HINTS FOR MEDITATION

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HINTS FOR MEDITATION

—Swami Shri Akhandanandji Saraswati

I. Nothing is sensed without its entering into our consciousness. Mind is

not without movement. Please know this again thoroughly. Mind comes into

being within the Atman which is ever moving and is knowledge itself. Things

appear and are sensed in the mind. Whatever you are seeing just now, or

whatever thing you might have seen previously, can either be the abiding

place of each of the senses such as smell, taste, form, touch or sound, or

otherwise, may be the sum-totai of all senses. Now, you may take for example

a piece of earth-clay, giving our smell, water which has taste, fire which

has brilliancy and form, or flower, which, in addition to these, contains

the sense of touch—that thing, the flower enters into mind through eyes

either now or must have been there previously in memory. Its colour, form,

outline, smell, softness, and the taste of nectar within—all are known and

sensed in the mind. The process of seeing the flower is taking place in the

mind only. Now, closing your eyes outwardly, try to visualize that flower

within the mind. You will find that the image of flower creates an

impression that you are seeing the flower though in the mind the outer

flower is not existing. The idea arises that in such and such place, I saw a

flower with such and such a colour, form, taste, smell, name, etc. This is

only a projection, an idea, a mental image. There is no real abode, no

time, no form or weight, no quality or discriminative attributes to the

flower which is your mental image. It is your own mental substance that

takes the form of inner flower and is seen by you. Now you try to see that

flower in such a way that you see nothing but mind,—the whole and the detail

of the flower are nothing but the mind. There is actually no flower, there

is just the mind. Now when the mind will remain without the image of the

flower—it will be mind itself, which will not be separate from your moving

Atman, the formless energy. Only the mind with the form (like the flower)

can be seen. Mind is energy—not different from that. Let it stay in that

state for any length of time. There is now no difference between the energy

which is covered by the object of senses, or the energy which is covered by

the mental process. When the mind moves, your intellect will say that you

move, you are mind, you are the flower—that means, there is nothing but you

in everything. Whatever you were in meditation, or attention, you are that

in practice. This is net true only for the flower. You can meditate by

taking before you any object you choose. This is again a clue to the

illusion of serpent where there is really no such being, and when you look

with care, the illusion of serpent vanishes and you see the true thing—the

rope, on which the illusion took place. In this way, when you see any image

within the moving energy which is mind, the careful attention to the image

makes the image vanish and tlu mind remains in its original state of energy.

2. You may pay complete attention either to one of the sense-organs, or to

all the sense-organs. You will find that the process of know-mg is same, but

it takes a different aspect according to the type of sense-organ, and knows

different objects. These objects have a place in the essence of the

sense-organs, the etheric counterpart of the physical body, connected with

the particular desire-element and knowledge which contacts these essences

works through the sense-organs. It is like variously coloured, glasses which

give out various colours though the original light is same. You may

experiment with any one of your desires. The desires are arising and dying.

They are different. Knowledge is singular. You may also see any desire so

completely, so carefully, as an object within your mind, that you see in it

also nothing but knowledge, you do not see it separate from the original

colourless light of the know-ing.

Take the right-eye. See that there is the Purusha, the principle of

male-element in the Universe, in miniature standing. Do not pay attention to

the essence of the eye which is outwardly a sense-organ and inwardly the

residue of desire to see (which is the essence of the attitude to see). All

these are essentially the knowledge itself. All organs are in this way,

nothing but knowledge. You are knowledge. There is now no seeing every organ

differently. There is only You, net only at the time of meditation, but

while in ordinary life, you are everywhere present in every sense-organ, not

as objects, senses, essence of senses, or the process of recognition as

different qualities arise, but alone you—who are knowledge.

3. From the base of bodily life, the difference between the inner and the

outer instrument of knowledge arises. In principle, life does not brook this

bifurcation, it is not important. The name Chitta or consciousness comes

through Samskaras, the impressions from the past on the vulnerable knowing

process, the name Manas (or Mind) comes through the divergent recognition

process, (Vik-riya), the name Ahamkara (Ego) comes through the sense of I.

and the name Buddhi (Intellect) comes through the process of

knowledge—differences and unities, assessment, etc. In that order, they can

also be called the "Residue, the Intention, the I-ness and the Decision".

All these four make up the inner instrument. When you form any concept about

the inner evolution, of yourself (Pa ram-artha) in your mind, and decide its

form in your intellect, and say that you aspire to become that—you are

THAT—or remain silent all these things take place within this inner

instrument. These are illuminated by the energy—which means that you see

these. You have not to become the seer, the experiencer, the Sakshi—you ha\e

simply to understand that you ARE the seer, the unattached, the equallibrium

itself, the most inward Being. You have not to go further inside anywhere,

nor to become temporarily quiescent, nor start looking outside objects.

These difference are short-living 2nd object of seeing is just the light of

your eyesight. You can see for yourself—there is no separate object at all.

There is only see-ing. In the inner instrument, where everything is. seen,

there is nothing else except the process of knowing connected with Samskaras

and inherent qualities of perception. This inner instrument is opened up

before you—which also not an object separate from you, but yourself only.

The inner instrument, and the Ruler residing within it, the Jeeva or Ego,

and the world comprising of space, time and matter, is appearance without

these differences, appearance of yourself. When you see it deeply, the

passing images vanish like a film, and you remain as energy, without which

there is nothing else. The inner instrument shows the passing images, you

are energy without division.

4. Now, look to the instrument and yourself as its seer separate from it.

Now see what is the third thing or principle between the inner instrument

(Antahkaran) and yourself (Drashta). It is the absence of the Antahkaran,

which is also a state being the result of certain causes. That which moves

in the inner instrument is called Jeeva. That which moves in the absence of

inner instrument is called Ishwara. Now you are the seer of both the being

and non-being, the presence and absence of this instrument— You are

witnessing these objectively, is it not? Actually what are these causess and

results? Why is there difference this separateness between the energy which

is covered by inner instrument and the energy which is not touched by the

inner instrument? You are that energy which sees and the difference arises

because of your ignorance of your own state which is Brahman, the totality

of everything. You yourself become the Cosmic Energy which is not trrmelled

by inner instrument, and you yourself become the individual energy which is

yoked to the senses and attitudes of inner instrument connected with the

body. There is in truth no division as such, in the energy. Energy is

indivisible. The differences and divisions disappeared as you know yourself

as you are. This knowledge is not opposite to awareness, but it is

definitely above all illusions. There may well be the awareness of the

differences and the absence of the differences. There is no harm in that to

your aloneness, the only one state of Samadhi which is undisturbed. All

other things including the divisions of inner and outer instruments are but

appearances. You are the only one principle, without the second.

(With permission from "Kalyan" (Year 45, issue No. 10).

 

(Adopted from Sri SaiLeela Special Issue 1973)