get intoxicated with their extraordinary powers and in the temptation of using them, have a long pause in their Godward march; they get stuck in the consciousness of the intermediate Planes. There are some who get dazed, confused and even self-deluded. There are some who get caught up in a coma. There are some who, with difficulty, try to come down to the gross consciousness by repeating some physical action or by repeating an identical sentence a number of times. There are some, who, in their God-intoxication, are so indifferent to the life of the gross world, that to all appearances their external behavior is like that of mad persons; and there are some who cross the Path while performing their worldly duties.

Owing to their exalted states of consciousness, some of the advanced aspirants are adorable; but, they are in no way comparable to the God-realized persons, either in respect to the spiritual beauty and perfection of the inward state of consciousness, or in respect to their powers. All aspirants, right up to the Sixth Plane, are limited by finite consciousness; and they are all in the domain of duality and illusion. The aspirants are mostly happy; it is derived from their contact and communion with God. For some, the joy of inward companionship of the Divine Beloved is so great that they are unbalanced in their behavior, with the result that they might, in their unsubdued state of God-intoxication, abuse people, throw stones at them and behave exactly like ghosts. Their state is often described as that of the Unmatta.* Owing to the exuberance of the uncontrolled joy of inward contact with the Divine Beloved, they are utterly unmindful of the worldly standards or values; and owing to the utter fearlessness, which comes to them through complete detachment, they often allow themselves such self-expression, as would be easily mistaken for untoward idiosyncrasies and immoderate unruliness.

It is only when the soul attains God-realization, on the Seventh Plane, that it gets full control over its joy; the unlimited happiness, which is now eternally his, does not, in any way, unbalance him, because he is now permanently established in the poise of non-duality. No longer for him the extravagance of newly-found love and joy; the occasional unsettlement owing to the influx of increasing joy at the closer proximity of God is also over, because he is now inseparably united with Him. He is lost in the Divine Beloved, and merged into Him, so that he becomes One with God; he becomes the infinite Ocean of unbounded Happiness.

*Literally, "intoxicated."