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932
THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
free from all kinds of fetters of matter. With respect. to the path of progress, He is on the thirteenth stage, which is characterised by Jivana-mukti. He is now qualified for the third kind of śukla dhyana which would be pure self-contemplation but for the fact that it is accompanied by a slight tinge of bodily activity that is itself due to the association with the physical body. As the âyuh karma which keeps the body and the soul together is exhausted, the aghâtiya karmas which may still be existing are destroyed, the yogas come to an end, and the last form of śukla dhyana, implying pure self-contemplation, undisturbed by any kind of bodily activity, is enjoyed. The soul is now on the fourteenth stage, and immediately rises up to the Siddha Sila as a body of radiant effulgence, to reside there for ever in blissful contemplation of the unsurpassed glory of His own divine Self.
The forms of meditation recommended for the destruction of karmas may also be noted in this connection. There are four such forms, namely, (1) Pindastha, (2) Padastha, (3) Rupastha and (4) Rupatita.
(1) Pindastha dhyâna is the contemplation of oneself, and comprises five special modes or forms, technically known as dhårnås, which may be described as follows:
(a) Prithvi dhârna. The yogi should imagine a vast, boundless ocean of milk, motionless and noiseless, with a huge resplendent lotus of a thousand petals, having a bright yellow pericarp like a mountain of gold in its centre. On the top of this pericarp he should imagine a throne resembling the autumnal moon, and on this throne he should further imagine himself as seated,
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