FUNDAMENTALS OF MEDITATION
(H.H. SRI SWAMI SIVANANDAJI MAHARAJ)
Meditation is an unbroken flow of knowledge of the object on which one meditates. Meditation follows concentration. Concentration merges in meditation. Meditation is freeing the mind from all thoughts of sense-objects. Mind dwells on God during meditation. Concentration, meditation and Samadhi are internal Sadhanas.
If you meditate for half an hour daily, you will be able to face the battle of life with peace and spiritual strength. Meditation kills all pains, sufferings and sorrow. It is the most powerful mental and nervine tonic. The free flow of the divine energy exercises a benign, soothing influence on the mind, nerves, senses and cells of the body.
During meditation the mind becomes calm, serene and steady. One idea occupies the mind. Meditation opens the door to intuitive knowledge and realms of eternal bliss.
Deep meditation cannot come in a day, or a week or a month. You will have to struggle hard for a long time. Be patient. Be persevering. Be vigilant. Be diligent. Cultivate burning dispassion, strong aspiration or longing for Self-realisation. Gradually you will enter into deep meditation and Samadhi.
A mysterious, inner voice will guide you. You will yourself feel the way to place your first step in the next rung in the Yogic ladder. All your doubts will be gradually cleared through meditation.
HOW TO MEDITATE
Meditate regularly in the early morning between 4 and 6 a.m. Mind is calm and refreshed now. The atmosphere also is calm. You will get good concentration. Have a separate meditation room or screen out a corner of a room for meditation. Do not allow any one to enter there.
If there is much strain in your meditation, reduce the duration of each sitting for a few days. Do light meditation. Use your commonsense throughout. Do not go to extremes. Stick to the golden medium.
Mind wants a concrete object for meditation in the beginning. Therefore, meditate in the beginning on a concrete form such as on the image of your Ishta Devata, or family icon, Lord Jesus, or Lord Buddha. This is Saguna meditation, or meditation on the form of the Lord with attributes. Think of such attributes as omnipotence, perfection, purity, freedom, when you meditate on a divine form. Rotate your mind over the form again and again. As for example, if you are a devotee of Christ, practise meditation as follows.
Place a picture of Jesus in front of you. Sit in your favourite meditative pose. Concentrate gently with open eyes on the picture for some time. Rotate the mind on his beautiful locks, clear, frank eyes, a broad forehead and handsome beard, then on the cross on his chest, on his symmetrical limbs and the holy feet, on the hallow around his form, and so on.
Simultaneously think of the divine attributes of Jesus such as forgiveness, magnanimity, mercy, forbearance and all-inclusive love. Think of the various phases of his interesting life, his miraculous healing and the other extraordinary powers he possessed. Then close your eyes and try to visualise the picture. When the form is not clear to your mind, open the eyes again and concentrate gently. Repeat the same process again and again.
Similarly you can meditate on Lord Hari, or Krishna, or Buddha with their respective attributes. While meditating thus you may repeat their respective Mantras as well with the help of a rosary. It is quite necessary in the beginning.
MEDITATION ON OM
Now, all minds are not prepared for meditation on idols or a human being. They can have abstract meditations.
Have the picture of › in front of you. Concentrate gently on this picture with open eyes. Associate the ideas of eternity, infinity, immortality, etc. when you think of OM. The humming of bees, the sweet notes of the nightingale, the seven tunes in music, and all sounds are emanations from OM only. OM is the essence of the Vedas. Imagine that OM is the bow, the mind is the arrow, and the Absolute or God the target. Aim at the target with great care and then like the arrow becoming one with the target you will become one with God. You can also repeat OM while meditating. If the mind is tumultuous chant long OM loudly and rhythmically.
ABSTRACT MEDITATIONS
Meditate on the effulgence in the sun, or the splendour in the moon, or the glory in the stars. Meditate on the magnanimity of the ocean and its infinite nature. Then compare the ocean with the infinite Self and the waves, foams, icebergs to the various names and forms. Identify yourself with the ocean. Become silent. Expand. Become infinite.
Meditate on the lofty Himalayas, the dense forests on the lower slopes, on the tall pine grooves, then on the thorn bushes above ten thousand feet, and finally on the blue, silvery ice.
Gaze steadily on the formless air. Concentrate on the air. Meditate on the all-pervading nature of the air. This will lead to the realisation of the nameless and formless Brahman, the one, living Truth.
Meditate on the Absolute Consciousness. Associate the ideas of existence, knowledge, bliss, absorbing love, perfection, peace, purity, infinity, eternity, all-pervasiveness and omnipotence. In due course the attributes will merge in pure Nirguna meditation. Attributes are essential in the beginning, and in any case, cannot be avoided. They are as important to the initial practice of Nirguna meditation as to the Saguna meditation.
EXPERIENCES
The feeling of soaring above during meditation is a sure sign that you are progressing and going above body-consciousness. During your practice you are bound to get various occult powers. But do not use them for some material end. You will get a hopeless downfall. There is really no such thing as miracle. When you know the cause, the miracle becomes an ordinary event.
When you get a flash of illumination do not be frightened. It will be a new experience of immense joy. Do not delude yourself that you have attained your end. A flash is a glimpse of Truth. It is Ritambhara Prajna. This is not the experience whole. This is not the highest experience. Reach the Bhuma or the infinite. This is the acme or the final stage.
You will hear various sounds like the blowing of a conch, chiming of bells, the music of flute, lute, harp, Mridanga, thunder clap, beating drums. You will see brilliant lights in the space between the eyebrows. They are like that of an intensely bright pin point, or like a huge sun. You will experience rapture, ecstasy and thrill. Sometimes, you will behold coloured lights, green, blue, red, orange, etc. They are due to the presence of different Tattvas at different times. Sometimes, you will have vision of Rishis, sages, tutelary deity, Nitya Siddhas, astral entities, landscape, and beautiful gardens. Sometimes you may float in air; your astral body may get detached from the physical body, and you may move about in the astral world. Those who have entered the first degree of meditation will have a light body, sweetness of voice, beautiful complexion, clarity of mind and scanty micturation and defaecation.
OBSTACLES
The chief obstacles in meditation are Laya (sleep), Vikshepa (tossing of mind) the rising up of latent desires, lack of continence, spiritual pride, laziness and disease. Company of worldly-minded people, over-work, over-eating, self-assertive Rajasic nature, are all obstacles to meditation. Experience of rapture and ecstasy is another great obstacle to meditation. Rise above this, and continue your Sadhana.
Conquer sleep through Pranayama, Asana and light diet. Remove tossing of mind through repetition of Mantras, Pranayama, Tratak, etc. Destroy desire through enquiry contemplation, discrimination, and dispassion. Shun the company of the worldly-minded. Observe moderation in diet. Obey the laws of health and hygiene. Seek the grace of Lord.
May you all attain success in meditation and reach the goal of life!
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Miss not any opportunity. Avail yourself of all opportunities. Every opportunity is meant for your uplift and development. If you see a sick man lying down on the roadside in a helpless condition, take him on your back or tonga to the nearest hospital. Nurse him. Give him hot milk or tea or coffee. Shampoo his legs with divine Bhava. Feel the all-pervading, all-permeating, interpenetrating indwelling God in him. See divinity in the glow of his eyes, in his cry, in his breath, in the pulsation and motion of his lungs. God has given this opportunity to you to develop mercy and love, to purify your heart and to remove Ghrina, hatred and jealousy. Sometimes if you are very timid, God will place you in such circumstances wherein you will be forced to exhibit courage and presence of mind by risking your life. Those world figures who have risen to eminence have utilised all opportunities to the best advantage. God shapes the mind of human beings by giving them opportunities.
Remember that in your weakness lies the strength, because you will be always on your alert to safeguard yourself. Poverty has its own virtues. Poverty infuses humility, strength, power of endurance and the spirit of struggle and perseverance, whereas luxury begets laziness, pride, weakness, inertia and all sorts of evil habits.
Do not grumble, therefore, of bad environments. Create your own mental world and environments. That man who tries to evolve or grow in adverse environments will be a very strong man indeed. Nothing can shake him. He will be of a sterner stuff. He will have strong nerves. Man is certainly not a creature of environments or circumstances. He can control and modify them by his capacities, thoughts, good actions and right exertions (Purushartha). Theevra Purushartha can change the destiny. That is the reason why Vasishthaji and Bhishma have placed Purushartha above destiny. Therefore, dear brothers, exert, conquer nature and rejoice in the eternal Satchidananda Atman.
—Swami Sivananda
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