Thursday, December 17, 2015

Never forget the great bliss of samAdhi ...

There is such a great bliss in samAdhi when the mind turns inward and comes to rest. The Bliss of samAdhi was intensely delightful today.

Never forget this. This memory alone draws the mind back to its Source and gives it strength to endure the absurdity and endless pain of world experience with a smile. One's sAdhanA should be directed to tasting this Bliss as often as possible, so that the mind is systematically tugged inward.

If only ignorance could be permanently removed and one could permanently rest in this Bliss...

Eliminate vAsanAs, O mind, there is no other choice.

Through kriyA Yoga: tapas, svAdhyAya and IshvarapraNidhAnam.

Cultivate vairAgyam. Keep abhyAsa constant.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

When to make efforts and when to surrender...

Where and when to exert self-effort or puruShArtha and where and when to surrender, these are known to those who have had the direct experience of God.

Again, what is dharma and what is adharma is also known to such minds.

These depend on desh, kAl and paristhiti.

But to other minds these questions can be difficult to answer and create a lot of confusion. Then it is best to consult Guru or a guide and have faith in their instruction. If the ego in confusion tries to answer these questions without direct experience of God, it can come to completely incorrect conclusions.

Yet, everyone is doing their best according to their past karma. So one should criticize no one, but attend to one's puruShArtha, dharma and tyAga.

The Bhagavad GItA gives all the necessary guidance. SmRti. Yajna, dAna, tapa should never be given up. How it is practised may change according to desh, kAl and paristhiti.

The goodness you see in others ...

The goodness you see in others is the potentiality for goodness waiting to awaken and blossom in you.

The same for the negative qualities.

If you are able to delight in the goodness and virtue of all those around you, and be indifferent to the negative qualities you perceive, you will create a Satya Yuga right in your presence.

This is the nature of true mahAtmas.

You can transcend all the Yugas by your mind alone.

You can transcend all the Yugas by your mind alone.

If the viewpoint is from the body then it is Kali Yuga now.

But you can go to any loka you want through meditation.

You can have the experience of any Yuga through meditation.

You can transcend time and space and rest in the One true Self.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Meditation practice

Meditation practice. The following guided meditations can be useful to sAdhakas.

The standard approach to samAdhi is to focus the mind on an object, gross or subtle. Mantra meditation is very useful. PraNava is the ultimate mantra for Self Realization. Through meditation practice the mind is able to focus on one point, which is the bindu, and ultimately the mind dissolves in the object and samAdhi is experienced.

Another guided meditation practice is to conceive of the "I" as subtler than space and extending over the entire conceivable universe. In this practice the obstructions to this conception of "I" are examined and systematically rejected. In this way the pancakoshas are transcended and finally it is seen that the obstacle that prevents from abiding as One is the conception of the other. The conception of the other has its root in the false "I" or non-self. When the four aspects of mind (manas, buddhi, ahamkAra and citta) are transcended by seeing that they are all simply manifestations of the guNas, then the mind becomes devoid of thought itself. It is only the uprising of rajas, its sustenance through sattva and its destruction through tamas that create the worlds. When the mind abides as Pure Consciousness and its Power, Shakti, which are the three guNas, then it dissolves completely.

There is a connection to the MANDukya Upanishad also regarding the significance of AUM:

AUM .
A -  I am vaishvAnara
U -  I am taijasA
M - I am prajnA
    -  I am (tUriya)

The pRaNava is the portal through which the jIva (individuated Consciousness) accesses the paramAtma (the Self). 

These two complementary practices of focusing on the very minute, atomic (bindu, passing through which one pierces the hRdaya granthi) and focusing on the infinite, is described in the Yoga SUtra I.40:

परमाणुपरममहत्त्वान्तोऽस्य वशीकार:

paramANu paramamahattvAnto'sya vashIkArah

By focusing on the atomic and the infinite the mind is brought under control.

Everyone is doing the best they can...

Everyone is doing the best they can under the circumstances.

So don't judge anyone but practice dharma and do your duty.

Once you see the other ...

Once you see the other in the world your best choice is to see God in them.

God has come as each person to teach you something. Through that interaction you learn something about your mind, your lower self (which is in truth nothing but the Higher Self but not seen so always due to flickering jnAna non-attainment of permanent sahaja samAdhi).

These persons and objects exist within your mind only, not anywhere else.

The purpose of the interactions within the mind is to purify the buddhi so it always only sees the Self in everything.

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Even a wise man acts according to his own nature ...

Finally revealed the meaning of the verse 3.33 in the Bhagavad GItA:

सदृशं चेष्टते स्वस्या: प्रकृतेर्ज्ञानवानपि |
प्रकृतिं यान्ति भूतानि निग्रह: किं करिष्यति || 33||
sadṛiśhaṁ cheṣhṭate svasyāḥ prakṛiter jñānavān api
prakṛitiṁ yānti bhūtāni nigrahaḥ kiṁ kariṣhyati
BG 3.33: Even wise people act according to their nature (prakRti), for all living beings are propelled by the guNas or their natural tendencies. What can  restraint do?
'Even a wise man acts according to his own nature, nigrahah kim karishyati?'

Refer to the the different classes of jnAnis as described in the tripurA rahasya.

Even after jnAna, there are different classes of jnAnis. Each acts according to his or her nature. So once jnAnam is regained in this birth, the vAsanAs starting with deha vAsanA can continue to play out depending on the continuity of jnAna or samAdhi. Those who have jnAnam recognize other jnAnis, and they do not judge others. Why? They always see the light of consciousness in others even if they have to have empirical dealings with them in bhUloka. GuNas play with the guNas. Even Indra, brahmA, shiva, viShNu have engaged in lustful and shameful acts and the trimUrti are nitya jnAnis- eternal jnAnis. This is not a license for ignorance or for allowing the senses to run amok, but the point is to use all the yardsticks and characteristics to judge one's own spiritual progress and not that of others. Why? Because if you have had jnAnam in this human birth then you will know that to cognize the other is ajnAnam born of rajas and tamas and if you didn't know that until you were told you had better listen to the one who tells you that and not judge that person. And yet it is the greatest wisdom to hold oneself up to the highest standard.