Clarifications: Role of Abhyasi - I - Morning Meditation
Salient points on Morning Meditation:
We are to meditate supposing the Divine Light without luminosity in the heart where it beats and not bother about many thoughts that cross the mind treating them as unwanted guests. This attitude of treating the thoughts as unwanted guests has to be cultivated assiduously by us.
Please meditate on the heart only, not minding the sensations in other parts of the body.
As the absorbency increases and also as we continue to practice, the posture does not pose a problem. You need not worry too much about small adjustments in the posture done during meditation which most of the times go automatically and not intentionally.
During meditation we should maintain an attitude of waiting and be grateful for whatever condition that is gained.
Our attitude during meditation should be one of yielding; that is, we should accept whatever happens during that period and accept it as Divine blessings. One of the fundamental truths in spirituality is that God grants us what we need and not what we seek. While we should be attentive during meditation undue concern with our posture or gait or even mood should not be there.
Expecting the quality of meditation is imposing conditions on the Divine which is not a proper attitude. Waiting on Divine is the attitude we have to cultivate.
We should note that the system is dynamic and the nature of meditation is not the same at all times and there will be very perceptible changes in the quality of meditation. In a moving bus or train or walking the scenario changes while in a stagnant state the same scene appears.
Expecting repeated experiences is not in tune with the dynamic system.
Thoughts will always be there as they are going out or getting evaporated due to the vacuum that is generated due to meditation as per Pranahuti Aided Meditation. Do not give too much attention to them and ignore as already advised.
Thoughts will always be there but only its nature will change. However the moments of Void that we experience during meditation should give you enough encouragement to steadily move in the path.
The calm and peace observed during meditation is indication that the Divine is responding to us and this should enable to strengthen our will to move towards our goal with conviction and clarity apart from confidence.
You may not bother about the thoughts that drift as they are not interfering with the quality of meditation. If however you find them distracting try to keep your attention on the heart and the light without luminosity. Since in such an effort the eyes get set downwards though you have closed your eyelids, a state of relatively high orientation in meditation would result.
Existence of thoughts by itself is not to be considered as poor meditation as our aim is not concentration but only to get into a state of absorbency in the thought of the Divine Light.
Meditations are absorbing or otherwise is not a matter of great concern. Whether the goal clarity is emerging and whether our progress in that direction is improving is more relevant. These aspects develop over a period of time. Patience and perseverance are most important for success in any field.
Feeling sleepy during meditations is not correct. Try to be attentive and alert but never expect anything.
To have consciousness during absorbency in meditation is the most desirable way.
Total absorbency without any thoughts is good but awareness during meditation is better as that enables to maintain our status of being a devotee always.
Periods of absorbency are not permanent - in fact they should not be so. At each stage of development there will be absorbency or laya and this will be a feature through your journey into the Infinite.
Do not give much importance to the physical and sensory experiences in meditation but give much weight to the psychological states and observe how your mental states evolve.
Work when you should work and play when you should play. For me meditation has been a play with Master and this attitude has helped me a lot.
The best meditation, according to me is that which leaves us in a restless state.
Clarifications on Morning Meditation
Q) When we sit for Meditation we offer another seat/Asan in front of us and we feel the Master's presence there. Is this Special Seat something to be considered for the Guru/Master who is different from the God within us?
A) The Practice of offering a seat for the Master is a means by which the trainer does not allow himself to think that he is the doer and it is the Master only who helps the practicant. This is an effective means to control Ego on the part of the sadhaka as well as trainer.
Q) During the morning meditation we feel the Divine light within us where as during cleaning process and satsanghs & sittings we receive from outside. Could you kindly explain?
A) This is an interesting question. We accept that the Divine Light is within, in the morning meditation and at any time we meditate. The Divine light also we say is without luminosity since it cannot be defined. De-finite, you see is a word by which we try to finite something. God is Infinite and therefore the difficulty of defining Him. Satsanghs/Group meditations are those in our system where the trainer exercises his will and we experience the Pranahuti. As already explained Pranahuti has its origin only in Origin/Base. But it is the trainer who channels it not as a medium in the ordinary sense but is a medium of Supra consciousness of the Brahmanda level at the least. The Master as an external being is not true and is incorrect. He is the in-dweller and yet the Lord of the Universe. It is religions which have externalised God and made Him alien to us. The Yoga marga is also called Dahara Vidya. Dahara is the Akasa or space within our heart. Our Lord who is within is also residing in every form of existence as their internal reality. It is these internal realities that are apparently apart from us that is felt as external existences.
Q) Meditation was bit disturbed due to body pain but felt light and calm.
A) When body is not well it has its problems to offer to us, but there is no one without physical ailments. If the body-me confusion is gotten rid off you may accept these problems easily.
Q) How would I know if thoughts are getting suppressed or naturally going away?
A) In our system there is no question of suppression. We do not give any such suggestions. Suppressions and repressions are efforts with certain techniques. In our system we ask you to meditate on the Divine light without luminosity. This concept is trans-rational as rationally we cannot think of any light without luminosity. We are expressing our helplessness to know the Divinity by giving this suggestion and wait on God to help us. Here subconsciousness is also not involved as we are not catering to any needs or urges or drives which relate to that realm. So the question of suppression of that does not arise. What happens there is a resolution of conflicts before the super-consciousness. If we are accustomed to Hindu imagery it is like the Great Serpent (Adisesha) and Garuda being together in the presence of Lord Vishnu. You know they are sworn enemies but in the presence of God they remain calm and quiet. Similarly the mental states which are turbulent for various reasons, for some time at least, calm down and get settled under the influence of Pranahuti in our system.
Q) During meditation I am thoughtless for brief periods. I get absorbed many times for brief durations and at times for longer durations.
A) The brief moments of the thoughtless condition reminds us gently of the Ultimate state that we have to arrive at. Imperience per se does not matter much. It is reflection on such feelings that enables us to progress faster.
Q) During meditations the irritations and restlessness keep on reducing. The number of thoughts also reduce. I become aware of my concerns and my reaction to them. Sometimes there is a sensation on my forehead just above the mid point of my eyebrows.
A) Please meditate on the Divine light in the heart. No light need be assumed and I think you know that. The first thing we all would notice is that there is a rush of thoughts and if we contemplate we get astonished at the type of thoughts we are capable of. THE ONLY WAY TO GET AT THE ROOT IS TO IGNORE THEM TOTALLY. In which case irritations and restlessness will not be there. Only when we give weight to them these reactions are there. The sensation in the points near Trikuti is a common experience of the abhyasis in this system and it has nothing to do with progress at this stage.
Q) Trying to recollect the feelings after the meditation, but unable to recollect anything.
A) Please do not bother to recollect your feelings. If the feelings are remembered on its own then record the same and that is the way of brushing aside the thoughts that come during meditations.
Q) I am not doing meditation according to the timings, and for the prescribed timings because of excessive pressure in the work.
A) When work is very heavy it is best to think after completion of the work on hand that the Master was remembering you all the while you were at work. I have practically experienced the advantage from this method and I am sure you would also be benefited if you adopt this method.
Q) Most of the times my sadhana is between 5:10 AM and 6:30 AM. Sometimes it is between 5:30 and 6:50. Point B goes for 20 Mins.
A) As for the fixed hour there is bound to be variation of a few minutes - even the Sun rises at different times! It is necessary to have the spirit of the Commandment rather than the letter while implementing the same.
Q) If due to any reason I get up late in the morning, do you want me to sit in meditation after sunrise or not? Today I am sitting even after sunrise.
A) You may meditate after the Sunrise also. But as far as possible do it at a fixed time. Not doing meditation because of delay is not correct.
Q) Thoughts regarding service to Master and school are more during meditation as well as during daytime.
A) To think about service during meditation is not correct. We should dwell on the Divine only. These ideas have a place later in the day.
Q) Last week as I came to a place where there is a time difference of 2hrs and other personal reasons I couldn't do my sadhana as expected. Though I did the morning meditation and evening cleaning regularly but couldn't do before sunrise and was missing 9pm Prayer.
A) Please do not bother for the occasional variations in timings necessitated by the circumstances. The rigid routine that Nature observes is however not possible in actual living of human beings. We should try, as far as possible to be in tune with Nature and follow what we traditionally call Rtam.
Q) When I meditate on "Divine Light Without Luminosity", I don't see any thing (mere darkness). But today at the end of my morning meditation I felt something got opened from inside the darkness and I was entering into it. Immediately after this thought I came out of absorption and I couldn't continue meditation further.
A) The feeling of darkness during meditation is common as the nature of the Knot 1 is like that. As you penetrate deeper you will find light which is generally coloured yellowish/orange, so do not discontinue meditation till the duration of the meditation is over.
Q) Thoughts do haunt me but I am able to overcome it and go back to my meditation.
A) Thoughts will always be there. But try to be in the thought of the Divine light only. If you do not mind the thoughts they will soon bid farewell.
Q) How far am I from my goal? How is my yielding to Master? A resolve to do my sadhana assiduously. These are the predominant thoughts. I feel absorbed and thougths related to my sadhana come during meditation.
A) Goal is already determined and there is little point in thinking about it during meditation. Meditation should be on the Divine light only. Absorbency or otherwise should be noted against a thought and pure and simple word of absorbency may even be morbid. Please try to meditate as advised.
Q) During morning meditations I am feeling calm and absorbed. One day during absorption I saw rotating light. Another day during absorption I saw bright light. And another day during absorption I saw some particles swimming in space.
A) I hope these experiences did not affect your meditation. Light is something that we experience whenever there is some slight obstruction to the flow of Pranahuti. This is very common and you know light is not our goal.
Q) Sometimes I am aware of thoughts and I am trying not to go after thoughts, but I am going after thoughts sometimes.
A) We must have an irrevocable determination to get rid of our intentional consciousness and then only we can reach our goal. Therefore we should brush aside thoughts that come to fruition during the meditation. Otherwise the samskaras do not get reduced.
Q) After the start of 5 minutes the meditations are mostly absorbing and in this absorption also, some are with consciousness without any thoughts only simple silence.
A) It is this experience that has to lead us to the awareness that nothing is real except this Nothingness. And this forms the basis for getting rid of attachments of all kinds. Contemplation on this condition is the path. Just to say "That is the condition and it is very high" serves little purpose. This is what I call Imperience Beckons.
Q) Some meditations are without consciousness with experiences like dreams.
A) This type of experiences arise when Visuddha Chakra is active and dream like states inform us of the samskaras that are holding us and the struggle of the psyche is indicated.
Q) During morning meditation I had a dream like state where I found myself working in my office with reappointment after the retirement with salary and in the office I suddenly sit on the floor and after that I cannot get up inspite of my best efforts I cannot even drag myself and after sufficient turmoil I come back to senses and then feel OH! I am in meditation.
A) The idea of reappointment etc., are all connected to attachment to money and your psyche is informing you of the attachment you have for the same inspite of its repeated efforts to pull out.
Q) During morning meditation I had a dream like state where I was by the side of a river and it will be in spate and I will be watching it.
A) Attachment to the sensuous - note that water means emotional attachment as I have explained in Path of Grace.
Q) During the meditations sometimes involuntarily bedtime prayer repentance comes to mind and I really repent for having come away from Him and sometimes the repentance will be so deep that I shall weep for some time.
A) This is not proper. There is a time and a place for everything. It is not bedtime prayer that comes to you-it is only repentance which is good but not at the right time. Meditation is waiting on Master. Repentance is seeing ourselves in a mirror.
Q) Felt surrender to Master for spiritual guidance, felt a thoughtless state after. Another day felt complete submission, calm and balanced afterwards.
A) Surrender is a condition that develops after the development of Viveka, Vairagya, Svasvaroopa Jnana and Bhakti. Spiritually it is a high condition. The point I make is that we should be clear about the various spiritual conditions that emerge in the inner core of our being and then express our feelings. It is good, calmness and balanced conditions are being felt but you may kindly note that whenever we think of God we get calmness and whenever we think of ourselves and our problems we get disturbed. (Please do read the articles on Control of Mind and Concentration of our beloved Master).
Q) Felt unhappy for lacking devotion. On 10th, at the end, felt heavy, tightness below the neck slightly to the left for about 5 minutes. Also felt bliss with complete absorption. Initially had some thoughts about spiritual miracles by Raghavendra swami of mantralaya. Also had thoughts about understanding others thoughts. Had a feeling of cleaning someone else known to be very much disturbed. Felt heat in the forehead during this.
A) Devotion is also a spiritual condition that develops and the feeling called devotion when we start our sadhana is a magnified expression of our awareness of a force above us which seems to respond to our prayers etc., Such a force tends to get personified into various forms according to the tradition in which one is born. Each of us accepts a saint or Mahatma as the case may be, as the representative of that force. During meditation we should be on the task of maintaining the thought of Divine Light in the heart and memory of various expressions of the Divine or trying to be aware of the greatness of the Divine would be deviating from the task on hand. Forehead is too broad an area to be of any significance spiritually - try to localize the feelings when it may become possible to assess your condition. Sufferings are too many and each has his share in the miseries and afflictions and meditation is not the time to think about and pray for other persons and their difficulties.
Q) One very peculiar thing I experienced this month and probably before also few times was that during meditation/satsangh my condition changes suddenly with a jerk, from somewhat disturbed/unsettled state to a very calm, peaceful and settled state. It happens suddenly and the new state is like a calm lake and brings happiness.
A) Meditation starts generally with a few thoughts relating mostly to that day's activities or the matters of the past few days, then the thought gets stabilised on the object of meditation for sometime and at this time it lapses into a state of absorbency. Then again the cycle starts. This phase in meditation is passed over as we advance in meditation where we get thoughts in the beginning and then there is continuous state of absorbency.
Q) Divine thought was present all the time during meditation.
A) Even so this condition will not be something that would last; we go through states of laya many times in our march to Infinity.
Q) On one particular day felt gross after meditation due to disturbing thoughts related to office work.
A) You felt the effects of the thoughts as disturbing during meditation. But to say that you felt gross is not correct. The weight of the thoughts continued because of excessive attachment to work related problems. These thoughts do not form usually samskaras and cannot be considered anything other than mala of a kind. Do not worry; these are common for sadhakas and we should learn to ignore them.
Q) After 1/2 hour I find it difficult to meditate since asan (stable position) becomes unstable.
A) Try shifting the posture and continue the meditation for the full one hour.
Q) Prayed Master to give more satisfactory results with meditation so that the bliss of life will not come in the way.
A) We should not ask for anything in meditation. Meditation on the Divine light in the heart is done and we wait on Master. It is for Him to give or not give. Do not commit this mistake of asking for conditions.
Q) The predominant feeling I noticed during this month is love towards master during meditation. After the completion of the meditation most of the time I am feeling calmness.
A) Love is a great word and has many meanings. Love carries with it many times the idea of possessiveness also. Watch out for the shade of feeling which you call Love. Love also demands that we should be prepared to die for the thing/person loved. Try to bring in more appropriate words to express your feelings- dedicated ness, devotion, faith, servitude, service etc.
Q) Felt bit restless after the meditation for not seeing the ultimate.
A) Ultimate condition is something where the ego which turns into individuality and later into identity is lost almost.
More Thoughts on Morning Meditation
During meditations we should try our best to be oriented to the Divine Light without Luminosity. This being a demand that mind cannot fulfil, it will try its best to search its stacks to see whether it has some memory which corresponds to that demand. Since there is nothing like that, it will throw out all that it has, according to the other important and/ or recent time stimuli it has been entertaining before meditation. If we entertain any of them we waste our time during meditation. If we ignore the mind comes to the state where it says there is nothing corresponding to the demand to locate Divine Light without Luminosity and in that helplessness it settles down and calmness is felt. That is the time the influx from the Divine strikes its root in our mind/heart and we start moving in the path.
There is no point in thinking about others attitudes when they do not give happiness. As a matter of fact our Master Revered Babuji said these afflictions are necessary for developing forbearance and tolerance the two virtues we should develop as we progress in sadhana.
We are Atmans that is those who think and move. This is our normal level of existence. During meditations we come to know our real nature of Brahman that is one who thinks and grows. Expansion of Consciousness is direct revelation that our true nature is to grow.
Non-Divine thoughts arise both in the state of Kshipta at the beginning of meditations as also after the state of ekagravrtti due to vacuum that is created in our hearts which are filled by these thoughts emerging from deep within. This second one is bhog and that is why we feel light afterwards.
When the thought of the Divine light is given in the beginning it continues in the background subconsciously and you do not worry about whether you are conscious of it or otherwise.
As the thoughts that are lying buried deep down are coming out for evaporation, you are stopping meditation because of the unkindly nature of thoughts. This is not correct. Please continue meditation till the 1hr period is over. Patience and forbearance starts with our own thoughts first and then only it becomes natural with that of others. You cannot change the nature of thoughts that arise during meditation from the deep layers of consciousness as they are your own collected and coolly stored in the depths of your being. Learn to know them and develop humility if necessary by the process of repentance.
Thoughts are all what we have stored in the deep core of our heart and they do come up for evaporation during meditation. Do not give any attention to them and ignore them. That way they do not get recharged and get deeper but we feel light as if we are off from a load.
Calmness and peace are the refuse of the reality we are with during the meditations. The Void or nothingness that we feel during the meditation is the real taste of the Real. Our consciously remembering that and moulding ourselves is all sadhana about.
Thoughts during meditation will be there and it is only the nature of thoughts that varies. From very routine day-to-day thoughts to the thoughts of the Divine is the progress that is very perceptible in sadhana. Absorbency will also be there and they are intimations of the Divine and it is very assuring to us to move further in the path. You may please read the articles on Concentration and Control of Mind of the Master to fully appreciate the value of this system.
Thoughts are the very nature of Reality and they will always be there. When they are in tune with Reality/Divine we get an absorbed condition. Otherwise they are a bit grosser and we are aware of them.
Absorbency during meditation is good. Kindly watch the type of thoughts that come to you after the state of absorbency's that would give clues of progress.
Regarding sleeping while sitting it is possible for one to sleep while sitting. As a matter of fact Samadhi itself is a deep sleep state which in certain yogic literatures is called Turiya. There are four states of consciousness called 1.Wakeful state 2.Dream state 3.Deep sleep state and 4.Samadhi or Turiya (called 4th) state. It is generally observed when a person advances in meditation dream like state ensues. This is due to arousal of Visuddha chakra partially. Yoga Nidra is an advanced condition as compared to moodha nidra which every one has every day. The head drops down in moodha nidra state if a person sleeps while sitting. This happens, as you know in travel in buses or trains or airplanes.
Thoughts will be there during meditations and we have to ignore them as uninvited guests or brush them aside. The thoughts if they are attracting your attention and you are pegged to them, that means that the samskara connected with the thought is very strong. The nature of thought alone can give us a lead to understand further. That is, are the thoughts relating to house, property, husband, children, parents, job, etc. or are they related to sadhana, goal etc., needs to be known.
To feel restless is good but to expect is not correct. One never sees anything nor hears anything: we feel internally all spiritual conditions.
Patience, Fortitude, Forbearance and Tolerance are all virtues that we develop in the path and this is the direct result of the direct and immediate presence of the Divinity in the form of thoughtlessness/ nothingness that we experience during meditation.
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