the essence of meditation

8/12/2019 The Essence of Meditation

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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


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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


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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,


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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,


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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


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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.

the essence of meditation

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