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Pujya Dr. K.C. Varadachari - Volume -1
 

Discourses on The Philosophy of Sri Ramchandra's Rajayoga -

Lecture -14

  
Meditation is the most important feature of our system. It is said to be different from what other schools try to make out. Concentration naturally follows from meditation. Other systems insist upon concentration of the mind by individual effort at one point or on an object. Meditation on the other hand, is the fixing up of our mind on a particular point in the system. We prefer the heart. The heart is the most important part of the human nature and it is the pumping station of all blood to all the parts of the body and therefore, if we meditate on the heart, the energy that has been introduced to the heart by the Master in Pranahuti goes to every cell in the body and purifies the entire system. The mind is said to have its seat in the heart and almost all our feelings of sorrow or joy, anxiety or calmness, are experienced in the heart. Master says that it is better you meditate on the heart at the point where you feel the heartbeats. Of course, sometimes we do feel the heart-beat and sometimes we do not. But suppose we take up the point where the beats are, I believe it is where you find the functions of the pumping takes place and you have the awareness of how it is working in the system. Other systems try to tell us, especially the Bhagavad Gita is quoted in this connection as stating that you should concentrate at the Nasagra or between the eyebrows. Some other people also speak of concentrating on the Naval Centre. But the Master says that concentration or meditation on the naval centre means nothing at all, except that it complicates tension, whereas the concentration on the Broomadhya, otherwise called Trikuti, requires great effort on your part; and surely in this system, the work of the Master is very important. The work of the Master is to introduce the Pranahuti into the heart. Can he do it at other points in the body? Yes. He can. But then, without the purification of the mind, which is usually seated in the heart, you cannot do anything with the whole organism.

Firstly, we have set up a series of habits of mind and the roaming of the mind is also a habit of the mind, which has been developed by us. It is not its usual nature. It is not natural for the mind to run about. We are told that it is natural for the mind to run about and therefore, to kill the mind is very important. That is what most of the Yogic systems are trying to do. How to kill mind? Now, that is not natural. Why this view then does prevail? Because, somebody held the view that the nature of the mind is to wander about. Suppose we think that the nature of the mind is to concentrate or to be fixing in the goal and the real function of the mind is to be attracted by a Goal because it runs after things which it will be attracted by, suppose you can give an adequate object or goal for it, I believe automatically, the mind is canalized towards that direction and it does not roam about. So, the first thing that we have got to do is to give the mind an adequate attractive object, namely The Ultimate Goal, and fix the mind on the goal. But suppose the goal is not an attractive one, I do not think anybody will be running after it. It will be good to show a sugarcandy to a child, it runs after it. But what you give should be some other thing which is bitter. For most of us, the Ultimate Reality is a very bitter thing. We have not made it possible to be very attractive. So, some systems have tried to make God the most beautiful person, and in fact, some other people made it a colourless one. That is why we are attracted to more beautiful figure of God than a colourless one. I mean the Saguna and the Nirguna. But that is not clearly the truth about the matter. The mind has to be firstly cut away from its roaming to other objects and outer objects especially and also to other goals which are not conducive to its fuller expansion. The mind, as I said, has its nature to become Infinite, because it is part and parcel of the Infinite Mind. It has become individuated, particularised, and is now being used for the purpose of the small body or what attracts its attention.

Now suppose we show that these little attractions really bind the system and mind which has been running from one object to another for the satisfaction of the needs of the body and connect it now with the Ultimate Being, who is its Real Life and its Real Being, then, the mind becomes simple, its old habits are lost. For instance, we are all content with staying in our own house. Outer objects do not attract us. Why? Because we attract ourselves and our mind is attracted to ourselves, and is not attracted by outer objects and our mind is not willing to move about. You may call it sluggishness. It has become lazy but it is certainly not interested in anything other than its own improvement. That is why, the mind's habits could be changed by Meditation. But can this be done with its own effort? Here, the help of the Master is absolutely necessary.

If the abhyasi tries to meditate on any other part, since the preceptor is not given the permission normally to check the habits of the other Centres before checking up the mind, he does not get the advantage. Suppose the transmission is in the heart and you are concentrating on the Bhroomadhya, really you do not get the full effect of the transmission. You have to put in more effort to drag the force entering into heart to the Bhroomadhya. That effort need not be put, and it is a little more artificial. But if you can naturally get it when you got that point, when you have commenced the Yatra from the heart to the Bhroomadhya or above, automatically transmission also comes to that point. That is why we insist upon meditation on the heart because you get the cooperation of the Transmission of the Master, who always transmits to the heart. Why? The whole system of the mind and its habits are broken off. And its whole attitude is reversed. The wandering capacity or faculty is curtailed. More and more the mind begins to dwell within.

The second point which is also insisted upon and it is something which most of the Abhyasis find difficult, is that we are asking the Abhyasis to meditate on the God-Light in the heart. Now, is there a God-light in the heart already? yes. But it is only the lightening of the heart and you do not see it, for it is already covered by so much of dirt and so much of habit. You always see things from outside when reflected in the heart, unless you remove all the rubbish and clean the heart. That is why you are advised to clean your heart every day by the small practice of imagining that you are in the Ocean of the Bliss and the force of the waters of the Ocean of Bliss are flowing over through you, removing all the darkness and disease. And if this is done, and in addition, you also receive the transmission and meditate on the Godly Light in your heart, then, you can see the Light. But will it be a light in the sense in which you see the lights? No. The light in the heart is said to be of Dawn-colour, not bright light. Some people say God is "Soorya Koti Sama Prabha" ie. the light of God is hundreds of crores of Sun's light. It is not so. The Upanishads or the Veda says that it is a Light that is not visible to your senses or to your mind, and it may even be called that it is dark. So, you do not see this kind of light. It is of dawn colour, or a colourless thing. That is what you feel with your Godly-light within you. Some people, of course, describe it as "Vidyurlekha", that is lightening like. It will be seen for a moment, but you feel it once for all. Some people call it a bluelight or dark-light. Whatever it is, we are not concerned about the nature or the light. The real thing is that when that experience of Godly-light had the effect, you feel your body lighter as in contrast to heavier. You feel lighter and lighter. You do not feel yourself heavy. It seems as if the body has been taken away, and the whole of the heart has been taken away, because the Light which you have in the physical life is really heavy and it does not make things lighter. So, that is an ambiguous light and we therefore call it Jyoti. Again, Jyoti is not comparable to a Sun. Jyoti means something that has arisen within you. That is how New Force has begun to be working in your system from the heart. It is as it were taking a hand in your own development, or god has come into you. And when God comes into you, your own burdens are taken away. So, the mind and the whole system will be controlled. You become 'sensitive' about the vibrations that are entering into your system. As a matter of fact, you begin also to experience that the Divine Vibrations could be generated in the heart. So, you begin to develop Inner Light. Master is assisting your system to come to life, in its real sense of the term. Though you become dead to the physical aspects and material aspects of the body and mind, you become aware of the Divine Activity that has started in the system and so Meditation becomes very easy at that level because it is of great interest and in a sense, exciting. You feel that you are the Body of the Ultimate Himself and the Ultimate has begun to work within your mind.

But for a long time, till it becomes stable in the system and fully established in all the parts, the work of the Master will have to continue. That is why Meditation naturally leads to concentration, concentration on the function of the divine within the system and you experience lightness and freedom also. Calmness settles in your system and you find that a New Light is opened in you. In one sense, you are dead to your past, but awakened to your future.