Verse 30
प्राणायामं प्रत्याहारं नित्यानित्य
विवेकविचारम् । जाप्यसमेतसमाधिविधानं कुर्ववधानं
महदवधानम् ॥ ३०॥
Prāṇāyāmaṁ pratyāhāraṁ
nityānitya vivekavicāram,
jāpyasameta samādhividhānaṁ
kurvavadhānaṁ mahadavadhānam
The control of breath, the sense withdrawal,
discriminating between the permanent and the impermanent, along with a mind
that is absorbed in doing japa, perform these
with care, with great care.
Finally, we come to the two verses of
encouragement that bring this great text to an end. A good teacher is always
the one who ends on an encouraging note.
Five Important Aspects of Sadhana:
This verse is a reminder to us to be
consistent and ardent in our practice of the following five Sadhanas:
Controlling All Our Activities: It is activities that bind us and yet it is only activities which are
done as worship that can free us. Thus, we are to control all such activities
before they start controlling us.
The first sadhana of controlling activities
is explained as “pranayama” or control of breath in the first line of the
verse.
In Upadesa Saram, Ramana says, “By the
control of Breath, mind becomes still like a bird caught in a net”.
Sense Withdrawal: Sense indulgence has been dealt with in great detail in this
text. Here withdrawing them consciously is advised as a Sadhana.
Pranayama only controls the mind, it does not
purify it. So long as one holds his breath, mind is restrained. But the
suppressed mind jumps to its original mischievous state once the restraint is
removed.
Therefore, the aspirant should also learn and
perfect the art of self-withdrawal and self-settledness. The art of withdrawing
the mind from outer objects is called “pratyahara”.
Discrimination: This brings one to the more serious side of Sadhana. Every thought and
word and deed is passed through the intellect for an ‘anti-virus’ scan.
Both Pranayama and Pratyahara are useless
until one is ever vigilant and holds on to the enduring values in life.
He must be able to distinguish between Ego
and Non-Ego, the eternal and the ephemeral.
He should constantly analyze the true nature
of things and keep his sense of discrimination always keen and sharp.
Repetition of Lord’s Name: This is the most effective Sadhana for quick purification of the
mind, and cultivating devotion.
After one learns to discriminate between real
and unreal, and strives to cast aside all that belongs to the lower
personality, his ego, one should learn to take up japa and continuous
remembrance of the Lord.
Through Japa, he immerses himself in the
spiritual vibrations that make him feel the loving presence of the Lord.
Silent Contemplation on the Self: And the ultimate Sadhana of all is to spend time on deep inner
reflection or meditation in order to experience the qualities emanating from
our Self – peace, purity, wisdom, love and bliss.
Through all the above process - Pranayama,
Pratyahara, Discrimination, Japa, man’s inner purity is strengthened.
This leads to the final stage where all
modifications of the mind cease. In the stillness of silence within, the SELF
or the ATMAN shines forth!!
Man is always divine as he is born divine,
created by Lord as divine but his divinity is veiled, covered up by his
mistaken notion that he is something else than the divine atman.
When in the final gallop in his spiritual
sadhana, this veil is lifted, the SELF is realized in its true state.
Love.
