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One should meditate on his own guru, his
tradition and God Shankara after bathing and assuming a suitable
sitting posture in a sanctified place. He should purify the five
elements of his body with deep concentration.
Chandrajnana Agama, Kriyapada, 8.52-53. CJ P. 80

Monday
LESSON 92
Turning Inward
Meditation is a long journey, a pilgrimage into
the mind itself. Generally we become aware that there is such a thing
as meditation after the material world has lost its attraction to us
and previous desires no longer bind us to patterns of fear, greed,
attachment and ramification. We then seek through philosophy and
religion to answer the questions, "Who am I? Where did I come from?
Where am I going?" We ask others. We read books. We ponder and wonder.
We pray. We even doubt for a while that there is a Truth to be
realized, or that we, with all our seeming imperfection, can realize it
if it does exist. Oddly enough, this is the beginning of the
meditator's journey on the path, for we must empty ourselves fully
before the pure, superconscious energies can flow freely through us.
Once this state of emptiness and genuine searching is reached, we soon
recognize the futile attempt to find Truth on the outside. We vividly
begin to know, from the depth of ourselves, a knowing we could not
explain or justify. We simply know that Reality, or the Self God,
resides within, and we must go within ourselves to realize it. Of
itself, that knowing is not enough. Even great efforts to meditate and
vast storehouses of spiritual knowledge are not enough. Many have tried
to find the Truth this way. The Truth is deeper and is discovered by
the resolute devotee who dedicates his life to the search, who lives a
balanced life according to the yamas and niyamas, the Vedic spiritual laws, who willingly undergoes change, who finds and obeys a spiritual teacher, or satguru,
and who learns precisely the disciplined art of meditation. This, then,
outlines the destination of the meditator's journey and his means of
travel.
One of the first steps is to convince the subconscious
mind that meditation is good for us. We may want to meditate
consciously, yet maintain fears or doubts about meditation. Somewhere
along the way, a long series of events occurred and, upon reaction to
them, awareness became externalized. We became geared to the
materialistic concepts of the external world. As we begin to feel that
urgency to get back within, the old patterns of thought and emotion,
cause and effect, naturally repeat themselves. For a while, the
contents of the subconscious may conflict with our concepts of what it
is like to fully live spiritually. Our habits will be undisciplined,
our willpower ineffective. Quite often the subconscious seems almost
like another person, because it is always doing something
unanticipated.
In these early stages, we must mold the areas
that are different into a new lifestyle so that there will be nothing
in the subconscious that opposes what is in the conscious or
superconscious mind. Only when all three of these areas of
consciousness act in harmony can meditation be truly attained and
sustained. For us to be afraid of the subconscious is unwise, for it
then holds a dominant position in our life. The subconscious is nothing
more than the accumulation of vibratory rates of experience encountered
by awareness when it was externalized, a storehouse containing the
past.
Tuesday
LESSON 93
Remolding the Subconscious
Externalization of awareness results in one layer
upon another layer of misunderstanding void of an inner point of
reference. We have to reprogram the subconscious to change it, and not
worry over the old impressions. We have to make this change in a very
dynamic way by always remaining positive. You have heard many people
say, "It can't be done," and then go right ahead and prove it by
failing.
Never use the word can't, as it becomes very
restrictive to the subconscious. If often used, it becomes almost an
incantation. This is not good. As soon as we say, "I can't," all
positive doors subconsciously close for us. The flow of pure life force
is diminished, the subconscious is confused and we know we are going to
fail, so we don't even try. The solution to subconscious confusion is
to set a goal for ourselves in the external world and to have a
positive plan incorporating meditation daily as a lifestyle within that
goal. Through this positive initiative and daily effort in meditation,
awareness is centered within. We learn how to disentangle and
unexternalize awareness.
As soon as strong initiative is taken
to change our nature toward refinement, a new inner process begins to
take place. The forces of positive accomplishment from each of our past
lives begin to manifest in this one. The high points of a past life,
when something great has happened, become strung together. These merits
or good deeds are vibrations in the ether substance of our memory
patterns, because each one of us, right now, is a sum total of all
previous experience. All of the distractions of the external area of
the mind begin to fade, and positive meditation becomes easily
attainable. It is not difficult to move our individual awareness
quickly within when distractions occur.
This new pattern of setting goals and meeting them strengthens the will. One such goal is to perform sadhana every day without fail during a morning vigil period of worship, japa, scriptural
study and meditation. Daily meditation has to become part of our
lifestyle, not just a new something we do or study about. It must
become a definite part of us. We have to live to meditate. This is the
only way to reach the eventual goal on the path -- the realization of
the all-pervasive Sivam. Deep meditation takes the power of our
spiritual will, which is cultivated through doing everything we do to
perfection, through meeting the challenges of our goals, and through
its constant expression as we seek to do more than we think we can each
day. So, set your spiritual goals according to where you are on the
path. Set goals for deeper, more superconscious meditation, for a
change of your personality or outer nature, for better service to your
fellow man, and for a totally religious lifestyle.
Goals are
generally not used in spiritual life, because the inner mechanism of
goal setting is not clearly understood. Dynamic, successful people who
go into business for themselves have to have a positive, aggressive
plan and keep their lives in a good routine to achieve success. The
most prominent among them begin and end each day at a certain time in
order to sustain the pressure of the business world. We can and should
approach the practice of meditation in a similar way. Like the
businessman, we want to succeed in our quest, the only difference being
the choice of an inner goal as opposed to the choice of an outer goal,
the fulfillment of which entangles us and further externalizes
awareness.
Wednesday
LESSON 94
Setting Inner Goals
If we plan our meditation goals unrealistically, we
create unnecessary problems. For example, it might be unrealistic to
say, "I am going to realize the all-pervasive Sivam in two months." The
seeker setting this goal for himself may be far too externalized to
face the resultant reaction in the short period of two months. Ten
years, however, may be a more realistic goal for him, providing time is
spent regularly every day in meditation as he directs awareness in and
in and in, day after day after day, until all of the forces of the
nerve currents of the inner body begin to respond.
As they
respond, something new happens. He gains firm confidence in his own
abilities to fulfill positive goals by using his willpower. As each
inner goal is established then met, the pattern of his life is changed
and refined. The conscious mind, the subconscious mind and the
superconscious areas of the mind come together, and a spiritual dynamic
occurs. All aspects of his nature work together to strengthen and
deepen his meditations. Doubts and fears loosen their hold on him,
allowing awareness to penetrate to the core of mind substance. The mind
becomes quiet enough to turn back upon itself.
In the early
stages of meditation, it's very difficult to sit without moving,
because that has not been part of our lifestyle. The subconscious mind
has never been programmed to contentedly sit quietly. We didn't see our
families doing that. Perhaps we haven't seen anybody doing that. No
example has been set. Therefore, we have to be patient with ourselves
and not sit for too long in the beginning. Start by sitting for ten
minutes without moving. In a few weeks extend it to twenty minutes,
then a half hour. Thus we avoid being fanatical and allow the
subconscious to make its necessary adjustments.
These
adjustments are physical as well as emotional and intellectual. The
nerve currents rearrange themselves so that prolonged stillness and
absence of external activity is comfortable. Similarly, the philosophy
of the path of enlightenment fully penetrates every layer of the
subconscious, adjusting previous erroneous concepts of ourselves and
enabling us to consciously intuit various philosophical areas and know
them to be right and true from our personal experience of
superconsciousness. This, then, may take a few years.
If we
plant a tree, we have to wait for it to grow and mature before we enjoy
its shade. So it is in meditation. We make our plans for beginning the
practices of meditation, then give ourselves enough time, several
years, to fully adjust and remold the subconscious mind. Living as we
do in the externalized culture of the West, we are conditioned to be in
a hurry to get everything. When we try to internalize awareness too
quickly through various intense and sometimes fanatical ways, we reap
the reaction. Meditation goes fine for a brief span, but then
externalizes again according to the programming of our family and
culture.
To permanently alter these patterns, we have to work
gently to develop a new lifestyle for the totality of our being --
physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. This we do a
little at a time. Wisdom tells us that it cannot be done all at once.
We have to be patient with ourselves. If we are impatient on the path,
failure is in view. We are going to fail, because instant spiritual
unfoldment is a fairy tale concept. It is far better that we recognize
that there will be difficult challenges as the subconscious looms up,
with all of its conflicts and confusions, heavy and strong. When it
does, we must face them calmly, through spiritual journaling, vasana daha tantra. If
our eventual goal is clearly in mind and we have a positive
step-by-step plan on how to reach that goal, then we won't get excited
when something goes wrong, because we view our mental and emotional
storms in their proper and temporary perspective.
Thursday
LESSON 95
Dealing With Doubt
Not only does the subconscious create barriers in
our own minds, it also draws to us the doubts and worries of other
people for us to face and resolve. There is such a vast warehouse of
negative conditioning against meditation that it is almost useless to
begin if we believe any of it at all. We have all heard a few of the
fears: "Something terrible must have happened to you as a child if you
want to go into that." "You don't love me anymore. That's why you
meditate -- you're withdrawing." "You're just afraid of society and
responsibility. It's an escape from the real world that you can't cope
with." "You're going to be poor if you meditate. Everyone who meditates
is broke, you know." And so it goes, on and on.
We do have to
answer these objections for the subconscious and thus settle all doubts
within ourselves. Of course, the results of meditation will themselves
convince the subconscious of the benefit of inner sadhana as we
bring forth perceptive insights, renewed energy, a happy and balanced
life and spiritual attainment. Negative conditioning breaks down as we
prove to ourselves according to our own experience that it was wrong.
Such conditioning is inhibiting to some and has to be corrected. To
counteract it, we can ask ourselves, "Why? What is it all about? How
did I attract these problems? Do I still have such doubts in my
subconscious, consciously unknown?" We can further ask, "Who has done
the conditioning? What was their life like? Were they happy people?"
Finally, from our own positive efforts to cognize, we actually remold
the subconscious, erase false concepts and become free.
The
mind in its apparently endless confusion and desires leads us by
novelty from one thing to the next. The reaction to this causes the
miseries of the world, and miseries of the world happen inside of
people. But occasionally we have to call a halt to the whole thing and
get into ourselves. That's the process of meditation. It's an art. It's
a faculty we have within ourselves which, when developed, gives a
balance and a sense to life. And everyone, whether they know it or not,
is searching, trying to find out what life is all about.
So many people tell me, "Oh, I would like to study yoga,
but I just don't have the time," "I can't get quiet enough," or "The
kids make too much noise," or some excuse like that. They don't realize
that you don't become quiet automatically. Becoming quiet is a
systematic process. You become quiet systematically. It might take you
two weeks of practice before you can sit down and feel that you've made
any progress at all, or even feel like sitting down and trying to
become quiet. But it's one of those things you eventually have to do.
You get up and cook breakfast because you have to eat. You are hungry.
And when you become hungry enough to get quiet within yourself, you
will do so automatically. You will want to. And then what happens? You
will sit down, and your mind will race. Say, "Mind, stop!" and see how
fast you can make your mind stop and become quiet. Say, "Emotions, you
are mind-controlled," and see how quiet you become.
Friday
LESSON 96
The Right Conditions
We now come to the practical aspects of meditation.
In the beginning, it is best to find a suitable room that is dedicated
solely to meditation. If you were a carpenter, you would get a shop for
that purpose. You have a room for eating, a room for sleeping. Now you
need a separate room just for the purpose of meditation. When you find
it, wash the walls and ceiling, wash the windows. Prepare a small altar
if you like, bringing together the elements of earth, air, fire and
water. Establish a time for your meditations and meet those times
strictly. There will be days when you just don't feel like meditating.
Good. Those are often the best days, the times when we make strong
inner strides. The finest times to meditate are six in the morning,
twelve noon, six in the evening, and twelve midnight. All four of these
times could be used, or just choose one. The period of meditation
should be from ten minutes to one-half hour to begin with.
By
sitting up straight, with the spine erect, we transmute the energies of
the physical body. Posture is important, especially as meditation
deepens and lengthens. With the spine erect and the head balanced at
the top of the spine, the life force is quickened and intensified as
energies flood freely through the nerve system. In a position such as
this, we cannot become worried, fretful, depressed or sleepy during our
meditation. But if we slump the shoulders forward, we short-circuit the
life energies. In a position such as this, it is easy to become
depressed, to have mental arguments with oneself or another, or to
experience unhappiness. So, learn to sit dynamically, relaxed and yet
poised. The full-lotus position, with the right foot resting on the
left thigh and the left foot above, resting on the right thigh, is the
most stable posture to assume, hands resting in the lap, right hand on
top, with both thumbs touching.
The first observation you may
have when thus seated for meditation is that thoughts are racing
through the mind substance. You may become aware of many, many
thoughts. Also the breath may be irregular. Therefore, the next step is
to transmute the energies from the intellectual area of the mind
through proper breathing, in just the same way that proper attitude,
preparation and posture transmuted the physical-instinctive energies.
Through regulation of the breath, thoughts are stilled and awareness
moves into an area of the mind which does not think, but conceives and
intuits.
There are vast and powerful systems of breathing that
can stimulate the mind, sometimes to excess. Deep meditation requires
only that the breath be systematically slowed or lengthened. This
happens naturally as we go within, but can be encouraged by a method of
breathing called kalibasa in Shum, my language of meditation. During kalibasa,
the breath is counted, nine counts as we inhale, hold one count, nine
counts as we exhale, hold one count. The length of the beats, or the
rhythm of the breath, will slow as the meditation is sustained, until
we are counting to the beat of the heart, hridaya spanda pranayama.
This exercise allows awareness to flow into an area of the mind that is
intensely alive, peaceful, blissful and conceives the totality of a
concept rather than thinking out the various parts.
Saturday
LESSON 97
Control Of Breath
Control of the breath, to be learned properly, might
take months or even years. That's all right. If you were learning to
play a musical instrument, it would take months or even years to
perfect the basic principles of making chords and putting chords
together into a melody. There is no hurry. Hurry is the age we want to
bypass when we meditate. The control of the breath is exactly the same
as the control of awareness, so it is good to be patient in the early
stages and perfect each element of practice.
As we learn to
breathe rhythmically and from the diaphragm, we also release tensions
in the solar plexus. We learn to be spontaneous and free on the inside,
and life force runs through us in an uninhibited way. We achieve and
learn to maintain contentment, santosha. All of these things
come through the simple techniques we practice while in meditation. But
the practice of meditation is not the end. It is the total being of man
that is the end to be sought for -- the well-rounded, content,
spontaneous being that is totally free.
After you have quieted
the body, and the breath is flowing regularly, close your eyes. Close
your ears and shut off the external sense perceptions. As long as you
are aware of sights and sounds on the outside, you are not
concentrated. It is a fallacy to think you have to find a totally
silent place before you can go within. When your senses are stilled,
you don't hear any sounds. You're in a state of silence. You don't hear
a car that passes, you don't hear a bird that sings, because your
awareness has shifted to different perceptions. It helps, but it's not
necessary, to have a totally silent place. This is not always possible,
so it is best not to depend on outer silence. We must discover silence
within ourselves. When you are reading a book that is extremely
interesting, you are not hearing noises around you. You should be at
least that interested in your meditations.
Having thus quieted
the outer forces, we are prepared to meditate. Just sitting is not
enough. To meditate for even ten or fifteen minutes takes as much
energy as one would use in running around a city block three times. A
powerful meditation fills and thrills us with an abundance of energy to
be used creatively in the external world during the activities of daily
life. Great effort is required to make inner strides. We must strive
very, very hard and meet each inner challenge.
Sunday
LESSON 98
Four Steps To Meditation
When we go into meditation, what do we meditate
upon? What do we think about during meditation? Usually the sincere
devotee will have a guru, or spiritual guide, and follow his instructions. He may have a mantra, or mystic sound, which he concentrates upon, or a particular technique or attitude he is perfecting. If he has no guru or specific instructions, then here is a raja yoga exercise
that can enhance inner life, making it tangibly real and opening inner
doors of the mind. Use it to begin each meditation for the rest of your
life. Simply sit, quiet the mind, and feel the warmth of the body. Feel
the natural warmth in the feet, in the legs, in the head, in the neck,
in the hands and face. Simply sit and be aware of that warmth. Feel the
glow of the body. This is very easy, because the physical body is what
many of us are most aware of. Take five, ten or fifteen minutes to do
this. There is no hurry. Once you can feel this warmth that is created
by the life force as it flows in and through the body's cells, once you
can feel this all over the body at the same time, go within to the next
step.
The second step is to feel the nerve currents of the
body. There are thousands of miles of nerve currents in each of us.
Don't try to feel them all at once. Start with the little ones, with
the feeling of the hands, thumbs touching, resting on your lap. Now
feel the life force going through these nerves, energizing the body.
Try to sense the even more subtle nerves that extend out and around the
body about three or four feet. This may take a long time. When you have
located some of these nerves, feel the energy within them. Tune into
the currents of life force as they flow through these nerves. This is a
subtle feeling, and most likely awareness will wander into some other
area of the mind. When this happens, gently bring it back to your point
of concentration, to feeling the nerves within the body and the energy
within the nerves.
The third step takes us deeper inside, as
we become dynamically aware in the spine. Feel the power within the
spine, the powerhouse of energy that feeds out to the external nerves
and muscles. Visualize the spine in your mind's eye. See it as a hollow
tube or channel through which life energies flow. Feel it with your
inner feelings. It's there, subtle and silent, yet totally intense. It
is a simple feeling. We can all feel it easily. As you feel this hollow
spine filled with energy, realize that you are more that energy than
you are the physical body through which it flows, more that pure energy
than the emotions, than the thought force. Identify yourself with this
energy and begin to live your true spiritual heritage on this Earth. As
you dive deeper into that energy, you will find that this great power,
your sense of awareness and your willpower are all one and the same
thing.
The fourth step comes as we plunge awareness into the
essence, the center of this energy in the head and spine. This requires
great discipline and exacting control to bring awareness to the point
of being aware of itself. This state of being totally aware that we are
aware is called kaif. It is pure awareness, not aware of any
object, feeling or thought. Go into the physical forces that flood, day
and night, through the spine and body. Then go into the energy of that,
deeper into the vast inner space of that, into the essence of that,
into the that of that, and into the that of that. As you sit in this
state, new energies will flood the body, flowing out through the nerve
system, out into the exterior world. The nature becomes very refined in
meditating in this way. Once you are thus centered within yourself, you
are ready to pursue a meditation, a mantra or a deep philosophical question.
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