Swami teaches... Awareness of reality through meditation and yajna

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

Light and Love Swami teaches.... (27 - 29 June 2005)

 

Awareness of Reality Through Meditation and Yajna

 

We consider a combination of body, mind, intellect and senses as a human.

This is not correct.Mind is something we possess; body is something which we

carry about; the intellect, too, isours and the senses are dealt with by us. We

are not the body, mind, intellect or senses. They are manipulated by us, we are

distinct from all these. The day we recognise this differentiation and live on

that knowledge, that day from we become aware of our Reality and our Goal.

The human body being valued as a boat which can help us cross the ocean of

samsaara (constant change), it has to be tended with grateful reverence. The

body it is a temple wherein God is installed and worshipped through thoughts,

words and deeds. Therefore the body must be used to further Divine purposes and

to demonstrate the Glow of the Divine that is installed therein.

People think they live on food. Human does not live by food alone, but by

the power of the Aathma. So you must use your strength of body and mind, wealth

and education with intelligence, in order to realize the power of the soul. The

real worth of human lies in ones intelligence. This has come over many lives and

the real value of buddhi (intellect) is to practise thyaaga (renunciation). But

our buddhi is covered by illusion, which is only unreal reflection of the truth.

The reflection of truth in our minds is only the conglomeration of our desires.

Be aware of the transitoriness and the inter-relationship of the body, the

senses and the mind.What is the buddhi (intellect)? It is the source

decision-making capacity, and is known as the anthah-karana (inner

consciousness). It reduces confusion, calms conflict and determines doubt. When

we say, my inner voice has resolved thus, it is buddhi that is referred to.

Buddhi is also referred to as the antharaathman (inner self). Because of the

purity of his intellect, Vinayaka is also called the giver of Buddhi

(intellect). Ganesa is known as "Buddhi Pradayaka", one who grants

intelligence. No one should regard Ganesa as uncouth because of his elephant

head and his immense belly. Vinayaka is a deity who encompasses the universe

within himself. He responds to the prayers of devotees and hence he is known as

Siddhi Vinayaka (the Vinayaka who grants what is sought).

The the buddhi is on an higher level than mind; so that it is nearest to the

core, the Aathman. It is only when buddhi is lit by the splendour of the Aathman

that it can recommend the course of action to the senses, through the mind. Let

buddhi take all the time it needs to sort out the pros and cons. Haste makes

waste; do not be in a hurry. Haste leads to confusions and blunders which

cause disappointment and anger. Anger has to beovercome by guiding the mind on

to peace and equanimity, "Shaanthih! Shaanthih! Shaanthih!"- that manthra will

quieten the waves of anger.

God and the devil, good and bad, are denizens of one's own heart. Where God

is, there the devilcannot be. It is like a game of 'musical chairs,' and only

one person can occupy the chair. SeatGod for ever in the heart, after ridding

it of other occupants. Let this inert body be activated byDivine consciousness.

The easiest path of this activation is meditation. Swami in His Works gives many

directions to meditation. Below is one of the easiest and simplest what

evererybody can experience.

 

After seating oneself in a comfortable and stable posture, steadying the

breath, prathyaahaara(withdrawing of the senses from the sense objects) and

anga nyasa (purification of all the organsof the body) is to be done. Light is

the greatest purifier. Light is made to traverse throughout the body, purifying

all the limbs and senses, and is installed in the lotus of the heart in which is

to be enshrined the mental thought picture of the Form of the Lord for the

purpose of dharana (concentration) which would lead to dhyaana (meditation) and

ultimately to Samaadhi (the state of super conscious bliss).

First, when you sit for meditation, recite a few shlokas on the Glory of God

so that the agitatedmind may be calmed. Then gradually draw before the mind's

eye the Form which that Name represents. When your mind wanders away from the

recital of the Name, lead it onto the picture of the Form. When it wanders from

the form, lead it onto the Name. Let it dwell either on that sweetness or this.

The imaginary picture you have drawn will get transmuted into the bhaava

chithra (thought visualisation), dear to the heart and fixed in the memory.

Gradually it will become Vision of the actual Form when the Lord assumes that

Form in order to fulfil your desire. This saadhana is called japa sahitha

dhyaana (meditation-cum-recitation of Name), and I advise you all to take it

up, for it is best form of dhyaana for beginners. Within a few days you will

fall in line and you will taste the joy of concentration. After about tenor

fifteen minutes of this dhyaana in the initial stages, and longer after some

time, have somemanana (contemplation) on the shaanthi (peace) and the sowkhya

(happiness) you had duringthe dhyaana (meditation). The manas (mind) is

known as anthah-karana (inner sense organ). The mind is that which remembers,

recollects and ruminates. The mind has, as warp and woof, assertion and

negation, do's and don'ts, sankalpa and vikalpa. Even when you are alone and

silent, the mind may be on a spree - wishing, desiring, planning to do or not

to do. And it keeps the tongue busy until sleep silences it. There are

nostandards which are kept in mind while looking, talking or acting. One must

try to stay a while in order to examine and judge. Develop the quality of

fortitude, the strength not to yield to the opinions of others unless you find

them to be right and the courage to bear criticism and face slander. In

order to calm the mind and keep it on an even keel, dhyaana is prescribed as a

saadhana.Dhyaana is the process by which the positive and negative aspects of

the mind are regulated outof existence. How much more satisfying should be the

Bliss when we attain the nirvikalpa stage through dhyaana. The Aanandha (bliss)

that fills us then is characterised as beyond the range of imagination, without

any trace of the three types of attributes. There are three groups of

saadhanas which you have to take up - personal, social and universal(vyakthi,

samaaja and vishwa). The individual's spiritual success, his beneficient nature

and his virtues, when pooled with those of many others, become the wealth of

society, the common property of all. The Divine in each is pooled into the

concept of the Infinite Divine.

 

The Hindhus have been praying since ages for the "peace and prosperity of

all the worlds": Lokaas Samasthaas Sukhino Bhavanthu. The rituals, ceremonies,

vows and rites prescribed in, Hindhuism, are all directed to the promotion and

well-being of "all the worlds." This is the reason why Hindhuism is still alive

and active. The word 'Hindhu' has been interpreted by scholars in various ways,

but the real meaning is 'a people who keep away from violence.'

Since several centuries and millennia, yajnas (Vedhic rite or sacrifice)

have been observed in India for the welfare of the world. These yajnas are not

performed to benefit an individual, a family, a sect, a caste or those who

follow a particular faith. The aim is universal and the beneficiaries are all

living beings, for such yajnas calm the elements and propitiate the deities

presiding over the earth, water, fire, wind and sky. The sages of old chose

some place away from the humans' habitations either on the bank of a river or

in the recesses of a forest, for the celebration of yajnas.

The yajna is everybody's privilege; it becomes a success through everyone's

effort. Handfuls of grain brought by those who had sincere desire to

participate were heaped together and handfuls of ritual fuel sticks brought by

the priests were stacked together. This was done as a symbol of the union of

minds and hearts and as an assurance that each one can share in the blessings

of the Gods invoked by the manthras.

Among yajnas, there are two types - the outer and the inner, the outer being

a reflection of theinner. The inner yajna is the bird in the hand; the outer,

the bird in the bush.

The value and significance of the inner yajna have to be understood first. It

involves awareness of the Divinity that is dormant but decisive in the very

centre of our Reality. Worship It, propitiate It, please It, become It.

The mind is the altar. Place the animal which is to be offered as oblation

(the evil aspects of yourcharacter, behaviour, attitude etc.) and sacrifice it

to the deity invoked. The outer visible yajna is a means to convey this inner

purpose and message. Until the lesson is learnt, the external ritual of fuel

sticks being offered to the sacrificial fire has to continue.

Here we see rithviks (priests performing the rites) who are specialists in

the different stages of Vedhic sacrifice. We hear the recitation of Vedhic

hymns and sacred texts; we have the ceremonial worship of Dhevi on the lines of

Shaasthric (ethical) injunctions; a Pandith is engaged in prayer of the thousand

lingas (Symbolic Form of Divinity), while another priest propitiates the Sun God

by means of ritual prostration to the accompaniment of manthras, praising His

Glory. Godhead, in all Its Manifestations of elements and forces, is thus being

adored for seven days as part of the Vedhapurusha yajna. The fives senses and

their impact, the five sheaths that enclose the Aathman, are symbolised in

these activities and have to be finally merged in the Illumination of Jnaana

(Beautific Wisdom). In the Upanishaths, the senses are called maathra

(measures). Each one is a measure that can operate only upto a limit. The homa

(the oblation in the sanctified flame) is a symbol of this consummation.

This fire is fed by fuel sticks and ghee, so that the flames of wisdom may

burn out the last traces of ego, ignorance and desire. And what exactly is

ghee, which feeds the flames? It is clarified butter - butter that is churned

from curd which is in fact curdled milk. Recitation of the Vedhas purifies the

environment and strengthens the will to become Truth. This is symbolically

conveyed by the various ceremonial rites which are part of yajna (sacrifice).

A single tin of ghee offered with appropriate manthras in the holy fire will

result in a million tinsof ghee for mankind. The vibrations of the manthras and

the effect of the oblations will ensureprosperity and welfare the world over.

 

Life is holy, sacred. Go through it with joy and happiness. Do not carry

gloomy, unhappy faces.Happiness is union with God.

Life is also as a market. In life, giving and taking, bargaining and

speculating, is a part of the game. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai

Speaks. Vol. 14. "The inner yajna," Chapter 32; "Meditation," Chapter 41; "Be

human," Chapter 46 and ."The worthwhile life," Chapter 54. Sathya Sai Speaks.

Vol.22. "The Ganesa Principle," Chapter 27).

[Guest guest]

om sai ram

Happiness is union with God.These beautiful wordings

are a soothing balm for the urge for divinity.

sai ram

 

 

 

 

--- Reet <reet.priiman wrote:

 

> Sai Ram

> Light and Love

> Swami teaches.... (27 - 29 June 2005)