{"id":3545,"date":"2013-07-13T01:49:24","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=3545"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:49:24","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:49:24","slug":"002-visions-and-symbols-vol-on-yoga-2-tome-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/02-other-editions\/on-yoga-2-tome-two\/002-visions-and-symbols-vol-on-yoga-2-tome-two","title":{"rendered":"-002_Visions and Symbols.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n

 
\nSection Two <\/i><\/b>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

VISIONS AND SYMBOLS
\n<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

surface or
\nwaking consciousness but has a latent capacity (which can be perfected by
\ntraining and practice) for entering into the experiences of the inner
\nconsciousness of which most people are unaware but which opens by the practice
\nof yoga. By this opening one becomes aware of subtle planes of experience and
\nworlds of existence other than the material. For the spiritual life a still
\nfurther opening is required into an inmost consciousness by which one becomes
\naware of the Self and Spirit, the Eternal and the Divine.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Visions do not
\ncome from the spiritual plane\u2014they come from the subtle physical, the vital, the
\nmental, the psychic or from the planes above the Mind. What comes from the
\nspiritual plane are experiences of the Divine, e.g. the experience of self
\neverywhere, of the Divine in all, etc.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Visions and
\nexperiences (especially experiences) are all right; but you cannot expect every
\nvision to translate itself in a corresponding physical fact. Some do, the
\nmajority don’t, others belong to the supraphysical entirely and indicate
\nrealities, possibilities or tendencies that have their seat there. How far these
\nwill influence the life or realise themselves in it or whether they will do so
\nat all depends upon the nature of the vision, the power in it, sometimes on the
\nwill or the formative power of the seer.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      People value
\nvisions for one thing because they are one key (there are others) to contact
\nwith the other worlds or with the inner worlds and all that is there and these
\nare regions of immense\n<\/p>\n

  
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-50<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

riches which
\nfar surpass the physical plane as it is at present. One enters into a larger
\nfreer self and a larger more plastic world; of course individual visions only
\ngive a contact, not an actual entrance, but the power of vision accompanied with
\nthe power of other subtle senses (hearing, touch, etc.) as it expands does give
\nthis entrance. These things have not the effect of a mere imagination (as a
\npoet’s or artist’s, though that can be strong enough) but if fully followed out
\nbring a constant growth of the being and the consciousness and its richness of
\nexperience and its scope.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      People also
\nvalue the power of vision for a greater reason than that: it can give a first
\ncontact with the Divine in his forms and powers; it can be the opening of a
\ncommunion with the Divine, of the hearing of the Voice that guides, of the
\nPresence as well as the Image in the heart, of many other things that bring what
\nman seeks through religion or yoga.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Further, vision
\nis of value because it is often a first key to inner planes of one’s own being
\nand one’s own consciousness as distinguished from worlds or planes of the cosmic
\nconsciousness. Yoga-experience often begins with some opening of the third eye
\nin the forehead (the centre of vision in the brows) or with some kind of
\nbeginning and extension of subtle seeing which may seem unimportant at first but
\nis the vestibule to deeper experience. Even when it is not that,\u2014for one can go
\nto experience direct,\u2014it can come in afterwards as a powerful aid to experience;
\nit can be full of indications which help to self-knowledge or knowledge of
\nthings or knowledge of people; it can be veridical and lead to prevision,
\npremonition and other openings of less importance but very useful to a yogi. In
\nshort, vision is a great instrument though not absolutely indispensable.\n<\/p>\n

  
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-51<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

           But, as I have
\nsuggested, there are visions and visions, just as there are dreams and dreams,
\nand one has to develop discrimination and a sense of values and things and know
\nhow to understand and make use of these powers. But that is too big and
\nintricate a matter to be pursued now.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      He made a
\nmistake when he stopped the visions that were coming. Vision and hallucination
\nare not the same thing. The inner vision is an open door on higher planes of
\nconsciousness beyond the physical mind which gives room for a wider truth and
\nexperience to enter and act upon the mind. It is not the only or the most
\nimportant door, but it is one which comes readiest to very many if not most and
\ncan be a very powerful help. It does not come as easily to intellectuals as it
\ndoes to men with a strong life-power or the emotional and the imaginative. It is
\ntrue that the field of vision, like every other field of activity of the human
\nmind, is a mixed world and there is in it not only truth but much half-truth and
\nerror. It is also true that for the rash and unwary to enter into it may bring
\nconfusion and misleading inspiration and false voices, and it is safer to have
\nsome sure guidance from those who know and have spiritual and psychic
\nexperience. One must look at this field calmly and with discrimination, but to
\nshut the gates and reject this or other supraphysical experiences is to limit
\noneself and arrest the inner development.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      No, it was
\nneither optical illusion nor hallucination nor coincidence nor auto-suggestion
\nnor any of the other ponderous and\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage-52<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

vacant
\npolysyllables by which physical science tries to explain away or rather avoid
\nexplaining the scientifically inexplicable. In these matters the scientist is
\nalways doing what he is always blaming the layman for doing when the latter lays
\ndown the law on things about which he is profoundly ignorant without
\ninvestigation or experiment, without ascertained knowledge\u2014simply by evolving a
\ntheory or a priori <\/i>idea out of his own mind and plastering it as a label
\non the unexplained phenomena.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      There is, as I
\nhave told you, a whole range or many inexhaustible ranges of sensory phenomena
\nother than the outward physical which one can become conscious of, see, hear,
\nfeel, smell, touch, mentally contact\u2014to use the new established Americanism\u2014
\neither in trance or sleep or an inward state miscalled sleep or simply and
\neasily in the waking state. This faculty of sensing supraphysical things
\ninternally or externalising them, so to speak, so that they become visible,
\naudible, sensible to the outward eye, ear, even touch, just as are gross
\nphysical objects, this power or gift is not a freak or an abnormality; it is a
\nuniversal faculty present in all human beings, but latent in most, in some
\nrarely or intermittently active, occurring as if by accident in others, frequent
\nor normally active in a few. But just as anyone can, with some training, learn
\nscience and do things which would have seemed miracles to his forefathers, so
\nalmost anyone, if he wants, can with a little concentration and training develop
\nthe faculty of supraphysical vision. When one starts yoga, this power is often,
\nthough not invariably\u2014for some find it difficult\u2014one of the first to come out
\nfrom its latent condition and manifest itself, most often without any effort,
\nintention or previous knowledge on the part of the sadhak. It comes more easily
\nwith the eyes shut than with the eyes open, but it does come in both ways. The
\nfirst sign of its opening in the externalised way is very often\n<\/p>\n

 \n<\/p>\n

\nPage-53<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

that seeing of
\n"sparkles" or small luminous dots, shapes, etc., which was your first
\nintroduction to the matter; a second is, often enough, most easily, round
\nluminous objects like a star; seeing of colours is a third initial
\nexperience\u2014but they do not always come in that order. The yogis in India very
\noften in order to develop the power use the method of trātak, <\/i>
\nconcentrating the vision on a single point or object\u2014preferably a luminous
\nobject. Your looking at the star was precisely an exercise in trātak <\/i>and
\nhad the effect which any yogi in India would have told you is normal. For all
\nthis is not fancy or delusion, it is part of an occult science which has been
\npractised throughout the historic and prehistoric ages in all countries and it
\nhas always been known to be not merely auto-suggestive or hallucinatory in its
\nresults, but, if one can get the key, veridical and verifiable. Your scepticism
\nmay be natural in a "modern" man plunging into these things of the past, present
\nand future\u2014natural but not justifiable, because very obviously inadequate to the
\nfacts observed; but once you have seen, the first thing you should do is to
\nthrow all this vapid pseudo-science behind you, this vain attempt to stick
\nphysical explanations on supraphysical things, and take the only rational
\ncourse. Develop the power, get more and more experience, develop the
\nconsciousness by which these things come; as the consciousness develops, you
\nwill begin to understand and get the intuition of the significance. Or if you
\nwant their science too, then learn and apply the occult science which can alone
\ndeal with supraphysical phenomena. As for what showed itself to you, it was not
\nmere curious phenomena, not even merely symbolic colour, but things that have a
\nconsiderable importance.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Develop this
\npower of inner sense and all that it brings you. These first seeings are only an
\nouter fringe\u2014behind lie\n<\/p>\n

 
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-54<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

whole worlds of
\nexperience which fill what seems to the natural man the gap (your Russell’s
\ninner void) between the earth-consciousness and the Eternal and Infinite.\n<\/p>\n

 \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Subjective
\nvisions can be as real as objective sight\u2014the only difference is that one is of
\nreal things in material space, while the others are of real things belonging to
\nother planes down to the subtle physical; even symbolic visions are real in so
\nfar as they are symbols of realities. Even dreams can have a reality in the
\nsubtle domain. Visions are unreal only when these are merely imaginative mental
\nformations, not representing anything that is true or was true or is going to be
\ntrue.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      This power of
\nvision is sometimes inborn and habitual even without any effort of development,
\nsometimes it wakes up of itself and becomes abundant or needs only a little
\npractice to develop; it is not necessarily a sign of spiritual attainment, but
\nusually when by practice of yoga one begins to go inside or live within, the
\npower of subtle vision awakes to a greater or less extent; but this does not
\nalways happen easily, especially if one has been habituated to five much in the
\nintellect or in an outward vital consciousness.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      I suppose what
\nyou are thinking of is "darshan", the self-revelation of the Deity to the
\ndevotee; but that is different, it is an unveiling of his presence temporary or
\npermanent, and may come as a vision or may come as a close feeling of his
\npresence which is more intimate than sight and a frequent or constant
\ncommunication with him; that happens by deepening of the being into its inner
\nself and growth of consciousness or by growth of the intensity of bhakti. When
\nthe crust of external consciousness\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

\nPage-55<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

is
\nsufficiently broken by the pressure of increasing and engrossing bhakti, the
\ncontact comes.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      What was
\ndeveloped in you is a power of true inner vision\u2014 this will help you to enter
\nthrough it into touch with the Divine; you have only to let it develop. Two
\nother things have to develop \u2014the feeling of the Divine Presence and power and
\ninspiration behind your actions, and the inner contact with myself and the
\nMother. Aspire with faith and sincerity and these will come. I do not wish to
\ngive any more precise instructions until I see what happens in you during your
\nstay here; for although the path is common to all, each man has his own way of
\nfollowing it.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      II
\n<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      When you see
\nLight, that is vision; when you feel Light entering into you, that is
\nexperience; when Light settles in you and brings illumination and knowledge,
\nthat is a realisation. But ordinarily visions are also called experiences.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Usually the
\nvisions precede realisation, in a way they prepare it.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The vision of
\nthe higher planes or the idea of what they are can be had long before the
\ntransformation. If that were not possible, how could the transformation take
\nplace\u2014the lower\n<\/p>\n

   
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-56<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

nature cannot
\nchange by itself, it changes by the growing vision, perception, descent of the
\nhigher consciousness belonging to the higher planes? It is through aspiration,
\nthrough an increasing opening that these visions and perceptions begin to
\ncome\u2014the realisation comes afterwards.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Yes, it [the
\nhigher consciousness] can come down into the mind plane bringing peace,
\nwideness, the cosmic consciousness, the realisation of the Divine, the sense of
\nthe cosmic forces and other things\u2014without any breaking of the veil through
\nvision. Ordinarily, however, with most people the inner vision comes first.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      I said the
\nrealisation of the Divine in the mind. If there is to be the total realisation,
\nthe breaking of the veil is indispensable.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Sometimes a
\nvision accompanies an experience and is as it were a visual rendering of it or
\naccompaniment to it, but the experience itself is a separate thing.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      That does not
\nfollow. By going deep a person may see visions, another may fall in deeper
\nconsciousness and see no vision and so on. The result varies with the nature.\n<\/p>\n

     
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-57<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

          III
\n<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Inner vision is
\nvivid like actual sight, always precise and contains a truth in it. In mental
\nvision the images are invented by the mind and are partly true, partly a play of
\npossibilities. Or a mental vision like the vital may be only a suggestion,\u2014that
\nis a formation of some possibility on the mental or vital plane which presents
\nitself to the sadhak in the hope of being accepted and helped to realise itself.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The mental
\nvisions are meant to bring in the mind the influence of the things they
\nrepresent.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Cosmic vision
\nis the seeing of the universal movements\u2014it has nothing to do with the psychic
\nnecessarily. It can be in the universal mind, the universal vital, the universal
\nphysical or anywhere.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      What do you
\nmean here by psychic vision? Inner vision means the vision with the inner seeing
\nas opposed to outer vision, the external sight with the surface mind in the
\nsurface eyes. Psychic, in the language of this yoga, is confined to the soul,
\nthe psychic being\u2014it is not as in the ordinary language in which if you see a
\nghost it is called a "psychic vision"; we speak of the inner vision or the
\nsubtle sight\u2014not the psychic vision.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-58<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

     The inner
\nvision can see objects, but it can see instead the vibration of the forces which
\nact through the object.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Nothing has to
\nbe done to develop the images seen in the vision. They develop of themselves by
\nthe growing practice of seeing,\u2014 what was faint becomes clear, what was
\nincomplete becomes complete. One cannot say in a general way that they are real
\nor unreal. Some are formations of the mind, some are images that come to the
\nsight of themselves, some are images of real things that show themselves
\ndirectly to the sight\u2014others are true pictures, not merely images.\n<\/p>\n

 \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      When the inner
\nvision opens, there can come before it all that ever was or is now in the world,
\neven it can open to things that will be hereafter\u2014so there is nothing impossible
\nin seeing thus the figures and the things of the past.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      When one tries
\nto meditate, the first obstacle in the beginning is sleep. When you get over
\nthis obstacle, there comes a condition in which, with the eyes closed, you begin
\nto see things, people, scenes of all kinds. This is not a bad tiling, it is a
\ngood sign and means that you are making progress in the yoga. There is, besides
\nthe outer physical sight which sees external objects, an inner sight in us which
\ncan see things yet unseen and unknown, things at a distance, things belonging to
\nanother place\n<\/p>\n

     
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-59<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

or time or to
\nother worlds; it is the inner sight which is opening in you. It is the working
\nof the Mother’s force which is opening it in you, and you should not try to stop
\nit. Remember the Mother always, call on her and aspire to feel her presence and
\nher power working in you; but you do not need, for that, to reject this or other
\ndevelopments that may come in you by her working hereafter. It is only desire,
\negoism, restlessness and other wrong movements that have to be rejected.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      This gazing on
\na flame or a bright spot is the traditional means used by yogis for
\nconcentration or for awakening of the inner consciousness and vision. You seem
\nto have gone by the gazing into a kind of surface (not deep) trance, which is
\nindeed one of its first results, and begun to see things probably on the vital
\nplane. I do not know what were the "dreadful objects" you saw but that
\ndreadfulness is the character of many things first seen on that plane,
\nespecially when crossing its threshold by such means. You should not employ
\nthese means, I think, for they are quite unnecessary and besides, they may lead
\nto a passive concentration in which one is open to all sorts of things and
\ncannot choose the right ones.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      I did not quite
\nunderstand from your letter what is the nature of these sights and objects that
\npass like a cinema film before you. If they are things seen by the inner vision,
\nthen there is no need to drive them away\u2014one has only to let them pass. When one
\ndoes sadhana an inner mind which is within us awakes\n<\/p>\n

   
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-60<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

and sees by an
\ninner vision images of all things in this world and other worlds\u2014this power of
\nvision has its use, though one has not to be attached to it; one can let them
\npass with a quiet mind, neither fixing on them nor driving them away. It is the
\nthoughts of the outer mind that have to be refused, the suggestions and ideas
\nthat end by disturbing the sadhana. There are also a number of thoughts of all
\nkinds that have no interest, but which the mind was accustomed to allow to come
\nas a habit, mechanically,\u2014these sometimes come up when one tries to be quiet.
\nThey must be allowed to pass away without attending to them until they run down
\nand the mind becomes still; to struggle with them and try to stop them is no
\nuse, there must be only a quiet rejection. On the other hand if thoughts come up
\nfrom within, from the psychic, thoughts of the Mother, of divine love and joy,
\nperceptions of truth etc., these of course must be permitted, as they help to
\nmake the psychic active.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Dreams or
\nvisions on the vital plane are usually either<\/p>\n

      (1) symbolic
\nvital visions\n<\/p>\n

     
\n(2) actual occurrences on the vital plane\n<\/p>\n

      (3) formations
\nof the vital mind, either of the dreamer or of someone else with whom he
\ncontacts in sleep or of powers or beings of that plane. No great reliance can be
\nput on this kind of experience, even the first having only a relative or
\nsuggestive value, while the second and third are often quite misleading.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

      These are
\nvisions of the vital world and the vital planes and one see hundreds of the,
\nthere…. All the parts of the consciousness\n<\/p>\n

   
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-61<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

are like fields
\ninto which forces from the same planes of consciousness in the universal Nature
\nare constantly entering or passing. The best thing is to observe without getting
\naffected in either way and without attaching too much importance\u2014 for these are
\nminor experiences and one’s own concentration must call the major ones.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      As you were
\nconcentrating your attention on the electric light,, it may have been the god of
\nelectricity you saw, Vaidyuta Agni. There is no reason why he should have many
\nfaces\u2014the many-headed or many-armed figures belong usually to the vital plane\u2014
\nand it may not have been in his vital form that he was manifesting. As for the
\ncolours, colours are symbols of forces and Agni need not be pure red\u2014the
\nprinciple of Fire can manifest all the colours and the pure white fire is that
\nwhich contains in itself all the colours.\n<\/p>\n

  \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The gods in the
\novermental plane have not many heads and arms\u2014this is a vital symbolism, it is
\nnot necessary in other planes. This figure may have belonged to the subtle
\nphysical plane.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      It is the vital
\nplane\u2014probably the vital physical. It is mostly there that the beings of the
\nvital world appear with animal heads or features. A human figure with a dog’s
\nface means a very coarse and material sexual energy. Of course, all such\n<\/p>\n

    
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-62<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

energies can be
\ntransformed and cease to be sexual\u2014turned into material strength of some kind,
\njust as the seminal force can be turned by brahmacarya <\/i>into ojas.<\/i>\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      It depends on
\nthe nature of the symbolic vision whether it is merely representative,
\npresenting to the inner vision and nature (even though the outer mind has not
\nthe understanding, the inner can receive its effect) the thing symbolised in its
\nfigure or whether it is dynamic. The Sun symbol, for instance, is usually
\ndynamic. Again, among the dynamic symbols some may bring simply the influence of
\nthe thing symbolised, some indicate what is being done but not yet finished,
\nsome a formative experience that visits the consciousness, some a prophecy of
\nsomething that may or will or is soon about to happen. There are others that are
\nnot merely symbols but present actualities seen by the vision in a symbolic
\nfigure.\n<\/p>\n

 \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      When the
\ncolours begin to take definite shapes in the visions, it is a sign of some
\ndynamic work of formation in the consciousness: a square, for instance, means
\nthat some kind of creation is in process in some field of the being; the square
\nindicates that the creation is to be complete in itself; while the rectangle
\nindicates something partial and preliminary. The waves of colour mean a dynamic
\nrush of forces and the star in such a context indicates the promise of the new
\nbeing that is to be formed. The blue colour must here be the Krishna light, so
\nit is a creation under the stress of Krishna consciousness. All these are\n<\/p>\n

    
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-63<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

symbols of what
\nis going on in the inner being, in the consciousness behind and the results well
\nup from time to time in the external or surface consciousness in such feeling as
\nthe awareness of a softening and opening which you had, devotion, joy, peace,
\nAnanda, etc. When the opening is complete, there is likely to be a more direct
\nconsciousness of the working that is going on behind, till it is no longer
\nbehind but in the front of the nature.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      When you see a
\nsquare, that is a symbol of complete creation; when you
\nsee<\/sub> a buffalo rushing upon you and missing and feel you have escaped a
\ngreat danger, that is a transcription. Something actually happened of which the
\nbuffalo’s ineffectual rush was your mind’s transcription\u2014the rush of some
\nhostile force represented by the buffalo.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      (1) The vision
\nwas seen through the physical eyes but by the subtle physical consciousness; in
\nother words, there was an imposition 0<\/sub>f one<\/sub> consciousness
\nupon another. After a certain stage of development, this capacity of living in
\nthe ordinary physical consciousness and yet having superadded to it another and
\nmore subtle sense, vision, experience becomes quite
\nnormal. A little Concentration is enough to bring it; or, even, it happens automatically without any concentration.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      As the flower
\nwas a subtle physical object, not entirely material in the ordinary sense of the
\nword (though quite substantial and material in its own plane, not an illusion), a camera would\n<\/p>\n

   
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-64<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

not be able to
\ndetect it\u2014except in the case of one of those abnormal interventions by which a
\nsubtle form has been thrown upon the material plate.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      It could be
\nsensed in a dark room, though not so easily, and it would not then have so vivid
\nan appearance\u2014unless you are able to bring out something of the light of the
\nsubtle physical plane to surround it and give it its natural medium.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      If seen with
\nthe eyes shut, it would be no longer a subtle physical form, but an object or
\nformation of the vital, mental or other plane\u2014unless, indeed, the inner
\nconsciousness had progressed so far as to be able to project itself into the
\nphysical planes; but this is a rare and, in most cases, a late development.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      (2) It is not,
\nusually, the object that vanishes; it is the consciousness that changes. Owing
\nto lack of sustained capacity or lack of training, one is not able to keep the
\nsubtle physical vision which is what was really seeing the object. This subtle
\nphysical vision comes easiest in the moment between light sleep and
\nwaking\u2014either when one just comes out of the sleep or when one is just going
\ninto it. But one can train oneself to have it when one is quite wide awake.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      At first when
\none begins to see, it is quite usual for the more ill-defined and imprecise
\nfigures to last longer while those which are successful, complete, precise in
\ndetail and outline are apt to be quite momentary and disappear in an instant. It
\nis only when the subtle vision is well developed that the precise and full
\nseeing lasts for a long time. This results from the difficulty of keeping what
\nis still an abnormal consciousness and also, in this case, from the difficulty
\nof keeping the two momentarily superimposed consciousnesses together.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      (3) There are
\nall kinds in the experiences of each plane\u2014 symbolic forms, figures of
\nsuggestion, thought-figures, desire-\n<\/p>\n

  
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-65<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

formations or
\nwill-formations, constructions of all lands, things-real and lasting in the
\nplane to which they belong and things fictitious and misleading. The
\nhaphazardness belongs to the consciousness that sees with its limited and
\nimperfect way of cognizing the other worlds, not to the phenomena themselves.
\nEach plane is a world or a conglomeration or series of worlds, each organized in
\nits own way, but organized, not haphazard; only, of course, the subtler planes
\nare more plastic and less rigid in their organisation than the material plane.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The power of
\noccult seeing is there in everyone, mostly latent, often near the surface
\nsometimes but much more rarely already on the surface. If one practises Tratak,
\nit is pretty certain to come out sooner or later,\u2014though some have a difficulty
\nand with them it takes time; those in whom it comes out at once have had all the
\ntime this power of occult vision near the surface and it emerges at the first
\ndirect pressure.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The rays which
\nyou saw the trees giving out are there always, only they are veiled to the
\nordinary material vision. I said the blue and gold together indicated the
\ncombined presence of Krishna and Durga-Mahakali; but gold and yellow have
\ndifferent significances. Yellow in the indication of forces signifies the
\nthinking mind, buddhi, <\/i>and the pink (modified here into a light
\nvermilion) is a psychic colour; the combination probably meant the psychic in
\nthe mental.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      In interpreting
\nthese phenomena you must remember that all depends on the order of things which
\nthe colours indicate in any particular case. There is an order of significances
\nin which they indicate various psychological dynamisms, e.g.,\n<\/p>\n

     
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-66<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

faith, love,
\nprotection, etc. There is another order of significances in which they indicate
\nthe aura or the activity of divine beings, Krishna, Mahakali, Radha or else of
\nother superhuman beings; there is another in which they indicate the aura around
\nobjects or living persons\u2014and that does not exhaust the list of possibilities. A
\ncertain knowledge, experiences, growing intuition are necessary to perceive in
\neach case the true significance. Observation and exact description are also very
\nnecessary; for sometimes people say, for instance, yellow when they mean gold or
\nvice versa; <\/i>there are besides different possible meanings for different
\nshades of the same colour. Again, if you see colour near or round a person or by
\nlooking at him or her, it does not necessarily indicate that person’s aura; it
\nmay be something else near him or around him. In some cases it may have nothing
\nto do with the person or object you look at, which may serve merely the purpose
\nof a background or a point of concentration \u2014as when you see colours on a wall
\nor by looking at a bright object.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

      The seeing of
\nthe body (at least one’s own) in its internal parts is a yogic power developed
\nby the Raja and Hathayogins- I suppose it could be extended to the body of
\nother. There is also the sense of subtle smells and I have noticed that
\nsometimes one smell persists.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      IV
\n<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      A symbol, as I
\nunderstand it, is the form on one plane that represents a truth of another. For
\ninstance, a flag is the symbol\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage-67<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

 of a nation….
\nBut generally all forms are symbols. This body of ours is a symbol of our real
\nbeing and everything is a symbol of some higher reality. There are, however,
\ndifferent kinds of symbols:\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     
\n(1) Conventional symbols, such as the Vedic Rishis formed with objects taken
\nfrom their surroundings. The cow stood for light because the same word ‘go’
\n<\/i>meant both ray and cow, and because the cow was their most precious possession
\nwhich maintained their life and was constantly in danger of being robbed and
\nconcealed. But once created, such a symbol becomes alive. The Rishis vitalised
\nit and it became a part of their realisation. It appeared in their visions as an
\nimage of spiritual light. The horse also was one of their favourite symbols, and
\na more easily adaptable one, since its force and energy were quite evident.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      (2) What we
\nmight call Life-symbols, such as are not artificially chosen or mentally
\ninterpreted in a conscious deliberate way, but derive naturally from our
\nday-to-day life and grow out of the surroundings which condition our normal path
\nof living. To the ancients the mountain was a symbol of the path of yoga, level
\nabove level, peak upon peak. A journey, involving the crossing of rivers and the
\nfacing of lurking enemies, both animal and human, conveyed a similar idea.
\nNowadays I dare say we would liken yoga to a motor-ride or a railway-trip.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      (3) Symbols
\nthat have an inherent appositeness and power of their own. Akasha or etheric
\nspace is a symbol of the infinite all-pervading eternal Brahman. In any
\nnationality it would convey the same meaning. Also, the Sun stands universally
\nfor the supramental Light, the divine Gnosis.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      (4) Mental
\nsymbols, instances of which are numbers or alphabets. Once they are accepted,
\nthey too become active and may be useful. Thus geometrical figures have been
\nvariously\n<\/p>\n

  
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-68<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

interpreted. In
\nmy experience the square symbolises the super-mind. I cannot say how it came to
\ndo so. Somebody or some force may have built it before it came to my mind. Of
\nthe triangle, too, there are different explanations. In one position it can
\nsymbolise the three lower planes, in another the symbol is of the three higher
\nones: so both can be combined together in a single sign. The ancients liked to
\nindulge in similar speculations concerning numbers, but their systems were
\nmostly mental. It is no doubt true that supramental realities exist which we
\ntranslate into mental formulas such as Karma, Psychic evolution, etc. But they
\nare, so to speak, infinite realities which cannot be limited by these symbolic
\nforms, though they may be somewhat expressed by them; they might be expressed as
\nwell by other symbols, and the same symbol may also express many different
\nideas.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      In one form or
\nanother all these ideas have existed in the past. The significance of numbers
\nwas one of the chief elements in the teaching of Pythagoras 5 centuries before
\nChrist.\n<\/p>\n

  \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Fire, lights,
\nsun, moon are usual symbols and seen by most in sadhana. They indicate movement
\nor action of inner forces. The Sun means the inner truth.\n<\/p>\n

 \n<\/p>\n

   *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      One sometimes
\nsees the Light in masses, sometimes in forms \u2014and the most common forms are sun,
\nmoon, star or fire.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage-69<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

      The light, colours, flowers are always seen when there is a working of the forces within at
\na certain stage of the sadhana. The light of course indicates an illumination of
\nthe consciousness, the colour the play of forces mental (yellow), physical and
\nvital, but forces making for enlightenment of these parts of the being. The
\nflowers usually indicate a psychic activity.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The sounds of
\nbells and the seeing of lights and colours are signs of the opening of the inner
\nconsciousness which brings with it an opening also to sights and sounds of other
\nplanes than the physical. Some of these things like the sound of bells,
\ncrickets, etc. seem even to help the opening. The Upanishad speaks of them as
\nbrahmavyaktikarāni yoge.<\/i>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The lights
\nrepresent forces\u2014or sometimes a formed light like that you saw may be the light
\nof a being of the supraphysical plane.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      It is not
\nnecessary to have the mind quiet in order to see the lights\u2014that depends only on
\nthe opening of the subtle vision in the centre which is in the forehead between
\nthe eyebrows. Many people get that as soon as they start sadhana. It can even be
\ndeveloped by effort and concentration without sadhana by some who have it to a
\nsmall extent as an inborn faculty. The quietude of the mind is needed for other
\nthings, such as the feeling of the presence of the Mother etc.\n<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-70<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

       A concentrated
\nmind is not always necessary for seeing the light\u2014if there is an opening
\nanywhere in the consciousness, that is sufficient.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The light
\noutside means a touch or influence of the force indicated by the fight (golden
\nis Truth-fight, blue some spiritual force from the upper plane) while the light
\nwithin means that it has penetrated or is established or frequently active in
\nthe nature itself. Light above means a force descending upon the mind, fight
\naround a general enveloping influence.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The Light is
\noften seen in front before the centre of inner vision, mind and will which is
\nbetween the eyebrows in the forehead. The sun means the formed Light of the
\nDivine Truth, the starry light is the same Light acting as a suffused Power on
\nthe ordinary consciousness which is seen as the night of Ignorance. The call
\nbrought the Light streaming down into the inner being.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The sun is the
\nsymbol of the concentrated light of Truth.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The Sun is the
\nTruth from above, in the last resort the supra-mental Truth.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage-71<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

       Supermind is
\nnot mind at all, it is something different. The Sun indicates Truth directly
\npercieved in whatever plane it may be. It is the symbol of supermind but the
\nTruth may come down into the other planes and then that is no longer supramental
\nbut modified to the substance of the other planes\u2014still it is the direct Light
\nof Truth.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      There are
\ndifferent suns in the different planes each with its own colour. But there are
\nalso suns of a similar colour above, only more bright, from which these minor
\nsuns derive their light and power.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The red sun is
\na symbol of the true, illumined physical consciousness which is to replace the
\nobscure and ignorant physical consciousness in which men now live. Red is the
\ncolour of the physical; the red diamond is the Mother’s consciousness in the
\nphysical.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The moon
\nindicates spirituality, sometimes also spiritual Ananda.\n<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The moon as a
\nsymbol in vision signifies usually spirituality in the mind or, simply, the
\nspiritual consciousness. It can also\n<\/p>\n

  
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-72<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

indicate the flow of spiritual Ananda (nectar
\nis in the moon according to the old tradition).\n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

\nIt [the spiritual Mind symbolised by the moon] is Mind in contact with truths of
\nthe spirit and reflecting them. The Sun is the light of the Truth, the Moon only
\nreflects the light of the Truth-that is the difference.\n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

\nGolden light means the light of the higher Truth-the moon’ is the symbol of
\nspirituality. A golden moon means a power of spirituality full of the light of
\nhigher Truth.\n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

\nThe star signifies a creation or formation or the promise or power of a creation
\nor formation.\n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

\nThe star is always a promise of the Light to come; the star changes into a sun
\nwhen there is the descent of the Light.\n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

\nA well- formed illumined thought can be seen as a spark of light.<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

\nPage-73<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

         
\nV <\/b>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Colour and
\nlight are always close to each other\u2014colour being more indicative, light more
\ndynamic. Colour incandescent becomes light.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Gold indicates
\nat its most intense something from the supra-mental, otherwise overmind truth or
\nintuitive truth deriving ultimately from the supramental Truth-Consciousness.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      As for the
\nexact symbolism of colours, it is not always easy to define exactly, because it
\nis not rigid and precise, but complex, the meaning varying with the field, the
\ncombinations, the character and shades of the colour, the play of forces. A
\ncertain kind of yellow, for instance, is supposed by many occultists to indicate
\nthe buddhi, <\/i>the intellect, and it often has that sense, but occurring
\namong a play of vital forces it could not always be so interpreted\u2014that would be
\ntoo rigid. Here all one can say is that the blue (the particular blue seen, not
\nevery blue) indicated the response to the Truth; the green\u2014or this <\/i>
\ngreen\u2014is very usually associated with Life and a generous emanation or action of
\nforces \u2014often of emotional life-force, and it is probably this that it would
\nindicate here.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      There are no
\nseparate colours of the beings. There is a characteristic colour of mind,
\nyellow; of the psychic, pink or pale rose; of the vital, purple; but these are
\ncolours corresponding to the main forces of mind, psychic, vital\u2014they are not
\nthe colours\n<\/p>\n

   
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-74<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

of the beings.
\nAlso other colours can play, e.g. in the vital, green and deep red as well as
\npurple and there are other colours for the hostile vital forces.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The Lights one
\nsees in concentration are the lights of various powers or forces and often
\nlights that come down from the higher consciousness.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The violet
\nlight is that of the Divine Compassion (karunā <\/i>\u2014Grace)\u2014the white light is
\nthe light of the Mother (the Divine Consciousness) in which all others are
\ncontained and from which they can be manifested.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Purple is the
\ncolour of vital power. "Red" depends on the character of the colour, for there
\nare many reds\u2014this may be the colour of the physical consciousness.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The four lights
\nwere the lights of the Truth,\u2014white the purity and power of the divine Truth,
\ngreen its active energy for work, blue the spiritual consciousness of the divine
\nTruth, the gold its knowledge.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The arrow is
\nthe symbol of the force which goes to its aim.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Blue is the higher mind.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Bells heard are
\nusually a sign of progress in sadhana, progress to come.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The snake form
\nis a symbol of Energy and the white blue light may be that of the Mother’s
\nconsciousness in the higher mind, or if it is not two separate colours but
\nwhitish blue then it is Sri Aurobindo’s light. The light is a manifestation of
\nForce,\n<\/p>\n

    
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-75<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

the nature of
\nthe force being indicated by the colour of the Light.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The meaning of
\nblue light depends on the exact character of colour, its shade and nature. A
\nwhitish blue like moonlight is known as Krishna’s light or Sri Aurobindo’s
\nlight\u2014light blue is often that of Illumined Mind\u2014there is another deeper blue
\nthat is of the Higher Mind; another, near to purple, which is the light of a
\npower in the vital.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The pale
\nwhitish blue light is "Sri Aurobindo’s Light"\u2014it is the blue light modified by
\nthe white light of the Mother.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The pale blue
\nfight is mine, the white light is the Mother’s. The world you saw above the head
\nwas the plane of the Illumined Mind which is a level of consciousness much
\nhigher than the human intelligence. It is there that the Divine Light and Power
\ncome down to be transmitted to the human consciousness and from there they work
\nand prepare the transformation of the human consciousness and even the physical
\nnature.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      If the blue
\nlights were of different shades it might mean the overhead planes, overmind,
\nIntuition, Illumined Mind, Higher Mind.\n<\/p>\n

   
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-76<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

       There are
\ndifferent Krishna lights\u2014pale diamond blue, lavender blue, deep blue etc. It
\ndepends on the plane in which it manifests…\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      There is one
\nblue that is the higher mind, a deeper blue belongs to the mind\u2014Krishna’s light
\nin the mind…\n<\/p>\n

      All blue is not Krishna’s light…\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Diamond blue,
\nKrishna’s light in the overmind\u2014lavender blue in intuitive mind.\n<\/p>\n

      Blue is also
\nthe Radha’s colour.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      White light
\nindicates the divine consciousness.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      They have
\nalways the same meaning. The white light is that of the pure conscious force
\nfrom which all the rest come. The golden light is that of the Divine Truth on
\nthe higher planes.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      White indicates
\na force of purity.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Diamonds may
\nindicate the Mother’s Light at its intensest, for that is diamond white light.\n<\/p>\n

   <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

  
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-77<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

      The Sunlight is
\nthe light of the Truth itself\u2014whatever power of Truth it may be\u2014while the other
\nlights derive from the Truth.\n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The Sunlight is
\nthe direct light of the Truth; when it gets fused into the vital, it takes the
\nmixed colour\u2014here gold and green\u2014 just as in the physical it becomes golden red
\nor in the mental golden yellow.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The golden
\nlight is the light of the Divine Truth which comes out from the supramental
\nsunlight and modified according to the level it crosses, creates the ranges from
\novermind to higher Mind.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The golden
\nlight is that of the modified (overmentalised) supra-mental, i.e., the
\nsupramental Light passing through the overmind, Intuition, etc., and becoming
\nthe Light of Truth in each of these things. When it is golden red it means the
\nsame modified supramental-physical Light,\u2014the Light of Divine Truth in the
\nphysical.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Golden Light
\nalways means the light of Truth\u2014but the nature of the Truth varies according to
\nthe plane to which it belongs.\n<\/p>\n

     
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-78<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

      Light is the
\nlight of Consciousness, Truth, Knowledge\u2014the Sun is the concentration or source
\nof the Light.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      It is again the
\nascent into one of the higher planes of mind illumined with the light of the
\nDivine Truth. Yellow is the light of mind growing brighter as one goes higher
\ntill it meets the golden light of the Divine Truth.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The spiritual
\nPower is naturally more free on its own level than in the body. The golden
\ncolour indicates here Mahakali force which is the strongest for the working in
\nthe body.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      It is not clear
\nyet. Golden red is the colour of the supramental physical light\u2014so this yellow
\nred may indicate some plane of the overmind in which there is a nearer special
\nconnection with that. The golden red light has a strong transforming power.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Orange or red
\ngold is supposed, by the way, to be the light of the supramental in the
\nphysical.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The deep red
\nlight is a light that comes down into the physical for its change. It is
\nassociated with the sunlight and the golden light.\n<\/p>\n

  \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

    
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-79<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

      The deep red is
\nthe light of the Power that descended before the 24th [November, 1933] for the
\ntransformation of the physical.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Deep red is the
\nDivine Love\u2014rosy is the psychic love.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      It seems to be
\nan opening of various powers and the peace, light and wideness of the spiritual
\nconsciousness. The red Purusha may be the Power of the true physical\u2014red being
\nthe colour of the physical.\n<\/p>\n

  \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Orange is the
\ncolour of occult knowledge or occult experience.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

      Yellow is the
\nthinking mind. The shades indicate different intensities of mental light.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The colour of
\nthe psychic light is according to what it manifests \u2014e.g., psychic love is pink
\nor rose, the psychic purity is white, etc.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Reddish pink
\nrose=psychic love or surrender.\n<\/p>\n

      White rose=pure spiritual surrender.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage-80<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

The rosy light is that of love\u2014so probably you
\nentered the psychic worlds\u2014or at least one of them.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      As for the
\nexperiences described in the other letter, it seems to have been a passage
\nthrough worlds of neutral peace which to the mind are a darkness and stand in
\nthe way to the full light.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 The violet is
\nthe light of Divine Grace and Compassion.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Violet is the
\ncolour of the light of Divine Compassion, as also of Krishna’s Grace. It is also
\nthe radiance of Krishna’s protection. Blue is his special and significant
\ncolour, the colour of his aura when he manifests\u2014that is why he is called
\nNīla Krishna. <\/i>The adjective does not mean that he was blue or dark in his
\nphysical body.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

      Purple is the
\ncolour of the vital force\u2014crimson is usually physical.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The crimson
\ncolour is the light of Love in the vital and physical.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Both [purple
\nand crimson] are vital lights, but when seen above they represent the original
\nforces of which the vital are the derivations.\n<\/p>\n

    \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

     
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-81<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

     Green light can
\nsignify various things according to the context\u2014 in the emotional vital it is
\nthe colour of a certain form of emotional generosity, in the vital proper an
\nactivity with vital abundance or vital generosity behind it\u2014in the vital
\nphysical it signifies a force of health.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Yes. The green
\nlight is a vital force, a dynamic force of the emotional vital which has the
\npower to purify, harmonise or cure.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Green is a
\nvital energy of work and action.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      VI
\n<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The sky is a
\nsymbol of the mental consciousness (or the psychic) or other consciousnesses
\nabove the mind\u2014e.g., the higher mind, intuition, overmind, etc. Sky as the ether
\nindicates also the infinite.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The higher
\nconsciousness in any of its levels is seen usually as a sky or ether, but when
\nfelt through the vital it is often perceived as a sea.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Sat, Chit,
\nAnanda, Supermind, Mind, Life, Matter are the seven planes described in the
\nVeda\u2014but in this yoga one sees many levels of consciousness which appear as
\nskies or else as seas.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage-82<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

      The blue sky is
\nthat of the Higher Mind\u2014the nearest of the planes between human mentality and
\nthe supermind. The moon here is the symbol of spirituality in the mental planes.
\nThe world of the Higher Mind is above those directly connected with the
\nbody-consciousness.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The sky is
\nalways some mental plane. The stars indicate beginnings or promises of Light\u2014the
\nvarious lights indicating various powers of the consciousness; gold=Truth,
\nblue=higher spiritualised mind, violet=sympathy, unity or universal compassion.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The first sea
\nis the ordinary consciousness, the second sea is the higher consciousness over
\nwhich is the Sun of Truth. The mountain represents the ascending planes of the
\nhigher consciousness. The journey in the train is the passage from one
\nconsciousness to another.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The sea with
\nthe sun over it is a plane of consciousness lit by the Truth. To enter into the
\nrays is to be no longer merely lit by it, but in one’s own conscious being to
\nbegin to become a part of the Truth.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The blue ocean
\nis often a symbol of the spiritual consciousness in the higher Mind one and
\nindivisible.\n<\/p>\n

 
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-83<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

      Dawn always
\nmeans an opening of some kind\u2014the coming of something that is not yet fully
\nthere.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The Night is
\nthe symbol of the Ignorance or Avidya in which men live just as Light is the
\nsymbol of Truth and Knowledge.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The mountain is
\nthe symbol of the embodied consciousness based upon earth but rising up towards
\nthe Divine.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The mountain
\nalways represents the ascending hill of existence with the Divine to be reached
\non the summits.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The vision you
\nsaw of the snow is probably a symbol of the consciousness in a condition of
\npurity, silence and peace like a snowy ground; in that a new life (psychic,
\nspiritual as indicated by the flowers) appears in place of the old mental and
\nvital life which has been covered by that mantle of snowy whiteness.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The river
\nrepresents some movement of the consciousness. All these are images of the vital
\nplane.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage-84<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

      Water is the
\nsymbol of a state of consciousnes or a plane.\n<\/p>\n

 \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      When the water
\nis symbolic [of a plane of consciousness] it is a big expanse of water\u2014but a
\nriver or a pond are not large enough to symbolise a plane.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The rain is the
\nsymbol of the descent of Grace or of the higher consciousness which is the cause
\nof the riches, the spiritual plenty.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The rainbow is
\nthe sign of peace and deliverance.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Clouds are
\nsymbols of obscurity.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Patala simply
\nmeans the subconscient below the Earth\u2014the Earth being the conscious physical
\nplane.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The jungle must
\nbe some unregenerated part of the vital nature and the serpent a wrong force
\nemerging out of it.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage-85<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

       The tree is the
\nsymbol of subconscient vital.\n<\/p>\n

  \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      A bird is a
\nvery frequent symbol of the soul, and the tree is the standing image of the
\nuniverse\u2014the Tree of Life.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The Aswattha
\nusually symbolises the cosmic manifestation.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Flowers
\nindicate a blossoming in the consciousness, sometimes with special reference to
\nthe psychic or the psychicised vital, mental and physical consciousness.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Red flowers
\nwould ordinarily indicate an opening of the consciousness either in the physical
\nor some part of the vital according to the shade.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The fruits are
\nthe results of the sadhana.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The cow in the
\noccult symbolism indicates Light or the consciousness\u2014white indicates the
\npurified or spiritual consciousness \u2014the white Light.\n<\/p>\n

    \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage-86<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

       It is quite
\nclear; it is the Vedic image. In the Veda the Cow is the Divine Light\u2014the white
\ncow is the pure consciousness in which there is the Light. The milk is the
\nKnowledge and Power descending from the Divine Consciousness.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The vision of
\nthe cows must have taken place in the psychic world. It has also a symbolic
\nsignificance. The sun is the symbol of the Divine Truth, the cows are its
\npowers, rays of the sun, source of true knowledge, true feeling, true
\nexperience.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The descent you
\nfelt must have been into some depth of light, probably in the psychic nature.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Milk is always
\nthe symbol of the flow of the higher consciousness.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The Horse is
\nPower, usually Life-Power, but also it may mean Mind-Power or Tapas if it is
\ndynamic and mobile.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      As for the two
\ndreams you wrote about in your shorter letter of the 1st
\nMay, the one about the horses is not so clear as the other about the white calf.
\nBut the horse is always the symbol of Power, it must be then a Power which you
\nwere trying to catch and make your own while sometimes it was trying to come up
\nwith you, perhaps to use you. This is what happens in the vital where there<\/p>\n

 \n<\/p>\n

\nPage-87<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

are these
\nuncertain and elusive movements. The high platform was evidently the level of a
\nhigher Consciousness which stilled this fluctuating movement and made control of
\nthe Power more possible, as it became still and clear.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The white calf
\nis the sign of a pure and clear consciousness,\u2014 the cow or calf being the symbol
\nof Light in the consciousness, something psychic or spiritual that you felt
\nnatural and intimate to you and inseparable.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The ass is the
\nsymbol of the inertia and obstruction in the body. The horse is the symbol of
\nforce or power. The tunnel of water must be the vital physical and the arch is a
\npassage out, by which, if the ass can cross it or rather be pulled across, then
\nit becomes a horse. In other words, the inertia and obstruction in the physical
\nwill be changed into Power and Force of Progress.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The elephant is
\nStrength\u2014sometimes Strength illumined with Wisdom.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The elephant is
\nstrength \u2014 sometimes strength removing obstacles.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The lion means
\nvital force, strength, courage\u2014here full of the light, illumined by the
\nspiritual consciousness.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage-88<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

       The 
\nlion indicates force and courage, and strength and power. The lower vital is not
\nlion-like.  \n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

       It all depends
\non the attitude of the tiger. If tierce and hostile it may be a form of an
\nadverse force, otherwise it is simply a power of vital nature which may be
\nfriendly.<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The bull is an
\nemblem of strength and force. It is also in the Veda an image of the Gods, the
\nmale power in Nature. Again, the bull is vāhana <\/i>of Shiva. It may be a
\ndream or an experience of any of these symbols, but is probably the first here.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      It [the boar]
\nis rajasic strength and vehemence. Much, however, depends on the context,\u2014these
\nfigures have also other meanings.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Yes, buffalloes indicate rash and obscure vital forces.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      A buffalo
\nconveys the idea often of an obscure violence in the nature\u2014here it seems tied
\nup\u2014i.e. under control but not eliminated. But it is not clear to what it
\nrefers\u2014if it is symbolic at all.\n<\/p>\n

 \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

        \n<\/p>\n

\nPage-89<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

       The goat
\nin vision is often symbolic of lust.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

       The dog is the
\nsymbol of devoted affection and obedience.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The dog usually
\nindicates fidelity and as it is yellow, it would be fidelity in the mind to the
\nDivine\u2014but the other black and white one is difficult to interpret\u2014it is
\nsomething in the vital, but the meaning of the black spots is not clear.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The deer is
\nperhaps a symbol of speed in the spiritual progress.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Hanuman =
\ncomplete bhakti.\n<\/p>\n

      The deer =
\nspeed in the spiritual path.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Frog = modest
\nusefulness.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The fish is
\nalways the moving vital mind making all sorts of formations.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-90<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

     [Flies]
\nSomething small in the smaller vital.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The image of
\nthe spider in the Upanishads is used for the Brahman creating the world out of
\nitself, dwelling in it and withdrawing it into itself. But what matters in a
\nsymbol is what it means for you. It may mean for you success or successful
\nformations.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The snake
\nindicates some kind of energy always\u2014oftener bad, but it also can indicate some
\nluminous or divine energy. In this experience it is an ascent of some force from
\nthe physical upwards. The other details are not clear.\n<\/p>\n

  \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The serpent is
\na symbol of force, very often a hostile or evil force of the vital plane.\n<\/p>\n

      The sea is a
\nsymbol of a plane of consciousness.\n<\/p>\n

      The white light
\nis a manifestation of pure divine force descending from one of the truth-planes
\nleading to the supramental.\n<\/p>\n

  \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The opening of
\nthe hood indicates the victorious or successful activity of the Energy indicated
\nby the snake.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-91<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

       The serpent
\nwith the hood over the head generally indicates future siddhi.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      It is in answer
\nto your aspiration that the Mahakali force descended\u2014the serpent is the Energy
\nfrom above working in the vital answering to the Serpent Kundalini which rises
\nfrom below. The white fire is the fire of aspiration, the red fire is the fire
\nof renunciation and tapasya, the blue fire is the fire of spirituality and
\nspiritual knowledge which purifies and dispels the Ignorance.\n<\/p>\n

  \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The serpent is
\nthe symbol of energy\u2014especially of the Kundalini Shakti which is the divine
\nForce coiled up in the lowest (physical) centre, Muladhara, and when it rises it
\ngoes up through the spine and joins the higher consciousness above. Energies are
\nof all kinds and the snakes can also symbolise the evil powers of the
\nunregenerate vital nature\u2014but here it is not that.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

      The Lotus is
\nthe symbol of the opening of the centres to the Light. The Swan is the Indian
\nsymbol of the individual soul, the central being, the divine part which is
\nturned towards the Divine, descending from there and ascending to it.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The two
\nserpents interlaced are the two channels in the spine, through which the Shakti
\nmoves upward and downward.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The serpent
\nwith the six hoods is the Kundalini Shakti, the divine power asleep in the
\nlowest physical centre which, awakened<\/p>\n

    
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-92<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

in the yoga,
\nascends in light through the opening centres to meet the Divine in the highest
\ncentre and so connect the manifest and the unmanifested, joining spirit and
\nMatter.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      A lotus flower
\nindicates the open consciousness.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The opening of
\nthe lotuses in your experience means, I suppose, the opening of the true vital
\nand physical consciousness in which the spiritual being (the Swan) can manifest
\nwith all the consequences of that opening.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The Swan is a
\nsymbol of the soul on the higher plane.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The swan is the
\nliberated soul, the lotus is either the consciousness reddening to the colour of
\nDivine Love or else the symbol of the Divine Presence on earth.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The Hansa is
\nthe symbol of the being\u2014it regains its original purity as it rises until it
\nbecomes luminous in the Highest Truth.\n<\/p>\n

     
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-93<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

      The duck is
\nusually a symbol of the soul or inner being\u2014perhaps it was the four
\nbeings\u2014mental, psychic, vital and physical that you saw.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Both [the goose
\nand the swan] are symbols of the beings in a man \u2014but the goose or ordinary Hansa usually refers to the manomaya purusa.<\/i>\n<\/p>\n

  \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The bird is a
\nsymbol of the individual soul.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The bird is
\nusually a symbol of some soul power when it is not the soul itself\u2014here it is a
\npower (awakened in the soul) of the whitish blue light\u2014Sri Aurobindo’s light.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Birds often
\nindicate either mind-powers or soul-powers.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The dove
\nsignifies peace. The colours indicate the vital\u2014green would be self-giving in
\nthe vital, blue the higher consciousness in the vital. So it must be peace
\ncasting its influence from above on the vital.\n<\/p>\n

 \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 Page-94<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

      The white
\npigeon must be peace.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The peacock is the bird of victory.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The crane is
\nthe messenger of happiness.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      A dream like
\nthis of a child\u2014especially a new-born child\u2014 usually signifies the birth (or the
\nawakening) of the soul or psychic being in the outward nature.\n<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The child
\nusually signifies the psychic being\u2014new-born in the sense that it at last comes
\nto the surface. The colour of the cloth would mean that it comes with health
\n(internal and external or both) and the spiritual riches.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The child (when
\nit does not mean the psychic being) is usually the symbol of something new-born
\nin some part of the consciousness. Red indicates many different things according
\nto
\nthe shade.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage-95<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

       The flute is
\nthe symbol of a call\u2014usually the spiritual call.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The flute is
\nthe call of the Divine.\n<\/p>\n

  \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The conch is
\nthe symbol of the spiritual call.\n<\/p>\n

  \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The conch is
\nthe call to realisation.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The conch is
\nperhaps the proclamation of victory.\n<\/p>\n

     \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 It [a pearl]
\nmay be a representation of the "bindu", which is a symbol of the infinite in the
\nexceedingly small, the individual point which is yet the Universal.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

     
\n[Vinā] <\/i>Harmony.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The crown is
\nthe sign of fulfilment.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage-96<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

      The crown
\nindicates the higher consciousness in its static condition, the wheel its
\ndynamic action. The red light is the Power sent down to change the physical.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The book
\nindicates some kind of knowledge.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The ears
\nsignify usually the place of inspired knowledge or else of inspired
\nexpression\u2014red and gold mean truth and power joined together.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The building is
\nthe symbol of a new creation.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The pyramid is
\nusually a symbol of aspiration\u2014reddish perhaps because it is in the physical.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The cross is
\nthe sign of the triple being, transcendent, universal and individual.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Yes, the
\ncircular movement and the chakra are always signs of energy in action, generally
\ncreative action.\n<\/p>\n

 \n<\/p>\n

\nPage-97<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

       The [Sudarshan]
\nChakra symbolises the action of Sri Krishna’s force.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      A revolving
\ndisc means a force in action on the nature. The whitish blue light is known as
\nKrishna’s light, also as Sri Aurobindo’s light. White is the Mother’s. Perhaps
\nhere it is a combination.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The wheel is
\nthe sign of an action of Force (whatever force may be indicated by the nature of
\nthe symbol) and as it was surging upwards it must be the fire of aspiration
\nrising from the vital (navel centre) to the Higher Consciousness above.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The bow is a
\nsymbol of the force sent out to reach its mark.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Tobacco is
\nassociated with tamas and incense-sticks with adoration.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

      The image of
\njourneying always signifies a movement in life or a progress in sadhana.\n<\/p>\n

   \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage-98<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

      A journey in a
\nboat or other conveyance means always a movement in the yoga\u2014often an advance or
\nprogress.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      A journey in
\ncarriage, train, motor car, steamer, boat, aeroplane etc. indicates a movement
\nin the sadhana. The white horse may be the sattwic mind and the red horse the
\nvital rajas giving energy and both combining to make a progress.\n<\/p>\n

  \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Aeroplane,
\nsteamer and train are always symbols of a rapid progress or forward movement.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The railway
\nline is a symbol of rapid progress.\n<\/p>\n

 \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      When you find
\nyourself flying it is always the vital being in the subtle body in the vital
\nworld that is doing it.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The piece of
\nflesh indicates something restless in the physical being which stands by its
\nrestlessness and excessive irritability in the way of the full flow of the
\nAnanda. In the dreams this became active and was eliminated by the pressure of
\nthe psychic.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nPage-99<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

       Yes. The
\nrobbers are as in the Veda vital beings who come to steal away the good
\ncondition or else to steal the gains of the sadhana.\n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      These vital
\ndreams are not interpretable unless there is an evident clue. Aunt or mother
\nusually indicates the ordinary physical Nature, a closed room would be some part
\nof the physical nature that was not open to the light, bats would mean forces of
\nthe night i.e. ignorant movements finding a lodging in the obscurity of the
\nunenlightened nature.\n<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      Symbolically,
\nif the dream is symbolic, the falling of teeth means the disappearance of old or
\nfixed mental habits belonging to the physical mind.\n<\/p>\n

  \n<\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The feeling of
\nbeing dead in a vision or dream experience comes when something in the being is
\nto be silenced into entire inactivity and ceases to exist as a part of the
\nnature. It may be a very small part, but as during the process the consciousness
\nis concentrated in it and identified with it for the purpose of the working, the
\nfeeling is that "I am dead". When you said "I am dead, now let me get up and
\ngo", it simply meant "The thing is done and the process is over. There is no
\nneed to identify myself with this part any longer." There is no indication in
\nthe\n<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

\nPage-100<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

experience as
\nto what the thing was that passed through this experience.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      It is the
\npurification of the physical that is usually indicated in the symbol of burning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

     *                                                            
\n*<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The vision you
\nsaw was a symbol of the outward physical consciousness obscured by the ordinary
\nmovements (clouds), but with the spirituality (the moon) still spreading its
\nlight everywhere from behind the ordinary human ignorance. The dog indicates
\nsomething in the physical (the pan that is faithful, obedient etc.) waiting
\nconfidently for the Light to come.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

      The fire you
\nfelt was the fire of purification and the heat came because it was burning up
\nsome resistance,\u2014after that is burnt out there was coolness and peace and
\nquietude. The voices and sounds and impression of X being there indicate a
\nconfused activity of the occult sense in the vital which hears things other than
\nthe physical. When this kind of thing comes, there has to be a quiet rejection
\nin the being and the thing will pass away. Some people get interested and have a
\nlot of trouble because they get into the habit of hearing voices and seeing and
\nfeeling things which are only partly or sometimes true but mixed with much that
\nis false and misleading. It is good that there was something in your vital being
\nwhich rejected it.\n<\/p>\n

    
\n\n<\/p>\n

\nPage-101<\/p>\n

\n\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Section Two   VISIONS AND SYMBOLS     surface or waking consciousness but has a latent capacity (which can be perfected by training and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-on-yoga-2-tome-two","wpcat-85-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3545\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}