The first stage of this experience is that when by certain practices you have developed your breath, you begin to realize that you are like a search-lantern. And before you, you will always see a light thrown; wherever you cast your glance, a light is thrown before you.
Sometimes people have thought that it is a spirit or a ghost or some entity before them. But it is not true. It is their own light falling before them. Sometimes that light begins to show itself in different colors. Therefore when some say that they see colors, and the others begin to laugh at them, both are in error, because the first one he does not know that it is something natural, and the other one does not know that it can be possible.
In New York I met a man who was seeing colors for a long time. And he was very earnest and sincere, and at the same time people began to laugh at him, hearing his story. But he was so sincere and earnest about it, that he spoke before everybody.
Some were entertained by his speech, some were amused by it, and some thought that he was losing his mind or something. And then when he spoke to me about it, I told him to come and see me, and he came and saw me. First I told him to make a diary for one week of all the colors he saw. So he made a diary of one week. And every day and at different times of the day and night he brought me the diary of the different colors. What he had thought about it, was that he saw, as meeting in the forms of those colors, Mahatmas who were coming to see him. Because he had just read the book of Mahatmas. This phenomenon was fitting in his attitude, because he had been reading this book. Then he found these colors, because he was looking for Mahatmas. Then I told him, I did not want to disappoint him, after eight days diary, then also I did not tell him what it is. That will give you a key to deal with mureeds. That you might think that on the first day you meet a mureed you can correct him. But that is not the time. After eight days' diary that he brought me I told him, "Now tell me the history of every day, and all you have experienced, that it was a sad day, or a joyous day, or what it was." Then he told me what he could. Then next week when he had more confidence in me, and got a little more acquainted, I said, "Now this week those who come to see you, and bring a problem to you (he was a commander), whatever problem they bring before you, you must consult with your color. Then write it down while you are speaking with a certain person about his problem." He did so.
After one week's diary that he wrote he brought the diary before me. Then I began to tell him that this problem that you brought to me on Monday, it cannot go on, it must finish. Then he looked at me, very surprised. Then I said, "This problem can be successful." Then he was surprised, because he saw. It was so. Every problem I said, "This problem will take time," he was very astonished. He asked what relation the colors had. Every color is narrative of the condition of that problem. And he was very astonished. It was a living proof, it was a diary he had gone through. The whole week he had seen it. Then he began to see, "What are the colors, I thought they were Masters?" But what have Masters to do to come in the form of a color?
Then I told him, "Your soul is light itself, as every soul. And it is clearer, because you begin to see the color. But every color is a certain condition of your soul, because it is a certain degree of light that produced the color." Then he said, "What has it to do with the problems of others?" I said, "The first week you saw, it was related with your condition, your glad, sad, sorry, joyous attitude, whatever experience you were going through, that was the predominant color." He said, "What is the signification of the other persons?" I said that "The hearts are like mirrors and therefore the condition of another person is mirrored upon your soul."
But he said, "Why is not my condition mirrored upon the other person's soul?" "Because the other person's soul is not so clear, therefore yours is clearer than the other. You see the color clearer on the other person's character. What you see before your eye is the color mirrored, therefore it is the color of the other person fallen on your own. The problem is that the person brought before you has connection with the color at that particular time that the person comes before you." The person was very astonished and said, "Can it be true?" I said, "Next week come again." In three weeks time he was really convinced. It was a most pessimistic military man. Then he began to see from day to day everything that came in his life about its future, what will happen. Because the vision was clear, the knowledge was absent. As soon as the knowledge was given, he began to see.
That is the one phase of clairvoyance, that is seen in the ethereal plane, which means that every person has before him his own breath. Either on the right side, or on the left side, above or below, or straight before. It only depends upon what element he is breathing.
- The time he is breathing water element the breath is going downwards;
- the time he is breathing air element the breath is going zig-zag;
- the time he is breathing fire element the breath is going upwards;
- the time he is breathing earth element the breath is going straight.
It is therefore that one cannot always see in the same direction, but by seeing in different directions one can find out which direction breath takes. From that direction one can see the influence of every element, which element is in his breath. By finding it out, and connecting it with a certain problem, he is able to find out result and effect of conditions. Now this is one kind of clairvoyance.
[Dreams]
From Vol. 4, Mental Purification, 18. Dreams and Revelations
Although dreams are something which is known to everybody, the study of them leads to the deeper side of life; for it is from the meaning of the dream that one begins to realize two things: that something is active when the body is asleep, and to the deep thinker this gives faith in the life hereafter. For the dream is the proof that when the body is not active, a person is active all the same, and seems to be no less active than in the physical body. If one detects any difference, it is a difference of time, for in dreams a man may pass from one land to another in a flash instead of taking a month. In no way is he hindered as on the physical plane. In dreams he flies.
The facility of the plane of dreams is much greater. There is no difficulty in changing one's condition from illness to health, from failure to success, in one moment. People say it is only imagination, a working of the mind. But what is mind? Mind is that in which the world is reflected. Heaven and earth are accommodated in it. Is that a small thing? What is the physical body compared with the mind which is a world in itself? The physical body is only like a drop in the ocean.
It is only because of ignorance that a man does not know the kingdom in himself. Why is he not conscious of it? Because he wishes to be able to hold something; only then does it exist for him. He does not wish to admit to himself the existence of sentiment: he says that it is of no account, there is nothing to it; and so of the dream, it is only imagination, it is nothing. But science and art spring from imagination, from the mind, not from a rock, not from the physical body. The source from which all knowledge comes is the mind, not an object. Mind means I. It is the mind which identifies; the body is an illusion. When the mind is depressed, we say, "I am sad." Not the body, but the mind was depressed; so the real identification is with the mind, not the body.
When in a dream man is able to see himself, what does that show? That after what is called death, man is still not formless; that nothing is lost, but only that freedom is gained which was lost. The absence of this knowledge makes man afraid of losing this physical body, makes him have a horror of death. But what is death? Nothing but a sleep; a sleep of the body which was a cloak. One can take it away and yet be living. Man will realize after all talk about death that he is alive, that he has not lost but gained. Man is in the physical world to learn, and the dream teaches that a law is working; that all that seems surprising, accidental, a sudden happening, was not sudden, not an accident. It seemed accidental because it was not connected with the conditions.
Nothing happens which does not go through the mind. Man has turned his back to it; he is open only to manifestation. Did they not say in every country when the war came: we did not know? Yes, it was so for those who slept, but the awakened ones had seen the preparation. In all things we see this. Every accident, pleasant or unpleasant, is preceded by a long preparation. First it exists in the mind, then on the physical plane.
A dream shows the depths of life; through a dream we see things. Has every dream a meaning? Yes; only there are always people in a country who do not know its language, and so it is with minds.
1. The Confused Dream
Some minds are not yet capable of expressing themselves, so the dreams are upside-down, a chaos. One sees a goat with the ears of an elephant. The mind wants to express itself. There is a meaning in what the child says, but it has not yet learned to speak, it has no words; it can only cry or make a sound; yet this has a meaning. So it is with dreams which are not expressed correctly. There is nothing without meaning; it is our lack of understanding of its meaning that keeps us in darkness.
But what about the quite meaningless dreams one sometimes has? They are due to the condition of the mind. If the condition of the mind is not harmonious, if its rhythm is not regular, then the dream is so mixed up that one cannot read it. It is just like a letter written in the dark; when a person could not see what he was writing. But all the same it is a written letter, it has an idea behind it. Even if the very person who wrote it in the dark room is not able to read it, it still remains a letter. When man cannot understand the meaning of his dream it is not that his dream has no significance; it only means that his own letter has become so confused that he cannot read it himself.
One may say, how can the mind learn to express itself? It has to become itself. Often the mind is disturbed, inharmonious, restless. When a person is drunk he wants to say yes, and he says no. So is the expression of the mind in a dream.
2. The Straight Dream
It is a marvelous thing to study the science of dreams. How wonderful that the dream of a poet should be poetical, of a musician harmonious. Why is this? Because their mind is trained; their mind has become individual. Their mind expresses itself in their own realm. Sometimes one marvels at the dreams one hears experienced by poetic souls; one sees the sequence from the first act till the last, and that every little action has a certain meaning.
It is wonderful to think that a simple dream comes to a simple person, but when the person is confused then the dream is confused. And in the straight dream, in the dream with fear, with joy, with grief, one can see what a person is. Then the dream does not seem a dream; it is as real as life on the physical plane.
3. The Symbolical Dream
More interesting still is the symbolical dream: to see the meaning behind it. But is this life not a dream? Are the eyes not closed? The king has forgotten his palace. We say, "Oh, it is only a dream, it is nothing." But this dream can show our whole past life; this dream can be tomorrow. It is only on the physical plane that it is a dream; it is made a dream by the condition in which the mind is.
We say, "Yes, but when we awake we find a house; that, therefore, is reality. If we dream of a palace, we find no palace." This is true and not true. The palaces which are built in that world are as much our own, are really much more our own. When the body dies, these remain; they will always be there. If it was a dream of pleasure, the pleasure will come. If it was a dream of light, of love, then all is there. It is a treasure you can depend upon; death cannot take it away. It gives a glimpse of that idea of which the Bible says, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." We can find glimpses of it too when we compare dreams with the wakeful state. Whatever we hold, the longer we have held it the more firmly it is established; then we create a world to live in. This is the secret of the whole of life. But how can words explain this?
4. The Vision
Another form of dream is the vision. Therein a person sees clearly what will happen, or what has happened perhaps many years ago. It is like a flash. When does one get this? When the heart is focused to the divine mind, for all is there like a moving picture. There was a poet of Persia, Firdausi, who was asked by the king to write the history of the country. The king promised him a gold coin for every verse. Firdausi went into the solitude and wrote down the traditions of centuries; characters, lives, deeds, he saw it all as a play, and he wrote of it in verse. When he returned to the court, the king was most impressed; he thought it wonderful. But there are always many in the world who will reject such things. The truth is only accepted by the few. At the court he was much criticized and many showed skepticism. It went so far that they told the king that it was all Firdausi's imagination. It hurt him terribly. He took the one who had spoken most against him and held his hand upon his head, and said to him, "Now, close your eyes and look." And what this man saw was like a moving picture and he exclaimed, "I have seen! " But the poet's heart was wounded and he would not accept the gold coins.
What was the message given by the great ones, by the prophets and masters, by Rama, by Krishna? It was not imagination. It was that record which can be found by diving deep, that prophecy given to the world as a lesson, living in the world, like a scripture. It is direct communion given by all masters.
A vision is more clear in the sleeping state than in the wakeful state. The reason is that when a person is asleep he lives in a world of his own, but when a person is awake he is only partly in that world and mostly in the outer world. Every phenomenon needs accommodation. It is not only the sound which is audible, but also the ears make it possible to hear the sound. The mind is the accommodation to receive the impressions, just as the ears are the accommodation to receive the sound. That is why a natural state of sleep is like a profound concentration, like a deep meditation; and that is why everything that comes as a dream has a significance.
5. The Revelation
Lastly there is another step forward, and that is revelation. It needs a certain amount of spiritual progress to believe that there is such a thing as revelation. Life is revealing, nature is revealing, and so is God; that is why God is called Khuda in Persian, which means self-revealing. All science and art, and all culture known to man have come originally, and still come, by revelation. In other words a person does not only learn by studying, but he also draws knowledge from humanity. A child not only inherits his father's or his ancestors" qualities but also the qualities of his nation, of his race, so that one can say that man inherits the qualities of the entire human race. If one realized profoundly that storehouse of knowledge which exists behind the veil which covers it, one would find that one has a right to this heritage; and this gives one a key, a key to understand the secret of life: that knowledge is not only gained from outside but also from within. Thus one may call knowledge that one learns from outer life learning, but knowledge that one draws from within may be called revelation.
Revelation comes from within. It makes the heart self-revealing; it is just like a new birth of the soul. When one has come to this state, then everything and every being is living; a rock, a tree, the air, the sky, the stars, all are living. Then a person begins to communicate with all things and all beings. Wherever his glance falls, on nature, on characters, he reads their history, he sees their future. Every person he meets, before he has spoken one word with him he begins to communicate with his soul. Before he has asked any question, the soul begins to tell its own history. Every person and every object stand before him as an open book. Then there no longer exists in him that continual "why" one finds so often in people. "Why" no longer exists, for he finds the answer to every question in himself. And as long as that answer is not created, in spite of all the learning of this world that is taught to man, that continual "why" will exist.
Again one may ask, how does one arrive at this revelation? And the answer is that there is nothing in the whole of the universe which is not to be found in man if he only cares to discover it. But if he will not find it out no one will give it to him, for truth is not learned; truth is discovered.
It is with this belief that sages of the East went into the solitude and sat meditating in order to give that revelation an opportunity to arise. No doubt as life is at present there is hardly time for a man to go into the solitude. But that does not mean that man should remain ignorant of the best that is within himself; for compared with this great bliss which is revelation, all other treasures of the earth are nothing; they cannot be compared. Revelation is the magic lamp of Aladdin; once discovered it throws its light to the right and to the left, and all things become clear.
[Five Aspects]
From The Message Papers, Divine Guidance
August 24, 1926
Beloved Ones of God,
I will speak this evening on the subject of divine guidance. Since man seeks complexity in life, he always turns simple things into complex things. And the less simple man becomes, the more complex life becomes. It is because man himself becomes complex that the life becomes complex before him. All such beliefs as that in a guardian angel leading a person on life's path, or a spirit guide helping one along life's path, these are complex beliefs and they take one to complexity. One has already seen that the divine guidance appeared in one's infancy in the form of one's mother, in the form of one's father, in the form of those who have taken care of one in life, and yet one does not believe in divine guidance unless it be pictured in a complex manner.
If instead of telling you this I were speaking about attracting spirit guides, there would be thousands of persons listening to this lecture. But because God's message comes in simple words and it makes all difficult that is easy, and all complex things simple, it is therefore that the seekers after complexity keep away. If it can easily be achieved they do not think that it is truth; they think that truth must be realized by hard working. But if they want to work hard, there are many factories, there are so many industries where they can work hard. For seeking divine truth the less you work the better it is, the more peaceful you become and the more easily it comes.
Divine guidance can be recognized in five different aspects.
Intuition
One aspect and the principal aspect is intuition. It comes to the lower creation in the form of instinct, and to the human race it comes in the form of intuition. Be it inspiration, be it vision, be it revelation, it is one and the same. It is intuition, developed in different degrees. From childhood intuitively a child begins to see what is wrong for it and what is right for it. And only when the child becomes so obstinate that it does not feel even the intuition, at that time the child begins to grow.
But children apart, we see the same element, the same current of divine guidance, coming in the form of instinct in the lower creation. One sees that the animals and birds will not touch anything that will make them ill or that will bring death. They know their enemy's voice, even when they are young. The sound of the lion is known by a little rabbit. They say that the physicians of the ancient times learned so much from the bear, the bear who under different conditions, when it was ill, found different herbs to cure itself. And those who used to study nature in ancient times found the effects of different herbs in the forest by the help of these animals. The monkey is supposed to know so much about medicines that even when it is not well and when it is necessary that it must fast, it fasts. Man is afraid to fast for three days, but a monkey does. And I myself have seen a dog that fasted on Thursday every week. We used to call that dog Brahman.
Intuition disappears when a person has no confidence in his intuition. When a person does not hear the voice that comes from within, then intuition begins to retire from there. It not, it belongs to the heart of man; it is natural for man to be intuitive. It is not necessary that some persons have intuition and others have not. No one can exist without a soul, and intuition is the nature of the soul. Therefore those who do not feel intuition have only lost that faculty, that faculty has become buried. It does not mean that they never had the intuitive faculty.
Examples
And now the other aspect of knowing, of seeing the divine guidance, is in the form of examples. The one whose faculty of intuition becomes blunted, the next thing he can do is to observe such examples as will be of use, of guidance in his life, as they are sent before him. He is sent to such places and brought to such people or put in such conditions that the example that he may take will be a source of guidance for him. For instance, a person who has some little inclination of gambling, when he is brought to Monte Carlo and sees those who have lost every penny that they had, he has there an example for himself.
The divine guidance has sent him that example. And yet what generally happens? He does not see them; he does not look at those who have lost, he looks at those who have gained. In that way he builds his hope. Do you think that a person who loves to drink would look at a person who has become drunken, who has fallen in the street? He never looks at him. One might think, "Perhaps he is ashamed of himself." No, it is not so. He does not want to remind himself that he will have such a condition to meet, such an experience to meet. He turns his head and goes away from there. But what he would like to see is four persons sitting comfortably at a table, drinking and enjoying themselves nicely. A good example of the same he would like to see. But what does divine guidance do? It sends bad examples before him. He is brought often and often before bad examples, that he may see and learn from them. And yet man does not learn from them very often.
Spoken
And when the keen observation is also blunted, so that he can no longer keenly observe life, then he turns his back to examples shown before him. Then the third aspect of divine guidance is to speak. It may speak in the words of a child, it may speak in the words of a foolish person, it may speak in the words of a servant, it may speak in the words of a neighbor, it may speak in the words of a friend, it may speak in the words of a foe. And when the eyes are closed and when the ears are closed also, then even the third way of divine guidance also becomes fruitless.
I have heard a friend say, "Each time my groom told me not to go riding, if I went I had an accident." That groom was not a wise man, but what came from him was the voice of the spirit of guidance. He was innocent, he said it innocently. It is automatic that a person may say something to you, and that is the voice of God. Very often friends take the place of divine guidance, and they tell you something. That is the best, when friends tell you. When strangers take the place of divine guidance and tell you, that is worse. And what is still worse is when your enemies tell you.
Reward
Besides these three ways, there is the fourth way, and that is the way of temptation, in other words the way of reward. For all the good one does, all that one does that is right, there comes a reward in some form or other, in the form of wealth, in the form of fame, in the form of success, in the form of popularity, in some form or other. In the form of sympathy, friendship, love, comfort: in some form or the other, reward comes. And that reward teaches you to keep on that path and not to go astray from there. But at that time reward is most blinding.
As soon as one thinks, "I am rich," one becomes intoxicated. And then it is quicksilver, it runs away quickly. And when one thinks, "I should have learned my lesson before," it is too late. In the same way one becomes intoxicated by friendship, love, sympathy, that is given to one one abuses it, one does not value it, one does not appreciate it. The end is that it disappears, and then one begins to realize, "I had wealth, more than wealth, and then I lost it." And then it is too late.
Health is the same way. As long as one enjoys good health one never thinks what a privilege, what a blessing it is. It is afterwards, when it no longer exists, that one begins to realize, "What have I lost!" Life, as Omar Khayyam says, is a wine press, and every good thing that comes, comes just like a wine. It is a reward; but this reward may intoxicate a person, and a person may forget to appreciate it and to be grateful for it. With the mere fact of his forgetting that privilege, the reward is taken away from him, and then he begins to value it and appreciate it, when he is empty-handed.
Punishment
The fifth way of divine guidance is the way of punishment, in the form of a loss in business, in the form of a loss of friendship, in the form of a loss of health and strength, in the form of a loss of happiness and joy. Then a lesson is taught, and that becomes very difficult. Very often a person says, "How cruel God can be." But one does not know that four methods were used first, and when all those four methods were not understood by man then the fifth method was used. It is most kind of God, it is the greatest compassion, that four opportunities were given, if one would learn, if one would understand.
And when one has lost the four opportunities, then the fifth opportunity is given. It is an opportunity, too. No matter in what form a punishment comes, as Tagore says, "It is the tuning of the string; the string of the violin is tuned." And while tuning the string stretches, but it is brought to its proper tone. The punishment in one's life is the same. No matter what its form, when it comes it comes to raise man's consciousness. There are many punishments which we can see and recognize, and there are many punishments which we cannot see and recognize; and there are many punishments which are in the form of reward, and yet they are worse punishments. And no one recognizes it. But at the same time what is the punishment? The punishment of the God of compassion is a reward too. God Bless You.
[Responsibility for]
From Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man, The Vision of God and Man (2), Mysticism
Mysticism is a means to an end. Mysticism is not the goal, but through it one arrives at the goal. If you ask me, what is Sufism, is it a philosophy or is it mysticism, the answer is that it is both; and here I would like to explain something of the mystic side of Sufism.
The mystic side of Sufism may be recognized as seeing and hearing. To see further than one sees, to hear more keenly than one hears; in other words to see that which the eyes cannot see, to hear that which the ears cannot hear. This experience brings one to realization: to see without eyes, to hear without ears. No doubt to the mystic seeing and hearing, these two words, have a different meaning. When we say "seeing" we mean seeing through the eyes, when we say "hearing" we mean hearing through the ears; but to the mystic seeing is not only through the eyes, nor is hearing only hearing through the ears. It is seeing even without eyes and hearing even without ears. The English word "seer" means someone who can see equally well with or without eyes.
Now the question arises, if there is such a seeing and hearing would not every soul be most happy to attain to this, for it would be just like having wings to fly? Who would not? Everyone. And if there is this possibility of seeing and hearing why is not everybody seeking after it? The reason is that not everybody believes it, although it can only be attained by belief and never without it. Therefore it is something that every soul seeks after, yet about which every soul has doubts. Even if a soul believes, the question is whether he has enough patience to go through with it, and patience is required because a certain preparation is necessary in order to hear and see.
For everyone would like to see and hear, but if a person were capable of it, would he be strong enough to endure the disadvantages? For instance what would happen if mankind, ready as it is to criticize its fellowmen, could see still more faults in them? Or if a man who is absorbed in life's interests sees a disaster coming upon him, upon his dear ones, will he be able to endure this? If a person who cannot keep his own counsel were to know, through this power, the secrets of his fellowmen, what terrible things could he not do! Moreover, should an affectionate person, always afraid of any harm or hurt touching his dear ones, see it coming, his nerves would be shattered to pieces!
Thus we realize that in every soul there is a possibility of seeing and hearing, and that every soul would be most delighted to attain to this power, but at the same time that not every soul is ready to have it, nor would it be good for every soul to possess it. Food is for the hungry. If one is hungry one must seek for food. If one wishes, one will naturally see more, but if one does not wish it, it does not matter. It is according to one's appetite; if there is appetite there should be food. If it is a sin to see more, then it is also a sin to see with the eyes. The eyes are given to see with, the soul to see further. Nevertheless, to seek for extraordinary powers, for phenomena, is going backward instead of forward. If one proceeds along the path of beneficence all that can be will be given.
If there is any secret in mysticism this is the only one. Before a person has developed his outlook he must not hear, he must not see. Therefore it is not in order to make one see and hear but to change one's outlook that the teacher gives initiation. But when the pupil says, "I come to see and hear", the teacher says, "Wait!"
I will tell you my own experience. Before I started looking for my teacher the faculty of seeing was being developed in me. It is this which awakes the desire to seek for a teacher, for the teacher can give the explanation of life. I did not tell my teacher about this faculty, for I was too impressed, too respectful, to speak of what I could see and hear. But one day, after having been with my teacher for some time, I ventured to speak about it. And what was his answer? "I am sorry." I was expecting a word of encouragement! But he added, "It is not seeing or hearing, it is acknowledging it that hinders one's progress.'
When this seeing occurs it is called clairvoyance, and this hearing is called clairaudience. How wrongly these words are used today! Anyone who is troubled in his mind, who wants to know the future and speak about it, is called a clairvoyant. In reality this gift of seeing and hearing is a gift from the divine Being. The one who has this power is entrusted with the secret of life. The more he claims and the more he attracts people, the more he sins against the law of divine nature. It should be understood that at the time when this seeing and hearing begin an initiation is given, and man becomes responsible for the secrets revealed to him. Besides, if a man was not prepared, if he had not reached a certain point, what would be the benefit of it?
On one occasion I was amused to hear a man say, "The condition of our country? We have so much freedom that we do not know what to do with it." It is the same with a person who can see and hear; he finds so much to see that he does not know what to do.
The Sufi, therefore, is grateful for what he sees and hears, and also grateful for what he does not see and hear. He learns resignation on the path of the divine voyage.
Now one might ask, what kind of preparation is needed? The answer is: a moral preparation; but not in the sense that we understand the word "moral" in everyday life. What we understand is selfish, because we judge another according to our law instead of considering him according to his law. According to the Sufi idea moral is a different thing, especially in regard to this preparation; it is consideration of the law of friendship, of the relationship with one's elders or superiors or those who are younger or inferior. Although friendship is a simple thing to consider, it is most difficult to practice it. If we live a life of friendliness there is nothing better we can live for, and if we know the principle of friendship we do not need the moral of the world. If instead of his own advantage and rules of conduct a man considers the advantage and rules of another person, then he begins to see that person's soul, but as long as he sees the other as a separate being different from himself he will see him wrongly.
Therefore, what Sufism offers are facilities for becoming acquainted with these ideas. After this acquaintance naturally the soul unfolds, and as a natural consequence of the soul's unfoldment it gradually hears more and more.