Nature of Knots

The science of Yoga was from the beginning aware of the existence of knots called as grandhis or lotuses also. These knots get formed by virtue of the very nature of flow of consciousness with twists and turns.

Master has given an account of the nature of knots in his books. We have the studies of Dr.K.C.V. and also by my humble self on them.

The most important aspect of these knots is as Master has stated "There are only four conditions felt in each in one of the centres." A) when the journey comes to a stage of nearing the entry into a knot restlessness in the condition is felt ( called Sameepyata) B)when one gains entry into a certain knot or Grandhi he goes round and round in it gaining a thorough knowledge of the same. In the process he begins to absorb in him the state prevailing in that state. It is only when he becomes saturated his merging in that knot comes into effect. This is called as Salokyata C) the saturation continues till the fact of being saturated with the condition is forgotten called Saroopyata and finally D) where the memory of the condition in which one is merged is totally erased called Sayujyata. If the aspirant is really determined to reach the goal of Negation the condition here will lead to a state of restlessness and with the effect of Pranahuti one may proceed further in his journey. As Dr.K.C.V. put it "The knots could hold us away from the final destiny but for the Master."

Master said "I have taken the major knots and discussed them in the book and left out the minor ones. We take generally in training the master cell of the knot which illuminates all other minor cells in its sphere. You get power thereby to complete the course of the journey in that sphere." The master cell here mentioned is the same as the point P which is taken up for performing the journey. The cell is such that we can visualize the same at any point in the knot under question and make it work dynamically.

"After the ninth or tenth grandhi I took the major ones because the difference between the differences between the minor knots was inexpressible. So I took the broader steps regarding these grandhis and I finished the run of spiritual life in thirteen grandhis. "

There is a common notions amongst that Pranahuti is unique to us and this is not known to others. Master has written that " .. the long forgotten Transmission will be the subject of attention for all human beings in existence. We have got that which seemed to have been lost, and now we have it and work with it, thanks to my Great Master..... It may be surprising that Mohammedans here claim it as their own originality which though far from being a fact, I do not dispute with a view that it may work for the betterment of humanity at large not minding whoever may be its originator. All the different sects of Mohammedans (72 in all) have transmission as their base, directly or indirectly and every on e of them is acquainted with it and acknowledges it........ Now it is our lookout to improve it as best as possible for the benefit of humanity irrespective of caste or creed." If transmission can do our yatra in all the knots as it is commonly believed by many of us, then all our Muslim brothers should be either realised or realising. We know that is not case while we can not deny the existence of great saints among them also. It should be clear from this it is not only the Pranahuti that helps us progress but our individual dedication to the cause also.

The various characteristics of the knots have already been given in the books and I do not intend to discuss any of them here directly. What is more important is that the characteristics have the capacity of bind us to the knots. Viveka or Vairagya by themselves are capable of being enjoyed and make us get stagnated.

If we grasp the method by which these knots got formed the matter will be clearer. I have made attempts to express the conditions obtaining in the Central region in the book "Path of Grace". I have no intention to describe them here. However I would like to clarify that the very described there are the binding blocks under preparation.

As we descended or expressed ourselves the states of 1. joy of remembrance of the Master 2. joy of recollection of Masters Omnipotence 3. joy of awareness of self 4.joy of competence of self 5. joy of using ones competence for the purpose of the Master 6. joy of awareness of harmony of self with Him and all that exists 7. joy of awareness of Omnipresence of the master, get transformed in the realms of Brahmand and Pind desh through a series of inversions and knots.

The joy or happiness or peace of one plane is the agony of the next plane. This needs to be fully understood to understand the various conditions in the journey.

The series of inversions is the cause of observing similarity in the state of consciousness and one can discern only when one owns the conditions of the knots. Every one reports calm or peace and every one is right from his angle. But the fact is the conditions are different at different levels. Sugar, candy, jamuns are all sweet but they differ.

The nature of the conditions obtaining in the various knots have been covered in our workshops on Viveka, Vairagya, Interdependence, devotion, surrender and Balanced living.

As we start our yatra from the first knot, we find that the major discriminative intelligence that has to develop is regarding the goal clarity. Every person who thinks about the nature of things and events knows that there is a higher power than us which seem to govern us. This awareness of the Source is the beginning which ends in the last ring of Splendour after going through various conditions of modifications in the knots.

The dynamic development of the spirit through various stages has been brilliantly expounded by the Master through his commentary on Ten Commandments. I tried to share my experience suggesting the relationship between these commandments and the yatra in the knots in my notes of the Masters work. It is basic wisdom to get up in the early hours of the day and offer prayer to the Master through the process of meditation. This is what is sought to be achieved by following the First and Second commandments.

Is it then a prayer to solve our problems in material life or is it to solve the problem of life is the next stage of wisdom that needs to be gained in the first knot. The purport from the angle of sadhana of the third commandment is this. This hits at our notions of utility of prayer to various gods and goddesses who are meant for other purposes by the Divine. Clarity here emerges after much load shedding and yatra in the knot 1. This is one of the toughest regions of travel where our notions and ideas of various forms of worship that we are accustomed to perform get shattered. As Master put it " There are few examples with whom I showed practically the state of realisation momentarily; and they felt it and appreciated it very much but they are not prepared to leave their idols because they have become habituated to it. And their wisdom has become quite blunt. Discriminative power they have already lost and that is the cause of our down fall. When the power of discrimination goes away then fear sets in. They will not leave it because their forefathers have been doing so all along. This is one thing .Another thing is they think that if they leave it, some calamity will befall them." The awareness of the goal as applicable to all the planes of our existence and mergence in this condition is the major index of our laya in this knot.

The fourth commandment is suggesting that we should be natural and plain. Nature has every thing in place and every thing is intricately woven with others. The insufficiency of the individual is evident and the dependency on others is understood. The lessons in ego-reduction start here. Thus in fact the domain of humility starts in the Pind desh. We see ourselves as dependant on others as much as they are on us. The closed fists open and lessons in charity and sacrifice get learnt. Not only that the insufficiency makes us seek ways and means by which cohesion is built into our lives. The various states where we feel we are the king pin are gone through before maturing in this knot 2.

When such a seeking matures we near the condition of devotion. The practice of the commandment 5 which talks of being true to our nature is the one that helps us move further. The various hardships and difficulties one goes through in life are all understood are all accepted as divine blessings only when we mature in the condition of devotion. Again goal clarity requires to be matured. Several ways of devotion starting from flattery to total silence before the Lord are the conditions one goes through. All devotion finally means there is a difference between the individual and the goal. This is sought to be sewn with love of various types, service of different kinds. When one merges into this condition there is only dumbness. This further develops into the realisation gained earlier in the state of insufficiency. The insufficiency felt here is so absolute that we tend to feel that surrender to the divine is only way.

This leads to the fourth knot which in fact spiritually is an inversion of the nature of the second knot. The progress in this region is assisted by our practicing the commandments 6 and 7. The inseparable relationship with others and the divine is understood when the feelings of fraternity matures. Master stated that surrender is complete only when surrender to all beings is there. The inseparable relationship is not any exclusive privilege of some but is the relationship that is abiding in all that exists. All are forms of divinity. This is where the lessons of ahimsa and Karuna or compassion are learnt. The self thus goes through the process of purification by its total dedication to the Divine. As a great thinker said "The spiritual weapon of self-purification, intangible as it seems, is the most potent means of revolutionizing one's environment and loosening the external shackles. It works subtly and invisibly; it is an intense process though it might often seem a weary and long-drawn process. It is the straightest way to liberation, the surest and the quickest, and no effort can be too great for it. What it requires is faith-an unshakable mountain like faith that flinches from nothing." The meditation on points A and B matures and the condition gets matured. It is the condition of faith maturing into total and unconditional surrender to the Divine that is the state into which a person merges. Surrender is essentially a state of settled-ness- settled in the confidence that Master takes care of everything. This is a region where one may desire to dwell for ever. The help of the Pranahuti which supports the goal formed by us pushes us further to be restless. Thus we seek to enter the higher state.

The 5th knot is a state of balance which on maturity gives to the craving of going beyond the limitations of the body. Body awareness is totally lost and one finds himself expanding. Prejudices and conflicts die down. Practices of the 8th and 9th commandments promote our being in the condition of the knot in a subtle way all through. Samadhi of a type which is surely superior to ordinary states is felt. Always there is a feeling that we are growing banishing barriers of being, and dwelling in consciousness per se is experienced. Various aspirants feel this as continuous remembrance, constant state of vibrations through the body etc.,

The practice of the tenth commandment starts the process of development of humility further and in the deep core of our being we come to understand how much we are attached to the ideals and ideas and got stuck. The state of Viveka gains deeper meaning and restlessness in the condition is felt. However the transition to the higher region is not that simple as the earlier ones- where itself we fret and fume with exhaustion and disgust. Disgust now gets replaced by trust in the Master and a competent one pushes us to the realm of Brahmand. The wisdom gained in the 5th knot namely when we realized universal emptiness and all objects are spontaneously penetrated integrating the world and beyond, and contains all states of being within. If we lose the essence, there is nothing after all; if we however understand and play the function assigned by the divine, there is spiritual enlivenment.

In all the states we covered so far we discern an inversion of the condition obtaining in the previous knot in the next one. These inversions are many times automatic or they are willed by the trainer. No one can satisfactorily perform yatra in the next knot without the condition of the earlier knot gets inverted. The inversion at the 6th knot is a radical one as this is moving from the gross realm to the subtle one. Unless there is sufficient movement in the earlier knots and there is a state of balance or settled-ness or mergence in all the knots in the Pind desh the inversion here is difficult to happen and one lingers in the lower plane. In fact the maturity of the first and second knots is the deciding factor here. The cycle of conditions relating to Viveka, vairagya, Swaswaroopa jnana, devotion and surrender get refined in the knots 6 to 10. There is no journey as such in these knots. There is no master cell for the knots here. The corresponding master cell is in the Pind desh.

There are many under the wrong impression that growth in super- consciousness happens here in Brahmand and there is little need to bother about the conditions of the lower centres. No progress here is possible unless the quality of purity is improved in the various knots and total dedication of all of ones' faculties and intelligences are utilised for the divine purpose. One has to grow on his own. As was stated by a wise man "You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was." Our Master is great and Grand Master greater. But that does not help unless we grow. When we say that the Pind desh is a replica of the Brahmand there is only half truth. In fact the individual Brahmand is a replica of the conditions in Pind desh we form. We should understand that we think with only a small part of our past, but it is with our entire past, including the original bent of our soul, that we desire, will, and act. Our personality, which is being built up each instant with its accumulated experience, changes without ceasing. By changing, it prevents any state, although superficially identical with another, from ever repeating it in its very depth. That is why our "Time" is irreversible.

The finished portrait is explained by the features of the model, by the nature of the artist, by the colours spread out on the palette; but, even with the knowledge of what explains it, no one, not even the artist, could have foreseen exactly what the portrait would be, for to predict it would have been to produce it before it was produced--an absurd hypothesis which is its own refutation. Even so with regard to the yatra we have performed in the various knots. The conditions there are in fact moments of our life, of which we are the artisans. Each of the condition we have owned is a kind of creation.

These creations give the impetus in the higher region for growth and development in the astral plane. The work done here alone works. There is no scope for work in the higher region there is only planning. The Pind desh may have any number of defects but it is only here that our fate in the higher regions is formed and we should remember that "The virtue of angels is that they cannot deteriorate; their flaw is that they cannot improve. Humanity's flaw is that we can deteriorate; but our virtue is that we can improve.

As house holders it is for us to use the circumstances in life for growth internally. As the Upanishad put it "In the dark night live those for whom The world without alone is real; in night Darker still, for whom the world within Alone is real. The first leads to a life Of action, the second to a life of meditation. But those who combine action with meditation Cross the sea of death through action And enter into immortality Through the practice of meditation. So have we heard from the wise." I add that we do not need to hear from the wise. If we wisely follow the path given by our beloved Master we can stand testimony to this Vedic wisdom.

The journey through the 65 knots or points after the 10th knot is easy or difficult according to our having owned up the condition of the Pind desh. In all cases where my Master has found me to be the instrument for such work in some aspirants, I experienced difficulties. The aspirants were clinging to their own notions of the system ignoring the basic purpose of sadhana is self negation and total dedication to the divine what ever that might be. Problems of Annamaya kosa affecting the conditions in the Pind desh is one of the major drags. I push a person up and he slips no sooner the effect of fomentation fades. Surely there is every need to pray and continue to be in a prayer mood all through seeking all the time the help of the divine to overcome the sloth. But a certain degree of self sufficiency felt by the aspirant because of his approach either in Aksi or Kasbi manner tends to increase sloth and justifying the same as not interested in anything other than being in the thought of the Master. Taking recourse to duck under the practice of constant remembrance is not rare. The 13 points refer to this aspect of our life. It is only the discipline that we cultivated earlier in the practice of commandments 1 and 8 that matter much.

The second set of 13 points relate to Pranamaya Kosa and owning up of the conditions in the knots of Pind desh is essential for moving on each point. This is the terrain that is badly affected due to irresponsible marketing culture that seems to be growing unquestioned. It is easy to make a person insane without use of any drugs through the media only where our capacities of cognition and affection are mauled and brutally assaulted. Restraint required now a days is much more than what it was for Sage Viswamithra. Practice of meditation on points A and B and Prayer before going to bed are vital. The casuality is that non performance of bed time prayer is sought to be explained away as due to being tired after days work, not feeling well etc., Most often though no one confesses it is due to lust and baser instincts demanding attention. Lessons are to be learnt very assiduously in this plane.

In the third set of 13 points we have the problems of lack of clarity on the goal and the way in which the Master is perceived. Only study of the basic texts of the Master can help in owning up the conditions and clear up odd notions of devotion, surrender, jnana etc.,

The fourth set of 13 points relates to Vijnanamaya kosa, and the fifth set relates to Anandamaya kosa. Journey through these is usually by passed by the grace of the Master. In fact after M2 the states or all related to knots at 4 and 5 knots. Though the grace of the Master in supporting the will of the trainer because lack of dirt and grossness in the lower regions the promoted condition does not last. It is perseverance and effort on the part of the trainer and the aspirant that counts.

I think I have covered certain aspects of my understanding of the nature of the knots which I did not do earlier. Thank you for your patient listening.