The Higher Worlds
A lecture by Sri Chinmoy
at Kings College, Cambridge University
Cambridge, I bow to your aspiration-height. I bow to your knowledge-light. I bow to your divine pride. True, you are of England, you are in England, but you are of the world at large. The entire world claims you as its very own.
There are seven higher worlds and seven lower worlds. The higher worlds are: Bhur,Bhuvar, Swar, Jana, Mahar, Tapas and& Satya. One of the Upanishads names seven higher regions. These are: Agniloka, Vayuloka, Varunaloka, Adityaloka, Indraloka, Prajapatiloka and Brahmaloka. Certain spiritual figures are of the opinion that the first-mentioned group of the worlds corresponds to the second. Others, equally qualified, strongly object to this belief. Strangely enough, all, without exception, agree that the world Satya and Brahmaloka are one and the same.
We can enter into these worlds on the strength of our aspiration and receptivity. When we have aspiration, these worlds can never remain a far cry.
Aspiration. What do we mean by this term? The inner cry, the mounting flame within us. Aspiration is reality's constant necessity.
Receptivity. How can we have receptivity? We can have receptivity if we grow into purity and sincerity. When sincerity and purity loom large and important in our earthly existence, then we can easily have receptivity.
A sincere seeker needs aspiration and receptivity. Without aspiration, he is rootless. Without receptivity, he is fruitless.
The higher worlds. Each individual has the divine right to enter into the higher worlds. His aspiration can easily guide him and lead him to God's Throne. To enter into high, higher, highest worlds, what we need is the inner cry. We cry for name and fame. If we inwardly cry for abundant peace, light and bliss, here on earth, then our entire being can be flooded with peace, light and bliss.
These higher worlds are within us and not without. When we concentrate, when we meditate, when we contemplate, we enter into these higher worlds. When we concentrate dynamically, we near the door of these higher worlds. When we meditate soulfully, we enter into the Room Divine. When we contemplate unreservedly, and unconditionally, we reach God's Throne.
Since we aspire to enter into the higher worlds, we pray to the cosmic gods. We feel that the cosmic gods will come to our aid. They will help us enter into the higher worlds.
Here at this point, I would like to invoke the soul of Marcus Aurelius,
Either the gods have the power to assist us, or they have not. If they have not, what does praying to them signify? If they have, why do you not rather pray that they would remove your desires than satisfy them, and rather set you above fear than keep away the thing you are afraid of?
Now, if we want to enter into the higher worlds with a view to fulfilling our desires, then we can never enter into the higher worlds. We can enter into the higher worlds only because it is the Will of our Inner Pilot, the Lord Supreme. When we go deep within, when we meditate for a couple of hours, if it is most soulful and if the meditation is unconditional at the same time, then we envision the higher worlds. No sincere seeker of the highest Truth, the ultimate Truth, will be denied the higher worlds.
Porphyry throws further light on the matter,
We must ask of God only such gifts as are worthy of God, that is to say, such things as we cannot obtain from any except God.
In order to enter into the higher worlds what we need is sincerity; what we need is purity; what we need is peace; what we need is delight.
Sincerity: Inner beauty's other name is sincerity.
Purity: The name of God's first child is purity.
Peace: Peace is unity's sovereignty and multiplicity's divinity.
Delight: Delight is the name of God's permanent Home.
There are two things we observe in our day to day life: human and divine. In everything we do, say or grow into, we see either the divine or the human.
The human world and the divine world. A clever man is he who knows how to deal with his outer world. He does not want to be deceived by the world, by mankind, but unconsciously or consciously he deceives the world, the world of ignorance. A wise man is he who knows all about the inner world, the higher worlds. He does not deceive anybody. He wants to conquer the outer world, the world of ignorance. But his is not the conquest of Caesar, "I came, I saw, I conquered. Veni, vidi, vici." Far from it. When a wise man wants to conquer ignorance, he does so only because his inner being compels him to transform the face of the world. He does not take pride in conquering the world. No. He feels the very breath of ignorance, and then he feels that it is his bounden duty to transform ignorance into knowledge, darkness into light, death into Immortality.
There are two ways to enter into the higher worlds. One is the way of knowledge, the other is the way of devotion.
Knowledge. I am the knowledge, I am the known, I am the knower.
Devotion. I am devotion, I am dedication and I am salvation.
Knowledge enlarges itself, expands itself into Infinity.
Devotion identifies itself with the absolute Truth. On the strength of its identification, devotion grows into Infinity.
A sincere seeker of the ultimate Truth can either follow the path of knowledge or devotion. But at the end of the journey's close, the seekers who follow the path of knowledge and the seekers who follow the path of devotion will meet together and shake hands, because they have reached the self-same Goal.
We live either in the world of human thought or in the world of divine Will. Human thought slows down and dies out, but the divine Will constantly grows and swiftly flows.
Similarly, human power is born of futility. Divine power is born of reality.
Finally, we observe our love: human love and divine Love. Human love is an express train, destination: frustration. Divine Love is a local train, destination: Illumination. Human physical love is slow poison. Divine Love is the running stream and unceasing source of nectar. Human love can be transcended. Divine Love can be manifested. Human love is fruitless expectation. Divine Love is fulfilled perfection.
Unconditional love God is.
Unreserved devotion man needs.
Mutual surrender God and man offer.
When the power of love replaces the love of power, man will have a new name: God.
The Golden Hour, God's Hour is dawning fast. Let us offer our heart's aspiration to the lofty realisation of the seers of the hoary past, Anandadd hy eva. . .
"From Delight we came into existence. In Delight we grow. At the end of our journey's close, into Delight we retire."
Published in My Rose Petals, part 1
Supreme and Ignorance
Aphorisms by Sri Chinmoy
During a fifteen-hour bus ride from Toronto to New York, Sri Chinmoy writes aphorisms on the ‘Supreme’ and ‘Ignorance’ for each disciple, using the word they had chosen two days earlier.
On 21 November, during the bus ride from Ottawa to Toronto, the disciples had chosen folded pieces of paper with either the word ‘Supreme’ or the word ‘Ignorance’ on them.
Supreme
Supreme, only one supreme boon
I need from You.
Do give me the capacity
To please You
In Your own inimitable way.
Supreme, I have been studying
Your Self-form
From time immemorial.
The human in me
Wants to complete the course.
The divine in me
Wants to remain a perpetual student
Shining bright through Eternity.
Supreme, I need everyone.
Some people need me,
While others don’t.
Supreme, in this life-time
I have only one question:
Do You ever need me?
Supreme Lord, I need You
To hear me speak ill of ignorance-night.
I really do!
You need me to take part
In Your cosmic Game.
Don’t You?
My Eternity’s Lord Supreme,
When I see You clearly
I don’t feel You at all.
When I feel You intimately
I don’t see You anywhere.
Why, why this supreme dichotomy,
My Supreme Lord,
My Eternity’s Dream-Treasure supreme?
Beloved Supreme,
The divine dreamer in me
Thinks that You need me;
The divine lover in me
Feels that I need You.
Who is right?
Or
Are we both right?
Supreme, I want to challenge You.
I bet I can easily defeat You
In ignorance-game.
Do You want to accept my challenge?
I bet you won’t.
Sweet Supreme Lord,
Do You care for my heart-food?
If not, my i-ness shall die
In You to see what food
You regularly eat
So that I can please You,
Your earth-tongue
And
Heaven-taste.
Supreme Lord,
Since I shall not be able
To cover Your Infinity’s length
With my physical strength,
I need Your Silence-Height-Power
To please You in me.
My soul sees the Face
Of my Supreme Pilot
Daily,
Unmistakably,
Unconditionally.
Alas, my own stupid mind
Fails to believe it,
Let alone the suspicion-world.
Alas, alas!
But my only consolation is
That my Lord Supreme will one day
prove
That I am not an inch far
From real Reality’s life.
Supreme Liberator,
We perform our respective tasks.
You think of Your Smile’s Infinity;
I think of my cry’s Eternity.
Because we do fulfil
Our duties unconditionally,
We own Immortality’s Reality-Light.
Supreme Father,
In Your Immortality’s
Shelter-Grace,
I shall one day see
Your supreme Reality-Face.
And then I shall unconditionally be
What You have been
Sempiternally dreaming through me.
Supreme God of my soul,
Your Height
I dare not scale;
Your Depth
I dare not fathom.
But I do know
On the strength of
My inner cry
I claim You as my very own.
Supreme, Supreme, Supreme
Do You think I can be near Your Feet?
Do You think I can be inside Your Heart?
Do You think I can ever
Please You the way I love You?
I know these are very difficult questions.
But You can take Your own time.
After all, I am not in a hurry.
Ignorance
Ignorance, you may need me.
Believe me,
I don’t need you.
Ignorance, you may love me.
Believe me,
I don’t love you.
I hate you and hate you and hate you!
Ignorance, my child, don’t cry.
When my Lord Supreme feeds me,
I shall not forget to feed you
With His all-transforming Light.
Ignorance, who will conquer whom?
Will you conquer me
Or
Shall I conquer you?
I don’t think you will ever be able
To conquer me.
I shall undoubtedly conquer you.
Do you want to know when?
Well, I shall conquer you
Only when I take you
As my little lightless brother
And not my dauntless foe.
Ignorance-prince, have some
Common sense at least.
Don’t be a shameless creature.
I am no longer in love with you.
Now I am desperately
In love with my saviour, God.
Ignorance, I cared for you
Helplessly.
My Father-Lord cared for me
Divinely and supremely.
He has won the game.
He has won me for His Eternity’s use.
His Eternity’s care
With you I shall share.
My God-realisation soul
Shall complete
Your God-realisation role.
Ignorance, I needed you
To feed my earth-bound hunger.
You did please me.Now you need me
To feed you with my present food:
Divinity’s Light infinite.
I shall definitely please you.
Ignorance, I warn you,
Dream not to blind my earth-eyes
Any more.
I am with my Lord Supreme.Ignorance, I warn you,
Dream not to bind my Heaven-heart
Any more.
I am for my Lord,
And my Lord alone.
Within my earth’s easy reach,
my illumination-soul.
Within my infallible ken,
my perfection-goal.
Ignorance, do you think you are
really powerful?
I tell you, you are not.
My heart’s cry is infinitely stronger.Ignorance, stupidity’s height,
futility’s night,
Do I have to hear from you
How far or how close
My Beloved Supreme is?
I know where He is.
I know who He is.
I know why He is.
Where is He?
He is inside my heart-life.
Who is He?
He is my Eternity’s Lord Supreme.
Why is He?
To fulfil Himself in and through me.
Ignorance,
You taught me.
And
Now I am teaching you.
Cleverly you taught me
How to be self-sufficient.
Compassionately I am teaching you
How to be God’s transcendental
Height specialist
And His universal Light specialist.
Who was I?
Ignorance-sea.
My Lord Supreme says,
"Definitely not."
Who am I?
Ignorance-wave.
My Lord Supreme says
"I hold a different opinion."
Who shall I be?
Ignorance-drop.
My Lord Supreme says,
"You are all wrong."
He tells me I shall be
The sea of His Consciousness-Light.
Ignorance-child of mine,
Millions and billions and trillions
Of miles you have covered with me.
Are you not tired?
I think you really are.
Let me walk alone for a while.
I assure you,
If and when I reach
My salvation-liberation-
realisation-perfection-goal,
I shall definitely come back to you
To feed you,
Transform you
And immortalise you.
Ignorance-smile,
Yesterday
You smiled at me;
Today I am smiling at you.
Yesterday you smashed
My God-oneness pride divine.
Today I have devoured you,
My ignorance-sea,
Unconditionally,
Unreservedly
And supremely.
Ignorance-fool, eternity’s beggar,
Don’t you see
That my intuition-light
Cares not for you at all?
Ignorance-fool, divinity’s slave,
How dare you disobey
The commander supreme in me?
Ignorance-pleasure-life,
You know how to tempt me
And
I know how to devour you.
Now I give you
My absolutely last warning:
If you once more
Even dream of tempting me,
I shall devour you completely
Sooner than at once.
Ignorance dear, I know who you were,
Who you are,
And who you will be.Who were you?
You were my self-imposed lord.
Who are you?
You are my surrendered slave.
Who will you be?
You will be my God-perfected soldier divine.
Published in Light-Delight-Journeys