing is Pranahuti (Divine Will) appears to supersede their personal desires. These persons inner self appears to see more for their life than their personality can even imagine. The change then reflects our soul's purpose and the divine plan for our life. Divine Will simply transforms into our will. This aspect of the Pranahuti where the Divine seems to stoop and enter into our being to transform it for It's' purposes is a unique grace of the Master that practicants of PAM feel. This is an aspect of the Divine way of the Master.

The play of the Divine is thrilling when we see that as we get fomented by the Divine Will or Pranahuti it becomes easier to see what we need to do, and energy comes with it to assist us in carrying out the actions that seem indicated. Many of the changes in our consciousness do not appear in concrete form and shape. These expansions of consciousness do not get recognized until months or years later. Once people expand into a new level of awareness, they usually do not remember what they were like before, and take the new consciousness for granted. This is because in advanced persons the Divine Will simply supersedes and becomes their will. The condition appears to be what have always been.

When we say that the Divine Will has become the personal will we do not mean that we are "taken over" by Divine Will, and that suddenly everything will work in our life without our needing to do anything. We live on a planet of free will or Karma Bhoomi, and we are learning how to choose those things that are for our higher good. We are the persons who must take action and carry out the inner directions that are emerging and Pranahuti and Divine Will is always there to assist us in the task that yields maximum good. But this requires that we learn the spiritual discipline of always yielding to the Divine Will.

Once this is done opportunities will come to us, new paths get opened up, and our consciousness continues to expand. Divine way then gently urges us to move in certain directions and make us more attracted to our higher good. Master says one may not be even aware of these changes and the work that one is doing.

Pranahuti in the Divine Way, enter into our life and assists us in transforming our life, linking our personal will with a great force that will add to our power to transform our life. Changes will occur in any area of our life where it is fomented because Divine Will transforms whatever it is transmitted to. However we seem to never know what those changes will be, when they will come, or what form they will appear in. Because of these only repeated sessions of Pranahuti is advised for the individuals in the path. The changes that do come about always bring us closer to the "Divine Blueprint" of our life and to our path of higher evolution.

Aligning with Divine Will ensures transformation of humanity. Most of humanity is not yet able to experience and align with Divine Will, for doing so requires a degree of sensitivity to subtle energies. When even a few people align with Divine Will and live their lives accordingly, these qualities of Divine Will can be known by many, and eventually by everyone. This has been the call of the Master to all his associates and this has been our aspiration too.

While all this is fine how does the Divine way affect us in our daily life? The great Master has given Ten Commandments for living the Divine life or the means to align ourselves with the Divinity. By following the commandments we are enabled to adhere to values of integrity, collaboration, and trust in our relationships with employees, customers, friends, relatives, bosses and the Divine. We believe that human beings are an integration of body, mind, emotion and spirit and that it is our essential nature to evolve and develop to higher levels of awareness and consciousness. Work provides a marvelous opportunity for us to practice our spiritual principles and to benefit from our contemplative practices in daily life. It also provides us an opportunity to grow and develop to our full potential.

The home and work place equally assist us in our Divine way that is we can live a life of contentment and, paradoxically with greater effectiveness.

That is why Master has said this system is for a grhasta (house holder). Contentment or Trpti is one of the important attributes of a spiritual person. Contentment is defined as "happiness with one's situation in life." A person is contented if they are "satisfied or showing satisfaction with things as they are what so ever they are. So contentment seems to involve having an accepting attitude toward whatever is occurring. A prerequisite for contentment appears to be a willingness to let things be: rather than trying to make them be different. It is a state of nonattachment to outcomes, having no expectations for how things "should be. This is essentially what yielding to the Divine Will would mean.

But our challenges are very many. Our lives are complex in that everything seems to involve an ever-changing balance between opposites: good and evil; pain and joy; health and sickness; and so on. We feel like a ball being batted by too many players. How do stop being the victim of this "back and forth" pressure? Contentment is the answer; and that is easy to say. But with the help of the yielding attitude to the Divine Will in all matters the attitude of just watching is possible. We have seen this with Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur. Why we are not able to like that is our Will is not aligned to the Divine Will to the extent His was. It is our duty to align our will with the Divine.

When we are not happy and contented we find there is at play one of the following two causes. One is that we are unhappy due to an ego-based expectation of how things should be...yet no one is truly being abused. In this case no action is required.

The second possibility is that we are discontented because we perceive harm is being done to ourselves or others and we feel we must set boundaries and fight against such a wrong. This is question I have heard many persons who feel they are righteous and correct in their stand point.

The Commandments of the Master have given sufficient clues to deal with the problems and it is the illusory Ego/Self that is the cause of discontentment. We should discern the source of our discontent. The experience of our Masters teaches that we should learn to listen deeply to inner wisdom which gives us the Divine Will in the matter and subordinate our will in its favour.

With all this if there were to be a case for conflict and action against some one or some purpose. How to be contented then? To my mind I find the answer in the great wisdom teaching, the Bhagavad-Gita that addresses exactly this situation. We can choose to be grateful to Life for bringing us this perfect opportunity to discern wisely and act from love. We can dedicate our action to the highest and best outcome for all concerned. What we cannot do is to walk away. Master says that it is not wrong to fight for just cause. However the point is, is it for personal good or universal good that we are taking up the swords.

Thus we take action when it is needed. We take it decisively. And then we let it go. We release the outcomes to the Universe.

And through this attitude of mind and heart we can remain content in the midst of all things. Content while doing. Content while not doing. Content in good times and in bad. We can strip away our attachments to what is unimportant. And we can act appropriately on what is important. We can feel the energies within us rise and fall. We can discern when to move and when to wait. We can act from Love and Inner Wisdom. And then we can let it be. And all the while we can smile.

How can we learn to hear this inner wisdom? We can develop this ability by dutifully aligning our will with that of the Divine Will. That is a stand point where the individual is totally null and it is only the Divine that has its way. That enables us to learn to live with "the serenity to accept the things we cannot change; the courage to change the things we can; and the wisdom to know the difference".

Albert Einstein said that ' Everything should be made as simple as possible--but not simpler." I only hope I have not made the message of the Master simpler and feel grateful for giving me the opportunity to express my feelings and ideas about my Masters method which is the Divine way and did endeavor to express what little I understood of Divinity.