Dhyana Vahini - Post 21

Chapter VIII

 

Continuing with the efficacy of Namasmarana in taming mind, dear Lord writes,

Stick to the task of taming the mind

The value of name and form consists in the training that they give to the mind (manas). What need is there to train a horse that has already been trained? It is the untrained horse that is “broken” through many devices. Similarly, it is to tame the unruly mind that we have prayer, devotional singing, repetition of the name, and remembrance of the name. 

In the initial stages, the horse runs in many directions, but the trainer does not worry. He should hold fast to the reins. The mind, too, naturally runs in different directions when you begin remembrance and repetition of the name, but you must not yield to despair, anxiety, or indecision. 

Hold fast to the reins, the name (nama)! Within a short time, your speech and thoughts will come under your own grip. Only, do not allow anything to come near you that might make you forget the name of the Lord. You will realise the profit of that name in due course.

Do not crave the fruit the moment the sapling is planted! Do not pluck and chew the leaves and the twigs in the hope of inferring therefrom the taste of the fruit! Doing that does not help you enjoy the sweetness of the fruit; besides, the plant itself will not survive.

Similarly, your task is simply to cultivate the sapling called name of God (nama). While doing so, do not doubt and examine whether it has the glory ascribed to it. Without fail, that sapling will grow into a tree and give you the fruit you hope to eat. You can achieve it. 

The name is capable of yielding that fruit. So, the purpose of one pointed attention (ekagratha) is to make you stick to the name, without altering it, and to keep its form always in sight. The net of “remembrance of the Lord’s name (nama-smarana)” should have no torn holes; that is to say, it must take place always, with no intermission. If there is any gap, the fruit that falls into the net might escape through it! Perform meditation until your mind comes firmly under your control. That is the primary task.

Let the mind run wherever it likes; just be careful not to follow it, seeking to discover where it is going! It will then wander about for some time as the fancy takes it; soon, getting tired and exhausted, it will come back to you in the end! It is like a little child that knows nothing. 

Since the mother is following it and calling it back, it gets courage and confidence to run forward in any direction, but if the mother does not run behind the child and instead retraces her steps quietly, the child too, of its own accord, will run back to the mother!

Do not care for the vagaries of the mind. Carry on remembrance and meditation of the name and form that you like best, in the manner you are accustomed to. In this way, you will acquire one-pointedness (ekagratha); you will realise your heart’s desire.”

Introspection

An incident narrated by a student immediately flashes in mind even as the author reads the above message of Swami.

Here is that student, who is very studious, very much into prayers, very pious by nature and in a phase in his student’s life in Parthi, unwanted thoughts keep cropping up and he is just not able to control it.

So much so that such thoughts haunt him even while he sits on the verandah (or portico as students refer to), even when Swami is coming out from His home (above Bhajan mandir).

Unable to cope up with such unholy thoughts, the student shares what is going on within his mind to which, Swami replies thus:

“So what?? The nature of mind is to travel here and there, that too, this age is like that, it is natural for the mind to travel in all bad directions.

No need to feel bad about it, just watch your mind and just take care of one thing. Wherever your mind pulls you and pushes you for any action accordingly, JUST DON’T ACT.

While walking in street in pure white dress, it is not unusual to come across untidy, muddy, dirty spots with water logging. What do you do?? You watch it but you don’t get into it, you somehow manage to pull your trousers up, take the shoes in your hand if necessary and escape the dirt from affecting your white dress. Don’t you do it??”

Through the story, Swami teaches us, even if it is difficult to master our mind in initial stages of our sadhana, we should not ACT as per the dictate of our mind and instead, pass all such thoughts through our intellect, as taught in the MBCA session.

Also, Swami gives the moola mantra - if your mind is the horse which wants to run here and there, hold the reins in your hand and Swami prescribes “Nama” or “Namasmarana” as the reins to be kept in our hands, to prevent the horse, our mind, from going astray.

Swami leaves us with most important instruction in today’s Dhyana vahini post, which should be followed by every Sai devotee fully.

“The net of “remembrance of the Lord’s name (namasmarana)” should have no torn holes; that is to say, it must take place always, with no intermission. If there is any gap, the fruit that falls into the net might escape through it!”

In Navavidha Bhakti, Kirtanam and Vishnu smaranam are very important stages where, singing the glory of Lord and remembering the glory of Lord have to be incessant, non-stop!!!!! 

Love.

 

 

Dhyana Vahini - Post 20

Chapter VIII

 

One-pointed Attention is Essential for Meditation

 

It is not correct to say that the qualities and attainments needed for temporal progress and spiritual progress are different from each other. The spiritual is only the purification of the temporal. Success or failure in both depends on one-pointedness (ekagratha). For every item of work, one-pointedness is very important. This too is but spiritual discipline.

Avoid no-pointedness and many-pointedness

There are two paths along which this spiritual discipline may proceed: no-pointedness and many-pointedness. No-pointedness is the stage of sleep; it is also called the quality of ignorance (thamoguna). Many-pointedness is the result of the restless quality (rajoguna), turning the vision of the opened eye on creation and its sights. 

Avoiding both of these, without falling into these two extremes, if the eye is neither closed as in sleep nor opened wide as in the fully awakened stage, but half-opened and directed to the point of the nose, the pure quality (sathwaguna) will become one’s nature, and concentration of the mind can also be easily acquired.

Of course, this does not mean that mere fixing the sight on the tip of the nose is enough. Fix it there in the beginning and then turn the vision to the name and form you have in mind; that is meditation (dhyana).

When you are engaged in repetition of the name and meditation, other thoughts might enter you at first, but you shouldn’t worry about this. There is no great danger on account of them. When you begin remembering the name of God (nama-smarana), sit down with enthusiasm. If you enter upon any task with firm determination, no impurity can affect you. 

Your only concern is to see that you are fully pure when you start the repetition of the name, etc. Do not worry about formalities for this. Select the name that you like and the form of that name. That name is itself the mantra. That mantra is ever pure, ever active, everything.

Stick to one name and form

But do not change the name and form to suit the fancy and have one thing one day and another the next. Whatever the name and form that first gave you contentment, hold fast to them without swerving. They will get implanted in the heart, without fail. Afterward, everything will happen through His grace. If workers are ordered to dig the earth, their work is simply to go on digging. The gardener alone knows how much of the earth is to be put under which plant and how the earth is to be so put. So too, the order is to “Constantly dwell on the Lord’s name”! Provided you continue to do that work, He Himself will direct where and how that has to be utilised.

Introspection

In spiritual sadhana, the aspirant has to give his whole hearted, dedicated efforts without measuring his efforts, without expecting quick response from God for his efforts. 

One pointed devotion, implanting Lord’s name and form into one’s heart as Swami says, this cannot go hand in hand with expectations from Lord to yield to our prayers / devotion. 

As Swami has given the example of workers digging the earth and the gardener knowing the actual depth up to which the digging has to be done to get the desired results, in same manner, the duty / dharma of the spiritual aspirant is to put his whole hearted efforts without any “ifs” and “Buts”.

It is the Lord to reward for the intense sadhana, which is His grace.  Since we have stories of great spiritual masters who have crossed the ocean of Samsara with their purushartha, there need not be any doubt about the Lord rewarding a sincere sadhaka at all. In fact, He is ever waiting for such sincere sadhakas to whom He can give His hand at the penultimate stage in their spiritual evolution and take them to Prashanti, His abode of peace.

Love.

 

Dhyana Vahini - Post 19

Chapter VII

Swami continues with His gospel on the relevance of focussing on Name and Form of Lord.

Do not discuss the path with everyone

"However, be careful not to discuss these paths with all and sundry, because each one’s path appears the best. If the people consulted are treading another path, they will decry your practice of repetition of the name and meditation and treat them with scant respect. They will look down upon them, as if they were very elementary and as if you were but a beginner in school. As a result, you will start doubting the efficacy of your chosen path! You will get concern where before you had joy, disgust where before you had love.

Therefore, reflect within yourself which among these is sweeter. Or you can approach those who have tasted the nectar of that name and ask for details of their experiences. Do not argue about these things with everyone you meet. The time spent in these haphazard disputations is best used for the cultivation of joy through the repeated bringing of the name (nama) to memory and meditation on the form (rupa) of the Lord."

 

Introspection

Hallmark or the identification of a true and sincere spiritual sadhaka is that “He / she shall never criticize the path followed by the other, though it may be totally / partially different from the path he / she  has been following”.

Criticism, comparison of my path with your path etc. would be there only when there is ego, when one has not reached advanced stage in sadhana and one has not experienced the unity in all, in everything.

The more one gets deeper into one’s sadhana, more silence, more acceptance of all, more love towards all would be there automatically.

Even when the other person argues with such a sadhaka and puts down the path followed by the sadhaka, upholding the path followed by the other, drawing reference to supports the other person’s argument with relevant quotes by Swami / other masters, all that this sadhaka would be transmitting would be “Love” in “silence”.

Swami continues,

Mere weighing of the pros and cons, like which is greater among the two, will end only with the quick loss of all the success gained after great efforts through spiritual discipline. Until you become an expert, bring the name constantly to memory and repeat it firm and unruffled, either alone or in the company of devotees. Then, nothing can waver you.

Look at the fish! In early stages, it breeds its newly hatched young ones in a quiet shallow spot. Then, it pushes them into the wide-open sea, rough and rude with its monstrous denizens! They can then survive there, courageously, and grow without fear. 

If the young ones were bred in the open sea from the earliest stage, they would certainly be swallowed up even by minor fishes! So, remembrance of the name (namasmarana), repetition of the name (japa), and meditation (dhyana) must be practised with a great deal of care, according to a planned routine, and without any discussion with others.

Repeating the name is safest and easiest

Nowadays, many aspirants are discarding the name and taking up yoga and breath control (pranayama). These are fraught with many dangers. To follow them correctly is difficult. Even if correctly followed, preserving, and protecting the fruits achieved is even more difficult.

If people grope in the water while spreading the net on the bank, can they find fish in the net? To give up repetition of the name and faith in that path and to sit in yoga and penance is as foolish as hoping to catch fish by this means. If the name is taken as the refuge and support, He can be realised tomorrow — if not today. If the name of a thing is known, the thing itself can be easily acquired. But if the name is not known, even if the thing is right in front, it cannot be recognized.

So, repeat the name without intermission or faltering. By means of the name, love (prema) is developed; through love, meditation of the Lord can be practised. If love is deeply rooted in you, God, who is composed of love, becomes your own. However, many the paths for the realization of the Lord, none is as easy as this.

Note this. When a peculiar disease is prevalent in a country, the drug that can cure it is also found in that very country, more so than anywhere else. Though available after vigorous search in other lands, it will not be so good or plentiful. Similarly, this specific drug is available now, in the present age (the Kali-yuga)! In this age (yuga), the ghastly evils of injustice, immorality, and falsehood infect the world. 

That is why the scriptures (sastras) have been proclaiming again and again, with greater and greater emphasis that in this Kali age, there is no means of salvation other than the name! Of the four ages, the Kali-yuga is the best on account of this. Remembrance of the name, repetition of the name, and meditation strain out the evil in mankind. Human nature is guarded and protected by these three. Hence, the fruits of meditation are greater than those secured with great difficulty through yoga, sacrifice (yajna), or breath control (pranayama).”

Introspection

Swami has emphasized that yoga should not be merely physical, should not be aimed at physical perfection. The meaning of “Yoga” itself is Union and hence, even in the path of yoga, the aim / goal should always be drawing ourselves nearer to the supreme, call it SELF or GOD.

This Kali yuga avatar, Bhagawan Baba has always stressed the importance and value of Namasmarana.

Since the age of Kali has witnessed drastic decline of values, of dharma, the chances of a human being getting astray and succumbing to the tempting call from this objective world is huge, Swami has prescribed namasmarana, constant remembrance of Lord’s name  as the most effective means to always feel / experience the divine presence and divine guidance within."

 

Love.