Guest guest Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Loving SAI RAMs, A seeker who has the strength of Shraddha (faith) and has cleansed his heart of all its impurities, who is thus fully fit for contemplation on Atma, must retire to a clean and quiet place and stay in the company of good people (Satsngha). When the instruments of reflection and meditation are thus made ready, the owner of them becomes fit for applying himself in the fields of deeper contemplation. Only a tuned up vehicle can directly take us to the supreme goal. When once the vehicle is ready, a seeker must be able to employ it in this adventurous pilgrimage to Truth. How will the seeker proceed in his flight? Sitting for meditation in a quiet clean place is a must. In the 6th Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita the Lord advises, " Suchau dese atmanam pratishtapya Tatra ekakgrammanah kritva yatachitta indriyah atma suddhye yogam yunjat " (verse11). The Lord says that a yogi should live in solitude, controlling his thoughts and body, eschewing desires and possessions and should concentrate on the Atma. For this purpose he is advised to locate a clean spot ,arranging his seat neither too high nor too low, covering it with kusa grass, deer skin and cloth. Having seated himself on the seat so prepared, concentrating on a single object and controlling his thoughts and senses, he should practise yoga for self-purification. Thus, " Dwelling in solitude, controlled in diet, restrained in speech, body and mind subdued, ever absorbed in meditaion and anchored in dispassion, one is fit to become one Brahman " declares the Lord in verse 52 of chapter 18 of the Gita. A lonely place does not necessarily mean a solitary island or thick forest or a cave. For a seeker an extreme lonliness might be not only less helpful but also dangerous. A seeker must live in the company of a good and genuine Sadhu and thus learn by his association with them the art of controlling himself against all odds. A life of loneliness abounds with many a pitfall, and it is more so when the seeker is immature in his path. It is beneficial to have elderly men of merit and Tapas around us if we are to gain positive growth due to our Sadhana. These elderly seekers remove our difficulties by their direct words of instructions and warning. The topics on which the seekers can contemplate in the beginning could be on, say, (a) what is the nature of Samsar?(b)where did it come from? © where does it stay? 9d) where does it go back?etc. Such contemplations end the ego-sense and the Infinite Truth behind it is experienced. (to be continued) G.Balasubramanian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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