An experience of Samadhi

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

 

Tara Mata was one of the early American disciples of Paramahansa Yogananda.

Here is, in her own words, an account of her meeting with her Guru, and her

ensuing change of consciousness. As she did not want to draw attention to

herself, she wrote of her experiences as happening to "a man she knew";

however, these experiences and recollections were her own.

 

Michael

 

-----------------

 

Most people believe that divine knowledge comes to only a few chosen people,

and that the average man can approach no nearer to God than his "faith" will

take him. Realization that there is a definite Way to contact God, a

technique usable by all men in all circumstances, has come with such a

liberating shock to many Yogoda students that they feel they have undergone

a new birth. I have one such case in mind—a man who, as soon as he had heard

the Yogoda message, was swept up into Cosmic Consciousness. He is the only

man of true Illumination, outside of Swami Yogananda, whom I have known

personally, though I have heard or read of a number of other Yogoda students

who have had a more or less similar experience.

 

This man was possessed of intense religious faith and aspiration. Though

well read in the sacred scriptures of the world, especially those of the

Hindus, he knew that this intellectual knowledge was barren and stony; it

did not feed the soul-hunger within him. He did not wish merely to read

about spiritual food, but to taste it. Under the even tenor of his days

there yawned a black abyss of despair — despair that he was worthy of any

direct contact with God, since no such experience was given to him. He

finally came to doubt, not God, but the possibility that he would ever be

able to have more than an intellectual comprehension of Him. This conviction

struck at the roots of his life, and made it seem a worthless and

meaningless thing.

 

Into this dark night of his soul came the light of Yogoda. After attending a

few of the public Yogoda lectures, and before taking the class lessons, this

man felt the heavy weight of despair lifting from his heart. Returning to

his home one night from the last of the public lectures, he was conscious of

a great peace within himself. He felt that in some deep fundamental way, he

had become a different person. An impulse urged him to look into a mirror in

his room, that he might see the new man. There he saw, not his one face, but

the face of the Hindu teacher [P. Yogananda] whose lecture he had attended

that evening.

 

The flood-gates of joy broke in his soul; he was inundated with waves of

indescribable ecstasy. Words that had been merely words to him before—bliss,

immortality, eternity, truth, divine love—became, in the twinkling of an

eye, the core of his being, the essence of his life, the only possible

reality. Realization that these deep, everlasting founts of joy existed in

every heart, that this immortal life underlay all the mortality of humanity,

that this eternal, all-inclusive love enveloped and supported and guided

every particle, every atom of creation, burst upon him with a surety, a

divine certainty that caused his whole being to pour forth in a flood of

praise and gratitude.

 

He knew, not with his mind alone, but with his heart and soul, with every

cell and molecule of his body. The sublime splendor and joy of this

discovery were so vast that he felt that centuries, millenniums, countless

eons of suffering were as nothing, as less than nothing, if by such means

this bliss could be obtained. Sin, sorrow, death—these were but words now,

words without meaning, words swallowed up by joy as minnows by the seven

seas.

 

He was aware, during this first period of illumination and during the weeks

which followed, of a number of physiological changes within himself. The

most striking was what seemed a rearrangement of molecular structures in his

brain, or the opening up of new cell-territory there. Ceaselessly, day and

night, he was conscious of this work going on. It seemed as though a kind of

electrical drill was boring out new cellular thought-channels. This

phenomenon is strong proof of Bucke's theory that Cosmic Consciousness is a

natural faculty of man, for it gives evidence that the brain cells which are

connected with this faculty are already present in man, although inactive or

non-functioning in the majority of human beings at the present time.

 

Another important change was felt in his spinal column. The whole spine

seemed turned into iron for several weeks, so that, when he sat to meditate

on God, he felt anchored forever, able to sit in one place eternally without

motion or consciousness of any bodily function. At times an influx of

super-human strength invaded him, and he felt that he was carrying the whole

universe on his shoulders. The elixir of life, the nectar of immortality, he

felt flowing in his veins as an actual, tangible force. It seemed like a

quicksilver, or a sort of electrical, fluid light throughout his body.

 

During the weeks of his illumination, he felt no need of food or sleep. But

he conformed his outward life to the pattern of his household, and ate and

slept when his family did. All food seemed pure spirit to him, and in sleep

he was pillowed on the "everlasting arms," awakening to a joy past all

words, past all powers of description. He had previously suffered from

chronic catarrh and had been a heavy smoker; now his body was purged of all

sickness, and desire for nicotine was wiped completely from his

consciousness.

 

His family and friends were aware of a great change in his appearance and

manner; his face shone with a radiant light, his eyes were pools of joy.

Strangers spoke to him, irresistibly drawn by a strange sympathy; on the

street-car, children would come over to sit on his lap, asking him to visit

them. The whole universe was to him bathed in a sea of love; he said to

himself many times, "Now at last I know what Love is! This is God's love,

shaming the noblest human affection .Eternal love, unconquerable love,

all-satisfying love!"

 

He knew beyond all possibility or thought of doubt that Love creates and

sustains the universe, and that all created things human or sub-human, were

destined to discover this Love, this immortal bliss that was the very

essence of life. He felt his mind expand, his understanding reach out,

endlessly widening, growing, touching everything in the universe, binding

all things, all thoughts to himself. He was "center everywhere,

circumference nowhere."

 

The air that he breathed was friendly, intimate, conscious of life. He felt

that all the world was "home" to him, that he could never feel strange or

alien to any place again; that the mountains, the sea, the distant lands

which he had never seen, would be as much his own as the home of his

boyhood. Everywhere he looked, he saw the "atom-dance" of nature; the air

was filled with myriad moving pin-pricks of light.

 

During these weeks, he went about his daily duties as usual, but with a

hitherto unknown efficiency and speed. Typed papers flew off his machine,

completed without error in a fourth of his customary time. Fatigue was

unknown to him; his work seemed like child's play, happy and carefree.

Conversing in person or over the telephone with his clients, his inward joy

covered every action and circumstance with a cosmic significance, for to him

these men, this telephone, this table, this voice was God, God manifesting

Himself in another of His fascinating disguises.

 

In the midst of his work, he would suddenly be freshly overwhelmed by the

goodness of God Who had given him this incredible, unspeakable happiness.

His breath would stop completely at such times; the awe which he felt would

be accompanied by an absolute stillness within and without. Underlying all

his consciousness was a sense of immeasurable and unutterable gratitude; a

longing for others to know the joy which lay within them; but most of all, a

divine knowledge, past all human comprehension, that all was well with the

world, that everything was leading to the goal of Cosmic Consciousness,

immortal bliss.

 

This state of illumination was present with the man for about two months,

and then gradually wore away. It has never returned with all its pristine

force, though certain features, especially the sense of divine peace and

joy, return whenever he practices the Yogoda meditation exercises. We can

well imagine, with Doctor Bucke, that a race of men, possessing as a normal

and permanent faculty this sense of Cosmic Consciousness, would soon turn

the earth into a paradise, a planet fit for Christs and Buddhas, and

polestar for the wheeling universe.

[Guest guest]

, MikeSuesserott@t... wrote:

> Dear all,

 

Dearest Michael,

 

Wasn't yesterday simply wonderful remembering our beloved Guruji's

Mahasamadhi together? Thanks for this Michael. It is one of those

stories that really pricks up the attention ears. Recall the story

about the book of "Autobiograpphy of a Yogi" falling off the library

shelf and clunking her in the head? Who was that? Tara Mataji? Well,

good and fine words here Michael. Thanks once again, dear brother.

 

Love,

Mazie

>

> Tara Mata was one of the early American disciples of Paramahansa

Yogananda.

> Here is, in her own words, an account of her meeting with her Guru,

and her

> ensuing change of consciousness. As she did not want to draw

attention to

> herself, she wrote of her experiences as happening to "a man she

knew";

> however, these experiences and recollections were her own.

>

> Michael

>

> -----------------

>

> Most people believe that divine knowledge comes to only a few

chosen people,

> and that the average man can approach no nearer to God than

his "faith" will

> take him. Realization that there is a definite Way to contact God, a

> technique usable by all men in all circumstances, has come with

such a

> liberating shock to many Yogoda students that they feel they have

undergone

> a new birth. I have one such case in mind—a man who, as soon as he

had heard

> the Yogoda message, was swept up into Cosmic Consciousness. He is

the only

> man of true Illumination, outside of Swami Yogananda, whom I have

known

> personally, though I have heard or read of a number of other Yogoda

students

> who have had a more or less similar experience.

>

> This man was possessed of intense religious faith and aspiration.

Though

> well read in the sacred scriptures of the world, especially those

of the

> Hindus, he knew that this intellectual knowledge was barren and

stony; it

> did not feed the soul-hunger within him. He did not wish merely to

read

> about spiritual food, but to taste it. Under the even tenor of his

days

> there yawned a black abyss of despair — despair that he was worthy

of any

> direct contact with God, since no such experience was given to him.

He

> finally came to doubt, not God, but the possibility that he would

ever be

> able to have more than an intellectual comprehension of Him. This

conviction

> struck at the roots of his life, and made it seem a worthless and

> meaningless thing.

>

> Into this dark night of his soul came the light of Yogoda. After

attending a

> few of the public Yogoda lectures, and before taking the class

lessons, this

> man felt the heavy weight of despair lifting from his heart.

Returning to

> his home one night from the last of the public lectures, he was

conscious of

> a great peace within himself. He felt that in some deep fundamental

way, he

> had become a different person. An impulse urged him to look into a

mirror in

> his room, that he might see the new man. There he saw, not his one

face, but

> the face of the Hindu teacher [P. Yogananda] whose lecture he had

attended

> that evening.

>

> The flood-gates of joy broke in his soul; he was inundated with

waves of

> indescribable ecstasy. Words that had been merely words to him

before—bliss,

> immortality, eternity, truth, divine love—became, in the twinkling

of an

> eye, the core of his being, the essence of his life, the only

possible

> reality. Realization that these deep, everlasting founts of joy

existed in

> every heart, that this immortal life underlay all the mortality of

humanity,

> that this eternal, all-inclusive love enveloped and supported and

guided

> every particle, every atom of creation, burst upon him with a

surety, a

> divine certainty that caused his whole being to pour forth in a

flood of

> praise and gratitude.

>

> He knew, not with his mind alone, but with his heart and soul, with

every

> cell and molecule of his body. The sublime splendor and joy of this

> discovery were so vast that he felt that centuries, millenniums,

countless

> eons of suffering were as nothing, as less than nothing, if by such

means

> this bliss could be obtained. Sin, sorrow, death—these were but

words now,

> words without meaning, words swallowed up by joy as minnows by the

seven

> seas.

>

> He was aware, during this first period of illumination and during

the weeks

> which followed, of a number of physiological changes within

himself. The

> most striking was what seemed a rearrangement of molecular

structures in his

> brain, or the opening up of new cell-territory there. Ceaselessly,

day and

> night, he was conscious of this work going on. It seemed as though

a kind of

> electrical drill was boring out new cellular thought-channels. This

> phenomenon is strong proof of Bucke's theory that Cosmic

Consciousness is a

> natural faculty of man, for it gives evidence that the brain cells

which are

> connected with this faculty are already present in man, although

inactive or

> non-functioning in the majority of human beings at the present time.

>

> Another important change was felt in his spinal column. The whole

spine

> seemed turned into iron for several weeks, so that, when he sat to

meditate

> on God, he felt anchored forever, able to sit in one place

eternally without

> motion or consciousness of any bodily function. At times an influx

of

> super-human strength invaded him, and he felt that he was carrying

the whole

> universe on his shoulders. The elixir of life, the nectar of

immortality, he

> felt flowing in his veins as an actual, tangible force. It seemed

like a

> quicksilver, or a sort of electrical, fluid light throughout his

body.

>

> During the weeks of his illumination, he felt no need of food or

sleep. But

> he conformed his outward life to the pattern of his household, and

ate and

> slept when his family did. All food seemed pure spirit to him, and

in sleep

> he was pillowed on the "everlasting arms," awakening to a joy past

all

> words, past all powers of description. He had previously suffered

from

> chronic catarrh and had been a heavy smoker; now his body was

purged of all

> sickness, and desire for nicotine was wiped completely from his

> consciousness.

>

> His family and friends were aware of a great change in his

appearance and

> manner; his face shone with a radiant light, his eyes were pools of

joy.

> Strangers spoke to him, irresistibly drawn by a strange sympathy;

on the

> street-car, children would come over to sit on his lap, asking him

to visit

> them. The whole universe was to him bathed in a sea of love; he

said to

> himself many times, "Now at last I know what Love is! This is God's

love,

> shaming the noblest human affection .Eternal love, unconquerable

love,

> all-satisfying love!"

>

> He knew beyond all possibility or thought of doubt that Love

creates and

> sustains the universe, and that all created things human or sub-

human, were

> destined to discover this Love, this immortal bliss that was the

very

> essence of life. He felt his mind expand, his understanding reach

out,

> endlessly widening, growing, touching everything in the universe,

binding

> all things, all thoughts to himself. He was "center everywhere,

> circumference nowhere."

>

> The air that he breathed was friendly, intimate, conscious of life.

He felt

> that all the world was "home" to him, that he could never feel

strange or

> alien to any place again; that the mountains, the sea, the distant

lands

> which he had never seen, would be as much his own as the home of his

> boyhood. Everywhere he looked, he saw the "atom-dance" of nature;

the air

> was filled with myriad moving pin-pricks of light.

>

> During these weeks, he went about his daily duties as usual, but

with a

> hitherto unknown efficiency and speed. Typed papers flew off his

machine,

> completed without error in a fourth of his customary time. Fatigue

was

> unknown to him; his work seemed like child's play, happy and

carefree.

> Conversing in person or over the telephone with his clients, his

inward joy

> covered every action and circumstance with a cosmic significance,

for to him

> these men, this telephone, this table, this voice was God, God

manifesting

> Himself in another of His fascinating disguises.

>

> In the midst of his work, he would suddenly be freshly overwhelmed

by the

> goodness of God Who had given him this incredible, unspeakable

happiness.

> His breath would stop completely at such times; the awe which he

felt would

> be accompanied by an absolute stillness within and without.

Underlying all

> his consciousness was a sense of immeasurable and unutterable

gratitude; a

> longing for others to know the joy which lay within them; but most

of all, a

> divine knowledge, past all human comprehension, that all was well

with the

> world, that everything was leading to the goal of Cosmic

Consciousness,

> immortal bliss.

>

> This state of illumination was present with the man for about two

months,

> and then gradually wore away. It has never returned with all its

pristine

> force, though certain features, especially the sense of divine

peace and

> joy, return whenever he practices the Yogoda meditation exercises.

We can

> well imagine, with Doctor Bucke, that a race of men, possessing as

a normal

> and permanent faculty this sense of Cosmic Consciousness, would

soon turn

> the earth into a paradise, a planet fit for Christs and Buddhas, and

> polestar for the wheeling universe.

[Guest guest]

A beautiful story but I just have to comment....

 

Why did the great joy and bliss wear out after a while and only

returned when this person did some prescribed exercises instead?

 

I would say that all joys of the mind are fleeting by their nature

while those not of the mind are lasting, by their nature.

 

 

Love,

 

Amanda.

 

 

 

 

> In the midst of his work, he would suddenly be freshly overwhelmed

by the

> goodness of God Who had given him this incredible, unspeakable

happiness.

> His breath would stop completely at such times; the awe which he

felt would

> be accompanied by an absolute stillness within and without.

Underlying all

> his consciousness was a sense of immeasurable and unutterable

gratitude;

>

> This state of illumination was present with the man for about two

months,

> and then gradually wore away. It has never returned with all its

pristine

> force, though certain features, especially the sense of divine

peace and

> joy, return whenever he practices the Yogoda meditation exercises.