Sept 17 Yoga of Meditation

 

O beloved Ram! You are within a strong fortress now. A spiritual fortress where no temptation can influence you. You are absolutely safe. Now you can do vigorous sadhana (spiritual practice) without fear. Kill the foe ­ the mind. Wear the spiritual laurels of peace, equal­-vision and contentment.

You are already shining with Brahmic Bliss. The all-merciful Lord has given you all sorts of comforts, good health and a guru to guide you. What more do you want? Grow. Evolve. Realise the truth and proclaim it everywhere.

Be silent. Know thyself. Know that. Melt the mind in that. Truth is quite clear and simple. Solitude and intense meditation are two important requisites for self-­realisation. If sadhana is interrupted, make up the deficiency later.

Practise self-restraint at all times because, all of a sudden, the senses may suddenly become turbulent. This is why Krishna says: "O son of Kunti, the excited senses of even a wise man, though he be striving, impetuously carry away his mind."

The wandering habit of the mind must be controlled by making it stick to one place, by one method of sadhana, by one guru and by one form of yoga. A rolling stone gathers no moss. When you take up a book for study, you must finish it before you take up another one. When you take up any work, you must devote your whole-­hearted attention towards it and finish it before you take up any other work.

Do not cause pain or suffering to any living being, whether through greed, selfishness, irritability or annoyance. Give up anger and ill-will. Give up the spirit of fighting and heated debates. Do not argue. If you quarrel with somebody you cannot meditate for three or four days, because your balance of mind is upset. Thus much energy is wasted in useless channels. Also the blood becomes hot; the nerves are shattered. Keep a serene mind always. Meditation proceeds from a serene mind.

An aspirant must be sensitive and yet possess a body and nerves completely under control. The greater the sensitivity becomes, the more difficult the task. Noises which pass unnoticed by an ordinary person are torture to one who is very sensitive. Develop the inner power of the self. Centralisation of ideas will stop the outgoing habit of the mind.

Sept 14 Instructions in Meditation

 

Just as the light is burning within the hurricane lamp, so also the divine flame is burning from time immemorial in the lamp of your heart. Close your eyes. Merge yourself within the divine flame. Plunge deep into the chambers of your heart. Meditate on this divine flame and become one with the flame of God.

If the wick within the lamp is small, the light will also be small. If the wick is big, the light also will be powerful. Similarly if the jiva (individual soul) is pure, if he practises meditation, the manifestation of the Self will be powerful. He will radiate a big light. Likewise the purer the soul, the greater the expression.

If the magnet is powerful, it will influence the iron filings even when they are placed at a distance. Even so, if the yogi is an advanced person, he will have greater influence over the persons with whom he comes in contact. He can exert his influence on persons even when they live in distant places.

During meditation note how long you can shut out all worldly thoughts. Watch the mind. Try to increase the period. Fill the mind with thoughts of God again and again.

In meditation do not strain the eyes. Do not strain the brain. Do not struggle or wrestle with the mind. Relax. Gently allow divine thoughts to flow. Steadily think of lakshya (point of meditation). Do not voluntarily and violently drive away the intruding thoughts. Have sublime (satvic) thoughts. The vicious thoughts will vanish by themselves.

If there is much strain in your meditation, reduce the duration of each sitting for a few days. Those who meditate for four or five hours at a stretch can have two meditative poses. Keep the spine erect.

You must daily increase your vairagya (dispassion) and meditation on satvic virtues such as patience, perseverance, mercy, love and forgiveness. Vairagya and good qualities help meditation. Meditation increases the satvic qualities. 

Sep 6 Exercises in Meditation

 

Keep a picture of Lord Krishna with a flute in his hands. Sit in your meditative pose and gently concentrate on this picture until you shed tears. Think of his feet, adorned with anklets. Think of his yellow silken garment. Think of the ornaments around his neck. Think of the long garland of beautiful flowers of various colours. Think of his ear­rings and the crown set with precious jewels he wears on his head. Think of the long dark hair, the sparkling eyes and the tilaka (mark) on the forehead. Think of the magnetic aura around his head. Think of his arms and hands, adorned with armlets and bracelets. Think of the flute, ready in his hands, waiting for him to play it. Then close your eyes and visualise this picture mentally. Repeat this process again and again.

This is one kind of meditation and is suitable for beginners. Sit in padmasana in your meditation room. Close the eyes. Meditate on the effulgence in the sun, or the splendour in the moon, or the glory of the stars.

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There is a living universal power that underlies all these names and forms. Meditate on this power, which is formless. This will terminate in the realisation of the Absolute, nirguna (attributeless), nirakara (formless) consciousness eventually.

Sit in your meditative pose. Close your eyes. Imagine that there is a supreme, infinite effulgence hidden behind all these names and forms, tantamount to the effulgence of millions of suns put together. This is also a form of nirguna meditation.

Concentrate and meditate on the expansive blue sky. By the previous methods of concentration the mind will cease thinking of finite forms. It will slowly begin to melt in the ocean of peace as it is deprived of its contents. Thus the mind will become subtler and subtler.

Concentrate on the picture of Om in front of you. Do this with open eyes until the tears flow profusely. Associate the ideas of eternity, infinity, immortality, etc., with Om.

The humming of bees, the sweet notes of the nightingale and all other sounds emanate from Om only. Om is the essence of all the vedas (scriptures).

Sep 4 Stages in the Practice of Meditation

 

In the beginning you can meditate twice daily, from 4 to 6 in the morning and 7 to 8 at night. As you advance in your practices, you can increase the duration of each sitting, little by little, using your common sense and discretion, and also have a third sitting either in the morning between 10 and 11 or in the evening between 4 and 5.

In the Yoga Vasishta you will find: "The right course to be adopted by one who is in his novitiate is this: Two parts of the mind must be filled with the objects of enjoyment, one part with philosophy and the remaining part with devotion to the teacher. Having advanced a little, he should fill one part of the mind with the objects of enjoyment, two parts with devotion to the teacher and the remaining one part with getting an insight into the meaning of philosophy. When one has attained proficiency, he should every day fill two parts with meditation and the other two with devoted service to the guru. This will eventually lead you on to meditation for twenty-four hours."

Sitting in your favourite meditative pose and keeping the head and trunk erect, close your eyes and gently concentrate on either the tip of the nose, space between the two eyebrows, the heart lotus or the crown of the head. When once you have selected one centre of concentration, stick to it till the last with leech-like tenacity.

Meditation is of two kinds, namely, saguna (with gunas or qualities) and nirguna (without gunas or qualities). Meditation on Lord Krishna, Lord Siva, Lord Rama or Lord Jesus is saguna meditation. It is meditation with form and attributes. The name of the Lord is also simultaneously repeated. This is the method of the devotees. Meditation on the reality of the Self is nirguna meditation. This is the method of the vedantins. Meditation on Om, Soham, Sivoham, Aham Brahma Asmi and Tat Twam Asi is nirguna meditation.

If you want to keep the mind charged with the fire of Brahmic wisdom, you must always keep it in contact with the Brahmic fire of knowledge, through constant and intense meditation.

Sep 3 Self-Effort and Grace in Meditation

You need a calm, clear, pure, subtle, steady, sharp one-pointed buddhi (intellect) to understand the reality of Brahman. Only then is realisation possible. Only a trained mind which utterly controls the body can enquire and meditate as long as life remains, never losing sight of the object of its search and never letting it be obscured by any terrestrial temptations.

Energy is wasted in useless idle talk and gossiping, planning and unnecessary worrying. Conserve energy by getting rid of these three defects and utilise it in meditation. Then you can do wonderful meditation. He who says and imagines that he practises deep meditation daily, when he has not removed the evil traits of the mind, deceives himself first and then others. He is a first class hypocrite.

If you strain yourself in meditation and go beyond your capacity, then laziness and inactive nature will supervene. Meditation should come naturally on account of serenity of mind, induced by practice of sama, dama, uparati and pratyahara (control of mind and senses, non-pursuit of pleasure and introversion of attention). Atman (Self) is the fountain of energy. Thinking on Atman or the source of energy, also is a dynamic method of augmenting energy, strength and power. Divine energy flows freely from the feet of the Lord to the different systems of the aspirant, and new nerve currents, new grooves, new cells are formed. The mind and nervous system are remodeled and you will develop a new heart.

Conserve energy by talking little, observing mouna (silence), controlling anger, observing brahmacharya (celibacy), practising pranayama (yoga breathing) and controlling irrelevant and non-essential thoughts. Meditate and behold the imperishable Atman. Rest yourself firmly in the self. Nothing can hurt you now. You can become invincible.

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In contemplation, you are in spiritual contact with unchanging light; you are cleansed of all impurities. If you have an open heart, devotedly lifted up to God, the light of his purity and love will consume all your shortcomings. This purifying process leads to a deeper insight into truth. This is the action of the grace of the Lord upon the soul in meditation. In this inflowing grace there arises that light of the mind into which God is sending the ray of his unclouded splendour.

Sep 2 The Secret of Meditation

 

Meditation is the road to the attainment of salvation (moksha). Meditation kills all pains, suffering the three kinds of tapas (fevers), and the five kleshas (sorrows). Meditation gives the vision of unity. Meditation produces a sense of oneness. Meditation is the aeroplane that helps the aspirant to soar high in the realms of eternal bliss and everlasting peace.

Meditation is the mysterious ladder that connects heaven and earth and takes the aspirant to the immortal abode of Brahman. Meditation is the continuous flow of one thought of God or Atman, like the continuous flow of oil from one vessel to another.

When you sit for meditation, all sorts of worldly thoughts will crop up in your mind; this will disturb the meditation. You will be astonished. Old thoughts, old memories of past enjoyments will bubble up and force the mind to wander in all directions. The trap-door of the vast magazine of thoughts and memories, within the subconscious mind, is opened up and these thoughts gush out in a continuous stream. The more you attempt to still them, the more they will bubble up.

Do not be discouraged. Never despair. Through regular and constant meditation you will purify the subconscious mind and thus control the thoughts and memories. The fire of meditation will burn all thoughts. Be sure of this.

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Meditation on the immortal Self will act like dynamite. It will blow up all thoughts and memories in the subconscious mind. If the thoughts trouble you much, do not suppress them by force. Be a silent witness, as in a bioscope. They will subside gradually. Then you must root them out by regular silent meditation.

The practice of meditation must be constant. Then only will one attain Self-realisation, quickly and surely. He who practises meditation, by fits and starts, for a few minutes daily, will not be able to achieve any tangible success in yoga.

In the beginning, beginners fall down from meditation into their old grooves. They must lift up their minds again and again. They will have to fix the mind on the lakshya (target). When the meditation becomes deep and steady, they eventually get established in God. Then meditation becomes sahaja - it becomes habitual.

Sep 1 Meditation

 

If you want to get rid of the pains and afflictions of this samsara (worldly life) you must practise  meditation. Meditation is the pathway to divinity. It is the royal road to the kingdom of Brahman. It is a mysterious ladder which reaches from error to truth, from darkness to light, from pain to bliss, from restlessness to abiding peace, from ignorance to wisdom, from mortality to immortality. Meditation leads to knowledge of the self, to eternal peace, supreme bliss. Meditation prepares you for direct intuitive knowledge.

Truth is Brahman. Truth is self. You cannot realise the truth without reflection and meditation. Be silent. Know thyself. Melt the mind in that. Without meditation you cannot liberate yourself from the trammels of the mind and attain immortality. Tear the veils that cover the soul. Rend asunder the five sheaths that screen the Atman (Self) by constant meditation. You will find final beatitude.

Meditation is a powerful tonic. The holy vibrations penetrate all the cells of the body and cure all its diseases. The powerful soothing waves that arise during meditation exercise a benign influence over the mind and the nerves. If you meditate for half hour you will be able to engage yourself with peace and spiritual strength in the daily battle of life, for a week. You do this just through the force of this one meditation.

A yogi who meditates regularly has a magnetic, charming personality. Those who come in contact with him are much influenced by his sweet voice, his powerful speech, his lustrous eyes, his brilliant complexion, his strong healthy body, his good behaviour, his virtuous qualities and divine nature. People draw peace and joy and strength from him.

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Close your lips. Shut the doors of the senses. Meditate on Atman (Self). You will enjoy peace and bliss. The more you grow in aspiration and meditation, the more you grow God-like. For in meditation is the light of the Lord.

Meditate and charge your battery by contact with God. Dive deep in the chambers of your heart through profound and silent meditation, and bring up the pearl of truth.

Aug 15 Yoga Asanas

Health is wealth. Good health is a valuable asset for one and all. It can be achieved by the practice of yoga asanas, which control the emotions and produce mental peace. It also distributes prana evenly throughout the body and different systems. It helps in maintaining the healthy functioning of the internal organs. It gives internal massage to the various abdominal organs.

Physical exercises draw the prana out but asanas send the prana in. The practice of asanas cures many diseases and it awakens the kundalini shakti.  These are the chief advantages of the yogic system of exercises advantages which none of the other systems have.

Practise a few asanas daily - at least for fifteen minutes. Soon you will possess wonderful health. Be regular in your practice - this is of paramount importance.

Asanas should be done on an empty stomach in the morning or at least three hours after food. Morning is the best time to do the asanas. Do not wear your spectacles whilst doing them. Wear a langotee and a singlet if necessary.

Be moderate in your diet. Practise brahmacharya (celibacy). Begin with a minimum time and gradually increase it. Answer the calls of nature before you begin doing the asanas.

The endocrine glands play an important part in the economy of nature. The practice of sarvangasana keeps the thyroid healthy and this means a healthy functioning of all the organs and systems in the body.

The diaphragm, the muscular partition between the chest and the abdomen, is also developed by certain exercises such as - dhanurasana, mayurasana, and paschimottanasana. The movement of the diaphragm massages the abdominal viscera and organs. There will be daily evacuation of the bowels in the morning. Constipation, dyspepsia and a host of other ailments of the stomach and intestines will disappear. 

Four asanas are prescribed for the purposes of japa (repetition of God's name) and meditation. They are padma, siddha, svastika and sukha. Be able to sit in any of these for three hours without shaking. Then only you will be able to control the breath and do meditation. If you can be steady in the posture for even an hour you will acquire a one-pointed mind and feel infinite peace.