wield, the aspirants belong to different types. For example, even on the first plane the aspirant begins to see lights and colours, smell perfumes and hear the music of the subtle world. Those who advance further can see and hear things at any distance. Some aspirants see the whole gross world as a mirage. Some advanced aspirants can take a new body immediately after their death. Some agents of Perfect Masters have such control over the gross world that they can change their bodies at will. In Sufi tradition they are called Abdals. All these achievements of aspirants pertain to the phenomenal world. The field of their powers is itself a domain of illusion, and the miracles which they perform do not necessarily mean that they are in any way nearer to the God-state.
From the standpoint of consciousness also, aspirants belong to various types according to the line in which they have advanced and according to their nearness to the God-state. Different states of aspirants Some get intoxicated with their extraordinary powers and, tempted to use them, have a long pause in their Godward march. They get stuck in the consciousness of the intermediate planes. Some become dazed, confused and even self-deluded. Some are caught in a coma. There are some who, with difficulty, try to come down to gross consciousness by repeating some physical action or by repeating a sentence many 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 behaviour is like that of mad persons. And there are some who tread the Path while performing their worldly duties.
Owing to their exalted states of consciousness, some advanced aspirants are adorable, but they are in
