Jaya Jaya Jnana Bodha Sabha

[Guest guest]

Sri Maha Ganapataye Namaha!

Sri Saraswathye Namaha!

Sri Pada Vallabha Narasimha Saraswathi,

Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha!

 

Parvathi is the jeeva atma, Ishwara is the param atma;  Their union as the One

undifferentiated being, as Ardhanarishwara, in which all the differentiated

tattvas merge into a single tattva, is the state of Brahma Jnana.  To appreciate

this, one should earnestly seek the atma tattva.

 

The end goal of kriya yoga is to realize the unity of all the tattvas by

understanding their origin.  This is possible only by means of constant Shravana

(hearing), Manana (reflection), and Nidhidhyasana (practice) on the words of the

preceptor (SatGuru).  This should be combined with the physical practices of

meditation, i.e., pranayama.

 

The microcosm of the body is a reflection of the macrocosm of the universe.  All

the gods, goddesses, and energies lie within the body; the key to unlocking

these, lies in pranayama.  Pranayama is of two kinds: higher and lower.  The

lower is the ordinary form of breath control and the use of physical techniques

to force and restrain the breath (vayu).  The higher involves the control of

prana.  Through the body, one gains conscious control over the lower, and this

in-turn must be joined with the higher pranayama, yielding the fruit of

dis-association whereby prakrithi and purusha are no longer seen as separate. 

Once this is achieved, the practice should be to continuously maintain that

awareness, until the former distinction drops away like the withering of a leaf

on a tree.  This is the yoga sutra.

 

Pranayama (breath control) begins with the alternate breathing:

 

1. inhale with right nostril; closing left

2. exhale with left nostril; closing right

3. inhale with left nostril; closing right

4. exhale with right nostril; closing left

 

....the remaining steps will be automatically discovered by one's self, if one is

earnest.  Your earnestness is the only measure of Guru bhakthi.  Guru bhakthi =

earnestness.  Earnestness alone dictates Guru's grace.  The results speak for

themselves.  If you love a particular subject, you will have earnestness in it. 

Therefore, you can be said to be a bhaktha of that subject.  Likewise,

earnestness is the only true measure.  If you don't care for a subject, you are

unlikely to learn it.  It won't " stick " with/to you.

 

Bhajana yogam is nothing but breath control (and mind control) through singing

of songs.  By properly singing songs, your breath automatically becomes

controlled.  That is why nadanusandana is important.  Swamiji's songs are

designed to automatically teach pranayama to the body.  That is the purpose of

singing bhajans for extended periods of time.  You learn (i) how to sing WITH

everyone around you (same way that you do seva WITH everyone around you), (ii)

you teach your body pranayama.  Singing should be done with awareness.  Singing

Swamiji's bhajans develops your memory.  It fine tunes it.  You will notice if

even one note is off key from how you remember how Swamiji sings it.  You will

not miss one note - everything will matter.  If you miss a note, it will bother

you, and it will cycle in your mind long after the song is finished.  Look at

where the sound is coming from when you make a sound.  Slowly, learn to control

the sound. 

Learn to develop range, both low and high.  You are inadvertently learning how

to control the various muscles within the body, which are not excercised in any

other way, except through vocalization.  Proper vocalization activates the

appropriate chakras and the physical sound, the muscular movements of the sound

channels, will massage/activate the associated glands within the body on the way

through and out of the body.  Nada yoga is like an internal massage.  Observe

how the sound moves within your body, before it moves out of the mouth.  Many

professional singers make a lot of strange faces and contort their bodies and

move their hands up and down and right and left.  Why?  It is not to show off to

the audience what wonderful contortionists they are, or how beautiful their

hands are - it is because they are subconsciously attempting to control various

internal muscles that modulate the way the sound is coming out.  Commonly people

assume

that when they make hand gestures towards you, they are making some kind of

sign language that the audience should try to understand; even though it seems

directed at you, it is actually for themselves to better control the flow of the

sound within themselves as it travels from the base of their stomach cavity

along the esophagus, and out of the mouth.  The maintenance of taala with hands

serves a dual purpose - it allows others to know the particular speed of the

song - but it also helps the singer to keep track of the time spent on each

note.  These hand gestures are like mudras (physical postures that control

subtle internal processes and energy flows).  Often, even the singers don't know

why they show hands to the audience and move them all over the place - this is

~why~.  Observe how the sound moves out of the mouth into the environment. 

Observe how it reflects and interacts with the environment, before reflecting

back to your ear.  Observe

what your inner sound sounds like compared with what you hear externally. 

Trained singers listen for auditory clues from their environment (people,

objects, etc.), as well as from within themselves.  That is all.  Everyone can

sing well, if they place their faith in SatGuru and sing as an offering

to SatGuru and not for some audience.  You forget about the people in the room. 

Why sing only for an audience? Sing for yourself first.  If you think you are

not ready for public singing, OK, but at least sing to yourself privately.  It

is not important to " lead " a song; what is important is to SING with the bhajan

group, and to sing happily.  If you won't listen to your own singing, who else

will?  When you sing, keeping in mind, the manner in which Swamiji sings a song,

the tune, the inflections of voice, the rhythm (taala), the pauses (as important

as the sound, is the silence between sounds), etc. you will understand the

tattva of the

particular song, and you will also feel the energy of that particular deity. 

Finally, practice pronounciation, by repeated listening and mental repetition of

the words.  Sanskrit words require a certain pronounciation, so invest some time

in listening (loudly, if necessary) to CDs where Swamiji is singing a particular

tune/raaga.  The more you listen, the more your mind is attuned to the various

components of the music.  This is why Swamiji insists on (demands) the use of

Swamiji's music in all the dattapeetha centers.  If you are really a Swamiji

devotee, you MUST use Swamiji's music in your activities, and defend Swamiji's

music over every other music; its OK to listen to other music, but in Swamiji

activities, in Swamiji meetings, in Swamiji ashramas, Swamiji's music and

Swamiji's prayers should be first over everything else.  In Swamiji's speech he

emphasizes how bad (guilty) he felt for not singing for even 1 hr per day.  He

is hinting

that you should also feel this way, if you didn't bother to sing ~something~

today (at least, listen to ~something~ wholeheartedly today).  Not guilty, per

se, but as if you are missing something in your life.  You should reflect what a

particular song means to you, and you should notice how you feel when you don't

hear it.  You should go to bhajans and satsangs looking forward to being with

Swamiji devotees, enjoying Swamiji's music, eating Swamiji's food, and

discussing Swamiji's subjects.  You should make it compulsory, despite political

or other concerns.  If you can't go for some fundamental reason, that's fine,

but you should miss it in your heart, ...the same way you miss when you don't

have the opportunity to see Swamiji's programs.  You should live, eat, breathe,

and work in the spirit of Swamiji's presence in your life.

 

The fruit of all of these practices are obtained automatically merely by

constant japa/remembrance of the Guru Mantra and steadfastness in surrender to

His holy feet.  There must be an internal need/desire to understand Guru Tattva,

i.e., Mumukshatva (intense desire for liberation).  In order for that to take

birth, one must reflect on the limitations and negative qualities of the cycle

of life (samsara) - the chief one being its repetitive monotony (endless

repetition) with respect to good and bad karma (and the associated

consequences of both).  A Guru is only pleased, when the disciple hungers after

the teachings of the Guru.  The teachings of the Guru are his ablutions, and an

earnest disciple should daily shower in those ablutions.  By such earnestness,

the Guru will be inwardly pleased.  Don't worry about " How can I learn all these

things? " ...try (with confidence), and you will see the grace of SatGuru in the

learning process itself.

 

All the physical seva you do externally, for the organization, is preparation

for the internal seva you must do daily within yourself, ...the grace that you

see in the results achieved in (seemingly) impossible situations, develops

confidence in you and builds faith in your connection to SatGuru, to begin the

inward journey, and then you proceed inwardly, and find that SatGuru is also

there to guide you the rest of the way.

 

A desire alone is insufficient, one must act on the desire, in order to gain the

fruit.  Find out, for yourself.  That is the basis for sva-tantriyam

(self-initiated action).  If you don't take the first step, you will stay where

you are.

 

The sadhana (self-effort, practice) is to find out, for yourself, what surrender

is, and to doggedly pursue it in all situations, circumstances, climates, and

times.  You are capable of doing all things, by the Grace of SatGuru.

 

Jaya Guru Datta!

 

Swamiji says:

" jaya jaya jnana bodha sabha, atma tattva bodha sabha, bhakthi jnana vairagya

sabha "  

" namasankeertana dhama sabha, yoga sutra bodha sabha "

---

Gurorangripadme ManaScenna Lagnam tata: kim! tata: kim! tata: kim! tata: kim!?

Sarva Kartha, Sarva Dhartha, Sarva Hartha, Mangalam!

Satchidananda, Satchidananda, Satchidananda Mangalam!

Tasmai Sri Guru-murthaye Nama Idam Sri Dakshinamurtaye!

 

 

Ata Nityo Narayanaha, Brahma Narayanaha, Sivascha Narayanaha, Kalascha

Narayanaha. Disascha Narayanaha, Vidisascha Narayanaha, Urdwamscha Narayanaha,

Adhascha Narayanaha, Antar-bahischa-Narayana.Narayana Eh Vedam Sarvam, Yat

BhootamYacchha Bhavyam.Nish-kalango Niranjano Nirvikalpo Nirakyadhas,suddhho

Deva Eko Narayanaha, Na dwiteeyosthi kaschit,ya evam Vedas Vishnu reva Bhavati,

Sa Vishnureva Bhavathi, Etat yajur veda sirodeeyathe.

 

 

 

Sundara Sundara Siva Siva! Karuna Bandhura Siva Siva! Karuna Rupa Spanda Siva!

Girisha Sat-Chit-Ananda Siva!

 

Jaya Jaya Jnana Bodha Sabha, ...Atma Tattva Bodha Sabha, ...Bhakthi Jnana

Vairagya Sabha, ...Namasankeerthana Dhama Sabha

 

 

 

~*Om * Ayim * Hreem * Sreem * Siva * Rama * Anagha * Dattaya * Namaha*~