Sri Yukteswar Giri

Forget the past. The vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. Human conduct is ever unreliable until anchored in the Divine. Everything in future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now.

 

Sri Sri Swami Yukteswar Giri

Dhyana Vahini - Post 11

Chapter IV

 

Be unaffected by illusion

 

The intellect (buddhi) in us is the witness of all things in this objective world. These worldly things limit and colour the intellect; they affect it and mould it into consciousness (chaithanya). Illusion (maya) is only the intellect as affected by everything, as warped and twisted by the impressions of everything. Therefore, the spiritual consciousness that is unaffected by illusion —i.e. upon which the world has failed to produce any impression— is the Lord (Iswara).

Therefore, the person who is striving to reach the stage of the Lord must be unaffected by illusion, unimpressed by the world! How can one remain so unaffected? Through analysis, ratiocination, fearless inquiry, and pure reason. To acquire this analytical reason (viveka), sharing in the task of promoting the welfare of every being in nature is essential.

Introspection by a devotee

The very essence of the above has been covered elaborately in the last 2 satsanghs on Moksha Gita, while the subjects Maya and Avidya were dealt with. They are available in the youtube channel.

Even when a Jiva is gripped by Illusion or avidya, he continues to be divine in essence. So, this contradiction of  being divine and existing as totally non-divine is the struggle which a human being carries with him for several births till the time he takes to spiritual path seriously, as Swami mentions as “ person who is striving to reach the stage of the lord…..”

First, good qualities; later, the absence of qualities

The passing show, this world (jagath), is based on illusions (maya). That is why it is branded “false”. But do not conclude that mere recognition of the falsity of the world or an awareness that one has certain shortcoming will lead one on the higher path and take one to the highest truth. 

Without a good character full of sterling qualities, one can never achieve progress in the spiritual field. Progress depends on the worth and quality of the individual, just as the harvest depends on the fertility of the field. Upon such a worthy piece of land, sow the seeds of sterling qualities and irrigate with the waters of reason and analysis; the plentiful harvest will be ready in due time! 

On lands where the seedlings of good qualities are not planted and tended, useless weeds multiply; and where orderly gardens could have been formed, thorny bushes create a jungle of impenetrable confusion.

Even if a person, through perversity or blind conceit, has thus far not cultivated good qualities, the person can at least make a try or make efforts to secure them! If this is not done, the excellence of life cannot be tasted and life is a waste; its worth is nil. The mind, by sheer force of these opposing forces, gets lost in false values and is unable to develop along the right lines. Such a mind, turned away from good, might cause indescribable evil. All progress won by the spiritual aspirant might be destroyed by such a mind in an unguarded moment, like a spark falling on a keg of gun powder because of a moment’s negligence!

 

Introspection by a devotee

Every human being, born on this earth, dying and getting reborn, at some stage or the other, in some birth, must realize the need for turning Godward or turning inward, bury his past non-divine or demonic life and get seriously into the spiritual path, develop good qualities (Sadhana chatushtaya) and evolve from Animal man to Man man first, before aspiring to be a God man or God’s Man.

Bringing in Swami’s lines here is most appropriate.

“If this is not done, the excellence of life cannot be tasted and life is a waste; its worth is nil.”

Swami Krishnananda writes,

“..Sadhana, the spiritual approach to things, is not the practice of anything in the etymological or the grammatical sense of the term in the sense of doing something physically or acting in a particular manner temporarily, but being something quite different from what we are today. 

It is the rise of the lower being to the higher being. It is the efflorescence of the higher being in us from the seed of the lower that we are. It is the internal growth of our total personality to the universal perfection of the Absolute from the little seed which is implanted in us. The seed contains the vast banyan tree, as we know. Likewise, the eternity of the Absolute is present in the little cell of our body, which looks like almost nothing. Who can imagine that a huge banyan is contained in an insignificant seed which is not even properly visible to the naked eye?

“Repent ye, for the hour has come,” said Christ. The hour has come for us to repent for what we have done – not merely outwardly, but inwardly in our conduct and character. It is the time for us to repent wholeheartedly and weep that we have committed blunders sometimes knowingly, sometimes unknowingly. 

 

Love.

PS - There may be a temporary delay of few weeks in Dhyana vahini posts due to some personal reasons. Efforts would be to keep posting some important quotes of Swami or other realized masters during these days. 

 

Love.

 

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

 

 

To know the self as the only reality and all else as temporal and transient is freedom, peace and joy. It is all very simple. Instead of seeing things as imagined, learn to see them as they are. When you can see everything as it is, you will also see yourself as you are. It is like cleansing a mirror. The same mirror that shows you the world as it is, will also show you your own face. The thought ‘I am’ is the polishing cloth. Use it.

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

 

Live Session Tomorrow on "Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - Prathasmarami Stotram - Part 2"

 

https://youtu.be/CXoxT2HMmvA

Dhyana Vahini - Post 10

Chapter IV 

 

Swami continues,

 

"The meditator (dhyani) considers the realization of Atmic bliss as important, but the promotion of the welfare of the world is also an equally important aim. For carrying out that aim, one must bring certain physical, verbal, and mental tendencies under control. 

 

These are usually known as the tenfold sins: the three physical, the four verbal, and the three mental. The physical tendencies are: injury to life, adulterous desire, and theft. The verbal sins are: false alarms, cruel speech, jealous talk, and lies. The mental attitudes are: greed, envy, and denial of God.

 

Eschew the tenfold “sins”

 

The person intent on following the path of meditation must take every care that these ten enemies do not even approach. They have to be eschewed completely. The person needs tendencies that will help progress and not those that drag back. 

 

One must speak and act only good (subha), for good alone is auspicious (mangala) and the auspicious alone is Siva. This is what the scriptures (sastras) also say. The good is the auspicious. The auspicious is the spiritually helpful. The good is the instrument for merging in Siva.

 

Through the good, the meditator can achieve this world and the other; the meditator can promote their own welfare as well as the welfare of others. Welfare is the fruit of knowledge; ill-fare is the fruit of ignorance. Through welfare alone can peace, joy, and progress be attained. One’s very basic duty is the welfare of all beings! Promoting it and contributing to it is the right task. Living out one’s span of life in discharging this task is the ordained path.

 

Introspection by a devotee

 

Ten-fold sins against which Swami warns are:-

 

·       injury to life

·       adulterous desire

·       theft

·       false alarms

·       cruel speech

·       jealous talk

·       lies

·       greed

·       envy      and,

·       denial of God.

 

When we examine carefully, what is the root cause of any of the above 10 sins? It is our mind, which we are keeping active even while meditating.

 

Our Mind is let free to travel freely even while we are trying to meditate on God, whether the one with form or the formless Brahman.

 

Mind, by its very nature, is like that. But we should have the conviction to come back to meditation even if the mind tries to get out of our control. 

What Swami said to the student who told Swami that he is not able to control his mind.

 

Swami said, “You may not be able to control the mind at your age so easily, but do not take up any action as per dictates of the mind”

 

So, the real harm is done to ourselves when we take up action prompted by any of the 10 sins listed by Swami, falling slave to the dictates of our mind.

 

Initially, external source like an AUM recording or a Gayatri Mantra recording kept in low volume, shall be of immense help in bringing back our mind to the seat of meditation whenever it goes astray. But a day should come when the AUM is so synchronized within that the impact of AUM is experienced without having to listen to any recorded version of AUM.

 

A devotee’s Question to Ma: When will this state of unrest come to an end?

 

Ananda mayi ma answers: The fact that many of you feel concerned about it and ask: ‘When will it end?’ is also one of the ways of His Self-manifestation.

 

Jagat (world) means ceaseless movement, and obviously there can be no rest in movement. How could there be peace in perpetual coming and going? Peace reigns where no coming exists and no going, no melting and no burning. Reverse your course, advance towards Him then there will be hope of peace.

 

By your japa and meditation those who are close to you will also benefit through the helpful influence of your presence. In order to develop a taste for meditation you have to make a deliberate and sustained effort just as children have to be made to sit and study, be it by persuasion or coercion. 

 

By taking medicine or having injections a patient may get well; even if you do not feel inclined to meditate, conquer your reluctance and make an attempt. 

 

The habit of countless lives is pulling you in the opposite direction and making it difficult for you - persevere in spite of it! By your tenacity you will gain strength and be moulded; that is to say, you will develop the capability to do sadhana. Make up your mind that however arduous the task, it will have to be accomplished. Recognition and fame last for a short time only, they do not accompany you when you leave this world. If your thought does not naturally flow towards the Eternal, fix it there by an effort of will.

 

The obstinacy of the mind must be curbed with resoluteness. Whether the mind co-operates or not, you must be adamant in your determination to do a certain amount of practice without fail - simply because sadhana is man’s real work. For so long you have been accustomed to perform actions that fetter, therefore from sheer force of habit you feel the urge to bind yourself by activity again and again. But if you try hard for some time, you will be able to see for yourself how you are caught in your work, and that the more you engage in sadhana the quicker will be your advance.

 

As to self-surrender: by constantly endeavoring to live a life of self-dedication, it will come about one day. What does self-surrender mean (or, what is the use of saying I surrender), if not to surrender to one’s very own Self!!”

 

 Love.

 

Swami Sivananda

 

 

“The divine within you is stronger than anything that is without you. Therefore, be not afraid of anything. Rely on your own Inner Self, the Divinity within you. Tap the source through looking within. Improve yourself. Build your character. Purify the heart. Develop the divine virtues. Eradicate evil traits. Conquer all that is base in you. Endeavor to attain all that is worthy and noble. Make the lower nature the servant of the higher through discipline, Tapas, self-restraint and meditation. This is the beginning of your freedom.”

 

 Swami Sivananda Saraswati Maharaj

 

Dhyana Vahini - Post 9

Chapter III

 

Reaching the goal through meditation

 

Through meditation, it is possible to bring into memory the paradise that is one’s empire, discarding the transitory creations of the mind as a dream and a delusion. By engaging oneself systematically and calmly in meditation. Meditation can be made effective and tranquil. 

 

Thus, the road toward the highest experience is laid. A new understanding dawns, clear and unruffled. When the heights of meditation are reached, this understanding becomes so strong that one’s lower nature is destroyed and burned to ashes! Then, only “You” remain! The entire creation is a delusion of your mind! One alone IS truth (sathya), the Lord, Being-Awareness-Bliss (satchidananda), the highest Atma; the ONE is the Self (Sivoham).

 

The truth (sathya) is so subtle and so soothing. Once it is reached, there is no meditation and no meditator; all merge into One. That is the fixed, illumined experience. Exulting within that one is pure knowledge, the wise one (jnani) will be aware only of Atmic bliss (Atma-anubhava). That is the goal, the fruit of immortality. 

 

Attaining this transcendent experience, the yogi finishes meditation and moves among people resplendent with divinity! In the yogi, the Vedas find fulfillment. The yogi is transformed into a pure being. Only meditation has the capacity to make one transcend the vicissitudes of time and space and make one ever the same equanimous individual, as if one is another Creator himself.

 

Once the individual (jivi) is on the way toward the goal, the individual will derive full contentment from themself and discover within themself the source of bliss. The cravings and ambitions, delusions and falsehoods, and animal needs and antics that were worrying the individual till then all vanish. 

 

Since the Atma pervades all, equally and steadily, the individual also loses the “I-ness” and gets immersed in its inherent divine status. Such a person is the real great soul (mahatma), a liberated soul (jivan-muktha). Fullness is bliss (ananda); bliss is peace (santhi).

 

Those who do not give up the path of discrimination (vichara marga) receive the grace of the Lord, and they also realize the Atma. They will always be seeking the eternal truth that lies behind the dream-like illusions of this world.

 

Control the senses (jnanendriyas), which run helter-skelter; then, the origins of the disease will be destroyed. Let the mind keep a watch over its gymnastics; dam up the mad flood of thoughts and plans and schemes; then there will be no room for worries and anxieties in the mind. 

 

To diminish the wanderings of your thoughts, repeat the name of the Lord; that will keep out your sorrows and troubles. Without the effacement of the mind, spiritual wisdom (jnana) cannot dawn. The full person is one who has succeeded in this.

Gain inward vision

 

The spiritual aspirant must first learn the secret of the “inward sight”, the “vision directed inward”, and take the attention away from the exterior. You have heard so far little about the inner world, but divine life is nothing but this method of “inward living”. Just as the baby, after learning to watch and understands, tries to toddle here and there at home, so also the spiritual aspirant learns to toddle in the inner world and understands it. A healthy baby in the cradle waves its arms and legs in glee and lisps in joy, watching the lamp on the wall. Similarly, the spiritual aspirant, also healthy in body, mind, and soul, lying in the cradle of life, watches the inner world and claps the hands ceaselessly in great glee at that inner joy. This has to be done.

 

Besides, every thought, every word, every deed has to proceed from the full consciousness of knowledge. Direct your intelligence not to wander about but to dwell constantly in the inner world! This is the inward quest (antar vimarsha), and meditation (dhyana) is the most important instrument needed for this.

 

The spiritual aspirant can enter the inner quest through the gate of self-examination. That gate accords welcome into the highest and holiest status possible in life to every aspirant who is endowed with humility and devotion.”

 

Swami Sivananda says,

 

"When your meditation becomes deep, you will lose consciousness of the body. 

The state of Samadhi is beyond description. There is no means or language to give expression to it. Even in worldly experience, you cannot express the taste of an apple to one who has not tasted it nor the nature of the colour to a blind man. The state is All-bliss, Joy and Peace. This much only can be said. One has to feel this himself."

 

Now, for the author’s experience in meditation, extract from the sharing covered in one of the concluding posts under the theme “Veda and vedanta” is given below.

 

Thus, continuing with nidhidhyasana daily, in the morning hours and then during many part of the day, the sadhaka could instantly align and merge with the absolute TRUTH and exist as PURE EXISTENCE (Sathyam) instantly and naturally.

 

In this state He could:-

 

Not differentiate between good beings and bad beings

 

Not differentiate between Man and woman, found and old.

 

Not relate to any relations in the past

 

Not recount any specific thing that happened in his past.

 

This is explained by the truth that the memory bank or the chitta is empty, all actions are undertaken / propelled by pure intellect and once action is performed, the impact of the action does not get stored in the mind, in chitta.

 

Not recall / think / contemplate on any form of any God, including his Sadguru and God Sai with whose grace, he could reach to this state.

 

Not relate to any of the wordings/ expressions / Bhava contained in any bhajan while singing any bhajan in the centre.  This is so because, the differentiation between God and himself was gone and there was nothing but God, the pure existence that existed.  

 

At this state of existence one is all alone and one is all complete, exactly as explained in the creation theme posts through Vedic verses when it is said that " HE/ THAT WAS ALONE, WITHOUT ANY THING APART FROM IT".

 

The Dheena hitherto, had merged with the Nadhi and ultimately with the endless ocean, the God supreme. Post-merger, the part that had merged, could never be withdrawn from the ocean!!!! The doll that was made of salt, had merged with the ocean that is salty, never to be withdrawn from the ocean to exist again as the salt doll!!

  

Love.

 

Dhyana Vahini - Post 8

Chapter III

Yearn for the right thing!

 

Swami continues,

 

“There are two types of people: one set on accusing themselves as sinners and the other flattering themselves as great. Both types are being worried by their own mental aberrations! What they both need is mental satisfaction, and this can be obtained by meditation. 

 

Through meditation, understanding will increase and wisdom will grow. For this, a person should develop interest in and a taste for meditation —that is to say, a yearning that admits of no other step and that will not tolerate any obstacle. Of course, one may yearn to hear music and derive joy there from or see the bodies of near relatives who have died and derive sorrow therefrom. Yearning may thus have pleasant or even unpleasant consequences. 

 

Yearning must have the strength to inspire endeavor. In fact, yearning is but dormant endeavor, and endeavor is yearning in action. When yearning is weak, endeavor declines; when one is strong, the other is also active.

 

Meditation gives concentration and success in all tasks. Through meditation alone, great personages and sages (rishis) have controlled their mental activities, directed them toward the pure (sathwic) path, established themselves at all times in contemplation of the Lord, and finally succeeded in achieving union with the Godhead. First, yearning, then selection of the goal, then concentration, and, through the discipline, conquest of the mind —that is the object of meditation.

 

One must give up the craving for material comfort and the attachment to sense objects. One must direct the false fears, the absurd desires, the sorrow, the worries, and the artificial pleasures that now fill mind. That is to say, one must discriminate and train oneself to realize that everything is as illusory as the ghost in the well! Everyone needs this self-education. The pathetic condition of everyone is due to its absence. Meditation is the remedy for this state of mind.”

 

Glimpses from yoga sutra on withdrawal of senses

 

In Yoga, Pratyahara is the withdrawal of the senses of cognition and action from both the external world and the images or impressions in the mind field. The senses are said to follow the mind in the same way the hive of bees follows the queen bee. Wherever she goes, they will follow. Similarly, if the mind truly goes inward, the senses will come racing behind. 

 

Withdrawing the senses does not mean just regulating the physical sense organs, such as closing the eyelids or sitting physically still. The senses are a mental function, and whenever that mental function is drawn to the objects of the mind field, there is active engagement of the senses. 

 

The willingness or unwillingness to withdraw attention from sensory experience is a significant dividing line between those who experience true meditation and those who experience only physical relaxation.

 

Swami Rama writes,

 

“All the things in the world have a name and form. Is there any form that does not go through change, death and decay? So, name and form are temporary aspects of that something which goes on changing. There is one word in Sanskrit for this world, samsara. It continues, goes on, like a river that goes on flowing. One mass of water passes, yet another mass comes, fills that gap and there is no gap at all. There is continuity. We will all go away, others will come. There will be continuity.

 

Herein lies a secret for the sadhaka, the aspirant. To turn the consciousness within, you will have to use a method of withdrawing the senses from the external world. If you analyze two things in your life, one called pain and another called pleasure, you will come to know that pain and pleasure, these two stimuli, are received when your senses contact matter. 

 

So all the time, with the help of your senses, you are in contact with the objects of the external world. You do not know how to withdraw your senses. That is why on the eight runged ladder of yoga, ashtanga yoga, the fifth rung, pratyahara or sensory withdrawal, is very important. You should learn to withdraw your senses, to turn inward, because the senses make you contact the external world and that’s why you feel pain and pleasure. You have to be free from pain and pleasure; you can be free!”

  

Love.