in this form of meditation, supposed to arrive at complete blankness of the mind. Complete blankness involves the cessation of all mental activity and having absolutely no thoughts or ideas; but, in this form of meditation the mind tries to understand and realize the formless and infinite aspect of God by means of a significant symbol.

There is an important variety of this impersonal form of meditation, in which the infinity which one imagines, is not mentally externalized as if it were something outside the aspirant. It is more helpful to picture the infinite as being within the aspirant. After picturing infinity within, the aspirant should give to himself the strong auto-suggestion about his identity with the Infinite by mentally repeating. "I am as infinite as the sky within," or "I am as infinite as the ocean within" or "I am as infinite as the emptiness within." It may be even more useful to use the bare formula, "I am the Infinite within" and while mentally repeating this formula, to grasp and realize the significance of infinity through the image which has been chosen. It is not necessary to repeat the formula in so many words; it is enough to cling to the thought expressed in the formula.

The "I am infinite" meditation may lead to the merging of the aspirant into the formless and infinite aspect of God. Some aspirants merge so completely that even if swarms of mosquitoes pass by them they do not hear them. Some aspirants might become restless or might be easily disturbed. They should not keep worrying about lack of success in meditation but should tenaciously persist whether they experience merging or not. A relaxed position is helpful for merging; but a final merging is impossible except through the help of the Master.

The forms of meditation which have been explained so far are predominantly concerned with the impersonal objects of experience; but some impersonal forms of meditation are concerned with the subject of experience. One such important form of meditation consists in ceaselessly pressing the query, “Who is it that does all these things?"* The aspirant finds himself thinking thoughts like, “I sleep," "I walk," "I walk”, “I talk," "I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell," "I think, feel, and desire," etc. Now the searching question with which this form of meditation is concerned, is "WHO IS THIS 'I'?" The soul does not experience any of these things. The soul does not sleep, walk, eat, or talk, see, hear, touch, taste or smell, think, feel or desire; then who is their agent? The source of all these activities has to be discovered and the mystery of all life has to be explained.

*Meditation No.8 in the Table.