Overnight meditation at Palasdhari

[Guest guest]

Om Sri Sairam -

Overnight Meditation at Palasdhari

 

The din of the outside world will never cease.

Each one is burdened by that

'reality show' reeling inside.

In the mind that is.

We try to sing along and dance

and go out of sync.

And blame the world.

 

Instead of identifying with the images,

can we identify with the 'Screen'-

as Baba says ?

Pure, white, unsullied,

the screen remains static,as

 

unaffected witness -

while psychedelic images change over it.

 

And the only way to achieve this

is through "Meditation", the wise men say.

How do we Metro Mortals know?

So we set out to explore.

 

In a way,Meditation or 'Dhyan' is very appealing.

For the simple reason- it is contrarian

if compared to the outside world.

It says "do nothing" -(Oh! what a relief! )

'If you want to reach,sit quiet" (really?)

"Just Observe only and let go all" (!!!!)

(It sounds like Housing Loan without EMI

and no "Conditions Apply"!!!)

 

But easier said than done.

As we discovered.

 

A group of 11 people

chose to do overnight meditation

at Sri Sathya Sai Samaj Dhyan Mandir,Palasdhari

on 26 July 09 as informed earlier.

 

The temple Altar- Palasdhari

 

The venue was chosen as it is the

best-fit by any measure-

What with Baba's blessed rose laid in the foundation

alongwith a handful of earth from His birthplace

besides the water from 9 sacred Rivers and Manasarovar

poured over the Idol of Shirdi Baba in the temple

on the top of a hill, with amazing water falls all around now.

 

 

 

Water falls just adjacent

to the Temple Dhyan site

at Palasdhari

 

We got ready by evening as the sun bade goodbye.

We were awstruck by the scenic beauty

that looked like God's own 'screen saver'

that should pop up amidst our 'Dhyan' program.

 

 

Amazing view from Dhyan

site- God's own 'screen saver'

 

It was as though Baba got it fixed

so that we poor souls who ventured out

have more than one reason to meditate..

 

The team was in a make-ready mode and

played around with the local kids.

After all, Meditation is undoing all adult crap

and reinstate the child's innocence,

we lost along the way.

 

After an initial talk on Meditation

around 7.30 pm. and salutations to

the local Shirdi Sai Baba,

the main deity of the temple,

we sank into meditation after light dinner.

With Jyoti Meditation cassette slowly

unwinding and dissipating in cool air around,

the meditators were slowly dissolving.

 

In the pitch dark mountain peak,

it was a new experience to explore oneself.

For which, the city never gives us a chance.

 

Discovered facts not part of

Meditation manual -

-First step to transcend -

 

Plain mosquito bite. (despite odomos)

 

 

-The eerie noise from the mountain range

can escalate tension.

 

 

-Difficult to lift focus from distant barking.

 

-Closed eyes and mouth

didn't mean silence.

Inside chatter on.

with scenes passing by rapidly.

 

-Half way through, nagging questions -

'Will meditation happen to me?'

Time flew without caring to reply.

 

 

-Its like a long TV serial without commercial breaks!

 

-All we wanted to avoid, promptly popped up.

 

 

-The Jyoti in front was still flickering

imitating the mind inside.

 

Slowly the mind gave up.

Defeated. At last.

Oh! In its failure lies the success of meditation.

 

It was past midnight.

So far so good.

Did meditation happen?

Who's there to report.

The meditator was lost long back.

Deep Inside.

 

At 6 in the dawn, a new world emerged.

Inside us, with new springs of joy.

Peels of laughter. Tons of happiness.

Its chai time. Sip. Sip.

Oh! The breathtaking view.

Palasdhari is God's wordless poetry!

 

Palasdhari- God's wordless Poetry!

 

Has the outside world changed?

No chance. Same Boss. Same neighbours.

Same thankless customers...etc etc

In short, same 'mathlabi' duniya...

Then what's the joy about??

Its the same scene. But a different 'Dhrishti'.

Gifted by Meditation.

And that makes the difference.

 

No doubt.Palasdhari will soon be Dhyan Kendra for

all seekers of Peace and tranquility.

Its going tobe the 'Mother of all Dhyan centres'

in the next century!!

 

 

Why hesitate? Come. Meditate.

Do a Palasdhari !

 

 

"When we think of meditation, three things are involved, First, there is the person who meditates, the dhyata; secondly, there is the object of meditation dhyeya; and thirdly, there is the process of meditation itself, dhyana. In true meditation, all these three should merge. The person who is meditating should identify himself totally with the object of meditation and should be unaware of even the fact that he is meditating. When he is meditating, his attention should be so rivetted to the dhyeya that he loses his own identity and forgets

his involvement in the action (dhyana), too"-Sri Sathya Sai Baba -Summer showers 1979

 

Om Sri Sairam

 

(R.Chandrashekar)

ChemburSeva

 

N.B: The team will repeat the Dhyan program once in a Quarter in Palasdhari. Contact ChemburSeva 9821482711 for participation and pick up details. Leaving on a Sat evening from Chembur every quarter. Food and vehicle arranged. No charges whatsoever.