Editor
What the great learning teaches, is to illustrate illustrious virtue; to renovate the people; and to rest in the highest excellence.
The point where to rest being known, the object of pursuit is then determined; and, that being determined, a calm unperturbedness may be attained to. To that calmness there will succeed a tranquil repose. In that repose there may be careful deliberation, and that deliberation will be followed by the attainment of the desired end.
Things have their root and their branches. Affairs have their end and their beginning. To know what is first and what is last will lead near to what is taught in the Great Learning.
The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the kingdom, first ordered well their own states. Wishing to order well their states, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.
Things being investigated, knowledge became complete. Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere. Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified. Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated. Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated. Their families being regulated, their states were rightly governed. Their states being rightly governed, the whole kingdom was made tranquil and happy.
From the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of everything besides.
It cannot be, when the root is neglected, that what should spring from it will be well ordered. It never has been the case that what was of great importance has been slightly cared for, and, at the same time, that what was of slight importance has been greatly cared for.
Confucius
“Now I would like to tell the secret knowledge of our inner being which was known in India thousands of years back. For our evolution and spiritual ascent there is a residual power within us which is located in the triangular bone at the base of our spine. This residual power is known as Kundalini. Though the knowledge of this power was available thousands of years back in India, the awakening of the Kundalini was done, traditionally, on an individual basis only. One guru would give awakening to one disciple. As a result of that awakening, what happens is that you achieve your self-realisation, your self-hood.
Secondly, when this power is awakened, it rises and passes through six subtle energy centres in your body, nourishing them and integrating them. Ultimately, this power breaks through the fontanel bone area called as the Talu or the Brahmarandra and connects you to the all-pervading power of Divine love, which is described in the Bible also as the ‘cool breeze of the Holy Ghost,’ also in the Koran as ‘Ruh’ and also in the Indian scriptures as ‘Paramchaitanya’. Patanjali has called it as ‘Ritambhara Pragya’.
Whatever the name, this is a power which is all-pervading, which does all the subtle works of living process, of evolutionary process. The existence of this all-pervading energy is not felt before realisation, but after self-realisation you can feel it on your finger tips or at the centre of your palm or above the fontanel bone area.
Moreover, this process has to be spontaneous, ‘Sahaja’. ‘Saha’ means ‘with’ and ‘ja’ means ‘born’. That means the right to get this union with the all-pervading power of Divine love, is the birth right of every human being.
Our mental energies are limited. Our limited mental energy, which is linear in movement and has not sustenance of reality, reaches a point and stops. From there it boomerangs, and all that mental, linear movement comes back to us as a punishment sometimes. So now we need more energy, higher energy, deeper energy, and for that this happening has to take place.
The consequences of the awakening of the Kundalini and thereby the attainment of self-realisation are numerous. First and foremost, such a person is constantly in contact with or is in fact a part of the all-pervading Divine power. He seeks the truth by using his new awareness. And truth is one; all self-realised persons see this same truth. Thus conflicts are avoided. Purely mental activity without self-realisation, leads to conflicting ideas and even wars. All this is avoided after self-realisation.
Now, let us see how many other things happen in a person who gets realisation. Firstly you start feeling the cool breeze of the Holy Ghost on your fingertips, which represent the subtle energy centres. Thus you know the truth on your finger tips. You transcend all the limitations of race, religion and other ideas and you go beyond your mind to see and feel the reality and understand it.
The next thing that happens is that you become thoughtlessly aware. We live in the future and the past through our thoughts. They come to us from these two areas of time, but we cannot be in the present. While these thoughts are rising and falling we are jumping on the cusp of these thoughts.
But when Kundalini rises She elongates these thoughts and thereby creates some space in-between which is the present, which is the reality. So the past is over and the future doesn’t exist. At that time you have no thoughts. You reach a new state as you become thoughtlessly aware, about which Jung has written clearly. At this moment whatsoever happens is recorded in your memory well and you enjoy every moment of this in reality. When you become thoughtlessly aware then you become completely peaceful within yourself.”
From “On Global Problems Facing Women Today,” Address by Shri Mataji to the Inter-regional Round Table Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, September 13, 1995
Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused.
Therefore wise men embrace the one
And set an example to all.
Not putting on a display,
They shine forth.
Not justifying themselves,
They are distinguished.
Not boasting,
They receive recognition.
Not bragging,
They never falter.
They do not quarrel,
So no one quarrels with them.
Therefore the ancients say,
“Yield and overcome.”
Is that an empty saying?
Be really whole,
And all things will come to you.
Lao-Tse, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 22
A middle-aged woman had a heart attack and was taken to hospital. While on the operating table she had a near-death experience. Seeing God she asked, “Is my time up?”
God said, “No, you have another 43 years, 2 months and 8 days to live.”
Upon hearing this, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a facelift. She even had someone change her hair colour. She was released from the hospital and while crossing the road she was killed by a car.
Arriving in front of God she demanded, “I thought you said I had 43 years, 2 months and 8 days to live? Why didn’t you pull me out of the path of the car?”
God replied, “I didn’t recognize you.”