Upadesa Saram - Post 10

Verse 8

भेदभावनात्सोऽहमित्यसौ|

भावनाऽभिदापावनीमता||

bhedabhāvanātso'hamityasau |

bhāvanā'bhidā pāvanī matā ||

Better than a conception of difference is that “I am He,” thus, Meditation without difference is considered holy.

We are still with meditational practice, but we now move to the inner feature of the practice. We find that once again there is a factor which differentiates the practice into two types – in Duality and in Non-Duality, i.e. Saguna and Nirguna meditation; or Bheda and Abheda Bhavana in meditation. 

Let us see what is the factor which determines whether we are in Saguna or in Nirguna Meditation as we proceed further.

What is the “Single Thought” in Bhakti Yoga? 

In the early stages of contemplation in Bhakti Yoga, the thought that the devotee holds on to is: “O Lord, Thou art my mother and father. Please protect me!” The devotee at this stage still feels separate from the Lord, and so he addresses Him in this manner. There is a sense of the wave meditating on the ocean. The distinction is there. This distinction is what classifies this stage to be “in Duality”. 

The Culmination of Bhakti Yoga: 

This stage of contemplation without Duality is well-known among all saints, and all the scriptures, as being “sacred, pure, holy, superior, greater.” 

In a series of discourse delivered on Bhagwad Gita by Swami is late 80s in Prashanti Nilayam, Swami describes about a Guru / Preceptor who kept on teaching “DASOHAM” to his young students.

One day, the teacher starts chanting “SOHAM” and the students are confused and they ask the master, “Master, How come you have suddenly changed from “Dasoham” to “Soham”.

The teacher explains in the manner which can be understood by the young students and says, ‘You know that Krishna always steals butter and also he steals our mind and we worship Him as chitachora. 

He came yesterday night and he stole the “Dasa” in my prayers and left me with Soham”!!! 

(All these expressions can come only from Swami!)

Thus, The “single thought” changes as the devotee progresses from Duality to Non-duality. It becomes the thought “SOHAM” – “I am He”, which is identical to the Mahavakyas of the Upanishads. 

At this point, there is the merging of Bhakti Yoga Sadhana and Jnana Yoga Sadhana. 

In the upcoming January month talk in Sai center in Muscat, the author shall deal with this single pointed devotion which changes the dimension of devotion and this is the turning point of devotion from Duality to Non Duality, which we will see in the next 2 month’s satsangh.

In ordinary human love, the culmination is complete identity with the beloved. It is the same in divine love also – the devotee loses himself and becomes one with the Supreme Reality. 

As long as the distinction between Lord and the devotee is there, meditation has not reached its culmination; it has not reached maturity.

The general impulse of the devotee is to NOT want to be one with the Lord. There is a strong tendency among Bhaktas to want to remain distinct from God as they can then continue to enjoy the sweetness of loving God. 

But the Lord takes it as His duty to take His devotee to the highest even if he does not wish to. He will create the right circumstances for that to happen. Here is a classic example of how the Lord does this.

Sri Ramakrishna was completely absorbed in devotion to the Divine Mother Kali. The moment he closed his eyes, he would behold only the Divine Mother. To him one day, “God sent” the great Vedanta Guru, Sri Totapuri, who offered to take Sri Ramakrishna to the highest non-dual experience. 

Typical of Sri Ramakrishna, he went to the Mother Kali to get Her permission before following Totapuri. The Mother said, “Yes, take it. I Myself have sent him to you.” 

Ramakrishna began his tutelage under Sri Totapuri. Totapuri asked him to close his eyes. What did he see? Ramakrishna could only behold the Divine Mother. In Vedantic terms, it meant he was still stuck in form. Sri Totapuri was getting impatient and frustrated. 

He picked up a sharp glass piece and pressed it on Sri Ramakrishna’s Trikuti (between the eyebrows). “What do you see?” Sri Ramakrishna, recounting his experience, said, “I cut my Mother with the sword of discrimination, and went into the Nirguna state at once!” 

This was how God Himself ensures that His devotee is taken ultimately to the highest non-dual experience. 

In Devotion, the desire is to reach the God and attain God. God is the object of desire in this case and Devotee is the one who desires.

Till the time there is a Bheda or difference between the two, there is sense of incompleteness. Once the devotee transcends the difference and attains Lord, then there is Joy, there is cessation of difference between the desirer and the desired. 

However, in the world full of objective pleasure, this cessation of duality is for a short span of time and once the devotee wakes up from that experience of non-dual Joy, there is some another desire, waiting to catch him and to make him run after it.

What is the solution then?

Resolve all the objects of desire into only one object of desire, the LORD.

This is explained in an earlier verse where he wrote, “There are suppose 1000 objects which the eyes see, the senses desire. Channelize your mind, your thoughts in your meditation on God with such intensity that all other objects of desire dissolve in one object, The Lord.”

What happens after this? The meditation, the focus on Lord is single pointed and gradually, in the intensity of your meditation, the distance between God and you, the meditated and the meditator keeps reducing (which can be compared with the chitachora entering your home, entering your heart and stealing your mind (your mind which may jump to any other object, is being stolen by the chitachora) and with your mind taken by Him, all the duality between yourself and God is gone as the mind which is capable of perceiving the duality is no more there.

While talking about Swami, author said, “Who else but Swami can be the one who sacrifices maximum, who gives maximum”. 

He is prepared to sacrifice the stage of His devotee ever remaining at His feet, ever worshipping Him as a divine phenomenon which can never be attained but can only be prayed and worshipped and is prepared to take His sincere devotee from worshipping His form, to reaching the formless, Non-Dual infinite existence!” (Will we ever afford to let someone who adores us, our form to get away from us ever?)

Love.

Upadesa Saram - Post 9

Verse 7

आज्यधारया स्रोतसा समम् |

सरलचिन्तनंविरलतःपरम्||

ājyadhārayā srotasā samam |

saralacintanaṁviralataḥparam ||

Like a stream of ghee or the even current of a river, Continuous contemplation is superior to that which is intermittent. 

Meditation or Dhyana is a function that takes place entirely in the mind. The proper definition of meditation is that it is a single thought-flow or stream directed to the Divine within. To grasp clearly what meditation is, the Maharshi gives us two similes. When we understand the similes, we will surely come to know more about what meditation is. 

The 2 Similes: Flow of Ghee and Flow of Water: 

Each simile has something to contribute towards the understanding of meditation, and each one also has some disadvantages in doing so fully. Together, they combine well to fully represent the true practice of meditation. 

i) Aajya Dhaarayaa: “Flow of Ghee”. [Oil could also have been used here in place of the ghee without affecting the meaning, but ghee has the advantage of having holy connotations, as it is used in all rituals and havans.] 

When melted ghee flows from one container to another, the special characteristic we note is that the stream is continuous, unbroken. The stream may become very thin, but it will not break up. 

That describes beautifully the steadiness with which the single thought has to be sustained during meditation. 

The single thought must be maintained unbroken by any interruptions to it. Success in meditation is measured by the duration one can maintain such a single-pointed state of mind. 

ii) Srotasaa Samam: “Flow of River”. 
In this simile, the medium chosen is water. Water has a very low viscosity. Its flow therefore has a spontaneity about it, which is missed in the flow of ghee. 

Meditation is very much a spontaneous process. There is a sense of enjoyment, lightness, freshness and coolness about it that is captured well in the flow of water in a river. 

How ever, 

The disadvantage of the “ghee simile” when applied to meditation is that the viscosity of ghee being quite high, there is a difficulty in the flow of the ghee. This viscosity indicates  attachment that a meditator may develop  to the process of  meditation itself. This attachment makes the process slower.

The disadvantage of water is that its flow is not steady as ghee. It flows noisily; splashing and spluttering along the way; and breaks up in continuity when it arrives at a waterfall, becoming a spray of fine water drops like rain. That is, the meditator may lose focus and concentration, swaying away, like the discontinuity in the river flow.

Meditation must combine the advantages in both simile.

So, the emphasis here by Sri Ramana is, 

·       Let the meditation be uninterrupted like the flow of Ghee, but without the viscosity of Ghee, that is, the meditator should not get attached to the process of meditation.

·       Let the meditation be like the river but without the unsteadiness, interruption and the noise of the river flow.

From the above, it is clear that Ramana says, effortless meditation, uninterrupted like a ghee and spontaneous like water. 

When a person begins the practice of meditation, he is unlikely to be successful at it at first go. There will be many breaks in his concentration, in his power to hold the single thought of the nature of God for longer than a few seconds. 

There was an anecdote that used to be recounted by the saint, Sadasiva Brahmendra. He used to say, “In case one desires to get Samadhi at one shot, it is like the one who sent his son to study the 4 Vedas. On the 5th day, when his son had not yet returned, he reasoned thus, ‘He has gone to study the 4 Vedas. It is already the fifth day, why has he not returned?’ 

There can be no such rush in Sadhana. It has to be continuous, steady and without losing hopes.

Thus the broken or interrupted Dhyana is natural for the beginner, and not to be looked down upon. Sadhana takes time and great effort.

The aspirant must realize that the nature of mind is to jump from one thought to another and therefore, in the beginning, when he puts the mind to meditation, it is unnatural for the mind to focus on a single object, God and therefore, being put to some unnatural process, the mind is bound to retaliate and try not to focus on the object of meditation.

It is only with much effort and practice that he can succeed to increase the duration of holding the thought for longer periods. 

As the author has been conveying in recent messages, getting convinced about the Goal in Spiritual Sadhana and accordingly, developing the Conviction to pursue sadhana in spite of interruption, in spite of obstacles, is very much required for a sincere spiritual aspirant.

Love.

Upadesa Saram - Post 8

Verse 6

उत्तमस्तवादुच्चमन्दतः|

चित्तजंजपध्यानमुत्तमम्|| 

uttamastavāduccamandataḥ|

cittajaṁjapadhyānamuttamam || 

Superior to hymns of praise is loud or soft japa;

Mind-born japa-meditation is the best. 

Than the best hymns of praise, loud or soft,

Mind-born japa or meditation is better. 

The Four Stages in Japa described in this verse are as under:-

i) Stava: This means “glorification of the Lord”. This includes the singing of Stotrams, praises to the Lord, Bhajans, chanting of the Vishnu Sahasranam, the 1000 Names of Lord Vishnu, etc. In this stage, there can be musical accompaniments also. One’s hands, ears, eyes, and mind are engaged in the practice. 

ii) Uccha Japa: In this form, everything remains as above, but the musical instruments are removed as a way of narrowing down the attention of the devotee to fewer senses. The hands are not used; only the ears, eyes and the mind are available for this form of concentration on the Lord. 

iii) Manda or Upamshu Japa: When the Japa is chanted very softly, as a whisper, the sense of hearing is effectively removed from the practice; only the eyes and the mind are available for the practice. 

iv) Chintajam Japa: When the Japa is done only with the mind, with even the eyes kept closed; another sense is withdrawn from the practice; now only the mind is available for it. Having taken the practice into the mind, this becomes the subtlest form of Japa. 

Ramana Maharishi says, the chittam japa or the silent meditation is better than the manda japa or chanting in lower voice, chanting in lower voice is better than the chanting in louder voice or uccha japa which in turn is better than just praising the Lord through ritualistic singing / chanting.

Mainly focusing on the last two modes of Japa - Slow and soft chanting and silent mental japa, there is mantra / chant, then silence, then mantra, then silence. 

Since each time we chant softly or silently a mantra, Say AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA, there can be no thought building up in the mind as each chant is complete by itself and does not lead to any other process in continuation of the chanting.

For example, let us say, we see a car, immediately we may think about the country in which it is made, say America. From there, the thought can go to America and from there, thought can go to some memory about America which you have read somewhere or when you have visited, from there, the thought can travel about some person whom you met in America, from there, attachment / hatred feeling can arise out of your memory of your experience with that person etc… So, you have started from somewhere and have gone somewhere!!

Whereas, in a soft / silent japa on “Aum Namah Shivaya”, each time, it can be only thought of Shiva and then there is silence, the process is complete. Then again chanting again thought on shiva only.

Thus, in this process, you are nearing silence. There is no “building up” of thoughts in this case, like the build-up we saw above in case of thoughts building up on the sight of a car.

It is to be noted, observed and absorbed that SILENCE IS ONE’S REAL EXISTENCE AS SELF.

During japa, one has to observe the silence between the chant / japa. The observer is also Silence and the observed is also Silence. Thus, the mental chanting taken up by observing silence is actually meditation, as it takes you to your SELF.

In this way, the chanting itself becomes a meditation as it is helping you to observe the silence between the chants.

This silence is not disturbed by chanting, provided the chanting is not mechanical chanting and mouth chanting and thoughts not aligned with the chanting and they travel somewhere.

When there is silence at three levels, silence of the body , silence of speech and most important, silence of mind, then , for those few seconds, you lose cognizance of your individual physical identity and you exist as PURE EXISTENCE or SELF.

Love.