ALCHEMY and the SCIENCE of the SOUL

Whenever you talk about alchemy to anyone, there is a certain fascination that comes up: ‘Wow! I’m going to learn magic charms, magic words. Somehow, I’m going to have a magic spell taught to me, which is going to help me convert lead into gold.’ If you’re not inclined towards the material gold, you might symbolically take this to mean that negativities would be converted into positive, radiant, golden energies.

I’m sorry to dispel any such myth. No magic words or charms or incantations are going to be taught today because the truth is the philosopher’s stone is not out there. Where are you going to seek it? It lies within you. It’s not a magic charm, which you speak out loud which creates your reality; it’s what you think, it’s what you eat, it’s what you drink, it’s who you ARE.

Miracles occur on a daily basis for every single person on Earth; you don’t have to be a ‘Jesus’ for that. You can just be plain, simple, delightful YOU. Miracles are there for the taking; the sad truth is: we are asleep. Alchemy is the science of waking up; waking up the soul, so that once again, every day, you can see a miracle.

I was on a 7 day trip to Mussourie, Dehra Dun, Hardwar and Rishikesh with 40 rambunctious kids; and I had the most delightful time. In all their mischievous joy, every single student there was my ‘God’. Each morning I’d look into their eyes, every mischievous moment I’d watch them and it was not to keep track of them; it was to learn: Why does this God need to be aggressive? Why is this God not choosing to speak? What is this God looking at out of the window? Without knowing, these 40 beautiful Gods made me richer in 7 days.

When I returned, I took two classes back-to-back. Some of my friends asked, “Aren’t you tired? You got in just this morning!” How can you be tired when every day has been a miracle? Fatigue comes to those who don’t see miracles. The exhaustion is faced because you’re constantly looking for the miracle, which you don’t see.

By the end of this evening I’m hoping that somewhere within you, you’ll find the philosopher’s stone. The crystal that each one of you has received is a simple agate which you, with your power, will turn into a talisman. What power will this talisman have? Not mine and not some unknown god’s; it will have your power, your Godhood, your Christ Consciousness.

Now let us understand what alchemy is. It comes from two Arabic/Egyptian words: Al meaning ‘the’ and Chemia which means ‘hidden or secret or occult’; so it really is Al Chemia or ‘that which is hidden’, ‘that which is secret’, ‘that which is the occult’. Al Chemia started in the Middle Ages and Paracelcus was the leading alchemist of the Middle Ages. He believed (just as we now believe) that all living and non-living organisms have within themselves, what he called, the ‘dominant power of life’. If each one of us has the dominant power of life, Paracelcus believed that the material body has spiritual correspondence and that spiritual energy has material correspondence. That which is within you is outside of you; that which is outside of you is always within you. That is why alchemy is ‘that which is hidden”. To know alchemy is not to know chemistry; to know alchemy is to know who you are. When you know who you are, all knowledge and all wisdom becomes yours automatically. Alchemy and astrology are really twin sisters; two sides of the same coin. From alchemy came the modern day exact science of chemistry and from astrology came the modern day exact science of astronomy. And yet, how ironic that astronomers look down upon astrologers, and chemists believe there is nothing like alchemy, when, in fact, these are the two which birthed chemistry and astronomy.

Alchemists believe that there are two kinds of alchemy: living and non-living. Living alchemy is about plants, fruits, trees, crystals, gems, minerals and the human body. Paracelcus believed that there are four citadels of alchemy: the root (the plant), the element (fire, water, earth and air), the star (the planets, the stars, the universe) and the sperm (mankind, humanity). These are the four pillars of alchemy. The energies of these pillars combine together to form, both, the macrocosm and the microcosm.

Man, being the ultimate in the earthly drama, has lived through all stages. Meher Baba mentions in his book that we have been stone and plant and fish and animal; and every time you move from one stage to another, you carry with you, all the energies that you have assimilated from earlier state into the next state. Man, being the ultimate state, has within him the energies of all the stages; not only the stages that he has passed through already, but all the stages that he still has to pass through. This means that within you, you have knowledge of the stone, you know what it is to be a plant, you know the joy of swimming like a fish, you have been the bird that has flown and soared free, you have been that beautiful butterfly as it has gone from flower to flower…. you have been all of this.

And though we might consider that this will be the end of our earthly drama, there is another drama that we all will play: the super-earthly drama where, once again, we’ll move back to where we came from. I was telling my friends yesterday, the movement into the future is nothing else but our journey into the past. We started as spirit and as became denser, the balance between spirit and matter changed, where matter became predominant. Now, once again, the scales are tipping. Somewhere in the consciousness of humanity, there is a stirring, there is an awakening; the call from the soul is loud and strident: I am returning home. It’s like the child who has played out the game of hide-and-seek for a long time and is now tired and wants to go back home to be cradled in its mother’s lap.

This urge is showing itself in spheres of life we would not have imagined possible. The corporate world is suddenly waking up. I’ve had so many queries from business organizations about conducting workshops for their employees, in stress management, in energy development, in communication skills, in relationship harmony, in getting out of their employees the best potential. The hard-headed corporate men are also looking at ‘energy’ for their answers. Science, for the first time, is admitting that there is a ‘something’ they do not understand. What a great admission that is for science! If they make this admission, the next step automatically is an exploration into universal wisdom that lies untapped. This is alchemy working for you: that which was secret, that which was hidden, is now coming out to be revealed.

Now let us see how plants work for us. They work at so many different levels. In your homes and gardens if you have fragrant, sweet-smelling flowers, like the lily, the lavender, the geranium, the rose, the atoms of the energy that they exude, draw in towards them similar atoms from the universe. If you have a plant, like the cactus or large poisonous weeds that have overtaken your garden, the energies that they exude will draw into your homes and gardens similar energies. Thus, plants play a very important role in freshening up our environment, constantly rejuvenating our spirit with their fragrance and energy. Because each atom of each petal of each flower holds within it the dominant power of life, it reaches out to its spiritual correspondence and draws it towards itself, converting it into its own material energy, releasing its material energy back in order to become a spiritual energy, which you breathe in.

Then there is another level: food and nutrition. There is a close synchronicity between our bodies and the stars. If one eats the food that is meant for you, according to your Sun sign and your rising sign, you will not be in a state of ill-health. Often we eat foods that do not suit us or our constitution. The Ayurveda looks at this from the view-point of elements that we are composed of.

What are these elements and how do they constitute the human body? Many of you have already had your soul mapping charts prepared by me, so you already know of this. You know the direction in which you need to strive so that you convert your potential into real power. Often our striving is in vain because we eat the foods that do not suit us, that are not meant for our constitution. Often we eat the right food but cooked incorrectly. We overcook our vegetables till they become soft; a vegetable should always be crunchy in your mouth. Because you have killed the nutrients of that vegetable, you have to now eat far more of it in order to derive the nutrition your body requires for daily existence. How then do you lose weight by eating more? You don’t need to be an alchemist to answer this question. Most vegetables only need to be slightly sautéed or steamed.

We tend to drink fruit juice instead of eating the fruit. When you drink fruit juice, especially the packaged ones, you get very few nutrients, none of its fiber and all of its sugar. That becomes your daily diet. If you drink fruit juice first thing in the morning, you are attacking the metabolism of your body, in the morning, with excess sugar. It doesn’t stop there for then you want two teaspoons of sugar with your tea and then you add sugar to your cereal. You have started your day hyper-active. Your nerves begin to start jangling and you get irritable and you attribute that to those around you. It’s not others around you that have made you irritable; it’s the sugar that you have overdosed yourself with.

Instead of a fruit juice, eat your fruit. What you get from that is every single nutrient of that fruit and you get fiber. Fiber is like a broom. Don’t we sweep our homes every day? Do you do it by pouring water in your home? Fiber sweeps from your digestive tract, your stomach and your intestines, all the undigested matter that is sticking to the walls. Is it any wonder that we get diarrhoea, dysentery, diverticulitis?

By the way our body is structured and constituted, every single canal in our body has a coating of lime. Lime is of two types: living lime and dead lime. The living lime, the living calcium and the living magnesium that the body needs to build up the bones and make them strong, comes from fruits and vegetables. When we eat the wrong foods, the canals are coated with a thick carbonate of lime.

Where does this lime come from? From the water that we drink. It is very important to be sure that the water that you drink is completely free of hard salts. Today we have systems like ionization that do that for us. Distilled water is excellent for the system. For those of you who are constantly suffering from stomach related ailments, you should drink distilled water. All the cold drinks that you drink also cause the dead lime to enter your system. What alchemy are you going to access if the very channels which carry the life force of you, your blood, plasma, the fluids of your body, are coated with carbonates of lime?

A living vegetable or plant needs to be consumed within hours to enjoy its benefit. How many of us can do that in a city like ours? It’s time to grow our food. Let’s grow our herbs and plants; even if we live in small homes, we can grow them in pots. All it needs is a bit of commitment on our parts. Commitment to whom? To self. Our body is not meant to age. If you get the right nutrients and if your body is only coated with living lime, your body won’t age.

Let’s move on to the second part of living alchemy, organic alchemy; our gems, minerals crystals. Crystals are of three types: living, dormant and dead. The living crystal is the one that comes straight from the earth, almost untouched or very partially touched by man. These gems that we pick up from river-beds and from deep under the Earth’s surface are living gems. The dominant power of life within them is supreme. Even those who claim that cannot feel energy, will pick up that crystal and feel its vibrations.

You do not need to go out and buy crystals. They’re all around you, friends. On every trip I take, I pick up from the earth something that it has to give me. All I say is, “Mother Nature, please give me a gift.” Then I keep myself alert and a stone will call out to you.

The second kind is the dormant stones. Dis-use makes the stone dormant. Then you have the 3rd kind, the dead ones. We pay large sums of money for dead stones: the rubies, the diamonds, the emeralds, the sapphires that glitter and make us look so beautiful are dead. Enjoy them as jewellery, certainly, but know that they don’t do anything beneficial for you. Why do they die? High levels of polishing and excessive cutting of facets on the stone, kills it.

Now, let’s move on to the elements, which are also part of living alchemy. All the elements are present within each us but the combination of elements differs and is influenced by the constellations under which you are born.

I’m going to read out to you something that Paracelcus had written. “If I have Manna in my constitution, I can attract Manna from Heaven.” What is this Manna he’s talking about? Not some heavenly nectar. It’s like an unknown quantity; anything that you want from Heavens you can attract because you already have it within yourself. The material part of you will attract its spiritual correspondence, so whatever you wish to get is what you have to emanate as predominant energy. If you want a large home, you have to feel that you’re already living in a large home. Then instantly, that which is in you, the material part, draws upon its spiritual correspondence.

Nature is amazing; it draws to itself whatever is required to be drawn, in order to be worn out. Let me explain this to you. Let’s assume you have a boil. It starts with one boil on your skin and you put an ointment or consume a drug for it. That boil goes but 15 days later, it’s on another part of your body and now there are three; so you take an extra dose and two days later there are five. What is happening? Nature is releasing from these boils the material energy of some dis-ease. Whatever is on your skin is a symbolic manifestation of the energy which is within you and is in dis-ease or imbalance. Nature releases the atoms of the imbalanced energy into the universe, and keeps releasing it till it is completely spent. How does this ‘Manna from Heaven’ come? From Heaven, universe, cosmos (whatever you want to call it) the spiritual correspondence of the same kind of boil-giving atoms are drawn to you. So one boil becomes many because nature is giving to you all the atoms that will make the boils come out more and more till the energy that is causing the boils is completely spent and exhausted.

Paracelcus goes on to write that “Melissa is not only in your garden but is also in the air and Heaven. Saturn is not only in the sky but also deep in the ocean and the Earth.” How is Saturn in the Earth and the ocean? Anything you have to draw out from the bowels of the Earth has saturnine energy: oil, lead, clay, coal is saturnine energy. It’s out there and it’s in here.

Then he goes on to say: “What is the human body but the constellation of the same powers that formed the stars in the sky. He, who knows Mars, knows the qualities of iron and he, who knows what iron is, knows already the attributes of Mars.” Those of you who are born under the influence of this planet, need to eat foods that are rich in iron as the spiritual metal correspondence of Mars is iron.

He goes on to give us the four pillars of the human body: the head, the heart, the lungs and the stomach. If these pillars are strong, you will not be attacked by ill-health. Homeopathy has very beneficial drugs for these pillars… Aconite for circulation, belladonna for the brain, Phosphorous for the lungs, Pulsatilla for the stomach.

You might say that generally phosphorous is considered good for the brain not for the lungs. Try not breathing for 5 minutes and in those 5 minutes, try thinking of some genius-like solution to a problem. Your brain stops functioning when the lungs are not filled with rejuvenating, re-energizing oxygen. The mental lack of clarity is not due to a problem with the brain but due to the fact that you are unable to breathe properly. When you want a solution, stop thinking and start deep breathing. Deep breathing must be: In, 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4. 16 seconds for 1 cycle.

Denying yourself of anything creates a cycle of imbalance so if you want to do something that may not be good for you, instantly see what you can do in order to ensure that no damage is done. Give up something only when you are internally ready to give it up.

Now let us see, constellation-wise, what you should eat and the metals that are good for you. ARIES: ruled by Mars. The gems are garnet, bloodstone, diamond, ruby, sapphires, uncut. The metal: iron. The foods: meat, beetroot, dark green vegetables, whole grain, dried fruit, nuts. Start a trend; wear iron jewelry.

TAURUS: ruled by Venus. The stones are blue sapphire, turquoise, emerald, jade (all colors of jade). The metal is copper. The foods are lettuce, apricots, apples, tomatoes, nuts, shellfish, peas, beans, beet and corn. A wonderful way to get copper into your system is by putting water in a copper vessel and keeping it throughout the night and then drinking it first thing in the morning.

What is the first thing you do when you wake up? Brush your teeth. If you’ve brushed your teeth, you have killed all the good bacteria, which have collected in your mouth, which are useful to you for your nutrition. Allow that bacteria to get into your system.

GEMINI: ruled by Mercury. The stone is agate, onyx, peridot, jasper (in all its colors). The metal is mercury but it is highly poisonous. What do you do instead of mercury? You wear silver ornaments. If you’re Gemini sun sign, you can eat the foods associated with your rising sun.

CANCER: ruled by the Moon. Stone is moonstone, ruby and pearl. The metal is silver. Again, wear silver jewelry and eat the foods associated with the rising sign.

LEO: ruled by the Sun. The stones are peridot, onyx, diamond, topaz, amber and ruby. The metal is gold. Wear gold jewelry.

VIRGO: ruled by Mercury. It’s stones are agate, tourmaline (all colors) carnelian, sapphires (all colors), jade (all colors).

LIBRA: ruled by Venus. Its stones are rose quartz, emerald, malachite, opal, lapis lazuli and moonstone. You can eat foods like lettuce, apricots, apples, tomatoes; all that are rich in copper.

SCORPIO: ruled by Mars and Pluto. You’re looking at iron and steel as metals. The stones are smoky quartz, jasper, aquamarine, topaz, garnet. A very strong stone for Scorpios is black lodestone. They’re not easily available but you can get them in those places that specialize in selling crystals. It’s very good for Scorpios because they have a very deep, dark energy within them. It’s the energy of the universe lying undiscovered. When anything is undiscovered or unknown, it strikes fear. That’s why Scorpios have enemies; they can look at you and look right through you. Food is iron-rich food.

SAGITTARIUS: ruled by Jupiter. Stones are amethyst, sapphire, turquoise, topaz (all colors). The metal is tin or pewter. Pewter draws to it higher universal truths. Sagittarians are the world’s teachers and students of universal truths.

CAPRICORN: the metal is zinc. The stones are garnet, tiger’s eye, malachite, onyx, ruby. Foods are whole grains, fish, meat, eggs, nuts and beans.

AQUARIUS: ruled by Saturn and Uranus. Its metal is zinc. The stones are garnet, aquamarine, moonstone, turquoise, amethyst. Again, you eat all the zinc-rich foods.

PISCES: ruled by Neptune. Its stones are quartz crystals, bloodstone, amethyst. Its metal is aluminum; highly poisonous. Do not cook in aluminum vessels or have aluminum on your person.

You are already an alchemist. Now access the inner resources and experience this reality.