Guest guest Posted March 23, 2005 Report Share Posted March 23, 2005 Q: What is to be meditated upon? A: Anything that you prefer. Q: Siva, Vishnu and gayatri are said to be equally efficacious. Which should I meditate upon? A: Any one you like best. They are all equal in their effect. But you should stick to one. Q: How do I meditate? A: Concentrate on that one whom you like best. If a single thought prevails, all other thoughts are put off and finally eradicated. So long as diversity prevails there are bad thoughts. When the object of love prevails only good thoughts hold the field. Therefore hold on to one thought only. Dhyana is the chief practice. Dhyana means fight. As soon as you begin meditation other thoughts will crowd together, gather force and try to sink the single thought to which you try to hold. The good thought must gradually gain strength by repeated practice. After it has grown strong the other thoughts will be put to flight. This is the battle royal always taking place in meditation. One wants to rid oneself of misery. It requires peace of mind, which means absence of perturbation owing to all kinds of thoughts. Peace of mind is brought about by dhyana alone. Q: Since Sri Bhagavan says that the Self may function at any of the centres or chakras while its seat is in the Heart, is it not possible that by the practice of intense concentration or dhyana between the eyebrows this centre may become the seat of the Self? A: Any consideration about the seat of the Self is theoretical if you fix your attention on a place in the body. You consider yourself as the subject, the seer, and the place where you fix your attention becomes the object seen. This is merely bhavana [mental imagery]. When, on the contrary, you see the seer himself, you merge in the Self and you become one with it. That is the Heart. Q: Is the practice of concentration between the eyebrows advisable? A: The final result of the practice of any kind of dhyana is that the object on which the seeker fixes his mind ceases to exist as distinct and separate from the subject. They, the subject and object, become the one Self, and that is the Heart. Q: Why does not Sri Bhagavan direct us to practise concentration on some particular centre or chakra? A: Yoga Sastra says that the sahasrara [the chakra located in the brain] or the brain is the seat of the Self. Purusha Sukta declares that the Heart is its seat. To enable the sadhaka to steer clear of possible doubt, I tell him to take up the thread or the clue of `I'-ness or `I am'-ness and follow it up to its source. Because, firstly, it is impossible for anybody to entertain any doubt about this `I' notion. Secondly, whatever be the means adopted, the final goal is the realization of the source of `I am'-ness which is the primary datum of your experience. If you therefore practise self-enquiry, you will reach the Heart which is the Self. .................... >> taken from >> Be As You Are, The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi>> Edited by David Godman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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