3/8/10

Hello! How are you..?

Dear Sadhaka,

Swami Rama Tirtha used to say that the secret of happiness lies in static mind and dynamic body. Now-a-days, people are imbalancing themselves either by leading a lazy and lethargic life under the garb of meditation, or by a monotonous routine, thinking that they are active. The emphasis here is blending these two. One has to have a balanced approach--quietening the mind at the psychological level and making the body active at the physiological-level, and blending these two; and, making the psycho-physiological entity a balanced, healthy, and dynamic apparatus to express oneself completely. That’s the right approach.

Mind is an abstract thing, and comprehending it will take time. Whereas, the body is gross in nature. So one has to begin with the body first. That’s why, even in meditation, Pujya Gurudev Swami Rama insists on stabilizing the body as the basic essential step. Pujya Swami Rama used to say “if you know how to stabilize your body, then meditation happens in you”.

An analogy would make this point clear. Water is stored in Dams. If the water level exceeds the danger level, then it has to be discharged. At that time, if the flood gates do not open or if only few open partially, what will happen? Pressure will build up and the Dam will develop cracks and finally it will break down.

The same happens here as well. The capacity of the mind is something magnificent, whereas the body has its own limitations. And the beauty is, mind expresses itself through the body only. This being the case, if we don’t keep our body intact, if thoughts can’t express themselves through actions, our personality, like the Dam, develops cracks and eventually breaks down.

Beloved Sadhakas, it is happening every day with all of us, and with utmost concern I am writing this editorial. To be dynamic at the physical-level, one has to discipline oneself and give the physical body a good exercise. There are many asanas, stretching exercises which can help in removing the toxins and help the energy to flow freely within and through the body. Once the energy flow becomes smooth, then that body is really capable of translating the thoughts into action. The vitality of the body is very, very essential. Once this preparation is ‘pucca’, one will flower in meditation and then he will open out to higher dimensions of life.

May Baba, Pujya Gurudev Swami Rama, bless you all in your Sadhana.

In service of the Parampara,
Sri Pattabhiram

Shaki - the Female Power

Without woman, man is never complete. Tagore, a great Indian poet, has written, “O woman, you are half in reality but half in a dream.” That dream which all men have, that dream without which humanity will not survive, that dream which is inexplicable, is really woman. She should try to understand her status in society. I have always considered women to be living temples. The most ancient scriptures say that without shakti, without the female power, it is not possible for humankind to survive. The female power has been the force behind all the great leaders of the world. For example, if you study the life of Ramakrishna Paramahansa, you will learn that he became great because of a woman. Likewise, Krishna became great because of Radha. And Buddha became great because of many women who played important roles in his life from the very beginning.

Women have the real strength, but the problem is that they are not making creative use of that strength. The world needs their help today. Woman is suffering because of her own lack of awareness of her strength. The power of shakthi is being dissipated in advertising, television programs, movies, magazines, books-and we are reaping this consequences. Women do not exist for the fun of Men, but many women today have forgotten this. Many a woman is still looking for someone to appreciate her. This way of life is not helpful for our rising generation. Women are also mothers, and such an attitude of dependence on men is helpful for educating children. If we really love humanity, we should learn to understand this.

We have been building many churches and education institutions, but the main institution is the family. When it is ignored, we can never be happy. Dive into the heart of all problems, and you will discover that the base of all problems lies in the family life. If we do not appreciate the importance of the family, though our society may survive, it will create wild people with no understanding. So my first request to woman is that instead of being preoccupied with whether they are inferior or superior to Men, they re-establish the family life. Then there is a chance for future generation, a chance for the children to learn.

Swami Rama

Antardarshana

Even samprajnaata is a state of mind, and it is not complete; it is not Samadhi. Samprajnaata means a state where you have experienced the higher knowledge.

After samprajnaata, what happens? When you start doing this again and again as abhyasa, as it grows, then you will move on to the second dimension, that is anya, the state of otherness. Sage Patanjali is not giving any name to it. Many people call it as asamprajnaata. But it is not that. It is anya, where one can’t explain what it is. That is anya. What is it?

viraama pratyaya abhyaasa poorva samskara shesho anyah

When all contents of the human mind/consciousness have completely died, that state is called anya. It is a complete cessation of all the pratyaya. Pratyaya means content, experience, memory, concept.

For example, I have a concept about Krishna. When I meditate on Krishna for some time, and if I am still holding on to Krishna, it means, I am still in the samprajnaata zone. That is called ‘content’ or ‘pratyaya’. Here, ‘pratyaya’ is Krishna. I am meditating on Krishna and the content of meditation is Krishna. A time comes when even Krishna disappears. When I continue to meditate, and when even Krishna disappears, I experience a state where I don’t have words to explain; because all words are only at the mental plane; beyond mind, no word. Words can’t reach that zone. That is why words can’t explain, words have no power to explain that. That is why, as a sadhaka deepens his meditation, slowly he becomes non-communicating; words drop. He will not be able to share. Even if he wants to share, he can’t and he finds no words. What should one do then? Silence. One gets into a beautiful state of mauna. Everything springs from that mauna, everything expands in that mauna, everything merges into it. Mauna becomes the seat, and it is beyond ‘I’ consciousness. It is not in the purview of asmita, it is beyond asmita. It travels further. Then he experiences a zone called ‘anya’, a viraama pratyaya abhyaasa poorna, after completion of practice. After repeated practice of samprajnaata, one experiences anya.

When one comes back, the reminiscence of that samskara remains in the mind, but one can’t explain that samskara. That samskara will tend to dive into that state again and again - ‘anya’. If one is blessed by the Masters, one experiences ‘anya’. One can’t explain it. You are not there and nothing is there, but you are very conscious. You will not know what it is. Your body is not there, your mind is not there, intellect is not there, nothing is there, but only That is there.

bhava pratyayo videha prakriti layaanaam

Bhava means coming back to Prapancha, coming back to the conscious world through taking the body. Here pratyaya means just to experience. Patanjali says, there are two types of beings: those in whom the prakriti has completely merged itself (prakriti-layaanaam), and those who are not in the pancha-bhoota-shareera (videhi). Videhi means those who need not have body, Gods/Goddesses. That is why God doesn't have any form. Whenever he needs one, He can take any form. Infinite forms He can have; yet he is beyond forms. Prakriti-layaanaam means those who are great yogis, avadhootas, in whom there is no Prakriti, who are pure consciousness. They too can come on to this earth like, we visit a hotel and have coffee and snacks. They are called avadhoota. It means, those who are not bound by the rules and regulations of this world and are beyond them. That is why in the Himalayas one can see hundreds of such avadhootas. They will be sitting on the ice naked.

I met one avadhoota near Badrinath. He was on a snowy mountain, completely naked. I think, it was towards the end of October. I did pranams to the avadhoota. He didn’t speak anything. I sat down for a while. Then he looked at me and he made some gesture in the air and an apple came down. He gave it to me. There are many like that. Another avadhoota is Neem Karoli Baba. All the avadhootas are the Kings of this universe. Whatever they want, it is given to them. They worship the Prakriti so much that the Prakriti has lifted them up and it is serving them. They don’t come under any rules and regulations or any morality of this world. They are above morality. We are stuck in the moral plane, whereas avadhootas are not.

May you succeed in your Sadhana

Sri Pattabhiram

Put the Glass Down...

Study this small story; Hope that makes a BIG change

Professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see & asked the students,

"How much do you think this glass weighs?"

'50gms!' ..... '100gms!' .....'125gms' ... the students answered.

"I really don't know unless I weigh it," said the professor, "but, my question is:

What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?"

'Nothing' ..the students said.

'Ok what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?' the professor asked.

'Your arm would begin to ache' said one of the student

"You're right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?"

"Your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis & have to go to hospital for sure!" .. ventured another student & all the students laughed

"Very good.

But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?" asked the professor.

'No'. Was the answer.

"Then what caused the arm ache & the muscle stress?"

The students were puzzled.

"What should I do now to come out of pain?" asked professor again.

"Put the glass down!" said one of the students

"Exactly!" said the professor.

Life's problems are something like this.

Hold it for a few minutes in your head & they seem OK.

Think of them for a long time & they begin to ache. Hold it even longer & they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything..

It's important to think of the challenges or problems in your life, But EVEN MORE IMPORTANT is to 'PUT THEM DOWN' at the end of every day before You go to sleep...

That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh &strong & can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!

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