Aspirants and God-Realized Beings

Even before God-realization, the advanced aspirants pass through states of consciousness, which in some ways, are akin to the state of God-realization. For example, the Mad Masts and saints of the higher planes are completely desireless and immersed in the joy of God-intoxication. Since their only concern is God, they become the recipients of the unique happiness, which is characteristic of the God-state. They have no Beloved except God; and they have no longing except for God. For them, God is not only the only Beloved, but also the only reality that counts. They are unattached to everything except God and remain unaffected by the pleasures and the pains to which the worldly persons are subject; and, they are happy because they are always face to face with the Divine Beloved, who is the very Ocean of happiness.

The advanced aspirants not only participate in some of the privileges of the Divine State, but also wield great occult powers and Siddhis. The aspirants belong to different types, according to the kind of powers which they yield. For example, even on the first Plane, the aspirant begins to see the lights and colors, smell beautiful perfumes and hear the music of the subtle world. Those, who advance further, can see and hear things at any distance. Some aspirants see the whole gross world as a mirage. Some advanced aspirants can take a new body immediately after their death. Some agents of Perfect Masters have such control over the gross world that they can change their bodies at will; they are called Abdals, in Sufi tradition. But all these achievements of the aspirants pertain to the phenomenal world; the field of their powers is itself a domain of illusion; and the miracles which they perform do not necessarily mean that they are in any way nearer to the God-state.

From the point of view of consciousness, also, the aspirants belong to various types according to the line on which they have advanced and according to their approximation towards the God-state. There are some who