A participant in the shibir (camp) said, "At the start of the preksha- dhyana session, it was said, 'perceive the soul through the soul.' I was delighted at the prospect of perceiving the soul, thus realising a long cherished dream. Man has in him an immortal longing to perceive the soul. Every individual wants to see it; every individual wants to find God. He wants to see God with open eyes, face to face. It therefore felt thrilling to know that I was going to meet my soul at last. Yet, the dhyana began with an exhortation to 'perceive your breathing'. I felt disappointed. I came here to perceive the soul and I was being led only to become aware of my breathing. A cherished dream seemed to disintegrate. Perception of the soul and perception of breathing seemed far apart! I wonder if perception of breathing was the be-all and the end-all of the shibir-experiment. If so, why should one come to participate in the shibir at all? Breathing is an involuntary thing – a reflex action; it goes on day in and day out, while at home or in the office, while asleep, sitting or standing. One could perceive breathing anywhere. Why take the trouble to come to the shibir for that? And why then did the session start with the exhortation, `Perceive the soul through the soul!'

Logic is logic. Every argument leads to counter-argument; a weak plea opposed by a stronger one. However strong a contention may be, it could be refuted by a still more powerful contention. Every argument has its contrary. At first, it looks as if a particular argument is irrefutable. But there is no such thing as an irrefutable argument. Only direct experience is irrefutable. Logic is never so. Logic is the play of intelligence. Whatever relates to the intellect can never be irrefutable. On the other hand, experience is related to consciousness and it takes upon itself an aspect of the eternal truth. Logic is not so invested.

I was not caught in logic and I was not so caught because only yesterday my preceptor told me, "No one ever got to truth through logic. Argument never led to the supreme." So I was not perplexed. I heard what the participant had to say and kept silent for a moment. Then I said, Brother! I do not want to refute your argument by presenting you with a counter argument. I only wish to relate a tale. An argument is dull and dry, but a story makes interesting reading. Why drag in dullness in a fascinating tale. The doubt in your mind arose because you are not acquainted with the law. If you knew the law, the problem would not have arisen. As long as we do not know the law, everything becomes a problem.

A man was on the run. Behind him ran a dog. The man was fleeing in fear of the dog. So, we have a man running ahead, followed by the dog. Why are they running? One could rightly answer this question only after one has grasped the rule. The man is running because of fear. In the moment of fear, the man's adrenal gives out larger secretions. The dog smells the adrenal from afar, and runs after it. The dog chases not the man, but the smell. If the man should abandon fear and suddenly confront the dog, the dog would lose the smell and automatically come to a halt. The fleeing man makes the dog chase him. Attracted by the smell, the dog cannot help chasing the man.Man does not know how to keep still. That is why he is followed by many a phantom. If he learns how to stand still, no one would chase him. If he stands still, those following him would also halt. But we do not know the law. A verse from Dashvakalik Agam reads: "Exercise restraint of hand, of foot, of tongue. " The meaning is quite obvious. Yet, when one knows the law, one finds this verse to be full of profound and hidden significances. The directions given therein are very important. One of the laws contained in this verse has already been discussed at length in my book entitled, "Aura". Today, I should like to dwell on another aspect.

The verse refers to three things, restraint of hand, restraint of foot, and restraint of tongue. Through exercising these restraints, one could acquire full mastery over one's senses. The question arises, how? The restraint of hand results in victory over the sense of touch. All the senses are interlinked. An acquaintance with the law governing their relationship makes it easier to conquer them. The masters of Ayurved have written: If the eye aches, massage with oil the toes of the foot; it would instantly relieve the eye." How strange! One might say. Can one conceive a relationship between the camel and the donkey? Similarly, it is difficult to conceive of a relation between the eye and the foot. And yet, there is a relation. The eyes and the feet are both related to the fire-element, the sense organ of which is the eye, and the action organ of which is the foot. The laws governing the two are interdependent. When you know the fundamental principle, the relation between the eye and the foot excites no surprise. When we walk in the hot sun, our feet get hot, and the eyes get hot too. When the eyes are swollen, keeping the feet in cold water affords relief. The fire-element has skin as its sense organ and the hand as its action organ. So, the hand and the skin ate interrelated. Exercising restraint over the hand, results in control over the sense of touch. Thus, an important fact stands revealed. And there are easier ways of achieving mastery over the other senses.

Shut the eye, and you will see no more. Block the ear with your finger, you cease hearing Push a flock of cotton in your nostrils, you stop smelling. But how to achieve control over the sense of touch? No easy means could be found. It was an intricate problem. But the very first direction in the maxim, "Exercise restraint 6f hand, offers an effective resolution of the problem. Restraint of hand leads to mastery over the sense of touch. By moderating the movement of the hand, the electricity thereof can be directed inwards and this would result in victory over the sense of touch. The air-element is related to the sense of touch and it is also related to our hands.

For those troubled by the wind, making them more and more restless during the meditation session, a special posture is prescribed for controlling the air element. The sadhak is advised to sit in Padma Asana, placing his little fingers at the lowermost thumb-joints. Keeping this posture for some time helps mitigate the fury of the air-element. Moderation of foot results in control over the eye. The restraint of the tongue restrains hearing; both are connected with the element of space, which has the ear as its sense organ, and the tongue as its action-organ.

When we are acquainted with all these laws, the verse in question seems to embody highly significant truths. in the absence of such knowledge, the exhortations in the couplet appear to be rather trivial. Exercise restraint of the hand! What kind of restraint? Shall we not move the hand at all? We are not slapping anybody, are we? What more is required? Exercise restraint of the foot! Well, we are not kicking anyone, are we? Then what kind of restraint? When we are not acquainted with the law, many problems arise. When we know the law, all problems dissolve by themselves. I then said to the camper who was interested in perceiving his soul but who was disappointed at the adjuration to perceive his breathing, "You are raising this question because you do not understand the law. If you come to know the law, the problem would not arise."