True Meditation from The Inner Teachings 9th November 1948 St Mary Abbots Place, London

True Meditation T188 The Inner Teachings 9th November 1948 St Mary Abbots Place, London Invocation: We worship Thee, O Mighty Creator of all life, Source of our being, Source of the beauty, the truth, the love of all life. O Gracious Spirit, Father-Mother God, Eternal Light of the Sun, Holy and Blessed Trinity, we are caught up in an ecstasy of joy and bliss, and our hearts are overflowing with thankfulness to Thee, the Giver of life. Amen.

Will you endeavour to function on a higher level of consciousness? Do not work with the lower mind but be receptive to the spiritual light, for we are in the midst of a company of White Brethren and they come to help you in your search for truth. We are going to speak on the subject of meditation. We shall endeavour to see what is true meditation as apart from idle thinking, and what purpose meditation serves. We think that this can only be revealed when the soul has arrived at a spiritual state in which it longs to know God. The path of meditation is the path of love. You do not meditate with the earth mind. You meditate from the heart. The first object of your meditation must be love, God, the Source of your being. You are told by some teachers to use your power of visualisation to help make contact with spiritual spheres. It is necessary for you to have an objective—not in your head chakra, but in your heart—which is born of selfless love. Therefore the first requisite for meditation is selflessness, or as some would say ‘desirelessness’. We prefer the term ‘selflessness’.

The pupil should not desire anything that will enhance his own powers nor glorify himself. He has one object—adoration of the Beloved—seeking to draw close to the Beloved. What is the Beloved? The Beloved is life, universal life, spiritual life, which has many forms through which it manifests. The would-be meditator learns in the practice of meditation to become at one with universal life. It is, as our eastern teachers tell us, the act of the dewdrop merging into the ocean. To some western minds the idea of such a unification is distasteful, for the westerner clings to individualisation and [the] growth of personality. When the soul once becomes conscious of its Creator it no longer seeks development for itself. On the contrary, it seeks self-abasement, selflessness, purity of motive, gentleness, self-abnegation—all the qualities which you recognise in the Lord Christ or the Lord Krishna, the Lord Buddha and all the world avatars. The path of meditation, then, must be that of selfless devotion to the One Being, God, the Creator and the Perfect One. Do not seek either psychic power or psychic unfoldment on the path of meditation. These powers may come, but often psychic power is wisely withheld in some incarnations because of the soul’s karma. A soul’s karma may decree that it would be dangerous for that one to force psychic development before the coming of spiritual illumination. Do not seek the manifestation of psychic power. Let your main object be simple devotion to the Great White Spirit, to the Lord. Teachers who usually have attained a degree of realisation and union with the Beloved advocate certain bodily exercises to help forward the course of preparation of the physical and higher bodies for this realisation of the divine life. You are familiar with the chakras. You know that you have these centres of nerve force in your body. You know that these centres can be vivified by certain procedure. You know that through these centres power can be transmitted from another to yourself. You know that a patient can be healed by the flow of spiritual forces from healer to patient through these chakras or centres of power in the healer’s body. In the method of meditation that we are unfolding we are imparting a way by which you can bring into operation the true spiritual life which is within. A healer can impart to a patient and a teacher can impart to a pupil a degree of help, but the patient or the pupil must work for himself. Meditation is a path that must be faithfully pursued by the meditator. It may take years, a whole lifetime, or indeed a number of lifetimes in the body for the pupil to reach the goal. You cannot hurry this process. It is necessary to keep on keeping on patiently, but a great deal of time can be wasted when you are not conversant with the true purpose for which you work. The physical posture and exercises can be helpful but we do not say they are essential. We have known great souls who have reached their goal in meditation apparently by accident. Having been seized with a great longing to find God, having been filled with fervent devotion towards the Beloved, they have adjusted their lives to this one end, and because of intense desire, longing and love for the Source of their life, they have automatically slipped into the way of daily meditation in life. Very important is this constant awareness of the soul’s true Source, the constant awareness of its relationship to God.

You see the difference between this attitude and the man* living only for himself? The latter seems to be closed as in a prison, with high walls around which cut him off from life, from friends, from fellow men, from the animal world, from the beauties of the other planes. Then you will find the man who is what you might term a great humanitarian, who has great love for nature, who is aware of unseen worlds and beings—a man without any method of meditation who is continually aware of God’s all-enfolding love manifesting everywhere. Such a man naturally reaches his goal without going through the laborious process advocated by some yogis. The word ‘yogi’ is derived from ‘union,’ and a yogi is one who has found union with Universal Spirit. [*For editorial policy on gender issues see the introduction.] Realisation such as this may come in flashes. It has been known to come to a man without his seeking it. For others it seems a goal very far in the distance. But this is true, my dear ones; you may at any time in your life, if you prove pure in aspiration, loving to your fellow creatures and your fellow men, suddenly be blessed with divine illumination, with union between you as the individual and the Universal Spirit. Whether man knows it or not, whether he believes it or not in this life, all souls are travelling towards union with God. As you progress, either through known methods of meditation or by the method of continual love in your life, kindness and service to all creatures, you will be developing that spiritual life within which will grow in stature. Eventually you will become what you call a master. You all are potential masters of physical matter. You are potential masters on all levels of consciousness, all planes of life. The physical manifestation of spirit is at one end of the scale and the man of pure spirit at the other. These degrees of consciousness exist and when man recognises himself as spirit, development towards this full awareness takes place. The words ‘Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard … the things which God hath prepared…’* are true. Your limited consciousness cannot comprehend these glories. You cannot realise the vast life existent on the etheric plane, in the animal kingdom, in the fairy or in the astral and mental spheres. [*1 Corinthians 2 : 9]

When you pass away from the body, your state of existence without your body will depend upon how you have lived here. If you have given rein to the appetites of the body and concentrated upon them alone, your astral body will be coarsened and cannot exist in spheres of beauty and perfection. This will involve a return to this earth again and yet again until the soul selects the path of purification and illumination. Then it commences on the progressive, upward way. But the soul must come back and reincarnate because only in the physical life does this purification take place. Do not misunderstand us. You may pass on to an astral plane very similar to this. If your life is one of harsh, coarse vibration and crude appetite, you will find yourself in similar condition on the astral plane, and there will have to be a return to earth fairly quickly to continue the process of purification. Man learns in physical life to discriminate between the real and the unreal, between the worthwhile and what is worthless. As he discriminates between the worthless things and the finer qualities of the spirit, he will soon develop an astral body that will enable him to enter worlds of great beauty. Man must earn his heaven for himself. Nevertheless we would emphasise the love and tenderness of God and of those elder brethren who have traversed exactly the same path as the younger soul must traverse. They understand and do all they can to help souls on to the upward path which leads to spiritual realisation and illumination and union with God. We have been speaking about the life of the aspirant. The object and the goal of the mystic has always been identical throughout all ages and throughout all races. Advanced brethren of every race have become teachers and pioneers for the rest who follow on. You have no doubt read of alchemists in the Middle Ages who were searching for the Philosopher’s Stone, or to transmute base metal into gold. The Rosicrucians are said to have had this secret. Probing deeper into spiritual knowledge we discover that in the process of spiritual illumination, spiritual development, the soul gains knowledge of the constitution of matter and its relationship to spiritual qualities. In the past alchemists were so persecuted by the church of the day that they were obliged to veil their activities in symbols. Many people still think that alchemists actually were engaged in changing base metal into gold. The truth is that to the master the production of gold is simple, but no master would waste his knowledge in producing gold for greedy people and certainly not for himself. He would have no use for it, but if it served some good purpose, he could easily produce gold for the needs of the community. But this changing of base metal into gold is really a symbol that hides the deeper truth of the transmutation of the nature of man from the worldly to the spiritual.

We seem to have travelled a long way from the subject of meditation. We have done so because the whole purpose of meditation is this gradual transmutation of the physical senses, the material person into the saint, the transmutation of lead into pure gold, and the only path that we know of to this goal is meditation. In your busy western world you have a difficult task because the West concentrates upon action. In the East, the purpose of life is acquiescence, the sinking into a spiritual, contemplative state; nevertheless the West needs to bring through spiritual power into material life. So strong is the pull of matter that you find it difficult to meditate, difficult to set aside time even in your own home for this purpose. You will be rewarded, my children, if you earnestly and devotedly meditate, if possible in a meditation group. You will find your group will help. Some will find it impractical to meditate alone because of the many distractions, not necessarily on the physical but on the astral and mental planes. Using a mantram, a word of power, helps to break down such distractions. The utterance of such a word is like a fire which penetrates and dissolves all unwanted thought forms and intrusive thoughts, thus purifying the atmosphere. When you meditate you should focus your whole attention upon the manifestation of God in form. Thus you will create for yourselves the perfect form, the Perfect One. In that Perfect One will manifest your higher self. In the degree you feel love for your fellow creatures, in the degree you feel love for life, you will find your aura expanding. You will get the sensation of expansion. You will be consumed with love. When all thought of self is killed you will realise the divine ecstasy, the goal of many mystics, of the saints of all time. And the joy which the aspirant experiences in true meditation is beyond anything which the worldly man can understand, receive, know or can gain from worldly success or pleasure. You are told to use your visualisation, to create in your mind’s eye a picture, a form. This is to centralise your aspiration; otherwise you will not gain your object.

Visualisation, coupled with devotion and aspiration, will bring the true communion between you and God. It is difficult to put into words a state of consciousness that cannot be described, an experience which takes place in the heart, in the Temple of the Holy Grail. We would make absolutely clear the fact that you will not realise your goal through mental pursuit, through your mind, through your brain, but only in the innermost sanctuary of your spirit, of your heart, and when you have reached that you will find expansion of consciousness so that you become aware of all spheres of life. You will become at one with the Eternal Spirit, and past and present and future will be one to you. You will be living in eternity. You will comprehend the mysteries of the universe. You will recognise while still living in the body the difference between yourself and this bodily shell. You will have attained freedom of action because even though karma will pursue you during the physical life, you will at the same time have learned the secret of transmuting your karma. You will use the difficulties of karma to lead you into greater and more beautiful service. Do not forget (we come back again to the physical exercises) the importance of rhythmic and deep breathing, because as you breathe deeply you are affecting the mental and astral bodies. All higher bodies are affected thereby. It must be the breath of the divine life that you are breathing. Consciously breathe in light and vital life and breathe it out so that divine breath is penetrating all the spheres and forms of life. The whole object is to bless and to uplift all forms of life. You must keep your spine straight because the forces travel up the centre of the body. If you feel this divine fire in your heart it will come as strength. It will be to you like a rod of light. If when weary and tired physically you practise your yogic breathing you will find yourself charged with vitality and will not know weariness. The soul who attains union with the Source of all being attains mastery over himself, over life and over age. When man understands how to keep attuned with the Source of all life, the physical body is renewed. He who waits upon the Lord is renewed in strength.

Read your Bible. You will find there all that we have been saying, as well as in all the scriptures, in the Bhagavad Gita, in the Vedas, in the Egyptian scriptures. You will find it throughout the ages and in the religions of all races. There have always been pioneers, advanced brethren; they, having attained their goal, have been helped and inspired by illumined beings in the heavens to teach their younger brethren concerning these sacred mysteries. Such mysteries are sacred, secret because of their power, for the whole scheme of life would be upset if such truths were imparted to the unready. While it must be admitted that the unready could not wholly use these secrets, they could do harm within limits. The divine mysteries must always remain locked up in the heart of the true son and daughter of God. Every soul is given opportunity to unlock the mysteries if it will pay the price of a selfless and pure life, renouncing the lower self. To the Great White Light, the Eternal Spirit, we give forth our thanks. O Great Spirit, receive from Thy children love, adoration and worship and ever-increasing thankfulness for our creation and for all the beauties and joys which await us in Thy heaven world! May this knowledge bring to our hearts deep peace, now and always.

Q Can you call prayer meditation? A. We must be very careful. First of all, it will depend upon the nature of the prayer. If it is true prayer, which is pure and selfless aspiration, it is a form of meditation. All depends upon the quality of the prayer. It may be a trickle or a great rushing stream. By meditation we really mean conscious meditation towards a goal, the goal being union with the divine spirit and the unfoldment of these inner mysteries. Constant prayer, true prayer, right prayer of course is meditation. Q. If a person lives a life of good deeds would that life expand his consciousness? A. Yes, my dear, such person’s karma would give them opportunity to minister to others, but there needs also to be wisdom and discrimination in their method of service. Ministering to others would not prevent meditation going on deep within, because meditation is inward communion and inward awareness of the spiritual spheres. Service is what the yogi would call karma yoga. There are different kinds of yoga; karma yoga is one aspect. There are different degrees of meditation. Karma yoga often leads up to bakti yoga and the state of going into deep and profound trance or meditation—what the Indian teachers call samadhi. We see a great, sweet spiritual light radiated by the devotee serving his fellows in simple service. Would sincere meditation help to alleviate one’s karma? A. Most certainly. Have no doubt at all. True meditation, aspiration and devotion to the pure light, to the Godhead would so fill the pupil with happiness and joy that the karma would very quickly be dissolved or transmuted. We have to recognise the limitations that appear to be imposed by karma, but karma is not nearly such a bogey as people are often led to believe. Karma can be dispersed, transmuted by light. Here again in a sense is the transmutation of lead into pure gold. Certain spiritual laws are immutable, it is true, but there is a very beautiful way to the outworking of those laws. We think Jesus illustrated to his followers how the law of karma can be transmuted by the divine love flowing into the life. Q. Is it possible to remain aware of this higher consciousness all through the working day? A. It is possible but difficult. It comes with continual aspiration and self-discipline. As you progress on the path of continual meditation you get two levels of consciousness—that is to say, you may be engaged in everyday things on the surface but beneath the surface there is always this consciousness of the universal divine love. You become aware beneath the daily consciousness all the time. It depends upon the level, the particular state that the soul has reached. Not all souls can feel this. You must not forget the help that is always yours when you discipline yourself to the life of gentleness, selflessness and purity. Pure souls in your spiritual environment will aid and guide and help you through every problem and difficulty. Every material problem can be solved, for love is the great solvent—without fail. We will continue our theme next time. Without hesitation we would add to those of you who are seeking spiritual unfoldment, spiritual knowledge and understanding of the higher spheres of life—meditation is the path which must be pursued. Benediction: To the Great White Light, the Eternal Spirit, we give forth our thanks. O Great Spirit, receive from Thy children love, adoration and worship and ever-increasing thankfulness for our creation and for all the beauties and joys which await us in Thy heaven world! May this knowledge bring to our hearts deep peace, now and always. Amen. The search matches with either words and phrases, which appear in the text, or the following ‘key’ words and phrases, which are similar in meaning to those in the document: Afterlife, oneness, psychic centres, inner senses.

Taken from Whiteeagleteachings.org 01730 893300 [email protected]