tself. The
Yogi Masters teach the Candidates this lesson, as follows: The Candidate
places himself in the State of Meditation, or at least in a thoughtful
frame of mind, and then endeavors to "imagine" himself as "dead"--that
is, he tries to form a mental conception of himself as dead. This, at
first thought, appears a very easy thing to imagine, but as a matter of
fact it is _impossible_ to do so, for the Ego refuses to entertain the
proposition, and finds it impossible to imagine it. Try it for yourself.
You will find that you may be able to imagine your _body_ as lying still
and lifeless, but the same thought finds that in so doing _You_ are
standing and looking at the body. So you see that _You_ are not dead at
all, even in imagination, although the body may be. Or, if you refuse to
disentangle yourself from your body, in imagination, you may think of
your body as dead but _You_ who refuse to leave it are still _alive_ and
recognize the dead body as a thing apart from your Real Self. No matter
how you may twist it you _cannot_ imagine yourself as dead. The Ego
insists upon being _alive_ in any of these thoughts, and thus finds that
it has within itself the sense and assurance of Immortality. In case of
sleep or stupor resulting from a blow, or from narcotics or anaesthetics,
the mind is apparently blank, but the "I" is conscious of a continuity of
existence. And so one may imagine himself as being in an unconscious
state, or asleep, quite easily, and sees the possibility of such a state,
but when it comes to imagining the "I" as dead, the mind utterly refuses
to do the work. This wonderful fact that the soul carries within itself
the evidence of its own immortality is a glorious thing, but one must
have reached a degree of unfoldment before he is able to grasp its full
significance.

The Candidate is advised to investigate the above statement for himself,
by meditation and concentration, for in order that the "I" may know its
true nature and possibilities, it must realize that it cannot be
destroyed or killed. It must know what it is before it is able to
manifest its nature. So do not leave this part of the teaching until you
have mastered it. And it is well occasionally to return to it, in order
that you may impress upon the mind the fact of your immortal and eternal
nature. The mere glimmering of this conception of truth will give you an
increased sense of strength and power, and you will find that your Self
has e