Hari
Om
Monday is AUM-day; in search of meditation.
We have been exploring the writings of Gurudev, through his book
'Meditation & Life'. All the instructive chapters have been rendered and
now there follows twelve 'chapters' which are designed for contemplation both
before and after each meditation session. Please note that the actual writings
of Gurudev are quite lengthy, so only the gist and key points are going to be
given here. You are
again encouraged to seek out a copy of the book to keep to hand as it is an
inspiration and with each reading something more will drop into place.
Ch. 32; Study, Japa and Meditation.
Now we
must consider how best to apply meditation in our daily life; too easily
worldly infringements and agitations arise to distract us or our internal
environment means we succumb to fantasies and emotions of our own making. How
to do this thing?
Saadhana
- the diligent practice/performance - of the principles from the beginning to
the end. ...Are you now asking 'what principles'?! Go back and read again!!!
The Rsis left a worthy formula of practice. Saadhana must have an intelligent
approach, logical, yet practical, so that the average person can begin the
climb to moksha. Such a practice will not be without its challenges and hurdles
- all top athletes will tell you 'no pain no gain'. You must become a spiritual
athlete. A degree of heroism is required in order to gain results. If you are
reading this now without having begun at the first text here at AV-blog, then
you may have missed the point that everything begins with study. The Sadhana
Panchakam is a text specific to what a seeker may expect as s/he takes up
the path of Vedanta. With that short poem of five shlokas, Adi Shankara laid
out the forty steps of saadhana. Study is the first and must remain throughout.
Study
must be undertaken in a full-hearted and participative way; participation
meaning applying the things read into
life. A musician, on reading the sheet music, may well know what is going on
with the music, but the only way to prove the truth of that is to apply (play)
it; then the only way to know how successful was the playing is to play it before
an audience, whose feedback and reactions will be valuable for fine-tuning the
performance. In daily reading the scriptures, we must inculcate the teachings
and permit them to enter our thoughts, words and deeds, so that our 'audience'
- the world around us - can give us feedback as to how we are doing. This is
first-step saadhana. In studying, however, we must also consider attending
groups and sessions where we can hear those with more expertise and more
advanced learning, in order to benefit from their experience. The reading and
listening attentively is called as shravanam. The inculcation and application,
the working over the arguments and sorting out our conclusions till we are
satisfied that what we have read or heard is honest and pertinent is the stage
of saadhana called as mananam.
Application of such principles as ahimsa (no harm), bhakti
(Divine Love), seva (selfless service) is considered as a necessary part of
Dharma (correct and dutiful living) and may be referred to as Karma Yoga - the
path of action. There are some folk for whom this is their preferred path and
they use this alone as their spiritual means. We all may use it as our
'scourer', the method of purifying ourselves of negative influence and
ingrained vaasanas. Therefore each action we undertake can be offered up in
saadhana. Once we become more active in actual study and daily reading of
shaastra and puranas and suchlike, then we are truly participating in spiritual
life. Once we begin attending classes and discourses, we can be said to be
undertaking %pasn/upaasana (sitting near). Upaasana can
also be used in the context of sitting quietly and bringing the image of our
ishta devetaa (personal god-image) into our mind thus bringing Him close to
ourselves. To deepen this further, dedicated periods of each day may become
necessary.
This
is where japa comes in. The
action of turning the beads narrows our focus whilst the chanting of mantra
brings Brahman closer to us. For novices this must be practiced in short
bursts. The mind needs to be tamed in the same way an athlete's muscles must be
strengthened or a musician learns a new piece. A little at a time till each
part is perfected, then adding a bit more
and a bit more, lengthening the time and deepening the focus.
In
Yoga Vishista, a text wherein the great sage Vashista advises Shri Rama on
matters of spiritual practice, the following is said, "After listening,
study, then japa, then practice meditation. After emerging from meditation,
engage in listening, study and japa. After japa, meditate. At the end of
meditation, pursue japa. One who is thus well trained in japa and meditation is
a steady seeker upon whom the Auspiciousness is sure to shower Its grace."
All
spiritual practices are training by which the disturbances of the thoughts in
our mind are brought to a minimum. In the hush of this relatively quiet space,
the practice of meditation takes on an efficiency not previously felt. There
comes a sense of expansion and the essence of pure joy spreads in. This state
leaves behind for a short time a subjective sense of holiness and contentment;
it is the first experience that assures the student of further rewards ahead.
With the diligent practice, even this 'base camp of bliss' can seem like an
ecstasy; the eager student will never turn away from it now. A warning however
- there are those who get lost in this first plateau, where sometimes there can
be 'experiences'… the intelligent and attentive sadhaka will understand that
these are still further distractions and tests. Continued application and
practice is required, as Vashishta's words indicate. Life takes on a new turn
now as meditation becomes a driving need in each day and life becomes arranged around
it. What is more, the life which must be lived around it takes on improvements,
relationships change, all nonsense drops away. As the mind retires from the
world of objects, drawing further into the meditative realms, the meditator
finds what Gurudev terms 'mystic regions of strange beauty leading to extreme
peace.' The ultimate goal is samaadhi, the transcendental existence, which only
the most dedicated are likely to achieve - however, there are many joys to be
had from meditation along the way!
It
is not for no reason that meditation has been embraced all over the global
community, whether or not philosophy is provided with it. It may be commented,
though, that having the understanding of the proper philosophy of meditation is
much more likely to bring success -
simply telling people to 'empty their mind', without any logical basis
and proper support for the how and why of it, will rarely bring true benefits.
Our
mental power is so readily invested in the external. Learn to bring it inwards
and watch it explode! Remember to hasten sincerely, but slowly.
