What is Meditation? Video - Atman NItyananda

 Podcast - 4. Meditation and Self-enquiry - Atman NItyananda

Om! Connection with the silence of Being by Atman Nityananda

Connection with the silence of Being

Inner peace and silence are our natural state, but when we lose contact with them, the mind becomes extroverted, turning outward toward distractions and agitation. This disconnection gives rise to restlessness, thoughts, and emotions. However, the mind’s turbulence can subside, and its natural stillness can return when we consciously reconnect with the silence and peace within.

The methods we can use to restore a deep and complete connection with the inner silence are as follows:

1. Questioning Thoughts or Emotions: When thoughts or emotions arise, we can inquire into their source. For example, ask, “To whom have these thoughts arisen?” The answer is “To me.” Then, question further, “What is the source of the ‘me’?” This helps in tracing the origin of our sense of self and reconnecting with inner silence.

2. Focusing on the Sense of ‘Me‘: We can also direct our full attention to the sense of ‘me’ or ‘I.’ In this method, we first use the approach of questioning, but instead of seeking the inner source of ‘me’ or ‘I,’ we focus completely on the sense of ‘me’ itself. We can facilitate the concentration on the sense of ‘me’ by asking these questions: “Can I feel completely this sense of ‘me’?” or “Can I be fully aware of this sense of ‘me’?” By deeply concentrating on this sense of ‘me’, we align ourselves with the inner silence.

Meditation differs according to the degree of advancement of the seeker. If one is fit for it, one might directly hold on to the thinker, and the thinker will automatically sink into its source, namely, pure consciousness (the silent space of consciousness).

Ramana Maharshi

3. Another way to connect with inner silence and deepen it is to focus our awareness fully on the sense of “I am” or “I exist.” To make our attention and mind effortlessly focus on this sense of “I am,” we can use questions like, “Can I fully feel that I am?” “Can I be fully aware that I am?” and “Can I fully attend to the sense of ‘I am’?” By gently being aware of this sense of “I am” or “I exist,” we gradually get in touch with the background of the “I am,” the silent, empty space of consciousness.

4. Inquiring About Connection: Another method is to ask, “Can I connect with the inner silence?” After asking this once or twice, we simply turn our attention within and focus on the inner silence.

Every time our attention strays away from the sense of “I am” or the inner silence, we can use one of the above methods to reconnect with the inner silence. If we use the inquiry method, we ask, “To whom does this thought arise?” The answer is, “To me.” We then connect with the “me” and ask, “What is the source of ‘me’?” If we use the sense of “I am” method, whenever our attention strays, we can ask, “Can I feel the sense of ‘I am’?” “Can I feel that I am?” or “Can I feel that I exist?”. Our focus of attention thus returns to the Sense “I Am”, and we remain gently there, deepening in this Sense “I Am”. Through it, we connect with the silence within.

5. Another way to connect with inner silence is to mentally repeat the mantra “Om.” Repeat the mantra slowly, prolonging each sound, (Ooooommmmmm..) and focus initially on the sound itself and then on how it fades away. After the sound has completely subsided, remain fully aware of the silence that follows. Then, repeat the mantra again in the same prolonged manner, focusing first on the sound and how it gradually fades out. Finally, direct your attention to the silence that remains after the sound has completely vanished, maintaining awareness of this silence. When the mind becomes deeply quiet, we can cease repeating the mantra and focus solely on the silence. If the mind starts to wander or generate thoughts, we use the mantra to regain control and return to inner silence. Each time our mind strays, we repeat the mantra “Om” in a prolonged manner to refocus and reconnect with the inner silence.

How capable we are of maintaining a complete connection with the inner silence and avoiding the extroversion of the mind—thus preventing the loss of contact with it—or, when we do lose contact, how easily we can regain it, depends on the purity of our mind, the extent of our practice and on how much we have developed various capacities such as dispassion, discernment, concentration, devotion, and the desire for truth and liberation.

The ‘secret’ to a plentiful life, a life of harmony, happiness and contentment is to have a sattvic mind free from desires and ego and to live in every moment in conscious contact with our true Self (Consciousness).

🌺 Peace, Love, Harmony

A SUMMARY OF THE MEDITATION ''I AM'' - Nisargadatta

 

 A SUMMARY OF THE MEDITATION ''I AM''

The meditation 'l AM' is the Core practice of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. In these verses (which are extract from the book I AM THAT)  Nisargadatta gives the fundamental ideas about the meditation ‘I AM’.

Appearance and disappearance,

birth and death these are qualities of

‘I am’, they do not belong to you, the

Absolute.

The ‘I am’ is the sum total of all that

you perceive, it’s time-bound, the

‘I am’ itself is an illusion, you are not

the ‘I am’ you are prior to it.

You have ‘to be’ before anything else

can be, your sense of ‘presence’ or

the feeling ‘I am’ is really

fundamental to anything that has to follow.

Only the ‘I am’ is certain, it’s

impersonal, all knowledge stems

from it, it’s the root, hold on to it and

let all else go.

This ‘I am’ is ever present, ever available.

Remember the knowledge ‘I am’

only and give up the rest, staying in

the ‘I am’ you will realize that it is unreal.

You must meditate on the ‘I am’

without holding on to the body-mind,

the ‘I am’ is the first ignorance,

persist on it and you will go beyond it.

Putting aside everything, stabilize in

the ‘I am’. As you continue with this

practice, in the process you will

transcend the ‘I am’.

Immortality is freedom from the

feeling ‘I am’, Yet it is not extinction.

On the contrary, it is a state infinitely more real,

aware and happy than you can possibly think of.

Only self-consciosness is no more.

Keep focused on the ‘I am’ till you

become a witness to it, then you

stand apart, you have reached the highest.

All your efforts should be directed towards

coming to that pure state of 'I am' and reside there only.

If you do this with great sincerity and earnestness

you are bound to transcend the 'I am' one day.

So understand the importance of earnest 'being'.

When the ‘I am’ goes all that

remains is the Absolute, give all your

attention to the ‘I am’.

Remain focused on the ‘I am’ till it

goes into oblivion, then the eternal is,

the Absolute is, Parabrahman is.

Om! Walking meditation ~ Atman NItyananda

Walking meditation

Walking is one of the best activities, we can use it as meditative practice. The ancient Greek philosophers, called this, Περιπατητικός διαλογισμός – Peripatitikos dialogismos, (walking meditation.

You can do every day a walk, during which, you can concentrate on every step, repeating with each step a syllabus of the mantra (a mantra with a name of God or any other mantra you like) and at the same time, being aware of the inner silence. You can also do this, in every opportunity, every time you walk; for example, when you go for shopping to the supermarket or anywhere else. 

Instead of being lost in daydreaming, being distracted by external stimulus, or looking here and there aimsly, you can use walking, to develop a new positive habit, related to the mantra and self-awareness. This habit will help you greatly, to remember repeat the mantra and the inner silence, which in its turn, it will help you, have quicker progress in your inner development and transformation.

If you do this every day, purposely, with interest and attention, in a few months (between 8 months and 12 months, or above, depending on the quality of your effort and the time you will devote to this practice) you will be create a positive habit. In this habit, it is created a link between the movement of the legs, the repetition of the mantra and the remembrance of inner silence as well. So, every time you begin to do your first one two steps (if you have already forgotten to repeat the mantra and be aware of the inner silence) you will immediately remember, to repeat the mantra and return in self-awareness (to be aware of the silent presence within).  After about a year, of systematic practice, you will have create, another positive habit, a very a powerful tool, that will help you greatly, to remember to repeat the mantra and to remain aware of the silent presence within, as well as, to develop concentration, control of senses and mind, self-awareness, dispassion, detachment and mental purity. All these are fundamental factors that accelerate your inner development and transformation.

By creating many small, positive habits, that help us to remain more time and more steadily, alert, focused and aware of the inner silent presence, we will become more and more skillful and capable, not to identify with the external objects and situations, the mind (egoic tendencies, thoughts, emotions, impulses, desires, etc.), and to eliminate as well, little by little the egoic patterns and energies; thus, our mind and heart, they will become gradually more and more pure, transparent, serene and sattvic and we will experience more and more, harmony, peace, unity, freedom and happiness, in conscious communion with our true nature (Consciousness, Atman).

Om! Spiritual practice and meditation by Atman Nityananda

Spiritual practice and meditation
by Atman Nityananda 

All spiritual practices (and the spiritual life in general) are intended to prepare our minds for deep and unceasing meditation.

Deep meditation is only possible for a pure sattvic mind. A pure-sattvic mind, free from rajas and tamas qualities (gunas), pride, desire and lust (for pleasure, power, acquisition, fame and recognition), anger, fear, greed, attachments and other selfish tendencies, is luminous, clear, sharp, serene, steady detached and focused.

The above qualities enable the mind to meditate deeply and realize its identity with its source, the divine Consciousness, (the silent living presence within us).

So the whole spiritual process is a systematic and continuous effort to overcome, one by one, all the obstacles (which are egoic tendencies, and the gunas of rajas and tamas) that prevent us from meditating and realizing that we are the silent living presence that is pure, eternal and infinite Consciousness, and to establish ourselves in it.

Practice meditation daily. Overcome obstacles one by one and deepen more and more into meditation.

Meditation is the steady fixation and absorption of mind and attention on our essence the deepest part of our being, the eternally present silent living presence within us.

One way to meditate is to repeat and feel the following phrases with awareness of the inner silence (silent living presence). It is important to feel what we are saying and not to mechanically repeat the phrases. Feel, sense that you are, that you exist as you repeat the phrases and the Om.

Ooommm…, Ooommm…, Ooommm…, Ooommm…
I am pure Consciousness, always free and blissful, Ooommm…
I am the silent void, full, luminous and peaceful, Ooommm…
I am the deep silence, always peaceful, complete and blissful, Ooommm…
I am the deep silence, full of peace, love and light, Ooommm…
I am eternal peace, love and bliss, Ooommm…
I am Atman, infinite and eternal Consciousness, Ooommm…
I am Atman, the immortal, indestructible Consciousness, Ooommm…
Ooommm… Atman, Ooommm… Atman, Ooommm… Atman
Ooommm… peace, Ooommm… light, Ooommm… Love,
Ooommm…, Ooommm…, Ooommm…, Ooommm…

We repeat these phrases for several minutes according to our ability.

You can choose only a few of these truth-phrases if you wish, the ones that are most vibrant and closest to your experience.

As we calmly repeat these phrases, (we do so with interest and without trying to concentrate), our mind and attention will become more and more focused on them, and gradually our mind will become more and more calm, clear and steady, At the same time, the background of the mind, the silent living presence (the inner silence) will become more and more apparent.

When the mind becomes calm and steady and the inner silence becomes intensely manifest we abandon repetition of the above phrase-truths and all mental activity and remain aware of the inner silence, deepening into it.

In Greek: Η πνευματική άσκηση και ο διαλογισμός December 25, 2022

Meditation is not a magic pill! ~ Atman Nityananda

 

Meditation is not a magic pill!

Meditation, although it brings about miraculous changes in us, is not a magic pill that will solve all our problems at once.

 Its effects on the well-being of body, mind and soul can be seen gradually. 

For best results it is recommended that meditation be combined with Self-enquiry.

If you continue to meditate regularly and grow in meditation you will be eventually liberated from misery and sorrow, which are mostly self-created.

So keep meditating even if you don't see results for now. 

Seek advice and look for any mistakes and misconceptions about meditation that may be preventing you from having positive changes, expanding your awareness, and experiencing more and more peace, love, contentment, fulfillment, and freedom

#atmanmeditation

What is flow and what does it feel like when you are in flow? - Atman Nityananda

 What is flow and what does it feel like when you are in flow?

Flow is the state that has been observed in athletes, musicians, dancers and others, and which according to their description corresponds to what in spiritual teachings is called Samadhi. Flow is something that occurs without being sought by athletes, etc., and is achieved through action, by the absorption of mind and consciousness in action. Whereas Samadhi is deliberately sought by spiritual practitioners and is achieved primarily by abandoning all action by sitting in a position of stillness. But there are also traditions and teachings that use some action to achieve Samadhi, such as the dervish dance in the Sufi tradition.

Psychologists claim that the flow state can only occur when the activity is very interesting, challenging and the practitioner is highly motivated and has a very high capacity to perform the activity. Indeed, these factors are very important, obviously the most important for athletes, dancers, etc., but in my experience speaking they are not exclusive for entering a flow state or Samadhi. We can enter a flow state even when what we are doing does not have the above conditions. That is, we can be in flow even when we are walking, talking, doing the dishes, etc. Of course, for this to happen, knowledge and skills are needed, which can be acquired through what we generally call spiritual practice. Among these skills, concentration is the most fundamental. However, purposeful, deep and steady concentration is possible when we develop some other important skills.

Csíkszentmihályi called flow "the secret of happiness". Similarly, for spiritual seekers, Samadhi is the state they aspire to in order to experience ecstasy, fulfilment, peace and limitless freedom.

Djokovic

Psychologists describe people in the flow state as being in a state of intense concentration, with their thoughts focused on the experience rather than on themselves. That the activity is done without intentional effort, that they are in control of the situation, have a clear sense of direction (clear goals) and that the experience is not physically or mentally exhausting. Also that they lose their sense of time, or that they have a concentrated perception of time (that time seems to fly quickly) and feel as if there is a merging of their actions and their awareness. That they have a reduced sense of self or even that they are losing their sense of self.  

Similarly, Samadhi is a state of deep absorption of the mind in the object of concentration, in which there is a total lack of effort and sense of agency (loss of the sense of self, -egoic self) accompanied by transcendence of the sense of time, and there is an experience of indescribable freedom and beauty (deep peace and bliss).  

Samadhi is the highest state through which we enter into complete conscious union with God and experience the freedom, peace, fulfilment and bliss of God. Prolonged Samadhi is also the means to completely dissolve the ego and attain full and uninterrupted union with God. This is what we call theosis, enlightenment, self-realisation or liberation.

WHY MEDITATION? - Atman Nityananda

WHY MEDITATION?

If our mind were free of desires, attachments and passions, meditation would be our natural state.

That is, our mind would naturally and spontaneously rest into its source Atman (Consciousness) and we would spontaneously experience the peace and bliss of our spiritual nature and our actions would be in harmony with life and all beings.

But because of desires and attachments to sensory pleasures and experiences the mind becomes extroverted, identified and attached to sense objects.

Thus, because of this extroversion, on the one hand the mind does not experience spiritual bliss and peace and, on the other hand, it develops the egoic qualities (anger, hatred, pride, fear, jealousy, envy, conceit, impatience, resentment, fondness, etc.) which cause pain and suffering.

It is impossible to experience peace, freedom and bliss, when our mind is agitated, distracted and constantly moving outwards, except some rare moments that our mind calms down by itself due to certain circumstances. In deep sleep our mind also rests peacfully in pure Consciousness, however, in deep sleep we are not conscious, so we cannot be conscioulsy aware of the bliss of our true nature.

So the sages through their experience have given us various ways to withdraw the mind from the senses and their objects and direct it into the center of our existencce where the peacful and blissful light of Consciousness shines continually without being affected by the mental and emotional programming.

Meditation is, therefore, the conscious effort (which ends up being effortless) to turn the mind away from objects, quiet it from emotions and thoughts, and keep it focused on its center or source, the silent peace of Consciousness. By staying centered in the inner silence we become more and more immersed in the silence until we become one with it... 

What is meditation and the obstacles of meditation ¬ Atman NItyananda

What is meditation and the obstacles of meditation

The word meditation has two meanings. By the word meditation we can refer either to the state of meditation, that is, to the effortless fixation of the mind on the inner silent presence of Consciousness (our true Self, Atman), or to the practice of meditation which is the process through which we withdraw our attention from the senses, the body, thoughts and emotions, calm the mind and heart and focus our attention on the inner silent presence of the Self.

Meditation as a practice is the process by which we want to get to themeditative state which is the effortless fixation of the mind attention on the Self (the inner silent presence). Through the effortless constant fixation of the mind on the inner silent presence (state of meditation) we experience the peace and bliss of God (Universal Consciousness), since God is no other than the inner silent presence of the Self (the seemingly individual Consciousness).

We are in the state of Meditation when the mind is still and steadily and effortlessly focued on its source, the inner silent presence (Consciousness, Atman). To reach this state of deep absortion in the silence within, we can first use some support as a point of concentration (a mantra, breathing, etc.). As we keep our mind focused on the point of concentration, mind becomes steady, calms dawn and the concentration becomes more and more effortless. The more steady the concentration is, the more the mind becomes calm, clear and stable and the emotions and the sense of I calm down as well. Consequently, the ever present background of the mind, the inner silent presence, becomes more and more obvious. When the concentration becomes steady and the inner silence comes to the foreground, then we can abandon the concentration in the mantra (or any other object of concentration we have chosen) and focus fully on the inner silence.

The obstacles of meditation

Meditation and Samadhi are the higher steps in the spiritual process. We do meditation to overcome the sense of separation, restlessness, discontent, anxiety, distress and dissatisfaction created by the ego, and realize the fullness, peace and bliss of our essence or true Self (Atman).

According to the teachings of the great masters and sacred texts, in order to discover and realize our true nature we must direct our attention within ourselves. The spiritual masters have given us several ways to meditate and focus the mind in the inner silence. But due to the habit and the power of desire, the ego has a great ability to dominate our mind and direct the attention outwards to the world of objects.

Thus we want to direct our attention inwards to the source of our existence that is pure consciousness, peace and eternal bliss and the ego compulsively directs it outwards and thus prevents us concentrate and meditate deeply. We want to direct our mind and attention in the inner silence, our essence, but the ego wants to enjoy the pleasure of sense objects and thus by a mysterious way ´steals´ our attention and directs it outwards through the senses.

Therefore we need a rigorous, regular Sadhana to purify the mind of the selfish tendencies (desires, fear, anger, impatience, greed, jealousy etc.) and the Rajas and Tamas gunas. All spiritual practices aim to prepare our mind to be able to meditate and  in order to develop the capacity to meditate deeply there are many obstacles that must overcome.

I present here a list of the various obstacles in relation to meditation:

· All egoic mental and emotional tendencies (desires, fear, anger, impatience, greed, jealousy etc.),

· The predominanance of Rajas and Tamas gunas in the mind

- Lack of knowledge about the practice of meditation or wrong knowledge

· Restless of Body, no mastering of maditative asana

· Fear

· Laziness,

· Inconsistency, negligence

· Weak Will

· Undisciplined and irregular life

- The extroversion of mind due to the predominance of Rajas Guna.

· The turmoil and distraction of mind due to desires, worries, anxiety, anger and fear and Rajas guna.

· Mental emotional restlessness and worries. Strong emotions or emotional frustration

· Drowsiness (cannot remain alert and vigilant) because of the predominance of Tamas guna.

· Planning and calculations

· Tiredness due to mental or physical exertion.

· Low Energy

· Talk a lot, argue a lot

· The imbalanced Vata dosha (this causes incessant movement of the mind, impatience, mental agitation, we cannot control the mind).

· Overuse of the senses. Many sensory stimuli

· Food (-tamásic inappropriate food / too much rajasic food) or bad digestion.

· Poor health or illness.

· Lack of motivation and interest due to not having concrete results in meditation (not experiencing peace and serenity).

· Resistance of the egoic mind which can take the form of: boredom, disgust, discomfort, discouragement, delay (using justifications as, first I have to do my homework, this or that, I'll start when I have more free time, I'm tired, conditions are not favorable etc ...), low self-confidense or weakness (I cannot meditate, I don't know to meditate, I am not able, meditation is not for me etc.).

The impulse of egoic mind of desiring to get or achieve something (in this case the concentration and meditation) that compels us to strive, to have expectations and to be impatient. These four aspects: I want to get it or achieve it, the striving, the impatience and the expectations that are forms or expressions of the mechanism of the ego-desire, cause mental stress that impede us relax and maintain the attention identified with the body and the ego. So we cannot enter in the inner silence since the attention remains on the surface, identified with the ego and body. Moreover impatience and striving make the ego vibrate and this vibration of the egoic energy like a fog covers the inner silence.

If we release the I want or desire to get something, any exertion and every expectation then inadvertently we will find ourselves in the meditative state.

Everyone has to find out one by one the various obstacles that prevent him meditate and find methods, techniques and appropriate means to overcome these obstacles. Every time we overcome an obstacle we can calm and focus the mind more easy and thus gradually we can enjoy the peace and fullness that are always present in us behind the mental and emotional waves.

Errors in Meditation by Swami Sivananda

Errors in Meditation

by Swami Sivananda

A mixture of Tandri (drowsiness) and Manorajya (building castles in the air, reverie) is mistaken by aspirants for deep meditation and Samadhi. The mind appears to be established in concentration and free from Vikshepa (distraction). This is a mistake. Closely watch the mind. Remove these two serious obstacles through Vichara, Pranayama and light Sattvic diet. Be thoughtful, careful and vigilant. Stand for 10 minutes and dash cold water on the face and head, if drowsiness comes in.

Sometimes cupidity will stimulate a concentrated state. You are concentrated elsewhere, but not on the Lakshya. Watch this and withdraw the mind. Deep sleep state is mistaken by many for Samadhi. Samadhi is a positive, real state. It is all knowledge. Do not make mistakes. During meditation, when the mind passes into a calm state of Samata, when you feel a peculiar concentration-Ananda-think you are entering into Samadhi state. Do not disturb this state. Try your best to keep it for a long time. Mark this state very carefully.

Know things in their proper light. Do not be deluded. Emotion is mistaken for devotion; violent jumping in the air during Sankirtana for divine ecstasy; falling down in swoon on account of exhaustion from too much jumping for Bhava Samadhi; Rajasic restlessness and motion for divine activities and Karma Yoga; a Tamasic man for a Sattvic man; movement of air in rheumatism in the back for ascent of Kundalini; Tandri and deep sleep for Samadhi; Manorajya or building castles in the air for meditation; physical nudity for Jivanmukta state. Learn to discriminate and become wise.

Do not mistake Tandri for Savikalpa Samadhi and deep sleep for Nirvikalpa Samadhi. The glory of the state of Turiya or Bhuma is ineffable. Its splendour is indescribable. If the body is light, if the mind is clear, if there is cheerfulness; know that you are meditating. If the body is heavy, if the mind is dull, know that you were sleeping while meditating.

There is always a complaint amongst the aspirants: 'I am meditating for the last 12 years. I have not made any improvement. I have no realisation.' Why is it so? What is the reason? They have not plunged themselves in deep meditation into the innermost recesses of their hearts. They have not properly assimilated the mind with the thoughts of God. They have not done regular, systematic Sadhana. They have not disciplined Indriyas properly. They have not collected all the outgoing rays of the mind. They have not made the self-determination 'I will realise this very second.' They have not given full 100% of the mind to God. They have not kept an increasing flow of Divine Consciousness like the flow of oil (Tailadharavat).

Even if you do not feel any pulse in the Sadhaka when he is in meditation, even if the breathing stops, do not think that he is in Nirvikalpa Samadhi. He should return with supersensual divine knowledge. Then only it can be said that he has attained real Samadhi. The breathing and pulse may stop from various other causes also. If one abstains from food and drink and practises a little concentration or even if he sits in the Asana steadily for some time, the breathing and pulse may stop. The Sadhaka must have perfect awareness in meditation. There is not much spiritual gain if he remains in a mere Jada state, even though he is insensible to external sounds.

During meditation do not allow yourself to pass into a Jada state. Do not mistake this state for merging in the Lord or communion. Remaining in a Jada state for some hours is not desirable. It is like deep sleep. This will not help you in your spiritual evolution. If this time is spent in doing Japa, Kirtan, Mantra-writing and study of sacred books, you will have quick evolution. Be on the alert. Watch vigilantly. If there is real merging or real deep meditation, you must have peace, bliss and divine knowledge. You must be free from doubts, fear, delusion, egoism, anger, passion and Raga-Dvesha. Some dull inexperienced aspirants mistake this Jada state for Nirvikalpa Samadhi. They get false contentment and stop their Sadhana

Source http://sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=1430:

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF MEDITATION? ~Nisargadatta

QUESTIONER: All teachers advise to meditate. What is the purpose of meditation?

NISARGADATTA: We know the outer world of sensations and actions, but of our inner world of thoughts and feelings we know very little.

The primary purpose of meditation is to become conscious of, and familiar with, our inner life. The ultimate purpose is to reach the source of life and consciousness.

Incidentally practice of meditation affects deeply our character.

We are slaves to what we do not know; of what we know we are masters. Whatever vice or weakness in ourselves we discover and understand its causes and its workings, we overcome it by the very knowing; the unconscious dissolves when brought into the conscious. The dissolution of the unconscious releases energy; the mind feels adequate and become quiet.

Extract from the book ´I am That´

MEDITATIVE PRAYER OF ONENESS WITH GOD. ~ ATMAN Nityananda

MEDITATIVE PRAYER OF ONENESS WITH  GOD

Lord of my heart, eternal source of light, love, and peace, I salute you with all my heart, with all my soul and all my mind, and I address you wholeheartedly.

O Lord of my heart, open my mind and my heart to realize that Your Existence is My Existence, that I am one with You, that we are One. Your Existence is My Existence, I am One with You, We Are One.

You are the light, the truth and the life, inside me and in all. I am the light, the truth and the life in all.
I am one with you, we are One.

You exist and everything exists. You are and everything is. I exist and everything exists, I am and everything is.
I am one with you, we are One.

You are eternal existence, pure Light-consciousness, infinite bliss.
I am eternal Being, pure Light-consciousness, infinite bliss.
I am one with you, we are One.

You are the Light of Life, You are the Light of Awareness, You are the Light of Bliss.
I am the Light of Life, I Am the Light of Awareness, I Am the Light of Bliss.
I am one with you, we are One.

Everything is One,
We Are All One,
Only You exists
and I am one with you,
We are one.

Note
We repeat (for as long as we want) the words from the heart slowly, penetrating more and more into the center of our existence. After some time we can rest in silence.

ATMA VICHARA ~ Swami Sivananda

Haidakhan Babaji meditating

ATMA VICHARA

The effort to keep the mind always concentrated on Atman or Brahman is what is called Atma-Vichara.

Till the blissful Jnana dawns on you, you should do constant and intense Sadhana.

You must not stop thinking of Brahman (Brahma-Chintana) even for half a second, even for the time taken for one winking. 

You must become Nididhyasana-Parayana (one whose sole refuge is meditation on OM with feeling and meaning). Then only Brahma-Jnana (direct knowledge of Brahman) is possible.

~ Swami Sivananda

Meditation with the mantra Om Nama Shivaya

MENTAL PEACE THROUGH NON-ATTACHMENT. ~ Swami Sivananda

MENTAL PEACE THROUGH NON-ATTACHMENT

The subject of non-attachment is of universal importance.

Attachment is the most powerful weapon of Maya for binding the Jivas to the Samsaric wheel of birth and death. You would have never come into this world, had it not been for attachment.

The attachment first starts with this physical body. Then all other attachments crop up. Then comes relationship of father, mother, brother, sister, wife, son, friend, etc.

One may be attached to a place, person, or an object. Wherever there is attachment, there is the idea of Mineness or Mamata. Attachment is a kind of very strong glue that binds the mind with the objects. Why does the mind get attached to objects or persons? Because it finds pleasure in objects or persons. Wherever there is pleasure, the mind gets attached there. It is attached to wife, son, house, property, money or a friend, because the mind finds pleasure in these objects.

Attachment is the root cause for human sufferings. It is the product of effect of ignorance or Avidya. It is a modification of nescience or ignorance.

It is attachment that brings us again into this Mrityuloka. The seeds of attachment are ingrained in the subconscious mind. We have to obliterate or fry up all these seeds through right thinking, Vichara and Atma-jnana. We have to cut all these illusory attachments through the sword of non-attachment or Vairagya. The Gita says, - Asangasastrena dridhena cchitva. - - Cut this tree of Maya with the sword of non-attachment. (Chapter XV).

Develop internal Vairagya (dispassion) by understanding the illusory nature of this world. Remember the pains of this Samsara, viz., birth, death, old age, diseases and miseries of this world. Place before the mind the glorious life in Atman and the immense bliss of a spiritual life. Remember the Saints and Yogins and Jnanis like Sri Sankara, Mansoor, Shams Tabriez, Jnana Dev and their teachings. Slowly the mind will be weaned from sensual objects. It can be gradually turned towards God and higher things. Have recourse to Satsanga.

Do Atma-Vichara (Self-enquiry). Meditate daily. That man who has no attachment in this world, is the most happy man. He is God Himself. His joy is indescribable. He must be adored.

NEVER LEAVE YOUR SADHANA ~ Swami Sivananda

NEVER LEAVE YOUR SADHANA 

Listen! wake up now. Do sadhana (spiritual practice). Develop dispassion. Beware of the senses. Become desireless.

Conscious attempts to unite oneself with God, is called spiritual sadhana.

Never leave your sadhana (spiritual practice), your meditation, even for a day. Constant practice, and eternal vigilance, are indispensable, till God-realization is attained. As long as you do not realize the truth, practice self-control and meditation.

Be regular in keeping your spiritual diary. Spiritual progress will be greatly quickened. Go to bed early (10 pm) and get up early (4 am). The early morning hours are most favorable for meditation.

Spiritual discipline is the key to God-realization. Discipline the body and the senses and the mind. May you attain God-realization, now and here.

Subjugate the senses. slay this egoism. Curb the mind, and enter the illimitable domain of immortal bliss. 

Om Krishna!

SAMSARA GATE ~ Atman Nityananda

SAMSARA GATE

The chain of Samsara

1. Experience gives us pleasure,
2. Memorized pleasure becomes lust,
3. Lust becomes desire,
4. Desire becomes an urge or an impulse that prompts us to action,
4. Action leads us to experience,
5.Experience gives us pleasure,
1. Memorized pleasure becomes lust.
2. Lust becomes desire.....
and this chain goes on without a break.

After some time our behaviour of seeking pleasure through certain sensory stimulus becomes habitual and attachment and greed are developed as well. That means we suffer when we cannot have this pleasure and we want  more and more of this pleasure.

There is also multiplication of every kind of pleasure. We seek variety of sexual partners and various ways to multiply sex pleasure, we seek variety of food pleasure, drink pleasure and so on.
There is no end in the insatiable thirst of lust for more, greater, more intensive and different kind of pleasures.  Lust using imagination discovers innumerable ways to multiply pleasure. Pornography and glutton-food industry are the most obvious examples.

Addiction is the culmination of  the conditioned mechanical pattern of pleasure, lust and attachment.

This vicious circle of:

Pleasurable experience-lust-desire-action-pleasurable experience-lust-desire-action-pleasurable experience......

goes on in eternity or stops when due to suffering we decide to destroy this this chain by sincere, regular, systematic, daily sadhana (spiritual practice).

Rajas and tamas gunas, imagination, identification, projection, superimposition  are the components of Samsara or bondage.

Tamas makes the mind dull, fool, obscured, inattentive, without discernment,  and thus unable to see things correctly and rajas makes the mind extroverted, passionate, restless and attached to the objects.

Sattva, self-awareness, detachment, dispassion, discrimination or discernment, dispassionate self-observation, disidentification, conscious attention, concentration, self-enquiry, reflection, prayer, Japa nama and meditation are the components of liberation.

Awareness is free, unattached and unshaken. ~ Sri Nisargadatta Majaraj

Awareness is free, unattached and unshaken

Chapter 48 from the book

“I am That” of Sri Nisargadatta Majaraj

Questioner: I have just arrived from Sri Ramanashram. I have spent seven months there.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: What practice were you following at the Ashram?

Questioner: As far as I could, I concentrated on the 'Who am l'?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Which way were you doing it? Verbally?

Questioner: In my free moments during the course of the day. Sometimes I was murmuring to myself 'Who am l?' 'I am, but who am l?' Or, I did it mentally. Occasionally I would have some nice feeling, or get into moods of quiet happiness. On the whole I was trying to be quiet and receptive, rather than laboring for experiences.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: What were you actually experiencing when you were in the right mood?

Questioner: A sense of inner stillness, peace and silence.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Did you notice yourself becoming unconscious?

Questioner: Yes, occasionally and for a very short time. Otherwise I was just quiet, inwardly and outwardly.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: What kind of qiet was it? Something akin to deep sleep, yet conscious all the same. A sort of wakeful sleep?

Questioner: Yes. Alertly asleep. (jagrit-sushupti).
Nisargadatta Maharaj: The main thing is to be free of negative emotions -- desire, fear etc., the 'six enemies' of the mind. Once the mind is free of them, the rest will come easily. Just as cloth kept in soap water will become clean, so will the mind get purified in the stream of pure feeling.
When you sit quiet and watch yourself, all kinds of things may come to the surface. Do nothing about them, don't react to them; as they have come so will they go, by themselves. All that matters is mindfulness, total awareness of oneself or rather, of one's mind.

Questioner: By 'oneself' do you mean the daily self?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Yes, the person, which alone is objectively observable. The observer is beyond observation. What is observable is not the real self.

Questioner: I can always observe the observer, in endless recession.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: You can observe the observation, but not the observer. You know you are the ultimate observer by direct insight, not by a logical process based on observation. You are what you are, but you know what you are not. The self is known as being, the not-self is known as transient. But in reality all is in the mind. The observed, observation and observer are mental constructs. The self alone is.

Questioner: Why does the mind create all these divisions?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: To divide and particularise is in the mind's very nature. There is no harm in dividing. But separation goes against fact. Things and people are different, but they are not separate. Nature is one, reality is one. There are opposites, but no opposition.

Questioner: I find that by nature I am very active. Here I am advised to avoid activity. The more I try to remain inactive, the greater the urge to do something. This makes me not only active outwardly, but also struggling inwardly to be what by nature I am not. Is there a remedy against longing for work?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: There is a difference between work and mere activity. All nature works. Work is nature, nature is work. On the other hand, activity is based on desire and fear, on longing to possess and enjoy, on fear of pain and annihilation. Work is by the whole for the whole, activity is by oneself for oneself.

Questioner: Is there a remedy against activity?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Watch it, and it shall cease. Use every opportunity to remind yourself that you are in bondage, that whatever happens to you is due to the fact of your bodily existence. Desire, fear, trouble, joy, they cannot appear unless you are there to appear to. Yet, whatever happens, points to your existence as a perceiving centre. Disregard the pointers and be aware of what they are pointing to. It is quite simple, but it needs be done. What matters is the persistence with which you keep on returning to yourself.

Questioner: I do get into peculiar states of deep absorption into myself, but unpredictably and momentarily. I do not feel myself to be in control of such states.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: The body is a material thing and needs time to change. The mind is but a set of mental habits, of ways of thinking and feeling, and to change they must be brought to the surface and examined. This also takes time. Just resolve and persevere, the rest will take care of itself.

Questioner: I seem to have a clear idea of what needs be done, but I find myself getting tired and depressed and seeking human company and thus wasting time that should be given to solitude and meditation.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Do what you feel like doing. Don't bully yourself. Violence will make you hard and rigid. Do not fight with what you take to be obstacles on your way. Just be interested in them, watch them, observe, enquire. Let anything happen -- good or bad. But don't let yourself be submerged by what happens.

Questioner: What is the purpose in reminding oneself all the time that one is the watcher?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: The mind must learn that beyond the moving mind there is the background of awareness, which does not change. The mind must come to know the true self and respect it and cease covering it up, like the moon which obscures the sun during solar eclipse. Just realize that nothing observable or experienceable is you, or binds you. Take no notice of what is not yourself.

Questioner: To do what you tell me I must be ceaselessly aware.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: To be aware is to be awake. Unaware means asleep. You are aware anyhow, you need not try to be. What you need is to be aware of being aware. Be aware deliberately and consciously, broaden and deepen the field of awareness. You are always conscious of the mind, but you are not aware of yourself as being conscious.

Questioner: As I can make out, you give distinct meanings to the words 'mind', 'consciousness', and 'awareness'.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Look at it this way. The mind produces thoughts ceaselessly, even when you do not look at them. When you know what is going on in your mind, you call it consciousness. This is your waking state -- your consciousness shifts from sensation to sensation, from perception to perception, from idea to idea, in endless succession. Then comes awareness, the direct insight into the whole of consciousness, the totality of the mind. The mind is like a river, flowing ceaselessly in the bed of the body; you identify yourself for a moment with some particular ripple and call it: 'my thought'. All you are conscious of is your mind; awareness is the cognisance of consciousness as a whole.

Questioner: Everybody is conscious, but not everybody is aware.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Don't say: 'everybody is conscious'. Say: 'there is consciousness', in which everything appears and disappears. Our minds are just waves on the ocean of consciousness. As waves they come and go. As ocean they are infinite and eternal. Know yourself as the ocean of being, the womb of all existence. These are all metaphors of course; the reality is beyond description. You can know it only by being it.

Questioner: Is the search for it worth the trouble?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Without it all is trouble. If you want to live sanely, creatively and happily and have infinite riches to share, search for what you are.
While the mind is centred in the body and consciousness is centred in the mind, awareness is free. The body has its urges and mind its pains and pleasures. Awareness is unattached and unshaken. It is lucid, silent, peaceful, alert and unafraid, without desire and fear. Meditate on it as your true being and try to be it in your daily life, and you shall realise it in its fullness.
Mind is interested in what happens, while awareness is interested in the mind itself. The child is after the toy, but the mother watches the child, not the toy.
By looking tirelessly, I became quite empty and with that emptiness all came back to me except the mind. I find I have lost the mind irretrievably.

Questioner: As you talk to us just now, are you unconscious?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: I am neither conscious nor unconscious, I am beyond the mind and its various states and conditions. Distinctions are created by the mind and apply to the mind only. I am pure Consciousness itself, unbroken awareness of all that is. I am in a more real state than yours. I am undistracted by the distinctions and separations which constitute a person. As long as the body lasts, it has its needs like any other, but my mental process has come to an end.

Questioner: You behave like a person who thinks.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Why not? But my thinking, like my digestion, is unconscious and purposeful.

Questioner: If your thinking is unconscious, how do you know that it is right?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: There is no desire, nor fear to thwart it. What can make it wrong? Once I know myself and what I stand for, I do not need to check on myself all the time. When you know that your watch shows correct time, you do not hesitate each time you consult it.

Questioner: At this very moment who talks, if not the mind?

Nisargadatta Maharaj: That which hears the question, answers it.

Questioner: But who is it?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Not who, but what. I'm not a person in your sense of the word, though I may appear a person to you. I am that infinite ocean of consciousness in which all happens. I am also beyond all existence and cognition, pure bliss of being. There is nothing I feel separate from, hence I am all. No thing is me, so I am nothing.
The same power that makes the fire burn and the water flow, the seeds sprout and the trees grow, makes me answer your questions. There is nothing personal about me, though the language and the style may appear personal. A person is a set pattern of desires and thoughts and resulting actions; there is no such pattern in my case. There is nothing I desire or fear -- how can there be a pattern?

Questioner: Surely, you will die.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Life will escape, the body will die, but it will not affect me in the least. Beyond space and time I am, uncaused, uncausing, yet the very matrix of existence.

Questioner: May I be permitted to ask how did you arrive at your present condition?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: My teacher told me to hold on to the sense 'I am' tenaciously and not to swerve from it even for a moment. I did my best to follow his advice and in a comparatively short time I realized within myself the truth of his teaching. All I did was to remember his teaching, his face, his words constantly. This brought an end to the mind; in the stillness of the mind I saw myself as I am -- unbound.

Questioner: Was your realization sudden or gradual.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Neither. One is what one is timelessly. It is the mind that realizes as and when it get cleared of desires and fears.

Questioner: Even the desire for realization?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: The desire to put an end to all desires is a most peculiar desire, just like the fear of being afraid is a most peculiar fear. One stops you from grabbing and the other from running. You may use the same words, but the states are not the same. The man who seeks realisation is not addicted to desires; he is a seeker who goes against desire, not with it. A general longing for liberation is only the beginning; to find the proper means and use them is the next step. The seeker has only one goal in view: to find his own true being. Of all desires it is the most ambitious, for nothing and nobody can satisfy it; the seeker and the sought are one and the search alone matters.

Questioner: The search will come to an end. The seeker will remain.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: No, the seeker will dissolve, the search will remain. The search is the ultimate and timeless reality.

Questioner: Search means lacking, wanting, incompleteness and imperfection.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: No, it means refusal and rejection of the incomplete and the imperfect. The search for reality is itself the movement of reality. In a way all search is for the real bliss, or the bliss of the real. But here we mean by search the search for oneself as the root of being conscious, as the light beyond the mind. This search will never end, while the restless craving for all else must end, for real progress to take place.
One has to understand that the search for reality, or God, or Guru and the search for the self are the same; when one is found, all are found. When 'I am' and 'God is' become in your mind indistinguishable, then something will happen and you will know without a trace of doubt that God is because you are, you are because God is. The two are one.

Questioner: Since all is preordained, is our self-realization also preordained? Or are we free there at least?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Destiny refers only to name and shape. Since you are neither body nor mind, destiny has no control over you. You are completely free. The cup is conditioned by its shape, material, use and so on. But the space within the cup is free. It happens to be in the cup only when viewed in connection with the cup. Otherwise it is just space. As long as there is a body, you appear to be embodied. Without the body you are not disembodied -- you Just are.
Even destiny is but an idea. Words can be put together in so many ways! Statements can differ, but do they make any change in the actual? There are so many theories devised for explaining things -- all are plausible, none is true. When you drive a car, you are subjected to the laws of mechanics and chemistry: step out of the car and you are under the laws of physiology and biochemistry.

Questioner: What is meditation and what are its uses?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: As long as you are a beginner certain formalised meditations, or prayers may be good for you. But for a seeker for reality there is only one meditation -- the rigorous refusal to harbour thoughts. To be free from thoughts is itself meditation.

Questioner: How is it done?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: You begin by letting thoughts flow and watching them. The very observation slows down the mind till it stops altogether. Once the mind is quiet, keep it quiet. Don't get bored with peace, be in it, go deeper into it.

Questioner: I heard of holding on to one thought in order to keep other thoughts away. But how to keep all thoughts away? The very idea is also a thought.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Experiment anew, don't go by past experience. Watch your thoughts and watch yourself watching the thoughts. The state of freedom from all thoughts will happen suddenly and by the bliss of it you shall recognize it.]

Questioner: Are you not at all concerned about the state of the world? Look at the horrors in East Pakistan [1971, now Bangla Desh]. Do they not touch you at all?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: I am reading newspapers, I know what is going on! But my reaction is not like yours. You are looking for a cure, while I am concerned with prevention. As long as there are causes, there must also be results. As long as people are bent on dividing and separating, as long as they are selfish and aggressive, such things will happen. If you want peace and harmony in the world, you must have peace and harmony in your hearts and minds. Such change cannot be imposed; it must come from within. Those who abhor war must get war out of their system. Without peaceful people how can you have peace in the world? As long as people are as they are, the world must be as it is. I am doing my part in trying to help people to know themselves as the only cause of their own misery. In that sense I am a useful man. But what I am in myself, what is my normal state cannot be expressed in terms of social consciousness and usefulness.
I may talk about it, use metaphors or parables, but I am acutely aware that it is just not so. Not that it cannot be experienced. It is experiencing itself! But it cannot be described in the terms of a mind that must separate and oppose in order to know.
The world is like a sheet of paper on which something is typed. The reading and the meaning will vary with the reader, but the paper is the common factor, always present, rarely perceived. When the ribbon is removed, typing leaves no trace on the paper. So is my mind -- the impressions keep on coming, but no trace is left.

Questioner: Why do you sit here talking to people? What is your real motive?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: No motive. You say I must have a motive. I am not sitting here, nor talking: no need to search for motives. Don't confuse me with the body. I have no work to do, no duties to perform. That part of me which you may call God will look after the world. This world of yours, that so much needs looking after, lives and moves in your mind. Delve into it, you will find your answers there and there only. Where else do you expect them to come from? Outside your consciousness does anything exist?

Questioner: It may exist without my ever knowing it.
Nisargadatta Maharaj: What kind of existence would it be? Can being be divorced from knowing? All being, like all knowing, relates to you. A thing is because you know it to be either in your experience or in your being. Your body and your mind exist as long as you believe so. Cease to think that they are yours and they will just dissolve. By all means let your body and mind function, but do not let them limit you. If you notice imperfections, just keep on noticing: your very giving attention to them will set your heart and mind and body right.

Questioner: Can I cure myself of a serious illness by merely taking cognisance of it?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: Take cognisance of the whole of it, not only of the outer symptoms. All illness begins in the mind. Take care of the mind first, by tracing and eliminating all wrong ideas and emotions. Then live and work disregarding illness and think no more of it. With the removal of causes the effect is bound to depart.
Man becomes what he believes himself to be. Abandon all ideas about yourself and you will find yourself to be the pure witness, beyond all that can happen to the body or the mind.

Questioner: If I become anything I think myself to be, and I start thinking that I am the Supreme Reality, will not my Supreme Reality remain a mere idea?
Nisargadatta Maharaj: First reach that state and then ask the question.