The Royal Path

I WATCHED you dance again last night

       the flowers you wore in your hair

                           were so white and pure

                and you had that far off look in your eyes

           with a smile that looked so holy

        your every motion promising

                the love i have been looking for

 

and i want to touch you for a while

                          like the sea touches the shore

     and when our desire frees us

            i shall be with you

       like the river is with the ocean

             and the ocean is with the river

         oh my Beloved have mercy on me

 

 

YOU ARE the alpha and the omega

              the Lord said to me

 and i am without beginning

                         and without end

 

so sail on sail on

             sail on into the sun and beyond

      you will never be far from me

            i am the ocean and i am the wind

                     and i am the sun and beyond

 

so sail on silver seas

      sail on home to me

  sail on to another sunrise

         sail on in the name of love

sail on sail on

         for it is i

            who gave you your gypsy heart

      sail on to me

 

sail on heaven and earth

          sail on between the stars

   sail on golden sunsets

        sail on to love

  sail on grace

          sail on   sail on to me

 

come dance with me on the water

          with one hand on the sunrise

             and the other on eternity

 

oh gypsy boy

      i do believe you have found

          your heart’s desire

     come dance with me

 

dance with me in the morning light

            and dance me to the night

      and then dance me through eternity

come dance with me

            dance with me tonight

 

This poem is about the soul’s relationship with eternity, about our relationship with God. We need to understand that we can have this type of relationship that is mentioned in the poem throughout eternity, if we are able to come to the realization of our nature. If we don’t come to the realization of our nature, we will struggle here on earth, in the Astral, and for some, even in the Causal. When we don’t come to our soul, we will continue identifying with the limitations of the three bodies, and the suffering of that limited identity.

All the Realized Souls have said that the soul, once born, is eternal, and goes on exploring throughout eternity. However, unless we personally realize this, we won’t have  Joy and celebration throughout our life. Some call this celebration enlightenment.

It is simple to come to this relationship, but I don’t want you to confuse simple and easy. It is simple because it is our very nature, and all we have to do is identify with it. However, to identify with our nature, we have to non-attach from our false ideas and limited beliefs. One of the tools that help us non-attach is the Royal Path.

The Royal Path has been developed in correlation with the four natural inclinations of the human being, or the infinite spirit. One) inclination is the desire to learn and grow, which you can see in every child. Two) is the desire to enjoy and celebrate, which you can see in every young person. Three) is the desire for activity, which can be seen in all human beings. These three natural inclinations are there and can be seen in everyone you look at. Then, after learning and growing, celebrating, and being active, there is, Four) the desire for peace or rest. The Royal Path takes these four inclinations and turns them into yoga, which is doing for others, plus union with the whole for the benefit of the individual and the international community. The Royal Path has Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, and Meditation Yoga. These four yogas are combined each day. Each day we want to learn and grow. Each day we want to celebrate. Each day we want to be active. Each day we want to experience that peace and ecstasy of our nature.

We strive to attain this union through identifying with the sacred nature of our self and God, by harmonizing with the Divine Vibration and the utilization of the sacred mantras. The Holy Ones, or Realized Souls, of all traditions have said there are seven levels of God Consciousness. There is the absolute God Consciousness that always has been, is now, and forever shall be. From that comes the Word (Christ/Krishna Consciousness), which is from God, of God, and is God. Then this vibration continues to manifest into the Holy Stream (the Aum). Around a tiny piece of this Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram consciousness a tiny golden net is formed, and this is the creation or birth of a Soul. To this soul is given a Causal body with its higher mind and field of memories, the lower mind, and the ego (idea of ownership, and time and space). To this is then given the Astral body with the five senses. Finally is the incarnation with the Physical body with the organ of senses. Thus the individual in manifestation correlates with the levels of God Consciousness.

Every human being has the God Consciousness, the Christ/Krishna Consciousness, the Holy Stream, the Soul, the Causal body, the Astral body, and the Physical body. God and creation has God Consciousness without form, the Word (from God, of God, is God), the Holy Stream, the realm of the Soul, the Causal realm, Astral realm, and Physical universe. When the Holy Ones say we are created in the image of God, they mean we are a microcosm of these wholistic seven levels of God Consciousness. They have discovered that we have chakras or energy centers that correspond or are like doorways to these seven levels of God Consciousness.

The chakras or energy centers are the doorways. If we meditate on the first chakra, we are meditating on the Physical creation. If we meditate on the second chakra, we are meditating on the senses and the Astral creation. If we meditate on the third chakra, we are meditating on the mental or Causal creation. If we meditate on the fourth chakra or heart center, we are meditating on Satyam (love), the realm of the Soul. This is the gateway to our eternal nature. The fifth chakra is meditating on our connection to the whole or the Holy Stream. The Sixth chakra is meditating on the Christ/Krishna Consciousness, the “from God, of God, is God” in motion. The seventh chakra is meditating on the pure eternal God Consciousness, which is the only part of us and creation that is eternal. Even the Word, the Christ/Krishna Consciousness, is temporary. Christ said, “I am the alpha and the omega.” This means, “I am the beginning and the end.” There is only one part of us and God that is eternal, and that is the pure Satyam Consciousness.

Most devotees have difficulty coming up with a working definition of “God.” Those same people usually have at least a working definition of “love.”  Everyone wants to experience love, to experience more love, and wishes more love for everyone else. This Love, or Satyam Consciousness is eternal, and is ultimately what everyone is looking for. However, most people have conditions of what they expect love to be, or what boundaries they have if they want to experience love.

Satyam Consciousness is eternal. It is still there when all the forms of creation have fallen away. This is the only place from which we can truly draw our security, because this is our very eternal nature, and the eternal nature of God.

It is important to have this theological understanding, because with this we can begin to develop faith. Even though we still have all the fears, uncertainty, and insecurity of the first chakra; even though we have all the sexual excitation, delight, and desires of the second chakra; even though we have all the beliefs and illusions of the third chakra, we can still have the faith that if we calm down the body, senses, and mind, we can experience the Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature of the Soul.

The reason we can have this faith is because the Holy Ones before us have said this is our nature. Everyone can talk about theology, but the Holy Ones can walk on water, can resurrect the dead, and transform water into wine. They have proven that they have realized knowledge far beyond the average human being, including knowledge beyond the smartest scientist. We can begin to believe or have faith when they tell us that the eternal Satyam consciousness is our nature. This faith allows us to begin to pursue this experience for our self, even when we have not yet experienced it, or when we get only a glimpse or two.

With faith that we can experience our eternal nature, we come to the meditation techniques and practices. Specifically, we try the chakra meditation and chakra mantras, for the purpose of experiencing the wholisticness of our nature. We chant and meditate with the seed mantras, to explore each level of God Consciousness.

Om Lam, Lam, Lam Shalom…At the first chakra (Muladhara), we begin to explore the physical manifestation and all that it involves. We see the four primal instincts, not as obstacles in our way, but as a means to keep the body alive because the body is a vehicle we, as a soul, are using to learn and grow, and explore our wholistic God-like nature.

Om Vam, Vam, Vam Shalom…At the second chakra (Swadhisthana), the senses and the Astral realm, we utilize and explore the Vam, Vam, Vam, not just for procreation or sensuality, but as creativity to celebrate and express our appreciation of delighting in our learning and growing in creation, expressing our unique soul.

Om Ram, Ram, Ram Shalom…At the third chakra (Manipura), the Causal, we truly begin to learn and grow. This isn’t about just learning language, a job, or a career. It is about learning how to be in harmony, “Let Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” including but not limited to learning about how to walk on water, or turn water into wine. This is about learning to be in harmony with the very nature of God, creation, and prana (life force). This is where we discover our purpose in life, and our dharma.

Om Yam, Yam. Yam Shalom…Then we come to the fourth chakra (Anahata), the heart, the host of the realm of the soul, the gateway between heaven and earth. It isn’t either/or. Rather, it is Shiva ever in union with Shakti. The soul is Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram, with a tiny golden net. This tiny golden net is what allows the Physical body, Astral body, and Causal body to be attached to the pure consciousness. However, what is inside this tiny golden net is still the pure consciousness or the vibration of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram, the God Consciousness without form, and the God Consciousness with first form, and the God Consciousness with motion. Satyam: eternal love; Shivam: eternal harmony; and Sundaram: the eternal beauty and joy. When we can come to the heart and Soul, at the fourth chakra, we will awaken into this understanding that we are created in the image of God, that our very nature is Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram…love, harmony, beauty, and joy.

Om Ham, Ham, Ham Shalom…now we meditate on the fifth chakra (Vishuddha), the Holy Stream, Aum. When we look with the eyes (Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram) of the soul toward the subtler vibration of the Holy Stream, we begin to truly develop reverence for a wholistic God Consciousness. We begin to experience the essence, vibration, of Satyam Consciousness that permeates all life, the essence that creates and makes up the forms of the Causal, Astral, and Physical manifestations.

Om Om[1], Om, Om Shalom…now we meditate on the sixth chakra (Ajna) or the Word, the Christ/Krishna Consciousness. It is here that we realize that we are created in the image of God, that our eternal soul is from God, of God, and is God. We now begin to harmonize the individual, universal, and Divine Will into, “Let Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Om, OM[2], OM, OM Shalom…now we meditate on moving from union with God of the sixth chakra, to the oneness with God of the seventh chakra (Sahasrara). This experience shatters the chains and illusions of Original Sin, the idea that we are “separate from,” or that we need something from the external to complete us and allow us to experience or have love, harmony, beauty, and joy. It shatters the belief and sense of ownership that we need something from the external to complete us.

What we hope and pray to experience in our meditation is a glimpse of our soul, or God. We make the daily effort because the Holy Ones, or Realized Souls, have said this is our nature, and that it is possible to experience this nature, to identify with this Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature. We make the effort to realize and experience this nature each and every day, and ultimately each moment of the day.  The Holy Ones give us the techniques and practices and the inspiration that will help us to attain this experience. But we must make our effort to experience our wholistic self.

This is where this chakra or Kundalini meditation comes in. It helps us to rise above the Physical, Astral, and Causal. It is like an express elevator to get us to the realm of the soul and the crown and experience our self as pure Satyam. It is important to understand that although this is what this mantra is meant to do, in order to live wholistically, we must also be aware of the seven levels of God Consciousness, and not just bypass or renounce them. We must find a healthy balanced way of living and exploring wholistically. This is what it means by, “Let Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  It isn’t just symbolic of some Holy One’s prayer. It is a suggestion that we make the effort to understand how we are created in the image of God. The chakra mantras and meditations on them will help us do this.

The Kundalini Meditation we will be doing utilizes the following mantras:

1)    Om Lam Lam Lam Shalom (Repeat 3 times, then move to next mantra.)

2)    Om Vam Vam Vam Shalom (Repeat 3 times, then move to next mantra.)

3)    Om Ram Ram Ram Shalom (Repeat 3 times, then move to next mantra.)

4)    Om Yam Yam Yam Shalom (Repeat 3 times, then move to next mantra.)

5)    Om Ham Ham Ham Shalom (Repeat 3 times, then move to next mantra.)

6)    Om (long Om) Om, Om, Om (short Oms) Shalom (Repeat 3 times, then move to next mantra.)

7)    OM (long Om), OM, OM, OM (long Oms) Shalom (Repeat 3 times)

8)    We then do the mantra Om, Aum, Shalom for approximately 15–20 minutes.

9)    We then end the meditation with wholistic Oms (inclusive of all chakras) for approximately 15–20 minutes.

 

When we start this meditation it is best if we do the mantras audibly. Once we can begin to feel the vibration at the chakras as we are doing the seed mantras, we can then begin to do the mantras softer or even mentally, this being determined by our ability to experience the vibrations of the seed mantras on the corresponding chakra centers.

We do the mantra consciously all the way to the crown and get to that state of God Consciousness, we then pay attention as we come back out to the Christ/Krishna Consciousness, Holy Stream, Soul, Causal, Astral, and Physical. At the end of this chakra meditation, it is important to sit quietly with the So Hum or Om mantra, to bathe in the bliss, energy, and revelations. We must accept that if we are only aware of the material creation, that is only 1/7^th of our nature, and we will not be happy or satisfied with that. If we are only aware of our bodies (Physical, Astral, Causal), we will not feel complete, and therefore will not be happy. The soul will go on calling out for more.

The soul calls out for completion, not just to experience Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram of its nature, but also for the completion of the Causal, Astral, and Physical. Completion means wholistic, Shiva and Shakti ever in union. The chakras are just doorways to the seven levels of God Consciousness. The soul, once born, lives eternally, exploring the different levels. We don’t need to be saved, or need to be enlightened to be eternal. However, we do need enlightenment to enjoy each and every day of this eternal journey that we are all on.

Most of us remember that as children we looked forward to life with enthusiasm. As some of our ideas and dreams got shattered, we may have began to lose our enjoyment. This happens because we were not in harmony with our Wholistic nature. It is our responsibility to bring about the harmonization of our small self with our Wholistic Self. We cannot be in harmony with our wholistic nature without some understanding or experience of each of the seven levels of God Consciousness.

By doing this meditation once a day, we will be vibrating each of the chakras of our wholistic nature. And, the law of karma states that what we give to life, life will give back to us Thus, we will be getting back vibrations (experiences, knowledge) of the seven levels of God Consciousness. The importance of sitting quietly after this meditation is stressed because this quiet time allows us to become aware of the revelations that are coming back to us.

In the booklet, The Secret of the Mystics and Their Practices for the Attainment of Happiness and Other Life Goals, I talk about the four natural inclinations and their practices. It is very simple. For learning and growing (Causal body), I suggested photography. This is for looking for the beauty and symmetry of life. You are trying to see the harmony. You are beginning to learn to look for the beauty and harmony of life by taking a picture of the beauty and symmetry. This practice becomes Jnana Yoga.

For the Astral body, I recommend listening to music and learning to sing or play music. The Word is a vibration. “Let Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Music is a harmonious vibration. The whole world celebrates with music. The whole world celebrates beauty and joy with the arts, but mostly they celebrate with music. It is a universal language. You don’t need to understand the words to get a feeling from music. To study,sing, play, and listen to music that you enjoy, science has noted that all areas of your brain are active. Probably the one time that all of humanity is awake and using their whole brain is when they are listening to the music they enjoy. I am not suggesting that you go around just listening to music. I am suggesting you learn to play, harmonize, and celebrate with the beauty, joy, and upliftment of the human spirit that music can bring. This area of study is for the Astral, the inclination to celebrate and explore the senses becomes Bhakti Yoga.

For the Physical, we have Karma Yoga, which is doing activity that is beneficial for the individual and the international community. It is not very difficult at this time to be a Karma yogi. However, it does take a little more effort to be a Karma yogi than just giving some money away. We must look to do some activity each day that is beneficial to the individual and the international community. We should look for some way to lend a helping hand each day.

What I suggest as an area of study for physical activity is dance. Learn how to dance. Enjoy it. Spend a little time dancing each day, because to dance one must come into harmony with the rhythm of the musicians and the song. When you do that, you are tuning your self to be in rhythm with life. You are training your self to be sensitive, and ultimately to be sensitive to the Word, “Let Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” You are training your self to be sensitive to that rhythm of the Sundaram nature of the Soul, the beauty and the joy that permeates all life. It isn’t the form of our dance so much as it is the energy behind the form. This sensitivity will help us become better Karma yogis, doing for others in a cheerful, uplifting, and beneficial way.

With photography, you aren’t training yourself to be a professional photographer, but training yourself to look for beauty and harmony everywhere, the Om Shivam. With listening to music, you are training yourself to look and feel and celebrate the upliftment of the human spirit, in art, poetry, music, and all life. There is a difference between the creative self-expression (which we seem to have plenty of in this country) and uplifting art. Art should really be defined as that which is uplifting to the human spirit, that which is inspirational to the human spirit. I know my generation is as guilty as anyone for bringing protests and pain into our music. I’m not suggesting that protesting humanity’s suffering isn’t necessary or beneficial, but instead of being part of the upliftment, it seems to have become the whole style of music and has lost the aspect of upliftment. We need to be creative and uplifting and appreciative with music. Then we will want to celebrate and dance. These three areas of study, photography, music, and dance, are areas that most of us can include in our life each day.

With a sense of celebration, we can explore the whole creation. We need to understand that there are seven levels of God Consciousness. They are not seven equal levels. The smallest level is the Physical level or the material. Next is the Astral level, the Causal, the realm of the Soul, the Holy Stream, the Christ/Krishna Consciousness, until finally we get to God Consciousness without form, which is infinite and eternal. We must try to explore each of these levels, each day, as this is what the soul calls out for. The soul will not feel complete or satisfied unless it is exploring each and every one of the levels of our wholistic Self.

At the first three levels, dance, music, and photography will help us explore our nature. The fourth level, the level of the Soul is where Meditation Yoga helps us to get that pure experience of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram. From there, we can continue our exploration in meditation by quieting our self and exploring the Holy Stream or the Om Sundaram, and then the Christ/Krishna Consciousness or the Om Shivam. And then “Be ye still and know that I am God,” we reach the point we can surrender into the absolute God Consciousness that is eternal.

The mantras for this meditation and self-exploration are very simple. Om is the mantra that is, and represents, the Word. This is the sound of the vibration that permeates creation, the first Word. The seed mantras of Lam, Vam, Ram, Yam, Ham, Om, Om, take us back to this Word. The Shalom mantra is the whole journey, just a shorter version. “Shh-al-om,” covers the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. Then we can surrender into that which is eternal, the Satyam Consciousness. Once we can do that, and experience our Self as the pure Satyam Consciousness, all fear and insecurities go away. We won’t instantly become enlightened, but we do instantly realize that we are infinite and eternal, and that this state of Satyam is our very nature.

Now we can begin to explore our wholistic Self. We don’t have to worry about being saved. We don’t have to worry about whether others like us or not. We don’t have to worry about what we will be doing or where we will be going when we die. What we are now concerned about is how to celebrate and rejoice. Om Shakti Ram  Rama Shiva Om…to rejoice in God completely. This now becomes what our life is about…learning, and growing, and rejoicing, and celebrating. and doing. It won’t matter whether we are emptying trashes as a janitor, or whether we are teaching children, or whether we are at home raising children, or whether we are doctors, lawyers, or plumbers. What matters is that we are now learning to appreciate life, learning to delight and celebrate being alive. The essence of the Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram that all forms are created from can be realized and experienced in our daily life.  Forms come and go, including the Word. “I am the alpha and omega.” They come and go, but the essence is eternal; the Satyam is eternal.

When we come back from our experience of our absolute Satyam Consciousness, we take on the limited, or the temporary limitations of the Word, the Holy Stream, the Soul, the Causal, the Astral, and the Physical. All of these have their limitations. With the limitations come our attachments or interests in these limitations as we learn and grow. When we learn to meditate deeply, then we can non-attach from these limitations and make this journey each day. We go from the formless or eternal Satyam Consciousness and come back out, and are aware of the Christ/Krishna Consciousness, aware of the Holy Stream, aware of the Soul, aware of the Causal, aware of the Astral, aware of the Physical, and are studying, learning and growing. We are Jnana yogis. We are Bhakti yogis, celebrating and delighting and worshipping. We are Karma yogis, doing for others. We are doing what is beneficial for our self and the wholistic creation, including the human, angel, and deva kingdoms. At the end of the day, we quiet down and go back to the peace and ecstasy with Meditation Yoga. We dive back into this formless Satyam Consciousness. Then we come back out. This is a daily journey. It isn’t just something we hope to attain in a lifetime, or in a creation. We hope to attain it each day. The message that all Realized Souls have brought is that this is possible, if we make the effort. We go to the Satyam Consciousness and come back out with bliss bestowing hands.

We have to ask our self, “If I am going to be alive eternally, do I want to live it as I am living it today? What would make eternity something to look forward to, whether on earth, or in the heavens, or in the formless? What would make this journey enjoyable?” This is where we start on our journey to Self-Awakening, Self-Realization. The tools are the Royal Path, Meditation Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Karma Yoga. We have to make the effort. 99% of humanity believes they are infinite and eternal, as taught by one form of religion or another. Yet, 99% of humanity still fears death. So it takes more than a theology or belief to feel secure. All of the Realized Souls have said it is possible to realize our wholistic nature when we make a sincere and right effort to know our true self.

This is what the meditation technique that we have been practicing this weekend will help us do. It will help us get a glimpse of what is beyond the three levels of the God Consciousness. It will give us glimpses beyond the Physical body with its uncertainty and its insecurities, and its demands of the four primal instincts. It will even take us beyond the sense delights, the sense excitation of the beauty and delighting in the Astral, which is all quite active. It will take us beyond the Causal, the realm where we want to know why, what is the causation of all things. It will take us to the realm of the Soul, the fourth chakra, the gateway where we can experience just the pure joy and bliss of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram beyond the desire to know or figure things out. It will take us beyond the desire for something external that we feel will complete us, or make us feel good or be happy. We will reach the state of quiet and peace of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram, the very nature of the Soul.

Once we are at the fourth level, we are beyond the breath, in sabikalpa samadhi. So, now we just listen to the vibration and bathe (purify) and become calmer in the Holy Stream. Then we can immerse into the Word, the Christ/Krishna Consciousness. We just listen, appreciate, and enjoy this state of knowledge, bliss, and harmony until we can surrender into the pure Satyam Consciousness. We bathe in the Soul’s nature as long as we can with the peace and ecstasy of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram, just enjoying the revelations, and love and peace of our pure Satyam Consciousness.

The Wholistic Realization is not just about diving into the formless. That is just the inhalation, which is only part of the journey. Even God, which always has been, is now, and forever shall be, and is without form, decided to create a form (creation). God is both the consciousness in form and the pure formless consciousness, the dance and the dancer, the inhalation and the exhalation. For us to enjoy living, we must find the balance in our life of the peace and ecstasy of our eternal nature, and the harmony of learning, growing, celebrating, and being active within our temporary nature. Finding this balance is what the spiritual life is all about. We discover our wholistic nature, and learn to live a harmonious balanced life. The Royal Path helps us do that.

Part of the Royal Path is Meditation Yoga, and this is where we get glimpses of our Soul. It helps us to see and understand how to, “Let Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” First we must get the glimpse, and have the vision. This is where this Kundalini mantra helps us to get to that pinnacle, to the crown, where we have the vision to see.

When we get to that state of peace in our meditation, we will try to keep that peace and loving feeling, that harmony. Then be aware of the thoughts, feelings, or ideas that come in and take us away. We can then either non-attach from them, or change, or adjust them to be harmonious with life.

The mantras, chanting, and meditation help us get back to the peace and bliss. It isn’t enough to just get there in your meditation. You must also learn how to be open to life, open to the Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram essence, so you can carry the feeling of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram through all your activities. Enlightenment isn’t just something experienced in meditation. It is what you experience and realize each moment of the day. It is Shiva and Shakti being ever in harmony. It is feeling the essence while you are chopping wood or drawing water. It is experiencing that essence when you are singing or dancing or talking to someone. It is experiencing that essence when you are learning about the Sacred sciences of what holds heaven and earth together while spinning through the universe.

The Royal Path isn’t practiced in steps or stages, but rather is like a recipe where all the ingredients are combined. All the ingredients must be there for the recipe to turn out. The desire to learn and grow needs to be there every moment. The desire to appreciate and see the beauty and joy needs to be there each moment. The desire to give back to life in a manner that is uplifting and beneficial needs to be there every moment. The desire to experience the Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram essence or energy behind all the forms needs to be there each moment. All four inclinations and their corresponding yogas are like the ingredients of a recipe, and all need to be there each moment to truly enjoy the journey.

The Holy Ones and Realized Souls have attained this, and they all say it is possible for anyone to attain, because it is our nature. It is possible, not because you are special, not because you happen to run into a Holy One and had the grace of God. It is possible because it is our very nature. We are the ones who can make it happen through the awakening, the awareness that our nature and the nature of God are one and the same. Then life becomes a journey of exploration, celebration, and joy.  Om Shakti Ram Rama Shiva Om.

 

 

Namaste