Chapter Two   The Parts of the Body and the Centres   The Parts of the Body in Yoga   Different parts of the body indicate for this purpose different parts of the nature. The head is the seat of the mind (buddhi) and the lower part of the mouth, chin, neck are the seat of the external or physical mind. It indicates that the force is working there to change and prepare this part of the mind and get rid of resistance and wrong mental habits. The Cerebellum   Yes, it [the cerebellum] has some connection with the subconscient.   The Ear, Nose, Face and Throat   It cannot be anything physical but only a subtle physical se

Chapter Nine   The Environmental Consciousness   The Environmental Consciousness around the Individual   Everyone carries around him an environmental consciousness or atmosphere through which he is in relation with others or with the universal forces. It is through this that these forces or the thoughts or feelings of others enter.   *   The environmental is not a world —it is an individual thing.   *   The individual is not limited to the physical body —it is only the external consciousness which feels like that. As soon as one gets over this feeling of limitation, one can feel first the inner consciousness which is co

Section Two   Religion, Idealism, Morality and Yoga     Chapter One   Religion and Yoga   Religion and the Truth   The Divine Truth is greater than any religion or creed or scripture or idea or philosophy —so you must not tie yourself to any of these things.   *   I regard the spiritual history of mankind and especially of India as a constant development of a divine purpose, not a book that is closed, the lines of which have to be constantly repeated. Even the Upanishads and the Gita were not final though everything may be there in seed. In this development the recent spiritual history of India is a very important

Chapter Four   Rebirth   The Psychic's Choice at the Time of Death   The psychic being at the time of death chooses what it will work out in the next birth and determines the character and conditions of the new personality. Life is for the evolutionary growth by experience in the conditions of the Ignorance till one is ready for the higher light.   *   The dying wish of the man is only something on the surface —it may be determined by the psychic and so help to shape the future but it does not determine the psychic's choice. That is something behind the veil. It is not the outer consciousness's action that determines the inner proc

Section Two   The Avatar and the Vibhuti       Chapter One   The Meaning and Purpose of Avatarhood   The Avatar or Incarnation   Surely for the earth consciousness it is so [the very fact that the Divine manifests himself is the greatest of all splendours]. Consider the obscurity here and what it would be if the Divine did not directly intervene and the Light of Lights did not break out of the obscurity —for that is the meaning of the manifestation.   *   An Incarnation is the Divine Consciousness and Being manifesting through a physical body. It is possible from any plane

Chapter Two   The Supermind or Supramental   Supermind and the Purushottama   Purushottama of the Gita is the supreme being; the supermind is a power of the Supreme —or proceeding from him, if you like.   *   Supermind is not the Purushottama consciousness, it is a Purushottama consciousness, a certain level and power of being which he can share with his "eternal portions", amśāḥ sanātanāḥ, provided they can climb out of the Ignorance. As for embodying it, it is certainly difficult but not impossible.   Supermind and Sachchidananda   Supermind is between the Sachchidananda planes and the lower creation. It contains the self-dete

 Section Four   The Chakras or Centres of Consciousness       Chapter One   The System of the Chakras   The Functions of the Chakras or Centres   The centres or Chakras are seven in number — (1) The thousand-petalled lotus on the top of the head. (2) In the middle of the forehead —the Ajna Chakra —(will, vision, dynamic thought). (3) Throat centre —externalising mind. (4) Heart-lotus —emotional centre. The psychic is behind it. (5) Navel —higher vital (proper). (6) Below navel —lower vital. (7) Muladhara —physical. All these centres are in the middle of the body; they are s

Section Four   Occult Knowledge and Powers     Chapter One   Occult Knowledge   Occultism and the Supraphysical   [Occultism:] The knowledge and right use of the hidden forces of Nature.   *   What did he himself [Ramakrishna] say about it —that it was the sins of his disciples which constituted the cancer. There is a physical aspect to things and there is an occult supraphysical aspect —one need not get in the way of the other. All physical things are the expression of the supraphysical. The existence of a body with physical instruments and processes does not, as the 19th century wrongly imagined, disp

Part Five   Questions of Spiritual and Occult Knowledge       Section One   The Divine and the Hostile Powers       Chapter One   Terminology   The Dynamic Divine, the Gods, the Asuras   The dynamic aspect of the Divine is the Supreme Brahman, not the Gods. The Gods are Personalities and Powers of the dynamic Divine. You speak as if the evolution were the sole creation; the creation or manifestation is very vast and contains many planes and worlds that existed before the evolution, all different in character and with different kinds of beings. The fact of being

Part Four   Problems of Philosophy, Science, Religion and Society     Section One   Thought, Philosophy, Science and Yoga       Chapter One   The Intellect and Yoga   Intellectual Truth and Spiritual Experience   Intellectual truths? Do you think that the intellectual truth of the Divine is its real truth? In that case there is no need of Yoga. Philosophy is enough.   *   Philosophy knows nothing about peace and silence or the inner and outer vital. These things are discovered only by Yoga.   *   Yoga is not a thing of ideas but of inner s