Guest guest Posted November 12, 2005 Report Share Posted November 12, 2005 ........................... Every second morning I went all alone for pradakshina – an eight mile non-stop trek round Arunachala hill – whichtook me almost exactly three hours to accomplish. This hadits own special benefit. At that early hour I generally was in awalking-meditation mood, particularly as I expressly made ahabit of it. The benefit of regularity in the practice of sadhanais here fully borne out. Another factor to a successfulpradakshina and, to me, the greatest, was the determination at the very start not to retrospect - not to look back upon thepast - throughout the three-hour trek. I might look this sideor that, but would never allow memory to ruin my calmness.Each time I caught memory sneaking in, I immediatelybrought my attention to the rhythm of my footfalls till themind regained its restful state. The partial fatigue experiencedin the latter half of the journey automatically induced thismental rest without much effort. Somehow this practiceworked marvellously well with me. Speaking of retrospection, sadhakas must be warned against the tricks of memory, of which nothing is more harmful,nothing more destructive to the peace of mind which isnecessary for a successful sadhana. It cannot be too oftenrecommended to them to forbear looking into the past withits trials and errors, acts of omission and commission, regrets,fear, passion, love and hatred, personal tragedies, etc. Everythingis dust, everything transitory, including the seeminglyindissoluble human ties, more so wealth and fame, and, thus,not worth a moment's regret. Nothing is changeless and lastingbut the natural state of the pure being. Another disturbance in the hall was caused by the distribution of the offerings on the spot, be they mangoes, raisins,sugar-candy, dates, or merely puffed rice. The moment one came,it went immediately round, after having been first touched andtasted by Bhagavan, so that he who happened to be then plungedin meditation for an hour or so, on opening the eyes sometimesfound bits of edibles near his feet or in his lap, awaiting hispleasure. This custom was wisely stopped in 1938, when all theofferings were collected and distributed in the dining hall at mealtimes, or among guests who could not eat the usual food. The constant influx of visitors was of some help in that it afforded the much-needed relaxation to an otherwise tense life. Secondly the peculiar problems which visitors broughtwith them were a useful study - study of the human mindand the endless ills to which it is subject. The problems ofthe mind and the conditions which give rise to them areinfinitely more numerous than the variety which the physicaluniverse presents to the human senses. Moreover, watchingthe masterly ways Bhagavan tackled these problems wassadhana in itself. Rationality was the very essence of hisarguments. Whilst the ultimate answer to all the questionswas always the same, namely, "Find out who you are," hefirst met every questioner on his own ground, and then slowlysteered him round to the source of all problems - the Self - the realisation of which he held to be the universal panacea. Psychologists deal only with the working of the mind, butBhagavan goes to the source, the mind or Self itself. It was awonder that all visitors were agreeably impressed by him,sometimes even without comprehending the drift of his ideas. People take siddhis as the sure sign of Perfection, but fewunderstand the subtle influence of the truly Perfect person,who, without the deliberate use of miracles, works out thetransformation of the people who come into contact withhim, more so the genuine disciples, whom he actually turnsinto muktas, or well on the way to mukti, of which externalsiddhis are totally incapable. Many of those who have hadthe inestimable privilege of a long stay with Bhagavan bearwitness to the blessedness which his mere presence conferredon them. This is the highest and truest siddhi which alwaysaccompanies Jnana (knowledge of the Self or SupremePerfection). ................................................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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