Development of the sixth sense

One of the biggest challenge in front of the seekers is that they want to experience or realize God in the same manner as they experience or realize the world – with the help of their five senses. Those who realized the God propound that God is beyond the reach of five senses and can only be realized with the help of sixth sense - the sense with the help of which one can explore the inner world for ever lasting divine peace and true happiness.

One of the humble disciple revealed his heart in front of a Self realized Saint, “Dear Sir, please excuse my folly. If you allow then I would dare to tell you the truth. I don't feel anything in meditation. In fact I get bored or often feel sleepy. But I have heard from you and from other saints that the highest form of peace and blissfulness can be experienced by quietening the mind in meditation. Please shower your grace on me and tell me where am I going wrong.”

The master instructed him to blind fold his eyes and accompany him for a walk. After reaching a scenic spot on the bank of river Ganges, the master started praising the scenic beauty, the beauty of the fauna and flora, the beauty of the flowing water, the colorful birds, the animals and the wonders of nature around him.

“But Sir, I can't see any of these because you have asked me to keep my eyes closed,” expressed the frustrated disciple.

The master started laughing and asked the disciple to take off the black band from his eyes. With a smile of his face, the master explained, “Dear son, just like you cannot enjoy the beauty without removing the cover from your eyes or without the help of your sense of seeing; similarly, you can't enjoy the heavenly peace and blissfulness of the inner world without removing the shroud of your ignorance and without the development of the sixth sense of spiritual wisdom, divine insight and pure love in your heart. Just like for a blind, there is no day or night; for a deaf, there is no music; for someone suffering from anosmia (disease of loss of smelling power), there is no fragrance; in the same manner, for a worldly being who is only educated about the outer world, for a ignorant who is unaware of about the subtle inner world, there is no long lasting peace and happiness. Without the development of the sixth sense, one cannot enjoy the divine peace and true happiness of the inner world.”

“Dear Sir, can you please explain a little more about the development of that sixth sense?”

“You won't be able to find the treasure of ever lasting happiness in the outer world that is illuminated by five senses and mind. But you have to dive into the inner world and find the source of illumination of five senses and mind. The Self realized saints of India has preached for thousands of years about the various methods of evolving that sixth sense. Some of them stressed upon chanting the holy name; some on the Self analysis after gaining the spiritual wisdom; some on the Yogic methods of meditating on the Chakras, while a few others stressed upon praying and loving God with a pure heart. I can just summarize for you that one should seek the company of Self realized saints, listen to their words, read holy scriptures, spend time in solitude for self analysis, fill your heart with divine love, pray to the inner God, practice to look for the divine presence in each and every being and perform all actions with your eyes fixed on the highest goal of Self realization. In this manner, over time, your sixth sense will evolve on its own.”