Illustration to
'Paradigm of the Anul Bird'

Anul Bird: Mythological bird. Examples and stories such as this are told in order to illustrate a human psychological point, and are not to be understood in a scientific-biological sense but as parables. Kirpal Singh writes in the Jap Ji that the Master makes frequent use of such concepts and doctrines from ancient Hindu lore; but that He does not refer to them in a spirit of scientific truth, but often as a Divine Poet, who employs allusion and mythology to drive his point home.

Kirpal Singh often said:

This world is not your home.

Sach Khand – Sat Lok: The Region of Truth: the fifth Inner Plane, the first completely Spiritual Plane, and the seat of Sat Purush. This is the stage to which Perfect Masters take Their disciples; Sat Purush Himself takes them further into the Absolute. Guru Nanak referred to this plane as Sach Khand; the Sufi Masters as Mukam-i-Haq – the seat of Truth. It is the court of the Saints. The first secure plane for the Soul, the drop is back into the Ocean.

The rising of the Soul from Sach Khand to Alakh, Agam and Anami is a gradual immersion in the Absolute. Therefore, the manifestations of Light and Sound decrease in Alakh and Agam; finally, in Anami there is neither Light nor Sound, neither darkness nor silence.

Kashi: Also called Benares; the holiest of all Hindu cities, and the lifelong home of Kabir. It was widely believed that everyone who dies in Kashi would be liberated; consequently, devout Hindus from all over the world try to reach Kashi during their last illnesses. It is said that Kabir, in order to expose the absurdity of such beliefs, deliberately left Kashi just before He died, and went to Magahar, about which it was widely believed that everyone who died there went to hell.

Hell: In the terminology of the Masters, 'hell' can refer to both a particularly difficult birth on earth and to the cycle of births and deaths in general, or to certain stages on the astral plane where particularly heavy karma is worked out. In no case this is eternal or everlasting; and when the karma is worked through, the Jiva is free to try again. But the only way to escape from the ever perseverative cycle of births is not only to be embodied as a human being but also to receive Naam.

(See 'The Wheel of Life' and 'The Mystery of Death,' by Kirpal Singh, 1894–1974.)

Yama: The death-god; another function of Kal.

Dharam Rai: The lord of justice or law; another name for Kal, often used in the Anurag Sagar. 

Simran: Remembrance; in the writings of the Masters, this term refers to remembrance of God through the repetition of the five basic Names, as they are given by the Master at the time of initiation. This repetition is done without tongue – that is, mentally – and is one of the three basic meditation practices of Surat Shabd Yoga. It also means to remain in a state of remembrance at all times even when not sitting in meditation, and is a protection against Kal.

Of the recognition of Shabd: The first half shows the esoteric identification of Naam – that is, Name – of God with Shabd; the second half says that the ability to recognise the Shabd – that is, to hear the Sound Currrent and to be pulled up by It – depends on the completion of Simran. This refers to the way in which the Spiritual Practices of Surat Shabd Yoga (Surat = attention, Shabd = Sound Current, Yoga = union, communion) lead to one another.

Japa: Repetition of a mantra, which distinguishes it from Simran.

With the unrepeated repetition: Ajapa Jap; often used in Sant Mat in order to refer to the practice of listening to the Sound Current or Shabd. Having still the attribute of hearing one does first hear the Sound from the right side – one is used to hear. To the same extent as this attribute disappears, one experiences the Sound as coming from above.

The infinite-petalled lotus: It is the thousand-petalled lotus in Sahasdal Kanwal, the highest astral plane, which is meant. From this pyramid-like formation, with its thousand lights the pranic currents emanate, which act as basic energies for physical, motor and metabolic processes in the subjacent planes.

It is important to understand that all similar thoughts of men conglomerate and soar to Sahasdal Kanwal. From there they push back down to the physical plane in form of corresponding reactions. According to the kind of thoughts and their reactions this can result in collective blessing, as for instance the advancement of a nation, general prosperity, peace, but also in natural disasters, wars etc. The tendencies of the collective karma of a nation can be seen on the basis of public opinion.

Accordingly, Kirpal Singh said:

[…] Every thought has its own effect, its own odour, its own colour, mind that. I tell you, those who have lusty thoughts, the odour from their body will be such that even if the body is cleansed every morning, they will again find that bad odour there. [Elsewhere Kirpal explained that people with lusty thoughts smell like 1 lakh = 100.000 sheep; Editor’s Note.] What results if you are feeling anger and are resentful or are always having something against somebody? That affects your body. You will find a bad odour there, like the smell of a cloth burning. If you are very greedy in eating, too voracious, the smell of your body will be like the bad odour of a fish. So there are different odour.

If your hearts are pure; if you have only good thoughts coming in you, striking you; if you have Love, thoughts of Love, thoughts of Spiritual Heights and Love for God; then the smell of your body will be like that of jasmine.

(See the pamphlet 'What is True Living,' by Kirpal Singh, 1894 –1974.)

The colour of Love is blue; yellow, white and gold are Spiritual Colours. The Inner Master always appears in the midst of golden Light.

Annie Besant writes about this subject:

[…] The astral body of a man whose thoughts are low and animal, is gross, thick, dense and dark in colour – often so dense that the outline of the physical body is almost lost in it; whereas that of an advanced man is fine, clear, luminous and bright in colour – a really beautiful object. In such a case the lower passions have been dominated, and the selective action of the mind has refined the astral matter. By thinking nobly, then, we purify the astral body, even without having consciously worked towards that end. And be it remembered that this inner working exercises a potent influence on the thoughts that are attracted from without to the astral body; a body which is made by its owner to respond habitually to evil thoughts acts as a magnet to similar thought-forms in its vicinity, whereas a pure astral body acts on such thoughts with a repulsive energy, and attracts to itself thought-forms composed of matter congruous with its own.

A human being, who starts emerging and improving, might already start working quite consciously and fruitfully in his astral body without being able to remember it during his accustomed day’s awareness.

[…] But if a person be observed who is much more developed, say one who is accustomed to function in the astral world and to use the astral body for that purpose, it will be seen that when the physical body goes to sleep and the astral body slips out of it, we have the man himself before us in full consciousness […].

Furthermore, she explains, that such a man’s physical body may still remain too unsubtle so that is would not be possible for the astral body to inform the physical brain about the knowledge and the experiences, which it gained during its stay in the astral world 'in full consciousness.' Thus the physical consciousness will not be able to remember any of the astral body’s experiences after the awakening of the physical body.

Herefrom it can be explained,

[…] that persons who are making real and even rapid progress in spirituality may be functioning most actively and usefully in the astral world without impressing on the brain when they return the slightest memory of the work in which they have been engaged […].

However, it is also possible, that the astral body when returning to the physical body 'succeeds in making a momentary impression on the etheric double and dense body.' Annie Besant explains, that in such a case, there 'is a vivid memory of an experience gained in the astral world,' when the physical body awakens again.

[…] but the memory quickly vanishes and refuses to be recalled, every effort rendering success more impossible, as each effort sets up strong vibrations in the physical brain, and still further overpowers the subtler vibrations of the astral. […]

All citations from:
Man and His Bodies – by Annie Besant,
The Astral or Desire Body,
(Theosophical Manual No. VII)
Anand Gholap Theosophical Institute, 2009

Kirpal Singh once said analogously to His disciples:

You are part of the Great Mystery. When you change, the whole is changed. When you reform yourself, the world is reformed.

Agochar: Indiscernible and unfathomable. Another description for Anami.

Adi Purush: Original Person; another name for Sat Purush.

Sohang: I and my Father are One. – That is, what the Jiva really is.

Kirpal Singh said, that a Soul reaching Sohang loved all and all problems were over.

Karma: The law of action and reaction, based on desire and I-hood, effecting continual wandering in the cycle of births and deaths – transmigration – throughout the three worlds – physical, astral, causal – ruled by Kal, and governing the fate or destiny of each life. Actions done in life, whether in thoughts, words, or deeds, form the basis of the karma for subsequent lives.

Galatians 6:5,7

For further information see 'The Mystery of Death' and 'The Wheel of Life,' by Kirpal Singh, 1894–1974.