'Dhyana' And Divine Love by Swami Keshaviaj

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'Dhyana' And Divine Love

 

IT was Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who said, " Fear not, O afflicted souls !

The greatest atonement for all your sins, the sure way of ending all your

miseries and the highest means of attaining Divine Bliss is meditation on

Sriman Narayana and the reciting of Sri Hari's name." Goswami Tulsidas truly

declared, " At last I have discovered the Chintamani Rama Kama, I shall

treasure it with love, close to my heart and cling to it."

" Repeat the name of Vasudeva with mind overflowing with pure love ; all

your troubles perish root and branch/' said the great Sri Madhavacharya.

The name of God is verily the oil in which the wick of the "Self" is to be

drenched and then ignited by the fire of God, as Saint Kabirdas very

beautifully put it.

Among the infinite variety of births, human birth is the most precious one

and is also hard to get. Having obtained a human body with all faculties,

our one purpose in life is to know the "innermost Self" (Antaryami) which is

no other than "Parameswara" (Supreme Being) and attain God realization

(Moksha) in this very life. So, our constant endeavour should be to search

within, to cleanse our heart of all impurities arising out of Raga and

Dwesha and fill it with the divine nectar of Devotion to the Lord. Though

there are several paths to 'Moksha', the easiest and the one declared by

Brahma and great seers like Sri Sai Baba as suitable for this age is Dhyana

(constant meditation) on the Lord and repetition of His holy name and

Bhakti, Supreme devotion and divine love to" the Lord.

The one common doubt that arises in the minds of all devotees is whether it

is ever possible to remember God or utter His name even when one is immersed

in ever so many worldly pursuits and plunged in the miseries of worldly

existence in day-to-day life. Lord Krishna has given a beautiful answer to

this in the " Gita " wherein he has enjoined on all to do their legitimate

duty faithfully, sincerely and cheerfully as "sacrifice" to the Lord

(Krishnarpanam) without the idea, "I am doing" and do worship without an eye

for reward. " Duty for the sake of duty and love for the sake of love "

should be our motto. All other aims are worthless. This total surrender of

the fruits of all our actions to God and dedication of the mind, body and

soul to God burns up the huge stock of one's sins, however great they may be

and accumulated in a series of births, and leads us on to the Lotus Feet of

the Lord.

 

In Dhyana (meditation), one loses the idea of one's self completely. In

fact, our little self vanishes and merges gradually in the Divine. A person

who has thus acquired concentration of mind (Dharana) by constant practice

and steadfast devotion is really a fortunate man, as very easily he gets

divine grace and attains Supreme Bliss. We have Lord Krishna's own grand

assurance in the " Gita, Na Me Bhakta Pranasyathi "— "My devotee never

perishes." Not only that, the Lord has promised full security and welfare to

all who surrender everything without reservation to Him.

There are two great inner enemies in us. They are desire and anger. Unless

we conquer these and master them, it is idle to expect deliverance. So we

must eschew them without any reserve. Rama is not for him who is swayed by

Kama and Krodha. These are the two frightful gateways to hell.

If we practise self-control and self-denial, we are certain to lead a pure,

contented and fruitful life. We should always be clean and pure in soul,

mind and body. As Sai Baba used to advise His devotees often, we should

constantly meditate on the " Sadvastu" and conduct a self-enquiry, " Who am

I ? Where is this world?" This Upasana of the Sadvastu should be carried

on with perseverance in solitude, withdrawing our minds completly from the

objects of the senses. Lord Krishna, the flute bearer of Brindavan, in the

celestial " Gita " and the great Sri Kapila in " Srimad Baghavatham " have

described how one should practise meditation. One should select a secluded

place exclusively for meditation and be seated there Holding the body erect

but with ease. One should control all the senses and practise Pranayama,

Having controlled the mind (Dharana) and fixing it on one of the centres of

consciousness, one should concentrate on the Divine attributes and remain

steadfast in devotion. When the mind and heart become calm and pure, one

will learn to dwell in Divine consciousness (Suddha Chaitanya) which is a

cave as Sri Sai Baba has put it. One who enters that cave never returns to

this world of death and pain, but becomes the cave itself.

" Love is divine." Though love is unlimited and knows no bounds, each

limited ego (Jivatma) partakes \to the extent of its capacity and exhibits

it. The love which seeks God for the sake of love alone and by means of

which we offer our body, mind and soul to God whole-heartedly is Satvika

love. By simple, child-like and whole-hearted love to Lord Krishna, the

Gopis attained eternal bliss, which is a good example for this.

God dwells in all creatures. There is no place where He is not. So, we

should be kind and considerate to every creature in this world. One should

give food to the hungry, water to the thirsty and clothes to the naked and

the poor. One should see the Lord in the learned and the ignorant, rich and

poor, the king and the beggar and even in animals like a dog. This "

Karun-yam " and " Samatvam " purify the heart and cleans^ it of all

impurities and when God's grace descends at last, one gets emancipation

easily.

But it will not be enough to see the Lord in all creatures. Meditate on God

and do the injunctions laid down in the scriptures. Above all these, one

should cultivate intense devotion (Viswa Prema Para Bhakti) to God as the

source and permeator of all, the All-Merciful, the All-Poweful, the Most

Supreme and our great Saviour and Friend.

" Mathru Devo Bhava " (Mother), " Pithru Devo Bhava " (Father) and " Acharya

Devo Bhava " (Brahma Nishta Guru) are the three entities who help us to

attain Him. If we are really sincere, earnest and thirst after God

realisation, as the Chataka bird thirsts for water we are sure to attain His

grace sooner or later. Having obtained human birth, which is very hard to

obtain let us all try to taste this ambrosia (Amritam) in the form of divine

love waiting for us and may we all with the grace of Sri Sai Baba attain

'Moksha' (emancipation) and 'Kaivalyam' (Divine Bliss) in this very life.

 

(Adopted from the Book Pearls of Wisdom by His Holiness Swami Kesavaiahji)