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 A SERIES OF LESSONS IN RAJA YOGA

By YOGI RAMACHARAKA

Author of "Fourteen Lessons in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism"

"Advanced Course in Yogi Philosophy, etc."; "Hatha Yoga"; "Psychic

Healing"; "Science of Breath." etc.                                  1906

"_When the soul sees itself as a Center surrounded by its

circumference--when the Sun knows that it is a Sun, surrounded by its

whirling planets-then is it ready for the Wisdom and Power of the

Masters_."

PUBLISHERS' NOTICE

The lessons which compose this volume, originally appeared in the shape

of monthly lessons, the first of which was issued in October, 1905, and

the twelfth in September, 1906. These lessons met with a hearty and

generous response from the public, and the present volume is issued in

response to the demand for the lessons in a permanent and durable form.

There have been no changes made in the text.

The publishers take the liberty to call the attention of the reader to

the great amount of information condensed within the space given to each

lesson. Students have told us that they have found it necessary to read

and study each lesson carefully, in order to absorb the varied

information contained within its pages. They have also stated that they

have found it advisable to re-read the lessons several times, allowing an

interval between each reading and that at each re-reading they would

discover information that had escaped them during the course of the

previous study. This has been repeated to us so often that we feel

justified in mentioning it, that other readers might avail themselves of

the same course and plan of study.

Following his usual custom, the writer of the lessons has declined to

write a preface for this book, claiming that the lessons speak for

themselves, and that those for whom they are intended will receive the

message contained within them, without any prefatory talk.

THE YOGI PUBLICATION SOCIETY.

INDEX

    LESSON I.   The "I"

   LESSON II.  The Ego's Mental Tools

  LESSON III.  The Expansion of the Self

   LESSON IV.  Mental Control

    LESSON V.   The Cultivation of Attention

   LESSON VI.  Cultivation of Perception

  LESSON VII.  The Unfoldment of Consciousness

 LESSON VIII. The Highlands and Lowlands of Mind

   LESSON IX.  The Mental Planes

    LESSON X.  Sub-Consciousing

   LESSON XI.  Sub-Conscious Character Building

  LESSON XII.  Sub-Conscious Influences

THE FIRST LESSON.

THE "I."

In India, the Candidates for Initiation into the science of "Raja Yoga,"

when they apply to the Yogi Masters for instruction, are given a series

of lessons designed to enlighten them regarding the nature of the Real

Self, and to instruct them in the secret knowledge whereby they may

develop the consciousness and realization of the real "I" within them.

They are shown how they may cast aside the erroneous or imperfect

knowledge regarding their real identity.

Until the Candidate masters this instruction, or at least until the truth

becomes fixed in his consciousness, further instruction is denied him,

for it is held that until he has awakened to a conscious realization of

his Actual Identity, he is not able to understand the source of his

power, and, moreover, is not able to _feel_ within him the power of the

Will, which power underlies the entire teachings of "Raja Yoga."

The Yogi Masters are hot satisfied if the Candidate forms merely a clear

intellectual conception of this Actual Identity, but they insist that he

must _feel_ the truth of the same--must become _aware_ of the Real

Self--must enter into a consciousness in which the realization becomes a

part of his everyday self--in which the realizing consciousness becomes

the prevailing idea in his mind, around which his entire thoughts and

actions revolve.

To some Candidates, this realization comes like a lightning flash the

moment the attention is directed toward it, while in other cases the

Candidates find it necessary to follow a rigorous course of training

before they acquire the realization in consciousness.

The Yogi Masters teach that there are two degrees of this awakening

consciousness of the Real Self. The first, which they call "the

Consciousness of the 'I'," is the full consciousness of _real_ existence

that comes to the Candidate, and which causes him to _know_ that he is a

real entity having a life not depending upon the body--life that will go

on in spite of the destruction of the body--_real_ life, in fact. The

second degree, which they call "the Consciousness of the 'I AM'," is

the consciousness of one's identity with the Universal Life, and his

relationship to, and "in-touchness" with all life, expressed and

unexpressed. These two degrees of consciousness come in time to all who

seek "The Path." To some it comes suddenly; to others it dawns gradually;

to many it comes assisted by the exercises and practical work of "Raja

Yoga."

The first lesson of the Yogi Masters to the Candidates, leading up to the

first degree, above mentioned, is as follows: That the Supreme

Intelligence of the Universe--the Absolute--has manifested the being that

we call Man--the highest manifestation on this planet. The Absolute has

manifested an infinitude of forms of life in the Universe, including

distant worlds, suns, planets, etc., many of these forms being unknown to

us on this planet, and being impossible of conception by the mind of the

ordinary man. But these lessons have nothing to do with that part of the

philosophy which deals with these myriad forms of life, for our time will

be taken up with the unfoldment in the mind of man of his true nature and

power. Before man attempts to solve the secrets of the Universe without,

he should master the Universe within--the Kingdom of the Self. When he

has accomplished this, then he may, and should, go forth to gain the

outer knowledge as a Master demanding its secrets, rather than as a slave

begging for the crumbs from the table of knowledge. The first knowledge

for the Candidate is the knowledge of the Self.

Man, the highest manifestation of the Absolute, as far as this planet is

concerned, is a wonderfully organized being--although the average man

understands but little of his real nature. He comprises within his

physical, mental and spiritual make-up both the highest and the lowest,

as we have shown in our previous lessons (the "Fourteen Lessons" and the

"Advanced Course"). In his bones he manifests almost in the form of

mineral life, in fact, in his bones, body and blood mineral substances

actually exist. The physical life of the body resembles the life of the

plant. Many of the physical desires and emotions are akin to those of the

lower animals, and in the undeveloped man these desires and emotions

predominate and overpower the higher nature, which latter is scarcely in

evidence. Then Man has a set of mental characteristics that are his own,

and which are not possessed by the lower animals (See "Fourteen

Lessons"). And in addition to the mental faculties common to all men, or

rather, that are in evidence in a greater or lesser degree among all men,

there are still higher faculties latent within Man, which when manifested

and expressed render Man more than ordinary Man. The unfoldment of these

latent faculties is possible to all who have reached the proper stage of

development, and the desire and hunger of the student for this

instruction is caused by the pressure of these unfolding latent

faculties, crying to be born into consciousness. Then there is that

wonderful thing, the Will, which is but faintly understood by those

ignorant of the Yogi Philosophy--the Power of the Ego--its birthright

from the Absolute.

But while these mental and physical things _belong_ to Man, they are

_not_ the Man himself. Before the Man is able to master, control, and

direct the things belonging to him--his tools and instruments--he must

awaken to a realization of Himself. He must be able to distinguish

between the "I" and the "Not I." And this is the first task before the

Candidate.

That which is the Real Self of Man is the Divine Spark sent forth from

the Sacred Flame. It is the Child of the Divine Parent. It is

Immortal--Eternal--Indestructible--Invincible. It possesses within

itself Power, Wisdom, and Reality. But like the infant that contains

within itself the sometime Man, the mind of Man is unaware of its latent

and potential qualities, and does not know itself. As it awakens and

unfolds into the knowledge of its real nature, it manifests its

qualities, and realizes what the Absolute has given it. When the Real

Self begins to awaken, it sets aside from itself those things which

are but appendages to it, but which it, in its half-waking state, had

regarded as its Self. Setting aside first this, and then that, it finally

discards all of the "Not I," leaving the Real Self free and delivered

from its bondage to its appendages. Then it returns to the discarded

appendages, and makes use of them.

In considering the question: "What is the Real Self?" let us first stop

to examine what man usually means when he says "I."

The lower animals do not possess this "I" sense. They are conscious of

the outer world; of their own desires and animal cravings and feelings.

But their consciousness has not reached the Self-conscious stage. They

are not able to think of themselves as separate entities, and to reflect

upon their thoughts. They are not possessed of a consciousness of the

Divine Spark--the Ego--the Real Self. The Divine Spark is hidden in the

lower forms of life--even in the lower forms of human life--by many

sheaths that shut out its light. But, nevertheless, it is there, always.

It sleeps within the mind of the savage--then, as he unfolds, it begins

to throw out its light. In you, the Candidate, it is fighting hard to

have its beams pierce through the material coverings When the Real Self

begins to arouse itself from its sleep, its dreams vanish from it, and it

begins to see the world as it is, and to recognize itself in Reality and

not as the distorted thing of its dreams.

The savage and barbarian are scarcely conscious of the "I." They are but

a little above the animal in point of consciousness, and their "I" is

almost entirely a matter of the consciousness of the wants of the body;

the satisfaction of the appetites; the gratification of the passions; the

securing of personal comfort; the expression of lust, savage power, etc.

In the savage the lower part of the Instinctive Mind is the seat of the

"I." (See "Fourteen Lessons" for explanation of the several mental planes

of man.) If the savage could analyze his thoughts he would say that the

"I" was the physical body, the said body having certain "feelings,"

"wants" and "desires." The "I" of such a man is a physical "I," the body

representing its form and substance. Not only is this true of the savage,

but even among so-called "civilized" men of to-day we find many in this

stage. They have developed powers of thinking and reasoning, but they do

not "live in their minds" as do some of their brothers. They use their

thinking powers for the gratification of their bodily desires and

cravings, and really live on the plane of the Instinctive Mind. Such a

person may speak of "my mind," or "my soul," not from a high position

where he looks upon these things from the standpoint of a Master who

realizes his Real Self, but from below, from the point-of-view of the man

who lives on the plane of the Instinctive Mind and who sees above

_himself_ the higher attributes. To such people the body is the "I."

Their "I" is bound up with the senses, and that which comes to them

through the senses. Of course, as Man advances in "culture" and

"civilization," his senses become educated, and are satisfied only with

more refined things, while the less cultivated man is perfectly satisfied

with the more material and gross sense gratifications. Much that we call

"cultivation" and "culture" is naught but a cultivation of a more refined

form of sense gratification, instead of a real advance in consciousness

and unfoldment. It is true that the advanced student and Master is

possessed of highly developed senses, often far surpassing those of the

ordinary man, but in such cases the senses have been cultivated under the

mastery of the Will, and are made servants of the Ego instead of things

hindering the progress of the soul--they are made servants instead of

masters.

As Man advances in the scale, he begins to have a somewhat higher

conception of the "I." He begins to use his mind and reason, and he

passes on to the Mental Plane--his mind begins to manifest upon the plane

of Intellect. He finds that there is something within him that is higher

than the body. He finds that his mind seems more _real_ to him than does

the physical part of him, and in times of deep thought and study he is

able almost to forget the existence of the body.

In this second stage, Man soon becomes perplexed. He finds problems that

demand an answer, but as soon as he thinks he has answered them the

problems present themselves in a new phase, and he is called upon to

"explain his explanation." The mind, even although not controlled and

directed by the Will, has a wonderful range, but, nevertheless, Man finds

himself traveling around and around in a circle, and realizes that he is

confronted continually by the Unknown. This disturbs him, and the higher

the stage of "book learning" he attains, the more disturbed does he

become. The man of but little knowledge does not see the existence of

many problems that force themselves before the attention of the man of

more knowledge, and demand an explanation from him. The tortures of the

man who has attained the mental growth that enables him to see the new

problems and the impossibility of their answer, cannot be imagined by one

who has not advanced to that stage.

The man in this stage of consciousness thinks of his "I" as a mental

thing, having a lower companion, the body. He feels that he has advanced,

but yet his "I" does not give him the answer to the riddles and questions

that perplex him. And he becomes most unhappy. Such men often develop

into Pessimists, and consider the whole of life as utterly evil and

disappointing--a curse rather than a blessing. Pessimism belongs to this

plane, for neither the Physical Plane man or the Spiritual Plane man have

this curse of Pessimism. The former man has no such disquieting thoughts,

for he is almost entirely absorbed in gratifying his animal nature, while

the latter man recognizes his mind as an instrument of himself, rather

than as _himself_, and knows it to be imperfect in its present stage of

growth. He knows that he has in himself the key to all knowledge--locked

up in the Ego--and which the trained mind, cultivated, developed and

guided by the awakened Will, may grasp as it unfolds. Knowing this the

advanced man no longer despairs, and, recognizing his real nature, and

his possibilities, as he awakens into a consciousness of his powers and

capabilities, he laughs at the old despondent, pessimistic ideas, and

discards them like a worn-out garment. Man on the Mental Plane of

consciousness is like a huge elephant who knows not his own strength. He

could break down barriers and assert himself over nearly any condition or

environment, but in his ignorance of his real condition and power he may

be mastered by a puny driver, or frightened by the rustling of a piece of

paper.

When the Candidate becomes an Initiate--when he passes from the purely

Mental Plane on to the Spiritual Plane--he realizes that the "I," the

Real Self--is something higher than either body or mind, and that both of

the latter may be used as tools and instruments by the Ego or "I." This

knowledge is not reached by purely intellectual reasoning, although such

efforts of the mind are often necessary to help in the unfoldment, and

the Masters so use it. The real knowledge, however, comes as a special

form of consciousness. The Candidate becomes "aware" of the real "I," and

this consciousness being attained, he passes to the rank of the

Initiates. When the Initiate passes the second degree of consciousness,

and begins to grow into a realization of his relationship to the

Whole--when he begins to manifest the Expansion of Self--then is he on

the road to Mastership.

In the present lesson we shall endeavor to point out to the Candidate the

methods of developing or increasing the realization of this "I"

consciousness--this first degree work. We give the following exercises or

development drills for the Candidate to practice. He will find that a

careful and conscientious following of these directions will tend to

unfold in him a sufficient degree of the "I" consciousness, to enable him

to enter into higher stages of development and power. All that is

necessary is for the Candidate to feel within himself the dawn of the

awakening consciousness, or awareness of the Real Self. The higher stages

of the "I" consciousness come gradually, for once on the Path there is no

retrogression or going backward. There may be pauses on the journey, but

there is no such thing as actually losing that which is once gained on

The Path.

This "I" consciousness, even in its highest stages, is but a preliminary

step toward what is called "Illumination," and which signifies the

awakening of the Initiate to a realization of his actual connection with

and relation to the Whole. The full sight of the glory of the "I," is but

a faint reflected glow of "Illumination." The Candidate, once that he

enters fully into the "I" consciousness, becomes an "Initiate." And the

Initiate who enters into the dawn of Illumination takes his first step

upon the road to Mastery. The Initiation is the awakening of the soul to

a knowledge of its real existence--the Illumination is the revelation of

the real nature of the soul, and of its relationship with the Whole.

After the first dawn of the "I" consciousness has been attained, the

Candidate is more able to grasp the means of developing the consciousness

to a still higher degree--is more able to use the powers latent within

him; to control his own mental states; to manifest a Centre of

Consciousness and Influence that will radiate into the outer world which

is always striving and hunting for such centres around which it may

revolve.

Man must master himself before he can hope to exert an influence beyond

himself. There is no royal road to unfoldment and power--each step must

be taken in turn, and each Candidate must take the step himself, and by

his own effort. But he may, and will, be aided by the helping hand of the

teachers who have traveled The Path before him, and who know just when

that helping hand is needed to lift the Candidate over the rough places.

We bid the Candidate to pay strict attention to the following

instruction, as it is all important. Do not slight any part of it, for we

are giving you only what is necessary, and are stating it as briefly as

possible. Pay attention, and follow the instruction closely. This lesson

must be mastered before you progress. And it must be practiced not only

now, but at many stages of the journey, until full Initiation and

Illumination is yours.

RULES AND EXERCISES DESIGNED TO AID THE CANDIDATE IN HIS INITIATION.

The first instruction along the line of Initiation is designed to awaken

the mind to a full realization and consciousness of the individuality of

the "I." The Candidate is taught to relax his body, and to calm his mind

and to meditate upon the "I" until it is presented clearly and sharply

before the consciousness. We herewith give directions for producing the

desired physical and mental condition, in which meditation and

concentration are more readily practiced. This state of Meditation will

be referred to in subsequent exercises, so the Candidate is advised to

acquaint himself thoroughly with it.

STATE OF MEDITATION. If possible, retire to a quiet place or room, where

you do not fear interruption, so that your mind may feel secure and at

rest. Of course, the ideal condition cannot always be obtained, in which

case you must do the best you can. The idea is that you should be able to

abstract yourself, so far as is possible, from distracting impressions,

and you should be alone with yourself--in communion with your Real Self.

It is well to place yourself in an easy chair, or on a couch, so that you

may relax the muscles and free the tension of your nerves. You should be

able to "let go" all over, allowing every muscle to become limp, until a

feeling of perfect peace and restful calm permeates every particle of

your being. Rest the body and calm the mind. This condition is best in

the earlier stages of the practice, although after the Candidate has

acquired a degree of mastery he will be able to obtain the physical

relaxation and mental calm whenever and wherever he desires.

But he must guard against acquiring a "dreamy" way of going around,

wrapped in meditation when he should be attending to the affairs of life.

_Remember this_, the State of Meditation should be entirely under the

control of the Will, and should be entered into only deliberately and at

the proper times. The Will must be master of this, as well as of every

other mental state. The Initiates are not "day dreamers," but men and

women having full control of themselves and their moods. The "I"

consciousness while developed by meditation and consciousness, soon

becomes a fixed item of consciousness, and does not have to be produced

by meditation. In time of trial, doubt, or trouble, the consciousness may

be brightened by an effort of the Will (as we shall explain in subsequent

lessons) without going into the State of Meditation.

THE REALIZATION OF THE "I." The Candidate must first acquaint himself

with the reality of the "I," before he will be able to learn its real

nature. This is the first step. Let the Candidate place himself in the

State of Meditation, as heretofore described. Then let him concentrate

his entire attention upon his Individual Self, shutting out all thought

of the outside world, and other persons. Let him form in his mind the

idea of himself as a _real_ thing--an actual being--an individual

entity--a Sun around which revolves the world. He must see himself as the

Centre around which the whole world revolves. Let not a false modesty, or

sense of depreciation interfere with this idea, for you are not denying

the right of others to also consider themselves centres. You are, in

fact, a centre of consciousness--made so by the Absolute--and you are

awakening to the fact. Until the Ego recognizes itself as a Centre of

Thought, Influence and Power, it will not be able to _manifest_ these

qualities. And in proportion as it recognizes its position as a centre,

so will it be able to manifest its qualities. It is not necessary that

you should compare yourself with others, or imagine yourself greater or

higher than them. In fact, such comparisons are to be regretted, and are

unworthy of the advanced Ego, being a mark and indication of a lack of

development, rather than the reverse. In the Meditation simply ignore all

consideration of the respective qualities of others, and endeavor to

realize the fact that YOU are a great Centre of Consciousness--a Centre

of Power--a Centre of Influence--a Centre of Thought. And that like the

planets circling around the sun, so does your world revolve around YOU

who are its centre. It will not be necessary for you to argue out this

matter, or to convince yourself of its truth by intellectual reasoning.

The knowledge does not come in that way. It comes in the shape of a

realization of the truth gradually dawning upon your consciousness

through meditation and concentration. Carry this thought of yourself as a

"Centre of Consciousness--Influence--Power" with you, _for it is an

occult truth,_ and in the proportion that you are able, to realize it so

will be your ability to manifest the qualities named.

No matter how humble may be your position--no matter how hard may be your

lot--no matter how deficient in educational advantages you may be--still

you would not change your "I" with the most fortunate, wisest and highest

man or woman in the world. You may doubt this, but think for a moment and

you will see that we are right. When you say that you "would like to be"

this person or that, you really mean that _you_ would like to have their

degree of intelligence, power, wealth, position, or what not. What you

want is something that is theirs, or something akin to it. But you would

not for a moment wish to merge your _identity_ with theirs, or to

exchange _selves_. Think of this for a moment To _be_ the other person

you would have to let _yourself_ die, and instead of _yourself_ you would

be the other person. The real _you_ would be wiped out of existence, and

you would not be _you_ at all, but would be _he_.

If you can but grasp this idea you will see that not for a moment would

you be willing for such an exchange. Of course such an exchange is

impossible. The "I" of you cannot be wiped out. It is eternal, and will

go on, and on, and on, to higher and higher states--but it always will be

the same "I." Just as you, although a far different sort of person from

your childhood self, still you recognize that the same "I" is there, and

always has been there. And although you will attain knowledge,

experience, power and wisdom in the coming years, the same "I" will be

there. The "I" is the Divine Spark and cannot be extinguished.

The majority of people in the present stage of the race development have

but a faint conception of the reality of the "I." They accept the

statement of its existence, and are conscious of themselves as an eating,

sleeping, living creature--something like a higher form of animal. But

they have not awakened to an "awareness" or realization of the "I," which

must come to all who become real centres of Influence and Power. Some men

have stumbled into this consciousness, or a degree of it, without

understanding the matter. They have "felt" the truth of it, and they have

stepped out from the ranks of the commonplace people of the world, and

have become powers for good or bad. This is unfortunate to some extent,

as this "awareness" without the knowledge that should accompany it may

bring pain to the individual and others.

The Candidate must meditate upon the "I," and recognize it--_feel_ it--to

be a Centre. This is his first task. Impress upon your mind the word "I,"

in this sense and understanding, and let it sink deep down into your

consciousness, so that it will become a part of you. And when you say

"I," you must accompany the word with the picture of your Ego as a Centre

of Consciousness, and Thought, and Power, and Influence. See yourself

thus, surrounded by your world. Wherever you go, there goes the Centre of

your world. YOU are the Centre, and all outside of you revolves around

that Centre. This is the first great lesson on the road to Initiation.

Learn it!

The Yogi Masters teach the Candidates that their realization of the "I"

as a Centre may be hastened by going into the Silence, or State of

Meditation, and repeating their first name over slowly, deliberately and

solemnly a number of times. This exercise tends to cause the mind to

centre upon the "I," and many cases of dawning Initiation have resulted

from this practice. Many original thinkers have stumbled upon this

method, without having been taught it. A noted example is that of Lord

Tennyson, who has written that he attained a degree of Initiation in this

way. He would repeat his own name, over and over, and the same time

meditating upon his identity, and he reports that he would become

conscious and "aware" of his reality and immortality--in short would

recognize himself as a _real_ center of consciousness.

We think we have given you the key to the first stage of meditation and

concentration. Before passing on, let us quote from one of the old Hindu

Masters. He says, regarding this matter: "When the soul sees itself as a

Centre surrounded by its circumference--when the Sun knows that it is a

Sun, and is surrounded by its whirling planets--then is it ready for the

Wisdom and Power of the Masters."

THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE "I" FROM THE BODY. Many of the

Candidates find themselves prevented from a full realization of the "I"

(even after they have begun to grasp it) by the confusing of the reality

of the "I" with the sense of the physical body. This is a stumbling block

that is easily overcome by meditation and concentration, the independence

of the "I" often becoming manifest to the Candidate in a flash, upon the

proper thought being used as the subject of meditation.

The exercise is given as follows: Place yourself in the State of

Meditation, and think of YOURSELF--the Real "I"--as being independent of

the body, but using the body as a covering and an instrument. Think of

the body as you might of a suit of clothes. Realize that you are able to

leave the body, and still be the same "I." Picture yourself as doing

this, and looking down upon your body. Think of the body as a shell from

which you may emerge without affecting your identity. Think of yourself

as mastering and controlling the body that you occupy, and using it to

the best advantage, making it healthy, strong and vigorous, but still

being merely a shell or covering for the real "You." Think of the body as

composed of atoms and cells which are constantly changing, but which are

held together by the force of your Ego, and which you can improve at

Will. Realize that you are merely inhabiting the body, and using it for

your convenience, just as you might use a house.

In meditating further, ignore the body entirely, and place your thought

upon the Real "I" that you are beginning to feel to be "you," and you

will find that your identity--your "I"--is something entirely apart from

the body. You may now say "my body" with a new meaning. Divorce the idea

of your being a physical being, and realize that you are above body. But

do not let this conception and realization cause you to ignore the body.

You must regard the body as the Temple of the Spirit, and care for it,

and make it a fit habitation for the "I." Do not be frightened if, during

this meditation, you happen to experience the sensation of being out of

the body for a few moments, and of returning to it when you are through

with the exercise. The Ego is able (in the case of the advanced Initiate)

of soaring above the confines of the body, but it never severs its

connection at such times. It is merely as if one were to look out of the

window of a room, seeing what was going on outside, and drawing in his

head when he wishes. He does not leave the room, although he may place

his head outside in order to observe what is doing in the street. We do

not advise the Candidate to try to cultivate this sensation--but if it

comes naturally during meditation, do not fear.

REALIZING THE IMMORTALITY AND INVINCIBILITY OF THE EGO. While the

majority accept on faith the belief in the Immortality of the Soul, yet

but few are aware that it may be demonstrated by the soul itself. The

Yogi Masters teach the Candidates this lesson, as follows: The Candidate

places himself in the State of Meditation, or at least in a thoughtful

frame of mind, and then endeavors to "imagine" himself as "dead"--that

is, he tries to form a mental conception of himself as dead. This, at

first thought, appears a very easy thing to imagine, but as a matter of

fact it is _impossible_ to do so, for the Ego refuses to entertain the

proposition, and finds it impossible to imagine it. Try it for yourself.

You will find that you may be able to imagine your _body_ as lying still

and lifeless, but the same thought finds that in so doing _You_ are

standing and looking at the body. So you see that _You_ are not dead at

all, even in imagination, although the body may be. Or, if you refuse to

disentangle yourself from your body, in imagination, you may think of

your body as dead but _You_ who refuse to leave it are still _alive_ and

recognize the dead body as a thing apart from your Real Self. No matter

how you may twist it you _cannot_ imagine yourself as dead. The Ego

insists upon being _alive_ in any of these thoughts, and thus finds that

it has within itself the sense and assurance of Immortality. In case of

sleep or stupor resulting from a blow, or from narcotics or anaesthetics,

the mind is apparently blank, but the "I" is conscious of a continuity of

existence. And so one may imagine himself as being in an unconscious

state, or asleep, quite easily, and sees the possibility of such a state,

but when it comes to imagining the "I" as dead, the mind utterly refuses

to do the work. This wonderful fact that the soul carries within itself

the evidence of its own immortality is a glorious thing, but one must

have reached a degree of unfoldment before he is able to grasp its full

significance.

The Candidate is advised to investigate the above statement for himself,

by meditation and concentration, for in order that the "I" may know its

true nature and possibilities, it must realize that it cannot be

destroyed or killed. It must know what it is before it is able to

manifest its nature. So do not leave this part of the teaching until you

have mastered it. And it is well occasionally to return to it, in order

that you may impress upon the mind the fact of your immortal and eternal

nature. The mere glimmering of this conception of truth will give you an

increased sense of strength and power, and you will find that your Self

has expanded and grown, and that you are more of a power and Centre than

you have heretofore realized.

The following exercises are useful in bringing about a realization of the

invincibility of the Ego--its superiority to the elements.

Place yourself in the State of Meditation, and imagine the "I" as

withdrawn from the body. See it passing through the tests of air, fire

and water unharmed. The body being out of the way, the soul is seen to

be able of passing through the air at will--of floating like a bird--of

soaring--of traveling in the ether. It may be seen as able to pass

through fire without harm and without sensation, for the elements affect

only the physical body, not the Real "I." Likewise it may be seen as

passing through water without discomfort or danger or hurt.

This meditation will give you a sense of superiority and strength, and

will show you something of the nature of the real "I." It is true that

you are confined in the body, and the body may be affected by the

elements, but the knowledge that the Real "I" is superior to the

body--superior to the elements that affect the body--and cannot be

injured any more than it can be killed, is wonderful, and tends to

develop the full "I" consciousness within you. For You--the Real "I"--are

not body. You are Spirit. The Ego is Immortal and Invincible, and cannot

be killed and harmed. When you enter into this realization and

consciousness, you will feel an influx of strength and power impossible

to describe. Fear will fall from you like a worn-out cloak, and you will

feel that you are "born again." An understanding of this thought, will

show you that the things that we have been fearing cannot affect the Real

"I," but must rest content with hurting the physical body. And they may

be warded off from the physical body by a proper understanding and

application of the Will.

In our next lesson, you will be taught how to separate the "I" from the

mechanism of the mind--how you may realize your mastery of the mind, just

as you now realize your independence of the body. This knowledge must be

imparted to you by degrees, and you must place your feet firmly upon one

round of the ladder before you take the next step.

The watchword of this First Lesson is "I." And the Candidate must enter

fully into its meaning before he is able to progress. He must realize his

real existence--independent of the body. He must see himself as

invincible and impervious to harm, hurt, or death. He must see himself as

a great Centre of Consciousness--a Sun around which his world revolves.

Then will come to him a new strength. He will feel a calm dignity and

power, which will be apparent to those with whom he comes in contact. He

will be able to look the world in the face without flinching, and without

fear, for he will realize the nature and power of the "I." He will

realize that he is a Centre of Power--of Influence. He will realize that

nothing can harm the "I," and that no matter how the storms of life may

dash upon the personality, the real "I"--the Individuality--is unharmed.

Like a rock that stands steadfast throughout the storm, so does the "I"

stand through the tempests of the life of personality. And he will know

that as he grows in realization, he will be able to control these storms

and bid them be still.

In the words of one of the Yogi Masters: "The 'I' is eternal. It passes

unharmed through the fire, the air, the water. Sword and spear cannot

kill or wound it. It cannot die. The trials of the physical life are but

as dreams to it. Resting secure in the knowledge of the 'I,' Man may

smile at the worst the world has to offer, and raising his hand he may

bid them disappear into the mist from which they emerged.

Blessed is he who can say (understandingly) 'I'."

So dear Candidate, we leave you to master the First Lesson. Be not

discouraged if your progress be slow. Be not cast down if you slip back a

step after having gained it. You will gain two at the next step. Success

and realization will be yours. Mastery is before. You will Attain. You

will Accomplish. Peace be with you.

MANTRAMS (AFFIRMATIONS) FOR THE FIRST LESSON.

"I" am a Centre. Around me revolves my world.

"I" am a Centre of Influence and Power.

"I" am a Centre of Thought and Consciousness.

"I" am Independent of the Body.

"I" am Immortal and cannot be Destroyed.

"I" am Invincible and cannot be Injured.

[Illustration: "I"]

THE SECOND LESSON.

THE EGO'S MENTAL TOOLS.

In the First Lesson we gave instruction and exercises designed to awaken

the consciousness of the Candidate to a realization of the real "I." We

confined our instructions to the preliminary teachings of the reality of

the "I," and the means whereby the Candidate might be brought to a

realization of his real Self, and its independence from the body and the

things of the flesh. We tried to show you how you might awaken to a

consciousness of the reality of the "I"; its real nature; its

independence of the body; its immortality; its invincibility and

invulnerability. How well we have succeeded may be determined only by

the experience of each Candidate, for we can but point out the way, and

the Candidate must do the real work himself.

But there is more to be said and done in this matter of awakening to a

realization of the "I." So far, we have but told you how to distinguish

between the material coverings of the Ego and the "I" itself. We have

tried to show you that you had a real "I," and then to show you what it

was, and how it was independent of the material coverings, etc. But there

is still another step in this self analysis--a more difficult step. Even

when the Candidate has awakened to a realization of his independence of

the body, and material coverings, he often confounds the "I" with the

lower principles of the mind. This is a mistake. The Mind, in its various

phases and planes, is but a tool and instrument of the "I," and is far

from being the "I" itself. We shall try to bring out this fact in this

lesson and its accompanying exercises. We shall avoid, and pass by, the

metaphysical features of the case, and shall confine ourselves to the

Yogi Psychology. We shall not touch upon theories, nor attempt to

explain the cause, nature and purpose of the Mind--the working tool of

the Ego--but instead shall attempt to point out a way whereby you may

analyze the Mind and then determine which is the "not I" and which is the

real "I." It is useless to burden you with theories or metaphysical talk,

when the way to prove the thing is right within your own grasp. By using

the mind, you will be able to separate it into its parts, and force it to

give you its own answer to the questions touching itself.

In the second and third lessons of our "_Fourteen Lessons_," we pointed

out to you the fact that man had three Mental Principles, or subdivisions

of mind, all of which were below the plane of Spirit. The "I" is Spirit,

but its mental principles are of a lower order. Without wishing to unduly

repeat ourselves, we think it better to run hastily over these three

Principles in the mind of Man.

First, there is what is known as the Instinctive Mind, which man shares

in common with the lower animals. It is the first principle of mind that

appears in the scale of evolution. In its lowest phases, consciousness

is but barely perceptible, and mere sensation is apparent. In its higher

stages it almost reaches the plane of Reason or Intellect, in fact, they

overlap each other, or, rather, blend into each other. The Instinctive

Mind does valuable work in the direction of maintaining animal life in

our bodies, it having charge of this part of our being. It attends to the

constant work of repair; replacement; change; digestion; assimilation;

elimination, etc., all of which work is performed below the plane of

consciousness.

But this is but a small part of the work of the Instinctive Mind. For

this part of the mind has stored up all the experiences of ourselves and

ancestors in our evolution from the lower forms of animal life into the

present stage of evolution. All of the old animal instincts (which were

all right in their place, and quite necessary for the well-being of the

lower forms of life) have left traces in this part of the mind, which

traces are apt to come to the front under pressure of unusual

circumstances, even long after we think we have outgrown them. In this

part of the mind are to be found traces of the old fighting instinct of

the animal; all the animal passions; all the hate, envy, jealousy, and

the rest of it, which are our inheritances from the past. The Instinctive

Mind is also the "habit mind" in which is stored up all the little, and

great, habits of many lives, or rather such as have not been entirely

effaced by subsequent habits of a stronger nature. The Instinctive Mind

is a queer storehouse, containing quite a variety of objects, many of

them very good in their way, but others of which are the worst kind of

old junk and rubbish.

This part of the mind also is the seat of the appetites; passions;

desires; instincts; sensations; feelings and emotions of the lower order,

manifested in the lower animals; primitive man; the barbarian; and the

man of today, the difference being only in the degree of control over

them that has been gained by the higher parts of the mind. There are

higher desires, aspirations, etc., belonging to a higher part of the

mind, which we will describe in a few minutes, but the "animal nature"

belongs to the Instinctive Mind. To it also belong the "feelings"

belonging to our emotional and passional nature. All animal desires, such

as hunger and thirst; sexual desires (on the physical plane); all

passions, such as physical love; hatred; envy; malice; jealousy; revenge,

etc., are part of this part of the mind. The desire for the physical

(unless a means of reaching higher things) and the longing for the

material, belong to this region of the mind. The "lust of the flesh; the

lust of the eyes; the pride of life," belong to the Instinctive Mind.

Take note, however, that we are not condemning the things belonging to

this plane of the mind. All of them have their place--many were necessary

in the past, and many are still necessary for the continuance of physical

life. All are right in their place, and to those in the particular plane

of development to which they belong, and are wrong only when one is

mastered by them, or when he returns to pick up an unworthy thing that

has been cast off in the unfoldment of the individual. This lesson has

nothing to do with the right and wrong of these things (we have treated

of that elsewhere) and we mention this part of the mind that you may

understand that you have such a thing in your mental make-up, and that

you may understand the thought, etc., coming from it, when we start in to

analyze the mind in the latter part of this lesson. All we will ask you

to do at this stage of the lesson is to realize that this part of the

mind, while _belonging_ to you, is _not_ You, yourself. It is _not_ the

"I" part of you.

Next in order, above the Instinctive Mind, is what we have called the

Intellect, that part of the mind that does our reasoning, analyzing;

"thinking," etc. You are using it in the consideration of this lesson.

But note this: You are _using_ it, but it is _not_ You, any more than was

the Instinctive Mind that you considered a moment ago. You will begin to

make the separation, if you will think but a moment. We will not take up

your time with a consideration of Intellect or Reason. You will find a

good description of this part of the mind in any good elementary work on

Psychology. Our only idea in mentioning it is that you may make the

classification, and that we may afterward show you that the Intellect is

but a tool of the Ego, instead of being the real "I" itself, as so many

seem to imagine.

The third, and highest, Mental Principle is what is called the Spiritual

Mind, that part of the mind which is almost unknown to many of the race,

but which has developed into consciousness with nearly all who read this

lesson, for the fact that the subject of this lesson attracts you is a

proof that this part of your mental nature is unfolding into

consciousness. This region of the mind is the source of that which we

call "genius," "inspiration," "spirituality," and all that we consider

the "highest" in our mental make-up. All the great thoughts and ideas

float into the field of consciousness from this part of the mind. All the

great unfoldment of the race comes from there. All the higher mental

ideas that have come to Man in his upward evolutionary journey, that tend

in the direction of nobility; true religious feeling; kindness; humanity;

justice; unselfish love; mercy; sympathy, etc., have come to him through

his slowly unfolding Spiritual Mind. His love of God and of his fellow

man have come in this way. His knowledge of the great occult truths reach

him through this channel. The mental realization of the "I," which we are

endeavoring to teach in these lessons, must come to him by way of the

Spiritual Mind unfolding its ideas into his field of consciousness.

But even this great and wonderful part of the mind is but a tool--a

highly finished one, it is true, but still a tool--to the Ego, or "I."

We propose to give you a little mental drill work, toward the end that

you may be able more readily to distinguish the "I" from the mind, or

mental states. In this connection we would say that every part, plane,

and function of the mind is good, and necessary, and the student must not

fall into the error of supposing that because we tell him to set aside

first this part of the mind and then that part, that we are undervaluing

the mind, or that we regard it as an encumbrance or hindrance. Far from

this, we realize that it is _by the use of_ the mind that Man is enabled

to arrive at a knowledge of his true nature and Self, and that his

progress through many stages yet will depend upon the unfolding of his

mental faculties.

Man is now using but the lower and inferior parts of his mind, and he has

within his mental world great unexplored regions that far surpass

anything of which the human mind has dreamed. In fact, it is part of the

business of "Raja Yoga" to aid in unfolding these higher faculties and

mental regions. And so far from decrying the Mind, the "Raja Yoga"

teachers are chiefly concerned in recognizing the Mind's power and

possibilities, and directing the student to avail himself of the latent

powers that are inherent in his soul.

It is only by the mind that the teachings we are now giving you may be

grasped and understood, and used to your advantage and benefit. We are

talking direct to your mind now, and are making appeals to it, that it

may be interested and may open itself to what is ready to come into it

from its own higher regions. We are appealing to the Intellect to direct

its attention to this great matter, that it may interpose less resistance

to the truths that are waiting to be projected from the Spiritual Mind,

which knows the Truth.

MENTAL DRILL.

Place yourself in a calm, restful condition, that you may be able to

meditate upon the matters that we shall place before you for

consideration. Allow the matters presented to meet with a hospitable

reception from you, and hold a mental attitude of willingness to receive

what may be waiting for you in the higher regions of your mind.

We wish to call your attention to several mental impressions or

conditions, one after another, in order that you may realize that they

are merely something _incident_ to you, and _not_ YOU yourself--that you

may set them aside and consider them, just as you might anything that you

have been using. You cannot set the "I" aside and so consider it, but the

various forms of the "not I" may be so set aside and considered.

In the First Lesson you gained the perception of the "I" as independent

from the body, the latter merely being an instrument for use. You have

now arrived at the stage when the "I" appears to you to be a mental

creature--a bundle of thoughts, feelings, moods, etc. But you must go

farther. You must be able to distinguish the "I" from these mental

conditions, which are as much tools as is the body and its parts.

Let us begin by considering the thoughts more closely connected with the

body, and then work up to the higher mental states.

The sensations of the body, such as hunger; thirst; pain; pleasurable

sensations; physical desires, etc., etc., are not apt to be mistaken for

essential qualities of the "I" by many of the Candidates, for they have

passed beyond this stage, and have learned to set aside these sensations,

to a greater or lesser extent, by an effort of the Will, and are no

longer slaves to them. Not that they do not experience these sensations,

but they have grown to regard them as incidents of the physical

life--good in their place--but useful to the advanced man only when he

has mastered them to the extent that he no longer regards them as close

to the "I." And yet, to some people, these sensations are so closely

identified with their conception of the "I" that when they think of

themselves they think merely of a bundle of these sensations. They are

not able to set them aside and consider them as things apart, to be used

when necessary and proper, but as things not fastened to the "I." The

more advanced a man becomes the farther off seem these sensations. Not

that he does not feel hungry, for instance. Not at all, for he recognizes

hunger, and satisfies it within reason, knowing that his physical body is

making demands for attention, and that these demands should be heeded.

But--mark the difference--instead of feeling that the "_I_" is hungry the

man feels that "_my body_" is hungry, just as he might become conscious

that his horse or dog was crying for food insistently. Do you see what

we mean? It is that the man no longer identifies himself--the "I"--with

the body, consequently the thoughts which are most closely allied to the

physical life seem comparatively "separate" from his "I" conception. Such

a man thinks "my stomach, this," or "my leg, that," or "my body, thus,"

instead of "'I,' this," or "'I' that." He is able, almost automatically,

to think of the body and its sensations as things _of_ him, and

_belonging to_ him, which require attention and care, rather than as real

parts of the "I." He is able to form a conception of the "I" as existing

without any of these things--without the body and its sensations--and so

he has taken the first step in the realization of the "I."

Before going on, we ask the students to stop a few moments, and mentally

run over these sensations of the body. Form a mental image of them, and

realize that they are merely incidents to the present stage of growth and

experience of the "I," and that they form no real part of it. They may,

and will be, left behind in the Ego's higher planes of advancement. You

may have attained this mental conception perfectly, long since, but we

ask that to give yourself the mental drill at this time, in order to

fasten upon your mind this first step.

In realizing that you are able to set aside, mentally, these

sensations--that you are able to hold them out at arm's length and

"consider" them as an "outside" thing, you mentally determine that they

are "not I" things, and you set them down in the "not I" collection--the

first to be placed there. Let us try to make this still plainer, even at

the risk of wearying you by repetitions (for you must get this idea

firmly fixed in your mind). To be able to say that a thing is "not I,"

you must realize that there are two things in question (1) the "not I"

thing, and (2) the "I" who is regarding the "not I" thing just as the "I"

regards a lump of sugar, or a mountain. Do you see what we mean? Keep at

it until you do.

Next, consider some of the emotions, such as anger; hate; love, in its

ordinary forms; jealousy; ambition; and the hundred and one other

emotions that sweep through our brains. You will find that you are able

to set each one of these emotions or feelings aside and study it; dissect

it; analyze it; consider it. You will be able to understand the rise,

progress and end of each of these feelings, as they have come to you, and

as you recall them in your memory or imagination, just as readily as you

would were you observing their occurrence in the mind of a friend. You

will find them all stored away in some parts of your mental make-up, and

you may (to use a modern American slang phrase) "make them trot before

you, and show their paces." Don't you see that they are not "You"--that

they are merely something that you carry around with you in a mental bag.

You can imagine yourself as living without them, and still being "I," can

you not?

And the very fact that you are able to set them aside and examine and

consider them is a proof that they are "not I" things--for there are two

things in the matter (1) _You_ who are examining and considering them,

and (2) the thing itself which is the _object_ of the examination and

consideration at mental arm's length. So into the "not I" collection go

these emotions, desirable and undesirable. The collection is steadily

growing, and will attain quite formidable proportions after a while.

Now, do not imagine that this is a lesson designed to teach you how to

discard these emotions, although if it enables you to get rid of the

undesirable ones, so much the better. This is not our object, for we bid

you place the desirable (at this time) ones in with the opposite kind,

the idea being to bring you to a realization that the "I" is higher,

above and independent of these mental somethings, and then when you have

realized the nature of the "I," you may return and use (as a Master) the

things that have been using you as a slave. So do not be afraid to throw

these emotions (good and bad) into the "not I" collection. You may go

back to them, and use the good ones, after the Mental Drill is over. No

matter how much you may think that you are bound by any of these

emotions, you will realize, by careful analysis, that it is of the "not

I" kind, for the "I" existed before the emotion came into active play,

and it will live long after the emotion has faded away. The principal

proof is that you are able to hold it out at arm's length and examine

it--a proof that it is "not I."

Run through the entire list of your feelings; emotions; moods; and what

not, just as you would those of a well-known friend or relative, and you

will see that each one--every one--is a "not I" thing, and you will lay

it aside for the time, for the purpose of the scientific experiment, at

least.

Then passing on to the Intellect, you will be able to hold out for

examination each mental process and principle. You don't believe it, you

may say. Then read and study some good work on Psychology, and you will

learn to dissect and analyze every intellectual process--and to classify

it and place it in the proper pigeon-hole. Study Psychology by means of

some good text-book, and you will find that one by one every intellectual

process is classified, and talked about and labeled, just as you would a

collection of flowers. If that does not satisfy you, turn the leaves of

some work on Logic, and you will admit that you may hold these

intellectual processes at arm's length and examine them, and talk about

them to others. So that these wonderful tools of Man--the Intellectual

powers may be placed in the "not I" collection, for the "I" is capable of

standing aside and viewing them--it is able to detach them from itself.

The most remarkable thing about this is that in admitting this fact, you

realize that the "I" is using these very intellectual faculties to pass

upon themselves. Who is the Master that compels these faculties to do

this to themselves? The Master of the Mind--The "I."

And reaching the higher regions of the mind--even the Spiritual Mind, you

will be compelled to admit that the things that have come into

consciousness from that region may be considered and studied, just as may

be any other mental thing, and so even these high things must be placed

in the "not I" collection. You may object that this does not prove that

all the things in the Spiritual Mind may be so treated--that there may be

"I" things there that can not be so treated. We will not discuss this

question, for you know nothing about the Spiritual Mind except as it has

revealed itself to you, and the higher regions of that mind are like the

mind of a God, when compared to what _you_ call mind. But the evidence of

the Illumined--those in whom the Spiritual Mind has wonderfully unfolded

tell us that even in the highest forms of development, the Initiates,

yea, even the Masters, realize that above even their highest mental

states there is always that eternal "I" brooding over them, as the Sun

over the lake; and that the highest conception of the "I" known even to

advanced souls, is but a faint reflection of the "I" filtering through

the Spiritual Mind, although that Spiritual Mind is as clear as the

clearest crystal when compared with our comparatively opaque mental

states. And the highest mental state is but a tool or instrument of the

"I," and is not the "I" itself.

And yet the "I" is to be found in the faintest forms of consciousness,

and animates even the unconscious life. The "I" is always the same, but

its apparent growth is the result of the mental unfoldment of the

individual. As we described it in one of the lessons of the "_Advanced

Course_" it is like an electric lamp that is encased in many wrappings of

cloth. As cloth after cloth is removed, the light seems to grow brighter

and stronger, and yet it has changed not, the change being in the removal

of the confining and bedimming coverings. We do not expect to make you

realize the "I" in all its fullness--that is far beyond the highest known

to man of to-day--but we do hope to bring you to a realization of the

highest conception of the "I," possible to each of you in your present

stage of unfoldment, and in the process we expect to cause to drop from

you some of the confining sheaths that you have about outgrown. The

sheaths are ready for dropping, and all that is required is the touch of

a friendly hand to cause them to fall fluttering from you. We wish to

bring you to the fullest possible (to you) realization of the "I," in

order to make an Individual of you--in order that you may understand, and

have courage to take up the tools and instruments lying at your hand, and

do the work before you.

And now, back to the Mental Drill. After you have satisfied yourself that

about everything that you are capable of thinking about is a "not I"

thing--a tool and instrument for your use--you will ask, "And now, what

is there left that should not be thrown in the "not I" collection." To

this question we answer "THE 'I' ITSELF." And when you demand a proof

we say, "Try to set aside the 'I' for consideration!" You may try from

now until the passing away of infinities of infinities, and you will

never be able to set aside the real "I" for consideration. You may think

you can, but a little reflection will show you that you are merely

setting aside some of your mental qualities or faculties. And in this

process what is the "I" doing? Simply setting aside and considering

things. Can you not see that the "I" cannot be both the _considerer_ and

the thing considered--the _examiner_ and the thing examined? Can the sun

shine upon itself by its own light? You may consider the "I" of some

other person, but it is _your_ "I" that is considering. But you cannot,

as an "I," stand aside and see yourself as an "I." Then what evidence

have we that there is an "I" to us? This: that you are always conscious

of being the considerer and examiner, instead of the considered and

examined thing--and then, you have the evidence of your consciousness.

And what report does this consciousness give us? Simply this, and nothing

more: "I AM." That is all that the "I" is conscious of, regarding its

true self: "I AM," but that consciousness is worth all the rest, for the

rest is but "not I" tools that the "I" may reach out and use.

And so at the final analysis, you will find that there is something that

refuses to be set aside and examined by the "I." And that something is

the "I" itself--that "I" eternal, unchangeable--that drop of the Great

Spirit Ocean--that spark from the Sacred Flame.

Just as you find it impossible to imagine the "I" as dead, so will you

find it impossible to set aside the "I" for consideration--all that comes

to you is the testimony: "I AM."

If you were able to set aside the "I" for consideration, who would be the

one to consider it? Who could consider except the "I" itself, and if it

be _here_, how could it be _there?_ The "I" cannot be the "not I" even in

the wildest flights of the imagination--the imagination with all its

boasted freedom and power, confesses itself vanquished when asked to do

this thing.

Oh, students, may you be brought to a realization of what you are. May

you soon awaken to the fact that you are sleeping gods--that you have

within you the power of the Universe, awaiting your word to manifest

in action. Long ages have you toiled to get this far, and long must you

travel before you reach even the first Great Temple, but you are now

entering into the conscious stage of Spiritual Evolution. No longer will

your eyes be closed as you walk the Path. From now on you will begin to

see clearer and clearer each step, in the dawning light of consciousness.

You are in touch with all of life, and the separation of your "I" from

the great Universal "I" is but apparent and temporary. We will tell you

of these things in our Third Lesson, but before you can grasp that you

must develop the "I" consciousness within you. Do not lay aside this

matter as one of no importance. Do not dismiss our weak explanation as

being "merely words, words, words," as so many are inclined to do. We are

pointing out a great truth to you. Why not follow the leadings of the

Spirit which even now--this moment while you read--is urging you to walk

The Path of Attainment? Consider the teachings of this lesson, and

practice the Mental Drill until your mind has grasped its significance,

then let it sink deep down into your inner consciousness. Then will you

be ready for the next lessons, and those to follow.

Practice this Mental Drill until you are fully assured of the _reality_

of the "I" and the _relativity_ of the "not "I" in the mind. When you

once grasp this truth, you will find that you will be able to use the

mind with far greater power and effect, for you will recognize that it is

your tool and instrument, fitted and intended to do your bidding. You

will be able to master your moods, and emotions when necessary, and will

rise from the position of a slave to a Master.

Our words seem cheap and poor, when we consider the greatness of the

truth that we are endeavoring to convey by means of them. For who can

find words to express the inexpressible? All that we may hope to do is to

awaken a keen interest and attention on your part, so that you will

practice the Mental Drill, and thus obtain the evidence of your own

mentality to the truth. Truth is not truth to you until you have proven

it in your own experience, and once so proven you cannot be robbed of it,

nor can it be argued away from you.

You must realize that in every mental effort You--the "I"--are behind it.

You bid the Mind work, and it obeys your Will. You are the Master, and

not the slave of your mind. You are the Driver, not the driven. Shake

yourself loose from the tyranny of the mind that has oppressed you for so

long. Assert yourself, and be free. We will help you in this direction

during the course of these lessons, but you must first assert yourself as

a Master of your Mind. Sign the mental Declaration of Independence from

your moods, emotions, and uncontrolled thoughts, and assert your Dominion

over them. Enter into your Kingdom, thou manifestation of the Spirit!

While this lesson is intended primarily to bring clearly into your

consciousness the fact that the "I" is a reality, separate and distinct

from its Mental Tools, and while the control of the mental faculties by

the Will forms a part of some of the future lessons, still, we think that

this is a good place to point out to you the advantages arising from a

realization of the true nature of the "I" and the relative aspect of the

Mind.

Many of us have supposed that our minds were the masters of ourselves,

and we have allowed ourselves to be tormented and worried by thoughts

"running away" with us, and presenting themselves at inopportune moments.

The Initiate is relieved from this annoyance, for he learns to assert his

mastery over the different parts of the mind, and controls and regulates

his mental processes, just as one would a fine piece of machinery. He is

able to control his conscious thinking faculties, and direct their work

to the best advantage, and he also learns how to pass on orders to the

subconscious mental region and bid it work for him while he sleeps, or

even when he is using his conscious mind in other matters. These subjects

will be considered by us in due time, during the course of lessons.

In this connection it may be interesting to read what Edward Carpenter

says of the power of the individual to control his thought processes. In

his book "_From Adam's Peak to Eleplumta_," in describing his experience

while visiting a Hindu Gnani Yogi, he says:

"And if we are unwilling to believe in this internal mastery over the

body, we are perhaps almost equally unaccustomed to the idea of mastery

over our own inner thoughts and feelings. That a man should be a prey to

any thought that chances to take possession of his mind, is commonly

among us assumed as unavoidable. It may be a matter of regret that he

should be kept awake all night from anxiety as to the issue of a lawsuit

on the morrow, but that he should have the power of determining whether

he be kept awake or not seems an extravagant demand. The image of an

impending calamity is no doubt odious, but its very odiousness (we say)

makes it haunt the mind all the more pertinaciously and it is useless to

try to expel it.

"Yet this is an absurd position--for man, the heir of all the ages:

hag-ridden by the flimsy creatures of his own brain. If a pebble in our

boot torments us, we expel it. We take off the boot and shake it out.

And once the matter is fairly understood it is just as easy to expel an

intruding and obnoxious thought from the mind. About this there ought to

be no mistake, no two opinions. The thing is obvious, clear and

unmistakable. It should be as easy to expel an obnoxious thought from

your mind as it is to shake a stone out of your shoe; and till a man can

do that it is just nonsense to talk about his ascendancy over Nature, and

all the rest of it. He is a mere slave, and prey to the bat-winged

phantoms that flit through the corridors of his own brain.

"Yet the weary and careworn faces that we meet by thousands, even among

the affluent classes of civilization, testify only too clearly how seldom

this mastery is obtained. How rare indeed to meet a _man_! How common

rather to discover a creature hounded on by tyrant thoughts (or cares or

desires), cowering, wincing under the lash--or perchance priding himself

to run merrily in obedience to a driver that rattles the reins and

persuades him that he is free--whom we cannot converse with in careless

_tete-a-tete_ because that alien presence is always there, on the watch.

"It is one of the most prominent doctrines of Raja Yoga that the power of

expelling thoughts, or if need be, killing them dead on the spot, _must_

be attained. Naturally the art requires practice, but like other arts,

when once acquired there is no mystery or difficulty about it. And it is

worth practice. It may indeed fairly be said that life only begins when

this art has been acquired. For obviously when instead of being ruled by

individual thoughts, the whole flock of them in their immense multitude

and variety and capacity is ours to direct and dispatch and employ where

we list ('for He maketh the winds his messengers and the flaming fire His

minister'), life becomes a thing so vast and grand compared with what it

was before, that its former condition may well appear almost antenatal.

"If you can kill a thought dead, for the time being, you can do anything

else with it that you please. And therefore it is that this power is so

valuable. And it not only frees a man from mental torment (which is

nine-tenths at least of the torment of life), but it gives him a

concentrated power of handling mental work absolutely unknown to him

before. The two things are co-relative to each other. As already said

this is one of the principles of Raja Yoga.

"While at work your thought is to be absolutely concentrated in it,

undistracted by anything whatever irrelevant to the matter in

hand--pounding away like a great engine, with giant power and perfect

economy--no wear and tear of friction, or dislocation of parts owing to

the working of different forces at the same time. Then when the work is

finished, if there is no more occasion for the use of the machine, it

must stop equally, absolutely--stop entirely--no _worrying_ (as if a

parcel of boys were allowed to play their devilments with a locomotive as

soon as it was in the shed)--and the man must retire into that region of

his consciousness where his true self dwells.

"I say the power of the thought-machine itself is enormously increased by

this faculty of letting it alone on the one hand, and of using it singly

and with concentration on the other. It becomes a true tool, which a

master-workman lays down when done with, but which only a bungler carries

about with him all the time to show that he is the possessor of it."

We ask the students to read carefully the above quotations from Mr.

Carpenter's book, for they are full of suggestions that may be taken up

to advantage by those who are emancipating themselves from their slavery

to the unmastered mind, and who are now bringing the mind under control

of the Ego, by means of the Will.

Our next lesson will take up the subject of the relationship of the "I"

to the Universal "I," and will be called the "Expansion of the Self." It

will deal with the subject, not from a theoretical standpoint, but from

the position of the teacher who is endeavoring to make his students

actually _aware_ in their consciousness of the truth of the proposition.

In this course we are not trying to make our students past-masters of

_theory_, but are endeavoring to place them in a position whereby they

may _know_ for themselves, and actually experience the things of which we

teach.

Therefore we urge upon you not to merely rest content with reading this

lesson, but, instead, to study and meditate upon the teachings mentioned

under the head of "Mental Drill," until the distinctions stand out

clearly in your mind, and until you not only _believe_ them to be true,

but actually are _conscious_ of the "I" and its Mental Tools. Have

patience and perseverance. The task may be difficult, but the reward is

great. To become conscious of the greatness, majesty, strength and power

of your real being is worth years of hard study. Do you not think so?

Then study and practice hopefully, diligently and earnestly.

Peace be with you.

MANTRAMS (AFFIRMATIONS) FOR THE SECOND LESSON.

"I" am an entity--my mind is my instrument of expression.

"I" exist independent of my mind, and am not dependent upon it for

existence or being.

"I" am Master of my mind, not its slave.

"I" can set aside my sensations, emotions, passions, desires,

intellectual faculties, and all the rest of my mental collection of

tools, as "not I" things--and still there remains something--and that

something is "I," which cannot be set aside by me, for it is my very

self; my only self; my real self--"I." That which remains after all that

may be set aside _is_ set aside is the "I"--Myself--eternal, constant,

unchangeable.

[Illustration: "I am"]

THE THIRD LESSON.

THE EXPANSION OF THE SELF.

In the first two lessons of this course we have endeavored to bring to

the candidate a realization in consciousness of the reality of the "I,"

and to enable him to distinguish between the Self and its sheaths,

physical and mental. In the present lesson we will call his attention to

the relationship of the "I" to the Universal "I," and will endeavor to

give him an idea of a greater, grander Self, transcending personality

and the little self that we are so apt to regard as the "I."

The keynote of this lesson will be "The Oneness of All," and all of its

teachings will be directed to awakening a realization in consciousness of

that great truth. But we wish to impress upon the mind of the Candidate

that we are _not_ teaching him that he is the Absolute. We are not

teaching the "I Am God" belief, which we consider to be erroneous and

misleading, and a perversion of the original Yogi teachings. This false

teaching has taken possession of many of the Hindu teachers and people,

and with its accompanying teaching of "Maya" or the complete illusion or

non-existence of the Universe, has reduced millions of people to a

passive, negative mental condition which undoubtedly is retarding their

progress. Not only in India is this true, but the same facts may be

observed among the pupils of the Western teachers who have embraced this

negative side of the Oriental Philosophy. Such people confound the

"Absolute" and "Relative" aspects of the One, and, being unable to

reconcile the facts of Life and the Universe with their theories of "I Am

God," they are driven to the desperate expedient of boldly denying the

Universe, and declaring it to be all "an illusion" or "Maya."

You will have no trouble in distinguishing the pupils of the teachers

holding this view. They will be found to exhibit the most negative mental

condition--a natural result of absorbing the constant suggestion of

"nothingness"--the gospel of negation. In marked contrast to the mental

condition of the students, however, will be observed the mental attitude

of the teachers, who are almost uniformly examples of vital, positive,

mental force, capable of hurling their teaching into the minds of the

pupils--of driving in their statements by the force of an awakened Will.

The teacher, as a rule, has awakened to a sense of the "I" consciousness,

and really develops the same by his "I Am God" attitude, because by

holding this mental attitude he is enabled to throw off the influence of

the sheaths of the lower mental principles, and the light of the Self

shows forth fiercely and strongly, sometimes to such an extent that it

fairly scorches the mentality of the less advanced pupil. But,

notwithstanding this awakened "I" consciousness, the teacher is

handicapped by his intellectual misconception and befogging metaphysics,

and is unable to impart the "I" consciousness to his pupils, and, instead

of raising them up to shine with equal splendor with himself, he really

forces them into a shadow by reason of his teachings.

Our students, of course, will understand that the above is not written in

the spirit of carping criticism or fault-finding. We hold no such mental

attitude, and indeed could not if we remain true to our conception of

Truth. We are mentioning these matters simply that the student may avoid

this "I Am God" pitfall which awaits the Candidate just as