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spiritual experiences. I tried my utmost to embrace the school's peculiar Hindu-
Christian religious premise. It was easy for me to admire and cherish the figure
of Krishna, imagining Him as the quintessence of every beauty; later I became
acquainted with the figure of the Divine Mother, who was not the Madonna, but
a sweetening of the idea of the goddess Kali. My affection for P.Y.'s writings was
genuine. Sometimes I considered a particular thought of P.Y. so appealing and
perfect that I would write it down on a sheet of paper and keep it on my desk.
I then received the two techniques Hong-Sau and Om. The first one
(called Hong-Sau because of the employed Mantra (which translates as ''I am
He'') slows down the breath and the whole psycho-physical system; the second
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one concerns itself with listening to internal (astral) sounds melting into the Om
sound. I didn't receive these instructions at the same time but with an interval of
two months between. This gave me the splendid opportunity to concentrate on
the first technique for many weeks; only then would the combination of the two
techniques come, the first in the morning and a total immersion in the second at
night. Thus, I could experiment with the meaning and beauty of each.
Our group received the visit of an elderly lady who had personally
corresponded with P.Y. Thanks to her earnestness, sincerity, and long-time loyal
discipleship she had been authorized to help us with meditation. Her
temperament was very sweet and more inclined to understanding rather than to
censorship. She demonstrated the so-called "Recharging Exercises" (I had
already learned them from the written lessons). These exercises were similar to
isometric stretches and were practiced while standing; peculiar to them, however,
was that the Prana was directed to all the parts of the body through
concentration.
Then she reviewed the Hong-Sau technique. She went on to clarify that
the Hong-Sau technique was not easy at all, in spite of its apparent simplicity;
but encouraging us with a smile, she concluded: "The technique contains all you
need to come into contact with the Divine Essence". 6
Then she dwelt on the Om technique. 7 She explained that P.Y. had tried
to explain the teaching of the Trinity in a new way. Om is the "Amen" of the
Bible  the "Holy Ghost", the "witness", a sound; a proof of the vibration of
energy sustaining the universe. The Om technique, discovered by the mystics
long ago, makes it possible to detect this vibration. Thanks to this technique it is
also possible to be guided toward the experience of the "Son"  the Divine
awareness that is present inside the above-mentioned energetic vibration. At the
end of one's spiritual journey, one can reach the highest reality, the "Father" 
the Divine awareness beyond every existing thing in the universe.
In that happy period of my life I tried tracking down in spiritual literature any
movement or eminent figure who had a link with "Om." There is no doubt that Saint
John of the Cross heard the typical rushing water sound of the Om vibration. He gave a
splendid description of his meeting with the "resounding rivers", the "silent music", the
"sounding solitude". Teresa of Avila in her book "The Interior Castle" wrote: "It roars
like many big rivers with waterfalls, there are flutes, and a host of little birds seem to be
whistling, not in the ears, but in the upper part of the head, where the soul is said to
have its special seat." "Seek the Sound that never ceases, seek the sun that never sets",
wrote the great mystic Rumi. "The universe was manifested out of the Divine Sound; from It
came into being the Light." (Shams-i Tabriz%2ł).
6
Later on, this technique was destined to give me excellent results by ideally establishing a
connection between each breath and a different Chakra  but I write about this in Appendix 4 to the
third part of the book.
7
This technique does not belong to those included in the original Kriya Yoga, wherein the internal
sound perception happens without closing the ears. It is not an invention by P.Y. It had been plainly
described in the books of classical Yoga, called Nada Yoga  "the Yoga of the sound." It is a good
preparation for Kriya since instead of putting the accent on "doing", it teaches the attitude of
"perceiving."
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The lady's explanation was characterized by such a sacred flavor that it stayed
with me for several months, helping me to overcome the beginning phase of the
practice, when it seems unlikely that the sounds will manifest. The results
obtained through the intensive practice of the Om technique were very concrete.
I remember now the time spent in that slightly illuminated room where I led a
cloistered existence. The rainy days and early-onset evenings of Winter helped
my seclusion and strengthened my determination to turn on, through meditation,
an internal sun. Some weeks of zealous practice passed without any result, but
one day I became aware of a clear inner sound. It happened after ten minutes of
calm effort, just upon returning to my state of full awareness, after having been
lost in some sweet reverie. This sound continued during my mental roaming but
now only was I realizing its nature. It was like the humming of a mosquito. By
listening intently to it, it became the feeble sound of a musical instrument
playing far away. When my breath almost disappeared, it seemed like the tolling
of a bell echoing at dusk from the deep green of woody hills. Light, soft as
falling petals, it knocked gently on the doors of my heart, giving total
contentment and ease, as if the spiritual path had come to its fulfillment.
Recollections of my infancy were vibrating at the periphery of my awareness
without disturbing my introverted mood. In times of misfortune, there was
always a feeling of protection like a vast, comforting smile surrounding me. The
sound I was listening to, enchanted and thrilled, brought me now the same sweet
feeling of relief. It had in itself all the Beauty ever experienced. It was the gilded
thread around which the experiences of love, the most involving, the most
exalted ones grew like splendid crystals. The healing of old wounds was attained
by real understanding. An azure, limitless immobility sweetly clasped my heart
with fingers of bliss. What I thought impossible to accomplish, whose absence
was so cruel to accept, materialized real and true before me.
One day I believed I was listening to the actual Om sound. I cannot define
it but I can't imagine anything being able to make a person feel so blissful. For
the first time in my life the concept of "devotion" had a meaning. The daily [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]