1. We have been participating in the birthday celebrations of our beloved Master, Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur. We were sharing our understanding of the system in correct perspective.
2. One of the main contributions to the spiritual literature by the Great Master Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur is the delineation of various spiritual centres and sub-centres in the human frame in his book ‘Towards Infinity’. In this book he deals with essentially the nature of 13 spiritual centres or knots an aspirant has to travel through in spiritual enlivenment. In the book ‘Efficacy of Raja yoga’ he mentions three regions of consciousness called the heart region, mind region and central region. The ISRC tried to correlate the realms covered in these books. But before we consider the realms and the terms used therein it is necessary to fully appreciate the need for such a study.
3. Despite many feeling the need for a spiritual quest, it remains that materialistic reductionism is the dominant creed of our time. By materialistic reductionism, we mean models where it is taken for granted that a human being can be equated with his or her physical body: thought processes are the product of the brain, emotions can be manipulated through medication, psychological features are genetically determined. From this point of view, the triumphs of genetics could engender a wave of extreme materialistic reductionism, where even spiritual aspiration becomes gene-determined: soon we may read from the, newspapers that the gene for Samadhi is discovered!
4. The idea that consciousness may exist independently of the physical body is disputed from all sides, and is often ridiculed. It may be tolerated under the label of religious freedom, but virtually all branches of science are evolving in the opposite direction: explaining, or explaining away, our soul and Spirit. Indeed a few physicists have published best-selling books that present physics in spiritual terms. The fact is, when it comes to making decisions about new trends in the fields of scientific research, industrial and economic development, authorities make their decisions according to hard scientific evidence. With the advent of genetic engineering, virtual reality, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence, humanity is on the edge of a momentous metamorphosis. It is all happening very fast and if guided only by materialistic views, it could result in complete disaster. Soon, large-scale genetic manipulations will become as common as vaccinations.
5. As on date there is no researcher of repute examining the possibilities of whether any gene- therapy has any impact on the ability to tune into spiritual realms. Strange as it may sound I feel that someone must be working on a vaccine to make us not get affected by the virus called ‘spirituality’. We are not advocating a 'return to nature', or the discarding of technology. What we need is a holistic integration of science and spirituality, a science that investigates topics related to consciousness and subtle bodies, in particular instead of ignoring them. Since the energetic and spiritual effects of drugs or any form of technology are never tested or documented, anything could happen.
6. But even without a disaster scenario, if nothing were to counterbalance the formidable wave of materialism that is presently unfolding, we could well end up in a polarized world where genuine forms of spirituality become more and more marginalized. The problem is, nowadays something is considered scientific if it works on rats and if you can make statistics about it, all the more it is proved. This attitude can at best capture only the most superficial effects of spiritual experience, never its essence.
7. The emerging trend of global thinking and feeling which must necessarily be understood only in terms of types of human consciousness requires a scientific approach to study this phenomenon. An attempt at a systematic exploration of states of consciousness is sought to be made in ISRC. From the diaries of meditation and other reports including some discussions I had with about 150 persons regarding sadhana in PAM, l try to present the broad contours of spiritual awareness. The rather unstructured study of the massive data relating to subtle bodies, states of consciousness, spiritual beings and non-physical levels of reality the study yielded information of immense worth to the sadhakas.
8. Further what had emerged along the years of existence of ISRC is a method, through which it has become possible to take groups of beginners who had never done any work on themselves, and take them step by step to experience the different states of consciousness starting from the preliminary guided meditations using Pranahuti. It may kindly be noted that the study is not the product of one individual trying to share the personal vision but is the product of collective wisdom as reported by the sadhakas in their reports based on guided meditation, individual (one on one) sittings had from a qualified trainer, group meditations or satsanghs and also the experiences during the celebration of the Masters’ birthdays.
9. The study attempts to provide the key principles of categorizing several states of consciousness. The content of consciousness of any person relates to one or more of the five Kosas. However inapt the comparisons, the idea of the inner space in which the content of consciousness moves even as objects move in the outer landscape needs to be presented. Regular and repeated exposure to PAM may be compared to the manner in which we have learnt about the contours of a city. From the information we have gained from others in the path, at first we only know a few locations and routes from one area to another. Then, as we navigate through the city again and again, the general map becomes ingrained and sinks into our system. Over a period of time discernment increases and we know the city thoroughly. Later while driving through a street we will immediately and effortlessly notice a new shop, or a building that has been renovated.
10. Similarly categorizing consciousness means establishing references in our field of consciousness and systematically exploring different levels and states of consciousness. These may at first appear like altered states, but through repeated sessions of PAM become utterly familiar. It becomes as if we had always known them, not just because they are now completel understood and categorized, but also because we realize that these states have always been with us in what used to be the subconscious and unconscious background of our consciousness. In the process of purification this type of categorization helps in making the unconscious becomes conscious.
11. Though broadly we know these states of consciousness relate to the Kosas, when we want to categorize we require a methodology that is sufficiently pragmatic and scientific. But unlike other methods of scientific research where the scientist and his object are separate, in a study of states of consciousness the object and the subject are the same. The sadhaka is a scientist in spiritual realm and his bodies - physical, astral and subtle - are the lab. Knowledge arrived at through spiritual states of consciousness is always self-knowledge obtained through a harmonious marriage of intuition and critical discriminative intellect. When we attempt at exploring the content of our consciousness we have difficulties arising from the use of words to denote such states of consciousness. This is because the words condition or dictate the world we live in. Dr. K.C.V stated that “The linguistic habits have become perverse. So, to start proper knowledge for expressing high spiritual knowledge we must develop a new kind of terminology." (Ref: Vol 1 - pg 163).
12. In a particular tribal society according to an anthropological experiment, there is no word called a ‘Square1. We may note that in Nature ‘Square’ is not a dominant shape. The interesting fact which got revealed in a study was when the tribals were shown a video of a revolving window frame, the subjects of the study did not perceive a rectangular object rotating in space. They only saw lines that moved. Having no concept of square, they did not identify the shape. Of course this is a general principle that without naming or giving a term or word to any structure or object we cannot express candidly. This is the reason for form and name going together- in fact these are the basic bondages in any existence. Similarly without a term to identify a structure in their subtle bodies or a particular state of consciousness, people tend to miss the corresponding experience. Even when the structure is in their immediate field of perception, they do not discern it. On the other hand, as frequently observed in the reports of sadhakas of PAM we see that the moment they learn a word applicable to a state of consciousness they found no difficulty in identifying the state.
13. Thus we see the crucial importance of words for studying the states of consciousness. The Game of Life provided by Imperience, in fact maps the states of consciousness and many aspirants have gained much internal depth of understanding of the levels and states of consciousness from the lowest to the highest. Many consider that they are not sensitive enough to record their experience of different levels and states of consciousness. Describing experiences requires many concepts that are not part of the common repertoire of modern languages. This means that there is need for introducing new terms, to describe things for which there are presently no words in English. Every science has its jargon and it is so with spirituality too.
14. It is essential to clearly understand that words have power. If we do not have words, we cannot identify states of consciousness. And if our words are vague, so will be our experiences. It is the terminology that gives us the power to discern and express our feelings and thoughts and states of consciousness. The words aid us in having a vision of the internal conditions of consciousness. Almost all the sadhakas often have a shy and uncertain attitude to their own experiences of consciousness. When they attempt to describe them, it is as if they were not too sure whether it all really happened or whether they dreamt it. Experiences they consider are not a part of the real world. Slowly the assiduous aspirants by a constant study of the books of the Master and the literature of ISRC learn to adopt the language fit to express spiritual states of consciousness. Usage of words like Ajapa, Anahata, Aksi, Kasbi, Pind desh, Brahmand consciousness, Prapanna condition etc becomes easy with more and more of practice of meditation in this system.
15. It is to be noted that these terms throw out an opportunity for realizing the condition expressed by the word or words. They provide an opportunity to expand our universe and discover new modalities of being and enable us to mould our living compatible with the goal of life we have chosen. But just as there are terms that clarify, so there are terms that can create confusion. Words that cover too wide a range of experiential modalities, for example: the two adjacent knots 1.a. and 1.b. relating to Viveka and Vairagya. If we use the term knot 1 to mean both it is obvious it does not help us discerning the specific characteristics of each of them. There are words that unite and the words that divide. Pind desh and Brahmand are dividing words while Brahmanda and Parabrahmanda are words that unite. These words are also used in Hindu religious texts but the meanings are entirely different. The aspirants should never confuse these terms with that of religion. In Indian yoga systems also we do not find the usage of these terms that common.
16. However we should consider the possibility of far-reaching consequences of a situation where spiritual groups would each become locked in a terminology of their own. If there is one thing that is supposed to unite human beings, not divide them, it is spiritual work. It does not however mean that we are supposed to agree with everyone. There are topics on which different systems hold different views, and where it is therefore impossible to use the same words. Still, this leaves scope for establishing wide common ground by ensuring a common terminology for all topics on which there is agreement. It is suggested that those who practice this system seriously may like to share thoughts to ‘Imperience’ and ISRC leads the circle of studies in this regard sooner. May Master grant us the courage and confidence to undertake this type of spiritual work.
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