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The Life and Sadhana of Mota Maharaj (Bhagat)
between caste-Hindus andAntyaja leaders and endorsed by
the British Government ended his
fast and saved his life. Earlieralso, for accepting an Antyajafamily as inmate of his Ashram,
he had faced banishment and hisAshram had come to the brink of
an empty chest owing to the
withdrawal of support by caste-Hindus. The Godsend rich
donation through a reformermillionaire had saved the
Ashram.)
His duties at the HarijanAshram at Navsari alone weredifficult enough. As Secretary
moreover he had to look after thefinances and management of the
Sangh's institutions. In addition anew problem faced him. The
Navsari Ashram, then under theIndian State of Baroda. The
Ashram was situated at a solitaryplace nearly a mile from the
town. Before Bhagat took charge,the Ashram was already used by
civil resisters as a very
convenient resort for their secretplans to fight the British
Government. Bhagat himself hadalready gone to jail and suffered
lathi blows. Civil resistersnaturally therefore had expected
all possible aid from the Ashramand from Bhagat, for companion-
in-arms.But Harijan Sevak Sangh,
with its branch Harijan Ashram
at Navsari, was avowedly andstrictly an institution devoted
solely to the social service ofHarijans. The C.I.D. (Central
Investigation Department, Police)had begun to suspect that theNavsari Harijan Ashram had
become a centre of Anti-Britishactivities. Bhagat saw that the
Harijan Ashram and the Harijan
Sevak Sangh had got to be savedfrom the possible heavy hand of
the Baroda State under pressurefrom the paramount British
power.He had therefore to take a firm
stand against his own men, hispolitical co-workers. For this
courageous insistence he incurredtheir displeasure, but cleared the
air of the Ashram.
B a l i y o gDarshan of the Guru
This entire disturbance had its
inevitable effect upon his mind.He was ill at ease and feeling thathe was steadily but surely losing
ground, declining from the highspiritual state he had come to. And
that consciousness only intensifiedhis agony. It seemed to him
impossible to remove himself from
the network into which he sawhimself caught. During this period
of his dilemma, when Bhagat wasa teacher in a Harijan boys' school
in Nadiad, he took all his students
to the bank of the Shedhi Riverthree miles away. The boys
indulged in fun and frolic and hehimself plunged into the depths of
prayer and sadhana. With the verywilling approval of the Harijan
boys of the Navsari Ashram, theydecided to spend a night on the
lonely bank of River Supra, a fewmiles away. Equipped with their
kits, including food, in a hand-
cart, they started for a quiet placeon the sands of the river. It was a
lovely trip. They indulged freelyin jokes and chats. At their
destination, the boys collectedwooden sticks scattered
thereabouts and lighted a cheerfulfire.
The younger boys kept thenight watch until about 10:30 p.m.
Then the older boys took their turn
for the purpose. Bhagat kept thevigil all along, of course with his
continuous silent chant. Aftermidnight the climax was reached
in the entrancing beauty of theenvironment. The stars in theheavens above shone brilliantly.
The river, as it flowed, sang a
melodious song. The soft touch ofthe gentle breeze quieted the
mind. The sight, the sound, the
touch together played the part of alullaby (song to put child tosleep). Nature had gone into
something like a samadhi. Thathad its overpowering effect on
Bhagat, but in a way differentfrom the usual somnolence or
sleep it produces. His silent chantof 'Hari Om' on the background of
his mind affected by the
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The Life and Sadhana of Mota Maharaj (Bhagat)superb scene completely subdued
all ripples of disturbing thoughtor sensation and he fell into a
state of samadhi, wherein there
was full Self-centred but no out-going consciousness.
And then it happened. 'Is this
a dream?' he wondered. Is it aprojection of my unconscious
mind?' 'Auto - suggestion?' 'An
apparition?' 'What is it?' Heasked himself, for he saw some-thing in his wide-awake state,
which his mind could hardly be-lieve to be true. It was the three
dimensional form of his deceasedGuru, Balayogiji, who had given
up the ghost years before! The
vision startled him at first. Thenhe bowed down to him with deep
reverence and love. At that verymoment came the loud unbraid-
ing voice of that form, "Youfool ! I am here in perfect, tangi-
ble reality, in flesh and blood. Ihave come to animate you. Take
it from me that though your pre-sent circumstances appear to be
harmful to you, they are deliber-
ately brought about by God to es-tablish in your heart firmly and
intensely, your urge for self-realization. God deigns to shower
his grace and take charge of avery sincere sadhak who pines
for union with him. He himselflooks after both his yoga and
khsehma (spiritual and materialwelfare.)"
"Be at ease and rest assured
that God himself is going to lookafter all your affairs in order tofacilitate your sadhana."
Since you might feel a strongaversion toward the abuse he had
hurled at me, I will not repeat ithere. And then came his depart-
Sathya Sai Baba
Namasmarana A
Universal SadhanaBy Sathya Sai Baba, a quotefrom his little but very impor-
tant booklet entitled
Namasmarana . It can be pur-chased from the Sri Sathya Sai
Baba Book & Information Cen-tre, 290 Merton St., Toronto,
ON. M4S 1A9. Satsangs(chanting) are held at the center
on Thursday nights and Sundaymornings.
1. Hindus, Muslims and Chris-tians may differ in some reli-
gious customs but they are all
one in the glorification of theName of God. All of them ask
their followers to recite thename of the One Lord, thoughthe manner in which the Name
is recited varies from religion toreligion. Each one remembers,
respects and recites the name as
formed in his own tongue. Eachone turns the rosary according
to the direction of his own relig-ion. All the same, for everyone
there is nothing so fruitful, souniversal, so holy among spiri-
tual disciplines as this sadhanaof Namasmarana, Japa or Dhy-
ana.
Take a memorable quote fromthis article (a pull quote) to pique
your reader's interest.
ing admonition: "If even after allI have said, you persist in doubt-
ing my presence, let me tell youas surely as I have resurrected
myself before you, a dead bodylies here." Then he drew a circle
in the sand and disappeared.It was but natural. The whole
thing had occurred in a flash and
was too fantastic to be acceptableat once. And yet he was fully
awake when he saw the form andheard the words of his late Guru!
Fortunately the Guru had left acue to resolve his doubt. He
woke up two or three bigger boysand asked them if they could see
with their lamps any circle drawnon the sand. They found it. Then
he asked them to dig out the por-
tion within. After going about 4feet deep they came to a shallow
pool of water. But still no corpse!He asked them to continue. They
dug deeper and low and behold,there it was - a dove with its dead
body dry in water like a lotus-leaf ! All the doubts of Bhagat
were set completely at rest.
Pure Love For KrsnaAn excerpt from
Chant And Be Happy by
A.C. Bhaktivedanta.
Pure love for Krsna is eternallyestablished in the heart of living
entities. It is not something to begained from another source.
When the heart is purified by
hearing and chanting, the livingentity is awakened.
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T i m e i n S i l e n c e a n d S o l i t u d e i n I n d i aof town. It was isolated andquiet. The property beside the
Ashram and the Maun room was
a Bamboo grove which mademusic when the wind blew. Noone lived there. Now in 1997
population growth had made its
impact. The ashram wassurrounded by homes, mostly
poor makeshift huts. These hutswere built right on the edges of
the ashram property, right upagainst the fence. The Bamboo
grove was gone and one yard
from the Maun room there werefamilies living in these simpleshelters. Time changes
everything, and I had been away
a long time.The Maun Room in
Kumbakonam had not been usedin many years and it was made
ready for me. I was very gratefulto Hasmukhlal and Hari Mehta
because all the other Maun
rooms on Gujarat were bookedfor the next two years. If I was toreturn to India I felt that I had to
go into the Maun Rooms again.Through the grace of Mota,
Hasmukhlal and Hari madeeverything possible. Hari Om.
The Ashram had changed.The Mehtas were living there
now. The property had berenovated and the entire property
had been significantly improved.It was beautiful to see. The treeswere all twice the size as they
were on my first visit. From theoutside the Maun room looked
the same. The fence on the oneside with poor people living
against it was the mostnoticeable difference.
The Maun room itself had
changed! A four feet by four feetalter to Ganesh was built into the
room on one side. The room was
quite small to begin with so thisstatue was very imposing.
Looking one way in the room itwas a temple to Ganesh. Looking
the other way it was a simpleMaun Room. At first I was
unpleasantly shocked byGaneshs presence, but this room
was my spiritual home, and itwouldnt make a difference to
my chanting Hari Om when I
was in it. So I accepted Ganeshas my companion in Maun.
Once in Maun I realized aspecial meaning in Ganeshs
presence. Years before when Ihad my vision in Maun room, It
came as a blast of lightning in adark thunderstorm. The lightning
seemed to hit the room and blastopen the wall, and then it struck
me. I expected that I was dead,
but after a few moments I beganto wonder what had happened.
As I wondered, I seemed totravel in my consciousness out to
the source of that lightning.When I arrived there I lostmyself and had a special cosmic
vision of the nature of the
Universe. I probably remained ina super-conscious state for
several days, and I question if I
ever really returned to what waspreviously normalconsciousness. It was this vision
of light and of the meaning oflife that led me out of the Maun
room and back to Canada.The statue of Ganesh was too
large to simply put in the room.Part of the wall had to be torn
down so that it could be
My Return To Maun Room
After 28 Years ..................
Robin ArmstrongOn September 1 to 8, 1997, I
returned to India and spent oneweek in the Maun Room at
Kumbakonam. My early
experiences in Maun Room in1968 and 1969 were the mostvaluable experiences in my life.
They have always stayed withme. It was, however very
convenient to have them in apocket of my memory, as
something I had done years ago.It was safe to refer to. What hadhappened could not be changed!
I could talk about it with beingchallenged.
Returning to the Maun Roomforced me to bring the past to the
present. No longer was thissomething that I did. It became
something I had to do in thepresent. It was no longer safe.
Everything could change in amoment.
Irregardless of how much
time one spends in Maun Room,each day presents its own
challenges and tribulations. It isnever easy! One has to do anaudit of ones reality. Hari Om.
Who am I? and where is God?
Hari Om.The ashram and the Maun
Room at Kumbakonam hadchanged dramatically since I had
been there. It did not matter tome because this was home. I was
born in this room. This spacewith concrete walls was my
spiritual Mother! Mother hadchanged over time!
The ashram in 1968 was on
the Cauvery River on the outside
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T i m e i n S i l e n c e a n d S o l i t u d e i n I n d i aneighbours awake! Then in the
daytime hours, I had to dealwith the noises of their domestic
household activities, whichfortunately were reasonable.This forced me to chant silentlyinstead of openly. A third
formidable challenge was thepresence of a television on the
ashram. Electronic vibrationsare a disturbance to sadhana.
Yes even electronic bhajans are
at times a disturbance for me.Someone singing bhajans live
would not have been so soul-less. These challenges created in
me a stronger need to chantwithin and hold to my inner
silence. In their own way eachproblem was a blessing, helping
me to increase my intensity.Fortunately, thanks to the grace
of Mota, and the love of
Hasmukbhai and Harieverything else ran smoothly
and made my fifth time in MaunRoom a meaningful and
successful venture.It must be understood that
this Maun Room had not been
used in many years, but it had
been maintained as a temple.The functioning of a Maun
Room would therefore be more
difficult and not as automatic asthe regularly used
rooms in Gujarat. I am sograteful that this, my specialroom where I have spent over
fifteen months of my life, wasmade available for me after my
being away for such a long
time. Hari Om, Mota Hari Om.My comments are not meant as
critical statements but to explainthe nature of my challenges in
Maun. In coming out of MaunRoom, everyone was really
loving and considerate, but I
had difficulty in being aroundthe television. Fortunately itwas not always on, and I could
usually go down to the river andchant.
One of the most wonderfulthings about my trip to India
this time was that I found out
about the people on the outsideof the Maun rooms and they
helped me to find out some
information about the life andperson of Mota. I have only metMota a few times but I have felt
his inner guidance for years. Idid not have any of his literature
to read as it was all in Gujarati.Now I have been blessed with
material about and writings by
Mota which have beentranslated into English. I have
found a new relationship to
Mota and his ideas. Hopefullymore of Motas works will be
translated into English.On leaving the Maun Room,
I was renewed again. The Maun
experience was once again inthe present and not comfortably
resting in my memories. I havedaily kept up my chanting over
the years, along withmeditation, and my reading of
the Bhagavad Gita, andPatanjalis Yoga Sutras. But
now I had renewed my contactswith the devotees of Mota who
have affected my life so
positively, and I have some ofMotas books to study. Hari
Om.
pushed into the room. The part
of the wall that was torn downwas the very same part that in
my vision almost thirty yearsbefore, was hit by the divine
stroke of lightning. Behind thestatue of Ganesh was a white
sun with the word OM in the
centre of it. The very placewhere that white sun was on the
wall, was where the lightningflash of my illumination had
struck. And it had an OM rightin the middle of it. To me this
had significant repercussionand was far more than
coincidence. As I chanted in theMaun Room I felt that I had
witnessed the birth of a God
over time. Where the vision ofmy life was, there now sits a
stone image of Ganesh. Fromhere on I enjoyed thoroughlythe company of Ganesh in
Maun. During my week in
Maun the statue of Ganeshchanged its appearance several
times. As I walked around theroom chanting Hari Om, the
statue of Ganesh kept changinginto the image of Sathya Sai
Baba. This happened repeatedlythrough the first three days of
my stay in Maun.The first challenge of my
week in Maun was overcome
by my acceptance of Ganesh'spresence. The second
challenge, and a much moredifficult one was the close
proximity of the poor familiesat the side of the Maun room.
I could not in all consciousnesschant loudly through the night
or early morning hours as I wasaware of it keeping the
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My Time in the Dark
Room, by Bina Desai
(Translated from the
G u j a r a t i m a g a z i n e Haribhav Sept. 2001)
The experiment of the DarkRoom created by Pujya Shree
Mota is unique in the wholeworld. In the dark room, one
problem that arises is due tothe perspirations and dirtiness
inside body that comes outand we are challenged to keep
chanting whole time. We canfeel good also. If we have
some diseases, we usually go
to doctor but here inside thedark room, Pujya Mota
removes diseases of our bodyas well as our mind. I hope to
come here thrice a year. HerePujya Shree gives us thepower to stay inside.
I appreciate the treatment
given to me by Hari OmAshram while in the dark
room. The work is done by
volunteers. It is also verycheap, 5 Indian rupees per dayfor pure and vegetarian
lodging. They are very politeand speak softly.
My Time in the Dark Room,
by Jagjivanbhai Tailor
(Translated from the Gujarati
magazine Haribhav Sept.2001)
After waiting for one year I got
my turn to sit in a dark room inthe Surat Ashram. I got a letterfrom them but I had fever and I
couldnt take food. My wife
told me not to go and she cried.But I collected strength and
went for my turn anyway. I feltsome problems first but after
that I felt happiness and peace.I started swinging* with
chanting of Hari Om. I felt the presence of Pujya Mota all
time. At present most saintscollect money from society and
build temples, but Pujya Motacollects money and builds
rooms for schools in small
isolated villages.
Comments about Solitude(Maun) Room on May 28,
1968, by Robin Armstrong( after 98 days aloneFeb.20,1968 to May 28,1968)
HARI OM
Many volumes could bewritten andstill nothing would be said.Silence and solitude must beexperienced.How can it be expressed?The Lord placed me in maunroom.The Lord has sustained me.Three and a half months ofchanting Hari Omhave passed with lightningspeed.The Lords grace is alwaysupon eachand every one of us.
HARI OM
T i m e i n S i l e n c e a n d S o l i t u d e i n I n d i a
C h a n t i n g H a r i O m i n S u r a t , G u j a r a t
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The State of BeingBy Mota Maharaj,
(translated by Pratapbhai
Upadhyaya, edited by RobinArmstrong)
HARI OM
17. By His repeated touch, Hedoes his work;
Being does its work by oftenmaking inroads.
18. It is not certain that Being,
though awakened and active,flows uniformly everywhere.
19. As Being flows on and
makes its way deep down,
It meets with halts and hurdleson the way;
20. By nature Being knows not
to halt,only, some instruments act as a
hurdle.
21. However, by the constanttouch of Being,
It plays its part invariably.
22. When the practice of
sadhana gets going in the heart,And when it goes on
continuously,Being oozes grace;
23. One who, at all times, hasthe thoughts and contemplation
of Being,
experiences the feeling of Beingin the heart.
24. One who but once tastes the
feeling of Being at heartis pulled by its attraction, deep
into the state of Being.
25. Thoughts, propencities orany other feelings
Do not prevail in the state of
Being.
26. The state of Being is notstatic in life.
The action of the state of Beingis definitely
to put one in touch withconsciousness.
27. When the state of Being
becomes profoundly continuous
in the higher plane,It begins to spread deep downinto the very depth of crevices.
28. The proper background andproper qualification
for coming in touch with thebeing
Comes forth through the practice
of remainingin the continuous feeling ofbeing.
29. When the heart swells with
joy through such practice,The State of Being emerges
when the deep concentration is
There.
30. Such an innate State ofBeing may not emerge in the
heart by itself.One must practice intensely as
though intoxicated.
31. In the heart of such a onesprings forth the State of Being
- Bhava.
32. He who is continuously
pervaded by the feeling of Beingin life,
can be fully carefree about hisactions.
33. He need not ever plan for his
actions.His actions follow his intuitive
inspiration,
Such is the impact of the Being,the inner Master.
34. The awareness of proper andimproper grows spontaneously.
35. He recognises his original
self in the heart
The State of Beingis the total reflection of soul.
The S ta te o f Be ing , By Mota Mahara j
M o t a M a h a r a j
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S w a m i S i v a n a n d a
Benefits of JapaExcerpts for Japa Yoga bySwami Sivananda
Japa checks the force of the
thought-current moving towardsobjects. It forces the mind to
move towards God, towards theattainment of eternal bliss. It
eventually helps to have Darsanaof God. The Mantra Chaitanya is
hidden in every Mantra. Wheverthe Sadhaka or spiritual aspirant
shows lack of vigour in his Sad-
hana the Mantra-Sakti or powerof the Mantra reinforces the Sad-
hana-Sakti of the Sadhaka. Con-stant and prolonged repetition for
some months cuts new groovesin the mind and the brain.
During Japa all the divinequalities steadily flow into your
mind from the Lord just as oilflows from one vessel to another
vessel. Japa transforms the nature
of the mind. It fills the mind withSattva.
Japa changes the mental sub-
stance from passion to purity,
from Rajas to Sattva. It calmsand strengthens the mind. It
makes the mind introspective. Itchecks the outgoing tendencies
of the mind. It eradicates allkinds of evil thoughts and incli-nations. It induces determinationand austerity. Eventually it leads
to the direct Darsana of God, theIsta Devata, or tutelary Deity, or
to God-realisation.
What Is Japa?An excerpt from The Wisdom of
Sri Chinmoy, by Sri Chinmoy.
There are many Sri Chinmoy
Centres around the world. In To-
ronto his devotees run a wonder-ful vegetarian restaurant named
Annapurna at 1085 Bathurst St.
(just south of Dupont).Japa is the repetition of a
mantra. If you want purity, thentoday repeat the name of God
five hundred times. Then every
day increase the number by onehundred. That is to say, tomor-
row you will repeat the name ofGod six hundred times, and the
day after, seven hundred. After
one week you will repeat thename of God twelve hundred
times. From that day start de-creasing the number daily by one
hundred until you again reachfive hundred. Continue this exer-cise, week by week, just for amonth. Whether you want to
change your name or not, theworld will give you a new name.
It will call you by the name Pu-rity. Your inner ear will make
you hear it. It will surpass your
fondest imagination.Let nothing perturb us. Let
our bodys impurity remind us ofour hearts spontaneous purity.
Let our finite thoughts remind usof our inner infinite will. Let our
minds teeming imperfections re-mind us of our souls limitless
perfection.The present-day world is full
of impurity. It seems that purity
is a currency from another world.It is hard to obtain this purity, but
once we get it, peace is ours, suc-cess is ours.
Let us face the world. Let ustake life as it comes. Our Inner
Pilot is constantly vigilant. Theundercurrents of our inner and
spiritual life will always flow onunnoticed, unobstructed, un-
afraid.
God may be unknown, butHe is not unknowable. Our
prayers and meditation lead us tothat unknown. who has to walk,and he does so. Neither the one
who is dragged not the one whodrags can be happy. Likewise,
God says, My divine children,
in your inner life, I give you in-spiration. It is you who have to
aspire with the purest heart toreach the golden beyond.
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Sri Ramana Maharshi
Reality In Forty VersesBy Ramana Maharshi, excerptsfrom The Collected Works of
Ramana Maharshi,edited by
Arthur Osborne. There is anexcellent website for Ramana
Ashram that includes manyphotos and all of Sri Ramanas
works. Visit them on line at
www.ramana-maharshi.orgInvocatorya. If there were not being could
there be any idea of being? Sincethat which is free from mental
concepts and is within oneself,who is there to contemplate it? It
is called the heart. Know that to
remain within oneself as being isto contemplate it.
b. Those who have great fear of
death seek refuge at the feet ofthe Supreme Lord who iswithout birth and death, in order
to overcome their fear. They thendie to themselves along with
their adjuncts (sense of I andmine). Will those who are
(have realized themselves to be)
deathless entertain again thethought of death?
The Text
1. Since we perceive the worldwe must agree unanimously
that there is a power which is
capable of becoming multiple.The picture of name and form,he who sees it, the cloth on
which it is based (painted) andthe light which illuminates it
are all oneself.
2. Every system of thought
postulates the threefundamentals; the individual,
God and world. Only the oneappears as the three. It is only
as long as there is an ego-sensethat one says that the three are
really three. The best thing is torenounce the ego-sense and
remain in ones true state.
3. The world is real, No, it is
a false appearance, The worldis sentient, No it is not, The
world is happiness, No it isnot. What is the use of such
disputes? That state is agreeableto all in which, ignoring the
world, one knows ones Self,abandoning both unity and
duality and the ego-sense isgone.
4. If one has a form the world
and God will also have forms.If one has no form who is there
to see their forms, and how?Can anything be seen without
the eye? The real eye is the Selfwhich is the eye of Infinity.
5. The body is of the form of
the five sheaths. Thereforethese five are included in the
term body. Is there a world in
the absence of the body? Hasanyone ever seen the world
without a body?
6. The world is of the form ofthe five (kinds of) sense-objects
and nothing else. These five
sense-objects are known by the
five sense organs. As the onemind knows the world by means
of the five sense organs, is therea world apart from the mind?
Answer me.
7. Although the world and
awareness of it rise and sink
together, the world is perceivedthrough awareness. That in
which the world and the
awareness of it rise and set is thePlenitude (purnam) which shineswithout rising (or setting).
8. Under whatever name and
form one worships That whichhas no name and form, it is only
a means of perceiving it. To
know the truth of ones Self asthe true reality, and merge and
become one with It is the onlytrue perception (realization).
Understand this.
9. The dyads and triads alwaysdepend upon the One. If one sees
within ones mind what that Oneis, they disappear. Only those
who have seen this have seen the
Truth. Know that they will neverbe perturbed.
10. There is no knowledge apartfrom ignorance and no ignorance
apart from knowledge. Who is itwho has this knowledge andignorance? That Knowledge
which knows the Self which is
the basis of both, is the realKnowledge.
11. Is it not ignorance to knowall else, without knowing the Self
Real i ty in For ty Verses by Sr i Ramana Maharsh i
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11. which is the source ofknowledge? Can it be
knowledge? When the Self,
which is the basis of knowledgeand the object of knowledge, is
known; ignorance and
knowledge cease to exist.
12. What is neither knowledgenor ignorance is (real)
knowledge. Knowledge of(objects) cannot be real
knowledge. The Self, whichshines without there being
anything else to know or beknown, is knowledge. Know that
it is not nothingness.
13. The Self, which isknowledge, is alone the truth.The knowledge of multiplicity is
ignorance. This ignorance,which is unreal, has no existence
apart from the Self, which isknowledge. Have diverse gold
ornaments any reality apart from
the gold of which they are made?
14. If the first person exists, thesecond and third persons will
also exist. If the reality of thefirst person is enquired into and
the first person ceases to exist,the second and third persons will
(also) cease to exist, and all willshine as One. This is ones true
nature.
15. The past and the future
depend upon the present. Theyare also present while they are
current. There is only thepresent. Without knowing this
truth, trying to know the past andthe future is like trying to count
without the unit (one).
16. When we look into them,
what are time and space apart
from us? If we are bodies we areinvolved in time and space, but
are we? We are the same now,then and at all times; here, there,
and everywhere. We exist; we
who are beyond time and spacealone are.
17. To those who have notrealized the Self as well as to
those who have, the body is I.To those who have not realized
the I is limited to the body. Tothose who have, within the body,
realized the Self; the I shinesboundless. Know that this is the
difference between them.
18. The world is real to those
who have realized (the Self) as
well as to those who have not. Tothose who have not realized, theworld is merely the world; to
those who have, truth is formlessand shines as the substratum of
the world. Know that this is thedifference between them.
19. The dispute as to whichprevails, fate or free will,
interests only those who do notknow the source of both. Those
who have realized the Self,which is the ground of fate and
free will, are free from them.Will they again resort to them?
20. Seeing God without seeingthe Self who sees, is only a
mental image. Only he who hasseen himself has seen God, since
he has lost his individuality andnothing remains but God.
21. If it be asked, What is themeaning of the old scripturaltexts which speak of seeing
oneself as seeing God? The
reply is how, being one, one cansee oneself? And if one cannot
see oneself how is one to see
God? Only by being swallowedup by God.
K i r p a l S i n g h
Naam: What It Is?Excerpt from Naam or Word,
by Kirpal Singh
Naam: What It Is?Excerpt from Naam or Word,
by Kirpal Singh (p.27)
All scriptures speak of
Naam but have not been able tosay adequately enough as towhat It is? It is impossible to
define and delineate It in so
many words. It may conven-iently be described as life-
impulse or consciousness-principle. When it begins to
vibrate, it produces tunefulsound, which is termed as
Naam or Shabd. This Sound-
current proceeding from thedeep Silence of the FormlessKutasth is responsible for all
forms and colours, visible and
invisible to the naked eyes. Alllife hangs on this life-principle.No life can exist without
Naam. The Sound-principle isall-pervading, though it may or
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may not be felt, yet it is rever-berating from top to toe. It is
the Kernel, and the Essence andat once both the material and
efficient Cause of the endlessuniverses in which this physical
earth is but a speck.O Pipa! This universal vi-
bration is the Primal Causeless
Cause,but can be apprehended
only through a Master-soul.In all religions, God is spo-
ken of as the Sound-manifest. It
is a current, live and consciousand has in It the germs of crea-
tion. It is spoken of as Life-
Principle. It is because of thislink between the Creator and
the creation, that the spirit orsoul of a person can cross over
the physical body and traversesthe spiritual regions to reach the
True Home of our Father TheSachkhand. From scriptures we
learn that Sound-principle orNaam is of two kinds: (1) the
outer and (2) the inner. The for-
mer comprises, words of mouthor words that may be spoken
out or written down and re-corded. This constitutes all
learning and knowledge at anintellectual level and is termed
as Apra-Vidya or knowledge ofthe world and worldly sur-
roundings. All worldly wisdomis included therein. It is also
calle Varn-Atmak, for with it
Atma or Soul can express itselfand functions in the world. All
book knowledge is because ofVaran-Atmak Shabd. Compre-
hension of world and wordlyrelations depends on this typeof Shabd which helps out-
wardly, i.e. in the physical
plane. It serves as the means of
conveying ideas and emotionsfrom man to man, just as
many other animals would do.Outer-Sound then serves as
the first step, in the study ofthe science of the spirit.
Theory precedes practice andthe Master-saint has to make
use of it, for explaining this
most abstruse subject. AgainJapa or Oral repetition of cer-
tain words or names of God isto be done by Varn-AtmakShabd. The preliminary train-
ing of the mind is the first es-sential on this Path and hence
the need for outer sound or
Shabd.Japa is of four kinds:
(1) Baikhri or oral one, per-formed by tongue.
(2) Madhma or one donementally at the seat of the
Shakti in the Kanth or throat.(3) Pashianti. This too is a
mental sadhan, but done at theseat of the heart.
(4) Para. It is also a mental
process but is performed withattention riveted at the seat of
the navel.All these types of japas do
give solace of varying degreesand one gets peace of mind of
a temporary nature becausethe various bodily ganglions
involved in them are of alower order, situated below
Shiv-Netra or the Third Eye.
Besides these, there isSimran or Japa of the inde-
scribable and hidden Sound-current that proceeds of itself
from the depths of the GreatSilence. It is technicallytermed Para-
Vidya (knowledge of the Be-
yond) or Dhun-Atmak
Shabd. In this type of Japa,one has just to listen to the allpervading Naam or Shabd. As
this Sound cannot be ex-
pressed in any symbolic form,it is expressionless. It may be
contacted above the sensoryplane, behind the center of the
two eye-brows. The true sig-nificance of Naam, the Creator
of various planes and divisionsof the endless universes may
be known by one who is anadept in the Surat-Shabd-Yoga
or has united his soul with theSound-principle.
He who performs Japa
with the tongue of thought,knows the true nature of the
Sound-current (Word orNaam). ..Malar M.1
No doubt Dhun-AtmakShabd is the very essence of
ones soul, but one cannot ap-prehend it without the help and
guidance of a Master-soul orAdept in the line, and without
Surat-Shabd Yoga, i.e. estab-
lishing a contact of the spirit orsoul with the essentially live-
principle (through a regularprocess of inversion or self-
analysis). One does not getlifes richest gift; for the spiritis engaged all the time in outer
pursuits by constant associa-
tion with the mind and thesenses, reveling in the enjoy-
ment of the world and worldly
objects. Emerson, the greatAmerican philosopher, speaksof inversion as tapping in-
side.Lord Jesus metaphorically
speaks of it: Knock and itshall be opened unto thee.
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UPCOMING MEDITATION
AND CHANTING EVENTS:
Monday Night, Jan. 28, 2002 at
7:00 pm: Full Moon Meditation
and Chanting of Hari Om. The
Full Moon brings a heightened
awareness of the pulls and attach-
ments of both past and present. It
is a potent time to secure our
sense of oneness with each other.
Group chanting and meditation at
the time of the Full Moon
strengthens spiritual and social
awareness. If one can avoid being
pulled out into the dualities in
life, then Full Moon chantinggenerates affirmations that will
carry you through to the next Full
Moon. This evening of chanting
and meditation will be held at
Alain Passenauds home, 517
Pape St. at the corner of Dingwall
(use the side entrance on Ding-
wall). Alains phone number is
416-465-5263. As usual there
will be chanting, reading from
spiritual texts, more chanting, andthen a pot luck vegetarian dinner.
Everyone is requested to bring
something for the meal, but if you
cannot do so, you are still wel-
come. There is no charge for the
evening.
Monday Night, Feb.11, 2002 at
7:00 pm: New Moon Meditation
and Chanting of Hari Om. New
Moons are the peak points of
subjective impressionability in the
month. Receptivity to core in-
sights and to God are accentuated.
Chanting on a New Moon will
give an extra vitality to your ef-
forts over the following month
until the next New Moon. A holy
environment and spiritual com-
panions are are great blessing.
ronto, just outside of Aurora. Her
address is 16527 Kennedy Rd.
(between Aurora Rd and Mullock
Drive). From Toronto drive North
on Hwy 404, East on Aurora Rd,
North on Kennedy, on the right
hand side. If you need transporta-
tion call Robin at 416-465-4113.
As usual there will be chanting,
reading from spiritual texts, more
Chanting, and then a pot luck
vegetarian dinner. Everyone is re-
quested to bring something for the
meal, but if you cannot do so, you
are still welcome. There is no
charge for the evening.
Wed. Night, Mar. 20, 2002 at7:00 pm: Spring Equinox Chant-
ing of Hari Om. The Spring Equi-
nox is a time when the forces of
light and darkness are momentar-
ily in balance. It occurs in the
midst of the most intense and
rapid changes of light into dark-
ness. Chanting at such a time pow-
erfully implants the name of God
into our life and it inspires actions
towards the light. We will chantHari Om for 3 hours without stop-
ping. This will build an intensity
that will stay with you throughout
the Spring. As light increases so
does activity. Let God drive and
direct the chariot of your life!
The location of this func-
tion is not yet determined. If you
are interested call Robin at (416)-
465-4113.
Any comments or questions, or
personal insights are welcome.
Please contribute as you are in-
spired. When there is enough in-
formation we will send out an-
other newsletter.
Hari Om
This meditation will be held at
Tanis Hargrave's home, on a
farm 40 minutes north of To-
ronto, just outside of Aurora.
Her address is 16527 Kennedy
Rd. (between Aurora Rd andMullock Drive). From Toronto
drive North on Hwy 404, East
on Aurora Rd, North on Ken-
nedy, on the right hand side. If
you need transportation call
Robin at 416-465-4113. As
usual there will be chanting,
reading from spiritual texts,
more Chanting, and then a pot
luck vegetarian dinner. Every-
one is requested to bring some-thing for the meal, but if you
cannot do so, you are still wel-
come. There is no charge for
the evening.
Wed. Night, Feb.27, 2002 at
7:00 pm: Full Moon Meditation
and Chanting of Hari Om.
This evening of chanting and
meditation will be held at Alain
Passenauds home, 517 PapeSt. at the corner of Dingwall
(use the side entrance on Ding-
wall). Alains phone number is
416-465-5263. As usual there
will be chanting, reading from
spiritual texts, more chanting,
and then a pot luck vegetarian
dinner. Everyone is requested
to bring something for the
meal, but if you cannot do so,
you are still welcome. There isno charge for the evening.
Wed. Night, Mar. 13, 2002 at
7:00 pm: New Moon Medita-
tion and Chanting of Hari Om.
This meditation will be held at
Tanis Hargrave's home, on a
farm 40 minutes north of To-