AUM MEDITATION
This
is an abstract from the book : ‘AUM’ THE ESSENCE
OF THE VEDAS
Scientific
research on AUM Dhyana has shown very significant
improvements in concentration, memory IQ, relaxation etc.
What is Meditation
?
Stilling
the mind on a single thought stream is Dhyana, says
Patanjali (a great yoga teacher) in his aphorisms of Yoga.
The nature of the mind is to wander, to jump from the mind – “Chanchalata” – is the grossest form the monkey mind. In this,
there is no connection between thought and thought. All energies in the mind
are totally wasted. The next phase is concentration or Ekagrata.
Here the mind is trained to stay on single object without distraction or jumping
around. If you like the topic, the mind automatically stays in it and you
have a fine absorbing concentration. If you are not interested, the result
is mental distraction. Energy is channelized in
concentration just as a dam is built with control valves and chanales for flow of water to harness the useless,often dangerous, river. The
mental energies are to be chanelised. The whole
of our training and education have essentially been
to develop more and more concentration.
The
results and benefits of concentration needs no elaboration.
Every job, from the most trivial to the most sophisticated
needs concentration. All great men reach their glorious heights with
concentration.
Is there anything further ?
Yes,
says Patanjali. He called it dharana.
We can call it intensified concentration focussing, from multiple thoughts
to a single thought. The mind is to be fixed, glued to a single thought.
From Multiple objects ( Chanchalata )
|
To Single object ( Concentration )
|
From Multiple thoughts but
single object ( Concentration )
|
To Single thought ( Dharana )
Desha Bandhah
Cittasya Dharana
Fixing
the mind (on a single thought) in space is
Dharana
There
is total attention on single thought. What thought you choose is immaterial. It can be a ‘dot’, a bull’s eye, flower or Rama. All energies of the mind are totally focussed on a single
thought, just as in a lens, focussing the entire light on to the focal point
which can burn a paper. A laser beam focussed at a point can trigger a fusion
reaction. The power of thought can burn up our samskaras.
It can go deep into your subconscious and cleanse you up. Dharana
is mandatory for gun shooting (ranging) or dhanurvidya
(archery), Unless you develop a capacity for atleast 10 seconds of good Dharana,
you are not allowed to hit your target.
Trataka is very helpful for dharana.
Fix the gaze on AUM from a distance of about 5 feet. Look at it steadily for
about 30 seconds close the eyes, place the palms on the eyes, exert no pressure
on the eye muscles, feel the relaxation, keep the picture of AUM steady in
the mind, repeat 2 to 3 times, we can learn dharana
on any object at will.
Dharana is to focus all energies into a single point, the thought becomes very powerful, piercing through
the subconscious.
From
the phase of Dharana begins a new chapter in the
modality of gaining knowledge.
In
concentration we analyze build up a cause-effect relationship, use logic,
dwell on a subject and thereby understand and gain knowledge. Here greater
the speed, faster is the thought stream, quicker the grasp, sharper is the
intelligence, finer the knowledge, deeper is the understanding. A large number
of very fast thoughts features this modality of understanding.
In
Dharana, multiplicity of thoughts is stopped. A
single thought is to be kept up all through.
Are
we not going against the very process of understanding through the intellect ? Yes/No.
Yes,
because we are getting into a new process of understanding at a subtle level
by mere sweeping through the inner ocean of knowledge, which is what we essentially
do when we think deeply. We use logic, analysis and intellect to build up
a momentum, to prepare the mind to get at the knowledge. The intellect stops
for a while and knowledge emerges. Through Dharana
we consciously start getting a mastery over this so-called intuition.
Dwelling
on a thought long enough will reveal the secret of that thought. It is Science.Patanjali starts unravelling
this science from sutra on Dharana.
Dharana to Dhyana
Dhyana, often called Meditation, is nothing but effortless
Dharana. We cannot perform Dharana
for a long time, as it is very Strenuous. If done
with maximum intensity even for 10 seconds, Dharana
tires out one fully Remedy ? Bring effortlessness,
relaxation – we enter into Dhyana.
Tatra Pratyayaikatanata Dhyanam
To stay in single thought stream in Dhyana. Effortless dwelling on the single thought. Taila dharavat like an oil stream flowing freely down and inclined smooth plane.
The
5 features of meditation are :
1. Single thought
2. Effortlessness
and relaxation
3. Slowness
4. Wakefulness and
awareness
5. Feeling of Expanding
lightness
In
any process if these 5 aspects are there, we can call it meditation. Meditation
is not a strenuous process of concentration. No force, No suppression that
is the trick, it can be called as a process of de-focussing-expansion. Often,
some call it de-concentration.
Thus,
meditation is a trick to dwell on a single thought effortlessly. The more
we struggle to control our thoughts and fix ourselves on a single thought,
the more we go away from meditation. Relaxation, slowing down, enjoying to
stay in the thought with ease and with a feeling of elation and lightness
are the tricks. This is to be done with total awareness, not allowing the
system to get into sleep.
The Process of AUM Meditation
Sit
comfortably in any position you like, if you are used to sit in Padmasana, please do so, But if you can’t don’t bother, even
you can choose a comfortable chair.
Choose
a time when you are at ease, with no busy schedules planned at that hour or
immediately after that, Early mornings or evenings
would be ideal and take light food.
Phase I:
Close
your eyes and start chanting AUM (or any other chosen mantra if you have been
initiated to the same already). Allow the mind to repeat the mantra continuously
without break. If there are distractions and distractions, you should chant
the mantra faster and faster, not giving a chance to distractions, After
a while the chanting slows down, Slow it down further, If the mind jumps to
distractions, again increase the speed of Japa. Thus, by increasing and allowing the speed to slow down,
you should be able to have an unbroken stream of the mantra in your mind.
Phase II:
Make
the chanting softer and softer, gentler and gentler, more and more effortless
as you progress on the path of meditation, you will reach the second phase
of japa in which you start feeling the vibrations of the mantra
in a particular part of the body and later throught
out the body.
Hurdles in Meditation
These
are a few techniques to overcome the hurdles in meditation
1. Distractions
should not be taken seriously and worried about. The sadhaka
should continue meditation without hating the distraction thoughts
2. Sleep should
be overcome by determination
3. Whenever the
mind wanders off, it should be brought back to AUM by repeated effort.
4. When the mind
likes to understand the meaning of AUM intellectually, it is helpful in the
beginning, later on this intellectualizing should also be considered
a distraction.
Expansion and Awareness
In
Dhyana, we start de-focussing, expanding, from pointed
awareness to linear surface and three dimensional awareness,
from one dimension to three dimension entire body awareness. Loud sound
of AUM helps to build complete body awareness. As we grow deeper and subtler,
we can experience the resonance ever when we chant the japa in the mind, This is called
three dimensional awareness, Our attention has been diffused from a point
through various stages to three dimension – complete body, This is the process
of expansion.
Descent
Start
feeling waves and waves of AUM engulfing the whole body establishing the 3D
awareness. Now allow the descending part of the wave of AUM to descend slowly.
Feel the trough of silence at the end of the descent. The trough of silence
at the end of each wave of AUM helps to go deeper and deeper.
Ascent
Now
allow the ascending part of the wave also to expand, before it starts descending
slowly to silence, more and more of silence as you progress.
A
feeling of expanse is associated with a feeling of well-being, lightness and
bliss. Greater the expansiveness, greater the bliss.
Dhyana culminates in Samadhi or Super Consciousness- a jump
into higher levels of consciousness. To a more subtle, expansive level of
consciousness, that is the progress.
Experiencing
silence in-between two japa waves helps in expanding
from 3D awareness of the body to all pervasive awareness. The vision of a
beautiful blue sky or a vast expansive ocean can be recalled to further expand.
Expansion is the key to break open stagnation, drowsiness and sleep.
As
a aid to the process of growth, purification techniques,
kriyas, preparatory practises
and pranayama are often used. In the Aumkara meditation method, we have combined these phases and
steps to bring about a harmonious, smooth and accelerated growth.
The
bed of silence becomes deeper and more expansive an OCEAN of silence with
waves on it merge into complete silence Ajapa. (Total
duration 30 minutes)
Anusandhana
After
regularly performing the AUM Dhyana for half an
hour in the beginning and then longer, the meditator
should spread out this feeling of lightness, silence and bliss throughout
the day by recalling and repeating AUM several times.
Let
us all continue meditation, grow deep, spread this message of our ancient
seers throughtout