(IMG) Rainbow Dawn
Yoga Lessons For Developing Spiritual Consciousness by Swami Mukerj
Book notes written in 2015. I appreciated the author's bold
optimism. The world is growing kinder by reason of this dawning
consciousness.
Chapter 1, The yogi conception of life
Life is a series of awakenings. Ideas dawn upon the mind from time
time, are caught up by brain and body and find physical expression
acts. It is quite necessary that we should pass through certain
experiences, that we rise from ideal to ideal.
There is a fire burning. Heap coals. The more coals, the brighter
and steadier the flame. All obstacles are really "coal" feeding th
"flame" of the spirit. They spur a man on. The vibrations of pain
are often blessings in disguise. They drive the lesson home.
Chapter 2, The ideal, and the practical
A man is what his ideals are. All muscular actions, whether mental
physical, are simply fragments from the ideal. The very fact of th
ideal being present in your mind foreshadows its fulfillment. Each
tree brings forth fruits of its kind. Our ideal is the hinge upon
which our future turns. We create our own fate.
The privacy of your own room, aye, of your own mind is the place wh
you must play the man.
Chapter 3, Read and reflect
Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. Our deeds are
accomplished best when we put heart in them. Diffusion of thoughts
leads to confusion of results. Reading conveys suggestions to the
brain and induces certain trains of thought. Now far greater press
is exerted if we think by ourselves. We should read only those boo
which yield us fresh strong thoughts, in a line with our own aims a
aspirations in life. Read for five minutes; think for ten.
Books contain thoughts. If these thoughts are clean, pure, uplifti
stimulating, and instructive in nature, we should pause upon them a
suck all the life out of them. Let a student read a sentence slowl
then try to grap the thought and think it over intently. One thoug
suggests other thoughts. Thus stretch the imagination in connectio
with that thought as far as possible, and drop it only when arrivin
at a clear-cut, distinct conclusion. Continue thus for fifteen
minutes. One will possibly feel quite tired at the end. As one
continues the practice of deliberate thinking, one will feel a new
assurance of power awakening in the mind.
Chapter 4, Man, animal and divine
God is love. Love is unselfish. It burns for everyone. It does n
come easily. Only when we have suffered much, thought much,-then a
then alone gleams of this Universal Love shine upon us. It is the
dawn of divinity-Spiritual Awakening. To serve others is a high
privilege. Therefore train yourself to serve others, if only one
soul. If you have a father, a mother, or someone else depending up
you, serve them with whole-hearted zeal. LIVE UP TO IT. If you
fail, rise again, and again and yet again.
Chapter 5, Double consciousness
The Higher Mind or the Active Intellect in each individual is a ray
from the Universal Mind and since that is the common source, all mi
are resolvable into One Mind.
Chapter 6, Spiritual unfoldment
Desire moves man more than aught else. All this unrest and discomf
is quite in the nature of things. Something more abiding, more
permanent, is wanted. This yearning after the Eternal makes us cal
halt upon the pursuit of blind passions...
The abolition of Fear places in the hands of man a weapon of defenc
and power which renders him almost invincible. Why do you not take
this gift which is so freely offered you? Let your watchwords be "
am;" "I am fearless and free."
Thus we see that Spiritual Unfoldment means a gradual stripping off
the dense and subtle sheaths in which man is clothed for the
manifestation of the spirit.
What is the Spirit? The spirit is the highest principle, the most
sublime attribute of Man. The spirit in man is a spark from the
Divine Flame. Man is not a finished product of nature. He is a
developing creature. We are all of us traveling God-wards. We hav
not been born to dance to the orders of others; nor is enjoyment th
aim of life. None of us are spotless. If there is anyone who repe
us, let us not hate him.
Chapter 7, Cause and effect
The lips of wisdom are closed except to the ears of understanding.
One Thing that I want of you is EARNESTNESS. One must study to kno
know to understand, and understand to judge.
Give and it shall be given unto you. Everything is in a circle. W
we do, that we have. He who works his hardest, has the most energy
Energy is ever withdrawn from those that would spend same with a
niggardly hand. The supply is exactly in proportion to the exhaust
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
man has learned anything rightly until he knows that every day is
Doomsday. 'Tis the oldest secret of the gods that they come in low
disguises. To be able to appreciate greatness at its full value, w
must ourselves have the germs of greatness stirring within us.
Intensify yourself along these channels.
Chapter 8, Man-the master
Man's central Being is infinite bliss. I am Happiness itself. I a
unhappy because my eyes have grown blind. Man is punished not for
sins so much as by them.
... the parts of Infinity are an Infinity; you too are Infinite.
wish, you command, you demand, you assent, and you get-what you wan
though you go to sleep, your thought if sufficiently vitalized by
concentration will come to pass. Determine the breadth, the solidi
the soundness of the plank of life you stand upon. You are your
master. Here Life is self-determined.
Chapter 9, Self-development
Man should ever strive to develop intrinsic worth. [Ben's note: as
opposed to utility value.]
You shall be at the top of your condition if you ever obey the
suggestions of your soul, for your heart shall never tell a lie
although your tongue may.
Chapter 10, Developing the spiritual consciousness
One thing at a time and that with your entire heart and soul. The
ideal you have set up for yourself must absorb the best and richest
forces in you. Introduce the thin edge of the wedge. Each stroke
shall drive it deeper. Do not scatter your energy. Do not burn yo
candle at both ends.
You must stand body and soul, for your ideas, taking up each and
quietly working them out in life.
One thought repeated for days, months and years will become very
strongly vitalized. Tremendous will be its telling force. It will
to make or mar your destiny. Thought, then, is the fine cause. St
it well upon your mind. It is a tremendous fact.
Your thoughts have been energized by constant repetition. Now you
must learn to dominate them: to command them to stillness: to relax
the tension which your mind is constantly putting itself: to save
your brain from giving way under this surcharge of unmarshalled
energy; to absolutely vanquish the waves of force that bubble up ea
time you think of your ideal; for it is intoxication-the irresistab
spell of a "fixed idea."
Exercise is the first, last, and only condition of growth. Stand
rigidly by your ideal. Do not force it upon others. But do not be
forced out of it. Simply be earnest.
The vibrations of a stronger mind impinge upon your receptive
consciousness, shake up some if its grossness, and implant seeds th
fructifying in the long run, work for your spiritual upliftment.
Associate with good men. Let their thought-magnetism encircle you
exercise its subtle, mysteriously spiritualizing influence upon you
The mere contact will act as a Living Force and awaken your latent
powers. It will shed benediction by its mere touch. Spirituality
not intellectual gymnastics.
Chapter 11, Who can be a yogi?
... conquer the flesh before you question the mysteries of life.
forces that act on man:
Sathva - rhythm. power used for good purposes alone.
Rajas - mobility. active. powerful.
Tamas - intertia. laziness. eat, drink, and be merry.
stages (states) of consciousness:
Kshipta - butterfly mind
Mudha - pleasures have lost their joy
Vikshipta - draws help from spiritual people and books. forms a fi
ideal. Learns viveka, discrimination between the real and the unre
Learns ekagrata, one-pointedness.
Vairagya - dispassionate
Nirudha - self-controlled. spiritual activity.
You are great. Compared to your nature this world is but a pinch o
star-dust.
Chapter 12, Constructive idealism
Constructive idealism is a process whereby we strive to construct,
develop and project an ideal personality on the spiritual, mental a
physical rungs of human evolution. It is training, self-imposed an
self-directed. A life-building assimilation of the highest and the
best within the reach of our mental and spiritual vision. A
determined effort to intensify ourselves along lines of human uplif
by a systemized application of the laws of psychology. It is the
putting forth of positive effort to develop and expand our spiritua
stature. Life in this world is a gymnasium for the exercise of the
will.
You have to develop a life-purpose. Our work is our life-preserver
Power ceases in the instant of repose: it resides in the moment of
transition from a past state into a new state...
The first requisite in Constructive Idealism is self-reliance. You
must stand upon your own feet. Locked up in your soul is to be fou
Infinite Knowledge, Infinite Existence, Infinite Bliss.
So not they that hear most, or read most, but they that meditate mo
and pray most and in the silent mystic way of Love give out the mos
are the most edified and nourished and enriched unto everlasting li
here, now, and forever. Therefore, shut yourself up in your room a
with strenuous and earnest zeal, go on adding stroke after stroke o
steady work for your soul-expression. Results will come in their o
good time and that moment is best for you and the world when you ge
great gleams of light from your higher nature.
Chapter 13, Higher reason and judgment
Another requisite is Fearlessness. Few people possess this virtue.
You have to take them up and meditate upon them. Thus alone can th
become inwoven with your nature.
Chapter 14, Conquest of fear
You must understand your own nature, if you are to be Fearless. Ho
Learn to draw inwards and upwards. The lower mind ever darts
outwards. Abbyasa - constant practice, unremitting effort at contr
of the mind. Vairagya - dispassion, renouncing mentally all
attachment to impermanent ends. Resolve to be perfectly Fearless a
so shall you be in according to the strength of your resolution.
Chapter 15, The role of prayer
Nowadays it is the way with some to run down the intellect and to g
emotions the first place. Again, there are others who ask you to k
out the seat of emotion and to give the the seat of reason the firs
place. Both schools are dogmatic and their reasoning is very shall
The fact is; neither can be suppressed and crushed out... each is
great in its own place... complement themselves, and both are
ultimately resolvable into Infinity-which is Unity, pure and simple
The soul must contemplate the glories of the Infinite Intelligence.
Then, the love-force,-the all-consuming fire-shall inundate your
heart. It will make your whole being vibrate in tune with the
Infinite.
The worship of the worldly man has back of it the all-consuming for
of pecuniomania. An infectious disease that plays man against man.
Worshipping the Golden Calf, praying to Plutus-the god of gold.
Did you ever see a man whose earnest enthusiasm and noble aims, shi
in his eyes, dwell in the ring of his voice, seem to have entered h
hands and feet and compel his entire being? These are true devotee
of the Supreme Intelligence.
Such alone can pray. Prayer is the sincere lifting of the soul to
source of All-power. Prayer is the burning desire of the soul to
achieve inner wisdom. Prayer is the earnest strain upwards of the
intelligence to pierce the dark penetralia of Ignorance. Prayer is
the ceaseless pressure upon the Superconscious mind-the Divine part
ourselves-to expand our sphere of insight. Prayer is the deepening
the intellect and the expansion of the Heart. ... Prayer is the
struggle of the soul to free its wings; the flutter of the heart
through the awe of lofty Idealism; the instinctive leaning on our
secret selves; the drawing inwards for more light and life. Prayer
the concentration of the spirit on the Problems of the Divine life;
the turning of the search-light of the Super-conscious-self upon th
riddles of existence. ... Prayer is the meditation on the Infinite
the silence. Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from
the highest point of view. It is a soliloquy of a beholding and
jubilant soul. It is the spirit of God pronouncing His works good.
As soon as the man is at one with the God he will not beg. He will
then see prayer in all action. The thoughts of a purified soul are
all prayer.
"When thou prayest, enter into thy closet and when thou has shut th
door, pray to thy Father in secret," says the Nazarene.
Now, reader, understand, once for ever, prayer is willing. ... The
Great Law operates always and everywhere. Here, then, you have all
the switches and levers of energy and inspiration.
Chapter 16, Thought: creative and exhaustive
The right exercise of thought-power is an act of creation. Certain
thoughts exhaust the life-force, others create it. Injurious
thought-currents can be suppressed by raising an opposition wave.
Hatred should be replaced by love, worry by hopefulness, hesitation
decision, anger by calmness and so forth: the finer always suppress
the grosser, mark you. Training is necessary. Knowledge must be
gained. Strength of will-power must be developed.
The mind is capable of existing in two states-Positive and Negative
Both are necessary for the up-keep of mental and physical equipose.
must be able to call up either state at will and without the least
friction and strenuous effort. The positive state is a state of
tension, alertness, centrality. The negative state is an attitude
receptivity, relaxation and non-resistance. The former if sustaine
all through the day would mean exhaustion and nervous breakdown. T
latter, unless self-induced, would render us a victim to the world,
the flesh, and the devil. The former calls for an increase of
nerve-force. The latter conserves this force and replenishes the
store house.
The mind can think of only one thing at a time. Think nobly and
loftily and the evil thoughts will soon "take the hint" and cease t
disturb you. Express the Good, the Pure, the Powerful in yourself
you can easily repress the Evil, the Impure and the Weak.
Chapter 17, Meditation exercises
You are but part of the whole. The whole is Spirit. There is only
one Spirit, and God is Spirit. Therefore you are spiritual.
No kind of material trouble can affect the spiritual. Everything i
spirit. Lo! you are a being having everything in you. What you w
is within your grasp. You can be what you wish to be. All that
appears to be obstacles to your advancement is false, and does not
exist.
Chapter 18, Self-de-hypnotisation
We have been under the impression that from external conditions we
devlop inner stage of consciousness. This is the master-spell whic
is an illusion or Maya. To pluck it out we must draw inwards and
realise that inner states of consciousness wield an evermoulding
influence upon matter and hew out ever varying forms, just as the
image projected upon the specular screen of a magic lantern is real
determined by the slide in the lantern. Change the slide images an
you have other images on the screen. Change the thought in your mi
and you change the form materialised thereby.
Chapter 19, Self-de-hypnotisation II
We are half devil, half divine. Sheathed in our coat of flesh, our
powers hooped in by the physical form, we cannot expect to come fac
to face with the Infinite. But there is within us, behind us, befo
above and around us, God's Spirit, and we can realize our relation
it by putting ourselves En rapport therewith.
But there are more and more of these people every year-they arecomi
in great numbers and when they reach a sufficient number, this old
earth will undergo a peaceful revolution. In that day man no longe
will be content to enjoy luxury while his brother starves,-he will
be able to oppress and exploit his own kind-he will not be able to
endure much that today is passed over without thought or feeling by
the majority of people. ... the man who has experienced this new
consciousness has broken down the old feeling of separateness, and
brother's pain is felt by him-his brother's joys are experienced by
him-he is in touch with others.
From whence comes this uneasiness that causes men to erect hospital
and other charitable institutions-from whence comes this feeling of
discomfort at the sight of suffering? From the Spiritual mind that
causing the feeling of nearness to all life to awaken in the mind o
men, and thus renders it more and more painful for them to see and
aware of the pain of others because they begin to feel it, and it
renders them uncomfortable and they make at least some effort to
relieve it.
The world is growing kinder by reason of this dawning consciousness
although it is still in a barbarous state as compared to its future
condition.
Chapter 20, Character-building
Self-control in Yogis is demonstrated by perfect Soul-Calm. A perf
Yogi ... When he sees distress and pain, he does not make the whole
air throb with his cries by he calmly sets about finding a remedy f
the evil.
Habit is a rhythm established by the Will. It compels all organize
life. It works along sub-conscious lines of mentation. It is the
same pitch of vibration repeating itself.
The tool of thought and, shaping what he wills, brings forth a
thousand joys, a thousand ills:
He thinks in secret and it comes to pass;
"Environment is but his looking-glass."
We build our future, thought by thought,
Or good or bad, and know it not-
Yet so the universe is wrought,
Thought is another name for Fate-
Choose then thy destiny, and wait-
For Love brings Love, and Hate brings Hate-
Again: All that we are is the result of thought.
Another important fact to remember is that if at some hour today yo
go into your room and send forth an intense thought, the next day t
same thought shall start up in your mind at the same point of time.
This is known as Periodicity. Therefore supposing you want to
perform some difficult task with which your mind is not accustomed
cope, sit up a few hours previous to that time and suggest to
yourself, "I wish you, subjective mind, to prepare yourself for the
performance of such and such a task tomorrow at 4 o'clock. Be sure
you do it. Now prepare yourself." Next day you will find yourself
quite prepared to accomplish the task. Suppose you wanted to get u
at 4 o'clock in the morning. Before retiring to bed say to yoursel
on your subjective mind "Look here-I wish to get up (or wake me up)
at 4 o'clock. Be sure you do it." You will wake at that hour.
title: Yoga Lessons For Developing Spiritual Consciousness
author: Mukerji, A. P., Swami
LOC: B132.Y6 M8
(HTM) source: Archive.org
(DIR) BenCollver - Phlog
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