Part I — Discourses and prayers

The third eye¹

The third eye fascinates curiosity-seekers. Fortunately, we are not curiosity-seekers. The third eye helps sincere seekers considerably on their way to self-discovery. Here we are all sincere seekers. Sincere seekers are those who know perfectly well that there is only one way to achieve abiding satisfaction in life, and that way is to offer the results of all their actions to the Absolute Supreme soulfully, unreservedly and unconditionally. The third eye fulfils God's Dream in and through the sincere seeker precisely because sincere seekers are true God-lovers.

The third eye is the eye of vision-light. What is vision-light? Vision-light is at once our self-transforming and self-transcending, God-revealing and God-manifesting reality. What else is vision-light? Vision-light is the capacity that we embody to differentiate our animal past and human present from our divine near future and our supreme distant future.

The message of our past was total destruction. The message of our present is conscious or unconscious division. The message of our near future is oneness, satisfaction in oneness. And the message of our distant future is perfection in satisfaction and satisfaction in perfection.

Some people are of the opinion that it is not advisable to open the third eye, for if it is opened prematurely, our inner progress will come to an end. They are of the opinion that opening the third eye is not a boon. In fact, they feel that it is a veritable curse. But seekers must know that if they are really_ sincere, if they have an intense inner cry, then God, the Author of all good, will not open their third eye untimely. If they are sincere, God will do everything for them at the right hour. But if they are insincere, then naturally they may have to pay the penalty if their third eye is opened prematurely.

Fear is the worst enemy of a seeker when he wants to open his third eye. On the one hand, he is consumed with the desire to open his third eye. On the other hand, the moment the idea flashes across his mind that when his third eye opens he will be able to see his past lives, he is afraid. What happens when an insincere seeker opens his third eye is most deplorable. If his past was not satisfactory, if it was most discouraging, then immediately he is shocked. He curses himself and loses all hope. He thinks that because he was so bad in the past, for him there can be no bright future and he is doomed to disappointment. His mental sky is overcast with clouds.

When an insincere seeker sees the future, the result is equally deplorable. If he sees something discouraging, frightening or saddening in the near future, then he is frightened to death. If he sees that one of his dear ones is soon going to die, then before the event actually occurs, he himself dies with fear and anxiety. For these reasons, the insincere seeker often is afraid to open his third eye.

But if a sincere seeker has the indomitable will right from the beginning to see the past and to enter into the future with a surrendering attitude, placing the results at the Feet of his Beloved Supreme, then fear cannot torture his life. If he sees that he was not aspiring in his past incarnation, so what? He knows that he has the golden opportunity to aspire in this incarnation. Just because he did not do something positive or constructive in the past does not mean that he cannot do it in the present. Just because he was not an honest man before, there is no reason why he cannot be honest now.

When our third eye is open, if we see that something is going to happen to someone in the immediate future, we have to remember who loves that particular individual more: we ourselves or the Source of love. Right now, our love is very limited. We all know it. But there is Someone who has unlimited, infinite Love. We are right now praying to that Being or to that omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent Reality. That all-loving Reality undoubtedly has more compassion, more vision-light than we have; therefore, it is our bounden duty to surrender to His Will. If we are ready to place the results, the capacities, the achievements and the fruits of our vision at the Feet of the Supreme, then we are safe. There is no other way, when we have our third eye open, to make the fastest progress in the spiritual life.

When the third eye opens up, it sometimes creates tremendous excitement. If we know that something good is going to happen, if we come to see that something most encouraging and inspiring is going to happen, then we become overexcited. This excitement quite often delays the event. It also takes away our mental poise. Then, in the inner world again we become bankrupt. So when we get an encouraging message by virtue of opening our third eye, we should look around and see if there is anybody on earth who has achieved more love, more knowledge, more wisdom, more light than we have. If we are sincere, then we are bound to see that there were people, there are people and there will be people who have achieved infinitely more than we. When we see this, then immediately our excitement pales into insignificance. We can be happy; but if we are overexcited at seeing what is going to happen, then we lose our mental poise. Once we lose our mental poise we cannot make further progress in the spiritual life. So we should not be overexcited when we see that something good is going to happen and, at the same time, we should not be depressed or disheartened when we see an inauspicious future or past with the vision of our third eye.

Before we accept the spiritual life, we wallow in the pleasures of ignorance. When we sincerely accept the spiritual life, we try to give up our bad habits; and sooner or later we do succeed in giving up our bad habits. This is the proof that we have made considerable progress. This is the proof that we do not belong to the past reality but that we belong to the future reality, which is growing in the immediacy of our aspiring today.

We pray and meditate with the hope that one day we shall enter into trance, for each seeker feels that trance, which is nothing short of bliss, is necessary in the spiritual life. It is something most advantageous, most illumining and most fulfilling. Here I wish to say that if one can open the third eye, this facilitates or expedites the attainment of trance, or samadhi. When the third eye is opened, we can run the fastest along the mental road to God. The mental world is obscure, dark, impure and insecure. But when we open the third eye and walk along the mental road, immediately everything that is insecure is made secure, everything that is impure is made pure, everything that is undivine is made divine. Everything that is dark is illumined by the third eye.

Now, there is a slight difference between the third eye and the trance-life. We have two ordinary human eyes. When we use our human eyes, we see that the reality is at one place and the person who is watching the reality is at some other place. If you are sitting in front of me and I am looking at you, then you are the goal and I am the starting point. The destination and the starting point are at two different places. I am the starting point, and you are the goal. This is the understanding that we get from our human eyes. But if we use the third eye at that time we see that the starting point and the destination are at the same place. They cannot be two; they are together.

When we enter into trance, we get one experience which we usually do not get from the third eye. The third eye will show us that the starting point and the goal are together. But this vision of oneness may not give us immediate Delight. If we can enter into trance, then immediately we get the universal Life and the transcendental Life together; therefore, we are flooded with Delight.

When we enter into trance and get abundant, boundless bliss, we are totally satisfied. We do not know who embodies this infinite Delight. We cannot see the personal God who embodies both the transcendental Life and the universal Life. Just by entering into trance, we cannot see the Owner, the Possessor. But if we can open the third eye, then we can see the Absolute Supreme in His subtle, personal aspect. Infinity is one thing, and the absolute Reality is something else. When we enter into the highest trance, we enjoy infinite Peace, Light and Bliss. But He who embodies this infinite Peace, Light and Bliss may not be visible at all. But if we open the third eye, then we see the Transcendental Absolute, the Absolute Supreme. The Absolute Supreme is far above infinity and infinity's Light, Delight, Peace and Bliss.

Our aim, our goal, is to please the Absolute; therefore, we shall pray and meditate. If we feel that opening the third eye will help us so that we are not assailed by fear, doubt, anxiety and worry, then we should definitely meditate on the third eye. For the sooner we can clear away our mental jungle, the sooner we will reach our destination, which is the Golden Shore of the ever-transcending Beyond.

Now we shall concentrate on the third eye. The third eye is located in between the eyebrows and a little above. In this spot we shall concentrate, meditate and contemplate.

While concentrating, let us imagine for a few minutes in the third eye a flame, a burning golden flame. What we call imagination is nothing short of an existence-reality, a world of its own. So let us concentrate, and while concentrating let us feel that there is a burning flame in our third eye. Please breathe in as slowly and as quietly as possible. While breathing in, try to feel that you are not breathing in through your nose: you are breathing in through your forehead. While breathing out you are also breathing through your forehead. Then please feel the presence of burning flames inside your forehead, precisely inside the third eye.

Now let us meditate on the third eye. This time, also, please breathe in and out through your forehead. But now please imagine the planet sun or the inner sun, which is infinitely brighter than the planet sun. Please imagine at least one sun inside the forehead at the third eye, and inside that sun please imagine countless flames or rays of light. This time, please keep your eyes fully open so that you can feel the vastness of the sun along with its light and power.

Now we shall contemplate. From the spiritual point of view, contemplation is the sweetest form of inseparable oneness. This oneness is the oneness of the divine lover with the Beloved Supreme. The oneness that abides between the divine lover and the Supreme Beloved is called contemplation. It is by virtue of contemplation, proper contemplation, that we come to realise that we are not only divine seekers but also divine lovers, and that God is our Beloved Supreme. We are like tiny drops, while God is the ocean. Countless drops form the ocean, and again, the ocean embodies all the drops. First we imagined flames, then the sun itself. When we can contemplate properly, we will become one with God Himself. When the God-loving seeker and God together play, sing and dance, at that time God sings the song of multiplicity in unity. When the One Absolute remains in His transcendental aspect, and the seekers and God-lovers approach Him, then God is singing the song of unity in multiplicity. So let us contemplate on the third eye. For a few minutes let us feel that we are the lover-flames: then we shall feel that we are the Beloved-Sun. Thus, we shall change our respective roles.