Download - The Essence of Meditation
-
8/12/2019 The Essence of Meditation
1/6
The essence of meditation
The following isa summaryofRaja-Yoga freely translatedfromthe Kurma
Purana.
The fire ofYoga burns the cageof sinthat is around a man.Knowledge
becomespurified andNirvana isdirectly obtained.FromYoga comes
knowledge;knowledge again helpsthe Yogi. He who combinesin himself
both Yoga andknowledge, with himthe Lord is pleased.Those that practise
Mahayoga, either once aday, or twicea day, or thrice, or always,know them
to be gods.Yoga isdividedinto two parts.One is calledAbhava, and the
other, Mahayoga. Where one'sselfismeditatedupon as zero, and bereftof
quality, that iscalled Abhava. That in which one seestheselfas fullof bliss
and bereftof all impurities,and onewith God, is called Mahayoga. The
Yogi, byeachone, realiseshis Self.The other Yogasthat we read and hear
of,do not deserve to be ranked with the excellentMahayoga in which the
Yogi findshimselfand thewhole universeasGod. Thisis the highestof all
Yogas.
Yama,Niyama,Asana,Pranayama,Pratyahara, Dharana,Dhyana, and
Samadhiare the stepsin Raja-Yoga, of whichnon -injury, truthfulness,non
- covetousness,chastity, not receiving anything fromanother are called
Yama.Thispurifiesthe mind,the Chitta.Never producing pain bythought,
word, and deed, in any living being, iswhat is calledAhimsa,non - injury.
There is no virtue higher than non - injury. There is no happinesshigher than
what amanobtains bythisattitudeof non - offensiveness,to all creation.By
truth we attain fruitsof work. Through truth everything is attained.In truth
everything is established.Relating factsas theyare --thisis truth. Not
taking others'goods bystealthor byforce,is calledAsteya, non -
covetousness.Chastity in thought, word, anddeed, always,and in all
-
8/12/2019 The Essence of Meditation
2/6
conditions,is what iscalled Brahmacharya. Not receiving anypresentfrom
anybody, evenwhen one issufferingterribly, is whatis called Aparigraha.
The idea is,when a manreceivesa gift fromanother, hisheart becomes
impure,he becomeslow, he loseshisindependence, hebecomesbound an
attached.
The following are helpsto successin Yoga and are called Niyamaor regul
habitsand observances;Tapas, austerity; Svadhyaya, study; Santosha,
contentment;Shaucha,purity; Ishvara - pranidhana,worshippingGod.
Fasting,or in other wayscontrolling the body, is calledphysical Tapas.
Repeatingthe Vedasand other Mantras,by which the Sattva materialin th
bodyispurified,is calledstudy, Svadhyaya. There are threesorts of
repetitions oftheseMantras.One is calledtheverbal, another semi-verba
and thethird mental.The verbalor audible isthe lowest, andtheinaudible
the highestof all. The repetition which is loud isthe verbal; thenext one is
where onlythe lipsmove,but no sound isheard. The inaudible repetition o
the Mantra,accompaniedwith the thinking ofits meaning,iscalled the
"mentalrepetition," and isthe highest. The sageshavesaid that there are tw
sortsof purification,external andinternal. The purificationofthe body by
water, earth, or other materialsis the external purification,asbathing etc.
Purification ofthe mindby truth, and byall the other virtues, iswhat is
calledinternal purification. Bothare necessary. It isnot sufficientthata m
shouldbe internallypure and externallydirty. When both are not attainable
the internal purityisthe better, but no one will be a Yogi until he hasboth.
Worship ofGod isby praise,by thought, by devotion.
Wehave spokenabout Yamaand Niyama.The next isAsana(posture). Th
onlything to understand about it isleaving the body free, holding the ches
shoulders,and head straight. Then comesPranayama.Pranameansthe vita
forcesin one'sown body, Ayamameanscontrolling them.There are three
-
8/12/2019 The Essence of Meditation
3/6
sortsof Pranayama,the verysimple,the middle,and the very high.
Pranayamaisdivided into three parts: filling,restraining, andemptying.
Whenyou begin with twelve secondsit is thelowestPranayama;when you
begin with twenty- four secondsit isthe middlePranayama;that Pranayam
isthe best whichbegins with thirty- six seconds.In the lowestkind of
Pranayamathere isperspiration, in the mediumkind, quivering of the body
and in the highestPranayamalevitation of thebody and influx ofgreatblis
There is a Mantracalled the Gayatri. It isa very holy verseofthe Vedas.
"Wemeditateon the glory of that Beingwho has produced thisuniverse;
may Heenlighten our minds."Omis joined to it at the beginning and the
end. In one Pranayamarepeat three Gayatris. In all books they speak of
Pranayamabeing divided into Rechaka(rejecting or exhaling), Puraka
(inhaling), andKumbhaka(restraining, stationary). TheIndriyas, the organs
ofthe senses,are acting outwards and comingin contactwith external
objects.Bringing themunder thecontrol ofthe will is what iscalled
Pratyahara or gathering towards oneself.Fixing themindon the lotusof the
heart, or on the centre of the head,is what iscalled Dharana. Limitedto one
spot,makingthat spot the base,a particular kind of mentalwavesrises;
theseare not swallowedup by other kindsof waves,but bydegreesbecome
prominent,while all the others recede andfinally disappear.Next the
multiplicity of thesewavesgivesplace to unity and one waveonlyisleft in
the mind.This isDhyana, meditation.When no basisisnecessary, when the
whole ofthe mindhasbecomeone wave,one -formedness,it is called
Samadhi.Bereftofall help fromplacesand centres, onlythe meaningof the
thought ispresent.If the mindcan be fixedon the centre for twelveseconds
it will be a Dharana, twelvesuch Dharanaswill be a Dhyana,and twelve
suchDhyanaswill be a Samadhi.
Where there isfire, or in water or on ground whichis strewn with dry leaves,
-
8/12/2019 The Essence of Meditation
4/6
where there are many ant - hills, where there are wild animals,or danger,
where four streetsmeet,where there istoo muchnoise, where there are
many wickedpersons,Yogamustnot be practised.This appliesmore
particularly to India. Do not practisewhen the body feelsverylazyor ill, or
whenthemindisvery miserableand sorrowful. Go to aplacewhich iswell
hidden, andwherepeople do not cometo disturb you. Do not choosedirty
places.Rather choosebeautifulscenery, or a roomin your own housewhich
isbeautiful. Whenyou practise,firstsalute all the ancientYogis, and your
own Guru, and God, and thenbegin.
Dhyana is spokenof, anda fewexamplesare given ofwhat to meditate
upon. Sit straight, and look at the tip ofyour nose.Later on we shallcometo
know how that concentratesthe mind,how bycontrolling the two optic
nervesone advancesa long waytowardsthe control ofthe arc of reaction,
and soto the control of the will. Here are a fewspecimensofmeditation.
Imaginea lotusupon thetop of the head,several inchesup, with virtue asits
centre, and knowledgeas itsstalk. The eight petalsof the lotusaretheeight
powersof the Yogi. Inside, thestamensand pistilsare renunciation. If the
Yogi refusesthe external powers he will cometo salvation.So the eight
petalsofthelotusare the eight powers, but the internal stamensand pistils
are extremerenunciation, the renunciation of all thesepowers.Insideof that
lotusthink ofthe Golden One,theAlmighty, the Intangible, He whosename
isOm,the Inexpressible,surrounded with effulgentlight. Meditateon that.
Another meditationis given. Think of aspacein your heart, and in the midst
ofthat spacethink that a flameis burning. Think ofthatflameasyour own
souland inside the flameisanother effulgentlight, and that is the Soul of
your soul, God. Meditateupon that in the heart. Chastity, non -injury,
forgiving eventhe greatestenemy, truth, faith in the Lord, theseare all
differentVrittis. Benot afraid if you are not perfectin all of these;work,
-
8/12/2019 The Essence of Meditation
5/6
theywill come.Hewho has givenup all attachment,all fear, andall anger,
he whosewhole soulhas goneunto theLord, he who hastaken refuge in the
Lord, whoseheart hasbecomepurified, with whatsoeverdesire he comesto
the Lord, Hewill grant that to him.ThereforeworshipHimthrough
knowledge,love, or renunciation. "Hewho hates none,who is the friend of
all, who ismercifulto all, who hasnothing of hisown, who is freefrom
egoism,who is even-mindedin pain and pleasure,who is forbearing, who
isalwayssatisfied,who works always in Yoga, whoseselfhasbecome
controlled, whosewill is firm,whosemindand intellect are given up unto
Me,sucha one is My beloved Bhakta.Fromwhomcomesno disturbance,
who cannotbe disturbed by others, who isfree fromjoy, anger, fear, and
anxiety, sucha one isMy beloved.He who doesnot depend on anything,
who ispureand active, who doesnot care whether good comesor evil, and
never becomesmiserable,whohas given up all effortsfor himself;who is
the samein praise or in blame,with a silent,thoughtfulmind,blessedwith
what little comesin his way, homeless,for the whole world is hishome,and
who issteady in hisideas,such a oneis My beloved Bhakta."Suchalone
becomeYogis.
There was agreat god - sagecalled Narada. Justasthere are sagesamong
mankind,great Yogis,so there are greatYogis amongthe gods.Narada was
a good Yogi, andverygreat. He travelled everywhere. One day he was
passingthrough a forest,and sawa manwho had beenmeditatinguntil the
white antshad built a huge moundround his body--solong had he been
sitting in that position.He said to Narada,"Where are you going?"Narada
replied, "I amgoing to heaven." "Then askGod when He will be mercifulto
me;whenIshallattain freedom."Further on Naradasaw another man.He
wasjumpingabout, singing, dancing, andsaid, "Oh, Narada,whereareyou
going?" His voice and hisgestureswere wild. Naradasaid, "I amgoing to
-
8/12/2019 The Essence of Meditation
6/6
heaven.""Then, ask whenIshallbe free."Naradawent on. In thecourseof
timehe cameagain bythe sameroad,and therewas the manwho had been
meditatingwith the ant - hill round him.He said,"Oh, Narada, did you ask
the Lord aboutme?" "Oh, yes." "What did Hesay?" "The Lord told methat
you would attain freedomin four morebirths."Then the manbeganto weep
and wail,and said, "I have meditateduntil an ant-hill hasgrown around me,
and I have fourmorebirths yet!" Narada went to the other man."Did you
askmyquestion?" "Oh, yes.Do you seethistamarindtree?Ihave to tell you
that asmany leavesasthere are on that tree, somanytimes,you shallbe
born, and then you shallattain freedom."The manbegan to dancefor joy,
and said,"I shall havefreedomafter sucha short time!"A voice came,"My
child, you will have freedomthis minute."That wasthe reward for his
perseverance.He wasready to work through all thosebirths, nothing
discouragedhim.But the firstmanfelt that evenfour morebirths were too
long. Onlyperseverance,like that of themanwho was willing to wait aeons
brings about the highestresult.