{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_41319/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_41319","id":"gutenberg_41319","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41319","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Consciousness -- Religious aspects -- Hinduism","Vedanta"],"text":"The Vedanta Society of San Francisco is an institution based on broad\n  and universal teachings. It aims at explaining the philosophy of life\n  in a simple, rational and practical way. It has an uplifting and vital\n  message for persons in all walks of life.\n\n  You are cordially invited to the lectures by Swami Prakashananda of\n  India delivered every Sunday at 11 A. M. and 8 P. M.\n\n  Tuesday and Thursday class lectures and individual lessons are for\n  the members. Any sincere truthseeker is eligible to membership.\n\n  For further information please inquire or write to the Secretary.\n\n\n\n\n  The Inner Consciousness\n\n  How to Awaken and Direct It\n\n\n  _By_\n\n  SWAMI PRAKASHANANDA\n\n\n  Published by\n  THE VEDANTA SOCIETY\n  OF SAN FRANCISCO\n  2963 Webster Street\n  San Francisco, California\n  U. S. A.\n\n\n\n  Copyright, 1921,\n  by\n  Vedanta Society of S. F.\n\n\n\n\nTHE INNER CONSCIOUSNESS\n\nHow to Awaken and Direct It\n\n\nIn theoretical as well as applied psychology no term is more misleading,\nor confusing than the term consciousness. We use the term often in our\nconversation; we come across it in our study; but when we are asked to\ndefine it properly, to explain its significance, its meaning, or the\nidea for which that word stands, we are unable to do so. And that is\nbecause there are so many varied ideas concerning consciousness. There\nare so many aspects of consciousness, there are so many states of\nconsciousness that we get mixed up--that is, we confuse one with the\nother. So we must know thoroughly the true significance of the term.\nThen we can make such distinctions as inner consciousness and outer\nconsciousness.\n\nWhat is truly meant by consciousness, or what is the principle back of\nthat term? There are many ideas which cannot be expressed properly for\nlack of words, or lack of terms. The word consciousness is really\nderived from the Latin root =scio=, to know, and =con=, together; so the\nword consciousness from the derivative meaning would signify: to know\ntogether. We use the term generally in the sense of being conscious of\na fact. That is, consciousness means knowing an object, as it were;\nknowing something. But the word consciousness really indicates two\nthings--subject and object. It implies the duality of existence. There\nis one who is the knower, the subject, the ego, the perceiver. I know\nit; I am conscious of it; I perceive it; I think about it. Therefore\nthere is always the subject, the ego--I--as the background of any form\nof consciousness.\n\nThen there must be something to be conscious of, something which we\nperceive, something which we know, something which we understand, and\nthat something is the object. So, \"knowing together\" means we know the\nsubject and object together--that is, they both exist; one cannot exist\nwithout the other. So wherever there is a subject, there is also an\nobject. That means that wherever there is a thinker, there must be\nsomething to think about; otherwise there is no meaning back of the term\n\"thinker\". Whenever we use the term \"perceiver\", we must know that there\nis something to be perceived. The same is true of consciousness.\nWhenever we use the term \"consciousness\", we must know it includes\nboth--the one who is conscious of something, and something of which that\none is conscious. Therefore the word \"consciousness\" implies duality.\n\nThere is another meaning back of \"consciousness\" which we often fail to\nunderstand, or about which we do not stop to think deeply. That is why\nwe miss it. Consciousness not only implies the idea of becoming\nconscious of a thing, or the state of being conscious of something, but\nthere is also the idea of identification back of it.\n\nWhat is the meaning of identification? By identification we mean a state\nin which we become almost one with a thing. When we become one with a\nthing we become conscious of it. Of course ordinarily we may not be\nwholly identified with it, but the word consciousness indicates that,\nand judging our modes of thought, or observing the practical phases of\nour life, we shall see that there is identification.\n\nTake for instance, the word \"body-consciousness\". What does it mean? It\nmeans that not only are we conscious of the body, but we are also\nidentified with it. I can not separate myself from the body; I am almost\none with it. I have become mixed up, as it were, with the body and its\nconditions. There the subject or ego is hidden; only the object of\nconsciousness, the object of perception is there. So that is another\nmeaning of consciousness.\n\nThe deepest and purest meaning of consciousness is this: the absolute\nconsciousness. There is the Sanskrit word \"chit\". You will come across\nthat word in the study of the Upanishads, in the Vedas, in the Gita, and\nin many such books. You will find not only ancient sages, but the sages\nof modern times have been using the term \"Sat-chit-ananda\", meaning the\nDivine Spirit. Sat-chit-ananda--what is its meaning? It means absolute\nexistence, absolute consciousness, absolute bliss. These three are not\nthe qualities of the Divine Spirit, but they are the essence--one with\nit. So chit is the word of pure consciousness. In the understanding of\npure consciousness, we have to eliminate the duality of existence, the\nduality of subject and object. It stands alone; it is that of which the\nsubject and object are lower manifestations, or expressions. It is that\nwhich makes everything possible, which gives life and soul to the\nsubject and object, as it were. So that is pure consciousness, the\nbasic, the fundamental, the principle back of everything that is\nindicated by pure consciousness.\n\nThere is a beautiful Sanskrit verse which expresses this idea.\n\n  \"Na Tatra Suryo bhati na chandra tarakam\n  Nema Vidyuto bhanti Kutoyam agni\n  Tameva bhantam anubhati sarvam\n  Tasya bhasha Sarvamidam bibhati\" (Kathopanishad, Chap. V. 15).\n\nIn describing the pure, the basic, fundamental principle of life and\ncreation--the pure light, the self-effulgent, self-caused Divine\nIntelligence--Vedic sages sang in this way: \"There the sun does not\nshine, nor the moon, nor the lightning, what to speak of the mortal\nfire. That shining, everything shines; by its light everything is\nillumined\",--by its essence everything becomes full of consciousness.\n\nThere is another Sanskrit word which expresses the same idea,\nKaivalyam, the state of being alone; that which is self-caused; that\nwhich is not dependent on anything; that which is freedom itself;\nwhich is above everything. Do you see? There all differentiation\nvanishes--differentiation of subject and object, I and thou. All these\nideas are merged, as it were, in that absolute consciousness. So the\npure consciousness is that.\n\nHowever, when we apply the term consciousness in our daily lives, in its\nvaried relation to various channels of existence, in our varied\nexperiences, in different states and conditions, we have to understand\nit from a dualistic standpoint, and we also have to study other phases\nof consciousness, such as inner consciousness and outer consciousness,\nsoul-consciousness and body consciousness. All these terms we bring in\nto explain the different details, or the different stages of\ndevelopment, or the different stages of experience through which we have\nto pass.\n\nIn order to be able to understand the inner consciousness, we must know\nit in its relation to the outer consciousness. The light can be\nunderstood only in its relation to darkness. Praise can be understood\nonly in its relation to blame. Joy can be understood only in its\nrelation to suffering or pain. One who is not really hungry cannot\nreally appreciate the value of food. So, many ideas exist only\nrelatively. It is the same with the inner and outer consciousness. We\nmust understand both--then both become clear. What is meant then by\nouter consciousness? Outer consciousness means consciousness in which we\nare cognizant of external things--gross forms, gross objects, sense\nobjects. Now, every moment of our lives, the senses bring in these\nimpressions. The senses come in touch with the external objects of\nnature, gross things, gross objects, objects of vision, objects of\ntouch, objects of taste. All these objects of perception exist in gross\nform, and there is the impression within ourselves, or there are\nimpressions of varied sorts. That is outer consciousness--consciousness\nof the outer-world, the objective world.\n\nI am not going to enter here into a detailed exposition of what is\ncalled idealism, or realism. But outer consciousness must mean this to\nus: there is the idea of objective perception, and there is the\nobjective world. We know that there is external nature, and all the time\nwe are impressed with this idea. So when we cannot extricate ourselves\nfrom the realm and domain of forms and objects, when we cannot rise\nabove the sense perceptions--the gross sense perceptions--when we cannot\ndivest our minds of these externalities, as it were, then you will\nunderstand this state to be the outer consciousness.\n\nComing nearer the practical idea--there is the body-consciousness. As I\nstated previously, that means that we are conscious of the body, the\nbody in all its phases, in all its senses, and in all its aspects.\n\nThen there is a consciousness within ourselves. You may say that only\nthrough mind can we understand this, only through thought processes can\nwe get knowledge of external nature. That is true, but in order to\nexplain the inner consciousness properly, I have to bring in this idea\nof the outer consciousness where all these things exist; where there\nare nothing but external things, nothing but sense impressions, nothing\nbut outer objects and their impressions.\n\nWhat is meant by inner consciousness? Inner consciousness means:\nconsciousness of inner forces, consciousness of inner perceptions,\nconsciousness of what is called soul energy, consciousness of the Divine\nin the soul. That is a consciousness of something distinct and separate\nfrom the sense impressions, from bodily conditions, from external gross\nobjects, from external perceptions.\n\nNow this question may arise in your mind: Why should we try to awaken\nour inner consciousness? What benefit do we gain by it? We always ask\nthat question. What are we going to gain by it? Why should we try to\narouse the inner consciousness, if the outer consciousness is as\nexplained? What harm is there in living in the outer consciousness only?\nOur life means that, our life means the varied duties of life--the\nvaried responsibilities. Our life means its relation to our\nfellow-beings, to the world, to so many material things, to so many\nobjects, to so many phases of external life. Our life means all\nthis--and what is the harm in living in that state of consciousness? Why\nshould we try to awaken our inner consciousness? Is there any necessity\nfor it? Is it absolutely necessary--is it indispensably necessary to\nenter that life? Yes, it is absolutely necessary for persons in all\nwalks of life. Why? Because while living in the outer consciousness we\nare not really contented. We always complain, either openly or mentally.\nSomething is always lacking in our life. Just ask yourself this\nquestion: Are we really happy? It is not that we have to give up our\nexternal life, our material life. It is not that we have to eliminate\nall these things completely from our life. No. But we have to know where\nwe stand, and we have to understand the purpose and the meaning of our\nexternal life, or outer consciousness. We must know why we have to go\nthrough life's duties. We must know why we have to perform so many\nactivities. What is the purpose? What is the idea back of it? Why are\nthose condemned who neglect their duties, who shirk their\nresponsibilities, who do not try to perform their functions, their\nduties properly? The idea is this: First of all, we are ignorant of the\nmeaning and purpose of life. We cannot explain definitely the reason for\nall these activities. We do not know why we live in the midst of sense\nperceptions. Why are we experiencing these things? We have certain\ndesires, we have certain tendencies, certain emotions, certain\npassions. We are regulated by them; we are carried away by them against\nour will. We are, as it were, enslaved by certain things, and we go on,\nnot knowing whence we have come or whither we are going, or what is the\nmission of our life. That is why the question was asked in ancient times\nby the Vedic sages:\n\n\"What is that, knowing which, everything else will be known?\" What is\nthat fountainhead, knowing which, we shall understand the meaning and\npurpose of life--knowing which, everything would be explained?\nEverything appears to be detached, purposeless, meaningless. What is\nthat, knowing which, everything would be illumined? That is the\nquestion. That is the desire, in reality, in every human heart. We may\nnot be able to explain it; we may not know it properly at times; but it\nis there, and only the sages have put the question definitely. That is\nwhy we must try to get into that realm of pure consciousness, as I\nexplained. There are different grades of inner consciousness. The deeper\nwe search, the more we understand, the more will that pure consciousness\nbe unfolded which alone holds the key. To illuminate, to unfold, to\nexplain everything in our life, we must come to that.\n\nThere is another reason why we must try to go beyond the outer and\nenter into the inner consciousness, and that is this: There is always\nreaction in our life--that is, when we live in the external\nconsciousness, there is always reaction. Suffering is caused by\nreaction. Our miseries, our pains, our complaints, our doubts, our\ntroubles, our disillusionments, our despair, have always been caused by\nthe outer consciousness. For instance, when we live in the midst of\nsense perceptions we want to possess certain objects which we have\nperceived, impressions of which have been gathered through the senses.\nFirst of all, the senses come in touch with external things. It may be a\nlittle food, a little form; it may be a little object; but it is there.\nThat impression gets hold of us, and what do we want to do? We want to\nget that object; we want to possess it; we want to own it. When we\ncannot own it, there is suffering, there is heart-burning.\n\nSuppose I love some object. I try my best to possess it. I cannot do it.\nSomething stands in the way and takes it away from me--snatches it away.\nThere is suffering. There is misery. In this way we are constantly\nbecoming dependent on external things. These outer things, these\nexternal things, these objects of the senses get hold of us. They enter\nour lives and completely hold sway over us, and we are carried away by\nthem. Then we are thrown back, as it were, into ourselves; because\nnature's laws work relentlessly--and there are changes--there are\nseparations.\n\nYou may say such ideas bring gloominess, pessimism into our lives. What\ndifference does it make if we become a little gloomy, or if we become\npessimistic? What has your optimism given us? What do the passing joys\nbring us? They bring us nothing but reaction. So-called optimism does\nnot land us anywhere. It rather leads us into complex situations and\nconditions. Rather we should hail with joy that sort of pessimism, true\npessimism, which brings us face to face with the truth, which enables us\nto see things in their true color. Yes, we must face things boldly. It\nis not simply by patchwork that we gain in life, it is only by bold\nsearch and uncompromising investigation. It is by going to the root and\nthe bottom of things that we gain--truly gain--and accomplish something\nwhich is worth achieving. So we must not be afraid of analysing things\nin a deeper way. You see around you nature's changes and separations.\nYou love a person. That person dies, or is taken away to other lands.\nYou are miserable and prostrated with grief. Again, you have possessed\ncertain things and you lose them--you lose a fortune in a few days, or\nin a few weeks, or in a few months. You are overcome with sorrow. That\nis life, and that is what is meant by outer consciousness. It is not\nthat you must not have possessions; it is not that you must not have\ngood homes; it is not that you must not love others. But do it\nknowingly; do it not as a slave, but as a master; not as a dependent\nworm, but as the witness you should approach these things.\n\nMany things there are which must be taken into our lives necessarily.\nUnhappily we delude ourselves; we forget ourselves; we lose our heads;\nwe lose our judgment; and we are carried away by the currents of life,\nnot knowing whither we are going. When we are caught up in the whirl of\nconditions, when we are lost in the labyrinthian maze of circumstances,\nthen we wake up for a while. Again we forget. So that is the outer\nconsciousness, which has separations everywhere. You cannot depend upon\nanything. As soon as you depend upon anything--lean on anything--it is\ntaken away from you, and what is to be done? That is why we must try to\nsearch for something which is more internal, which is not so changeable,\non whom, or on which you can depend to a greater extent, because\neverything is relative until we get to the Absolute. We must find\nsomething which is better, which is greater. And that is our\nsearch--that should be our search. So, while living a life of outer\nconsciousness you will analyse and you will see how all your complex\nconditions regarding which you complain, all the entanglements which we\nnotice in different lives, all the confusion and friction which we see\nat home or abroad, all the heart-burnings, disillusionment and suffering\nwhich we notice amongst individuals--all these can be traced to that\nouter consciousness, that slavery, that dependence upon the material\nthings of life. That is why we have to open up our inner consciousness.\nThat is why we want to know if there is anything beyond the veil of the\nsenses. That is why we must know whether there is anything back of this\nchangeable condition of the senses and this changeable condition of the\nbody.\n\nNow, you may ask the question, how do we know that there is such a thing\nas soul-energy, or that there are inner forces? How do we know? We know\nas we know everything in life. We have to follow the same methods. How\ndo you know the different details of a machine? You study that machine.\nYou follow three processes--that is, three steps you must take in\neverything. First of all, you get hold of a book, or you go to a person\nwho knows about the machine and you ask him questions. You look over\ndifferent descriptions of the details of the machine, then you think for\nyourself; you judge for yourself. You revolve all these details within\nyour mind. You analyse, and gradually you begin to handle the machine\nyourself--practical experience you must acquire.\n\nFor instance, if you want to know about electricity, what do you do? You\nget hold of a book on the subject of electricity. Then you go to a\nprofessor and receive instruction. Then you go to the laboratory and\nhandle different machines and study them.\n\nSuppose you want to learn music, you follow the same process. And it is\nthe same with this subject of the inner consciousness. First of all, you\nhave to study; you must read books, or you must consult some persons who\nknow. Would you believe blindly? Would you accept blindly that which\nthey tell you? No. In no study must we accept anything blindly. Blind\nbelief does not lead us anywhere. We must search thoroughly without any\nfear. Truth can stand all the tests of analysis, all the tests of\nobservation. And if it is not truth, it can not stand the test. So\nalways keep the reasoning faculty, or power of analysis sharpened, ready\nto observe, ready to understand, ready to reason out. At every point\nyou must reason. And the more is this true with regard to the study of\nthese inner things. Why? Because there are so many dangers and\ndifficulties in studying these inner things. Many promising lives have\nbeen failures owing to a lack of proper understanding, owing to\nignorance, owing to indiscriminate search or indiscriminate\ninvestigation. You cannot be too cautious--you cannot be too careful in\nstudying these things.\n\nThese, then, are the steps you have to take. First, study and go to a\nperson who has studied these things and who knows these things. In every\nbook you will notice you are asked to go to a teacher. As you need a\nteacher in different fields of knowledge, so you need a teacher in this\nfield too, and the more so because the objects which you are going to\nlearn, the principles which you are going to master, are so subtle.\nMachines you can handle properly, because they are external things. You\ncan grasp them. You can see them. But in studying this subject you have\nto study that which is very subtle, which is very fine. That is why you\nneed more care. You need the help, you need the guidance of some one who\nis an expert teacher. And then you analyse yourself and reason--always\nreason. But do not bring that sort of skepticism into your life which\nis dangerous, which, as it were, clogs up all the channels of\nexperience, which covers, or shuts up, all the avenues of knowledge,\nwhich makes one give up the search without proper study and\ninvestigation. Do not become skeptical in that way. Many have a tendency\nto become skeptical and give up the search. We have no honest right to\ndemand any knowledge unless we have studied properly, or investigated\nclosely. So open your mind, your heart, your soul to conviction. At the\nsame time, do not take anything for granted, but be ready to learn.\nAlways be receptive, always be responsive. Then we have to apply certain\ndirect means; we have to follow certain practical methods in order to\naccomplish our purpose.\n\nNow, of all the different methods which are handed down to us from the\ngreat sages and masters, one method is important, and that is\nconcentration. Why is concentration upheld as a great method? Can we not\nawaken the inner consciousness by prayer, by worship, by devotion, by\nDivine love, and in many other ways? Certainly, we can. But in the path\nof concentration we can rise step by step--it is the most scientific\nmethod. Of course every path can be made scientific we may say, or\nevery path can be followed step by step. True. But we can combine\ncertain methods. Take, for instance, devotion. Devotion is a great\nthing. The love for an ideal, we need; it is important; in this country\nit is necessary. But if we allow ourselves to be carried away by\nheightened emotions, or by wrought-up feelings, we may develop\nfanaticism. There have been instances in which devotion, love, Divine\nlove--when not combined with proper concentration, or proper\nanalysis--have landed persons in the realm of emotionalism, or\nsentimentality, or fanaticism. They are led into the realm of bigotry\nand narrowness and carried away by these things. So try to balance\ndevotion, with proper reasoning and it will be a great, helpful method.\nTrue prayer can open up our inner communion and help us to unfold. Pure\nself-analysis is another method. But concentration has been found to be\nvery helpful for many, many people--for the majority of people--if it\ncan be followed under the guidance of proper teachers and if it can be\nfollowed methodically. But some might say that there is danger in\nconcentration. There is no danger in concentration. Consciously or\nunconsciously we apply it in every field of knowledge. Without\nconcentration what can you do? As Emerson said, \"The one prudence in\nlife is concentration; the one evil is dissipation.\" In war, in\npolitics, in business, in trade, in the management of all commercial and\nsocial affairs, concentration is the secret of success.\n\nAnd what is meant by concentration? Concentration includes two things.\nOne is gathering up scattered energies; another is focussing these\nscattered energies of mind.\n\nAs I explained, outer consciousness means this: We are dependent on the\nsenses and outward things. That is, when we try to think of inner\nthings, we are held back by our dependence on things external. We are\nall the time living in these external impressions, and cannot enter into\nthe inner realm of understanding.\n\nAnd how does concentration help us? Concentration helps us to withdraw\nour scattered minds from different directions. The mind has been\nscattered. It wanders among various objects, which are impressions in\nour minds. The mind has been divided, and thus mental energy is\ndissipated. Very little energy is left for the accomplishment of the\nreal ideals in life. But gradually we learn by concentration how to\nwithdraw the scattered forces of the mind and how to focus them upon the\nchosen ideal.\n\nThere are many details, but I am only mentioning the most important\npoints.\n\nWhen, through proper training and daily practice, one is able to learn\nhow to gather up the wandering mind, and withdraw these different powers\nof the mind from different sources and focus them on one thing, then so\nmuch energy has been combined, as it were, and we can accomplish\nsomething. Otherwise, so much of our energy has been dissipated.\n\nRegarding the difficulties and dangers of concentration, let me mention\nthat there are difficulties in all paths, in all fields of knowledge.\nNothing worth achieving has been accomplished without a little\ndifficulty, without a little sacrifice, without a little sincere and\nearnest effort. You know, curiosity-seekers never reach anything in\nlife. Those who are sincere and earnest searchers and seekers have\ngradually unfolded themselves and reached the higher realms of\nunderstanding. So there is no real danger in concentration. We must\nstart with that idea, and not be hasty. Many of us try to take things\nlike a pill. We take a pill, and it must accomplish its results.\nConcentration is not a pill--and we do not know what accumulated\nexperiences and impressions are at our backs. Through different lives\nand through the present life we have been gathering up so many things.\nWe are performing so many karmas, as we say, and we have to eliminate so\nmany things in our lives. Through proper effort we shall remove many\nobstacles, many difficulties, and our task will become easier and\neasier.\n\nNow, the Yogis, in figurative language call this opening up of the inner\nconsciousness the awakening of the Kundalini. You will see--if you\nanalyse your life--that there are a few things which are constantly\nholding your attention. The mind, as it were, is drawn into certain\nrealms. As I explained in the beginning, sense perceptions are in\ndifferent forms and include many things--our eating, our drinking, all\nsorts of habits and many other things. Thus the best of our energies are\nswallowed up, as it were, by these things. The Yogis claim that the\nnerve centers--the lower nerve centers--have absorbed these energies and\nthe energies are chained there, or enslaved there, and you have to\nrelease them. There are two sides, the physiological and mental.\nPhysiologically, when we begin to practise concentration, this energy is\ngradually released from the lower centers. It is called the awakening of\nKundalini--coiled-up energy--energy in latent form or enslaved form.\nSimultaneously our mind is released from its impressions and begins to\nwork in a higher realm.\n\nTime will not permit me to enter into the details of this subject, but I\njust want to touch upon some important points, so that you will think\nand study and investigate more.\n\nA few points I must try to impress upon your mind. I must repeat that\nfirst of all these things should be studied under the guidance of proper\nteachers, and secondly, that you need not believe anything blindly. I\nwant to impress this upon your mind because these things are established\nfacts and those who have experienced them know these things. They are\nnot the results of mere speculation, or mere imagination, because those\nteachers who would try to teach you will tell you from the beginning\nthat you have to eliminate all the ideas of imagination. You must give\nup imagining things. Many of us have a tendency to imagine too much,\nconstantly seeing visions and other things. You must eliminate those\nnotions from the beginning, and must try to live in realities, in facts\nand true experiences. So you must not accept anything credulously, but\ntry to study and investigate for yourself.\n\nThe Yogis declare that there is a hollow canal in the spinal column, and\nthat the base of the spinal column, in the majority of persons, is\nclosed. When these energies are released, they must find a passage and\nthey must be allowed to go through this canal, and as this released\nenergy rises into higher and higher centers, we enter into inner and\ninner stages of illumination. And when that energy reaches the\nbrain--the highest center, the pineal gland--there the illumination\nbecomes absolute; that is, we reach that pure state of consciousness of\nwhich I have spoken.\n\nYou will find as you progress that there are physiological experiences\nand mental experiences. As we have physiological experiences we shall\nsee that the whole nervous system is changing. Our bodies are full of\nvibrating currents. Our whole life is full of vibrating currents, and we\nmust know how to direct them, how to adjust them. And that is why I said\nthe teachers would ask you to give up that idea of imagining things. We\nimagine and speculate too much. We must not accept anything unless it is\nrealized, and that is why the student must be properly directed.\n\nAnd why is it necessary that the student should be directed? Because of\nignorance of the subtle forces involved. As these physiological\nexperiences go on, layer after layer of the mind is opened up, but you\nmust let these experiences alone. You must not identify yourself with\nthem. Do you not see that in order to eliminate these external\nconditions and enter into the inner realms of consciousness, we have to\nrise above the body consciousness? Therefore, if we identify ourselves\nwith these vibrations, or any kind of physiological experiences, we are\ngoing against what we are trying to accomplish. We would be\ninconsistent. So put the chemicals together and let the crystallization\ntake care of itself. Gradually the latent energy awakens, and the energy\nworking in the life is concentrated. Gradually you will see a new vista\nof knowledge and wisdom opening before you. A new land, a new realm of\nexperience is coming to you, and that needs the master mind. Instead of\nallowing ourselves to become enslaved again by these conditions, we must\nrise above them as the master. We must become the director. Instead of\nallowing the mind to take the reins, we must take the reins in our own\nhands. You, as part of the Divine Spirit, have that mastery and power.\nYou have that strength within you, and you are going to be the director.\nAnd so you have to tell the mind and the senses and the little things in\nyour life that you are the master. They must know who is the master, and\nwho is going to direct the situation. In this way we have to direct\nproperly, knowing the ideal thoroughly, knowing where we are going,\nwhat we are trying to accomplish, eliminating all the selfish ideals,\neliminating all the obstacles and difficulties as much as possible.\n\nYes, there are obstacles; there are difficulties, and we are frightened\nby them. But you must remember these difficulties and obstacles can be\novercome. They come to test our strength, and we overcome them, we\nunfold our latent and dormant powers. So never give way. Never give up\nafter you accept a method. Be not hasty in adopting a method, but once\nyou have taken it up, follow it with the utmost pertinacity. Follow it\nwith that sincerity and earnestness of purpose necessary for\naccomplishment in all walks of life and in all fields of achievement.\nAnd then go on, day after day, practising it, following it with\nun-ending patience and perseverance.\n\nGradually a time will come when you will see that there is a realm, or\nthere are different realms of inner consciousness which are being\nunfolded to you. By degrees you will come to that state of Divine\nillumination which will make you really blessed. The blessedness of that\nstate cannot be described--it must be felt--it must be experienced.\n\nI will conclude this topic with the admonition that we must be\nabsolutely sincere, and we must not apply these things in any other way\nthan for spiritual unfoldment. There is the danger. We have a tendency\nto apply them in different realms--lower states--and for selfish\npurposes. We must avoid that. To many, you must remember, it may be a\nlife task. For many, it may take several lives. Some may accomplish it\nin a few years. To others, again--persons of sincerity and\nsteadfastness--it may come quickly. But whatever time it takes, we must\nbe determined and we must start with this idea, that even before passing\naway from this life, we will reach a very high state of consciousness,\nand we will unfold that Divine, cosmic, universal, absolute\nconsciousness, which alone can make us really happy and blessed.\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\n=The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna=\n\n  Cloth, $2.00; Postage 10 cents.\n  Paper, $1.50; Postage 8 cents.\n\n\n=Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna=\n\n  Cloth, $1.25; Postage 10 cents.\n\n\n=The Life of Swami Vivekananda (4 Vols.)=\n\n  Each Vol., Cloth, $2.50; Postage 18 cents.\n\n\n=Complete works of Swami Vivekananda (5 Vols.)=\n\n  Each Vol., Cloth, $2.50; Postage 15 cents.\n\n\nBesides the above, many important books and pamphlets on Vedanta\nphilosophy by the Swamis, Sanskrit translations of Upanishads,\netc., for sale at the Society headquarters, 2963 Webster St.,\nSan Francisco, Cal.\n\n\n\n\nVEDANTA PERIODICALS\n\n\n=Prabuddha Bharata=--Monthly.\n\n  $1.50 a year.\n  Mayavati P. O. St. Almora, U. P. India.\n\n\n=Vedanta Kesari=--Monthly.\n\n  $1.50 a year.\n  Mylapore, Madras, India.\n\n\n=Message of the East=--Monthly.\n\n  $2.00 a year.\n  1 Queensberry St., Boston, Mass.","title":"The Inner Consciousness: How to Awaken and Direct It","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":5765}