THE BOOK WRITTEN AT THE BEHEST OF SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI (Part-II)

[Guest guest]

prof laxmi narain (prof_narain)

 

Source and courtesy: Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad

This article was published in Sri Ramana Jyothi,

monthly magazine of the Kendram

 

THE BOOK WRITTEN AT THE BEHEST OF SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI (Part-II)

 

The first part, which appeared last month, mentions how Sri Ramana

prompted Paul Brunton to write the book – The Secret Path.

 

The hypnotic power of external existence clings to our minds as leech

clings to human flesh. The unwilling conscious self will bring dozens

of excuses against starting this practice [meditation] or against

continuing after it has been started. The initial battle of

overcoming the brain's unwillingness to come to rest is perhaps the

hardest, but it must be fought. It is a habit of vital importance

whose benefit, when practised, cannot be too highly exaggerated; but

whose neglect leads to worry and woes.

 

General Gorden regularly set aside every morning for his spiritual

devotions. He got much inspiration, strength and courage from this

wise practice.

 

William T. Stead, famous newspaper editor and fighter for the

outcast, once spent three months in prison because he dared to

publish the truth. He declared after years that these were the most

profitable months of his life. " It was the first time in my life that

I had time to sit down and think, to sit down and find myself, " he

said.

 

 

Thomas Edison, whose name will always be starred on the world's list

of great inventors, developed through repeated habit the ability to

relax in the midst of his work and throw himself into a meditative

condition which brought him the solution of many of his perplexing

problems. He once said that, " The hours which I have spent alone

with Mr. Edison have brought me the real big returns of my life; to

it I attribute all that I have accomplished. "

 

We give no thought to the inner life. A moment of mental quiet is

looked upon as a moment wasted…For many persons the spiritual life

has become a mere myth.

 

The world's mind is too apt to become hypnotized by its material

environment. It is a strange and sad thing that while our leading

scientists and finest intellect are returning towards a more

spiritual interpretation of the universe and of life, the masses have

sunk deeper into the gross materialism.

 

I propose a simple technique of becoming aware of the highest in

ourselves. No method of meditation can be easy in itself, because

the practice connotes thought-control, than which few things are

harder in this world.

 

The enquiry into the true self is the simplest system of meditation.

It is quicker to grasp and simpler to practise than any complicated

yoga system of the East.

 

When you have awakened in the morning and bathed, the first duty –

and usually the most neglected one – confronting you is to " plug in "

to your true self. Yet most people make it their first duty to think

of their present troubles, the work in hand or the persons they are

soon to meet. Their activities and their problems are first in their

thoughts, instead of obtaining that wisdom which should inspire all

their activities and solve all their problems.

 

Jesus said, " Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, all these things

shall be added unto you. " He gave us not only a general rule, but

also a particular one.His use of the words " this day " in the Lord's

Prayer is a significant indication that He advised His followers to

pray and meditate in the morning. There exist deep psychological

reasons for this counsel. We can set the keynote of the entire day's

activities by the attitude adopted during the first hour after waking

from sleep.

 

If we seek the Kingdom, and are prepared to sacrifice a little time

for its sake every morning, our work will not suffer and our problem

will not be neglected. But thereby we create a current of spiritual

wisdom and strength which will flow beneath the whole of the day's

activities and thoughts. Those who think it folly to attend to our

spiritual attitude before we have attended to our worldly concern

puts second things first and first things second.

 

Whether we give five minutes or five hours to this practice of life

inspiring, it never fails to produce remarkable rewards in the long

run.

 

Practicing meditation for ten minutes to half an hour once or twice a

day should become a habit. Gradually we would get accustomed to

it as a part of our normal life. The second fortnight will be

slightly easier, the third easier still, until in time you master the

art. Even the busy man of affairs can fit it into his programme so

that it becomes as natural as having his meal. Create the habit;

stick to it, and without doubt it will begin to make its value felt

in conscious progress.

 

Spiritual enfoldment is not to be the haphazard thing as it is so

often among us, but a steady and serious effort. An ordered and

regular daily practice in meditation will naturally lead to

advancement in the art. In other words, as you continue the method

less and less effort will be needed to produce the same result.

Progress depends upon practice.

Meditation will produce most result by being regular every day,

rather than in fits and starts, because it is something that

gradually " soaks in " by repeated daily efforts

 

The daily practice of mental quiet must be done as regular as eating.

Habit rules our lives. The man who has learnt the secret of creating

good habits is able to control that which controls life. And the best

habit man can make is that of meditation.

 

I would not only emphasize but over-emphasize the astonishing value

and urgent necessity of this habit. You will find in course of time

that the daily period of mental quiet will become a looked-for joy,

instead of a disciplinary duty, as it might seem at first, and you

will not allow anything to interfere with it.

 

About the correct sitting posture, there is no rigid rule. An easy

body-posture assists to put the mind at ease. A body in discomfort

tends to make the mind uneasy.

 

Physical stillness is the first gateway to mental stillness. Go to

the same quite spot or room every day, occupy the same chair or sit

on the same bed each time. Sit upright and do not recline on your

back.

 

Meditation is easier to perform and will bear a better fruit when

right condition are conformed to. Choose a time when you will not be

disturbed, when things around you are quiet. If it is also possible,

fill your best room with flowers and incense. Put only ennobling and

colourful pictures upon its walls. And try to keep that room for your

own personal use, so far as that can be done, a place wherein to

mediate and pray and to study the things of spirit. Choose a place

where you can remain in uninterrupted seclusion, where insects

cannot irritate you and where you feel harmonious and at peace. If

you cannot get all these conditions, then get as much of them as you

can.

 

I have suggested that the morning be chosen but it is quite possible

that the circumstances exist which debar this time. In that case, the

next best time is sunset, for then the mind can return more quickly

to its interior quiet than it is able to do during the activity of

the daytime. There is a mysterious quality in twilight which links it

with the great spiritual currents that Nature releases in regular

rhythms. If the early evening is out of question, then an alternative

time would be just before retiring to rest at night.

 

He who would attempt to know his Overself must learn to retire into

his mind as a tortoise retires into its shell. The attention which

has hitherto been dissipated on a succession of external objects must

now be concentrated on a single internal focus. [ This place could

preferably be the right side of the chest, under the nipple, where

according to Sri Ramana, the spiritual heart is located.]

 

The path of meditation is simple to describe, but most difficult to

practice. All you have to do is but to abstract your mind from all

thoughts. Thought control is hard to attain, its difficulty will

astonish you. The brain will rise in mutiny. Like the sea the human

mind is ceaselessly active. But the mind can be brought under control

by God's/Guru's grace, firm determination and constant and sincere

efforts.

 

Are you weak in concentration? Then by a little practice everyday you

can become stronger. He who practices every day , albeit for only

half an hour, shall master his wandering thoughts in time…

 

To be continued…