The Master's aura

There was once a spiritual Master living in India, who had thirty or forty disciples. These disciples were like his children and he dealt with all their problems as a human father might, solving them with his endless compassion and wisdom.

One evening, the disciples were gathered around him for meditation. The Master said, "My sweet children, now we have had a most wonderful meditation. I know that some of you have a few inner problems or at least a few questions. Please tell me them now. Please ask me anything."

Immediately one disciple said, "Master, the other day my sister's baby died. Please tell me, Master, how does it happen that a baby can die so shortly after birth? The child was only one month old. He could not have done anything wrong."

The Master replied, "Dearest child, there is no hard and fast rule. Early death can be the result of karma from a previous incarnation. Perhaps he did something wrong in the past and his soul wanted to have an experience in and through this body only for a few days or a few weeks. It also happens that when some very good souls enter the world, they are frightened by the world's ignorance and leave the body quickly. There are also some advanced souls who are enthusiastic about returning to earth when they are in the souls' world, but when they enter into the physical world, they realise that they do not want to accept the challenge and try to swim across the sea of ignorance again."

"Master," continued the disciple, "when does the soul enter the body?"

"Again, my son, there is no hard and fast rule. Souls enter into the body at the time of conception or two, three, six, eight months later, or even on the day the child comes into the world. The soul may enter the body at the time of delivery or even a few hours after delivery, but never as much as a day later. That is impossible. Usually the soul enters five or six months after conception, but there is no rule. The soul enters at the Supreme's Hour."

Another disciple raised his hand and said, "Master, when we are in the soul's world like that, it must be so easy for us to do the Will of the Supreme all the time — to know what He wants. But once we are on earth, we lose touch with that Reality. How can we know what is our personal will and what is the Divine Will?"

"My child, a seeker can know the difference between personal will and Divine Will from the result of the experience. If after he does something, he does not feel peace of mind, then it is not the Divine Will that he has followed. If he is using the Divine Will, whether the result is success or failure, he will have peace of mind. But if he is using his personal will, then even if the result is successful, he will never be satisfied. He will be like a greedy person who has eaten one piece of bread and immediately wants more. If he is doing the Divine Will, even if he does not receive a piece of bread, he will merely feel that his hour has not struck. The Divine Will will always give us peace of mind, whether the experience is fulfilling or not. In other words, Divine Will is satisfaction and human will is dissatisfaction."

"How can we bring this Divine Will, or our soul's will, to the fore, Master?" asked the disciple.

"First, you have to feel during your meditation that we are not the body, not the vital, not the mind. You are the soul. If you know you are the soul, then it is up to you to remain inside your soul-room. But first you have to know and feel that you are not the body, mind or vital, and only then you can bring your soul to the fore.

"Let me tell you a sweet experience I had yesterday. You know Ranjit? Well, his little son was playing around my chair. We were eating and talking when all of a sudden the child became one with his soul. He came and stood right in front of me, and said, 'I love you, I love you, I love you. I love you only.' Then he took my foot and brought it right up to his face and kissed my toe. Now what does a child of his age know about devotion? His act came directly and spontaneously from the soul. The body and the mind would not prompt him to do something like this. When a person remains in the soul, he runs the fastest. When you remain in the soul, you will realise who I am."

"Master," said another disciple quietly, "how can we stay in the soul all the time in order to realise who you are?"

The Master replied, "My dear son, first you have to try to remain always near the tree and not at a distance. Then try to be at the foot of the tree. Once you are at the foot of the tree, then try to look up and see how far your vision can go. If you are really trying to heighten your vision, then Grace will descend from the Supreme, who is your Guru, my Guru, everybody's Guru. This Grace is like a magnet, but that magnet will operate only when it sees that you are anxious to be pulled by it. So if you go and stand at the foot of the tree and look up to the top, the Grace-magnet will pull you up. That is the only way a disciple can realise the height of the Master.

"Dear children, I am most pleased with the questions you have been asking me. Now, I would like to ask you a question. Did any of you see any light or colour around me today, while you were meditating?"

"Yes, Master, I did," replied one of the women disciples.

"What did you see?" asked the Master.

"I saw a very beautiful blue light, Master. What does it mean? Where does it come from?"

"This blue colour signifies spirituality. It also signifies Infinity. Each colour has some significance which can help the seeker. For example, if one day you want to have renunciation, or if you want delight, if you concentrate on the proper colour you will gain that quality. This is a very easy method of getting results. Of course, the success of your meditation depends on the amount of faith you have in my inner guidance and my revelation of the qualities that the colour embodies."

"In India, the colour blue is usually identified with Sri Krishna. In my case, blue and gold are my predominant colours. Gold signifies manifestation. Each individual has an aura, but spiritual Masters have many auras. Krishna had many auras, but his main one was composed of the blue colour."

"Master, where does this colour come from, or where does it reside?" asked the woman.

"In the heart of our aspiration, in the inner sun. Each of us has an inner sun, which is infinitely more brilliant and powerful than the outer planetary sun. Each person has at least one inner sun, but if you are an advanced seeker, you have more than one. In Vivekananda, Sri Ramakrishna said he saw eighteen suns. The blue colour is always present in the inner sun, although another colour may also be present. Each sun must have the blue colour, because blue signifies Infinity in the form of Peace, Light and Bliss."

"My daughter, I am very pleased that you have seen this colour around me today. Another day I will answer more of your questions. Right now I must have more concern for your bodies. As I said before, the Supreme has an hour for everything, and now is the hour for you to rest. So go, my children, and tomorrow we shall meet here again."

September 17, 1974