Hari
OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!
The text under study is BHAJA GOVINDAM, song of despair of time-wasting, by Sri Adi Shankaraachaarya.
The
penultimate shloka…
àa[ayam<
àtyahar<
intyainTyivvekivcarm!,
jaPysmet-smaixivxan<
kuvRvxan<
mhdvxanm!.30.
Praanaayaamam
pratyaahaaram
Nityaanityavivekavichaaram,
Jaapyasameta-samaadhividhaanam
Kurvavadhaanam
mahadavadhaanam ||30||
The control of all the activities, the
sense-withdrawal,
The reflection and enquiry into the permanent and
impermanent,
Along with japa and practice of reaching the total
inner silence -
These you perform with care; with great care!
The
'activities' referred to are the functions of the body, as contained within the
praanayaama-kosha. With this, the guru
sets out a saadhana - a strict schedule of practice - for the ardent seeker of
Truth.
In Vedanta there are five key bihr¼ saxna/bahiranga
saadhanas or outer practices; study the Gita, worship the Lord, engage in
satsang, exercise charity and eliminate all the attaching distractions with
correct thinking. There are also the inner practices or ANtr¼ saxna/antaranga saadhanas; this shloka points to them. Control the
functions of the body (praanaayaama), withdraw the senses (pratyaahaara), use
your discrimination (viveka-vichaara), japa, and gain the cumulative effect of
samaadhi.
Praanaayaama
does not only pertain to control of breathing (for which it is most commonly
known), but to all the functions of 'life'; the word praana actually means life
and applies to all the needs of the body; perception and reception of things
into subjective life (praana), rejection of things and responses (apaana),
digestion (vyaana), the circulatory systems (samaana) and the power to lift
ourselves, ejection if you will, (udaana). All these together constitute
praanaayaama. On the physical level, there are some strong breathing exercises
which help to regulate all these functions - and it is for this reason that it
has become synonymous with respiration.
The
physical controls are important, for they are the starting point. Hence they
are given as the first step in the antaranga also - only when ground is
properly tilled will it properly bear crops! The next step is to plough the
field into organised furrows; thus we are asked to put a reign on the senses
and focus on the inner being. Cutting away all distractions (weeds and stones
of our spiritual field), only then can we address proper thinking to the matter
of what is Real and what is not. Developing a discriminative intellect is a key
part of Vedantic practice. Part of the path to this development is to utilise
japa; a voice meditation with repetition of a mantra in which the mind must
remain steady and unwavering. The level of concentration builds by its use and
this intellect can then be properly applied to the study and questioning of the
philosophical texts called the Upanishads in which are found logic and science
as well as mysticism.
One
who undertakes this kind of saadhana finds themselves ever more devoted to it,
rather than the external world, and little by little they will raise themselves
towards that Divine Goal of samaadhi - union with Self. It is not that samaadhi
is a separate thing to be attained like everything else of the world. It is
with us now, but like the 'lost key' or the 'misplaced spectacles', it is
forgotten somehow. Correct saadhana will simply lift the veil of forgetfulness
and we shall be restored to our lost Self.
This
is not something which can be forcibly completed. One must cajole and wheedle
and tease the mind along; there will be steps and plateaus as we attempt this
path. There must not be haste, for it will surely result in waste. Take your
time, complete each component fully before taking on the next. Become solid in
resolve to rise from the mundane into the Divine. Do this carefully and at a
pace which is right for you and, it is to be assured, samaadhi awaits. This is
the offer and promise of the guru in this shloka.
