Month: December 2016
Finer tips on meditation!
We last talked about how we can start meditation in the simplest of the ways. Going forward, here are some of the finer tips now :
- One should sit straight in whatever position suits them.
- The spine should be kept upright.
- The hands should be rested on the lap or the knees with palms pointing upwards.
- Relax your body completely before meditation.
- While meditating, it helps to face North or East.
- It helps to insulate your body while meditating i.e. sit on a seat with a woollen blanket or silk cloth.
- Close your eyes and focus at the center point between your eyebrows
- Inhale slowly through your nose to a count of 10/15/20 (whatever suits you) without exerting yourself.
- Hold your breath to the same count and exhale your breath through the nose to the same count.
- This should be practiced 10-12 times.
- Inhale deeply, tense your body then exhale out with force and relax your body.
- While inhaling and exhaling, one can say ‘Soham’.
- Now meditate while contemplating upon God! That ‘God is bliss’, ‘God is joy’ and ‘He is one with me’!
- It is good to meditate at the same time of the day and at the same place, everyday.
- Never try to stop the flow of thoughts in your mind while meditating. Keep watching them like a spectator. With time, thoughts shall subside on their own.
- For those who find it hard to concentrate and meditate, sitting on a banana leaf initially (for about 2-3 months) can be extremely beneficial!
What are the main causes of disturbance in meditation?
The main causes can be divided in two parts viz. the external and the internal. The external cause is the noisy environment. In the beginning one needs calm and quiet environment to meditate, but later on one can meditate even in noisy environment. Internal reasons are more difficult to control. These mainly correspond to our five senses, and the thoughts surfacing and occupying our mind. These can be controlled by practice alone!
Why sometimes while meditating one falls asleep?
While meditating, it is essential to sit upright with straight spine and focussing at the space between our eyebrows. If you are in too relaxed a position and the gaze lowers, one tends to fall asleep. When you are meditating with your gaze between the eyebrows, one tends to go to the super conscious state.
Never get up immediately after meditation. Touch your face and body with your hands. Then pray to God for few minutes for whatever you wish before getting up.
What are the stages of meditation?
First, our organs of action come under our control, then the mind i.e. the wavering emotions, desires to get absorbed in the intellect. Then we lose our identity and go into the state of samadhi. Finally we reach the highest goal of recognizing our Atman.
If we close all the windows of our house and complain that we are feeling suffocated, or that we are not getting any illumination from the Sun, it is our own fault. We, ourselves, have to open the windows to let in fresh air and sunshine. Similarly, its only when we open the doors of our soul or Atman, recognise it as the image of the eternal soul or Parmatman, do we realize self and reach the state of eternal bliss!
Truth of Life – Part 4
In continuation to Truth of Life – Part 1, Truth of Life – Part 2 & Truth of Life – Part 3
Moving on to the 3rd and most critical component viz. “Self”, “Atma” or the “Soul”. What are its properties and how can we know it?
Our body, sense organs, mind, ego, this world of matter which seems real to us is “not self” but is “Maya”. “Self” or “Atma” is what is beyond Maya. Atma is formless and has no shape. It does not die. It is not a body which keeps changing every minute. It is not a mind either which is affected by happiness and miseries of life. It is above all this, witness of different states of consciousness. It is beyond the limitations of our body and functions. It is that by which we experience waking, dreaming and deep sleep states. It is that by which our body and all our sense organs function (we cannot see it with our eyes but it is by which our eyes are able to see). It is pure existence and changeless. It is neither born nor does it die or perish. It is eternal, Nitya.
We have a gross body and a subtle body. The Atma works the subtle body and through subtle body it works the gross body. Atma is separate from the body and the mind. Atma is always blissful. We think that the pleasure we get is in the object or the fulfilment of our desires, but it is not so. Actually, our mind is always in flux. It is never in a state of rest. When our desire is fulfilled, the disturbance of our mind ceases for some-time. At that moment we see the real nature of our soul, the blissful nature and feel happy. If we can keep our mind at peace, we can always remain in contact with our self, the Atma and in a state of bliss.
Only by concentration can we know our soul. As we cannot the see the bottom of the lake till the waves are active, in the same way we cannot see the real nature of our soul till the thought waves are present in the mind. When we are able to subside all the waves, we will find that the soul is immortal. It can never die. Every person is born with the impression of all the lives he has lived. He gains experience in life after life and slowly moves towards perfection. When “self’ is realised, one gets liberated from all the bondages. This state is called “Kaivalya”, a state of constant bliss.
Now, if that is so then why can’t we find happiness in this world and why is there so much misery?
Just imagine, if there were no misery on earth, no one will strive to be free from the cycle of life and death. In fact, this earth, with all the misery, is the place of action, the “Karma Bhumi”. Everyone who wants to attain the ultimate goal of liberation, i.e. self-realisation, has to come to this earth and with devotion, meditation and Bhakti, reach that State. The true happiness is achieved only through self-realisation. The nature of self is unending bliss. We remain far from happiness in this life till we search for happiness outside our self. That is in sense pleasures through our body, in emotions and rational thrills through our mind and intellect.
Therefore, know yourself, know your Atma and remain happy forever…..to achieve this, the secret is “meditation” which has also been made simple by Swamiji in the earlier section available in the gallery.
All about meditation – Part 1 : What is mediation? Why is it necessary? How to master the art?
All about meditation – Part 3 : How long should one meditate & How do you know that you are progressing?
All about meditation – Part 4 : Why do we at all need to meditate? So…..finally, Meditation is a “must”!
Dedicated to Swamiji Ajay Jain ji 