[the agna chakra], the forehead's center [of consciousness], it rises to the divine place. With this the
Let us stop analyzing. Our experience does not suffice to understand the meaning of the sound of the
flute of Krishna, or the vina of the divine messenger, Narada. Those who have experienced this high
state have become teachers from whose lips flowed the Vedas, the Eddas, the Avestas, the Sermon of
the Mount, the Koran. The sounds now grow ever more subtle, yet more powerful. They are sounds
that proclaim the Eternal Wisdom of God, the power of Ultimate Truth undisturbed and unimpeded
by the word. Nothing is understood, everything known. The gates of the Kingdom of Heaven fly
open, the eternal light is manifest) the music of the spheres rings out.
"When the mind becomes unified, this is raja yoga. The yogi, now master of creation and
destruction, becomes one with God. −−Whether or not you call it liberation, here is eternal bliss. The
bliss of dissolution [laya] is obtained only through raja yoga. −−There are many who are merely
hatha yogins, without the knowledge of raja yoga. They are simple practicers who will never reap
the [real] fruits of their efforts. I believe that concentration on the space between the eyebrows is
the best way to reach samadhi in a short time. For those of small intellect this is the easiest means to
attain to raja yoga."
The state of dissolution [laya] arising from the [inner sound] nada creates this spontaneous
experience. −−[All] yogis who have reached the state of samadhi through this concentration on nada
have experienced a bliss in their hearts that surpasses all description and can be known only by a
god. −−The silent ascetic, having closed his ears, listens [attentively] to the sound in his heart until
he attains the state of oneness with all [samadhi]. −−The power of inner sound gradually surpasses
the external sounds. Thus the yogi can overcome the weakness of the mind and reach his goal in 15
days.
The power of the internal sound, its meaning as an audible designation of our personality, is a
thousand times stronger than the logical combination of the sounds of letters which has really no
meaning at all. The pronouncing of the name−word is purely inner sound.
Now the mantra is that name which is the common property of both the jivatman and the
paramatman (the self and the Self).
At first it is separateness that impinges upon our ears. There is still an I and a Thou, the one who
perceives and the one who is perceived: the dynamic mind is active. In the inner sense, however, all
separative tendencies, all sound−conditioned differentiations cease according to the degree of their
inner refinement, i.e. the degree to which they sink and become one with the static mind. The mantra
becomes the true name.
At the beginning of an acquaintance a name only tells us who the person is. Later on it stands for the
sum total of what the person is, what we have experienced with that person. The name then does not
merely speak of the "Thou," but equally of the "I" and its relationship to "Thou."
