Self Knowledge VI

Meditation

There are two kinds of meditation, the objective and the subjective.

In the objective meditation the ideal is considered as being outside and in the subjective one inside the mediator.

Objective meditation is of two kinds:

Sound or Form

Example: OM or a combination of words/sound or sacred formula.

“OM Sachidanandam Brahma” (Brahman or God is Absolute Existence, Absolute Knowledge, Absolute Bliss).

It must be understood that Brahman is Absolute Reality or Existence does not mean that he is real in a sense that a phenomenal object exists or is real.

It is Existence and Reality Itself.

It is the essence of Existence.

The non dualist says:” The phenomenal world and all things in it are perceived to exist because Brahman as Reality and Existence permeates them all”.

They cannot exist apart from Brahman, but Brahman exists even when names and forms disappear as is the case in samadhi.

Brahman is pure Knowledge and Consciousness.

Brahman is the essence of Knowledge itself. It is the complete identity of subject and object.

Brahman as Bliss is not an attribute, but the very stuff of which It is made.

When meditating on a form symbol we should know that every object is a combination of the Absolute and the relative.

In everything we find Existence (Sat) Consciousness (Chit) and Attraction or Bliss (Ananda).which are the different aspects of Brahman.

When meditating on the form symbol the aspirant should gradually withdraw his mind from the unreal name or form and concentrate on Brahman which is present in the symbol as Existence-Knowledge-Bliss.

In and through the object he should see Brahman as one sees the ocean in and through the waves.

Objective meditation has its savikalpa and its nirvikalpa aspects.

In savikalpa meditation he is conscious of the object sound and form and in

Nirvikalpa meditation the entire phenomenal world disappears in Brahman and the aspirant becomes one with It.

He becomes Joy, Bliss and Ananda.

The Subjective meditation

In the subjective meditation the Ideal is seen within oneself.

The Heart

The Vedic seers speak of the heart as an extremely suitable place.

For the beginner, the heart is the physical organ, shaped like a lotus bud. Inside there is a subtle luminous space which is described as the Brahmapura, the Abode of Brahman.

As one becomes more advanced in meditation, he realizes, that the heart is not really the physical organ, but the buddhi, the discriminative faculty which is the most refined part of the mind and in which one sees best the reflection of Brahman.

Brahman is often described in the Upanishads as residing in the “cave of the buddhi”.

Finally the aspirant transcends both the heart and the mind and realizes Brahman the all pervading consciousness, in his innermost consciousness.

The Christian concept of OM is the Word.

The word meant the beginning of creation.

‘In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God.’

Logos

Logos or the word was also used by the Creek philosophers. Heraclitus, who lived in the fifth century before Christ, spoke of the Logos or the word.

When we look at Genesis, The Lord said, ‘Let there be light, and there was light’. 

It seems that in the cosmic mind, thought exists before the word comes out, or before the creation of the world begins. The idea, thought of light, was expressed in the form of the words, ’let there be light’.

In the spiritual realm thoughts are realities. Every thought has its form.

Every idea is real.

There needs to be no material projection.

This is why if you do spiritual healing, you need only to go into super consciousness and visualize the person whole.

Cosmic mind contains all the ideas or concepts of things that have come into existence since creation. This is the omniscience of God.

For the sake of interest, the neo Platonists described the Logos as the only begotten Son of God.

The cosmic mind is like the Father and the idea like the Son. The outcome is the perfect man.  

Christ represents that perfect man; the ideal not the idol.

When we really understand OM and chant it with full consciousness, we feel the vibrations. It will change the whole structure and attitude of our minds and the molecules of the body will vibrate in a different way.

Why, because we chant the name of the cosmic Being, and every time we chant OM, we are being lifted up, and we approach the infinite or cosmic mind.

This is what the masters mean when they tell us to contemplate OM

OM includes all sounds, all words, all thoughts, and all ideas, it is complete.

The repetition of OM and meditating on its meaning is the way!

There is another reason why repeating OM and making it a habit is so important.

”Whatever idea is most predominant at the time of death, whatever thoughts and ideals we hold at the hour of transition will determine the plane we will go to. If we think of God, the Supreme Being, the highest Spirit, we do not remain earth bound but we are enlightened instead.

We see the light and remain on the higher plane of consciousness. We are no longer subject to rebirth.

Things to remember when meditating:

When the mind is sluggish,

Read Sacred books; have spiritual discussions; chant.

When the mind is distracted,

Practice patience and perseverance; get rid of attachment, practice dispassion.

Enjoying bliss, do not dwell long on the blissful experience.

The Goal

The goal is to be one with Brahman. The knower of Brahman becomes Brahman, knowledge is accompanied by realization.

The illusion of names and forms is destroyed and the knower is no longer a victim of false fear and false expectations.

For the knower of the Truth, the seen, the seer and the seeing, all merge in the experience of the Absolute.

Consciousness of time and space is obliterated; the fetters of causality are broken forever.

Entering pure Consciousness

Where is the universe gone? And where is it merged? It was just seen by me and it has ceased to exist. I see everywhere the ocean of Reality, filled with the nectar of Absolute Bliss. There is nothing to shun, nothing to accept, nothing to desire. I do nor see anything; I do not hear anything; I do not know anything; I simply exist as the Self, the Eternal Bliss; Blessed am I; I have attained the goal of my life; I am unattached; I am free from the body; Both the gross and the subtle. I am un-decaying; immaculate and eternal. I am neither the doer, nor the enjoyer; I am changeless and beyond activity; I am the Essence of Pure Knowledge. I am indeed Brahman, One without a second, without a peer; the reality that has no beginning; beyond the illusion of you or I; this or that.

I am the Essence of Eternal Bliss and Truth. I alone reside in all beings as Knowledge and Reality as their internal and external support. I am the enjoyer of all that is enjoyable. Like the sky I am beyond contamination; I am motionless; like the ocean I am limitless. I have no connection with the sky as the body has none with the clouds; I neither enjoy nor make others enjoy; I am Atman, self effulgent and transcendent; let this inert body drop away, either in water or on land; I am not touched by what may happen to it. I am Pure Consciousness, I am ever free.

I am Brahman, the one without a second, which like the sky is beginningless and endless, in which the whole universe, from the causal to the gross appears to be a mere shadow. I am the Soul of the universe. I am all. I am the transcendent. I am Absolute and Infinite Knowledge. 

The devotee illumined by the realization of Brahman enters the realm of pure consciousness. His mind vanishes. Emerging from the experience of samadhi he cries out in amazement:

“Where is the universe gone?”

I see everywhere the ocean of Reality, filled with Absolute Bliss. There is nothing to shun, nothing to accept, nothing to desire. I do not see anything; I do not hear anything; I do not know anything; I simply exist as the self, the Eternal Bliss.

Blessed am I, I have attained the goal of my life.

 Om, Shanti, Om……