inherent inclination of the mind to work.  There is a tendency, in every department of Nature, for an act to repeat itself; the Karma acquired in the last preceding birth is always trying to forge fresh links in the chain, and thereby lead to continued material existence;—­and this tendency can only be counteracted by unselfishly performing all the duties appertaining to the sphere in which a person is born; such a course alone can produce chitta suddhi, (purification of the mind), without which the capacity of perceiving spiritual truths can never be acquired.

A few words must here be said about the physical inactivity of the Yogi or the Mahatma.  Inactivity of the physical body (sthula sarira) does not indicate a condition of inactivity either on the astral or the spiritual plane of action.  The human spirit is in its highest state of activity in samadhi, (highest trance) and not, as is generally supposed, in a dormant, quiescent condition.  And, moreover, it will be easily seen, by any one who examines the nature of occult dynamics, that a given amount of energy expended on the spiritual or astral plane is productive of far greater results than the same amount expended on the physical objective plane of existence.  When an Adept has placed himself en rapport with the universal mind he becomes a real power in Nature.  Even on the objective plane of existence the difference between brain and muscular energy, in their capacity of producing widespread and far-reaching results, can he very easily perceived.  The amount of physical energy expended by the discoverer of the steam-engine might not have been more than that expended by a hardworking day-labourer.  But the practical results of the labourer’s work can never be compared with the results achieved by the discovery of the steam-engine.  Similarly, the ultimate effects of spiritual energy are infinitely greater than those of intellectual energy.

From the above considerations it is abundantly clear that the initiatory training of a true Vedantin Raj Yogi must be the nourishing of a sleepless and ardent desire of doing all in his power for the good of mankind on the ordinary physical plane, his activity being transferred, however, to the higher astral and spiritual planes as his development proceeds.  In course of time, as the Truth becomes realized, the situation is rendered quite clear to the Yogi, and he is placed beyond the criticism of any ordinary man.  The Mahanirvan Tantra says:—­

     Charanti trigunatite ko vidhir ko ishedhava.

“For one, walking beyond the three gunas—­Satva (feeling of gratification), Rajas (passional activity) and Tamas (inertness)—­what injunction or what restriction is there?”—­in the consideration of men, walled in on all sides by the objective plane of existence.  This does not mean that a Mahatma can or will ever neglect the laws of morality, but that he, having unified his individual nature with Great Nature herself, is constitutionally incapable of violating any one of the laws of nature, and no man can constitute himself a judge of the conduct of the Great one without knowing the laws of all the planes of Nature’s activity. (As honest men are honest without the least consideration of the) criminal law, so a Mahatma is moral without reference to the laws of morality.