“Once fully Realized, the seventh stage of life
becomes the perpetually Enlightened foundation of existence,
even beyond death and in any future lifetimes. The gross
body-mind is progressively Transfigured in Divine Radiance,
and the subtle or higher mind becomes the vehicle of
Transformation… Ultimately, this continuous
God-Realization leads to Divine Translation, or conversion
of the individuated being beyond all phenomenal appearances
into the “Divine Domain” of Radiant
Life-Consciousness.” Adi Da Samraj – Enlightenment and the Transformation of
Man, 1983. In A.D. 1290 a
nineteen-year-old youth penned these words while completing
one of the world’s greatest classics of spirituality, known
as the Bhavartha-Dipika (“Light on the True Meaning”). It
also bears the title Jnaneshvari, this being the feminine
form of his initiation name, Jnanesh- vara, meaning “lord of
wisdom.” It is a song-sermon on the Bhagavad-Gila, one of
the most revered scriptures of the Hindus. As books were not
available to the common man in medieval India, saints and
Adepts would occasionally compose poetic commentaries on the
major philosophical and religious works of the classical
tradition. These could then be recited or sung in homes, on
the streets, and in the fields. Jnaneshvara (see short bio) is hailed
as one of the first popularizers of the sacred brahmin
tradition, and his song-sermon was the first major
composition in the Marathi vernacular, rather than in
highbrow Sanskrit. Jnaneshvara was a spiritual child prodigy
who at a very early age renounced the world. As a recognized
Adept, he traveled throughout the breadth of Western India,
inspiring countless people to devote their lives to God. Though initiated by his elder brother Nivritti into the
Natha sect of kundalini yoga, he is best known as the
leading voice of the devotional worship of the God Vitobha,
a form of Krishna. He frequented the temple at Pandharapura,
which still houses the sacred image of that deity, and which
is one of the centers of pilgrimage for the Varkaris, the
worshippers of Vitobha. (Other famous saints associated with
this temple are Tukarama, Namadeva, Ekanatha, and even such
modern saints as Narayan Maharaj and Akkalkot Swami.) At the age of only twenty-two, after having ushered in a
spiritual renaissance in the whole of Northwest India,
Jnaneshvara approached a small temple in the village of
Alandi, in the vicinity of Poona. There he rammed his
renouncer’s staff into the ground and seated himself in the
underground sanctum of the local temple. He promptly entered
the rare state known as jiva-samadhi, or “life ecstasy.” By
inducing this extraordinary condition, an Adept chooses
voluntary death, imbuing his body with enough spiritual
power to sustain it for a prolonged period of time. The body then becomes a vehicle of transmission for
devotees. It is reported that the great saint Ekanatha, who
lived some two hundred years later, once had to inspect the
Alandi temple for structural damage. He took this
opportunity also to examine the sealed-off chamber in which
Jnaneshvara had entered samadhi. He reported that
Jnaneshvara’s body was still warm to the touch. The passage which we have excerpted here (below)
comes from the sixth chapter of the Jnaneshvari, entitled
the “Yoga of Meditation.” What is so interesting about this
section is that it furnishes a graphic description of the
esoteric process of the awakening of the Life-Force
(kundalini) and its effects on the body-mind. In his
melodious and metaphor-rich language, Jnaneshvara describes
with great clarity the hatha-yogic process of bhuta shuddhi,
or the purification of the five material elements composing
the physical body. THE YOGA OF MEDITATION Stanzas from Jnancshvara’s (Jnanadeva’s)
poetic commentary on the sixth chapter of the
Bhagavad Gita The signs of the yogic experience that appear
outwardly on the body and inwardly, The working of the mind ceases, the activity of
thought subsides, mental energy dies down and the
body and the mind find rest. Hunger is forgotten, sleep disappears; even the
memory of them is lost, with no trace of it being
found. The downward life-breath (apana) being confined
in the vase of the body, turns back and, becoming
compressed, begins to expand. More and more it is agitated and in the freer
space above it rumbles and struggles against the
solar plexus. The struggle ceases and the whole body trembles
to its very centre; thus the impurities of
childhood are driven out. It does not, then, turn downwards but moves in
the interior of the body and expels the bodily
secretions. It reduces the fat, and even draws out the
marrow from the bones. It clears the arteries, loosens the limbs; but
the seeker should not allow himself to be
frightened by any of these. It reveals and removes diseases; it stirs up the
soil and the water. On the other hand, the heat induced by the
practice of this posture awakens the force called
kundalini. As the brood of a she-serpent bathed in turmeric
lie curled upin sleep, so lies this kundalini, very
small and curled in three and a half circles, like
a female serpent with her head turned
downwards. The striking signs of rejuvenation described in this
didactic poem need not necessarily occur literally in every
case. (Here Jnaneshvara gives a description of the same
effects that take place in the method of kaya kalpa, or
“refashioning of the body,” a method of physical and
spiritual rejuvenation practiced in the ayurvedic schools of
medicine.) However, the text clearly testifies to the
incredible changes that must be borne as the unleashed
energy of the Life-Force purifies the body. Jnaneshvara makes the point that this magnificent
phenomenon is merely a transitional phase in one’s spiritual
development. When the process of psycho-physical catharsis
has fulfilled itself, then, as Jnaneshvara observes, “the
word kundalini loses its significance” (v. 301). The
kundalini process sets in motion, but does not complete, the
transcendence of the body-mind. In the maturity of the fifth
stage of life, attention has ascended beyond the concerns of
the gross body-mind, but there still remains a subtle sense
of separation from the Divine Being. As Master Da Free John
reiterates throughout his talks and writings, Liberation, or
complete Enlightenment, occurs only when the body-mind as a
whole is transcended in the seventh stage of life. In the following article, we document a higher-level
kundalini yoga, where the processes of ascension of the
Life-Current and its transformative effects in the body-mind
occur not through egoic manipulation but as a spontaneous
manifestation in the context of perfect God-Realization. The
“signs” or “symptoms” of kundalini arousal are identical,
since they are based on the same psychic and
neurophysiological structures. How this esoteric process
must be understood is explained very succinctly by Master Da
Free John: The functions of the autonomic nervous system
(traditionally called the “flesh,” or the “realm of the
senses”) are enlivened by the universal Life-Current, but
they are generally stimulated by the casual influence of
ordinary or “natural” functional associations (since our
attention tends to be fixed in the lower or grosser bodily
processes). But if the Life-Current can be directly
stimulated in the central nervous system (traditionally
called the “soul” or, simply, the “psyche,” or the “mind”),
and then directed upwards and toward rather than downwards
and away from the brain, the higher structural functions of
the body and mind will be activated and permitted to grow by
adaptation. This process inevitably produces the immediate
phenomena we recognize as the mystical states associated
with religious and otherwise illumined consciousness. But if
the process is made continuous over time, it produces the
phenomena of the higher evolutionary development of the yet
hidden structural potential of Man. These phenomena include
higher mental (or brain-mind) development at the level of
genius capacity in both the abilities of the right
hemisphere of the brain (such as in the arts) and the
abilities of the left hemisphere of the brain (such as in
the sciences and other intellectual disciplines). There is
also the potential development of higher physical abilities,
such as superior health, longevity, natural healing power,
and so forth. Likewise, higher psychic phenomena, usually
called extrasensory abilities, develop—and they may
enter into areas of psychic participation in the play of the
universe beyond Earth, beyond the solar system, and even
beyond the plane of material visibility. And there is also
the ultimate potential that the body-mind of Man, in the
case of both individuals and the species as a whole, can
ultimately be transcended to the perfect degree, so that it
is Translated out of the gross material plane
altogether. All the phenomena I have suggested or described here
are not only possible—they have already been proven, in
the experience of countless spiritual Adepts throughout
human history. I myself am one in that line of
experimenters, and I can attest to the actuality of mystical
and evolutionary phenomena. Indeed, I am prepared to help
others to realize and demonstrate these very same things, if
they will consider the Truth and practice the higher
cultural Way of adaptation to Life.1 1. Da Free John, Scientific Proof of the
Existence of God Will Soon Be Announced by the White Housed
(Middletown, Calif.: The Dawn Horse Press, 1980), pp.
352-53. The post-Enlightenment “kundalini yoga,” as experienced
by Master Da Free John, can be said to embody the real,
literal process of the “purification of the elements,” or
bhuta shuddhi, which is the foundation of all forms of
kundalini yoga. It entails the literal transmutation of the
gross body until, in the final stage of “purification,” it
dissolves in light. Beezone Addition Jnaneshvar’s Final Word “Sri Jnaneshvara describes what is called the piercing
of the psychic centres (cakra-bheda) thus: Grasping prana by the hand, ascending the stairway of
the either, kundalini enters the heart by the steps of the
middle artery, and the forcecentre there is awakened and
sounds are heard; in the volume of that sound lie pictured
in the form of the sacred syllable (Om) the four divisions
of speech. This has to be experienced to be understood, but how
can it be imagined? In the innermost cavity of the heart the divine
kundalini lays out before consciousness the feast of her own
lustre. On entering the hollow of the heart, it loses its
separateness and is merged into the power dwelling within
it; the power should be known as the lifeforce and nada,
bindu and kala and jyoti become imperceptible. ‘One body
devours another’; this is the secret of the teaching of
Natha, but it has now been revealed by Sri Krishna. The three grosser elements of the body have
disappeared with the body itself. The water dissolves the
soil, the light absorbs the water, and in the heart centre
the vital air consumes the light. Then the word kundalini
loses its significance, and the appropriate name is Maruti,
but the force remains until it is absorbed into Shiva. Now
it leaves the heart centre, breaks through the end of the
susumna artery and enters the space in the roof of the
mouth. Forthwith, climbing upon the back of the sacred
syllable, it passes beyond the form of speech called
pasyanti. There upon, as rivers flow into the ocean, the
subtle elements enter into the space of the brow centre
(ajnacakra) symbolised by the ardhamatra of the sacred
syllable. After settling in the Brahma centre, it reaches out
with the anus of its consciousness of unity with the Self
and embraces the image of the Supreme. At that moment the
veil of the five elements is rent asunder and the individual
self and the Supreme Self are united; then all, including
etheric space, is absorbed in that union. As it happens that
space merges into space, so is this state of union realised
by experience and the yogi remains in it. It would be impossible for words to describe this
state nor can even discuss it in conversation. Therefore, it
is a threefold truth that this could neither be expressed in
words nor be heard by the ear. If by good fortune
self-realisation can be attained through experience, then
one should strive to remain in it. Beyond this there is no
more to know. The following account,
which is the opening article of a projected series of
treatments on the “Sacred History” of our spiritual
community, will demonstrate the rareness and fullness of
Master Da Free John’s Realization and spiritual adventure,
or sadhana. At the same time it will bear out that there are
traditional precedents for the extraordinary spiritual
phenomena that will be described. Master Da Free John
himself has pointed out one such parallel in the celebrated
work by Jnaneshvara, who lived almost 700 years ago. From what we know of the life (and voluntary death) of
Jnaneshvara, he was a master of kundalini yoga, if not a
seventh stage Realizer. However, the purificatory and
experiential signs that are described by him are not
uncommon in the yogic literature, and many practitioners of
esoteric yoga do report unusual “symptoms” and experiences.
Even the feat of preserving the body after death so that it
may serve as a locus of Power, or Siddhi, as is reported of
Jnaneshvara, is not necessarily indicative of a seventh
stage Realization. Such paranormal abilities may manifest in
full already in a mature fifth stage practitioner. At any rate, we can assume that Jnaneshvara is describing
a process he himself has passed through. His choice to
abandon the physical body at a young age, and through
advanced yogic means to maintain the body in a post-mortem
condition resembling suspended animation, bespeaks his
profound yogic accomplishment. Master Da Free John’s unique contribution to the
understanding of the spiritual process is to demonstrate
that such “glorious signs” may appear spontaneously in the
physical and psychic life of the seventh stage or
God-Realized being. He distinguishes three phases, or
degrees, of spiritualization, or “purification”: 1. Transfiguration, or the pervasion of the
body-mind by the Transcendental Radiance; 2. Transformation, or actual changes in the
structures of the body-mind which are indicated by such
signs as longevity, healing powers, psychic capabilities,
and other paranormal abilities; 3. Translation, or the literal bodily and mental
Dissolution in Radiant Bliss, primarily in the process of
death.2 2. See Bubba [Da] Free John, The
Enlightenment of the Whole Body (Middletown, Calif.: The
Dawn Horse Press, 1978), p. 53 Master Da explains what this means in terms of a
spiritual practice founded on the principle of one’s prior
Enlightenment, or the seventh stage disposition: The body-mind must be converted to heartfelt
God-Communion. The bodily Life-Current must be turned about,
so that it becomes naturally polarized and regenerated from
toe to crown, rather than polarized crown to toe and wasted
in degenerative habits of life, as in the life of the usual
man. And all forms of experience, contraction, or mind must
be transcended in the Heart of Consciousness. If you live in
this way, you have already Realized God. You exist in the
God-Realized disposition, and all your actions are forms of
God-Communion. Even all your functions are forms of
God-Communion—the mind becomes God-Communion, the cells
of the physical body become God-Communion, every aspect or
dimension of experience and the whole body-mind becomes
Divine, not in and as itself, but by virtue of its surrender
to God. The structure that is manifest as each individual has
the potential of Translation into God, but only if entered
into God-Communion most literally. It is not in and as
yourself that you are Transfigured and God-Realized, but in
your surrender to God. There must be a literal
transformation of the body-mind. The spiritual process does
not merely involve changes in your mind or superficial
changes in your habits or beliefs. It involves the most
literal and total change of the psycho-physical being. It is
the Sacrifice of Man. There is only God, only the Radiant Transcendental
Life-Consciousness, only the Heart, the Divine Self, the
Divine Person. God is not a mental attainment but a Realized
certainty, in which the entire body-mind participates and to
which the entire body-mind is surrendered, literally. Thus,
those who have entered into the seventh stage of life have
become established in the Transfigured Realization of God,
and since they persist in that condition responsibly as long
as they live, naturally the body-mind is also transformed in
various ways. This Transfiguration becomes more and more
profound, even obvious, as the individual becomes more and
more inherently, obviously and clearly, the incarnation of
God. Once the body-mind begins to Realize the Transfigured
Condition, it tends to look different. The physical body
looks radiant, and the mind becomes completely clear,
approaching the level of genius. The physical being develops
a greater and greater capacity for intense well-being or
health. Longevity, healing power, and psychic ability become
the characteristics of individual
existence.3 3. Bubba [Da] Free John, “The
Radiant Signs of Enlightenment,” Vision A/found, Vol. 2, no.
11 (September 1979), p. 33. However, the culmination of the spiritual process in the
seventh stage of life is actual bodily Translation in which
the body-mind as a whole is transcended together with all
the numerous experiential or mystical “signs” that may arise
as a result of deliberate effort or, in the seventh stage,
through incommensurable spontaneity. The ultimate Destiny of the human being is a Destiny
of the whole and entire body-mind. It is not merely an
inward, mental, subtle, or personal destiny or future. It is
not immortality as a subtle soul, or as an astral
personality made of light, or even as a superior
psychophysical entity in the material worlds. It is a
non-mortal Destiny, a Destiny Realized in the Sacrifice or
Yielding of the whole and entire body-mind into the degree
of Infinite Intensity. When the bodily confessed human being adapts
voluntarily to the moral and esoteric spiritual sacrifice of
self, through love and radical intuition of the Real, then
it is ultimately Transfigured, Transformed, and Translated
beyond itself into the Absolute Radiance that is the Source
and Substance of this universe and all living
beings. Such Translation of the bodily and mental individual
into the absolute Divine or Real Intensity itself is not a
knowable Destiny—since the knower and his knowledge
must be sacrificed or become perfect Ignorance if that
Translation is to take place. But the Process of such
Translation is being Revealed to mankind through the Work of
the Spiritual Master, and implemented or quickened in the
case of those who resort to the Spiritual Master through
devotional sacrifice of self.4 4. Bubba [Da] Free John, The Enlightenment
of the Whole Body, pp. 239-40. The Cosmic Birthday
Joke Since April of 1972, when Master Da
Free John initiated his spiritual Teaching Work, hundreds of
people have witnessed phenomenal signs of Transfiguration
and Transformation on his person. The purpose of the
following account is to evidence some of the effects of
Enlightenment in the case of the Adept and those who are
associated with him. What is unusual about this account is
that it illustrates the kind of profound psycho-physical
Transformation described in Jnaneshvara’s poem many
centuries ago. On November 1, 1976, when Master Da
had gathered with devotees, he began to describe some
strange symptoms that were occurring in him. He reported
that it felt as though his bodily fluids were beginning to
dry up. He spoke of a sensation of fever, a kind of
“feverish sensitivity” of the skin. This physical condition
was accompanied by intense visionary phenomena. He also
explained that he was suffering from a general feeling of
sickness. The community’s doctors suggested that perhaps a
fast would be indicated, but Master Da went on to elucidate
that this was not an ordinary sickness and that he could
continue to function. Then he disclosed that these symptoms’
were part of a yogic process that had begun several days
previous. He further reported that, as the process gradually
intensified, the feeling in his body became increasingly
“fine.” For this reason it had become difficult for him to
assimilate food. At one point, he asked for
Jnaneshvara’s
commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
to be brought to him from the ashram library. After
introducing Jnaneshvara and some of the facts about his
life, he read aloud the saint’s poetic commentary on the
sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, which contains esoteric
references to the process of higher yogic transformation,
interspersing the reading with his illuminating
comments. The arousal and ascent of the
“serpent power,” or kundalini shakti, is a purificatory
process involving the whole body. Its most obvious symptom
is psychosomatic heat, often manifesting in sudden attacks
of severe fever which may be localized or affect the entire
body. After making the point that, in his
case, God-Realization is the key to understanding this
process, which must not be confused with some conventional
yogic occurrence, Master Da Free John observed that there
may be periods of intensification of this process leading to
increased heat, or sensations of high fever. This produces
all kinds of symptoms, even of actual illness in some cases.
But the “poison” that is causing these symptoms is the very
thing that, ultimately, sustains vital life after it has
gone through this transformation. After the full ascent of the
Life-Force to the crown center via the sushumna, or the
central line of being, a serum is released into the body’s
chemistry which originates in the glands of the midbrain and
drips down into the trunk, nourishing it. This serum, called
amrita, or soma, in the esoteric literature, is made out of
the food and the substance of the body itself, and it helps
to regenerate the body. Master Da Free John continued to
explain that one does not necessarily begin to look like a
fifteen-year-old youth, but there is a vitalization of the
whole body, transforming it into a condition of
well-being. As the text makes clear, there is
first a dominance of the fire element (manifesting in heat,
energy). This affects the watery and earthy aspects of one’s
being, that is, the two lowest centers, or chakras. When the
force moves upward, through the spinal axis, it enters into
the heart region dominated by the air element. This etheric
space reverberates with the thunder of the esoteric inner
sound, or nada, and the windows of the crown center suddenly
burst open. In the course of this process,
higher functional aspects of the body-mind are awakened,
which then transform the lower functions. This
transformation amounts to a gradual spiritualization of the
bodily being, by which the body-mind becomes a fit vehicle
for the true nature of Man, the Radiant Transcendental
Being. The day after Master Da Free John
had expounded the phenomenon of bodily Transfiguration and
Transformation in the condition of Enlightenment, the
process intensified in him. The celebration of the Spiritual
Master’s birth, planned for November 3, was cancelled, and
Master Da unexpectedly sequestered himself. This move came
as a great surprise to everyone, particularly since in the
preceding months he had made himself completely available to
devotees. No one in the community of devotees understood
what was happening, though all shared a general sense of
heaviness or gloom that was obviously associated with
the dramatic events in , Master Da’s life. On the day of his thirty-eighth birthday, Master Da Free
John sat motionless, hour after hour, in his residence. Even
the members of the renunciate order had been instructed to
leave him undisturbed. However, as they had expressed their
concern for his bodily well-being, a nurse was asked to
check his vital signs. On arriving at the Master’s residence, she later
recalled, she found that all the curtains had been drawn to
keep out the broad daylight, and the temperature in the
house was so unusually low that she was shivering. An
inexplicable feeling of awe and urgency overcame her. She
had been told that the Spiritual Master would be waiting in
the front room. She found him seated crosslegged on a chair
in a far corner of the room. He was absorbed in deep
samadhi, and his body looked perfectly still, almost
deathlike. There was an aura of withdrawal about him that
was completely untypical of his normal state, even of those
occasions when he would enter the condition of Bhava
Samadhi.5 5. Bhava Samadhi is the Condition of
perfect selftranscendence in God-Consciousness, beyond ail
experiential states of the body-mind. In this Supreme
Realization there is no noticing of any phenomena
whatsoever, for the space-time world is utterly transcended.
But it is a Radiant, not a withdrawn, state, and is felt as
such by devotees who witness it in the Adept. The devotee nurse sat down in front of Master Da Free
John, wondering what to do next. After a while his eyelids
began to flutter and, without opening his eyes, he slightly
nodded to her indicating that she should proceed with the
physical examination. She checked his blood pressure,
temperature, and pulse. All the readings were below normal.
It struck her then that Master Da was approaching death, or
a condition resembling death which, she thought, also
explained the strange atmosphere around him. That evening, Master Da Free John went to a Sanctuary
temple where he was to spend twenty-four hours in isolation.
Several devotees tried to follow him from his residence to
the temple, but he sharply dismissed them. He later
explained that at the time he had no natural body sensation
and that in fact he had lost the sense of being a physical
entity, a human being, altogether. It was literally as
though he were dying. There was a sphere of intense energy
about him, and he felt that anyone coming into the radius of
this field might he harmed. He was suffering great physical discomfort and pain as
well as severe emotional strain. But at the time, no one had
any idea of what was happening to the Spiritual Master. The
sudden change in his behavior had left the ashram in a state
of confusion and concern for his health. There are
traditional precedents for the sudden abandonment of the
physical body by Realized beings. Loss of appetite and an
uncharacteristic disinterest in and withdrawal from outside
concerns were among those signs. During the night a small group of devotees was sitting in
meditation when a strange force suddenly swept through the
hall and everyone in it. This was followed by an
incommunicable stillness that spread over the entire
Sanctuary. As always, such dramatic changes in the Spiritual
Master’s life have their profound effect also on the psychic
life of his devotees. For those who have been in the Company
of the Adept Master Da Free John for any length of time, it
is completely obvious that there is a definite, if
inexplicable, spiritual or psychic link between him and the
community of devotees. Several devotees later described going through a
difficult phase in their spiritual practice. Master Da Free
John explained that there are periods throughout one’s
practice in which one may have to endure a kind of “dark
night.” In such phases, the being is profoundly
purified—physically, emotionally, and mentally. There
are also moments throughout a devotee’s sadhana in which an
inner “wall,” or barrier, is reached, and there appears to
be no answer or capacity to move on. This is an aspect of
how the Siddhi of the Adept works in devotees. During the next day everyone began to feel curiously
relieved, as if a great burden had been lifted from them.
Shortly before Master Da Free John reemerged from the
temple, the atmosphere surrounding it took on a strange
bluish-golden glow. On returning to his residence, the
Spiritual Master invited devotees to gather around him. They
listened with awe and astonishment as he explained what had
occurred. Master Da Free John compared the event to the “death
experience” he had had at Seminary in spring
1967.6 He explained that in the twenty-four hours
of his seclusion, everything had been taken away from him,
“a piece at a time”—mind, wisdom, memory, love,
radiance—to the point where “awareness was completely
empty and black.” He described his experience as a kind of
“sacrificial journey through purgatory and hell” and, more
humorously, as “a cosmic rip-off” and “a cosmic birthday
joke.” It was, in his own words, “a disgusting, horrifying,
and insane experience.” 6. This is described in Master Da Free
John’s spiritual autobiography, The Knee of Listening, rev.
ed. (Middletown, Calif.: The Dawn Horse Press, 1978), pp.
61-63. He indicated that, as a result of his Work with devotees,
it was necessary for him to pass through, this kind of
purifying and regenerating experience from time to time. He
also spoke of the process as a kind of crucifixion and a
sacrifice through which he could “burn up” what he had
assimilated from devotees in the course of his Teaching
Demonstrations. The event signalled the termination of two
years’ intensive Work with devotees and the end of this
outwardly active Teaching. Master Da Free John’s “death experience” paralleled the
phenomenon of acquiring a new body, as described by
Jnaneshvara. Although, clearly, Master Da was physically
present, his perceptible radiance was a sign that the
elements of his body had undergone a profound
transformation. Indeed, a number of devotees reported seeing
light emanating from and surrounding his body. He speculated
that perhaps his “new” body was composed of a finer
material. He commented that there was a different feeling to
the cells of his body. Science knows nothing about the psycho-physics of the
cosmos, and therefore scholars have always chosen to
interpret such statements allegorically or symbolically, or
as descriptions of hallucinatory experiences. But, Master Da
Free John, having undergone this Transformation himself,
assures us that his is a literal occurrence. The Spiritual Master further explained that, having
passed through this very difficult transition himself, it
would be likely for the same quality of Siddhi to awaken in
his devotees. This would begin to purify the grosser aspects
of the being and lead to a kind of emotional catharsis.
However, he admonished devotees that no one should
intentionally try to duplicate this process, or even look
for any special signs. He commented that devotees passing
through this process would not necessarily have to endure
the same symptoms. He humorously observed: Do not think you are going crazy. You are going sane.
It is such an uncommon condition that you may feel a little
horrified by it for a moment. But, ultimately, you are not
in a body. The body is arising in Consciousness. You must
change your attention. You cannot size up your
Consciousness. It is completely wide and completely
mindless. The Realization of Consciousness is a mindless
feeling. There is not a single answer in it. I have probed
it completely, and there is no answer in it. It is exactly
what it is, and it is one eternal Condition. But once you
come to terms with this Realization and cease resisting it
and when you are It only, you Realize that you are natively
Happy. Then you start becoming peaceful.7 7. From an unpublished talk given by
Master Da Free John on November 11, 1976. VI. JNANADEVA – SAINTS OF
MAHARASHTRA One of the great Vaishnava adepts of
the path of devotion, tempered by wisdom, is Jnanadeva
(1275- 1296 C.E.). He was the second of four children bom to
pious but poor brahmin parents who lived in the village of
Alandi near Pune (Poona) in Maharashtra, a country that has
spawned many fine saints and sages. His older brother,
Nivritti Natha, was a disciple of Gahini Nath a, who
belonged to the tradition of Goraksha Natha, the great
Hatha-Yoga master and maha-siddha. He had been
initiated at the tender age of seven, and in turn initiated
Jnanadeva when he was still very young, definitely before
his fifteenth year. It was at age fifteen that Jnanadeva
composed, in honor of his guru and brother Nivritti Natha,
his famous poetic Marathi commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita
that has been treasured as much for the depth of its wisdom
as its stylistic beauty. This extensive commentary of nearly
nine thousand verses was delivered orally spontaneously by
him chapter after chapter and was only subsequently written
down. It has two titles: Bhava-Artha-Dipika (“Light on the
Original Meaning,” written Bhavarthadipika) and, more
simply, Jnaneshvari (from the words jndna or “wisdom” and
ishvari or “female ruler”). Jnanadeva’s friend and disciple
Namadeva of Pandharpur, the author of many devotional works,
spoke of the Jnaneshvari as “a wave of brahmic
bliss.” At the behest of his brother-guru,
he also composed the Amrita-Anubhava (“Experience of
Immortality,” written Amritanubhava), which has been called
the greatest philosophical work in the Marathi language.
Another work, the Changadeva-Pasashthi, was composed as an
instructional poem for the yogin Changadeva, who had been
proud of his magical powers but had discovered humility when
sitting at Jnanadeva’s feet. Additionally, there are about
nine hundred devotional hymns (abhanga) attributed to
Jnanadeva. Jnanadeva was not only a realized
master and poetic genius but also a miracle worker, who,
among other things, is said to have made a buffalo recite
verses from the Rig-Veda and to have brought the saintly
Saccidananda Baba back to life. Yet, such feats meant
nothing to him compared with his love for the Divine and his
teacher. At only twenty-one years of age, he had himself
buried alive to exit this world while immersed in deep
meditation. His samadhi site in Alandi continues to attract
pilgrims. His Jnaneshvari (6.192-317), among
other things, includes a remarkable description of the
kundalini process as taught in early Nathism. For him, the
awakening of this formidable power locked in the human body
was intimately connected with guru-yoga, the spiritual
discipline of honoring the teacher as an embodiment of the
Divine. He begins Chapter 15 with the following
words: Now I shall place my guru’s feet
on the altar of my heart. Pouring my senses as flowers into
the cupped hands of the experience of union with the
Supreme, I offer a handful of these at his
feet. Jnanadeva’s philosophy was firmly
rooted in his personal spiritual realization. He rejected
Shankara’s maya-vada (which regards objective reality as
illusory), and instead taught that the notion that the
world’s appearance is due to ignorance (avidya) is itself
illusory. Rather, he tells us, the world is divine play, and
its cause is none other than the Supreme itself. Instead of
being merely an illusion that deludes people, the universe
is an expression of divine love. Similarly, the individuated
psyche (jiva) is not, as Shankara insisted, “mere
appearance” but a necessary manifestation of the ultimate
Reality, which experiences its own delight in the mirror of
creation. Consequently, for Jnanadeva, the purpose of human
life is not liberation – in the sense of escaping from a
merely illusory world – but moment-to-moment realization of
the presence of the Divine in and as one’s
body-mind.
Pandharapura Temple