Pitfalls in the Path

My dear associates in the path,

1. On this auspicious occasion of the birthday of our dear Master Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur, India it is but prudent to evaluate our spiritual practice and spiritual progress. We have had occasions to share our experiences. To evaluate our meditational states it is necessary to identify the conditions and states we expect to gain access to. Enough has been written and spoken earlier on many occasions about the stages of progress and we also developed tools to assess our progress in the path based on the Ten Commandments of the path and the spiritual conditions that get delineated as per the book Towards Infinity.

2. The aspirants in the path have different reasons and expectations as the outcome of their practice. From the statements of aspirants joining our training programs we can list out some of their expectations. Many who have mainly the benefit of stress reduction as an outcome of spiritual practice err in the beginning. Let us clarify why we are meditating. Meditation is being sold in the West as a stress-reduction technique. It can help reduce stress, but its original purpose is to help us realise our true state. Meditation is not sleep aid. Several meditation practices like mindfulness practiced on a daily basis is said to offer stress relief. But we all are practicing the Natural Path of our Master in which we insist on goal clarity and do not compromise with lesser benefits. We should realise the path chosen by us fixes before us the ultimate as the goal of life. Conditions like peace, bliss and balance are not our goal. We may and we do get relaxed many a time and it is wiser to be advised on that.

3. There is a tendency among the aspirants that we are to seek bliss. The words and conditions associated with the Sat Chit Ananda unfortunately confuse many. The Sanskrit word for "meditation" is bhavana, which means "mental cultivation" or "mental development." The word "mental" in this case does not refer just to thinking and reason, but to a wide spectrum of mind-body functions - sensation, awareness, emotions, attitudes, predilections. One way to think of bhavana is that it's a kind of training. You are training mind to understand and experience in a different way. Contrary to popular notions of Raja Yoga meditation, however, the point is not to go to some happy place away from our problems while we meditate. A regular meditation practice may enable us to confront the root causes of our problems and let them go, but this is the opposite of escapism. However Master always advised us not to push ourself to conjure up visions or the unaccountable sensory experiences, which most of the time are just our neurons misfiring. As they don't mean anything in spirituality we are advised to not attach to them. There are however occasions when we do have Satori. But it is also necessary to realise there is something like a premature Satori which happens when we push themselves into a deep meditative state before we are properly prepared for it. This is a bit like attempting to compete in a marathon without training for it. The results will be frustrating at best and dangerous at worse.

4. There is a tendency to find out whether the meditation was good. We are the best judge about it and to ask another that question is not very relevant. Please do not judge whether your meditation was good or bad. Do not judge your meditational practice. When I say judge not I am only saying do not evaluate. If we started to practice the system and are meditating regularly and start fretting and fuming that it is not yielding the results expected, know that such an expectation is itself the detrimental cause of this exasperation. It is our attitude of expectancy that is the problem. Do not try to compare an earlier meditational session with another one. That may lead to the undesirable condition of ungratefulness. More experienced and advanced sadhakas may sometimes judge themselves during chit lake camps. We may find ourselves slogging through meditation periods sleepy or uncomfortable, or unable to focus because we keep thinking about our jobs or marriages or passports and visas. And when the period ends we are frustrated and unhappy with ourselves, because we think we are not meditating properly. This judging is a problem in two ways. One, if we continue to think negatively it will spill over into the next meditation period and the one after that. Second, the truth is that sometimes the sessions when our knees ache and our mind will not be still are great training. It is like our workout on the exercise cycle- when we struggle, we are getting stronger. And sometimes a really "awful" meditation period will be followed by an amazing one. Meditation is waiting on Master ; please do not judge.

5. Many systems of yoga are very strict about the body postures during meditation. Some schools of Rajayoga however offer a choice of the positions of legs during meditation and may even allow the aspirant to meditate in a chair. But that does not mean teachers who insist on a particular body position and who correct you if you slouch are fixated at the anal level.

6. There are two primary reasons why some schools make a big fuss about meditation body posture. One reason is that schools in which the practice involves sitting still for long stretches of time have learned there are safe and not-so-safe ways to do that. Especially if you are in less-than-peak physical condition sitting still can be remarkably painful. And if we are not doing it right we could damage joints, squeeze organs or cut off circulation in limbs. Many generations of practitioners figured out exactly how to position themselves to avoid serious pain or injury, and this experience has given us the "approved" meditation positions. That posture which is comfortable for us to meditation is advised with a condition that the body is erect or a bit bent forward in the system of our Master. We have all found this comfortable. However there are some who bend so much that their heads get into their stomach so much so the heart is out of view for the aspirant.

7. The other reason is that body position really does affect meditation experience. In our system meditation is not something we do only in our head; it engages the entire body and mind and more essentially in the heart. Experienced meditators nearly always come to appreciate that exactly how the spine is aligned and they automatically correct their posture. They change their posture and certain times their gesture according to the knot in which they are travelling. When we switch our attention towards certain centres not out of our volition but because of the need at that point of time there is change in the posture and the condition of being rigid about posture would be rather irrelevant.

8. We are advised to meditate on the divine light in the heart and we start searching for that light inside. Though the heart is inside physically the psychological heart covers the entire body and as one advances in sadhana the divine light is perceived not only inside our whole system but the system itself expands to cover the universe. The true state of realisation is not within or without; it is everywhere. Masters’ blessing grants this wisdom as we practice as advised.

9. We may compare practice to a stringed musical instrument. If the strings are too tight they will break; if they are too loose they will not play notes. Sometimes aspirants begin practice with huge enthusiasm and set impossible meditation schedules and goals for themselves. And they burn out, and quit. This is like the tight string that breaks. And others do not commit to practice and only meditate occasionally; this is being too loose. Rev. Babuji prescribed a schedule of meditation practice into a life already stuffed with job, family and other obligations of a house holder and set a moderate meditation pace. There is no valid reason to change this and try to improve over the advice of the Master.

10. There are many books that provide good instructions as to how to meditate. Even so, I strongly recommend seeking the guidance of someone recognized as a trainer in Rev. Babuji’s system of raja yoga. It is not enough that we are introduced into the system; it is necessary that we try to maintain one-on-one relationship with him. Only when he suggests that we may go to another experienced adept shall we do so and we should avoid hopping from one trainer to another for reasons we are ourselves not clear about. It is possible that we may judge the trainer and feel it is better to go on our own. If you are committed to the do-it-yourself, still I would suggest that meet the trainer once or twice an year and discuss with him during the annual congregations. You will see for yourself how having someone who knows you and who can give you one- on-one advice when you need it can make a huge difference. Practice with humility however.

11. The most important aspect of meditation practice is to loosening our bonds through viveka and Vairagya. Attachment of any type is attachment only and is a bond. The only attachment we can have is the attachment to our goal. Our determination to implement or attachment to the Ten Commandments of our Master when diligently followed makes us realise that we are not insulated beings. We realise slowly but surely that we are not something enclosed within this skin and everything beyond the skin is the ‘other. For this reason, it is stressed by the Masters that if we practice only to benefit ourselves it will probably not work. Although we all may begin practice seeking remedy for ourselves, if our practice is sincere we will become more sensitive to the suffering of others and wish to benefit them, also. Otherwise, our meditation practice can amount to brood in the cage of our egos, reinforcing the self-and-other dichotomy instead of dissolving it.

12. Thus it is for this reason the experience of meditating in satsangh is hugely beneficial. One of the potential perils of a solo practice is that practice can become an intensely personal thing that is ours and ours alone and which may be compromised if shared with others. This is a common phase many of us go through, actually. One of the fruits of practice is a natural turning away from self-clinging as the border between self and other dissolves. Sharing practice with others facilitates this. On the other hand, if we remain stuck in "I can do this by myself mode, we are going through the punishment awarded by Nature. If we find ourself self defensive at the idea of meditating with others or consulting with a trainer, consider this a warning sign that there's an unhealthy amount of ego-attachment in our practice that is attracting punishment. Disinclination to meditate alone or in group is an indication of the punishment of Nature.

13. These are some of the pitfalls or problems in sadhana that I thought I can share with all. There may be many more. With the blessings of our Master we can overcome them and reach our goal sooner.

Pranams.