Spiritual Realization From a Technical Point of View

The Aim of Life
In a preceding article, we said that man was on the Earth for a specific purpose, i.e. to attain divine realization, also known by several other names such as Self-realization, spiritual enlightenment, cosmic enlightenment, liberation, the Mastery of Life . In fact, all these names designate this state where man realizes, no longer intellectually but permanently, in his every day life, in his whole being, that he is one with the Divinity and with the whole creation. Not only is he, from then on, aware of his immortality, but Wisdom and the Love of God have also become a part of him to the point that he no longer lives for himself as he had been doing for ages, but lives to serve God and for the good of all beings. While the ordinary man’s love for others is always motivated by more or less selfish factors, a realized person, on the other hand, loves each being without any condition, even those who hate him, for his nature has simply become love and no ounce of wrong-doing or indifference is to be found in him.

The Sadguru
He is no longer attracted to worldly things. Never again will he pursue any personal or selfish goals. One who has attained this state is called a Master (he is also given other names) for from then on, he perfectly masters his mental, emotional and physical nature, as well as the laws of nature and spiritual laws. Only the person who has reached this summit is called Sadguru, the true Master, the true Guru, the true Instructor, for having trodden the entire path which leads from dark valleys of ignorance to the summit of the mountain of enlightenment, he is perfectly capable and has all the necessary experience to guide his brothers and sisters who accept to be trained in order to reach this same sublime goal.

A God Who is Unaware of his True Nature
When one reads the Scriptures of different religions of the world, one is struck by the recurrence of the number seven. This is because God always expresses Himself in the manifested world through a combination of seven energies in order to realize His goals. And this is what the Greeks, for example, mentioned in their mythology, an echo of the primordial and eternal wisdom, in giving a lyre with seven strings which sing the mysteries of nature. Therefore it will not be surprising to learn that man also is a being made up of seven bodies which correspond to states of consciousness of the same number, of which the most gross is that of the physical body, and the most subtle is that of the Atma (Spirit), a pure ray of God in man. It is this Atma which makes man a true son of God or a god as the Lord Jesus Christ said in Palestine,
“Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, 'I said, Ye are gods' ?” (Bible, John 10:34)
Lord Krishna had taught the same thing three thousand years before, to his beloved disciple Arjuna,
“He who sees that the imperishable Supreme Lord is equally dwelling in all the perishable beings, truly sees.” (Bhagavad Gita 13:28)

The Blocked Path
However, this divinity in man must be realized, activated - so to speak, for it remains latent as long as he has not attained Self-realization. Indeed, the average man does not at all live according to the consciousness of the Atma, the divine Spirit, since he basically expresses himself through what is called the triple lower personality made up of the physical, emotional and concrete mind bodies (indeed there exists an abstract mind to which the average man does not have access.)

Such a man does not even have access to his soul, which is not as high as the Atma, for it is found half-way between the top and the bottom, in the abstract mind, at the place where the parts consisting of the lower man and the spiritual man meet, and where intuition starts to manifest.

And why is he not aware of the soul and the Atma which, however, are are in his being? Quite simply because in order for the physical man to have access to these states of consciousness, he must clear away, rebuild and embellish the path which nature had initially built for him at the time of his involution (descent from the divine plane to the gross physical plane). With time, this initial and natural path became overrun and obstructed by weeds, the forest of errors and landslides caused by physical, emotional and mental growth which was a necessary stage to gain experience on the Earth and consciously acquire wisdom and love. It can therefore be clearly seen that ordinary man had the divinity within him, but cannot manifest it because he has lost the way.

Very Rare Moments of Grace
One can express the same idea by saying that concerning ordinary man, there is no direct, permanent communication between the soul and the physical brain because of the barrier made up of his thoughts, emotions and physical body which is not adapted. The result is that this man depends only on his brain, emotions and the needs of his dense physical body. Even more so, he can receive nothing from his Atma, which is higher. The fact that he is disconnected in this way from divine wisdom causes him to make many mistakes in his life. This situation is similar to the one where a very small child who is left alone on the ground floor while his parents (the soul and the Atma) live on the upper floors. Not being guided wisely, he will do many wrong things. One can notice that from time to time when man is in a state of great distress or when he is in great need of a solution for some serious problem, momentarily, he will completely surrender. The barrier made up of the lower self is then broken down, the veil is torn for a short moment thus allowing the soul, which always watches over him, to guide and protect, to give him advice through dreams or a remarkable flash of intuition.

But let us come back to the topic. Spiritual realization or enlightenment is obtained when the Atma rules over one’s whole being, from top to bottom, and when man in his physical body lives according to the Will, Love and Wisdom of God which emanate from his Atma, for there is direct communication, from the lower bodies to the higher ones, without obstruction between the Atma and the physical brain. That is spiritual realization from a technical point of view.

Building the golden path
Consequently, one sees from what has been said previously, that consciously progressing on the spiritual path (for there is an unconscious initial stage which precedes these two end stages made up of numerous lives during which earthly experiences and karma constitutes one’s path of progress) takes place in two great stages. First of all, contact must be established between physical man and his soul, and then using the soul, he must build a golden bridge to the Atma. For this, there are several disciplines which the Masters teach us in order to rebuild the path between physical man and his spiritual counterpart. Among them, there is, for example, meditation and japa (repitition of a mantra) which, combined with philosophic understanding and a certain healthy lifestyle, allows us to reach the goal one day if we are steadfast and regular in our effort. Each true Master knows what best suits his disciples.

Can Everyone Practise Spirituality?

The Soul Must be Nourished

We have said that Maharajji is now working hard and without interruption to turn the hearts of men to God. The question which one could ask is whether all men on the Earth are able to practise spirituality today. One could first of all answer that he who has a soul (and everyone does) must nourish this soul in the same way that he who has a body must nourish it. And the soul is nourished by spiritual practice. One could also say that apart from some rare exceptions, today humanity on the whole is advanced enough for all its units to turn to such a practice. Things are more logical than they seem at first glance, as we will briefly explain.

The Great Journey
According to Eastern teachings and also that of certain Western mystical brotherhoods, men have not come to the Earth by chance. There is a divine Plan which governs his stay here which is a very long journey, the aim of which is to acquire more divine wisdom. Consequently, when the time for what we usually call “creation” comes, (which is, in fact, only the awakening to a new activity of God’s life in the manifested universe after a period of rest, these cycles of activity-rest being repeated endless), successive waves of life descend from the divine plane to come down to the Earth so as to start their period of learning and return to God’s bosom once they have acquired wisdom. This whole process of coming down and going back up to the Divinity could rightly be called the Great Journey and it has been going on for millions of years... And humanity on the whole is beginning to start its upward journey. Naturally, certain human units started off before others, for certain reasons which we will not mention here so as not to make our article too complex. These units in advance are those who are Masters, including those of the Sacha lineage.

The two Guides
This period of learning during the Great Journey takes place under the aegis of two great divine laws, that of Cause and Effect or karma and that of successive rebirths. These two laws lead to a third which is the law of Love-Wisdom, love and wisdom being the two sides of the same coin.

The Law of Justice
The law of Cause and Effect is a law according to which each cause produces a similar effect or consequence. It is also rightly called the law of Compensation. For example, if someone does something good for someone else, sooner or later he will benefit from an act of similar kindness from another person when he most needs it, this other person only being the intermediary used by the law of Cause and Effect. On the other hand, if he acts wrongly, thus causing his brother to suffer, sooner or later someone else will act towards him in a similar way, and so he will suffer in the same way, at the most suitable time, in order to learn the lessons which he most needs to learn. This law is called the law of karma in the Hindu and Buddhist religions. It is a law of justice which, in both the spiritual and material domains, gives each one exactly what he deserves. In short, and as it is often said, each person reaps exactly what he has sown. The aim of this law is not to punish, but to guide people unfailingly through time (and thus during different lives), towards wisdom and love by making people understand the right lessons to be learnt from their behaviour, whether in the domain of thought, word or deed.

Moreover, as long as an individual creates karma, whether it be the type which brings satisfaction (this is usually called “good” karma) or suffering (“bad” karma), he cannot attain perfection and has to come back again and again to reap the fruit of this karma. Only a selfless action does not create either good or bad karma. This is stressed in the Bhagavad Gita 3:19,
“Therefore, always perform your duty efficiently and without attachment to the results, because by doing work without attachment one attains the Supreme..”

The Law of Time
The law of successive births or the law of Reincarnation is the one according to which as long as an individual has not attained divine wisdom, he must come back to the Earth as often as necessary to continue his training. Consequently man lives several successive lives which bring him closer and closer to divine perfection. Finally, all this seems logical for in the material world, as long as a young person in a school has not yet passed the diploma which he needs to get a job, he comes back year after year to study in a school or university. A person who would require that man reach perfection in only one life to go and sit with God and His angels would not at all be wise...

An Essential Knowledge
If one wanted to make an analogy between the Great Journey and school, one would say that spiritual perfection is to the Great Journey as the final diploma is to the school, the law of karma representing the mark scheme (the karma gained by a person represents his marks) while the successive lives play the role of the different school years.

Put together, these two laws explain in most cases, the differences in material wealth and the level of spiritual evolution between men. However, there are exceptions concerning material things, since, for example, the wealth which a robber gets by looting is not at all provided by karma, but by the temporary violation of this law. Later on, this law will catch up with the robber and will demand that he completely pay for his acts, for no one can escape from its justice.

When one does not know about these two important laws, it sometimes happens that one thinks that finally, either God does not exist in the way religions present Him, or that if He existed, he would be unjust because there is too much misery and suffering in the world and He does nothing about it, when He is said to be a God of love. This partial understanding has puzzled so many people, and even leads to atheism.

How To be Useful?

The Solid Foundations
We have just given the story of the Sacha lineage according to tradition. The illustrious Masters who showed the way, Kacha Baba, Sacha Baba Girnari, and Sacha Baba Kulanandji have laid the solid foundations on which the Temple of a new era can be built. Their work, on the inner planes, certainly reached the whole world, but the people in countries other than India did not at all know about such an undertaking and so they could not consciously cooperate. Today, under Maharajji’s guidance and according to Sacha Baba Kulanandji’s predictions, this work will be be known all over the world.

Which Direction Will Humanity Take?
As we have said in a preceding article, disciples came from the five continents from the 1980s to be guided by Maharajji, although there had never ever been any publicity about him or any book written. Today, the work of his disciples and of all men of goodwill, while carrying out their spiritual training, is to help Maharajji by informing everyone that this important cycle of the transformation of consciousness and hearts has started. Indeed, it is important for men to know for it is up to us, both individually and collectively, to decide whether we want to enter a civilization governed by light, wisdom, love and brotherhood. On the contrary, we can decide to continue in the present direction, which is leading us little by little to the precipice because of our ignorance and its consequences which are selfishness, injustice and all kinds of violence, be they physical or moral.

Creating a Worldwide Good Climate
By informing a large number of people in the world and creating in this way the desire of men and women of goodwill to follow a sadhana which they themselves have freely chosen, a good atmosphere will be created which will greatly contribute to the success of this undertaking and consequently to the plans of the Great Beings. This is so because it is well known that when several people get together with the same spiritual intention, this meeting in itself automatically brings down divine assistance. We remember that for the sadhana Maharajji recommends that each person should start off by doing an hour a day whether in prayer, meditation or the reciting of a mantra. Later on he can spend more time on it, depending on his inner needs.

Each person, wherever he is, must try to understand that it is his duty out of love for himself and for all beings to turn to his soul so as to use its wisdom, love and spiritual power for the benefit of all.

Peace, as Elusive as the Wind
Maharajji once said,
“If your perspective changes, every action becomes worship. You see God in everything and everyone and at the same time your lower nature is transformed in a positive way.”
We all have an urgent need to change the perspective from which we have considered life up until now. Some of us have been satisfied to just live a life where one tries to find happiness according to the way society defines it. Other believe that getting as much material riches as possible will bring them happiness and peace. Yet others have looked for this happiness and peace through fame, intellectual erudition or by other means. And we all discover bitterly, that unfortunately this is not the case, for if one day our situation satisfies us, the following day this satisfaction disappears. Happiness and peace of heart seem to slip away indefinitely, playing hide and seek with us. Each of these directions seems to lead to a dead-end. And finally, all of them are only some of the many ways in which the mind, not receiving any light from the heart, plays tricks on men, dangling things in front of them which, in fact, are only mirages...

The Hidden Treasure
We must admit that only our souls possess the key to our happiness. As for material things, we must put them in their rightful place, for the Sacha lineage is neither for asceticism, which is destructive and arid nor for unbridled materialism, which is a source of attachment and suffering. Intellectual knowledge had greatly contributed to our scientific and cultural progress, and so is praiseworthy. However this intellectual knowledge by itself cannot be an end in itself, otherwise it will lead us away from our inner divinity. Is it not said that the uncontrolled mind is the slayer of the Real? In our quest for the only true treasures in life i.e. wisdom, happiness and peace, we have forgotten one basic thing, which is that a part of us is human and is made up of our personality, while the other part is divine and is our soul, our atma. To neglect one of these parts to the detriment of the other can only lead to an unbalanced state. Aren’t two legs needed to walk?

The Perfect Way
It is therefore obvious that one must follow the middle way in everything if one want to act wisely and make sure progress. And it is the way of the heart that Maharajji recommends, the heart being the centre of gravity in man, where he meets himself in his essential aspect and where he finds inner peace which is rightly called “the peace of heart”. There, he also meets his human brothers and his God in love and no longer in confrontation, and then, as the Bible says, his joy is perfect, the perfect joy which Indians call ananda, i.e. bliss and which is said to be a part of the very essence of man. One should therefore be able to find it if one knows how to search in the right place.

Speaking about the Sacha lineage, Maharajji one day said,
“The sun has risen over India so that the entire humanity will find happiness. For this, you and I need to be idealistic. That is the Will of God, that is my promise and my work.”
If, on the wings of noble ideals we contribute to bringing light and peace to all men, in spite of the many obstacles on the path, we will be sure to succeed, without the slightest shadow of a doubt, for our hearts will work in unison with That of God’s!

History of the Sacha Lineage (Part 8, end)

Go to Part 1

The mahasamadhi of Sacha Baba Kulanandji
According to a popular saying, all good things must come to an end. Perhaps in this way God wants to incite us to keep on going forward rather that getting attached to a particular situation, however marvellous it may be, as long as we have not yet returned to our Heavenly father’s house. So one September day in 1983, disaster struck his disciples and all those who love true spirituality when just after the Janmasthami festival which celebrates the great avatar Shri Krishna’s anniversary, and which was also Sacha Baba’s, the great saint left our world definitively after a short illness which had not at all seemed serious. Everyone was at first stupefied, then became despondent. Maharajji and the other disciples organized the funeral rites in homage of the incarnation of God who had so brilliantly illuminated our horizons.

He had taken care of the future
He left behind him excellent disciples, certain of whom created ashrams to carry on the teachings and ideals of love, light and universal fbrotherhood of their Master. The torch of the Sacha Mission was taken up by Maharajji so as to continue this work of awakening hearts and consciousness. We have already spoken about his work, and that of those who help him in this formidable task: this is to be found in the very first article of the site and is entitled “Shri Hans Raj Maharajji” which you can find in the topic “Introducing Maharajji”. (End)

History of the Sacha Lineage (Part 7)

Sacha Baba Kulanandaji and his disciples
One of the first things he insisted on was that his disciples should remain in society while carrying out their sadhana. Concerning this he said, “It is the destiny of each individual to work”. He thought it was not honest in a hard-working country like India, to definitively go away to a forest or a cave under the pretext that one was trying to find God. According to him “each of man’s actions should be united to God” and so even in the middle of daily action, in one’s work, one’s family, one progresses spiritually, for then everything is done for God and not out of personal interests. It may be stressed here that the divine Master did not exclude short spiritual retreats form time to time, but he did not want seekers to indefinitely cut themselves off from the world. Quoting the Bhagavad Gita, he often said “Perfection in action is yoga” thus stressing spiritual perfection which is reached through right and entirely selfless action, always dedicated to God. This is the very basis of Karma Yoga. However, his teachings went beyond this particular path, for he was also a being of profound devotion and perfect love for all beings. In fact, like all accomplished Masters, he was at the junction of all paths which he had united within himself through his high spiritual state.

Spiritual faculties belong to God
He also warned the disciple against catering to his ego, in particular when some of his spiritual faculties start working. He reminded him that these faculties belong to God and not to the disciple who only benefits from them. If he thinks that they are his and that he has become an important person, then not only will he lose everything but he will also put an end to his spiritual growth. His fall will be that of one who is unable to resist the temptation of pride.

An alchemist of souls
Sacha Baba Kulananandji had an extraordinary effect on each disciple because he was the living incarnation of God. In a preceding article, we have already spoken about the case of Shri Hans Raj Maharajji who came to him as a simple patient to be healed of a devastating illness which had been sapping his strength for a long time, and who became enlightened on the very next day after coming to the Master. There is also this teacher who was looking for a spiritual Master and who hurried to meet Sacha Baba when he was told about him. When the Master saw him coming, he said, “Close your eyes” and the teacher obeyed. A bright light then appeared to him, lasting for about fifteen minutes. When he opened his eyes at last, important changes had taken place in his consciousness, and he became an ardent disciple of the Master. Sacha Baba was a true divine alchemist who possessed the key to the soul of each living being who came to him. He turned it when he judged the time was right, for he could read each person like an open book.

God's Great Plan
Going beyond his disciples, he saw the great Plan of God which includes the entire humanity and has always brought men towards more perfection in all domains down the ages. He had especially come down from the high planes to participate in a powerful way in the accomplishment of this great Plan. (Continued in Part 8)

History of the Sacha Lineage (Part 6)

In the abode of Yogis
Six months later, his Master appeared to Kulanandji in a vision and recommended that he go and complete his spiritual training in the Himalayas. He obeyed and settled in a cave in Deoprayag on the road to Badrinath, one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites in India.
In those mountains, known to be the country of eminent saints, Kulanandji followed very strict spiritual practice, and in less than three years, reached a very high degree of perfection. One must add to this the fact that he incorporated all the powers of his Master and so became the incarnation of Sacha Baba. That was why Swami Kulanandji was later known as “Sacha Baba”, and has been called by that name ever since. However, in order to distinguish him from his Master Sacha Baba Girnari, we will call him Sacha Baba Kulanandji in all our articles.

Sacha Baba Kulanandji leaves the Himalayas
In 1947, Sacha Baba Kulanandji was divinely instructed to carry on the spiritual transformation of the world that his Master had started. He therefore came down from the Himalayas and travelled all over India for seven years to see and understand how people actually lived. He saw how they suffered from so many hardships. He was so touched that as soon as he arrived at Jagannath temple in Puri, which was the end of his journey, from his soul spontaneously sprang a song which he sang:

Prabhu Aap Jago, Paramatma Jago,
Mere Sarva Jago, Saravatra Jago,
Dukhaantak Khel Kaa Ant Karo.
Sukantak khel prakash karo.

Wake up Blessed One ! Beloved One wake up
Wake up my very own, wake up my all,
Wake up in the whole world, Wake up in every heart,
End this era of pain and sorrow,
Light up the era of joy and bliss.

It was Sacha Baba’s soul invoking God. Then he went to the seaside nearby. There he saw a scene of unbelievable beauty, for Lord Vishnu was there in all His glory, in radiant light which covered the whole world.

The marvellous work promised
In 1953, Sacha Baba Kulanandji founded an ashram in Allahabad called Sacha ashram, near Triveni Sangham, a confluence of three of the most sacred rivers in India: the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. Indeed, in a vision, his Master had told him to found an ashram in Allahabad and have the mantra Prabhu Aap Jago chanted there, for, as his Master explained, this song which he had chanted for the first time at the Jagnnath temple in Puri was in fact a very powerful mantra which was to be used for the spiritual awakening of the entire humanity. After the foundation of the ashram, when everything was ready in 1960, the mantra was indeed sung for twelve years straight. This cycle ended in 1972 and was marked by a great religious festival during which one of the most sacred and powerful fire ceremonies, the lakschandi Mahayagna was organized. The aim of this ceremony was to awaken humanity and contribute to bringing peace and harmony in the world during that period of cold war and very dangerous international tension.

An instrument for all
However, the Prabhu Aap Jago mantra is still sung daily in all the ashrams of the Sacha lineage during religious ceremonies and by disciples in their daily sadhana, for it is an excellent means of contributing to the awakening of humanity. All people of goodwill everywhere in the world can use it to participate in this magnificent undertaking. In this way, one can work towards the awakening of all beings as well as one’s own at the same time.

Some aspects of Sacha Baba Kulanandji’s work
The work that Sacha Baba Kulanandji carried out during his whole life was gigantic, and it went from the training of excellent disciples to the raising of the consciousness of humanity through work on the spiritual planes. It is not known either by the general public how much he did to eradicate famine in India. There is an instructive story about this, and we may tell it later on, but for the moment let us get back to his work as a whole. In a way, he also reduced the distance between man and God by special work on the inner planes.
In fact, not only had Sacha Baba been a great avatar in a past life, but was also one in this life, and time will bear witness to the immense work he accomplished. (Continued in Part 7)

History of the Sacha Lineage (Part 5)

The promising young man
In 1936, a young man named Kulanandji who had just finished school, came to ask him to help him find a job. He came with his uncle Shrikant, a disciple who had been with Sacha Baba Girnari for a long time. To the young man’s request, the Master replied that if he stayed with him he would have a marvellous job. He therefore stayed and soon became an excellent disciple. It is said that his spiritual progress was rapid. He was so loving and helpful to everyone that he was highly appreciated by Sacha Baba Girnari and his fellow disciples. When his parents asked him to go back home to get married and live a non-religious life, he answered that he had decided to become a brahmachari [1] and that his whole life would be dedicated to God and all men. He had to face many trials, but he overcame all of them.

Very curious disciples
Something surprising happened the same day Kulanandji went to meet Sacha Baba Girnari for the first time. The Master, seeing the young man coming towards him, got up and embraced him. This was unusual, for in general a Master never gets up to go and meet a visitor. Something happened later on one day, which could give some indication as why the Master had done so. While the Master was with his disciples that day, one after the other they asked him questions about what they had been in last life. The Master, from whom nothing is hidden, answered each one. But only one disciple had not asked anything, and that was Kulanandji. When the Master mentioned that to him, Kulanandji replied that this question had never crossed his mind. Then the Master let him know that he had been a great avatar [2] in his past life...

The mahasamadhi of Sacha Baba Girnari
Later on, he became the Master’s personal attendant. Consequently, he was with him all the time and accompanied him on his many trips around the country. It is said that his confidence in the Master and his devotion were unequalled. However, on 16th June 1944, while they were both in Varanasi (Benares), Girnari Baba left his body, for he considered that his role in the mission he had started on the Earth was finished, and he knew this mission would soon be in good hands.

I will be with you for ever!
This was a great loss for all his disciples, and especially for Kulanandji whose heart was broken by this event. But Kulanandji had seen all the miracles his Master had worked and was hoping so much he would come back to life that he did not want him to be buried right away. As he did not stop crying over the loss of his Master, the latter appeared to him and told him that he was always with him and that he was indeed the Atma of his beloved disciple. It was true that he had left his physical body, but he would continue to teach and guide him, and also watch over him. Kulanandji therefore found peace of mind once more. (Continued in Part 6)

[1] He had taken a vow of chastity for life.

[2] Descent of God among men, generally in the body of a great saint or a great initiate, and having special powers to accomplish a particular mission.