The Inner Temple

Wisdom Teachings
The Basics
The Journey Inside

As long as we are in the physical body, it is difficult to meditate on the Divine as something purely abstract without any form. Therefore, from time immemorial, people have constructed temples and other ritual places and have tried to kindle God consciousness in the worshippers with artistic representations of the Divine. The fine arts of the ancients were all consecrated to divine worship and to temple service, in order to bring about noble sensations and elevate the human beings to divine planes. Golden outer temples should lead to the inner golden temple. But the outer temples were desecrated and destroyed over and over again. The Temple of Ibez of the Atlantean times was destroyed, also the golden temples of India, Egypt, Israel, Greece, Mexico… The erection of external temples also easily leads to money and power politics, since mankind has grown excessively into the material. Outer temples and idols belong to the material plane and serve the purpose of sanctifying the mind and transcending the different outer and subtle planes. Excessive material inclinations, however, close our subjective consciousness. It is a symbol of the present day that holy places are fought over and temples are closed. Also, churches are sold and used for secular purposes.

The Masters of Wisdom, therefore, do not recommend building glorious outer structures. Instead, they recommend building inner temples and ashrams. Objectivity is called the outer temple, subjectivity is called the inner temple. We are used to a life in objectivity, but we can voluntarily turn to subjectivity, and from there we can again reach objectivity. This is called the opening and closing of the inner as well as the outer temple. The ability to consciously go to the subjective side is the first step towards the realisation of the inner temple.

Our mind has two aspects: the objective and the subjective mind. The objective mind constantly moves out through the senses. The subjective mind appears when the senses are withdrawn and when the energy previously oriented outwards is directed inwards to its origin. When we close our eyes and continue thinking about external activities, we have not yet turned to inner activity. It is as if we had taken work home from the office; we have not yet arrived at home. As long as the outer temple is open, the inner temple remains closed. The inner temple exists continuously but only for those who can turn inward. It is a secret temple; the secret comes from the silence. The one who turns inward is silent as far as the outer is concerned. Silence is a happening, but not a doing. The temple work takes place in the subjective mind; it is not done by the objective mind. The daily practice of turning the mind inward with meditation is the first initiation into inner temple work.

We can associate with the inner with the help of the respiration, or alternatively with the help of the mind which is engaged with something very interesting to the mind, for example a sunrise, a beautiful white lotus or a picture of the Master. We can visualize a sublime image or a beautiful form of light in human form. We should imagine the same every day. If we get disturbed, we should try keep coming back to it.

When we work with the respiration and observe the pulsation, it is enough to make three breaths to connect with the pulsation. Once we are focused on the pulsation, the respiration becomes secondary. We are then at the doorstep of the inner temple. Our attention gradually approaches the point where the inhalation turns to exhalation. There we find the source of respiration as pulsation. We are not “doing” it, it is a happening in us. The pulsating principle is generally perceived in the heart centre. The mind wonders how this movement is happening and it waits at the threshold of the pulsation.

On the other side of the pulsating principle there is the Master of our own being, I AM. At the threshold we put down everything that has collected around the I AM - the many identities of the outer world - and the individual 'I am' is oriented to the universal I AM. When we follow respiration into the chamber of the heart, we are connected with the universal consciousness and with the universal existence. There is no more objectivity in the golden inner temple. We rest in deep contemplation and are not localized, that is, we do not relate to the surrounding.

The inner chamber is Atma, the Holy of Holies. It is the centre through which we reach the origin. The centre of Buddhi, the light of understanding, is right in front of the inner temple; it is the outer chamber of the heart. The mundane thinking and planning takes place in the solar plexus.

The heart centre is the gateway to the inner and more real existence. In the heart there is an aperture that leads us into the spinal system. On the vertical line that exists about and in our spinal cord, we can feel the pulsation of whirlpools of energy, the chakras, at certain places from the head to the base. When OM leads us into the inner chambers, we can listen the higher sounds happening upon the basis of the Sushumna. When we enter within the column, we are called a column of consciousness.

The subtle pulsation leads us from the chamber of the heart upwards to the Ajna centre. The Ajna centre is the throne from where we rule ourselves and our environment the King’s chamber of the temple. It is above the brow centre. The Ajna is the executive organ, the centre of Will, from where we are active as the soul. From there we return to the heart to rest. The scriptures recommend to go up to the Ajna centre and then function between the Ajna centre and the heart centre.

We can see golden light in the heart and can see diamond light in the head. The upper chamber in the head - at the brain - is called the 'cave of the bear', the Great Bear or the polar bear. Its colour is white. In the chamber of the heart we find the cave of the lion with golden colour. In the head the light is diamond, in the heart it is golden and in the lower areas it is bronze.

To meditate, we can gather with three deep breaths from the physical, emotional, and mental chambers in the temple of the heart. There we can visualise ourselves in a miniature form and then we can visualise above the head a column of light which goes up into the higher circles. We sit in a miniature form in the heart, and the head is a globe of light that is opened downwards. From there light pours down to us in a column, while we are at the heart as a pulsating principle. We imagine this situation and, with the help of a deep exhalation, we move slowly upwards to the triangle of the three qualities of the soul and the soul itself.

We can also meditate from the Ajna centre and connect to the Supreme. The divine energies flow from the Sahasrara and Ajna via the throat into the temple of the heart. From there, we begin to distribute the energy through thought, speech and action. With the help of OM, a channel is created to the heart and to the higher centres by letting the sound rise upwards. Developing the vertical channel is the most important way. But in order to be admitted into the inner chambers of the temple the only way is to serve the fellow beings. As far as we serve them without being proud we find the entrance. Otherwise, we will only move around the temple. If we have the attitude to share the energies and information with others, then the Hierarchical energies will flow in and we can pass them on to others.

When we are pure enough, we can utter OM and open an inner channel through which the Hierarchy can contact us. If we intend to contact the Master, we can imagine his appearance in the temple of our heart. We can then talk with each other. After having called the Master into our heart centre, we offer him a seat and sit down with him. From the heart he gives the impact of his light, his power and his love into every area of our being and he causes the needed rectifications. While he is doing so, we can dialogue with him. We can ask him for advice, and he will give it to us. We can also humorously speak with him and he will be humorous with us. The presence of the Master in the chamber of our heart is a matter of our imagination. When we imagine it intensively, we also experience his form, his light and his love. His presence causes the transformations in us. In this way, our behaviour is rearranged and falls in tune with the natural patterns. Every time we think of the Master, he is already present in our heart. As long as we keep him in our heart, we have a very close and intimate connection with him, and we are guided from within the temple of the heart.

When we are sincere and regular in our contemplation, God's energy crystallizes into our form. This form will remain, even if we leave the body of flesh and blood, the physical temple. In this way the great Masters have crystallized forms of God's energy, and so they fulfil the work of God for long periods of time.

Sources: K. Parvathi Kumar: Healer’s Handbook / Notes from seminars. Dr. E. Krishnamacharya: Book of Rituals. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India