Legacy YM

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The great novelist Leo Tolstoy wrote a delightful story, The Three Hermits. His
friend Nicholas Roerich1 has summarized the tale, as follows:

"On an island there lived three old hermits. They were so simple that the only prayer they used was: 'We
are three; Thou art Threehave mercy on us!' Great miracles were manifested during this naive prayer.

"The local bishop2 came to hear about the three hermits and their
inadmissible prayer, and decided to visit them in order to teach them the canonical invocations. He arrived
on the island, told the hermits that their heavenly petition was undignified, and taught them many of the
customary prayers. The bishop then left on a boat. He saw, following the ship, a radiant light. As it
approached, he discerned the three hermits, who were holding hands and running upon the waves in an effort to
overtake the vessel.

"'We have forgotten the prayers you taught us,' they cried as they reached the bishop, 'and have hastened
to ask you to repeat them.'

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The awed bishop shook his head. "'Dear ones,' he replied humbly, 'continue to live with your old prayer!'"

How did the three saints walk on the water?

How did Christ resurrect his crucified body?

How did Lahiri Mahasaya and Sri Yukteswar perform their miracles?

Modern science has, as yet, no answer; though with the advent of the atomic bomb and the wonders of radar,
the scope of the world-mind has been abruptly enlarged. The word "impossible" is becoming less prominent in
the scientific vocabulary.

The ancient Vedic scriptures declare that the physical world operates under one fundamental law of
maya, the principle of relativity and duality. God, the Sole Life, is an Absolute Unity; He cannot
appear as the separate and diverse manifestations of a creation except under a false or unreal veil. That
cosmic illusion is maya. Every great scientific discovery of modern times has served as a confirmation
of this simple pronouncement of the rishis.

Newton's Law of Motion is a law of maya: "To every action there is always an equal and contrary
reaction; the mutual actions of any two bodies are always equal and oppositely directed." Action and reaction
are thus exactly equal. "To have a single force is impossible. There must be, and always is, a pair of forces
equal and opposite."

Fundamental natural activities all betray their mayic origin. Electricity, for example, is a phenomenon of
repulsion and attraction; its electrons and protons are electrical opposites. Another example: the atom or
final particle of matter is, like the earth itself, a magnet with positive and negative poles. The entire
phenomenal world is under the inexorable sway of polarity; no law of physics, chemistry, or any other science
is ever found free from inherent opposite or contrasted principles.

Physical science, then, cannot formulate laws outside of maya, the very texture and
structure of creation. Nature herself is maya; natural science must perforce deal with her ineluctable
quiddity. In her own domain, she is eternal and inexhaustible; future scientists can do no more than probe
one aspect after another of her varied infinitude. Science thus remains in a perpetual flux, unable to reach
finality; fit indeed to formulate the laws of an already existing and functioning cosmos, but powerless to
detect the Law Framer and Sole Operator. The majestic manifestations of gravitation and electricity have
become known, but what gravitation and electricity are, no mortal knoweth. 3

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To surmount maya was the task assigned to the human race by the millennial prophets. To rise above
the duality of creation and perceive the unity of the Creator was conceived of as man's highest goal. Those
who cling to the cosmic illusion must accept its essential law of polarity: flow and ebb, rise and fall, day
and night, pleasure and pain, good and evil, birth and death. This cyclic pattern assumes a certain
anguishing monotony, after man has gone through a few thousand human births; he begins to cast a hopeful eye
beyond the compulsions of maya.

To tear the veil of maya is to pierce the secret of creation. The yogi who thus denudes the
universe is the only true monotheist. All others are worshiping heathen images. So long as man remains
subject to the dualistic delusions of nature, the Janus-faced Maya is his goddess; he cannot know the
one true God.

The world illusion, maya, is individually called avidya, literally, "not-knowledge,"
ignorance, delusion. Maya or avidya can never be destroyed through intellectual conviction or
analysis, but solely through attaining the interior state of nirbikalpa samadhi. The Old Testament
prophets, and seers of all lands and ages, spoke from that state of consciousness. Ezekiel says (43:1-2):
"Afterwards he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: and, behold, the glory of
the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth
shined with his glory." Through the divine eye in the forehead (east), the yogi sails his consciousness into
omnipresence, hearing the Word or Aum, divine sound of many waters or vibrations which is the sole reality of
creation.

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Among the trillion mysteries of the cosmos, the most phenomenal is light. Unlike sound-waves, whose
transmission requires air or other material media, light-waves pass freely through the vacuum of interstellar
space. Even the hypothetical ether, held as the interplanetary medium of light in the undulatory theory, can
be discarded on the Einsteinian grounds that the geometrical properties of space render the theory of ether
unnecessary. Under either hypothesis, light remains the most subtle, the freest from material dependence, of
any natural manifestation.

In the gigantic conceptions of Einstein, the velocity of light186,000 miles per seconddominates the whole
Theory of Relativity. He proves mathematically that the velocity of light is, so far as man's finite mind is
concerned, the only constant in a universe of unstayable flux. On the sole absolute of light-velocity
depend all human standards of time and space. Not abstractly eternal as hitherto considered, time and space
are relative and finite factors, deriving their measurement validity only in reference to the yardstick of
light-velocity. In joining space as a dimensional relativity, time has surrendered age-old claims to a
changeless value. Time is now stripped to its rightful naturea simple essence of ambiguity! With a few
equational strokes of his pen, Einstein has banished from the cosmos every fixed reality except that of
light.

In a later development, his Unified Field Theory, the great physicist embodies in one
mathematical formula the laws of gravitation and of electromagnetism. Reducing the cosmical structure to
variations on a single law, Einstein4 reaches across the ages to the
rishis who proclaimed a sole texture of creationthat of a protean maya.

On the epochal Theory of Relativity have arisen the mathematical possibilities of exploring the ultimate
atom. Great scientists are now boldly asserting not only that the atom is energy rather than matter, but that
atomic energy is essentially mind-stuff.

"The frank realization that physical science is concerned with a world of shadows is one of the most
significant advances," Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington writes in The Nature of the Physical World. "In
the world of physics we watch a shadowgraph performance of the drama of familiar life. The shadow of my elbow
rests on the shadow table as the shadow ink flows over the shadow paper. It is all symbolic, and as a symbol
the physicist leaves it. Then comes the alchemist Mind who transmutes the symbols. . . . To put the
conclusion crudely, the stuff of the world is mind-stuff. . . . The realistic matter and fields of force of
former physical theory are altogether irrelevant except in so far as the mind-stuff has itself spun these
imaginings. . . . The external world has thus become a world of shadows. In removing our illusions we have
removed the substance, for indeed we have seen that substance is one of the greatest of our illusions."

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With the recent devising of the electron microscope came definite proof of the light-essence of atoms and
of the inescapable duality of nature. The New York Times gave the following report of a 1937
demonstration of the electron microscope before a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science:

"The crystalline structure of tungsten, hitherto known only indirectly by means of X-rays, stood outlined
boldly on a fluorescent screen, showing nine atoms in their correct positions in the space lattice, a cube,
with one atom in each corner and one in the center. The atoms in the crystal lattice of the tungsten appeared
on the fluorescent screen as points of light, arranged in geometric pattern. Against this crystal cube of
light the bombarding molecules of air could be observed as dancing points of light, similar to points of
sunlight shimmering on moving waters. . . .

"The principle of the electron microscope was first discovered in 1927 by Drs. Clinton J. Davisson and
Lester H. Germer of the Bell Telephone Laboratories, New York City, who found that the electron had a dual
personality partaking of the characteristic of both a particle and a wave. The wave quality gave the electron
the characteristic of light, and a search was begun to devise means for 'focusing' electrons in a manner
similar to the focusing of light by means of a lens.

"For his discovery of the Jekyll-Hyde quality of the electron, which corroborated the prediction made in
1924 by De Broglie, French Nobel Prize winning physicist, and showed that the entire realm of physical nature
had a dual personality, Dr. Davisson also received the Nobel Prize in physics."

"The stream of knowledge," Sir James Jeans writes in The Mysterious Universe, "is heading towards a
non-mechanical reality; the universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine."

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Twentieth-century science is thus sounding like a page from the hoary Vedas.

From science, then, if it must be so, let man learn the philosophic truth that there is no material
universe; its warp and woof is maya, illusion. Its mirages of reality all break down under analysis.
As one by one the reassuring props of a physical cosmos crash beneath him, man dimly perceives his idolatrous
reliance, his past transgression of the divine command: "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me."

In his famous equation outlining the equivalence of mass and energy, Einstein proved that the energy in
any particle of matter is equal to its mass or weight multiplied by the square of the velocity of light. The
release of the atomic energies is brought about through the annihilation of the material particles. The
"death" of matter has been the "birth" of an Atomic Age.

Light-velocity is a mathematical standard or constant not because there is an absolute value in 186,000
miles a second, but because no material body, whose mass increases with its velocity, can ever attain the
velocity of light. Stated another way: only a material body whose mass is infinite could equal the velocity
of light.

This conception brings us to the law of miracles.

The masters who are able to materialize and dematerialize their bodies or any other object, and to move
with the velocity of light, and to utilize the creative light-rays in bringing into instant visibility any
physical manifestation, have fulfilled the necessary Einsteinian condition: their mass is infinite.

The consciousness of a perfected yogi is effortlessly identified, not with a narrow body, but with the
universal structure. Gravitation, whether the "force" of Newton or the Einsteinian "manifestation of
inertia," is powerless to compel a master to exhibit the property of "weight" which is the
distinguishing gravitational condition of all material objects. He who knows himself as the omnipresent
Spirit is subject no longer to the rigidities of a body in time and space. Their imprisoning "rings-pass-not"
have yielded to the solvent: "I am He."

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"Fiat lux! And there was light." God's first command to His ordered creation
(Genesis 1:3) brought into being the only atomic reality: light. On the beams of this immaterial
medium occur all divine manifestations. Devotees of every age testify to the appearance of God as flame and
light. "The King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man
can approach unto." 5

A yogi who through perfect meditation has merged his consciousness with the Creator perceives the cosmical
essence as light; to him there is no difference between the light rays composing water and the light rays
composing land. Free from matter-consciousness, free from the three dimensions of space and the fourth
dimension of time, a master transfers his body of light with equal ease over the light rays of earth, water,
fire, or air. Long concentration on the liberating spiritual eye has enabled the yogi to destroy all
delusions concerning matter and its gravitational weight; thenceforth he sees the universe as an essentially
undifferentiated mass of light.

"Optical images," Dr. L. T. Troland of Harvard tells us, "are built up on the same principle as the
ordinary 'half-tone' engravings; that is, they are made up of minute dottings or stripplings far too small to
be detected by the eye. . . . The sensitiveness of the retina is so great that a visual sensation can be
produced by relatively few Quanta of the right kind of light." Through a master's divine knowledge of light
phenomena, he can instantly project into perceptible manifestation the ubiquitous light atoms. The actual
form of the projectionwhether it be a tree, a medicine, a human bodyis in conformance with a yogi's powers of
will and of visualization.

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In man's dream-consciousness, where he has loosened in sleep his clutch on the egoistic limitations that
daily hem him round, the omnipotence of his mind has a nightly demonstration. Lo! there in the dream stand
the long-dead friends, the remotest continents, the resurrected scenes of his childhood. With that free and
unconditioned consciousness, known to all men in the phenomena of dreams, the God-tuned master has forged a
never-severed link. Innocent of all personal motives, and employing the creative will bestowed on him by the
Creator, a yogi rearranges the light atoms of the universe to satisfy any sincere prayer of a devotee. For
this purpose were man and creation made: that he should rise up as master of maya, knowing his
dominion over the cosmos.

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."6

In 1915, shortly after I had entered the Swami Order, I witnessed a vision of violent contrasts. In it the
relativity of human consciousness was vividly established; I clearly perceived the unity of the Eternal Light
behind the painful dualities of maya. The vision descended on me as I sat one morning in my little
attic room in Father's Gurpar Road home. For months World War I had been raging in Europe; I reflected sadly
on the vast toll of death.

As I closed my eyes in meditation, my consciousness was suddenly transferred to the body of a captain in
command of a battleship. The thunder of guns split the air as shots were exchanged between shore batteries
and the ship's cannons. A huge shell hit the powder magazine and tore my ship asunder. I jumped into the
water, together with the few sailors who had survived the explosion.

Heart pounding, I reached the shore safely. But alas! a stray bullet ended its furious flight in my chest.
I fell groaning to the ground. My whole body was paralyzed, yet I was aware of possessing it as one is
conscious of a leg gone to sleep.

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"At last the mysterious footstep of Death has caught up with me," I thought. With a final sigh, I was
about to sink into unconsciousness when lo! I found myself seated in the lotus posture in my Gurpar Road
room.

Hysterical tears poured forth as I joyfully stroked and pinched my regained possessiona body free from any
bullet hole in the breast. I rocked to and fro, inhaling and exhaling to assure myself that I was alive.
Amidst these self-congratulations, again I found my consciousness transferred to the captain's dead body by
the gory shore. Utter confusion of mind came upon me.

"Lord," I prayed, "am I dead or alive?"

A dazzling play of light filled the whole horizon. A soft rumbling vibration formed itself into words:

"What has life or death to do with Light? In the image of My Light I have made you. The relativities of
life and death belong to the cosmic dream. Behold your dreamless being! Awake, my child, awake!"

As steps in man's awakening, the Lord inspires scientists to discover, at the right time and place, the
secrets of His creation. Many modern discoveries help men to apprehend the cosmos as a varied expression of
one powerlight, guided by divine intelligence. The wonders of the motion picture, of radio, of television, of
radar, of the photo-electric cellthe all-seeing "electric eye," of atomic energies, are all based on the
electromagnetic phenomenon of light.

The motion picture art can portray any miracle. From the impressive visual standpoint, no marvel is barred
to trick photography. A man's transparent astral body can be seen rising from his gross physical form, he can
walk on the water, resurrect the dead, reverse the natural sequence of developments, and play havoc with time
and space. Assembling the light images as he pleases, the photographer achieves optical wonders which a true
master produces with actual light rays.

The lifelike images of the motion picture illustrate many truths concerning creation. The Cosmic Director
has written His own plays, and assembled the tremendous casts for the pageant of the centuries. From the dark
booth of eternity, He pours His creative beam through the films of successive ages, and the pictures are
thrown on the screen of space.

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Just as the motion-picture images appear to be real, but are only combinations
of light and shade, so is the universal variety a delusive seeming. The planetary spheres, with their
countless forms of life, are naught but figures in a cosmic motion picture, temporarily true to five sense
perceptions as the scenes are cast on the screen of man's consciousness by the infinite creative beam.

A cinema audience can look up and see that all screen images are appearing through the instrumentality of
one imageless beam of light. The colorful universal drama is similarly issuing from the single white light of
a Cosmic Source. With inconceivable ingenuity God is staging an entertainment for His human children, making
them actors as well as audience in His planetary theater.

One day I entered a motion picture house to view a newsreel of the European battlefields. World War I was
still being waged in the West; the newsreel recorded the carnage with such realism that I left the theater
with a troubled heart.

"Lord," I prayed, "why dost Thou permit such suffering?"

To my intense surprise, an instant answer came in the form of a vision of the actual European
battlefields. The horror of the struggle, filled with the dead and dying, far surpassed in ferocity any
representation of the newsreel.

"Look intently!" A gentle voice spoke to my inner consciousness. "You will see that these scenes now being
enacted in France are nothing but a play of chiaroscuro. They are the cosmic motion picture, as real and as
unreal as the theater newsreel you have just seena play within a play."

My heart was still not comforted. The divine voice went on: "Creation is light and shadow both, else no
picture is possible. The good and evil of maya must ever alternate in supremacy. If joy were ceaseless
here in this world, would man ever seek another? Without suffering he scarcely cares to recall that he has
forsaken his eternal home. Pain is a prod to remembrance. The way of escape is through wisdom! The tragedy of
death is unreal; those who shudder at it are like an ignorant actor who dies of fright on the stage when
nothing more is fired at him than a blank cartridge. My sons are the children of light; they will not sleep
forever in delusion."

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Although I had read scriptural accounts of maya, they had not given me the deep insight that came
with the personal visions and their accompanying words of consolation. One's values are profoundly changed
when he is finally convinced that creation is only a vast motion picture, and that not in it, but beyond it,
lies his own reality.

As I finished writing this chapter, I sat on my bed in the lotus posture. My room was dimly lit by two
shaded lamps. Lifting my gaze, I noticed that the ceiling was dotted with small mustard-colored lights,
scintillating and quivering with a radiumlike luster. Myriads of pencilled rays, like sheets of rain,
gathered into a transparent shaft and poured silently upon me.

At once my physical body lost its grossness and became metamorphosed into astral texture. I felt a
floating sensation as, barely touching the bed, the weightless body shifted slightly and alternately to left
and right. I looked around the room; the furniture and walls were as usual, but the little mass of light had
so multiplied that the ceiling was invisible. I was wonder-struck.

"This is the cosmic motion picture mechanism." A voice spoke as though from within the light. "Shedding
its beam on the white screen of your bed sheets, it is producing the picture of your body. Behold, your form
is nothing but light!"

I gazed at my arms and moved them back and forth, yet could not feel their weight. An ecstatic joy
overwhelmed me. This cosmic stem of light, blossoming as my body, seemed a divine replica of the light beams
streaming out of the projection booth in a cinema house and manifesting as pictures on the screen.

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For a long time I experienced this motion picture of my body in the dimly lighted theater of my own
bedroom. Despite the many visions I have had, none was ever more singular. As my illusion of a solid body was
completely dissipated, and my realization deepened that the essence of all objects is light, I looked up to
the throbbing stream of lifetrons and spoke entreatingly.

"Divine Light, please withdraw this, my humble bodily picture, into Thyself, even as Elijah was drawn up
to heaven by a flame."

This prayer was evidently startling; the beam disappeared. My body resumed its normal weight and sank on
the bed; the swarm of dazzling ceiling lights flickered and vanished. My time to leave this earth had
apparently not arrived.

"Besides," I thought philosophically, "the prophet Elijah might well be displeased at my presumption!"