Hari
OM
Monday is AUM-day; in search of meditation.
Meditation & Life, with Sw. Chinmayanda (Gurudev).
As
mentioned last AUM-day, we are now going to explore the writings of Gurudev on
our focus subject of this day. The book is a thorough treatment of the subject
and extends to over 170 pages of closely printed text. No attempt is intended,
here, to present the text in its entirety. For that, you are encouraged to use
the links provided last week to obtain a copy for yourselves. However,
important paragraphs and quotes will be given, along with a summary of each
section.
To
set the scene, though, the entire preface is now given.
"Our physical, mental, intellectual
and spiritual personalities must be blended into one harmonious whole.
Meditation is the technique for achieving this harmony. It is the highest spiritual discipline.
Through meditation we come to experience within ourselves. Internecine wars
between desires end. Conflicts between duties no longer torment us. The mind is
able to view life as a whole."
(Gurudev)
Many
of us are overwhelmed by the complexity of our lives. Due to that complexity,
many seek to escape the pain and the pressure through a variety of means;
through work or play or a combination of both.
The tradition of spiritual thought called Vedanta advises us not to
escape from life, but teaches us, instead, how to maintain a high quality of
life through intelligent understanding of the true nature of existence.
In
Meditation & Life, Swami Chinmayananda, one of the greatest teachers of
Vedanta in modern times, takes us step by step through the thought process
required to re-establish mastery over our lives, beginning with the world
within. The instrument we use in our life experiences, says the author, is not
the body, as we generally assume, but the mind. The state of our lives depends
on the state of our mind. We all are familiar with the anguish we feel when our
minds race uncontrollably around some worry, some experienced hurt, or some
anticipated fear. Our minds manage to create a hell around us. As we learn to
tame our minds into fit instruments of experience, step by step we gain control
over our lives. No matter what our outer circumstances may be, with our minds
controlled we are the masters of the situation; we can choose to live in joy.
This
is what meditation teaches us.
Meditation & Life takes us through the logic behind meditation, as
well as the specific techniques of applying meditative practice to our daily
lives. [We are shown] how, by gaining mastery over our inner lives, we
transform our individual existence.
Entering the text proper, the very first section is
titled 'Self-Mastery'. Here are the opening two paragraphs.
As
long as a person is alive, he or she comes into contact with different things
and beings and circumstances. Nobody in the world can, even for a moment, live
without coming into contact with the objects of the world outside, or at least
with his or her own thoughts and ideas.
Thus,
not by choice, but by the compelling law of life, every one of us must meet our
world of circumstances at every moment of life.
If we are efficient in meeting our own world - if we have ready
dexterity, decisiveness, firm will, balance, equanimity and understanding - no
situation in life can break or enslave us. Unfortunately, many among us succumb
to the apparent threats of life's situations and become shattered
personalities…
The text then goes into two parts; condition and
cure. ...tbc...
