Encyclopedia of Spiritual Knowledge

If we hold the face of a Divine Teacher in the anahata chakra on the background of emotion of the most intense love that we are capable of, we gradually enter a state when it is not I who look at the world from the anahata, but Him.

This denotes the state when the Yidam “becomes alive”, and the meditator is partially merged with Him. After that, one may live in Unity with Him in the anahata, or having moved the concentration of the consciousness to the chakras located in the head, one can address Him in the anahata as an Advisor and a Teacher. This is not an illusion, but the Divine Teacher entering into His Image created by the meditator. He may also become an Instructor in one’s meditative trainings. He will lead His devoted disciple through His Consciousness — into the Abode of the Universal Consciousness of the Creator.

In the Teachings of Agni yoga, the following is said on this subject: “If you can visualize the Image of the Teacher in your consciousness with the most complete clarity, you can transfer your consciousness into His, and thus act through His Power, as it were. But for this, you must visualize the Image of the Teacher with utmost precision, to the minutest detail, so that the Image does not flicker, suffer distortion or change Its outlines, as frequently happens. If after the exercise of concentration, you succeed in invoking the steady Image of the Teacher, through this you may gain the greatest benefit for yourself, for those around you, and for the work.” [Hierarchy:90]

Those, for whom working with Yidam does not bring immediate results, may benefit from practicing visualization. They may practice creating images that help develop chakras or visualize blissful pictures of communicating with living nature, etc. But only those images, which are filled with exultation of happiness, harmony, joy, subtlety, and bliss, will make for one’s correct spiritual development. Corresponding types of paintings, musical compositions and art photography, etc. may also serve as an aid.

At the higher stages of the spiritual work, students can use a Mahadouble of their Divine Teacher as an Yidam.