In the last article I had quoted 3 verses from Bhagwat Geeta and had also said that the essence and practice is the key to its learning and living this great scripture.
‘Practice what you preach’ came true in my life. There was a mild storm on the domestic front last week. I was cautious and watchful all the time of this fact and told myself never mind what happens I will bring back my mind on thoughts and wisdom of God by maintaining full faith in Him and I was also convinced that I am under his unfaltering protection and tutelage so everything is going to be alright in the end. So during the turbulence, I made sure that I make conversation with God inside me and seek his advice and help so that my mind does not go astray. I was unable to practice meditation during this period because of too much physical activity and mental turbulence. Nonetheless, towards the end of the week, once again in the afternoon after completion of my domestic chores, the house that I live in began to vibrate soothing and recuperating vibes which I felt were moving towards and entering my heart centre specifically. Deep sense of relaxation and peace overcame me and I went inside my room to rest and to be away from worldly entanglements for some time at least.
While resting, I remembered Mahavatar Babaji and was thinking how he came to my rescue just a few days ago by giving me very good counsel. As I remembered Him with overwhelming faith and devotion at that moment, He appeared again in a subtle form to give me further timely spiritual guidance for coming days. By now, I am accustomed to His extra ordinary presence in the form of sheer Divinity and recognize His speechless, serene arrival. My atmosphere for some time becomes very peaceful, pure and gentle, so different from the normal that we experience every day. I thanked Him for giving me those benevolent peaceful, balmy vibrations and I expressed a desire to Him that I wish to follow those 3 verses of Geeta in practical terms more so in times of turbulence. All He said was “Go to attend group meditation” which is held on weekends.
As Sunday arrived, in spite of no possibility of me making it to the meditation hall because of freaky stormy weather and heavy rainfall I did go, though I reached late. It was obvious to me that God’s Grace was with me because of those Babaji’s blessed words of instructions.
Even that one hour session was very beneficial and fruitful. The cleansing of my mind and body was done there. I had accumulated the karmic dust of someone to whom I was helping overcome the excess baggage of fruit of actions of previous lives. The dirt and its fatigue was washed off so effortlessly in that sitting as if there was no trouble at all!!
Please recall in- What is the purpose of my life? there is a very important paragraph highlighted by me which is the essence of that whole article. Babaji had explained to me in the dream sequence in very early hour that-
“The main aim of meditation is to be able to concentrate and focus on God in depth and duration while the other benefits of spiritual meditation are just its by-products”
Now since the past many weeks as I feel very cheerful and energetic again, I have a desire of stepping up and advancing in meditation practice by increasing its depth and duration but I do not know how. I have been praying silently in my heart and asking Guruji, Sri Paramhansa Yogananda, my mentor, who initiated me in Yoga and Dhyana and also to Shri Mahavatar Babaji, my Param Guru who is responsible of giving me a new lease of life figuratively and literally. I have always believed and lived by a strong conviction and belief that if you quietly pray to God and address your heartfelt desires for positive development, they are always answered. God really listens and responds to all our innocent and selfless askance.
Today morning, while in dhayan or concentration on God in those quiet hours of early morning when only one little bird was twittering in gaiety and the sun was still resting, I again recalled the dialogue between Bhagwan Krishna and his foremost disciple Arjuna as mentioned in the verses of Bhagwat Geeta in the last article. Arjuna expresses dissatisfaction and complains that his mind is uncontrollable like the wind and is never at ease and steady. So Krishna gives him a yukti, a strategy to fight and control the agitating mind. He advises Arjuna to meditate on God to control his frittering mind and also to be dispassionate about the earthly and materialistic affairs. When my mind was completely focused in the mid space between the two eye brows, Shri Mahavatar Babaji explained explicitly to me that- “Now your body has become fit enough to take the load of intensive physical exercise and intensive meditation practices. So increase your intensity of meditation”
I used to wonder many times before how one can get depth in meditation on which Babaji threw some light and gave me insight by saying,
“Depth in meditation comes by increasing the duration. If you meditate on God continually for a long period, you will achieve depth. When you attain depth gradually, the duration will increase simultaneously because the mind will be completely dissolved in God communion little by little”
What Krishna elucidates in those verses, Mahavatar Babaji clarified the shloka for me.
He said, “Whenever you have time in between hectic activities, release your mind from those capturing thoughts, that’s Vairagya or dispassion. Vairagya is not sannyas or relinquishing of duties. Vairagya or dispassion is releasing and purging the mind of the redundant and repetitive thoughts of the past and future. Empty out your mind from thoughts about people and of people to avoid cluttering, storing so that the space in the mind can be filled up with constructive positive thoughts. Save and conserve positive energies for that big task for a great cause, a noble mission.
Frittering of mind is the nature of mind. Meditation helps in developing and composing composure, tranquility and poise even during turbulence. It is only with regular practice of meditation that the mind is developed to become a vessel, a receptor and a receiving station to receive higher powers as well as supernatural powers to discover Nature and its functioning. And for the development of Super-Mind, it is developed by receiving very powerful potent vibrations of supernatural powers from higher space in the cosmic universe.”
For the first time I understood that meditation is such a good activity or positive karma, so full of vitality and benefits and why don’t I devote more time to it in spite of the overactive days. Then I understood that to be able to meditate frequently and in intensity I need more subtle energy which will come once I close my mind from its wandering or frittering habits during the day which is going unnoticed. I also observed when there was excessive futile mental actions, the strength in the body declines as was visible to me because I could not do my daily physical exercises so well during this time period. Most of the energy from my total energy was being used up in those repetitive wandering thoughts was clear to me now. Therefore, I decided to plug in those holes so that the mind could function optimally and no brain energy was being wasted. I did exactly that.
In the next following days also, I have decided to follow this great piece of advice and knowledge given to me by Babaji which I am sharing with you now.
I can strengthen and improve the power of my mind to achieve what I wish to achieve in future. To make my mind steady, composed and powerful and also peaceful, I will repeatedly practice bringing my mind back again and again to the centre to focus and concentrate on God. But before the mind is brought back, it has to be cut off from the external source thereby also practicing vairagya or dispassion.
It is better to safeguard the wandering mind and stop it from so many future errors and suffering from futile actions of the wandering mind. It is for our own good that we practice curbing and focusing the thoughts by bringing it back again and again on God and self realizations by thinking of faith, devotion, hope and aspiration. We should also pursue some type of meditation techniques so that the mind becomes stronger, powerful yet peaceful in nature. There will be storms, turbulence and difficulties that we will have to encounter in future, life does not stop here. Our efforts of internalizing the mind will help us to give us peace, composure and tranquility of mind.
I pray to my dear Divine Father and Gurus to bless us all who are striving in their efforts to control their minds to give them the will power and mental strength to meditate deeply in depth and duration on Thee!!