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Mantra
and Meditation
Meditation is a combination of two words, namely, Medi and Tation
- Its meaning is to attend to the thoughts with attention and
intention. It is one of the greatest arts. In meditation a person
becomes introduced to his own self in all respects. While meditating
an individual learns to attend, watch, observe and behold the
movement of his thoughts, aspirations and dreams. It is one of
the highest form of discipline which is cultivated with the practice
of living in constant awareness of the Self.
In meditation-practice
one monitors not only the quality of thoughts, but the quantity
and the direction of thoughts as well. In the process of monitoring
the thinking faculty, the person experiences for himself the majesty
of the Indweller. The techniques which are used by the yogis,
saints, seers, mystics and the householders do vary to some extent,
but in general everyone follows similar guidelines. All the prescribed
techniques are generally meant to induce a contemplative mood,
that would assist the person for inner integration, peace and
tranquility. The key to success in meditation is the constant
regular practice and the steadfastness in attitude. In meditation
the individual learns to attend to the internal dialogue which
goes on in mind incessantly. He educates himself in monitoring
the movements of his thoughts and learn to direct them into the
quietness of the Self. Success in meditation is indeed quite difficult,
because occasionally the waves of thoughts surge and subside in
a very disgusting manner. In the beginning, people become very
frustrated and discouraged. The sages indicate that when effort
in meditation is purely linked with the religious pursuit, and
the goal of self-realization, then assistance for success comes
from within.
The grace of Indweller
is revealed in the daily meditation session and the person is
guided into yogic unity in due time. The advanced meditators do
experience the ecstatic trance, and occasionally enter into the
state of unity with the Lord. The yogins derive deep satisfaction
from such an experience. The subtle joy and exquisiteness of this
union can only be understood by those who have really experiences
it in their own self. Meditation is not just a religious practice,
but it is certainly a necessity of life. It helps the individual
to live in perfect harmony with his own innerself, and with others.
The goal of meditation
is to be at ease with our own selves. It is a state of peace and
tranquility our scriptures call it saheja avastha. Often it happens
that a meditation period passes in vain with the mind behaving
more like a monkey. Constant struggle is required to accomplish
that which is absolutely effortless.
The Infinite Divinity
cannot be perceived by the finite sense-organs. So in order to
transcend the finitude and to remain constantly linked with the
Infinite we have to train ourselves. With constant Mantra Jap
our mind gets into the habit of transcending the finite boundaries
and rests in the Infinite Divinity. Jap also helps our mind to
form an idea of God. As the idea takes some forms and shapes,
the concentration which is required in meditation is easily achieved.
Osho writes in his book, Meditation : the Art of Ecstasy, "Meditation
means surrender, total letting go. As soon as someone surrenders
himself he finds himself in the hands of Divinity. If we cling
to ourselves we cannot be one with Almighty. When the waves disappear,
the become the ocean itself."
According to my
own personal experience, Mantra Jap, indeed, brings the spirit
of total surrender. We cannot meditate on God simply by knowing
the technique of meditation. The principal factor that enables
us to concentrate on God is by living in constant unity with God.
It is described in the teachings of Sri Ramakrsna that the magnetic
needle points always to the north, hence the sailing vessel does
not lose its course. So, as long as the heart of man is directed
towards God, he cannot be lost in the ocean of worldliness. Persistent
repetition of holy Mantra helps in purifying, cleansing and emptying
the mind. This state is absolutely necessary for successful meditation.
Repeating the name of God helps us to develop spiritual insight
and intensifies our devotion to God, and longing for His vision.
Relation between God and his name is natural.
Mantra has the power to awaken, within the mind the corresponding
God consciousness, and it does prepare the mind for the goal.
Through constant repetition the mind gets into the habit of being
absorbed in the spiritual reality created by the Mantra. A very
good example can be given from Chandogya Upanishad. Dr. Radhakrishnan
translated it in these words, "Just as a bird tied by a string,
after flying in different far-off directions, when does not find
a resting place anywhere else, settles down at last to the place
where it is bound, exactly like that the mind after running in
various directions without finding silence and peace anywhere
else settles down in breath. The breath is the manifestation of
Supreme-Self - Atman. The word Atman has been derived from An,
which means to breath. As described in Rgveda, Atma te vatah -
Atman is the breath of life. So when the mind settles down into
the breath it nestles in the Supreme Self."
In general, people
consider Mantra Jap a very inferior type of penance and fail to
realize its strength and comprehensive power. They think that
the most impressive spiritual disciplines are yoga, meditation,
yajna and other tough penances. They definitely fail to realize
the atomic power of the Mantra Jap and don't pay much attention
to it. Infact Mantra Jap is the seed, the beginning, the nucleus
around which one constructs the entire yogic and spiritual discipline.
According to sage Patanjali, "Omkar is the manifesting word
of Brahmin. He assures that its repetition can stabilize our thoughts
and helps us to settle in meditation."
We cannot meditate
on God just by learning the techniques and technicalities of meditation.
The most important factor which enables the meditator to be at
ease, is his constant association with God, every minute of day-to-day
life. It is the person's friendship with the Divine, living in
constant association with Divine which helps his meditation-session.
In general we meditate upon those factors which are important
to us. For example, we meditate upon our job, our son or wife
or any other thing. Ninety nine percent of our thoughts move around
the person or the thing we love. So if we love something and meditate
on something else, the meditation period goes in vain. It is indeed
the cultivation of love and friendship of God which is more important
before we actually start meditating on God. If we are in perpetual
unity with the Devine while working in the office, while eating,
talking or doing things of daily life, the meditation on God will
also come effortlessly. This habit can be well- cultivated with
the help of Mantra Jap with concentration on its meaning. As Emerson
writes, "the key to every man is his thought. Sturdy and
defying though he looks he has a helm he obeys, which is the idea
after which all his facts are classified. He can only be reformed
by showing him a new idea which commands his own".
In the path of
spirituality, at beginning the seeker conceives God as existing
far away from him. But as he progresses in spiritual life with
the help of the sacred word and primordial sound, he becomes more
and more aware of an intimate relationship with the Supreme Being.
The first experience of spirituality is: " …twam adidevah
purusah puranah, tvam asya visvasya param nidhanam, vetta si vedyam
ca param ca dhama, tvaya tatam visvam anantarupa…" This
means that thou art Prime Deity, the most ancient Person. Thou
art the ultimate resort, the knower and the knowable. It is Thou
by whom the universe is pervaded, O' One of infinite forms.
In the second stage
of spirituality the relationship becomes very intimate and personal.
For example, the devotee calls upon God as a dear friend, mother
or father, "twameva mata ca pita twameva, twameve bandhuh
ca sakha twameve" In the third stage, the aspirant perceives
the essentiality of the Divine and realizes himself being a spiritual
entity, pure, luminous and free. Tattvamasi - I am Thou and Thou
are I.
There is a story
in our puranas which describes this concept. Once Lord Rama-the
God-incarnate, asked his great devotee Hanuman, "O son tell
me what type of relationship you hold for Me and how you meditate
upon Me". Sri Hanumana replied "O' Rama, sometime I
look upon You as 'Purna', the undivided 'One, at other moment
I look upon You as undivided but at the same time reflecting through
everything and everybody. Then I look upon myself as a fragment
of You. At other times, I contemplate upon You as my Divine master
and think of myself as Your humble unity and the experiential
knowledge of the Self then I perceive that 'I and Thou' and 'Thou
and I' ---Tattvamasi".
Expansion of self
can only be achieved by overcoming the limitations of the I and
Mine. So, with the practice of Mantra as our identification with
the ever luminous Self becomes firm, our identification with ego
slowly fades away. The thinner is the curtain of ego, the easier
it becomes to tear it in meditation. So repetition of the Mantra
- which is a concentrated form of prayer-is indeed very closely
linked with meditation. It is the spontaneous longing for the
vision of the Supreme that can tune our thoughts and train the
suble layers of our mind. It is not a calculated devotion but
a natural relationship. It is the nonstop Jap which helps us to
enjoy meditation. Meditation is the final spiritual course for
enjoying unity with God, but until the mind is trained to stay
absorbed in God, the Supreme Lord is not revealed.
Describing the
power of Mantra Jap as an important tool in meditation Swami Yatishwarananda
writes in his book, Meditation and Spiritual Life, "In the
beginning of spiritual life you need not bother about real meditation.
Do Jap and dwell on your Ista Devata. In due course Jap will develop
into dhyana which means unbroken thought on the theme for meditation
like the unbroken current or flow of oil from one cup to another.
Through Jap the Divine spirit will become more real than the world.
An only then will real dhyana become possible. Do the first thing
first, and then the next thing will come by itself."
The holy scriptures recommend that the individual should concentrate
on the temple of heart in meditation. Because when Mantra calls
for the friendship of God, it revolves around the shrine of the
Supreme located at the temple of heart. As Lord Krsna Himself
tells in Bhagwad Geeta, chapter 15 (15) : "Sarvasya ca 'ham
hrdi samnivisto, mattah smritir jnanam apohanam ca" which
means 'I am seated in the heart of all. I am the source of memory,
knowledge and ratiocinative faculty'. Although the Supreme consciousness
is the essence of life and resides in each and every little molecule
of the body it can be perceived, contacted and experienced only
at the heart. The realization of the Supreme Lord at the shrine
of the heart is easy and most rewarding experience of life.
It is easy because
the individual is not seeking something distant, not something
foreign and alien; it is very much known, familiar and one's own
Indwelling-Self. The contemplation at the heart has been highly
recommended in almost all the spiritual traditions of the world.
It is indeed in the subtle realms of consciousness at the Anahat
cakre where the aspirant can perceive and experience the presence
of the spirit within. When an ardent devotee concentrates at the
heart and makes effort to grasp the sound waves of the eternal
nada (AUM) ; he goes into yogic unity with the Indwelling-Soul.
The heart is considered
to be the focal point in meditation. Though difficult to perceive,
but hidden in the depth of the heart according to Kathopanishad
is the atman. The atman which is the only controller is the inner
self of all. There are several other hymns in the Vedas, which
describe the temple of the heart as the shrine in the form of
lotus and the innermost cave of the heart. It is strongly believed
in almost all religious traditions that its is the heart where
the man is remade. It is by meditating at the heart that the individual
is awakened to the Divinity within. When the person is awakened,
the Supreme power radiates from him in the form of charismatic
warmth, love and compassion. Such an individual becomes very sensitive
to the needs of other people and the purity of Divine love emanates
from his personality. The other people feel drawn to his awakened
shrine and he becomes a channel of sharing divine love and others.
The Upanisads have talked about hridyanatar jyoti. This phrase
means that the Lord is experienced as light at the heart. This
light represents the Divine Self, radiant and magnificent. This
light of life can be actually visualized and experienced only
at the heart. This is indeed a very powerful psychic station for
integrating psychic energy. The experience of connectedness at
the heart center is considered to the most valuable accomplishment
in the spiritual journey. At the beginning of the meditation session
one starts the practice by concentration on the sound of Aum or
any other Mantra. The aspirant is suggested to concentrate at
the hrdaya akasa - the space between the two breasts. In meditation
the individual perceives from within that the beat of his heart
and the sound of Aum have started merging into one another. Gradually
the mind joins the sound and the individual feels settles in the
cave of the heart.
A meditation session
is a continuation of constant Mantra Jap. Mantra Jap is preliminary
training which is mandatory for going into meditation. In my opinion,
there can be nothing such as real meditation unless the individual
prepares himself first through constant practice of quiet Mantra
Jap.
Mantra is the most
methodical application. It is indeed the most efficient vehicle
that can take us to our goal in meditation. Mantra creates a new
thought pattern and the mind slowly learns to settle there. Slowly
but definitely it peers into the layers of the subconscious and
mixes with the knowledge of the self
( Para- vidya ) and enlightens the entire thinking faculty. As
the moth after seeing the light never returns to darkness, similarly
once the mind is enlightened, it does not involve in ignorance.
It likes to rest into the quietness of the Indwelling-Self. Mantra
jap strengthens the individual's unity with the Supreme Self.
When we start the meditation session by repeating Mantra, slowly
with a gentle breath in and out, we observe our thoughts passing
by and leaving many trails behind. At the first stage, we watch
our thoughts, then we begin to watch ourselves repeating the Mantra.
Slowly our mind settles and our breathing also becomes slow, we
feel that instead of us repeating the Mantra we are only listening
to the Mantra. At another stage, as we move towards the deeper
layers of consciousness, the syllables of our Mantra start merging
into one another and slowly start disappearing, leaving behind
total silence. Mantra Jap if performed systematically, properly,
regularly, devotedly, earnestly and lovingly, brings about a sustained
single-pointedness more efficiently than all other hasty methods
of meditation. A Jap-conditioned mind rises quickly to the unsurpassable
heights of super consciousness in an amazingly short time.
By Prabha
Duneja
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