MIND : ITS MYSTERIES & ITS AND CONTROL - CHAPTER-32. MEDITATION - 2.4 Swami Sivananda
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18/09/2019
Chapter - 32. Meditation -2.4
4. Prerequisites For Meditation
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For meditation, you want a properly trained instrument (mind). You must have a calm, clear, pure, subtle, sharp, steady and one-pointed Buddhi to understand the Brahma-Tattva or Brahma-Vastu. Then and then only is realisation possible. Brahman is pure and subtle and you need a pure and subtle mind to approach Brahman.
Only a trained mind which utterly controls the body can inquire and meditate endlessly so long as life remains, never for a moment losing sight of the object of its search and contemplation (the Brahman), never for a moment letting it to be obscured by any terrestrial temptation. All physical activities should be completely suspended, all attachments should be ruthlessly cut asunder completely for five or six years, if you want to practise Dhyana Yoga, if you want to realise God through concentration of mind. Newspaper-reading and correspondence with friends and relatives should be completely stopped, as they cause distraction of mind and strengthen the world-idea. Seclusion for a period of five or six years is indispensable.
For purposes of meditation, everything must be rendered Sattvic. The place of meditation must be Sattvic. The food must be Sattvic. The wearing apparel must be Sattvic. The company must be Sattvic. Talking must be Sattvic. The sound that you hear must be Sattvic. Thinking must be Sattvic. Study must be Sattvic. Everything must be Sattvic. Then only good progress in Sadhana is possible, particularly with the beginners (neophytes).
A solitary place with spiritual vibratory conditions, a cool, Sattvic place with temperate climate as at Uttarkashi, Rishikesh, Lakshmanjhula, Kankhal or Badrinarayan is indispensably requisite for concentration of mind and meditation, because the brain gets hot during meditation. The banks of the Ganga or Narmada, Himalayan scenery, lovely flower-gardens, sacred temples-these are the places which elevate the mind in concentration and mediation. Have recourse to them.
Of course, the ideal condition cannot always be obtained as this is a relative plane. All places combine advantages and some disadvantages also side by side. You must select a place which has the maximum of advantages and minimum of disadvantages. You must do the best you can. You must try to put up with some difficulties. You must overcome them. You should be alone with yourself. You should be able to abstract yourself from the distracting causes.
There must be good, Sattvic, substantial light, nutritious food. Meditation is possible only when the mind is full of Sattva-Guna. The stomach should not be loaded. There is an intimate connection between the mind and the food. A heavy meal is harmful. Take a full meal at 11 a.m. and half a seer of milk at night. The night meal should be light for those who meditate.
There must be capacity for Sadhana. Then only meditation will go on steadily with happiness. Asana (posture) steadies the body. Bandhas and Mudras make the body firm. Pranayama makes the body light. Nadi-Suddhi effects Samyavastha of the mind. Having acquired these qualifications, you will have to fix the mind on Brahman.
When Sushumna Nadi is working, i.e., when the breath flows through both the nostrils, meditation goes on with ease and joy. The mind then is calm. There is an increase of Sattva Guna when Sushumna is operating. Sit for meditation the moment Sushumna begins to flow.
You can meditate only when the mind is beyond all anxieties. Retire to a quiet room or place where you do not fear interruption so that your mind may feel secure and at rest. Sit in a comfortable posture and be, so far as possible, free from external disturbing influences. Drive off negative thoughts. Become positive always. Positive overpowers negative. You can do nice meditation when you are positive.
There must be firm Vairagya, burning Mumukshutva and strong Viveka in you. There must be a good, spiritual teacher (Anubhava Guru) to guide you.
You must have an intellectual grasp, intellectual conviction and comprehensive understanding of Brahman first through the purified mind.
Many do not get the above favourable conditions for spiritual Sadhana. That is the reason why they do not make any spiritual progress.
Saguna And Nirguna Forms Of Meditation
When you see the concrete figure of Lord Krishna with open eyes and meditate, it is the concrete form of meditation. When you reflect on the image of Lord Krishna by closing your eyes, it is also concrete form of meditation, but it is more abstract. When you meditate on the infinite abstract light, it is still more abstract meditation. The former two types belong to Saguna form of meditation, the latter to Nirguna form.
Even in Nirguna meditation, there is an abstract form in the beginning for fixing the mind. Later on, this form vanishes and the meditator and the meditated become one. Meditation proceeds from the mind only. The help of the mind is always needed either for perception of an object or for the understanding of Brahman. When you read a book with absorbing interest and attention, your mind gets fixed to the ideas. Even so, in Nirguna meditation of Brahman (formless Dhyana), the mind is fixed on one idea, viz., that of Atman.
Exercises In Saguna Meditation
Sit on Padmasana in a solitary room. Close your eyes. Meditate on the effulgence in the sun, splendour in the moon, glory in the stars, beauty in the sky. This is one kind of meditation for beginners.
Meditate on the Himalayas. Imagine that the river Ganga takes its origin from the icy region of Gangotri, near Uttarkashi, flows through Rishikesh, Haridwar, Varanasi and enters the Gangasagar in the Bay of Bengal. Himalayas, Ganga and the sea-these three thoughts only should occupy your mind. First, take your mind to icy Gangotri, then along the Ganga and finally to the sea. Then, again take it to the icy Gangotri. Rotate the mind in this manner for 15 minutes. This is another kind of meditation.
Imagine that there is a fine garden with lovely flowers. In one corner, there are jasmine flowers. In another corner, there are beautiful cabbage roses. In the third corner there is the 'lady of the night.' In the fourth corner, there are Champaka flowers. Now, meditate on these four varieties of flowers. First meditate on jasmine. Then take the mind to rose, then to the 'lady of the night' and finally to the Champaka. Again rotate the mind as above. Do this again and again for fifteen minutes. Gross meditations like these will prepare the mind for finer abstract meditation on subtle ideas.
Meditate on the magnanimity of the ocean, its infinite nature. Compare the ocean with the Infinite Brahman, the waves, foams and blocks of ice to the various names and forms. Identify yourself with the ocean. Become silent. Expand. Expand.
NEXT - 5.Exercises In Nirguna Meditation
To be continued ...
=======================================================================
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18/09/2019
Chapter - 32. Meditation -2.4
4. Prerequisites For Meditation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For meditation, you want a properly trained instrument (mind). You must have a calm, clear, pure, subtle, sharp, steady and one-pointed Buddhi to understand the Brahma-Tattva or Brahma-Vastu. Then and then only is realisation possible. Brahman is pure and subtle and you need a pure and subtle mind to approach Brahman.
Only a trained mind which utterly controls the body can inquire and meditate endlessly so long as life remains, never for a moment losing sight of the object of its search and contemplation (the Brahman), never for a moment letting it to be obscured by any terrestrial temptation. All physical activities should be completely suspended, all attachments should be ruthlessly cut asunder completely for five or six years, if you want to practise Dhyana Yoga, if you want to realise God through concentration of mind. Newspaper-reading and correspondence with friends and relatives should be completely stopped, as they cause distraction of mind and strengthen the world-idea. Seclusion for a period of five or six years is indispensable.
For purposes of meditation, everything must be rendered Sattvic. The place of meditation must be Sattvic. The food must be Sattvic. The wearing apparel must be Sattvic. The company must be Sattvic. Talking must be Sattvic. The sound that you hear must be Sattvic. Thinking must be Sattvic. Study must be Sattvic. Everything must be Sattvic. Then only good progress in Sadhana is possible, particularly with the beginners (neophytes).
A solitary place with spiritual vibratory conditions, a cool, Sattvic place with temperate climate as at Uttarkashi, Rishikesh, Lakshmanjhula, Kankhal or Badrinarayan is indispensably requisite for concentration of mind and meditation, because the brain gets hot during meditation. The banks of the Ganga or Narmada, Himalayan scenery, lovely flower-gardens, sacred temples-these are the places which elevate the mind in concentration and mediation. Have recourse to them.
Of course, the ideal condition cannot always be obtained as this is a relative plane. All places combine advantages and some disadvantages also side by side. You must select a place which has the maximum of advantages and minimum of disadvantages. You must do the best you can. You must try to put up with some difficulties. You must overcome them. You should be alone with yourself. You should be able to abstract yourself from the distracting causes.
There must be good, Sattvic, substantial light, nutritious food. Meditation is possible only when the mind is full of Sattva-Guna. The stomach should not be loaded. There is an intimate connection between the mind and the food. A heavy meal is harmful. Take a full meal at 11 a.m. and half a seer of milk at night. The night meal should be light for those who meditate.
There must be capacity for Sadhana. Then only meditation will go on steadily with happiness. Asana (posture) steadies the body. Bandhas and Mudras make the body firm. Pranayama makes the body light. Nadi-Suddhi effects Samyavastha of the mind. Having acquired these qualifications, you will have to fix the mind on Brahman.
When Sushumna Nadi is working, i.e., when the breath flows through both the nostrils, meditation goes on with ease and joy. The mind then is calm. There is an increase of Sattva Guna when Sushumna is operating. Sit for meditation the moment Sushumna begins to flow.
You can meditate only when the mind is beyond all anxieties. Retire to a quiet room or place where you do not fear interruption so that your mind may feel secure and at rest. Sit in a comfortable posture and be, so far as possible, free from external disturbing influences. Drive off negative thoughts. Become positive always. Positive overpowers negative. You can do nice meditation when you are positive.
There must be firm Vairagya, burning Mumukshutva and strong Viveka in you. There must be a good, spiritual teacher (Anubhava Guru) to guide you.
You must have an intellectual grasp, intellectual conviction and comprehensive understanding of Brahman first through the purified mind.
Many do not get the above favourable conditions for spiritual Sadhana. That is the reason why they do not make any spiritual progress.
Saguna And Nirguna Forms Of Meditation
When you see the concrete figure of Lord Krishna with open eyes and meditate, it is the concrete form of meditation. When you reflect on the image of Lord Krishna by closing your eyes, it is also concrete form of meditation, but it is more abstract. When you meditate on the infinite abstract light, it is still more abstract meditation. The former two types belong to Saguna form of meditation, the latter to Nirguna form.
Even in Nirguna meditation, there is an abstract form in the beginning for fixing the mind. Later on, this form vanishes and the meditator and the meditated become one. Meditation proceeds from the mind only. The help of the mind is always needed either for perception of an object or for the understanding of Brahman. When you read a book with absorbing interest and attention, your mind gets fixed to the ideas. Even so, in Nirguna meditation of Brahman (formless Dhyana), the mind is fixed on one idea, viz., that of Atman.
Exercises In Saguna Meditation
Sit on Padmasana in a solitary room. Close your eyes. Meditate on the effulgence in the sun, splendour in the moon, glory in the stars, beauty in the sky. This is one kind of meditation for beginners.
Meditate on the Himalayas. Imagine that the river Ganga takes its origin from the icy region of Gangotri, near Uttarkashi, flows through Rishikesh, Haridwar, Varanasi and enters the Gangasagar in the Bay of Bengal. Himalayas, Ganga and the sea-these three thoughts only should occupy your mind. First, take your mind to icy Gangotri, then along the Ganga and finally to the sea. Then, again take it to the icy Gangotri. Rotate the mind in this manner for 15 minutes. This is another kind of meditation.
Imagine that there is a fine garden with lovely flowers. In one corner, there are jasmine flowers. In another corner, there are beautiful cabbage roses. In the third corner there is the 'lady of the night.' In the fourth corner, there are Champaka flowers. Now, meditate on these four varieties of flowers. First meditate on jasmine. Then take the mind to rose, then to the 'lady of the night' and finally to the Champaka. Again rotate the mind as above. Do this again and again for fifteen minutes. Gross meditations like these will prepare the mind for finer abstract meditation on subtle ideas.
Meditate on the magnanimity of the ocean, its infinite nature. Compare the ocean with the Infinite Brahman, the waves, foams and blocks of ice to the various names and forms. Identify yourself with the ocean. Become silent. Expand. Expand.
NEXT - 5.Exercises In Nirguna Meditation
To be continued ...
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