Hari
Om
Monday is AUM-day; in search of meditation.
For the next stage of our investigation on
meditation, we are going to study - and practice! - japa as a means to tame the
mind and we shall investigate the Gayatri Mantra.
The
act of 'meditation', you will by now have understood, is not a mere sitting
rigid, eyes squeezed shut, a falling asleep; neither is it a simple sitting and
musing over the events of life.
Meditation
is a state to be reached after the practice of physical control, relaxed but
controlled posture, a drawing inwards from awareness of body, then focusing
mind, then intellect and finally releasing all these to move into a space of
total awareness which is at once empty yet effulgent. Until that point is
reached we are in various states of meditational preparation and rehearsal.
First there is the settling in aasana. Next the ignoring of physical stimuli
(room temperature, draughts, voices and such). Then we have to wrangle with the
mind - the major hurdle. The more success we have in restraining mind the more
aware we become of our intellect as a separate, higher component of our mental
structure and the "I" voice within us - the ahankaara, the ego state
- which also has to be overcome to connect with our 'governing awareness' and
then onwards to full Consciousness Connection.
The
antaH karana** - the inner makeup of manas (mind), buddhi (intellect),
ahankaara and chitta (consciousness) - is where the vast majority of work is
required for the meditation student. You may like to review all articles
touching upon the antaH karana thus far from the label list in sidebar, but this post is directly related to this
point.
Everything
moves with such speed internally, that the four components are lumped together
under the term 'mind'. This is fine for daily purposes. Here in the seat of
contemplation, however, it is important to begin to know which part is taking
precedence at any given moment. We can only 'see' ourselves through this very
equipment and to be able to overcome them we have to use them. The pole vaulter
simply cannot be a pole vaulter without the pole used to make the vault, but
the vault itself cannot be made without releasing the instrument used to reach
the height aimed for.
There
are various stages of saadhana which have been supplied for the student to
engineer their 'vault'. One which has been mentioned a few times is that of
japa yoga; the path of repeated chanting of mantra. Many who follow the
jnaana-marg (knowledge path) would argue that japa falls into bhakti-marg
(devotional path). This is an error on their part. Certainly it can seem that
there is a ritualistic tendency which may arise from japa yoga… if this is
happening however, it simply means the student is failing themselves. A mere
twiddling of the beads or rote chanting can be done by anyone. Japa, to be
effective requires focused and alert attention. Japa, practiced well, brings
the mind and intellect into complete control, a single pointedness which is required
for pure meditation. The mind which has been tuned up through japa on a regular
basis starts to want the stillness created and will eagerly come under our
command.
Japa,
in short, is the method of keeping the mind on one thing and one thing only…
The Self, Higher Consciousness, Brahman…
Can
you, if the word 'pen' is mentioned, avoid immediately having an image of the
object mentioned come into your imagination? Here's another word. Try it…
COW…
There
- what happened? The word is inextricably associated with an image. This is
because, when we were young and impressionable, our parents kept repeating
'cow, cow, cow' and pointing to a picture of said animal. For ever and ever we
associate the word and the object thereafter.
You
may not have absolutely 'seen' a cow, but the essence of shape and size and
appearance entered your awareness on seeing that word, did it not? Yes it did.
Try again…
AEROPLANE!
Fun,
isn't it? Herein lies the basis of japa yoga and why it is so effective. Another aspect is that the more
we hold something dear, the more focus we are likely to give it. The image of a
cow may have held more definition for those readers who were brought up on a
farm and may have had a favourite cow, for example. We will always feel more
for 'pets' than we will for the general herd. In families, we cannot help but
have stronger feeling for those we see every day compared to our cousins or
aunts who may live distant and are seen but once a year. We will still have
fondness, but there is not the same bond at all. Japa, performed daily, in our
sacred space, becomes an intimate friend and we can the more readily devote
ourselves to it. Japa performed thus never really leaves us, even when we move
out of the meditation space, just as we can never really forget our mothers, no
matter how removed we are from them in a physical sense. Once bonded, ever
remembered. This is the clue that we must make japa a thing of the heart. In
doing this we find a tool which not only permits jnaana to enhance, but bhakti
to enter. The two wings of spiritual flight!
SAADHANA
During
the next week, observe how the mind forms images on hearing descriptive words
and nouns. Become aware of which the mind attaches to and which it ignores.
Begin this mental awareness, in order to better utilise japa yoga.
**[NB; this is not to be confused with the
'antahkarana' spoken of in various healing practices and other philosophies -
whilst they have arisen from this tradition, they have simplified and
re-interpreted. Such distillation still serves a purpose in life, but coming to
the source - to the 'mother tincture' if you will - will always be more
efficacious!]