The Power of Association

Energy cannot be created and it cannot be destroyed, but it can be transferred, and transformed, right?

We continuously exchange energy with anyone, anything and everything we come into contact with, whether on a gross or subtle level. From a hug to a handshake, to catching another's eye or a passing thought, from the level of matter to the plane of consciousness, energy is moving through, pervading and influencing the balance of positive and negative.

Good association is everything.


If we associate with godly people who vibrate at higher frequencies; if by their association we are driven to perform good and selfless actions and to have pure thoughts, in an environment free from contamination, our own frequency is likely to adapt accordingly. The opposite is also true.

Live with the gods and become like a god; live with the dogs and become like a dog. But am I drawn to gods or dogs?

"Each soul projects a magnetic force according to its level of development, and we can observe this in our human interactions....

"The awakened soul, aware of its divine mission of Self-realisation, has an entirely wholesome magnetic force, while an unevolved soul may project a strong ego energy which also has its own sort of magnetism. We all gravitate towards that with which our soul has affinity. We draw to us people and circumstances that are in harmony with our soul and type of manifestation that it is seeking."

Thus it is stated by Dr David Frawley, in his book Yoga & Ayurveda - Self-Healing and Self-Realisation (Pgs 70-72), based on the Samkhya philosophy of the sage Kapila, from whence they spring. Ayurveda, the 'Science of Life' born of the timeless Indian Vedic knowledge, claims that the soul's magnetism is: a power of life - a current of energy that is generated by the magnetic force of the soul; a power of light - a power of insight, wisdom and understanding; and a power of love. Hence the soul is known as Sat-Chit-Ananda or Being-Consciousness-Bliss.

"As we evolve spiritually, the Godward magnetised soul draws to itself divine influences - deities, teachers or experiences - to aid its inner unfoldment. Our soul's magnetism, which is its power of love, brings us into various relationships and links us with other souls who further our soul quality and help us grow.

"The power of soul magnetism is the basis of the yogic emphasis of the guru (spiritual teacher) and satsanga (communion with the wise).

"Yet sometimes the soul draws us to people or situations that test it and challenge its growth as well, just as an advanced mountain climber will seek difficult slopes to climb."

Variegatedness

"Bhakta-Chitra!"

So spontaneously these words sprung from your mouth, without even knowing of their existence let alone their meaning. I was stunned.

You were just fumbling, trying to recall the name of that great book of transcendental knowledge that was recorded in the written word more than 5000 years ago in India, the Bhagavad Gita. During our frequent long discussions on religious philosophy, searching for the possible Golden Thread that might unite such different creeds as Achintya Bheda-Abheda Tattva - a school of Vedanta presenting the philosophy of the inconceivable oneness and difference of God and Creation - and Islam, I had mentioned this book and the wisdom it contains on several occasions.

Yet now you said something else, my Algerian friend, words you didn't know but that I recognised as Sanskrit, although their meaning I wasn't really sure of. 

Curious about this seemingly transcendental message, I went about investigating their significance the first opportunity I had. This is what I found:

भक्त bhakta adj. devote

भक्त bhakta adj. faithful

भक्त bhakta adj. devoted

भक्त bhakta m. devotee

चित्र citra adj. strange

चित्र citra adj. wonderful

चित्र citra adj. diversified

चित्र citra adj. various

चित्र citra adj. manifold

चित्र citra adj. in different ways

चित्र citra adj. bright

चित्र citra adj. bright colored

चित्र citra adj. variegated

चित्र citra n. vestige

चित्र citra n. picture

The message that was coming through with those two little words was mind-blowing.

Various types of devotees, variegated faiths, a manifold of different ways of being devoted to the Lord... all creating a strange yet wonderful brightly-coloured picture. 

And we could say that the whole picture, or absolute vision, is that there is variety to enable different kinds of people with different kinds of consciousness to have different kinds of relationship with the One Supreme Absolute. 

In Subjective Evolution of Consciousness, Swami BR Sridhar explains it as such:

"Revealed Truth is distributed in installments according to the capacity of the peaple of the time, place and circumstance. The revealed truth is found in varying degrees in the Bible, the Koran, the Vedas, and the other scriptures of the world. Through this process, the truth is partially revealed in different places of the world in proportion to the thinking and capacity of each particular group of people. The revealed truth is reliable, but still it is modified to fit the persons to whom it is extended. For that reason we find differences in the different versions of the revealed truth. It is said in the Srimad Bhagavatam that medicine may be hidden within candy to treat children. In the same way, the revealed truth may be hidden within the mundane concessions of ordinary religion to help the ignorant class of men."

Nobody is left out, such Love!

Then what by Bhakta Chitra? – The reminder that there is, ultimately, a non-sectarian conception of God, Love and Devotion... and it came through an almost other-worldly message.