Meditation on the Master
according to
C.W. Leadbeater (2)
The second small lotus represented as just beneath the heart chakra is also a special feature of this centre. It is used as a place for meditation upon the form of the guru or the Aspect of the Deity which especially appeals or is assigned to the worshipper. Here the devotee imagines an island of gems, containing beautiful trees, and an altar for worship, which is described as follows in The Gheranda Samhita:
Let him contemplate that there is a sea of nectar in his heart; that in the midst of that sea there is an island of precious stones, the very sand of which is pulverized diamonds and rubies. That on all sides of it there are Kadamba trees, laden with sweet flowers; that, next to these trees, like a rampart, there is a row of flowering trees, such as malati, mallika, jati, kesara, champaka, parijata, and padma, and that the fragrance of these flowers is spread all round, in every quarter. In the middle of this garden, let the yogi imagine that there stands a beautiful Kalpa tree, having four branches, representing the four Vedas, and that it is full of flowers and fruits. Insects are humming there and cuckoos singing. Beneath that tree, let him imagine a rich platform of precious gems, and on that a costly throne inlaid with jewels, and that on that throne sits his particular Deity, as taught to him by his Guru. Let him contemplate on the appropriate form, ornaments and vehicle of that Deity.
The worshipper uses his imagination in creating this beautiful scene so vividly as to become enwrapped in his thought and to forget the outer world entirely for the time being. The process is not, however, entirely imaginative, for this is a means to obtain constant contact with the Master. Just as the images of persons made by one who is in the heaven-world after death are filled with life by the egos of those persons, so the Master fills with his real presence the thought-form produced by his pupil. Through that form real inspiration and sometimes instruction may be given. An interesting example of this was presented by an old Hindu gentleman who was living as a yogi in a village in the Madras Presidency, who claimed to be a pupil of the Master Morya. When that Master was travelling in Southern India years ago he visited the village where this man lived. The latter became his pupil, and declared that he did not lose his Master after he went away, for he used frequently to appear to him and instruct him through a centre within himself.
The Hindus lay much stress upon the necessity for a Guru or Master, and they reverence him greatly when he is found. They constantly reiterate the statement that he must be treated as divine; The Tejobindu Upanishad says: “The furthest limit of all thoughts is the guru.” They maintain that were one to think of the glorious qualities of the Divine Being, one’s imagination would still fall below the perfections of the Master. We who know the Masters well realize the truth of that; their pupils find in them heights of consciousness splendid and glorious beyond all expectation. It is not that they consider the Master equal to God; but that that portion of the Divine which the Master has attained outshines their previous conceptions of it.
The Chakras, Ch. V, “The Secondary Heart Lotus”
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