WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE THE HIEROPHANT OF THE ORDER OF THE NAGA BRAHMAS?

Well, being the Hierophant of this order entails selfless dedication to serve an untiring effort to surmount the problems that sometimes beset our organization. I have to make sure that the chelas or students receive proper guidance in thie mystical studies so that they won't get waylaid.

The great masters are products of this school, so am I and so you are. Our tradition of esoteric techniques spans thousands of years, which remain essentially unchanged and only modified to suit the changes of time. Masters come and masters go, but the school remains. Whatever I have attained, I have achieved it by diligently practicing the teachings of the Order. I am no different from you nor are you different from me. A kindergarten pupil soon later knows that learning ABC is no different  from learning calculus or quantum physics. It is just a question of time. Of patience. Of will to forego the joys of immediate passions. Soon the pupil too becomes a college student and eventually graduates upon passing all the requisite examinations and fulfilling the requirements of graduation. He now becomes a teacher or a manager of a company. That is true in life. That is true in mysticism.

IF I AM RIGHT, THE WORD "HIEROPHANT" MEANS " REVEALER OF WISDOM". WHAT IS THIS KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU IMPART TO THE MEMBERS?

I do not, in the strictest sense of the word, impart knowledge. No one can. Real knowledge comes from God and those who "know" are just channels or media of expression through which this KNOWLEDGE can freely flow. It is by the student's own endeavor that he /she becomes attuned to God-Consciousness, Absolute Truth or whatever you may call it. What is imparted rather are the techniques and exercises that would enable the student to have such attunement.

The order has its own repository of teachings handed down from the most sublime esoteric tradition. The satsang or lessons every month guide the chela in the arduous path of mysticism. These teach him/her how to SAFELY awaken the chakras or psychic/energy centers of man, how to acquire magnetic personality, how to develop creativity, how to become successful and at the same time how to attune with the music of the spheres, or, in Oriental parlance, the Shabd or the Logos, how to become a powerful healer through potent Naga healing methods, how to meditate and visualize effectively, and much, much more gnosis or wisdom duly given to those who are sincere enough in seeking the Path.

WHAT IN ESSENCE IS A MYSTIC?

A mystic to me is a master of life. But how do we master life - with all its relentless woes, momentary pleasures, and unsatisfied cravings? That is difficult thing to answer. It is what makes us human … to explore life's petty ordeals and intricate eccentricities and thereby find joys as well as pain, hope as well as despair. We are that. We have the choice to become what and who we aspire to be. Life is continuum. Life is a matter of choice. Choices have no end - that's why we make our own heaven and hell. But heaven and hell is a relative word. What we may be heaven to you, may be outrageous to another. Following the Middle Path, Maharishi Yogi has found heaven in between two toughts while an aspiring tantrik adept found it in between two legs. That is why there is evolution: the levels of our consciousness differ. The consciousness of a Buddha is so different from the consciousness of an ordinary person. That is why our interpretations of what reality is are so vast and different.

We approach and interpret reality with the use of our sense perception.  We are likened unto a man groping in the dark and, finding a rope, mistake it instead for a snake and frightfully flee.  So fear and other negative emotions are simply products of our ignorance.  When the light of knowledge dawns in, all fear and sorrow will be vanguished.

A mystic thus is well aware of these intricate realities and endeavors to find the light and, having found, shares it with his fellowmen.  He sees God's power - which is Love - in every creation.  As Naga Brahmas members, we do not concern ourselves with crystal gazing, tarot cards, channeling, palm readings and other mumbo - jumbos of pseudo - mystics.  Our question is: Did Jesus do that? Did Buddha do that? Did Zoroaster do that? The greatest masters that ever walked on earth only taught about how this ocean of samsara/illusion can be crossed.  That is our main concern: To actually, personally, and experientally realize the divinity within us.  That is what mysticism is all about.


WHAT DIFFERENTIATES THE ONB FROM OTHER SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT/MYSTICISM?

Our school, the ONB, is an advocate of TOTAL HUMAN FREEDOM.  Freedom from what? Ignorance.  Misery.  Bigotry.  How?  Through the realization of our true, divine Self caged in this mortal body that is enslaved for so long by our illusions and desires.

The ONB is neither a cult that engages in negative practices like mediumship, channeling, and other sophistries nor a religious organization that imposes strict moral standard and code of conduct.

We believe that those who come to the portals of our Order are mature and responsible enough to distinguish the right from wrong, and therewith make the necessary FREE choice.  We put much value in man's free will which differentiates him from any other being in this universe.  The objective of concentration in essence is to develop one's Will, subjecting all our emotions unto it.  In life, if one has conquered his emotions, then half the battle is won.  Without concentration and meditation training, this feat however is nowhere possible.

Man, whose emotions are subject to his will, becomes master of this life.  To master emotion and all bodily desires, one needs a strong WILL.  And Will is developed and strengthened through the practice of concentration and meditation.

WHAT BENEFITS COULD WE DERIVE FROM BECOMING A MEMBER OF THE ONB?

If you had intently listened to the words I said or understood the words strung on the Naga Brahmas lessons, I assure you, you have been benefited.  Your mind may not be aware but your soul surely had been well-fed.  A kindergarten pupil, you see, does not know yet or can interpret the importance of learning ABC but, as adults, we all know the necessity of education in molding and, in fact, living this life.

We do not say that membership to this Order will make you a better person than your neighbor or your boss or even the president.  We do not say that you will be saved from your sins, as other religions would have us believe, thru mere membership to our Order.  We do not say that you will become a saint, like Mother Theresa, or a miracle - prophet, like Moses, or a person of Solomonic wisdom (not to mention his wives), or an emperor like Napoleon Bonaparte, by just becoming our member.  We do not say that your third eye will instantaneously be opened, or you'll be a hundred times richer, or the angels of God shall come upon you and sing you the glories of heaven by just becoming our member.

We promise you no glories nor benefits.  We can only say this: membership to our Order will open yourself to a myriad of possibilities.  By acquiring the lessons, preserved and disseminated by our Order, you will have ready access to knowledge that is timeless and of universal application, which you can use to REALIZE ALL YOUR HEART'S DESIRE, for your own advantage.  What I mean by "advantage" is that this knowledge is not known or possessed by majority of our fellow beings, not because they don't deserve it, but simply because they are not ready receive it nor do they make the necessary steps in acquiring it.  Even Jesus had this to say to his personal disciples: "The secret of the Kingdom of God has been given to you.  But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding (MarK 4:11-12)." Was Jesus then selfish? Definitely not.  He knows for a fact how ordinary men trample on sacred jewels.

Thus we can only say that you'll find gold if you make your own efforts in finding it.  We do and must not rely on hearsay: we advocate and rely on PRACTICE.  Religious fanatics may say that there is heaven and hell, spiritists may say that there are spirits - good and malevolent - interacting with us but are on other dimensions: what does that mean if even the one who says that such and such exists has not PERSONALLY SEEN this and that?  That's a lot of nonsense.  That's hearsay, which, though there may be some truth in it, cannot be totally relied upon.

In the similar vein, the Naga Brahmas lessons may say that gold may be found herein and prescribe the appropriate and time - tested techniques but without diligently practicing these, you'll end up with tanso (bronze).  So if you wish to obtain the maximum benefit, practice, meditate.  If you look for miracles to happen so that you'll practice, I personally do say: look within your heart, that Miracle is waiting to reborn.

YOU TALKED ABOUT MEDITATION.  WHY SHOULD WE MEDITATE?

Actually, most of us are not yet meditating but are merely concentrating.  Trying to concentrate, that is.  Dhyana or meditation only follows when we have perfected the art of dharana or concentration.  You may sit down for years and years but unless you are adept in concentrating, there is little hope of progress.  This is why the Masters teach us one - pointedness: we should focus our attention on whatever we are doing, be it menial or sacred tasks.  We should train it to submit to our will.  We should direct it and not the other way around.

In the Bhagavad - Gida, the avatar Krishna tells Arjuna: "For the mind is restless,turbulent and obstinate/that to control it/is much harder than subduing the wind.'

The mind is the worst master but the best servant.  The ordinary mortal, according to modern science, merely uses one tenth of the mind's capacity.  Through concentration and meditation, we can tap its utmost potential.  And for the mind, there is neither time nor space.  It knows to bounds.  There are no boundaries It cannot cross, no space it cannot engulf, no depth it cannot fathom.  It is the tool to Higher Consciousness.

Once controlled and purified of all Samsara (Mental Impressions), only then can we see Reality hidden by the veil Maya(illusion) and freely commune with the Superconscious Mind.  I'll relate to you a story in Zen Buddhism about the reality we see as it is how:

"Two monks were arguing about a flag.  One said: 'The flag is moving'.  The other said: 'The wind is moving.'  A zen master, who happened to be passing by, told them: 'Not the wind, not the flag; mind is moving.'"

So, still your mind until you are no longer aware of its stillness.  Only a pure hand can carry a pure cup of wine without trembling, without breaking the cup, without spoiling the wine.  If you desire the Absolute, be worthy of that grace.  Sit down and learn to meditate.

If we truly love God, then we should devote some of our time in meditation, through which we can realize God's divinity within us; for Jesus has himself exhorted, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you." There is no other way of following God's command to "love Him with all your mind, with all your heart, with all your strength" than by meditation, in which our entire focus, our whole energy is centered on God. We should devote, thus, at least, 10% of our time to meditation - meaning, a day should not pass without meditating or praying for at least 2.4 hours.

Meditation must become a habit, ingrained in our subconscious mind, so that even we are not aware, our body automatically meditates.

COULD YOU THEN TEACH US HOW TO MEDITATE?

I cannot  delve deeply on that matter because  it is revealed only to sincere spiritual seekers belonging to the Order. Meditation techniques haphazardly practiced and inappropriate to the individual are always fraught with dangers. An aspirant of mystical knowledge should seek proper guidance so that negative effects may be avoided. We cannot just rely on hearsay  or books that teach these and that since NOT ALL can be written or verbally instructed. A blind man following a blind man will surely flounder.

Here, in our Order, we make sure that each chela  receives the meditation techniques suitable to his/her temperament, personality, age and sex  so that psychosomatic, emotional and mental disturbances maybe prevented as one awakens latent psychic/energy centers or chakras body.

However, a very simple technique to energize our body and give us peace of mind is to visualize the heart as a ball of brilliant white light. Vividly feel  that light to be the very imbodiment of joy, peace, purity, and power for about 5 - 15 minutes. Afterwards, make that light gradually grow bigger and bigger, three feet above, infront, at your back - enclosing the whole room, then the community - - until it engulfs the whole world and then the whole universe. Feel all creations to be suffused with this light of peace, joy and harmony. After which, be passive for about 3-5 minutes and then pray to the God of your heart, thanking Him for all the blessings you have received in this lifetime.

This technique, though it may seem simple and elementary has very beneficial effects on the practitioner. For one, it energizes and purifies the heart , through which the blood supply of   our body passes. Hence, when the heart is vitalized, our blood likewise become purified and become infused with God - force. When the heart functions well, every cell and organ  in our body likewise become energized. Mystics breathe a higher form of prana or ultra - molecular Life - giving force which pervades and permeates all creation. It has been affirmed by clairvoyant vision that during meditation, the blood that passes in the heart of meditators has a brilliant and fully energized auric color/element which is far vitalized than that of ordinary person.

By willfully radiating peace, joy and harmony to all creation we amass very good karma so that no matter how difficult our life circumstances may be, we can be sure that there will always be help and gifts along the way. Meditating on the heart makes our life become more vibrant and full of zeal. Meditating in the heart creates in us a very good aura that, in due time, people, whom we sometimes don't know, automatically confides their problem unto us and feel very muct at ease with our company.

In Hindu mysticism, the goddess of wealth, Laksmi, is said to reside in the heart so that we attract fortune by meditating on it. Likewise, we come to know and understand the hearts of men by meditating on the heart and we easily attract, though not deliberately the attention of the opposite sex. It develops in us a magnetic personality - which could thus turn us into a St. John or a Don Juan!

WHY DO WE FOCUS ON THE CENTER OF THE FOREHEAD DURING CONCENTRATION/MEDITATION?

We focus on that point because it is a sort of "gateway" to the other "world" or dimension. It is at that point where our so-called "third-eye" is physically located. Some people however misconstrue it as something "negative" or word due to its degenerated use by certain "spiritual" cults. Of course, there is no way to restrict the use of said symbol as it is universal. In Sanskrit, it is called the ajna chakra.

For most of us, this third eye is not yet opened; by opening this third eye we can "see" the same things we see and yet in another perspective. It's just like having an ultra-modern microscope through which we can see the true nature of things and everything around us. And what is the nature of everything around us? Energy. But why are things different from each other? Because energy has different vibratory levels. Light vibrates much faster than sound energy; and so is the vibratory rate of water much different from a rock or a chair. And how about Soul or spirit of God? Why don't we see them? Simply because we have not yet developed the "seeing faculty" that enable us to really see.

In the same way that with the physical eyes, we see physical or material things, with electron microscope we see atoms and electrons, so with the use of the "third eye" do we come to see the spiritual side of things.

God is like a billion-watt energy while an ordinary mortal is simply like a 50-watt bulb. Can such ordinary person accommodate that extent energy? Of course not; he will be shattered to pieces. So the point is in order to attune to the God-force and comprehend Him, our body must vibrate at the same rate as that divine force. And that is not an impossible feat to accomplish. The goal of life is not simply to "go and multiply." God has other commandments, among which was spoken by the avatar Jesus: "Be ye perfect as thy Father in heaven is perfect." But how do we become perfect? By reading holy books? By hearing sermons? No way, man. Perfection comes through diligent practice. Practice of what? We could only point to the practices of the great masters of wisdom like Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Lao-Tzu, and others. How did these personages attained to that state of perfection? Their  biographies only point to the fact that they all practiced meditation and acquired initiations from the authentic schools of wisdom. This is THEIR SECRET.

These spiritual practices are secret and guarded with utmost zealousness.  The aspiring students during those times had to undergo severe trials before being granted those secret meditation teachings.  Why so?  Because knowledge of these techniques awakens latent powers within man, like clairvoyance, invisibility, and the like; so that the Guardians of these teachings must make sure that whosoever receive them must treasure and use them for good purposes only.  The Greek philosopher Plato, for instance, was denied three times in Egypt before being finally admitted to the outer portals of a mystery school.

The knowledge of the Holy is something so sacred that it must not fall into the hands of the wicked.  It was related that a drunken household in the palace of King Solomon got hold of a book wherein written were the divine names of the angels of God whom King Solomon invoked in his prayers.  The said drunken man, not knowing that they pertain to the divine, read the book aloud and what happened was that he was stricken blind and lame by the blasphemy he uttered.
Because the ajna is the channel through which one sees God, it is also the "eye" which "beholds" the true nature of the universe around us.  It is no secret that normal human perception is very limited.  There are sounds we cannot hear (but dogs and other animals can) and visual levels that are beyond the human range (we cannot see infrared and ultraviolet light).

Mystics and scientists concur that the world, in its bare essence, is an undifferentiated mass of light.  This universe is a vast field of energy or vibrations.  You and I, all matter, all solids, liquids and gases are but manifestations of vibrating energy.  This is confirmed by Einstein's famous equation: E=mc2.  Energy ("E") and mass ("m" a measure of matter) are interchangeable, meaning that one can be converted into the other.  The one and only constant in the equation is "c" - the speed of LIGHT.  Light, of course, is a form of energy vibration, which is the fundamental character and composition of  the universe.

"Let there be Light! And there was light."  As stated in Genesis 1:3, this was God's first command in the creation of the universe.  With this command, He brought into being the structural essential of the universe: LIGHT.  This same essence is also the medium through which God manifests.  Both saints and common man who have "seen" God testify that He appeared as a Being of intense Light, or as a Being of Flame or Fire.  In the Genesis, it is related that God appeared to Moses in a Burning Bush; likewise Jesus appeared to His disciples, during the transfiguration, as a being of light: "His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. (Matthew 17:2)"  Wasn't it said that  "For our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29)"?  Even angels, ordinarily imagined to have human figure, appear "like lightning" that unready bodies tremble at their sight (Mark 28:3).

Thus, one who has mastered the meditation on the spiritual eye perceives matter in its real form: light.  In him, delusions concerning matter and its gravitational weight are destroyed.  He also comes to perceive in his true essence.  As stated in Matthew 6:22: "If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."

Now, we come to one of the basic principles of mysticism: Energy follows thought. Thus, wherever you focus your thought, there your energy will be. If you focus on the Light of God, your life will be full of it. If you immerse yourself in dark ways, pain and suffering will follow you throughout. In essence, thought itself is energy. And thought energy is the most potent energy there is. It travels much faster than light: think of the sun and, instantly, you're there but light has to still reach it in a matter of seconds. Thus, the fundamental nature of energy itself is thought or consciousness. By altering our thought, we can affect our body's energy levels, we can attract wealth, we can attune to the Cosmic Mind or God consciousness. Hence, this stresses the need for meditation to purify our thoughts. Here you see the rationale behind visualizing and feeling one's self as a Body of Light and divine energy. Whatever you think, you become it - that's a basic tenet in mysticism. That is the idea behind the practice guru yoga or assumption of God-form. For just as you dip your finger into water, it then gets wet, so a fervent visualization of yourself as a Being of Light will transform you into That.
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