article – Page 5 – Dedicated to Swamiji Ajay Jain ji

Finer tips on meditation!

December 31, 2016January 2, 2017 thetreasuredivine8 Comments

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

December 14, 2016December 14, 2016 thetreasuredivine5 Comments

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 2

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”!

Truth of Life – Part 3

November 30, 2016December 5, 2016 thetreasuredivine3 Comments

In continuation to – Truth of Life – Part 2 & Truth of Life – Part 1

Going forward, Let’s understand what Human Mechanism is…..

Each human being can be broadly classified into two categories – The Matter and The Spirit. The body, mind and intellect are formed of matter and are insentient (Lifeless). The Spirit is the life in the human being. The spirit is also called the “self” or the “ätma”. It is only the body, mind and intellect that becomes restless. The Atma is ever blissful and in peace. One can relate this to the three components mentioned in Part 2.

truth-of-life-part-3

The body or physical body also called as “Sthula Sharira” is formed of five gross elements or materials viz. Akasa, Vayu, Teja, Apas, Prithvi (Sky, air, fire, water and earth). This body is also called the gross body or the outer most body of the man. The five elements combine to make the body dependant on the actions of one’s past karmas. It has five organs of perception and five organs of action. The organs of perception being (as everyone knows) eyes, ears, nose, skin and tongue which get stimuli from the external world and send it to the mind for comprehension.

The mind or the Intellect then discriminates and sends the required response to the organs of action (being speech. Hands, legs, arms and genitals). A person who does not use his intellect acts impulsively and does not take correct actions. The person feels happiness and sorrow in his lifetime through his physical body alone. Through his body only does he enjoy all the sensual pleasures he feels resulting due to the contact of objects which are outside his body. This physical body has certain essential properties – it is born, it grows, it suffers from diseases and it perishes. It changes every second. We are not what we are a second earlier.

The subtle body or the fine body or “Sukshma Sharira” (defined as memory or intellect above) contains the organs viz. the mind, manas, the intellect (buddhi) and the ego (Ahamkara). Organs (Indriyan) means the centres in the brain. Each sense action has a center in the mind. Those who cannot hear have ears (the instruments of hearing) but have damaged center of hearing in the brain. That is why we cannot hear someone calling us when our mind is engaged in something else and does not react to the call. When the mind reacts do we connect to the sound. The actions and thoughts through this fine body or Sukshma Sharira (also called as Karan Sharira) have a direct impact on the soul/Atma/Ruh. At the time of death, the Ruh/Atma separates from the other two body forms and takes a new form based on past karmas.

More about ‘Soul’ in our next post…

Truth of Life – Part 2

November 18, 2016November 18, 2016 thetreasuredivine3 Comments

In continuation to – Truth of Life – Part 1

Swamiji Says, we are the “Soul” or “Ätman”. Swamiji explains further and tells that our existence has primarily three components viz. External Body, Memory, & Soul. What we can feel and experience are ‘the Body’ and ‘the Memory’ but it’s actually ‘the Soul’ that we are. Our Soul is the purest form of self and the other two are just the temporary covers the soul embraces to come in this world till it is liberated. All these ages, the unliberated souls have not been able to identify their true selves and hence have to wander in this universe through the cycle of birth and death.

Is our birth the “Beginning” and death “The End”?

No!….its only the body that is born and perishes, the soul or Atman, does not die. We neither have a beginning nor an end. We remain in the universe in some form or the other. A person who attains self-realisation does not come back and gets merged in the Absolute. That’s when the soul is liberated, freed from the shackles of Karma and merges with God.

If not, then why are we required to be born again and again in this world?

We are made in the image of God. But due to our free will and our actions in life after life, we have forgotten the true nature of our self which is the soul (Atman). When we know God and realise pure and perfect nature of our soul, the difference between God and us gets reduced. That is in fact the goal of life and we can achieve that only by working through our body. A person who is wicked today and indulges in wrong doings, will also come to the right path, may be when he gets a jolt in his life in a certain birth. And…till the time we achieve our goal of perfection, we keep coming in this world again and again.

But, is there really some God?

Of course yes! There is God. You may call it by different names. Those who do not believe in it call it nature or an intelligent force working in this universe. Its just like asking if anyone of us have a father? The proof is our existence in this world.

What is the secret of life and death? What happens when a person is dead?

It seems that birth is the beginning of life and death the end. Yet it is difficult to distinguish one from the other, just like the evening time which seems to be the end of the day but is the beginning of the night. Man does not know what he was before this life, whether he had any existence and in which form, from where he has come and for what purpose, where he will go when the end of his life comes. He is in ignorance in life as well as death. Life is in existence not in the body alone. When we die, the components of our body mingle with the five tatwas and the real self viz. the soul is released. This soul takes another body, depending upon the past actions of life. In fact nothing gets destroyed in nature and only the form changes. When the soul separates from the body at the time of death, it becomes a separate entity. The actual nature of soul is pure and bliss. It seems miserable and impure because of illusions of this materialistic world. When by meditation and self-realisation, the real soul is understood, eternal rest or Moksha is achieved. The journey of life continues till the purpose of existence is not attained. Till all the desires are not destroyed, the soul has to come again and again in new forms in this world to fulfil the left over desires and results of karma.

Where is God? Why can’t we see him?

God is everywhere and in everything we see in this Universe. You can compare him with a seed from which a tree has grown. What we can see is the bark of the tree, the leaves, the flowers and the fruits. We cannot see the seed which is hidden from our eyes. But it does not mean that the seed is not there. This Universe has been created by Him; which we can see. One God has manifested Himself into many forms. Leaves, fruits, branches of the tree, everything is a manifestation of the seed. We cannot see Him because we want to see Him with our limited five senses. We cannot know Him because we want to know Him by our limited intelligence and intellect. We work with our conscious mind and reason in our limited sphere. But beyond the conscious mind, we have an unconscious and a superconscious mind. Superconscious state comes only when we attain Samadhi. All the knowledge beyond our reasons and our five senses come to us when we are in this Superconscious state. It is then when we experience God and know many answers to other important facts. We start towards the path of God only when we go beyond our reasoning power. Those who wish to see Him or experience Him without making any effort are trying to see the picture on a TV screen without putting up any Antenna.

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Keep reading for more, or write back for any doubts you have, for any questions you need to be answered, because we all have questions that we need answers for!

Few excerpts by Swamiji on Sat-guru

September 21, 2016November 6, 2016 thetreasuredivine2 Comments

Who is a Real saint (Sat-guru)?

The one who helps you reach God! Meet and merge with God. One who makes you understand who you are and be able to discriminate between this body and your pure soul (Ruh).

Sat-guru is the one who lifts you from darkness to light. One who guides you how to move ahead in life through rituals first and then takes you on the spiritual path; in the right manner and in the right direction. Ritual is a must initially (which acts as an aid), to be able to concentrate and focus, where after, gradually, one moves on to the spiritual path to finally achieve self-realisation. Satguru is one who transforms sadness to happiness, helplessness to hope.

Swamiji says – I’m the one who gives you the strength to overcome any obstacle in life no matter how big it is. A saint never supports you in the wrongdoing, never supports “adharma”. Always helps you move in the right direction, take informed and wise decisions and not indulge in anything which is against humanity, against ethics.

Swamiji has always supported to serve the cause of society. He says that the one who has adequate means in life should contribute to the society (Samaj) as well. Contribution to the society can be in simple ways which are in sync with an individual’s lifestyle.

To overcome the cycle of life and death, one needs to have a Guru and follow the path shown by him. Guru’s main objective is to spread the message of God and to guide his devotees to the right path. It is the duty of the devotee/receptor to learn from the teachings of his Guru. A true saint/Guru never deviates from his path of righteousness, and always abides by it. He never takes away what he once grants irrespective of anything. He is the giver and not the taker. He will shower His blessings on his devotees always. He never accepts anything from anyone and is above worldly obligations.

Swamiji says that one does not necessarily need a healthy body to achieve the grace of God. The grace of God can be won by mere immense love for him. He doesn’t need anything but a devotee’s unconditional love for Him. Swamiji explains this through a short and simple yet profound story.

“There was once a Saint who was passing through a forest with his disciples. They heard distant voice saying “Thank you God for giving me everything. You are great. You are wonderful. I am blessed to have your grace.” These ardent declarations made the Saint and his disciples curious and they decided to follow the sound of the voice to meet the devotee. They were shocked and stunned beyond belief to find the source, a man with no limbs, just a head and a chest! He looked content and peaceful and was still happily lost in expressing his gratitude to the almighty, when he noticed some shocked faces looking at him. He welcomed them with a smile, and that was all they could do to hold back their unshed tears. The Guru, asked in an emotional heavy voice “Dear man, I cannot help but wonder how you are so content given your less than able physical state. What is it that you feel, that we full-bodied people are bereft of? How and where did you find such devotion and gratitude?”
The man smiled and said “What is there that I should ‘not’ be grateful of? God gave me a heart to love, lips to pray, and mind to intellectualise the right from wrong! What more does one need?”