MEDITATION

MEDITATION

For Sadhaks on the path of NAMA JAPA

Who practices meditation according to Raja Yoga has to go through 8 steps:

Step 1 and 2 are Yamas or disciplines
Step 3 – Posture     Step 4 – Pranayam
Step 5 – Pratyahara (withdrawal of senses from objects)
Step 6 – Dharana (limiting the mind in certain confines)
Step 7- Dhyana – training in concentration
Step 8 – Samadhi (super-conscious state) 

For Sadhaks on the path of Nama Japa steps 3, 4, 5 and 7 are unnecessary as the divine Name is the all-purifier.Almost all insurmountable obstacles can be overcome through Name alone and all kinds of impure vibrations are neutralized , superior consciousness can be easily awakened. To catch the Lord through meditation one has to create a divine atmosphere, full of pure transcendental  love.  When the mind is purified a hole is formed in the center through which purity, light, knowledge flow from God. Such a purified mind makes more sensitive, it gets more easily disturbed by sound or shock. NamJap  generates  Shakti which unifies all diverse kinds of energy into a single bundle of energy and gives mental strength. Our energies are always scattered in different directions. They need to become one-pointed and unified. If we want Nama Shakti  we must always take Name in Lakhs and Lakhs.

By repeating the divine Name Kusuma Haranath the gateways of the heart are opened to let in Prema. Who takes His Name may not always understand what is occurring within himself but he can understand  this much that he is gaining taste for repeating Name. The more one progresses the more the sense of I and Mine will be effaced. Name is the light which dispels darkness.One has to slay egoism, selfishness, desires, cravings to purify the  mind. When we constantly think of the Lord the mind becomes purified and more steady.  This thins out the mind and destroys all  Vasanas and Sankalpas.

 In reality it is the Lord who manifests Himself in every heart, He performs Kirtan of His own Name in order to sanctify our unclean hearts and to make us fit to be engaged in His Seva.The more we repeat His Name the nearer we shall come to the Lord. Turn crazy with Name, become beside yourself with joy and firmly believe that He will show His favour, be kind, reveal His presence and play with you. Merge with Name, make it enter the heart or the labyrinth of the ears and have adamant faith in mind and heart. The succulent Lord dislikes a dried-up heart, even abhors approaching it. He is so merciful that He desires even then to enter such a heart by force. How painful this will be to Him, in such a place cramped and devoid of joy. So let us keep the mind filled with joy, expand it, fit it out with a bed of joy, pillows of joy and a mosquito curtain of joy. To make the mind steady note these 6 steps:

1. Think and feel always that you are sure to die 
2. Be contented, satisfied with whatever you get 
3. Firmly believe that whatever is to happen has been preordained
4. Stop associating with worldly minded men
5. Whenever mind unsteady go to a solitary spot alone, chant the Divine Name and think of His blessed feet 
6. Have the strong conviction that the Lord sees and orders all things

MEDITATION  should be done with great  enthusiasm  and  regularly at fixed times. Best would be in the early morning from 4 till 6 am. In order to overcome sleepiness a cool bath and Pranayam ( a few Kumbhaks = holding the breath) is usefull as Pranayam checks the velocity  of the mind and reduces the quantity of thinking. We should throw out thoughts of deficiency, imperfection, inferiority and weakness. The mind is like a mirror – if it is dirty you can’t see the face clearly. Similarly, if the mind mirror is dirty we cannot see the Lord clearly. What do we have to fear since we know that the Lord is within the heart, is watching  us  and  anxiously waiting  for us? By taking  the divine Name the mind will automatically come under our control. The first stage is Name, next comes visualisation of His beauty, then you see Him in dreams and finally behold Him in person. When eventually  the  sweetness of Name is tasted the mind does no longer stray away from that happiness, then it wants to be constantly engaged in it. The mind follows the heart. Meditate therefore with love, live in love, for love.The power of thought is 10million times stronger than that of actions therefore one needs to contemplate to catch the Uncatchable one. That is why we have to contemplate to catch  Him. The harm that can be done to the world by evil thoughts is much greater than that caused by evil actions.

Through meditation one establishes identity with the Absolute through rigorous and constant contemplation. Success comes by feeling that it is the Lord who is doing  everything, that He is verily in front of me, in the heart and is aware of all thoughts. During Dhyan we are in spiritual contact with the unchanging light and cleansed of all impurities. His light of purity and  love  illumines the open soul , consumes all shortcomings in the fire of divine Love and is vastly potent. This is the Lord’s grace upon the soul in meditation . Meditation acts as a powerful  tonic. Holy vibrations penetrate all the cells of the body but real peace of mind and Anand will manifest only when the subtle desires are thinned out and Sankalpas gone.

Sadhana by fits and starts will not do – it has to be constant.  It should  become part of our daily life just like eating, brushing teeth etc. If there is a break desires will enter the mind. Practice constant remembrance of the Lord. Keep up the divine Bhava or right mental attitude during work.Who always thinks of Him can easily control the mind, it will then be filled with a large quantity of Sattwa. One has to try and try to  contemplate, endeavour to become totally His creature with mind and soul. Complete  self –surrender  - which means renouncing one’s ego at the Lords feet -leads to self-absorption. Crying  for Him  will surely bring Him into reach as crying opens up the heart. Until the heart is full of love the Lord of love will not come. Any selfless work done without Ego and with self-surrender is a real offering to the Lord who will be immensely pleased.

Without purification of the mind there is no hope of cultivating Bhakti in the heart. Love arises by merely remembering Lord’s Name. If you want Him abjure self-enjoyment and learn to be full of joy and Rasa, forget about every egoistic  pleasure, become simple in mind and heart and contemplate constantly and joyously of that abode of abiding joy. His mercy may come a little late if we forget Him at heart and take His Name by mere words of mouth. The lovers of Lord Kusuma Haranath should keep their love for Him alive and aglow by making Him their constant companion in all their thoughts, words, actions while carrying out their responsibilities, commitments and all other apparently necessary things of this world. The Lord consoles in so many ways, invisibly strokes , brings excellent food from Sadhus und Mahapurushas and sais: ”Attain puberty soon, eat all these nourishing articles. Then I shall make you my queen.I shall not go anywhere else.”When the heart is completely pure He Himself makes it His abode. This life is not our own but His and has to be carefully protected as the Lord may do many things through you. Don’t take your life to be of little value. Pay attention to health, be moderate in diet and careful  in enjoyments.

Ruth Baur

05/09/2014