| 
        On the lower level, these   occult powers can become the greatest of corrupters, the greatest of obstacles   for all true seekers. Ultimately, seekers have to realise God and once one has   realised through his own discrimination that everything except God is just   transitory, evanescent, just a shadow-play, a momentary thing with which one has   no lasting connection, once one knows this, then everything except He, from the   little speck of dust to the highest power, all occult phenomena, mystical   experiences, become devoid of substance. They all partake of the same nature of   this passing, transitory, evanescent world. They are not real. They are not true   and they have no ultimate value, no inherent worth.  Therefore, do not run after   shadows; hold on only to the substance. Do not go after the chaff; go only after   the grain that nourishes and gives life. Do not be diverted from the path of   truth by all that belongs to the realm of untruth. See only the real and do not   be deluded by the unreal. All of these things except God—the highest, the   greatest, the innermost centre of your being—are in the realm of unreality.   Therefore, the only thing the true aspirant should do is to completely become   blind to all these phenomena and think only of the Lord. Live only for the Lord.   Love only God. And seek and be questing with absolute one-pointedness and   whole-heartedness for the Great Reality—God and God alone. That is the message   of the Masters—to avoid all powers.  Seek God alone and never   allow yourself to be diverted even one whit towards anything other than God.  May the grace of the Divine   illumine your intellect. May the love of the Divine fill your heart. May the   blessings of all great Masters ever keep the light of discrimination and true   awareness in your heart. May the Masters guide you on the path. May they give   you the true understanding. May they give you the inner spiritual strength to   resist all temptations and to overcome the lure of all occult powers, petty   powers, that seek to divert you from the path. May they inspire you, strengthen   you and lead you on to the goal of supreme blessedness and crown your life with   the highest attainment of divine realisation, infinite bliss, eternal wisdom and   light and the immeasurable divine peace that passeth all understanding. God   bless you.         | 
  
    | 
        Next: Chapter 3: Meditation   Energy  Enhancement          Enlightened Texts         Sri Swami Sivananda          The Path Beyond Sorrow     Chapter 2   
        
          Sri   Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place   In YogaSri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult   PhenomenaTheir Place In Yoga, The term Yoga, unfortunately, has been connected   with notions of strange and extraordinary experiences, mysterious occurrences   and mystical powers. The term Yogi is popularly understood to mean not an adept   in Yoga, but one capable of doing certain things which ordinary people are not   able to do. In a way this is true, as a Yogi is capable of doing certain things   which are not possible for many persons, but a Yogi should not be conceived of   merely as one who is capable of flying through the air, going without food for   months and being buried alive underground for several weeks, or of such other   feats as are considered spectacular, extraordinary and unbelievable unless seen   at energyenhancement.org
 
 
Sri   Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place   In Yoga, 1.Yoga Is Conscious Hastening of the Process of EvolutionSri   Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place   In Yoga, 1.Yoga Is Conscious Hastening of the Process of Evolution, First of   all, it is necessary for us to have a clear conception of what the Yogic way of   life is. The destiny of the human being is evolution and we are all progressing   towards ultimate perfection, since we are all meant to realize once again our   innate divinity. However, the normal course of human evolution is very, very   slowperhaps spread over countless years and requiring many lives, taking only a   few progressive steps in each life at energyenhancement.org
 
 
Sri   Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place   In Yoga, 2.Changes Upon Five Levels of the Yogis BeingSri Swami   Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place In   Yoga, 2.Changes Upon Five Levels of the Yogis Being, During the process of this   evolution, this unfoldment, various transformations arise in the individual upon   five different levels of his being. On the physical level, various changes and   experiences are seen. Upon the psycho-mental level (the mind and the Prana),   certain changes take place, certain abilities come in the natural course, and   certain phenomena are witnessed, subjectively by some, and objectively by others   at energyenhancement.org
 
 
Sri   Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place   In Yoga, 3.Some Psychic PowersSri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond   Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place In Yoga, 3.Some Psychic Powers, On   the psycho-mental level it is the very common experience of those who have done   a little sincere seeking (whether they have known it by the name of Yoga or just   been seeking and practising certain physical exercises) to find that they have   developed certain abilities. The most common of these abilities or inner occult   experiences is thought-reading. You may be talking to someone, and before the   other person speaks, you know what that person will say at energyenhancement.org
 
 
Sri   Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place   In Yoga, 4.Pure Occultism Which Is Not YogaSri Swami Sivananda, The Path   Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place In Yoga, 4.Pure Occultism   Which Is Not Yoga, Here I have to tell you a fact of which you had better take   serious note. The first three powers upon the mental level, the psycho-mental   level, and the astral levelall these powers one can have by sheer effort. If the   necessary effort, with determination, is made, one can develop them. In Yoga   they come through purification, and in the second case, which I have just   mentioned, they come through will-power, practice and unceasing efforts at   energyenhancement.org
 
 
Sri   Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place   In Yoga, 5.Playing With Kundalini Is Playing With FireSri Swami   Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place In   Yoga, 5.Playing With Kundalini Is Playing With Fire, When your spiritual   practice takes the form of Kundalini Yoga and you begin the inner occult process   of Hatha Yoga, then, with the rise of the power of the Kundalini from the lower   mystical centres (Chakras) into the higher mystical centres, which are in the   occult body of each being, there arise various extraordinary powers and   experiences at energyenhancement.org
 
 
Sri   Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place   In Yoga, 6.Persons Blessed with Mystic PowersSri Swami Sivananda, The   Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place In Yoga, 6.Persons   Blessed with Mystic Powers, There is a totally different type of mystic   phenomena and powers that come through the Grace of God and a person who has not   practised any of the Yogic techniques may just obtain all of these powers   spontaneously. This happens only when God wants to make use of a person for some   Divine purpose and He has found a person who, through absolute life-long moral   perfection, is found fit as a perfect channel, as an instrument which is fit and   worthy at energyenhancement.org
 
 
Sri   Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place   In Yoga, 7.Occult Powers and the Spiritual SeekerSri Swami Sivananda,   The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place In Yoga, 7.Occult   Powers and the Spiritual Seeker, What is the place of these various inner powers   in Yoga? What are their uses and abuses? What is the attitude of the true seeker   to these powers? What are the attitudes of Masters towards these powers? What is   the place of these powers and the various experiences in the life of the Yogi?   at energyenhancement.org
 
 
Sri   Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place   In Yoga, 8.Uses of Occult PhenomenaSri Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond   Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place In Yoga, 8.Uses of Occult   Phenomena, To seekers, to aspirants, to those who want God and are trying to   make use of their life to attain God, there is no question of the uses of these   powers, for the true seeker just ignores them, and for him they have no content   or value, but are things which he passes by on the way. However, if I may speak   of these powers independently of the seeker, then there are uses to which these   powers can be put, in a limited way. Supposing a person is not in any way a   seeker of God, and especially if these powers are in the nature of healing, or   magnetism or of prophetic vision (where one is able to know of certain things   before they happen, due to clairaudience or clairvoyance), then use may be made   of them, but it has been observed that in such situations when these powers are   made use of, after some time, they leave the individual at energyenhancement.org
 
 
Sri   Swami Sivananda, The Path Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place   In Yoga, 9.Avoid All Occult PhenomenaSri Swami Sivananda, The Path   Beyond Sorrow Chapter 2: Occult PhenomenaTheir Place In Yoga, 9.Avoid All Occult   Phenomena, On the lower level, these occult powers can become the greatest of   corrupters, the greatest of obstacles for all true seekers. Ultimately, seekers   have to realise God and once one has realised through his own discrimination   that everything except God is just transitory, evanescent, just a shadow-play, a   momentary thing with which one has no lasting connection, once one knows this,   then everything except He, from the little speck of dust to the highest power,   all occult phenomena, mystical experiences, become devoid of substance. They all   partake of the same nature of this passing, transitory, evanescent world. They   are not real. They are not true and they have no ultimate value, no inherent   worth at energyenhancement.org
     |