Top most secret of Nature

Yoga is an ancient Indian art as well as science. Its scope is vast and comprehensive, its potentiality, being immense, covers all branches of human activity and thought. The knowledge of Yoga, according to the Bhagwat Gita, was first imparted to the Sun, who then passed it on to Manu.

Top most secret of Nature

From this premise, Shri Hansji Maharaj culled out one of the top-most secrets of nature. Manu, it will be noted here, stands for the mind-stuff. The sun, occupying the central position in our universe, with so many planets and satellites moving round it, constitutes, the principal source of all life-giving activities, termed by the ancient seers as "Prana". This solar structure is also to be met with the mind of an individual, along with the five sense organs and five senses of action. Even an atom of a matter, with the Proton at the centre and electrons revolving around it, provide evidence of universality of the same solar structure. Thus Shri Hansji Maharaj indisputably reiterated the universal truth, embodied in all religious scriptures of the world, that the ingredients of the two principal components, which the so called raw materials of our universe, are the "Prana" (Life-breath) and the "Mana" (Mind).

Even some western philosophers and scientists today are tempted to take the view that the manifested creation is mental in origin. During sleep, human consciousness, which is synonymous with such words as "Atma" or "Gyan", sometimes becomes aware of a dream world, which originates within the mind, and remains there as such, through the dream stage. The experiences of the dream world are as much ephemeral, as those of the waking hours. Indian philosophers, have, therefore, termed both the states of experiences, as illusion or "Maya".

Control of the mind

The four Kriyas or the four-fold technique taught by Shri Hansji Maharaj furnishes the easiest method of mind control. Ordinarily, the control of the mind is a stupendous task. Many have given it up as well nigh impossible.

The human mind, Shri Hansji Maharaj admitted, was indeed powerful and not easy to be brought under control, but when it is harnessed to the equally powerful "Prana", it becomes easier to subjugate it.

Lakhs of people, who were initiated into the mysteries of the "Raj Yoga" testify how an extrovert mind can be changed to an introvert mind, bringing into view the wonderful panorama of the inner working of nature, to the aspirant. Shri Hansji Maharaj claimed, and rightly too, that the knowledge, he was thus imparting was the same, which some five thousand years back Lord Krishna imparted to Arjuna, which enabled him to comprehend the universe as an integral whole. The Vishwa-Rup (Universal consciousness) which Arjuna was shown with the help of the "Third Eye" can be seen and comprehended by any other person, provided he is told where the "Third Eye" (Gyan Chakhshu) is located and how to open it.

The "Third Eye"

The "Third Eye", which is situated between the two eye-brows, at the tip of the nose is a nervous plexus, where the three principal nerves of the body, namely, the Spinal Chord (Sushumna), the Ida (left sympathetic nerve) and the Pingla (right sympathetic nerve) converge, as distributory canals for the flow of the "Prana" or the life breath. This spot is directly connected with the gravitational field of the universe, and exhibits two characteristic motions - the "Prana" (Attraction) and "Apan" (Repulsion), in the shape of inhalation and exhalation. The sages of the Upanishadic period termed this vital spot the Agya Chakra, where the mind is focussed, as it provides a window to see the wonderful working of Nature in all its subtlety. That is why Agya Chakra is known as Gyan Netra or Shiva Netra.

Indian Cultural revolution in the offing

How to open the "Third Eye" in man - How to see the dazzling light brighter than a billion suns, within the Self - How to merge one's soul into God, even while existing in a physical frame upon this earth ?

Param Sant Sat-Gurudev Shri Hansji Maharaj was the founder of the "Indian Cultural Revolution".

Thought process in man are hard to alter, but Shri Hansji Maharaj practically demonstrated the technique by which it is possible if one adopts his method known as Raj Yoga.

India has always been a land of saints and seers. From time immemorial holy men have lent sanctity to this sacred land.

Saints occupy a position far superior to gods. They are akin to God himself.

Like the Holy Prophet of Islam, Yogi Raj, as Shri Hansji Maharaj was known to his innumerable admirers, pointed out the wretched folly of idolatry in the face of the tremendous laws of day and night, of life and death, of growth and decay, which manifest the power of Allah and attest to his sovereignty.

The Yogi Raj was not bound by the limits of nationality or time. He belonged to the Universe. His life and teachings inspired men to see the Kingdom of the Heaven (Bible), the Kab'ah - Place of Worship (Holy Koran), the Light of Inner Consciousness (Gita) within the being and not anywhere outside.

Raj Yoga - the technique, which the great Yogi Raj described, has endowed lakhs of persons with the "Third Eye", with the help of which they are able to realise the glory of the brilliant light which is within the self.

Many Britishers, who witnessed the phenomenon truly described in Churchillian words as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."

But scientists are never satisfied with beauty and grandeur alone, they want an explanation - and this they have yet to find despite hectic brain wrecking.

Astronomy's newest mystery, at present, is the source of quasar energy, which vibrates, and sets up radio waves and resonances in outer space. This has been identified with what had been described in the past by the Indian seers, as "Prana" - , the vital energy, which sustains the universe.

"Prana" is the power of the inner consciousness, or the supreme intelligence, which controls and directs the affairs of the universe.

Biologists will tell us a similar story, so far as control and arrangement in a living organism are concerned.

They find the greatest efficiency in the formation of physical bodies.

The blood corpuscles of the human body are of just the right shape and size to do the work for which they are made.

The same holds true of other organs, parts and particles.

In the world of insects we need only to examine the honeycomb in a beehive, among thousands of other objects, to find the same perfect arrangements and similarity. Every one of the millions of beehives throughout the world are constructed geometrically, with the greatest precision, to give the greatest efficiency.

"If this and a great deal more does not indicate the intelligence of the one Creator, the control and direction of the one supreme God, I surrender what little claim I may have to being a scientist" - Thus observed an American Scientist, when asked how to solve the riddle of life.

"Chetan" - the conscious stuff, according to Yogi Raj provided the clue to the "Name" and "Form" of God.

The way to witness the "Name" of the Supreme Intelligence and see his "Form" with the help of the "Third Eye", is to take recourse to "Raj Yoga".

What is a "Sanskar" ?

Impressions formed on the mind by the impact of external objects on the five senses of knowledge (Gyanendriyas) are known as "Sanskars".

"Sanskars" are formed in the mind in two stages. In the first, we perceive a thing through the sense organs and then we experience it.

"Sanskars" are like seeds, which, under favourable circumstances, again begin to thrive, and thereby become fresh sources of knowledge.

The Sub-conscious mind (Chitta) is like a store house of "Sanskars".

When we receive knowledge through the senses, it is perception. When we imbibe knowledge, without the sense perception, it is realization.

Memory is a form of "Sanskar".

"Sanskars" play a very important role in moulding the thought pattern of man, his conduct and behaviour in this life and also here-after.

Scientists have accepted "Sanskars" as the basic premise of how to properly train a child.

Thought Pattern.

The Biblical statement, "Train a child in the way be should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it," has proved itself to be very true. Man's thought pattern is hard to alter. He is to a large extent a product - and sometimes a victim - of his upbringing. Most children brought up in a certain set of beliefs will continue to adhere to them. If brought up in an atheistic society, they are likely to remain atheistic. If brought up Christian, they are likely to remain Christian.

Just because one has been taught to accept a certain set of beliefs doesn't necessarily prove those beliefs are right, even though he feels they must be. This must be accepted as a basic premise.

Knowledge of "Prana" alone can solve the "riddle of Life".

Continuity of life depends on the movement of breath alternately in and out of the body.

A normal human being takes 21,600 breaths in 24 hours.

Any obstruction, either in the process of inhalation or exhalation, even for a short while, results in death.

All the functions of the body, including circulation digestion, etc are dependent on the intake of air, its retention for a while in the lungs, and finally its expulsion, thereby keeping the cycle of life-breath continuously in motion.

In fact, every breath, comprising inhalation (Purak), its retention (Kumbhak) and exhalation (Rechak) is a unit of life.

Duration of our life time is determined by the number of breath one commands.

Breath regulates body temperature, as an efficient air-conditioning machine.

The movement of the breath provides the supply of "Prana" the vital energy, which keeps the 1ife process going.

"Prana" is the power of the conscious stuff (Chetan) which provides the key to the riddle of life.

This vital energy of the conscious stuff (Chetan) is still a mystery to the scientists, who are impressed by this perpetual physical miracle that runs its course through the brain and the rest of the nervous system. In the views of a noted American physiologist about the theory of vitalism, it is suggested that there is some force, in addition to the known physical forces, which is necessary for life, but it is still eluding modern scientists, in as much as they are not conversant with the Art and Science Yoga.

Mystery of Life.

Speaking of the brain, that possesses unbelievable abilities, yet little more is known of its physical basis than that it can initiate and conduct electric-like charges which in turn produce chemical changes. But its numerous functions - who can explain or account for them ? It is responsible for co-ordinating all muscular activities and controls even the most basic bodily functions such as respiration and heart beat. It contains memory and holds thousands of mental images available for instant recall.

Is there any physical explanation of the integrating and problem-solving ability of the brain, or of reason and common sense, of motivations, desire, and serenity ? The appreciation of an aesthetic quality such as beauty, the comprehension of a spiritual reality such as love, the consciousness of self personality development all are functions of this same small mass of protoplasm. But who can explain them on a physical basis - or even at all ?

Among the many complexities of the body is the intricate control of the myriad chemical reactions continually taking place, some of which cannot be duplicated outside of the body. The buffer systems which neutralize the acids of digestion and of exercise, maintain the optimum conditions for metabolism. Antibodies form to fight off harmful invaders and may confer immunity. These antibodies are specific for each disease, just as the structure of the chemicals composing the protoplasm is specific for each individual. Each human being therefore possesses a chemical distinctness. Who was it that brought this about ? Certainly not mere man.

And think of the heart. This tireless organ responds to ceaseless demands throughout a life-time. It also possesses a mysterious rhythmicity which allows it to beat even though all nerve attachments are severed - a highly important fact in cases of accident. Where do we go with this perpetual physical miracle ? How do we explain it ?

These marvels of bodily function are very closely associated with the mystery of life itself, a mystery that scientists and philosophers have vainly wrestled with to know. Much is known about the characteristics of living protoplasm and of the intricate chemical reactions continuously taking place, but we lack adequate definitions. There is a theory called vitalism, which suggests that here is some force in addition to the known physical forces necessary for life, but, in the first place, the theory is held in disrepute by many scientists, and secondly it too does not explain the real essence of life, nor does it explain by known and measured phenomena the direction and purposefulness that is apparent in the growth and development of every living organism. What is the organizing and directive force in embryological growth that causes a small mass of un-differentiated cells finally to produce the complex arrangement of an adult ? It is Karma, according to the Yogi Raj.

Thank God, I am not resting my dying head upon speculations. I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.

Ajapa Gayatri

Like all his predecessors, in the long line of saints, seers, Mahatmas and prophets, who appeared on the Indian scene during its long history, Shri Hansji Maharaj discovered the mystery, behind Ajapa Gyatri, which is the essence of the Vedas, the "Ulta Jap", by whose practice Balmiki, the author of the Ramayana turned from a dacoit to a saint, "Tarak Mantra" or "Shiva Mahamantra", which Lord Shiva himself used to distribute, in Varanasi, his abode in the plains.

Japa, or to apply the mind uninterruptedly and without a break, to a particular object, according to the great Yogi Raj provides the only panacea for all the evils of the mind. Japa practice purifies the mind and brings it under subjugation of the aspirant.

But, Japa, which the Yogi Raj recommended, was unlike the one, ordinarily resorted to by a spiritua1 aspirant by means of moving beads of a glossary with the aid of fingers, or mechanically repeating a particular mantra or name of the Almighty, either loudly, or ruminating over it in mind.

Unlike other modes of Japa, as embodied in the scriptures, the aspirant in the practice of Ajapa Jap is simply told to confine the attention of the mind on the "Flight Of Hans" within the nasal apertures (at the top of the nose), merely as a conscious subject. "Hans" is a mysterious sound movement which is the subject matter of Para-Vani; the source of all spoken and written language and can be understood by the grace of a Satguru.

(The first edition of the previous paragraph was slightly different, and was revealing the topmost secret of the teaching: "Unlike other modes of Japa, as embodied in the scriptures, the aspirant in the practice of Ajapa Jap is simply told to confine the attention of the mind on the "Flight Of Hans" within the nasal apertures (at the top of the nose), merely as a conscious subject. "Hansa" is a mysterious sound movement, and so are the other two famous Vedic Mantras - the "Om" and the "So-Ham". These three top-most Mantras of the Vedas are the subject matter of Para-Vani ; the source of all spoken and written language.)

As author of Hans Yog Prakash, Shri Hansji Maharaj demonstrated how the practice of Ajapa Jap could kindle the Divine Light within, which dispels the ignorance of man as to the reality of his own self. For a spiritual aspirant, anxious to know the nature of the spirit that animates matter, the practice of Ajapa Jap, or Ulta Jap, Mahamantra, which are all synonymous terms, is a "must". It is beneficial not only during this life, but also in the life-beyond.

In Bhagwat Gita, Lord Krishna also suggested the same thing, namely, what should be the frame of the mind, and where is it to be affixed at the time of death.