Hari Om
Saturday Satsang
Hari OM
Study of the scriptures augmented with frequent listening to the learned exponents and a few direct contacts with the authoritative Masters is found to be very helpful in the beginning. This regular study of the Upaniṣads, the Bhagavad-gītā, and other such spiritual literature is called svādhyāya.
Repetition of a sacred word (mantra), with or without the help of a rosary or beads (mālā), continuously fixing our mind on the divine and spiritual suggestions of the ‘mystic word’ is called japa. This technique keeps the mind uplifted, away from the world of objects and their distracting fascinations, on to the reviving climb to the final spiritual illumination. The mind becomes quiet and gets more and more introverted.
When the thoughts have been nourished by study (svādhyāya) and rendered quiet and peaceful by japa, to rest this hushed mind at the altar of the Self in a joyous mood of choiceless contemplation is meditation (dhyānam).
The great Ācārya Śaṅkara advises, ʻAfter listening, study and japa, practise meditation. After emerging from meditation, engage in listening, study and japa. After japa, meditate again. At the end of the meditation, pursue japa. One who is thus well trained with japa and meditation, on such a steady seeker the supreme Auspiciousness (Para-Śiva-Parameśvara) showers His graceʼ.
While listening (śravaṇam), we only participate in spiritual life. When we study (svādhyāya), we get involved in the ideas to which we listen. In japa, our involvement deepens, and in meditation, we come to get ourselves totally committed to the ideal, which is the goal of all spiritual seekers.
These sādhanās minimise the mental agitations, thus weakening the impenetrable thought barrier between our sense of ego and our divine status as the infinite Consciousness – our essential nature.
Repetition of a sacred word (mantra), with or without the help of a rosary or beads (mālā), continuously fixing our mind on the divine and spiritual suggestions of the ‘mystic word’ is called japa. This technique keeps the mind uplifted, away from the world of objects and their distracting fascinations, on to the reviving climb to the final spiritual illumination. The mind becomes quiet and gets more and more introverted.
When the thoughts have been nourished by study (svādhyāya) and rendered quiet and peaceful by japa, to rest this hushed mind at the altar of the Self in a joyous mood of choiceless contemplation is meditation (dhyānam).
The great Ācārya Śaṅkara advises, ʻAfter listening, study and japa, practise meditation. After emerging from meditation, engage in listening, study and japa. After japa, meditate again. At the end of the meditation, pursue japa. One who is thus well trained with japa and meditation, on such a steady seeker the supreme Auspiciousness (Para-Śiva-Parameśvara) showers His graceʼ.
While listening (śravaṇam), we only participate in spiritual life. When we study (svādhyāya), we get involved in the ideas to which we listen. In japa, our involvement deepens, and in meditation, we come to get ourselves totally committed to the ideal, which is the goal of all spiritual seekers.
These sādhanās minimise the mental agitations, thus weakening the impenetrable thought barrier between our sense of ego and our divine status as the infinite Consciousness – our essential nature.
Thursday Thoughts
Hari OM
I was in conversation with another on a matter of politics. A difficult subject when there is not an intellectual distance from the subject. The partner in that talk was not sufficiently reserved. They were deep in their desire to repeat almost verbatim what was being touted in their chosen news channel and political party.
I have no objection to others having a different political stance. I do take exception to not being listened to intelligently and not having thoughtful and independently considered responses. What happened, though, was that my sentences were constantly interrupted with rehearsed diatribe in place of counter-argument directly related to the points under discussion. The same methodology now being employed by so many governments. Just keep talking at them and over them until they lose the will to live. I was reminded of this...
I despair at a world that is currently in a state of constant attack with words, that does not know how to debate in a proper manner and to allow for a difference of opinion without seeing that as some kind of assault. A world too ready to take umbrage, misinterpret, and twist facts so far out of shape they become unrecognisable.
It leaves me wondering how things will progress with the COP26 meeting that is about to commence here in Glasgow...
Whispering Wednesday
Hari OM
While watching a program earlier this week related to charity and NEED, I found myself having some flashbacks to my counselling practice and how often I heard that word. Going out on a small limb here, I would say that 80-85% of the people who sat before me in angst about not having their needs met were actually talking about their wants and wish-for... not necessarily their actual needs.
Does that sound harsh? It ought not to do so; a key role in counselling is not simply to listen. That is, of course, the primary purpose, permitting people to think out loud to rationalise their inner turmoil. However, second to that is the guidance and clarification aspect.
Attentive listening often revealed that the main complaint lay within the person sitting before me insofar as they had an expectation of another and were disappointed when that expectation was not met. Now, often, that expectation was valid. We all deserve to be listened to by those we are closest to, and we definitely all deserve to be treated with a basic level of respect and civility. Beyond that, in truth, everything is a negotiation between various personalities and social histories.
What has to happen is that we clarify our own motives and purpose in life before seeking to build relationships with others. All too often, the 'needs' that brought folk to my practice were actually disappointments and frustrations at not getting what they WANT - which may or may not be a genuine need.
The difference is that a need functions to sustain and maintain life at a tolerable level; "I want" is the cry of the unhealed seeking that healing from outside when it requires to be adressed from inside. Wanting something and needing it are not equal.
In daily life, regardless of the more serious matter of relationships, we are faced at every angle with want versus need. It is as simple as whether we want a piece of chocolate as to whether we actually need it. That might seem simplistic, but think about it for a few moments - or longer. Make a saadhana for yourself for, say, three days, and take active note of how often you find your thoughts are of wanting something - doesn't matter what it is - and then assess your actual need for that thing. First, you might note that you have become so habituated to reaching for that thing - no mindfulness! Then, on assessment, you may discover that a great deal of what you have available to you is not actually needed for life. It is convenient, comfortable, enjoyable... but is it really needed?
Textual Tuesday
Hari OM
The schema of study devised at Chinmaya Mission is the subject of this post each week. To see all texts referred to, click the label below ("SuggtdReading")
TATTVABODHA is the next on the list. This is the technical primer, in which the basic tenets of Advaita are laid down, along with principles of science to support the thinking. It is here that we learn about the tanmatras, the very elements from which creation is derived.
We learn also of the biology of who we are as physical beings and spiritual beings, assessing the koshas - the bodies that come together to form our physical presence.
It is in this text, also, that we comprehend the senses and how they affect our inner body and how it all relates to the spiritual body, called the jiiva. How all the assessing itself is processed via the antaH karana, the mental structure consisting of four parts and how it is that we can actually have control of these things... if we choose to do so.
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