Practical methods for the spiritual ascent

[Guest guest]

Namaste

 

Sundar Rajanji writes (Post # 15057)

I agree with Srinivasn-ji that the group members should discuss

more on practical sadhana rather than dry semantics and grammar.

Sankara has pointed out the futility of dry logic in

Bhajagovinadam and Sivananda Lahiri etc.........

I thought of discussing Sadhana by responding to the reply (of

profvk Post # 14863). There is no doubt that Kama, Krodha and

Loba are detrimental to Spiritual Progress. ProfVK rightly says

these three should be abandoned. But how does one go about

abandoning these? Do you directly tackle each of these and try

to give up each one? Maybe. ......

------------------------------

Lessons from My Experience - 1

 

The whole problem comes down to this: How to start and where?

There need not be a uniform single answer to this from

everybody. No answer could be THE ANSWER. Each one has his

own experience. So I am going to talk from MY experience. And

thereby I would abide by the suggestions of Srinivasan and

Sundarrajan that we should share certain experiences of our

teething troubles in the growth to spirituality. (For

convenience I am dividing this into three posts. Pardon me for

the length of the posts).

As great seers have said, karma yoga and or bhakti yoga is one

method to start with. But it seems the climate and mood in this

particular discussion at the present moment are in terms of

sAdhanA. That is God’s Will. So let me talk about some first

thoughts of mine on meditative sAdhanA, in the Vedantic

tradition. At many places in the following presentation, others

may find it tempting to contradict me and say: No, it is not so.

Let me remind all that I am talking about lessons from my own

experience and so there is nothing absolute about it.

Concentration, Contemplation, Meditation – these are three

distinct (mental) functions or activities. Talking on the

phone, playing chess, cooking in the kitchen, reading a novel,

waiting to reply to the service in Tennis, writing an

examination -- all these are quite familiar activities. In

each of these we do bring our mind to a certain level of

concentration. In each of these we do turn away the mind from

things outside the purview of the task on hand. However, we do

take in several things (pertaining to the task on hand) into our

mental consideration, like what went before and what is ahead

and we bring all of this to the mind at the same time for an

overall comprehension and decision. So whatever amount of

concentration we make on any of these, it cannot be called

meditation.

In whatever activity or subject the mind is concentrating, the

process of thinking deeply on all the relevant matters is the

next step. This also cannot become meditation. For, what the

mind is engaged here is in putting together pieces of a puzzle

.. Even though the subject under consideration is just one, the

mind sorts and sifts several things to do the contemplation.

While concentrating on the phone conversation, we think deeply

about the possible reply we may have to give; and this thinking

becomes deeper when the subject of the conversation is more

substantial. While concentrating on playing chess, we certainly

have the single focus of the chess, but we have to analyse and

contemplate on the several moves ahead of us and to put them in

apposition with the possible moves of the opponent. And so on

for the other examples also. In most of these examples there is

scope for excitement. So this kind of contemplation is not also

meditation.

What is then Meditation? It is the skill of keeping the mind in

one DIRECTION on one OBJECT in a ONE-POINTED sharpness. That

object could be a verbal expression, or could be a visual image.

Or it could be something totally created by the mind in the

mind. The goal of meditation is to merge in the object of

meditation. Concentration and Contemplation are certainly prior

stages for meditation. But what defines meditation as meditation

is the act of stilling the mind in one direction, on one thing,

at one point, without any excitement.

What is further significant here is all this has to be done only

by the mind. The obstacle to progress on this front is just

another part of the same mind, namely the ego. What exactly does

this ego achieve? Every time a thought wave arises in the mind,

the ego comes to the forefront and claims the ownership of that

thought wave. There is not a single thought wave that is not

claimed by the ego as its own.

We are all familiar with the ordinary event of a street scene

that we may be watching through the window though we may not at

all be concerned with that scene. This is exactly what we must

do and should be doing, says the Mother (of Aurobindo Ashram),

when thoughts arise in our mind during the attempt at

meditation. This is exactly what Chinmayananda means when he

says: ‘Watch the watcher!’ When we watch the street scene

through the window there is an element of curiosity there. Even

that curiosity should not be there when we watch the thoughts of

the mind. Certainly there should not be any excitement.

The thought may be anything. It may be the argument that we had

two days earlier with a relative. It may be the money that we

have to recover from a neighbor. It may be the gossip that we

recently heard in a hush in the office about a colleague. It may

be the discomfort in health about which we are yet in doubt

whether to consult a doctor or not. It may be the telephone bell

that is ringing and our conjectures as to who the caller could

be. It may be the worry caused by a projected deficit in the

domestic budget for the next month.

Whatever the thought be, just watch it, as you are watching the

street goings-on. Don’t try to analyse how or why the thought

wave appeared. Do not raise new thoughts by attempting to weigh

the pros and cons of the subject of the thought. Do not attempt

to list the thoughts. Just watch ‘from a distance’ the thoughts

come and go by, one by one. Don’t get involved in them; that is,

don’t get into the content of the thoughts. Just watch. Don’t

think that you are watching. Just be there, by yourself.

Thoughts will certainly arise one after the other. But they will

also disappear, one by one. The next thought may take a little

while to come up. Let it be so. Don’t expect it to come. Don’t

cognize it when it comes. Don’t think of it. Don’t think!

‘na kimcid-api cintayet’ says the Lord (VI – 25). It means

‘Don’t think of anything’. But this does not imply that your

mind should be thinking of the void. No. Nor is it right to say

‘Think of the Atman only’. What is meant is : ‘The act of

thinking should not be there’. That means: Be yourself. If you

keep watching the thoughts ‘as if from a distance’, that is, if

we don’t get involved in them, every thought that rises will

disappear, one after the other. And all of them would have

disappeared. Watch with patience the disappearance of all of

them. The stilling of the mind by this non-involvement in the

thoughts but being only a witness of them is exactly what is

called ‘Atma-samsthaM manaH kR^itvA’ by the Lord (VI – 25). This

does not mean ‘Keeping the mind in Atman’ as if Atman is

something different and you have to ‘take’ your mind and ‘keep’

it there! When the mind is not thinking of anything that is

non-self, it is supposed to be purest of the pure. That is when

we are what we are. That is the real ‘I’.

Question: We thought you are going to tell us practical methods

for preventing the mind wandering; but you seem to be taking us

to some incomprehensible heights of Vedanta.

The reply to this is given by the Lord Himself.

(To be continued)

praNAms to all advaitins,

profvk

 

 

=====

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Lessons from Experience - 2

 

Namaste.

This is a continuation of No.1(Post #15067)

 

How can the mind cease to think of anything? The very existence

of the mind is confirmed only by thinking. So it is probably

impossible to have the mind and still think of nothing. That is

why the artifice of a japa is prescribed. Japa helps to anchor

the mind at one place so that it does not think of several

things and wander from one to the other. But that one place of

anchor has to be the right place. Any object which is, even in a

remote sense, connected to sense enjoyments cannot prove to be a

good anchor for meditation. Because, these sense enjoyments

would lead to an attachment, attachment to desire, desire to

anger, and anger to disaster (cf. II – 62, 63) and this may

happen right in the meditation period, if we had started with

objects of sensual enjoyment as the object of meditation. If on

the other hand, the object had been somewhat connected with the

Divine then from that very Divine we would get help for our

effort.

But even when the object of meditation is about the divine,

there are chances for the mind to get distracted. Suppose we are

meditating on the form of Lord Venkatachalapati, the famous Lord

of Tirupati Hills in South India. We keep thinking of the

beautiful form of the Lord from head to foot and we revel in the

beauty and majesty of the divine form. First the crown in the

head. The splendid forehead ... the face ... the raised forearm

..... the ornaments around the neck .... the chest .. Goddess

Lakshmi in the chest .... It is Lakshmi that gives everything

..... Even the Laddu that we got there was the Grace of the

Goddess... When we came back from the temple by bus, it was the

Laddu that came to our rescue when we were hungry .. What a

winding journey by bus on those hills ... even last week there

was an accident of toppling of the bus ... why do pilgrims die

.... religion ... religious superstition ... other religions ...

prejudice ... violence ... politics ..

By this time the thoughts have gone far away from its anchor and

the meditation has all gone down by the drain!

This is why even when the object of meditation is the Divine, it

is important that it should have one DIRECTION, one THING, at

one POINT. It is for this very reason that japa of a mantra is

recommended by all Indian teachers and sages. It is not as

important to know the meaning of the mantra as to have faith in

it. If you know the meaning, dwell on the meaning. If you don’t,

dwell on the words. But remember, japa is not mindless

repetition. Japa has to come from the heart, not the head. Japa

with or without counting of the number of repetitions, but with

your heart in it, is the best way to warm up the mental

framework for it to be ready to plunge into the exercise of

meditation. In the beginning stages, articulate the mantra

orally. After some time, artculate it by lip movement, without

the ears hearing it. When this becomes a routine then the next

stage is to dwell on the words only mentally, without even the

lip movement to help.

QUESTION: Even then, there is the chance of the mind wandering

away from the mantra. Why are you still avoiding the issue?

No I am not. Here is the reply of Lord Krishna Himself to this

observation about the mind wandering. ‘The restless and unsteady

mind will certainly wander. But every time it wanders, from

every direction it wanders into, bring it back, then and there,

to the control of your self.’ (VI – 26). There is no other way.

Let me repeat. There is no other way. Mind cannot continuously

think of the same thing. So it wanders. And by that very reason,

it thinks of several things. And when doing so, it cannot stay

consistently on any single track. Therefore, by our voluntary

effort, every time it wanders we have to bring it back to the

same anchor of the mantra with which we started. This has to be

done by long and persistent practice and a dispassion towards

everything that is non-self. (VI – 35). Dispassion (vairAgya)

is not to be mistaken for a negative characteristic. It is

simply the wisdom born out of the ability to put everything in

its place. In other words it is giving everything its due,

neither more nor less. It is the attitude by which one can

observe and analyse oneself critically.

By practice and dispassion one learns to recognize that to keep

the mind anchored to one object in a one-pointed way, the only

way is to pull it back repeatedly. The mantra with which one

begins the japa is a prop for this act of bringing back the

mind. In due course of time and practice, mantra japa would

become a silent japa. Even then, whenever the mind slips from

its anchor, one has to resort to the same act of repeated trials

of bringing back to its anchor, namely the Self. Here, when we

say the anchor is the Self, we are referring to the stage where

there is no thought of the non-self.

QUESTION: When the mind has no thought of any object belonging

to the non-self category, actually the mind has no thought

content. If there was something in it, there is a meaning in

saying ‘when the mind wanders, bring it back to the

anchor-content’. But when there is nothing in it, to what do we

bring it back? In other words, are we not coming back to the

fundamental question: ‘How do we control the mind?’

Well, I have to bring the Masters, here, like Ramana Maharshi

and others.

(To be continued)

praNAms to all advaitins,

profvk

 

 

=====

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Lessons from Experience - 3

 

Namaste

This is the concluding part in continuation of Nos.1 (#15067)

and No.2 (#15068)

 

The oral japa of the mantra in due course becomes a silent japa

and finally leads on to meditation. This repetition of a mantra

may appear to be wasteful to some, because they think mantra is

just some mumbo-jumbo. But as the repetitions add up, slowly

one will realise it is not so wasteful as all that. In due

course the japa of the mantra becomes almost a cry from the

bottom of the heart. Though the japa originally began with the

mantra or the name, as the repetition soaks in, it becomes the

object of the meditation itself. And that is what leads, in

further time, to the stage where there does not arise any other

thought. In case there is some such thought arising, of course

there is Krishna’s recipe for the cure; namely, pull back the

mind as said in VI – 26. Every time the mind has to be brought

back to the object of meditation which is now the mantra and

nothing else. Even after several attempts if you find it

unsuccessful, stop the meditation then and there and begin after

some time from scratch. No effort goes in vain in this process.

When we said ‘after some time’ here, it could be a few minutes,

hours or even days – depending upon the sAdhaka’s mood, his

evolution and the force of his vAsanAs.

So, first there is mantra japa. Then it becomes silent japa of

the same mantra. Now even the counting of the repetition becomes

an irrelevant distraction. The thought waves now arising are

only about the mantra. These waves rise and fall one after the

other. There might be a momentary gap between one thought wave

and the next thought wave. The stage where there is no change of

the object between two successive waves is the first success of

meditation. If there is not even a momentary gap and the whole

thing becomes a flat wave (no rise and fall) on the same object,

this is the next success. Patanjali calls this one-pointed

dhyAna (Sutra III – 12). In talking about this, see how the

Paramacharya of Kanchi goes back to Adi Sankara’s graphic

descriptions:

“To talk about this dhyAna, the Bhagavat-pAda has a favourite

phrase: ‘samAna-pratyaya-pravAha-karaNaM’. He has used this at

several places. (Brahma sUtra bhAshya IV-1-7-8; Gita bhAshya:

XII – 3). Just as water continuously flows in a single stream so

also dhyAna has to flow in the same direction towards the same

object. Another expression is ‘taila-dhArAvat’, meaning, the

flow of oil without any iota of break”. ( Deivathin Kural, in

Tamil, vol.6, p.561.

What were so far separate waves of thought, has now become,

without having any rise and fall, one single large wave, flat,

with a single thought, directed towards a single object at a

single point. When the mind stays there consistently, that is

when the serene calm of meditation descends on the mind and

becomes bliss itself that is natural to the Atman. Now comes

Shri Ramana’s reply to the question we raised earlier about the

control of the mind.

 

Ramana Maharshi speaking: Initially the mind does not realise

the bliss of dhyAna. The cow of our house likes to graze on the

grass of the neighbour’s house and constantly likes to run away

to the other lawn. However green and dense the grass may be in

our own garden, she is enamoured only of the grass across the

fence. Man’s mind is also like that. So in the beginning one

has to draw it back every time and ‘anchor’ it to a pole. But

slowly, ‘it will realise that there is happiness in the very

meditation itself and that, that happiness-cum-bliss surpasses

all the happiness that comes from material objects’. Once that

is realised by the mind, then there is no necessity for it to be

drawn back or to be tethered to a prop. It will automatically

stay at the ‘anchor’.

 

I conclude here without continuing, because my sAdhana has to

continue.

Thanks, every one, for bearing with me to read this.

praNAms to all advaitins,

profvk

 

 

 

=====

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

advaitin, "V. Krishnamurthy" <profvk> wrote:

> Lessons from Experience - 3

>

> Namaste

> This is the concluding part in continuation of Nos.1 (#15067)

> and No.2 (#15068)

>

 

Namaste,

 

Thank you very much for an outstanding first-person account.

 

It would not be an exaggeration to say that study and practice

of the Gita alone can be the highest sadhana. The 540 verses uttered

by Krishna are potent mantras; recite one, or more, that applies to

one's particular situation at any time, any place, and its assurance

of both 'abhyudaya' and 'niHshreyas' will be fulfilled.

 

That has been my experience.

 

yaM labdhvaa chaaparaM laabhaM manyate naadhikaM tataH .

yasminsthito na duHkhena guruNaapi vichaalyate .. 6\.22..

 

taM vidyaad.h duHkhasa.nyogaviyogaM yogasa.nGYitam.h .

sa nishchayena yoktavyo yogo.anirviNNachetasaa .. 6\.23..

 

 

Regards,

 

Sunder

[Guest guest]

slowly, `it will realise that there is happiness in the very

> meditation itself and that, that happiness-cum-bliss surpasses

> all the happiness that comes from material objects'. Once that

> is realised by the mind, then there is no necessity for it to be

> drawn back or to be tethered to a prop. It will automatically

> stay at the `anchor'.

>

> I conclude here without continuing, because my sAdhana has to

> continue.

> Thanks, every one, for bearing with me to read this.

> praNAms to all advaitins,

> profvk

 

=======================

 

Pranam profvk!

This experience of yours will inspire me for weeks to come...

 

....we dont have to search for a Guru anywhere, its the very advaitin

group that can be a Guru to itself...the satsang will (should) make

us reveal our true self ( looks very near but unreachable

initially ). only one's true self can guide a sadhaka forward...until

then we'll follow the scriptual advice and take stregnth from the

experiences of the satsangers.

>From the inspiring postings i got from profvk, Suder rajan, Harsha,

sunderh and all others this week...

 

i wish to try a 3 hour(non stop) gayatri manthra chanting with our

satsangers in sacramento ..

 

--- fixing the gaze to the tip of the nose (Gita)

-- Assuming a padmasana pose ( as long as possible )

-- chanting one Gayathri slowly for the whole minute

(feeling the vibrations while chanting)

-- no break for whole three hours.

 

i request your wishes in my quest ...

Pranams to advaitins

V.Srinivasan

[Guest guest]

Namaste

 

Srinivasan writes:

i wish to try a 3 hour(non stop) gayatri manthra chanting with

our satsangers in sacramento ..

--- fixing the gaze to the tip of the nose (Gita)

-- Assuming a padmasana pose ( as long as possible )

-- chanting one Gayathri slowly for the whole minute

(feeling the vibrations while chanting)

-- no break for whole three hours.

i request your wishes in my quest ...

---------------------------

My best wishes, Srinivasanji.

 

Just a suggestion. The chanting of Gayatri at the right pace

with proper intonations will take usually 18 seconds. Your

intention to chant one gayathri for a one full minute is likely

to be distracting the concentration. Try and tell me.

 

Secondly, even Sankara himself when commenting on the meaning of

'samprekshya nAsikAgram svaM' (VI - 13) has said that your gaze

should be 'as it were' at the tip of the nose, and not really.

The purpose, he says, is to withdraw the dRShTi from all

external objects. So it is not necessary to give importance to

the physical gymnastics of looking at the tip of the nose. But

it is necessary not to look at any external object. So, closing

the eyes is the best bet for a beginner. Of course, one should

see that one does not doze off to sleep. In fact this is the

reason mentioned by many teachers for the 'look at the tip of

the nose'. What is important is, not to doze off, not to be

distracted by what the eyes see, not to be distracted by any

rigid disciplines such as 'looking at the tip of the nose', and

so on. That is why a mantra japa. Concentrate on the mantra and

its meaning. That will also prevent you from dozing off.

 

Good luck.

 

praNAms to all advaitins

profvk

 

 

=====

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.

 

 

 

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