A warm welcome to Day 37 of our 40 Day Retreat 2009.
Today, we deal with the subject of Ajna or Agya Chakra. This is a very important center. Of course, all centers are important but this is a very special center.
In the Seat of Control
I was just thinking a few minutes ago that we are like programmed machines before Ajna opens up. Our spirituality drives us but in an automatic mode according to a program. However, when we reach the Ajna chakra, then we seem to be in the seat of control. We suddenly begin to realize that we can control the show. We can influence things in a much more powerful way than before. Before we depended on a greater power and we tried to understand that power, but when we come into the Ajna chakra, suddenly we begin to feel a sense of control. The word Ajna means command and it is the center of the Guru within us. It is the center of the leader within us, and it is an important chakra to open up.
The Discipline to Further Unfold Ajna
In my own journey, coming into this center made all the difference. I would have said to you before, when the heart center opened up how joyful I felt, how much love came out of me and I just wanted to be so devoted to the path. I did everything that would open up this center more and more: my singing, my loving words, my silence, my devotion to speaking truthfully, honestly and sincerely. As I kept this discipline I could feel my heart opening more and more.
As I told you before, I had the gift of the throat as well during that initial awakening. After a couple days I could feel that these words were just coming out of my mouth in an automatic way. It is a wonderful feeling that my voice was guided by something greater. That was the gift of the Vishuddha chakra.
Exploring this Gift of Mind Control
It must have been weeks after that I began to feel a pulling sensation between my eyebrows. It was fascinating to feel some kind of presence between my eyebrows. As I focused on this more and more a wonderful thing happened. I began to feel that for the first time, my mind started to come under control. That by focusing on this center and its inner pull I can make my mind quiet and I could be more focused. It was something that was marvelous to me and I wanted to explore this more. Then I realized that this is the center of control and this is a gift. This will help me to control my mind. Of course, I was very excited because my mind was scattered. Just to feel that my mind was coming into its own, now being able to be controlled, made me very happy and I began to explore that. That also gave me a sense of power. Just to be able to command my mind was a sense of power that I enjoyed and I loved. I wanted to explore this more. This was the beginning of the feeling of the Ajna chakra.
Breathing into a Space of Vastness
As I continued that, somehow it made my breathing different. It gave me much more control over breathing. When I would breathe, I would feel the breath moving just as I wanted it. And somehow I came more in harmony with the breath. One of the exciting experiences was that when I breathed into the brow area, I could feel this prana energy going into my head in a space inside that seemed to be so vast. This brought a wonderful feeling inside of my head, and I could feel vastness. I could feel space. I could feel silence inside. It was a joy to explore this center.
Grace Flowed in Every Activity
Later on, what I found, and this was really beautiful to me, was that whenever I focused on this point, I seemed to have more command over movement and command over thought. And somehow when I focused on my heart center it brought grace to my movement. I had the beautiful experience of being graceful as I opened my heart and being able to manage movement, almost as if I was managing a machine with some kind of control. When I focused with intention, it just began to move. And I was watching this glorious sort of movement.
When I opened my heart so much grace was in the movement. And if I were to sing, my body would move and the voice would flow. I was watching all of this graceful motion. It was such a joy to begin to work with the Ajna chakra.
I told you yesterday that I was teaching and in the classroom I began to experiment with all of this. I found that when I opened my heart and spoke, my voice would articulate beautifully and the thoughts would begin to flow automatically. What I needed to say started to come almost automatically. There was some kind of intuitive channeling that was happening that I loved very much.
Suddenly, it seemed to be that when I used intention, I seemed to connect with this greater power inside that was supporting me in so many ways; bringing thoughts to my mind, bringing grace to my movement, bringing beauty to my voice. I was so happy. That was incredible! And I began to practice this in everything that I did.
Guided by a Power Inside
It was so amazing. Even when I was writing I could feel that my fingers would write gracefully. When I exercised I would feel that my body was moving like in a dance. When I breathed, I would feel that the movement was happening so gracefully and automatically. Suddenly, it was not just me the individual, involved in action but some great power was working with me. All I needed to do was to align myself to it to learn how to bring it more into my conscious field. Whenever I kept pure thoughts, good deeds and good actions and whenever I worked towards the betterment of things around, I would see this energy just channeling more and more. It was so beautiful and this made my discipline such a joy. All the pain and misery of strong discipline without grace was gone, and I got this wonderful feeling.
I know that Ajna chakra is important. It helps to put us in command. It was almost as a pilot and a co-pilot. The pilot is the chief but the co-pilot is the one who is assisting the main pilot. I felt like that, that I could be assisted by something greater. And when I began to learn the moves and what that ‘Something Greater’ seemed to want, then it was just perfect harmony. That was marvelous.
I had lost all sense of separation. I never felt lonely any more. I felt that I had a best friend with me, the best friend in the world who would open my heart, who would stay with me, who would guide me, who would coach me and who would support me. That was the most beautiful feeling in the world. All loneliness disappeared completely.
Experience of Inner Intoxication and Ecstasy
As time went by, something magnificent happened. When I would concentrate on the brow, I felt as if there was some kind of slight intoxicating feeling inside, “Wow, this is just so sweet!” I felt as if there was some kind of a ‘high’ and ecstatic feeling inside my brain and I just loved it. I thought that was a marvelous gift. I loved moving my breath in the meditation and bringing it to that point between my eyebrows and feeling the ecstasy of it. I could also feel the second chakra energy moving upward now and coming in the point of the brow. This point actually is the meeting place of the ida, pingala and sushumna. Just breathing in and bringing energy and feeling, that inner power was intoxicating.
My Mind Opened up to new Knowledge
My spiritual discipline became so full of joy, and it involved everything that I did, not just meditating, praying and chanting. But also everything that I did around me seemed to be filled with this wonderful energy and I was able to channel from that inner space. My mind also opened up to new knowledge. Anything I wanted to know seemed to come to me through some kind of information.
My Universe seemed to be so full of information and all I needed to do was to prompt it and it will come. I felt so safe and protected in my Universe. I felt so much in gratitude to the Master who awakened this and to the lineage of Masters and to all Masters. It was simply amazing!
Helps to Deal with Issues of Lower Chakras
I know that the gift of this chakra is an important chakra in coming into a space of control, though not full control. When this chakra is not awakened life is miserable. When it becomes awakened it helps us to deal with the issues of all the lower chakras. It helps us to work with the inspired intellect to work through the lower issues. This is therefore important in opening up the lower chakras even more.
Seekers Must Make the Effort
What I will say to seekers is to try to get to this chakra as quickly as you can. As you do good deeds, as you say nice things and as you get involved in a discipline that will bring the energy more within you. And I say ‘bring the energy’ because it is not by your effort alone. It is by you working in alignment with what this energy wants.
As your chakras begin to open up, try to invite the energy to go higher by doing the things it wants you to do. And when you come to the brow, you are in the best place to manage everything. It is worth every effort to begin to do that.
Contact with the Energy
It is also said, and this has also been my experience, that when this energy through your effort and through grace comes to the brow, it begins to stay there more and more. Finally, there comes a point where it stays with you all the time. The moment you focus there, it is there. And when that happens, then you feel that you are in contact with some great power every moment. That is when you feel you have your best friend and your great support with you. There is no more feeling of loneliness or not being supported or not being in grace. It is a marvelous feeling when you can feel in contact with this great power just by your intention or just by focusing on that point. The brow center is extremely powerful in this regard.
Transition of Power
What happened to me during those 40 Days in 1978 and which I will leave for the next talk, is that I came into a place where I began to feel that I was that power. Suddenly moving away from that reverential feeling of, “Wow, what a great power, supporting me and being with me, to coming into a place where I began to feel, “I am that power”. That was a humbling feeling and a feeling of not knowing how to move forward. But through the 40 Days and with the blessings of this throat chakra that was purified, I was given information that led me to the most critical and important stage of the journey. Now I understand why I had to be secluded. But at that time there was a beautiful transition of power, almost as if the Universe is saying, “Here it is. This is who you really are. You and I are one.”
The Gift of Leadership
This is a marvelous transition. It took me 40 days to understand and to accept and realize this transition. But it took me into the seat of being master of myself and a servant to my world. It was then I felt that the gift of leadership was in my hands. A humbling feeling that the gift of leadership was in my hands. Such a noble gift can only be used for the benefit of humanity and for the upliftment of all.
We will talk more about this transition tomorrow. It is an important transition. I believe that everybody can have it. Even though I had to be secluded for 40 days in order to understand this transition, now that I understand it, I can explain this to you and help you so that you do not have to be secluded in the way I was. You can be secluded right inside in the midst of everything. I did not understand it. I did not have that direct guidance but I had it very powerfully from inside. It took me time to understand it, hence the need for seclusion and hence the need for 40 days. But it was meant to be, it was my destiny to have to do it like that. But I am sure that you do not need to do it like that. You can do it differently. You can do it whilst being in the world.
We will continue tomorrow.
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