Subjective Light (atma jyoti)

Subjective Light (atma jyoti) (January 4, 2022)

Atma jyoti or self-illumination is a subjective glare of spiritual light which emanates from the coreSelf. Many students of yoga aggressively pursue this light or would like it to declare itself. But how does a source of illumination see itself?

If something is other than, that something is objective to the viewer. But if something is the same, that something is subjective to the viewer which means that it must use subjective means to determine itself.

In meditation, one should learn how to use subjective perception to realize the light of the self. Consider three objects, a bird, sunlight and a fruit. In that case of three objects only the bird has visual perception. It does not illuminate anything not even itself. Still, it can use illumination of the only light source which is the sun. Here we have three factors involved in a scene, a light source, a visual perception means and a fruit.

Let us consider another circumstance where we have only a bird and a fruit. In this case however this bird is like the sun, where it emanates light but it also has a perception means which is visual. It also has eyes.

This bird illuminates and sees the fruit which it illuminates.

Now let us consider another scene, where we have only the bird. There is no sun and no fruit. The bird is present with eyes and with illumination power such that the illumination shines within the bird and into the environment around the bird. In this case however the eyes of the bird are useless because there are no objects exterior to the bird. How can the bird realize itself? Can its illimitation energy reveal itself?

Something similar faces the yogi in meditation, whereby the physical eyes and the eyes of the subtle body prove to be insufficient for revealing the light of the self (atma jyoti).

Because of long use of the physical and subtle eyes, the yogi is habituated to objective-viewing of objects which are external to the psyche. There is no practice of subjective viewing of the coreSelf. Hence the method for subjective assessment is unknown. In fact, if there is no objective viewing the self is left which no sensual perception. It assumes that nothing is present because it lacks the means of subjectively contacting itself.

Yogeshwarananda from within my psyche, did a meditation to show how to access the light of the self by using subjective perception. This involves the use of naad sound resonance. While he showed this, Yogi Bhajan was present.

Yogeshwarananda’s method is to relax away from the quest for finding objective light in the psyche. Instead, one should look without looking and feel without feeling, the energy which emanates from the core. While peering down, up or ahead for a short distance, short enough that the rays of interest do not go beyond the membrane of the psyche, one should hold to the energy and wait.

If one finds that one loses this mild focus, one should resituate in naad resonance and again look without looking while peering down, up or ahead for a short distance. As soon as one feels a glow of light usually slightly to the right or left of center, one should hold it timidly. It may elude one’s grasp. Or it may respond to be in one’s grasp. Then it may hold the focus and feels as if one is in total darkness but seeing gold nuggets which are like small pebbles.

This will disappear and one will find the self to be out of it, to be near naad or to be in the occupied mind viewing images or ideas. This practice must be repeated again and again. Eventually it will be a definite step by step practice which causes the yogi to stay in touch with the light of the self. This gives relief from the self’s craving for spiritual light.