ARANI SERIES
Spark 34
Sunday, June 18, 2017
FACETS OF MEDITATION-1
Lessons from Geeta
Lord Shri Krishna guides all of us, through His divine instructions to Arjuna, in the skillful art of meditation. The following seem to be most striking among the numerous precious points that He shares:
1 Being able to stay calm, free of negative emotions, is most precious. Even if we are not, going by external marks, sannyāsis or yogis, we are on a high level of spiritual progress if we are broadminded and serene in various situations. (6.1)
2 Being free from personal likes and dislikes, and thereby having the outlook where a lump of clay and a piece of gold are equal to us, is of great value if we wish to rise in consciousness through meditation. (6.8)
3 In the preparatory stages, and during the actual process, “mature mind-management” is the crux of meditation. Our mind can be our best friend or the worst enemy! (6.5)
4 As we master the art, our mind stays steady like the flame in a windless spot. (6.19)
5 As we anchor ourselves in Truth, we will have the (wisdom and) strength to take grave adversities also in our stride. (6.22)
6 We have, in our ignorance, embraced sorrow. This is an unfortunate state of affairs. Meditation (yoga) is coming out (viyoga) of this unholy hug! (6.23)
7 What do we meditate on? The truth on which we may meditate may be called ātmā (the Self), God, Truth, Shiva, Krishna or some other thing, divine and holy. We are advised to fix our mind in the ātmā, and not think of anything else. (6.25)
8 The seat on which we may sit, in a formal practice, should neither be too high nor too low. It should be warm, soft and comfortable. The place should be clean. (6.11)
9 Our mind has the tendencies to imagine things. We tend to fancy rosy situations and dwell especially on “what we may become”! Such thoughts (sankalpas) need to be given up. We must stay with ‘fact’ and not get carried away by fancies. (6.24)
(to be continued..9 more points will be in the next Spark)
Swami Chidananda