John Horton, M.D.

"The Knowledge Guru Maharaj Ji reveals brings a healthy balance to life. As a doctor I have been able to observe positive changes in myself and others who have received this Knowledge. The Knowledge is intensely practical, helping people in every area of their daily lives. It is an experience of spiritual awaken ing which brings people a new vitality and a fresh outlook on life."

Both science and religion deal with transformation of energy from one form to another. All religions speak of experiences of "rebirth." salvation and enlightenment, in which man's inner self undergoes remarkable change. During such transformations, a person is said to overcome all suffering and to be in communion with universal love and intelligence. He is said to have realized the true potential of human life.

All great scriptures of the world, including the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita and the Koran, describe this transformation in similar ways: all speak of an inner experience of light, of a Holy Name or Word, of inner harmony. and of nectar or the waters of life. Great teachers like Christ, Buddha and Moses each experienced an awakening within them, which they passed on to their followers. Guru Maharaj Ji is doing the same today, by revealing the Knowledge of Self to those who ask. He is proving that the way to heaven does indeed lie within this human body.

People usually think of the body as the province of science, yet science, too, is familiar with the idea of transformation. Einstein wrote that all of life is intrinsically harmonious, joyful and orderly, and that man is part of this balance. He suggested that because of his limited sense of identity man feels separated from nature and his fellow human beings. To overcome this suffering and alienation, he suggested that our consciousness must expand beyond the ego, to become aware of the inner beauty and perfection of life.

On a purely physical level, evolution from one state of being to another is not a very radical idea. There are the changes from a caterpillar to a butterfly, from a tadpole to a frog, from a baby to a grown adult. In every one of these cases, a potential which was already present is being realized. And both science and religion have long expressed the belief that the potential of man, as the "crown of creation," is to achieve perfection.

If perfection is a state every human being can attain, it must have some inner biological pattern to back it up. If, as the scriptures say, communion with God is the most natural path for each man to follow, it must proceed from the physical structures common to all humanity. Just as we can clearly study the process by which the caterpillar becomes a butterfly, we should be able to identify within man's body, the means by which he undergoes transformation to a higher state of consciousness.

The presence of a physical body does not limit spiritual growth. It may seem that the two are separate, or even that matter is in direct opposition to spirit. But man was designed so that he could evolve into true humanity. This is why the great Masters have always taught that perfection lies within us. Today, science is beginning to see that all the equipment for such a transformation is present within the human body, in very real, recognizable structures.

Physicists know that man's true nature is energy. Everything we see exists as energy, vibrating in a particular way. Fire, a chair, a rock, the human body, all are actually different forms of the same universal energy which cannot be created nor destroyed. Each is made up of atoms, and when an atom is split, a clear, overwhelming light appears. This light is the pure energy of which everything is made, pure energy before it becomes limited to any one form.

Since we too are comprised of atoms, this light must exist within us -and in fact it does. By contacting it, we touch the essence of our existence, and come to know that the true basis of our "self" is imperishable, continuous. The eternity of life becomes not an intangible concept, but a reality which we have seen, and which we can accept in full confidence.

The Knowledge of Guru Maharaj Ji is the revelation of this basic energy within our bodies.

The first way that we can experience this energy is as light. Not a symbolic light or "feeling" of clarity, but an actual light that can be seen, beautiful beyond imagination, which soothes away the accumulated tensions of body and mind. To see this light is called "enlightenment."

Within the human body is a built-in receptor for this divine light of creation. It is the pineal gland, a small organ deep within the brain which resembles a tiny "third eye." Throughout the ages, great philosophers, yogis, and the scriptures of many nations have attributed special significance to the pineal gland. Descartes called it "the seat of the soul." Eastern yogis consider it the highest and most perfect energy center in the body. The Greeks felt it could "control the stream of thoughts." Until quite recently though, modern science considered it a vestigial organ, a leftover from earlier stages of evolution. But the climate of scientific opinion is changing. In the light of new research, scientists are coming to recognize that the pineal may be the "regulator of regulators."

The pineal is the only organ in the human brain which is unpaired; all other organs exist in duplicate, one in each "hemisphere." Any real spiritual experience is a manifestation of unity. So unity should also be a quality of the biological foundations for spiritual experience. The pineal is also the only gland which secretes its hormones directly into the brain. It may well be the highest point of control over the deepest and most basic determinants of man's behavior.

Basically, whenever we sense anything, an electro-chemical reaction takes place within our bodies. These reactions are mainly sensed and expressed through the nervous system and the hormonal system. All our bodily reactions, emotions and experiences are controlled by our brain, which directly stimulate our glands to produce hormones.

For example, if no sexual hormones are produced, there will be no sexual drive; without adrenal hormones, there will be an absence of fear and anger; if thyroid hormone is lacking, we will have no enthusiasm or vitality.

Research is beginning to reveal what spiritual sages apparently sensed all along; the "third eye." or pineal gland, can transform basic energy into hormonal "messages' which regulate the functioning of the entire body. Till now, the hypothalamus was considered to be the most important of the organs affecting hormone release, and hence our emotions and behavior. But to judge by its position in the brain, above hypothalamus, the pineal apparently has a higher control function to perform.

Endocrinologists know for certain that the pineal affects the functioning of the sex glands, the thyroid and adrenal glands. In this way it can regulate much of our instinctual behavior, which we inherited earlier in our evolution, and which forces us to act on a purely instinctual or animalistic level. The regulation of hormones by the pineal provides a real basis for us to transcend our lower instincts, and for the emergence of more subtle traits such as humility, patience and love.

In fact, researchers Drew and Batt of the University of Kentucky Medical Center propose that one of the basic functions of the pineal gland in man is to allow for "drive discharge." This means that we can rise above our emotional drives, conscious or unconscious, by activation of the pineal. And as our drives toward anger, fear, selfishness, greed, and lust disappear, their behavioral counterparts, anxiety, depression, loneliness and psychosomatic illness will also begin to vanish.

This will occur only if the pineal gland is set to work. In lower animals, the gland is located on the surface of the head, and is stimulated by outside light. In man however, the pineal has moved into a deep area of the brain, and is relatively unaffected by outside light. Researchers have been hard put to find the source of its stimulation.

At this point, we can ask ourselves why the Buddha is so often portrayed with a "third eye," why Christ tells us "If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."

When we receive the Knowledge which Guru Maharaj Ji gives, our pineal gland is activated by the experience of inner light. This experience tunes us in to subtle vibrations of energy which cannot be perceived by our sense organs or by any machine we have built. And by experiencing this perfect energy of creation, the entire bodily system begins to undergo a gentle set of hormonal changes which re-direct our desires, perceptions and behavior, into the most natural and flowing directions.

By meditating upon inner light, we begin to experience first hand the source of all life - of our life. We feel immense joy and a true understanding of the unity of all living things. Just as a bulb will light only when an electrical current passes through the connecting wires. so when the current of real life is turned on within us, we begin to glow with the perfectness of our Creator. Those who meditate upon the light experience profound changes in behavior: most of them find no more need for drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, and begin to rise above the drive for ego-fulfillment. They find peace in this experience of light.

The Knowledge of Guru Maharaj Ji not only takes man further in his evolution towards complete self-awareness, it also serves to erase destructive elements in his biological history. the eminent scientist, Paul McClean, has shown that man actually has three brains, each built on top of a previous evolutionary structure. The most primitive is a remnant of the reptilian brain, and it controls the rigid behavior patterns involved in territorial protection, hunting and mating. The next layer is found in non-human mammals and affects emotions, simple thinking and glandular function. The highest and most evolved layer is found in man; its functions relate to consciousness, problem solving and conceptualization. It is to this center, with its unique gift of self-awareness, that we must fully ascend, if we are to achieve the highest state of civilization and harmonious social living.

Another way for us to experience the energy within us is called "drinking nectar." There is a liquid produced within us which the Bible speaks of as "the waters of life." When we are taught to drink these waters, we experience a very sweet taste which is very likely the taste of the pineal hormones, and by continually drinking this secretion, we reinforce the activity of the pineal gland, just as continual exercise of a muscle strengthens and builds it.

The early "reptilian" layer of our brain imposes on us a set of primitive sense-drives and automatic, stereotyped patterns of behavior. This part of our brain is largely associated with taste and smell experiences, and when the beautiful taste of nectar is experienced, it overrides this part of the brain, releasing us from these set patterns. both by the clarity of the experience itself. and by the constant reinforcement of pineal activity which it produces.

A third aspect of the Knowledge is known as celestial harmony. Again, this is no symbolic term. The energy which underlies the universe can actually be heard as music. and the experience is a deeply moving one of love, joy and unity.

The second, "mammalian" layer of our brain is largely associated with the sense of hearing and the memory. It governs emotional patterns and the configurations of the endocrine system. When we hear the beautiful sounds of celestial harmony. the emotional patterns built up in childhood or inherited through cultural evolution slowly break down. and we are no longer the victims of conditioned emotional response. We are literally tuned in to a state in which the old "mammalian" section of our brain has lost its controlling influence.

The last way for us to experience the energy within us which Guru Maharaj Ji shows us is called 'The Word.' This is the vibration of universal energy within each cell of the human body. Every atom within us contains the Holy Word, and is indeed made of it. Meditation on the Word returns all our energy to the original energy source that creates, governs and sustains all life. It gives us such an experience of the vitality and meaning of life that we are transformed with love. With this vibration surging within us, we are automatically drawn towards the selfless service of humanity.

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This is why people who experience this Knowledge find the most profound meaning of life in their daily work. Each action they take expresses the joy and universal love which they are experiencing. And each action performed in this love does indeed increase the quality of all human life.

This Knowledge is not artificial, indeed it is the experience of the natural basis of life Meditating on this Knowledge leads to vitality and alertness. It has nothing in common with daydreams, hypnosis, or auto-suggestion. The structure of this Knowledge is built into the natural biology of the human organism. It is the key to man's further evolution, the evolution of humanity into personal and social peace and harmony.

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