Hari
OM
Monday is AUM-day; in search of meditation.
More
on OM as focus of meditation.
Through
daily and well-tempered practice, focus on AUM will begin to reveal the wider
connections within; there is an objectivity which arrives and we can begin to
truly observe ourselves as we draw ever closer to the Singular Consciousness
contained within Turiiya, in the bindu. Every now and then we will experience a
glimpse of something both immense and microscopic, a nothingness with
everything-ness…
Think of
AUM as being like the three parts of a river when recalling these levels of A,
U, M and Silence.
- Bed: The river bed of stones (like the latent, Subconscious or Deep Sleep level and its impressions, symbolized by the "M" of the OM Mantra),
- Flow: The flowing part (like the Active Unconscious, or Dreaming level, symbolized by the "U" of the OM Mantra), and
- Surface: The surface of the river (like the Conscious, Waking level, symbolized by the "A" of the OM Mantra).
That
reality or presence of existence itself, which is in the three levels of bed,
flow and surface of the river, is like the consciousness that permeates the
three levels of Waking (A), Dreaming (U), and Deep Sleep (M). Those same three
levels are also the Conscious (A), Active Unconscious (U), and Subconscious
(M), as well as the Gross (A), Subtle (U), and Causal (M) levels of reality.
Our
Subconscious wants, wishes, desires, attractions and aversions (samskaaras) are
like the stones that form the bed of the river (M). When consciousness moves
across them, they come to life in the flow of the Unconscious (U), like the
flow of the river; and some burst forth into the Conscious mind (A), resulting
in actions, speech and conscious thoughts, like the ripples on the surface of
the river.
Through practice, one gradually attains the
ability to go deeper than the various levels and thinking processes, to the
direct experience of the source of the consciousness, symbolized by the Silence
(Turiiya). The practice begins simply and expands over time, with ever
increasing insights about the underlying truths contained in, and suggested by, the OM Mantra. Meditation on OM (AUM), and contemplation on its meaning, work
together in guiding one towards Self-realisation.
.jpg)
SAADHANA.
There
was repetition in today's post, emphasising how one can continue to meditate on
OM and gain ever more meaning and insight.
Consider this in your daily practice. For a more intellectual exercise,
see if you can devise a chart displaying all the points made here today. This
also can become a visual focus prior to entering meditation. Leave spaces in
the chart for the transition stages of Unmani, Aladani and Samaadhi. From next week we will take another, still
more elaborate view of each stage.
| वन्दे मातरम् |