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The Inner Compass There is an inner compass, which will show itself when the mind is calmed and finally brought to complete steadiness, and free from the disturbing influence of illusions and passions (which are themselves forms of illusion). When these conditions are right, the inner compass, like the outer compass, has a life of its own. It directs the mind to the Pole Star of the cosmic purpose. The meditator comes to know what he is to do in life, and when he faces in the right direction, he also gets the energy to do it. In his book The Heart Of The Eastern Mystical Teaching, Dr. Shastri gives a secret of meditation: Every man must be able to go into voluntary nervous and mental relaxation, and concentrate his mind on a symbol of God.... It is the following prolonged silence of the soul which brings before him the pattern of what he is to create, the archetypes of his contribution to the outer and inner world. What sort of inspirations are these? What comes to him that others cannot think of? These are reasonable questions. The answer is, that the inspirations are from the Lord, and cannot be predicted. However, often it is an entirely new way of thinking, a much wider range than the ordinary man manages to achieve. Individuals in all countries and ages have come to touch the secret of inspirations, though if there is no systematic training, they will tend to be intermittent, or perhaps once only. Dr. Shastri used to recommend his pupils to study history with an eye open for such cases. Adhyatma-teachings goes further into these traditions. |