“To control the mind requires a special sadhana. Those who can control their own minds can control others’ also. They can awaken in others their own innate enthusiasm or inspiration. I have made the minds of many controlled, and had the fruit thereof. I have not, however, had the opportunity to go to the zoo and control the mind of the fierce lion or tiger, so I cannot demonstrate that; but because it has not been possible to control the lion or tiger’s mind, is no reason to disbelieve.”
Self-identification. Swamiji said one day that if we are to know the inner aspect of anything, we must merge with it; that is, it must be gradually entered into by being meditated upon. It is by our going into it and staying fixed there that everything inside it is clearly known. Take a scientist who exposes all the qualities of a substance. Does he describe its insides by looking at it from the outside? Or is he depending on something else? By continuous thought about the object to be known, about its unknown essence, he is becoming unconscious of his body. The he becomes unconscious of the house, room, door, his equipment etc. – so much so that he loses consciousness even of his own body. Here he has become one with the object, or all-pervading. If he remains in this condition for some time, all the unknown and unrevealed aspects of the thing are reflected in the cittakasa and its inner secret qualities shine forth. Now the telescope and other instruments have come, so the various aspects of the sun, moon etc. can be readily understood, but in very ancient days the yogis by recourse to self-identification learned many fact about the planets etc. which are proven true even today. It used to be that many poured abuse on all the pronouncements of the yogis, but now in the discovery of new truths by science, many words of the yogis are being respected.
“Perfected yogis can, if they wish, let go of the gross body and going into the subtle or causal body take up the gross body again somewhere else. He gave the example of Sankara, who was going to a certain place with some of his disciples. They had to go rather quickly because there was a big hill on the way which they would have to go around, causing a big delay. The Acarya asked his disciples whether they should go around the hill or cleave it and go through. They could not grasp the meaning of his question, so were thinking they would go around. Sankara told them to do so, while he himself separated from his gross body and transformed the subtle. Then in his subtle body he went through the hill, and, arriving on the other side took up the gross body once again. When the disciples arrived they were all astonished and began to question him.”
Adhyasa, superimposition. This evening Swamiji seemed to be a different person. Face shining, he had lost his human nature and seemed some being from a higher plane. His voice was sonorous and seemed powerful and full of authority. It was as if on one side stood the hoary doctrine which has come down through the ages, and on the other side was he, trying to dig out the deep meaning from the teachings of all religions. A dry philosopher and a divine being – he had become both.
Raja Yoga resumed; superimposition
Raja Yoga is the one sastra which harmonizes and explains all the marvels written in the scriptures and all the experiences of the seers of God and substantiates and explains their claims.
When the ojas of kundalini remains at a particular lotus or center, the aspirant sees the superimposition on the mind-space appropriate to that center. As an uncivilized barbarian cannibal sees that a horrific majestic idol is standing before him and in accordance with the nature of the view is commanding him to perform fierce deeds, to eat human flesh or some such horrible thing. But in another, more civilized country, where the sadhaka has his kundalini in another center, there will be a different kind of superimposition. Some will see a very peaceful image, some a compassionate one, etc. The superimposition for the aspirants of this country will be different due to their natural surroundings and climate. That of the American Indians will differ from that of the Vikings.
“The prophet Mohammed saw the messenger of God standing before him and telling him many things. Later he related all of that to his circle of followers. There is no doubt that Mohammed clearly saw the angel of God and believed him in all simplicity. According to his superimposition (or projection) he saw and heard correctly. Amongst all such disembodied messages there is no doubt about those that are elevated and true, but it took place in accordance with Mohammed’s level of projection.”
More on his behavior at lectures
At the time of the lecture Swamiji would speak for an hour-and-a-half without a break. When he had finished he would give the opportunity for asking questions. At that time he would follow no special formality but reply in an informal way. If anyone had a question regarding that day’s lecture, he would ask it, and Swamiji would answer in a most affectionate voice. Or, sometimes, going up to the persons, in the midst of four or five, he would gradually explain things. Then he was no longer in the serious lecturing mood; rather, if they were those with whom he had some acquaintance, he would ask about their health or some such thing.
Mohendra’s own observations
But Question and Answer period often brought out new and profound ideas not found in the lectures. Swamiji often used to say, “I learned all this from him at whose feet I sat; all this I saw in him and heard from his lips. I am not nearly so qualified as he.” With a very little bit of humble speech he expressed the tremendous faith and devotion he had for Sri Ramakrishna. Hearing his words everyone could clearly understand and could realize that if Swami Vivekananda was a great soul of such caliber, of what stature must have been his guru, Sri Ramakrishna! In America and in London Swamiji was a different person—he had a different mood: India has not witnessed that great power. India saw Narendranath Dutta and the Western world saw the powerful Swami Vivekananda. Maybe India could not bear that power, so he did not manifest it there. He showed the kind of power he had to show in order to establish his position with respect to the world-conquering English race. It used to be thought that the English were the people—so wealthy, so respectable, learned and with the right to make use of other races’ brains and at the same time be indifferent to them. Everyone would stand before them like obedient devotees. He showed this power in the Western world but when he returned to India he shucked it off and became again Naren Dutta.
Sri Ramakrishna
Swamiji said, “That great soul, sitting at whose feet I learned my knowledge, used to see the Divine Mother. He would see that She was standing before him, telling him all truths. All those were exalted ideas, fraught with profound meaning. How had he been able to see this? His ojas had reached a high level and he had the vision of the Divine Mother. She talked with him in various forms, and he would listen. New ideas and new truths were revealed to him. This condition is not the fruit of any special reading or study; the awakening of the ojas is the only means. So, even though this great soul was unlettered he was preeminent in the world of thought. This is called projection (adhyasa).
Truth and relativity of superconscious experience
Lord Buddha: “Buddha said, ‘Whatever truth I have seen and do see I fearlessly give out to all. Even if all the world stands up and contradicts me, I will not be disturbed in the least. I have seen the truth and all this truth will remain. All the truths I have told you will be as Veda to you.’ What Buddha taught was great truth but he spoke of things as he saw them.
“The Vedic rishis, making hard tapasya awakened the kundalini power. They too discovered many truths. Each truth was correct, but each sage saw or heard the disembodied message in accordance with his own superimposition. These they fearlessly declared. In one story it is said that a certain sage learned his brahmajnana from a river. A river doesn’t say anything: it is a mass of flowing water; so how did he learn from a river? When the mind got into a high state this sage learned as it were from the river, from external nature he heard the divine message. This is called the ‘reflexive mind’ [Written in English].
Another story tells of a sage learning from the fire. How? He performed homa with a concentrated mind. Raising his mind to a high state he heard the truth and it seemed to come from the fire. So the homa fire is called Jataveda. In another story he sage grazes his cows for many years, all the time making japa. Finally the culmination of his austerity arrived. One day while he was driving the cows, he entered a deep forest and was thinking especially deeply when a cow, pleased with him, gave him brahmajnana and all this divine message as a highest truth. The sage saw in the cow his own projection. Now different explanations cannot be given in the various stories of sages; Raja Yoga is the only means by which all these different ideas can be reconciled, the different views being seen as expression of the various projections of the persons seeing.
Similarly, Moses. Burning bushes do not speak, but that is no reason to deny Moses’ vision. Science usually scorns all these happenings as the ravings of a lunatic and brushes them off. But it is not proper nor useful to treat any philosophical or metaphysical matter in this way. It is the business of the philosophy treatises to ascertain what kind of truth is in each thing. What science calls derangement of the brain Raja Yoga gives meaning to, and explains as superimposition.
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