Just as, Narada had skill in 64 types of learning/sciences - 4 Vedas,
6 Sastras, 20 Upangas, Painting, Sculpture, Dance, Music, Literature
etc. None could surpass Narada in singing. In spite of such
accomplishments Narada could not overcome restlessness.
Narada had mastered Gaja Karna and Gokarna which could not be
mastered by anyone in the world. Seeking a solution for his
restlessness, Narada came to Sanat Kumara. He expressed his
restlessness. Sanat Kumara asked Narada about his qualifications.
Narada explained that he had learnt everything. Sanat Kumara asked
Narada if he had known about his own self. "That alone I have not
learnt" said Narada. Sanat Kumara then pointed out that to be the reason
for his restlessness.
Today man desires to know about everything that goes on in the world.
From the moment he gets up, he desires to know the news from all
quarters of the world and does not pay heed to the nuisance coming from
within.
If he were to understand the principle within him, he could
understand the world better. In Andhra region, there is a proverb, "win
over the self and win over the village." Unless one saves oneself, one
cannot save others.
Philosophy and learning can get you food but not liberation.
"Therefore, Narada, when you desire to know yourself, you have to awaken
a dormant factor within you" said Sanat Kumara. Narasimha Murthy stated
that sleep played a chief role in Ramayana. Even in the Ramayana of
life, sleep is very important.
Every person has to awaken the
Kundalini that is asleep within one. Kundalini, Sanat Kumara taught,
should be led in a proper path towards the goal to fulfill one's life. In
the Bharat's Yoga Shastras, it has been mentioned that there are 7 types
of lotuses in the spinal column helping people to take to right path.
They are known as Naadi Mandalas/Chakras. (Nerve centres / disks)
Kundalini power starts at Muladhara disk at the beginning of the spinal
column.
This nerve centre is situated at the place of excretion of faecal
matter. It has 4 petals.
Swadhishtana is situated in the urinary excretory point. It has 6
petals. Manipuraka - Naabhi/Navel point has 6 petals.
From there to Anahata near heart with 16 petals. Thence to Visuddha
the power travels near throat - From there it comes to Agneya situated
between the brows. It has two petals. From there it goes to Sahasrara
which is situated on the crown of the head. It has 1000 petals.
Muladhara, Swadhishtana, Manipurakam, Anahata, Agneya, Visuddha and
Sahasrara are the seven Chakras. Each is at a higher plane than the
other. Behind these chakras, on either side of spinal column Ida and
Pingala nerves keep throbbing.
In the centre of spinal column there is a nerve by the name Sushumna.
All these perform their duties in the prescribed manner.
How does one awaken the Kundalini power? All have believed it to be in
the form of a dormant serpent near the Muladhara Chakra.
Snakes of the world are considered poisonous. The serpent (Kundalini)
dormant in man is that of worldly desires. These desires become poison.
Worldly snakes eat frogs, rats etc. Kundalini serpent consumes only
the life principle of man. To awaken this serpent, one has to control
the intake of this life principle.
When we hold breath through Yogic practices, the Kundalini power does
not get food near Muladhara Chakra. In search of food, it becomes active
and continues to come up.
During meditation when we deny the food, it travels upwards from
Muladhara to Manipuraka, Swadhishtana and comes to throat. Even near the
throat food is not available for it. Then it reaches Agneya. Unable to
find food even from there, it merges into Sahasrara. Therefore, to
awaken the life principle or consciousness from Muladhara and let it
merge in Sahasrara has been described as 'liberation' by Vedanta.
Dhyana, now-a-days, both in India and abroad has taken various forms.
They believe it to be concentration. But both are different. Right from
dawn to dusk whatever activities we perform, they are done with
concentration. To walk, to eat, to read a book, to write a letter - all
need concentration.
Concentration is natural for man. Why should are spend/waste
time for such concentration by sitting separately. But one has to
question the source from which one derives concentration. We have held a
book in hand. We can see with our eyes. What has been seen is sent for
enquiry to the intelligence/Buddhi. After the enquiry, mind begins to
recollect/reflect upon it.
It is an 'Indriya' (instrument/sense) that held a book. Again it is
another indriya that saw the matter. It is yet again another indriya
that reflected over the matter. It is due to the collective effort of
all the indriyas that we are able to perceive the matter.
Therefore, concentration is below senses. It is meaningless to call
concentration which is below senses as meditation. Meditation is beyond
senses. There is a border between concentration which is below senses
and meditation which is beyond senses known as contemplation.
Contemplation is said to be the second stage of intelligence.
Intelligence is said to be the essence of Satwa. It can be best
illustrated with an example to make it clear to you.
There is a rose plant. It has leaves, thorns and rose flowers.
Concentration helps you to identify as to where the thorns are and where
the rose flower is. In concentration, we have only rose as the
objective, without touching the thorns we have to pluck the flower.
"Love is flower; lust is thorn." There is no rose without thorns but we
have to pluck the flower without touching the thorns. For what purpose
is this cutting of rose? To cut the love (flower) away from worldly
desires (thorns) is contemplation.
Concentration is identifying the various locations of the thorns and
flowers by looking at the tree/plant. To offer the flower so cut, to the
Lord is meditation.
In our body likened to that of a rose plant, we have pure love in the
form of rose. It is permeated with fragrance/good smell of virtues. But
right under this are the thorns of worldly desires. True meditation is
to identify the thorns of worldly desires from selfless love and offer
that selfless love to the Lord.
From ancient days, meditation has been considered as the highest goal
in Bharat. Today meditation is done as though it were a panacea akin to
saridon which removes headache. Meditation that comes so easily cannot
be termed as such.
People such as Narada, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanat Kumara and Tumbura
considered meditation to be the process of sending the Kundalini from
Muladhara to Sahasrara. During meditation, one should not join worldly
desires and must reach only selfless love as the goal.
The method/posture of meditation is also very important. In the
beginning, we must sit in Padmasana. Spinal column should not bend to
any side. Some people bend the neck and sit. This is very dangerous. If
Kundalini power were to get locked there, where many nerves are present,
it would damage the person and cause paralysis.
There are many who have damaged their heads/senses by wrongly
adhering to Kundalini. One should not bend backwards either. One should
be so straight that if a nail were to be driven down from Sahasrara, it
should appear as though the whole body were wrapped around the nail. Not
only that, one should loosen the garment that is around the waist prior
to sitting for meditation. If the garment is tightly wound round the
waist, it might, to an extent, obstruct the Kundalini.
Usually people who practice Kundalini yoga are single garmented. So,
waist should not be tightly bound. Vision should be centred at the tip
of the nose. If one were to sit for meditation with open eyes, all those
who pass by would cause disturbance to the mind. If eyes are totally
closed, the goddess of sleep would envelop us.
Therefore, we should have half closed eyes posture. Some believe the
tip of the nose to be between the eye brows. No! It is forehead; It is
the end of nose. i.e., Tip of the nose that has to be concentrated upon.
Lord Krishna has also described the same.
"Kasturi Tilakam Lalaata(1) Phalake Vaksha(2) Sthale Kausthubam
Naasagre(3) Navamouktikam..."
1) Refers to the eye of wisdom. 2) Lord Krishna adorned his chest with
the plaque of happiness 3) He kept his vision fixed on the tip of his
nose. Such a Krishna had two bracelets on His hand. One bracelet
signifies -
"Save the righteous and punish the wicked"
The second bracelet signifies -
"One who constantly relies on me, I shall take care of all his needs".
God wears bracelets for fulfilling vows. So, Lord Krishna's vision was
on the tip of His nose i.e., always meditative.
We may have to observe certain physical
activities. Mind is very much wavering. Knowing fully well that
something is wrong, it would like to do it. We know well that to hear
bad things is not good and yet we do it.
We should teach it a lesson.
"O ears! Why do you go after listening to the tales of all and sundry?
When the Lord's name is chanted, why don't you pay heed?"
You should teach the ears to listen to tales that would give happiness
to all and such facts that would glorify the Lord.
"You go and see films, which do you no good, again and again. But you do
not wish to contemplate on the Lord even for a moment. O eyes! Pay
heed."
In this manner, you must teach senses lessons and control them. When
mind begins to wander hither and thither, one must engage it. If mind
does not have anything to do, it would roam the whole world. "By the
time truth begins to wear sandals, untruth would go around the world and
come."
Similarly mind, if no work is assigned, would go round the
world. So, before sitting for meditation, one must assign some work to
the mind. What type of work? It has been a known fact that mind is a mad
monkey. To make a monkey busy while he performs other feats, the street
performer would plant a stick in the ground and ask the monkey to
repeatedly go up and down the stick.
Similarly we must assign the job of a watchman to the mind near that
part of forehead where eyebrows join. By constant practice, we can make
the mind stay in one place. As one constantly breaths 'Soham', the
breath gets controlled.
This is the great power of Yoga. There is no separate effort that one
needs to make to arouse Kundalini. When all the vital air remains
outside, in search of food, Kundalini would rise. Some base 'lamp' as
the point of concentration. This elucidates the principle of 'Unity in
diversity' and 'Many in One'. This cannot be understood by all very
easily and does not confer bliss very easily.
We should construe three types of pictures - imaginary, mental or one
based on feeling and actualisation.
Example for the first one - you have seen Swami. If you close your eyes
and begin to visualise Swami's hair and robe, then you would have
picture created by imagination or 'Uha'. This picture goes away in a
moment. It appears as though it has been seen but goes away the moment
you begin to visualise further.
The second type of picturisation - 'Bhava' is not like this. It takes
some time. You can picturise Swami from feet upwards - feet, gown,
inside robe, hands, neck, eyes, nose, mouth, ears and crown of hair.
Like this by the time you picturise, half-an-hour would have elapsed.
If you continuously go about doing this - picturising Swami from foot
to head and vice versa - it would lead to Sakshatkara i.e. actual
manifestation. Upon practising in this manner you would realise that you
are able to see the form for a fraction at least before it fades away.
So, this is not the goal. One should not go by imagination. One should
go by feeling. One should go on painting each limb. One eye on one side
and another eye on the other side-You should not think thus. Is this eye
parallel to the other? - In this fashion, one must minutely paint the
picture. In the process, mind would become totally engaged.
"Knower of the Brahman becomes Brahman".
If you were to melt silver and pour it into the mould of Lord
Krishna, the feet, hands, eyes, mouth and even hair would be that of
silver. Similarly, when one concentrates and paints the mind with the
form, the mind would also be transformed into the form.
When you question as to where the mind is, you would get the answer -
in Swami's feet, in Swami's hair, in Swami's eyes etc. i.e., mind is
totally immersed in Swami's form. Therefore, meditation is that which
would transform mind into the form and not vice versa.
When we sit for Meditation our body should not be in contact with
anyone else's body. When one works with electricity, one would done some
sort of insulation (wood/cloth) to insure against shock. Similarly,
meditation also is a kind of power. It also would give a shock if two
bodies touch. In every body, there is current.
The current goes/gets lost through nails, hair, eyes and speech. In
the olden days people allowed nails and hair to grow because they did
not want the current to be wasted. It is due to that current that hair
and nails grow and eyes and other organs function. What is the reason
for Munis to observe silence? They realised that current gets wasted
through words and hence observed silence.
Not understanding this we begin to conclude that in the forest the
saints did not have any facilities to trim their hair and nails and
hence they were unkempt. They were making efforts to convert the current
in the body into Divine Power and hence their appearance. One should not
have contact with another in more than necessary manner.
Attachment with an object or a person might grow into a deeper
relationship. They lead to certain desires. As the desires get
fulfilled, ego would begin to sprout. If the desires do not find
fruition, anger would develop. Therefore desires have ill-effects,
either way.
When the desires become many, man's sense of intelligence dwindles.
This causes loss of control over the speech and unwarranted words would
emanate from the person, criticising and hurting others. That would lead
to abusing others. The act of abusing is a fuel to the fire of sin.
Therefore, the root cause for sin is relationship.
So, excess of contact should not be had in the first place.
In Rishikesh there was a choultry by the name 'Kali Kamliwala'. It was a
tradition in those days to feed all those who came there. One Sannyasi
got a wheat bread and since he could not find any place, went to the
river Ganga and sitting on a rock, began to partake of the same.
In this manner, he spent some years using the rock as his dining
place. As it happened, a relation developed between him and the rock. On
a particular day by the time he could procure alms, it became later than
usual. Meanwhile some other Sannyasi got his alms and sat at that rock
to have his meal.
The older Sannyasi got his wheat bread and came to the rock. He began
to have an argument - "Ai! This is my rock; you go somewhere else." They
both began to have a duel. At that place, there was a saint by the name
Satchidanandam. He came and enquired of the quarrelling Sannyasins as to
the reason for their fight. When he became aware of the reason, he
admonished them saying - "You have left behind your wives, children,
parents, relatives and shaved your head and swore to lead a life of
mendicancy.
Now due to your attachment, you have developed anger between
yourselves." Similarly, you have all come here leaving behind many
things for education and Swami. Why develop unnecessary contacts?
Maintain a relation akin to "Hello! Hello; How are you? Good-bye!
Good-bye."
There is another incident that took place at Rishikesh.
One person went from Mysore state and became a Sannyasin at Rishikesh.
About 6 kms from Rishikesh is a famous cave known as 'Vasishta's cave'.
Purushottamananda used to do penance there. It was near Ganges and the
air was cool and serene and the area was dense with shade bestowing
trees.
That Sannyasi (one who came from Mysore) used to meditate under the
tree and live by eating whatever bread was given to him. One day, a
tourist bus came from Karnataka state. They also came to see 'Vasishta
cave' and later were sitting under a tree talking.
The Sannyasin who was meditating, heard them speak in Kannada. A
little attachment towards the language sprouted in him. He left
meditation and began to converse with them in Kannada. They told him
that they came from Bangalore District. "Which village do you come
from?" asked the Sannyasin who was influenced by the attachment to his
own street.
They said that they were in the street of Rama's temple. Affected by
the attachment to his house, he asked them as to what was their house
number. They said that their house number was 11. He asked the troupe if
they knew his father who was in the house numbered 12. Body attachment
prevailed. They said that his father passed away 3 months previously.
The Sannyasin began to weep.
Why should the Sannyasin leave his meditation in the first place and
enquire of the tourists various details? This attachment caused all the
sorrow. It is only when you leave all responsibilities can your
meditation progress. Sometimes the varied nature of Nature attracts. One
should never succumb to the temptations.
To arouse Kundalini and sit in meditation is very difficult. The
easiest path is pure love. No meditation can surpass/equal this.
We want to prepare Sambar. We got fresh vegetables from Bangalore in the
morning. We got fresh tamarind, white, spotless salt and impeccable Dal
also was procured. The cook is an exceptionally skilled one. We have
made Sambar. But when it was served, it turned out to be poison. Reason?
None of the ingredients were faulty nor was the cook. The vessel in
which it was cooked was not clean!
Similarly, we do meditation, Bhajans - in fact we even swing during
Bhajans but we are far away from obtaining peace. This is because we do
not have the unsullied love in our hearts. Many wonder as to why they
have not obtained peace in spite of doing meditation and Bhajans etc. It
is because they have not cleaned their hearts with pure love.
Another example. There is a mango tree. Hundreds of ripe and unripe
mangos are present. You water it and put manure also. All of a sudden,
one fine morning, the tree looks dried-up, what is the reason? Have you
not given water and manure? What is the reason for a tree which was
resplendently green the previous day to look lack-lustre the very next
day? The roots have been eaten away by the pests! Similarly, we may be
doing meditation, chanting rosary and attending Bhajans externally; but
wicked qualities might be gnawing at the heart.
Therefore, send away wicked qualities; fill yourself with virtues;
and develop love. Meditation is not something of a pose given for a
photographer. It is not for others. It is for one's own self. There are
certain cautions that are to be observed in this regard.
One should be seated on a plank at least 1/2 inch
above the ground. On top of this, skin of an animal - preferably a
docile and pure - satvic animal - deer is to be spread. In order to
prevent the deer hair causing irritation, a thin cloth is advised to be
spread over it. All these to be done so as not to cause any disturbance
to our meditation. If kundalini were to really begin rising, the earth
would pull it downward.
To avoid this and to avoid any shock, this plank is put. In this
manner the ancients have experienced and expressed it to us.
Instead of going for meditation and spoiling your mind, it is better you
create the form you are interested in, put that picture in front of you
and observe carefully.
While observing deeply, close your eyes. Now, begin to paint the form
that you have seen, in your mind's eye. Then your mind would be totally
enveloped in the form. Gradually even when you open your eyes, you begin
to see the form everywhere. That is manifestation - Sakshatkara.
This does not happen if you were to do it once in a while. You should
daily do this both morning, evening and at all other times also. Then
you begin to see the form spreading itself in all limbs and all bodies.
Most importantly, youth's mind is most wavering. During the day the
youth must spend time reading class books and assimilating them.
The reason being that mind will not enter unnecessary avenues when it
has a lot of work to do. We must attach ourselves to work so as to
deprive mind from associating itself with outside world. Both morning
and evening let the mind be immersed in Dhyana/Meditation in the
aforesaid manner. Meditation is a path of obtaining sanctity. It is a
process of obtaining unity; a path of experiencing divinity.
Your mind must merge in the Lord just as a river merges into the
ocean. Then mind as such does not exist. Then you become beyond mind.
The river has a form, name and taste before merging into the ocean.
After merging, it loses all such identities.
This has been conveyed by Ramadas in a song form:
"There is a fortress of seven boundaries. In the fort there is a garden
- one of worldly desires. If you want to find the path through the
garden, sing the name of the Lord Rama. The whole Kingdom will be filled
with light."
The boundaries referred to are the seven nerve-centres/chakras. This
song was heard by Lord Rama. He replied:
"The essence is like oil. The Truth is like wick. When the light fades
away, neither the oil nor the wick follow it. They stay there itself."
Then Ramadas got a doubt "The support is the tree and the grip is
another branch of the tree. If the basis/support is left in the hope of
relying on the strength of the branch and the branch also breaks then
salvation is imminent."
Here, the basis is the worldly desires and the branch which would
break is the society in which you live. If you leave the desires and if
the world/society shuns you, you are bound to attain salvation. You need
the society as long as you have not understood the true reality.
Therefore, one needs firewood only as long as the cooking is being done.
One does not need firewood after the food has been cooked.
Veda, Shastra, Purana, Itihasa etc. are essential only as long as one
has not understood oneself. After one has realised oneself, all these
become unnecessary. Hence, it is not possible to renounce/detach oneself
from the society unless one has realised oneself. You have to realise
yourself by living in the world. Some creatures like caterpillar,
crawling from one leaf to another. In the process, it catches the leaf
it would like to go to and then release the leaf it has been on. It does
not leave the base before catching/obtaining the support. Similarly, we
should leave world after obtaining divinity and not before. Otherwise,
we would have lost both the worlds.
Do not be carried away by the term
Meditation. It is not something that one does by sitting for a couple
minutes or hours. It should be always at all places (the contemplation
on the Lord). It should not pertain only to Mandir/meditation room.
Wherever one goes, be it market or classes, one should be totally
absorbed. We should be totally sacred in our feelings.
This is possible only through the path of love. Speak lovingly to all
people. Even such a speech should be in moderation. This is because mind
begins to change as words become many.
One sage came from the Himalayas and declared that he had conquered
anger. He met his friends and told them that he was totally at peace and
that he had no anger in him at all. One came and asked him - "Sir! Have
you conquered anger?" "Yes! I have controlled" came the guarded reply.
That person reiterated, "Sir! You of all the people! Have you really
conquered anger?" "Yes, it is true" came the gruff reply. "What sir! It
is really impossible to believe. How could you conquer anger?" Asked the
man for the third time. "Ai! Can't you understand when I have said so?"
Came the hot reply. "Sir! When this is the case, how could you have
conquered anger?", asked the man for the fourth time. "Are you out of
your senses? I told you that I have conquered". So, while saying that he
had conquered anger, due to repetition of words, he lost control over
anger. If words were not expressed, anger might cooled down. But as he
expressed them, anger grew. Due to lack of patience, anger emanates.
There is no other remedy for anger. Only cultivation of patience is the
answer.
Today man is bent upon conquering/vanquishing/controlling anger. This
is wrong. He must inculcate patience. Then anger will automatically
subside. If darkness has to be expelled, light has to be brought.
Similarly, to expel anger, patience has to be fostered. So, make efforts
to develop patience.
Patience or sanctity can be attained only through love. There is
nothing that cannot be attained with love. One can attain all with love.
Everything is dedicated/subordinate to love. Hence it is said LOVE IS
GOD; LIVE IN LOVE. If the concept of love is perfectly understood, it in
itself becomes Meditation. Meditate on love. But the love should be
selfless. It should be dedicated to the Lord. Any kind of love once
offered to Lord becomes sanctified.
We have made sweet pongal at home. We call it sweet pongal and eat
it. The same sweet pongal once it is offered to the Lord in a temple, we
call it 'prasadam' / blessed food. The moment you offer it to the Lord,
it becomes prasadam. All defects - defects of the ingredients, cooking
and the vessel would get removed after such an offering.
For the sweet pongal made at home, there may not be cleanliness of
the vessel, ingredients or the cooking process itself. In order to
remove all defects from the food cooked - we do not know wherefrom the
vegetables have come; may be they were stolen; may be the intention of
the seller was not good. We assemble all food items and pray to Lord
that everything be blessed. Then it all becomes prasadam and all defects
run away from the same.
There is a small clause in meditation. All cannot do the same type of
meditation. Meditation changes from person to person depending on their
state of evolution/capacity. All doing one type of meditation is not
proper. Each has his own form to worship and the way he goes about it
may also differ.
Some worship God as Mother of the Universe; some consider Him as
Father of the Universe while others consider God to be their friend.
There are those who worship God as Master/husband. Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa, Gauranga are examples of this nature. Jayadeva and Gauranga
had not done any meditation. They felt no need for meditation as they
could see God everywhere.
There is a small anecdote. This happened to many great men in all the
yugas. Gaurangada entered a small village called Nava Dweepa. He could
not find a place to live. If he were to go the streets to do bhajan,
mischievous boys would throw stones at him. They troubled him in
numerous ways. To avoid all this, he entered the temple of Lord Eshwara.
Keeping his legs on top of the Lingam - image of Lord Shiva, he lay down
to sleep.
In the morning the chief priest arrived. Considering him to be a mad
man, the priest beat him. "O fool! How dare you put your feet on top of
the Lord's image? Could you not find any other place to keep your
feet?", asked the priest. Then Chaitanya replied - "Sir! Please show me
the place where Eshwara does not exist and I shall gladly place my feet
on that spot." Saying that he would show him, the priest dragged
Chaitanya by the feet and dropped him aside.
Due to his merit, even there the image of the Lord appeared. The
pujari dragged him all over the mandir, wherever Chaitanya's feet fell,
Eshwara's image was seen to emerge. Then the pujari realised his folly.
God pervades the universe. How then can anyone define a place to be
devoid or filled with God? For a true aspirant God's insignia are seen
everywhere.
Since God pervades the creation, there is nothing that is unsacred.
But there is bound to be a change in the way we utilise the same.
Therefore, we can make some changes in the society, house and people
with whom we deal. Then alone can we obtain peace of mind. It is not
meditation if one were to close one's eyes/sit in lotus posture/sit
without movements.
The most important factor for
meditation is to fill the heart with love. That love is verily God
Himself. Along with this love you must also sit in the lotus posture and
in the manner described earlier to awaken the kundalini power and thus
give more meaning to your lives.
You may go anywhere and do anything. But your heart must be filled
with pure love. Gaurangada, Tukaram, Nammalwar etc., have lived in this
manner. If purity of heart is one's property, one can question the
Lord's ways as a rightful gesture. After a lot of merit, we have
acquired the birth of a human being. If we do not make good use of it,
it would be a sheer waste.
Gems in the ocean are not easily available. With a great difficulty
if one were to dive deep and brave the attack of sharks, one could
manage to obtain rare pearls hidden in the womb of the ocean. The pearl
that is got after such a strenuous effort, if one were to lose it, one
would not get it back however much one may pine.
"Sway! Lord Krishna! I have obtained with great difficulty the pearl of
Krishna from the deep ocean of samsara. Please shower your grace that I
may not lose it", prayed Meera. Since her prayer was such, Lord Krishna
also granted her that wish.
She loved and pined for Krishna so much that her anguish at the
separation from the Lord turned into penance and she merged into the
Lord. Every human who would like to turn the energy in him to divinity
must participate in prayers. Prayer for mind is as essential as food is
for body. Good food strengthens the body. Stale food brings about
ill-health. Similarly, if we participate in prayers, our heart becomes
pure. If, on the other hand, one were to participate with pomposity, ego
and show, it would be like the bad food harming the mind. Therefore
youth must travel from slumber and inactivity to penance. Whatever we
may do, we must do with determination. One should not stop meditation
after having begun, in a span of 2 days. Whole life should be
transformed into meditation.
We have come essentially for that purpose. We must discharge our
duties. Along with this knowledge we must seek worldly education also.
One must accept the basis of the worldly education. I have told many a
time. I am repeating, observe the message carefully.
There are many metals in the earth - Iron, steel etc. As they are
deep inside earth, due to heat, they are available in the form of
liquid. Due to this heat even iron would be in a liquid state. This we
call as Chemistry.
As we gradually come to the surface, the materials solidify as the
temperature decreases and we call it as Physics. As dust and other
particles join this, plants begin to sprout in it. The study of these
plants is called Botany. Insects and birds come from everywhere to these
plants.
The study of these birds and insects is called Zoology.
What is the basis for Zoology? Botany? The foundation of Botany is
Physics which in turn is based on Chemistry. So, for Chemistry also
there must be some foundation. Isn't it? There is water in this tumbler.
For the water to stay, there must be a container in the first place. If
there is no vessel, how can liquid stay put? Therefore the source of
sciences - Chemistry has its foundation in divinity.
Therefore, all the sciences have stemmed from the root of Divinity.
So, for all subjects Divinity is the primal basis. If we were to catch
the vessel, Divinity, all the contents, subjects, would easily become
ours. Today we are ready to catch the creation and investigate but have
not ever thought of investigating the nature of the creator. Even those
that harm us become friendly in the presence of the Lord.
Serpent adorns the neck of Lord Shiva. Since it is around the neck of
the Lord, we bow down to it also. Same serpent if seen in the bazaar
would die due to the blows received from us. Though it is a poisonous
snake, since it adorns the neck of the Lord, it becomes worthy of
worship.
Once Lord Vishnu sent Garuda to Eshwara with a message. Eshwara's
body is very peculiar. His body is smeared with vibhuti/ash. He has moon
as his crown jewel and serpents as his other ornaments. To such Shiva
when Garuda flew and landed, the breeze created by his wings disturbed
the sacred ash of the Lord which fell into the eyes of the snake
adorning His neck. The serpent, in anger, hissed at Garuda. Garuda
replied, "O snake! Since you adorn the Lord's neck you are saved. Had
you been in the bazaar/market place, I would have snatched you with my
feet and torn you to shreds. Since you are in the proximity of the Lord
you have earned the right to be forgiven."
Similarly, since you are enjoying Swami's proximity, people praise
you. The moment you leave Swami and go, people do not care a fig for
you. Wherever you go, you must absorb whatever has been taught here and
keeping the discipline as your shadow and Swami in your heart must
create peace around you. Once in a while to recharge your batteries, you
can come to Swami. In this way, you can enjoy Swami's Love and Grace.
Lord Sai
Baba on Meditation
We always have enough time to talk,
visit cinemas etc. There is certainly time for meditation. The power is from God (referring
to the feeling of strength after meditation).
Early morning is best. Mind is quiet and there is not the pressure of
responsibilities. There is difficulty during the day. People are around, and there is work.
If meditation is attempted, even work may suffer.
Real meditation is getting absorbed in God as the only thought, the only goal. God only,
only God. Think God, breathe God, love God. Concentration means, when all senses and desires
fall away and there is only God. In between concentration and meditation, like a separation
between the two, is contemplation. Concentration to contemplation, then meditation. As long
as one thinks "I am meditating" that is the mind and not meditation. As long as one knows he
is meditating, he is not meditating. In absorption in God, one puts aside every form and
merges into God. In that process the mind naturally stops.
Meditation for its proper practice, should be at the same place, at the same time. In that
way, it surely will be successful. If one is away from home in travel, in his mind he can go
to the accustomed place no matter where he is. Truth is in every place at all times. When
away from Swami, by remembering Him doing this or that, the battery is "recharged". That
also is genuine meditation. Meditation is constant inner inquiry as to who am I, what is
true, what is ego action, what is loving and what is harsh. Meditation is thinking on
spiritual principles, searching out the application to oneself of what Baba says, and the
like.
For the one who has completely surrendered to God and whose heart is filled with love for
God, these 'college courses' (referring to Hatha Yoga etc) are not needed and have no
meaning and are quite unnecessary.
The Atma is everywhere, but for the purpose of sitting in meditation, the life principle
can be considered as being 10 inches above the navel and at the centre of the chest. An inch
in this measurement is the width of the thumb at the first joint.
Without concentration nothing can be done. And we use that concentration through-out the
day. Why is that same concentration so difficult to come in spiritual matters? Because the
mind is outward turned, and by desire the mind clings to object. But the mind can be trained
to concentrate inwardly, and the heart can be cultured to grow with love for God. How? By
sadhana. The best sadhana is that every act through the day be done as worship of God.
A fence is placed around a young tree to protect it. The same precautions must be observed
in meditation. People think it is all right to meditate in any place. There are currents,
there is will power. There is a strong current passing into the earth. Because of this, the
earth exerts a strong attraction. In meditation it is advisable to insulate oneself from
such currents. For this reason, meditators sit on a plank and cover their shoulders with a
woollen shawl. Once the person has grown strong in his meditation, he may sit anywhere and
not suffer for it.
The light is first moved into the heart which is conceived as a lotus, the petals of which
will open. The Jyothi is then moved to other body parts. There is no particular sequence.
But important is the final body station, which is the head. There the light becomes a crown
enshrining and covering the head. The light is then moved outside, from the particular to
the universal. Move the light into relatives, friends, enemies, trees, animals, birds until
the entire world and all its forms are seen to have the same light at their centre as has
been found to be within oneself.
The idea of moving the light into the universal phase, the idea of universality is that
the same divine light is present in everyone and everywhere. To impress this universality on
the mind, we do the spreading of the light outside one's own body.
One should understand that what comes about in meditation as one moves deeply into it, is
not the thinking of the light, but the forgetting of the body and thereby the direct
experience that the body is not oneself. This is the stage of contemplation when the body is
totally forgotten. It cannot be forced. It comes about by itself and is the stage that
naturally follows correct concentration.
Seeing the light and moving the light here and there is to give work to the mind, to keep
the mind occupied in the right direction so that the mind will not be thinking of this and
that and thus interfering with the process of becoming more and more quiet. Spreading the
light into its universal phase, sending the light into every other body, and when one is so
concentrated in it that he is no longer conscious of his body, is the stage of
contemplation. As contemplation deepens, the stage of meditation comes about of its own
volition. It cannot be forced.
If the meditator remains conscious of himself and that he is engaged in meditation, then
he is not meditating but is still in the preliminary stage, at the beginning of
concentration.
There are three stages: concentration, contemplation and meditation. When contemplation
deepens it moves naturally into meditation. Meditation is entirely above the senses. In the
state of meditation, the meditator, the object of his meditation and the process of
meditation have fallen away, and there is only one, and that One is God. All that may change
has fallen away and Tat Twam Asi, That Thou Art, is the state that exists.
As one gradually returns to this customary and habitual state of consciousness, the Jyothi
is again placed in the heart and kept lighted there though out the day.
The three stages, concentration which is below the senses, meditation which is entirely
above the senses and contemplation which lies between and is partially within the senses and
partially above the senses, which is on the border of each, this is the experience in
genuine meditation whether the object taken be form or light.
There is no essential difference. If the devotee has a form of God to which he is
particularly devoted, he may merge that form into the Jyothi, and that form is most
attractive to him and is the object of his concentration and is seen to be within the light
wherever it is seen. Or, the concentration may be just on the form of God, for God is
universal in every form.
Again, the object chosen is just a device to allow one to sink deeply into quietness and to
allow the body, which is non-self, to fall away out of consciousness. Anything concrete,
such as light, form or sound may be chosen as the object of concentration. It is possible to
just move directly into the stage of meditation.
Meditation as described by Swami is the royal road, the easy path. For meditation to be
effective there must be steady practice with no hurry and no worry. With steady practice,
the person will become quiet and the state of meditation will naturally come about. To think
otherwise is weakness. Success is assured. Call upon God, He will help you. He will respond
and He himself will be your guru. He will guide you. He will always be at your side. Think
God, see God, hear God, eat God, drink God, love God. That is the easy path, the royal road
to your goal of breaking ignorance and the realization of your true nature. Which is one
with God.
Light a lamp or a candle. Gaze straight ahead at the flame. Then take the candle flame,
the Jyothi, into the heart and see it in the midst of the petals of the heart. Watch the
petals of the heart unfold and see the light illumine the heart. Bad feelings cannot remain.
Then move the flame to the hands and they can no longer do dark deeds. In turn move the
flame in like fashion to the eyes and ears so they may henceforth take in only bright and
pure sensations. Then move the light outward and into your friends, relatives and enemies,
and then into animals, birds and other objects so that all are illumined by the same light.
Christ said, "All are one, be alike to everyone."
To sit straight is important. Between the 9th and 12th vertebrae is the life-force. If the
spine is injured at this point, paralysis occurs. If the body is in straight position, as if
it were wound around a straight pole, the life force may rise up through the straight body
and give the quality of intense concentration of the mind.
Moreover, just as a lightning rod attached to the roof of a building attracts
lightning,
in like fashion a perfectly straight body provides a conductor, so to speak, for divine
power to enter the temple of your body and give you the strength to accomplish your task and
reach your goal. As another example, the divine power is always here, just as radio signals
are here. But to hear the radio music there must be an antenna. Further, if the tuning
device is not properly adjusted, there will be some sound but no music. In like fashion, the
divine power, which is always present, may flow into you if the meditation is correct and
the body straight.
First you are in the light. Then the light is in you. Finally, you are the light and the
light is everywhere. Enjoy for a while, then bring the light back to the heart and hold it
there for all the day. The form of God may also be included. Krishna, Rama, Jesus, Sai, as
you wish. The form of God selected may be seen in the centre of the flame wherever it is
carried, and then you are with God everywhere.
The stomach is four parts: 1/4 part air, 1/4 part food, and 1/2 part water. Too much food
results in dullness of the mind. Food in moderation does not result in sickness. Too much
milk is bad. It is rajasic.
The type of food you eat, that kind of thought will come to your mind. If you have satwic
food, there will be satwic effect. Fruit and milk everything that is cool and not hot like
strong onions. Meat gives the blood its effect, like passion and similar qualities. Dirty
thoughts come with fish. Although fish is always in water, it has a bad smell.
If you are keen on spiritual life, eating meat is not worth while; but if you are keen on
worldly life, it is all right. There is another spiritual reason. When you kill an animal
you give it suffering, pain, harm. God is in every creature, so how can you give such pain?
Sometimes when someone beats a dog he cries, he feels so much pain. How much more pain then
in killing. Animals did not come to the purpose of supplying food to human beings. They
came to work out their own life in the world. When a human being is dead, the foxes and
other animals may eat, but we have not come to provide food for those that eat the human
body; we have not come for that purpose. Similarly, man eats the animal, but the animal has
not come to provide man with food. But, we have taken to eating meat as a habit.
In Dwapara Yuga, before Kali Yuga, 5680 years back, milk came into favor. Eleven thousand
years is the full length of the Kali Yuga. (i.e. 3712 BC to 7288 AD). The world is also
turning round like a fan. Even if the Kali Yuga stops, it still has a few more revolutions
to go before the final ending. (speech dated 1968) There are four Yugas. The sequence is
circular, and when the last is finished, the whole cycle starts all over again. Kali Yuga
still has 5,320 years before ending. (AD 7288. Year now is 1997, another 5,291 years to
go!!)
(Extracted from: Conversations with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba by Dr. John Hislop,
pages 145-156, 22. Conversation recorded in 1968)
