Summer Camp 2014 - Update 4

20 May 2014  - 10:30 AM Session

The Parivara assembled to listen to Gurudev on the next step in Sadhana.

Gurudev started the session with guided meditation. He then recapitulated the first Sadhana that he shared yesterday a little bit before starting to explain about the second Sadhana.

Gurudev opined that Harmony means including all and excluding none. Including all means trying to understand the whole in a given scenario with the attitude of acceptance. Acceptance does not mean yielding. Acceptance leads to freedom and our viveka ie., discriminative power of intelligence works only in the space of freedom and not in a crowded mind. This is what we have seen yesterday that freedom is the purpose of life and harmony is the LANGUAGE and ATHA is the technique to attain and experience that harmony.

The Second Sadhana

For the second Sadhana, Gurudev relied on the following Sutras:

Tasya Vachaka Pranavaha

Tat Japaha Tadartha Bhavanam

Our Master took us all through a beautiful journey from here on filled with wonder and adventure. When we confuse ourselves with clarity and determination using our intelligence and feel lost and helpless, here is our Master who deconstructs the mystery of the sutras and presents it in a simple way which, even a person young in age, can understand and follow.

When the mind engages in the anushasana of yoga, naturally MOUNA occurs. In that state the mind wants to break from its confinement and expand to experience the expansiveness. At the same time, it is unable to hold on to that INFINITY which it has not experienced yet. In this situation the mind gets into a SPIRITUAL CRISIS.

Therefore, the mind needs something to hold on which will help the mind to confidently break its own confinements and travel to experience the INFINITY. We can call that SOMETHING as Vehicle which the mind needs to travel towards the INFINITY. Maharishi has suggested that OMKARA is that vehicle which is going to help the mind to experience expansive INFINITY.

Why OM? Because, OM is the voice of INFINITY i.e., the LORD. When we want to find a person in a crowd who is there but cannot be seen, we call the name of the person. And after hearing the name when that person responds we immediately turn and look towards the direction from where the response came. This means, voice at both the ends attracts response and we are guided by the voice in such a scenario till both meet. In the same way, if we follow the voice of the Lord i.e., OM, then the Lord will also follow the voice and eventually both we and the Lord will meet at some point in time.

Now, if we begin this practice with doubt in mind as to whether this will happen to me and all that, certainly this will not happen. The Master Psychologist, Maharishi, has given us a definite solution for this as well and that is the second sutra quoted above.

Maharishi says when you start doing the Japa do with the full understanding of the meaning of the Mantra and the feeling of the Mantra. As explained above if we start chanting OMKARA with the meaning and feeling there is no way that it will fail us. Maharishi is so sure about this sutra because chanting OM will deliver us from the following ills:

Gurudev quickly touched upon the points and did not go into the details. He just wanted to give us a broad understanding of the relevance of the above sutra by explaining the following.

Vyadhi – psychological resistance to transformation is Vyadhi, in addition to the physical diseases.

Sthyana – start advising

Samsheya – doubt

Pramadha – indifference

Aalasya – physical fatigueness, laziness.

Aalaysa leads to various emotional complexities like depression, arrogance, etc.

Avirathi – holding onto, clinging on to

Alapdha Bhoomika – aspiring for an unattainable state

Anavasthi Tattva – inconsistency

Brandhi Darshana – hallucination

If I had wrongly spelt some of the above terms, kindly bear with me. I was at the back and I could not clearly understand the pronunciation of the Sanskrit words.

The rest of the lecture Gurudev dedicated to explain PURUSHA and PURUSHA VISHESHA.

I am amazed at the invigorating combination of Maharishi and Gurudev and I am convinced that only silence can adore this duo. There can’t be two opinions if I am to say that we are extremely fortunate to be blessed by these two great Masters and should not waste the opportunity life has given us.

PURUSHA, i.e., we, are disturbed and troubled by the following.

Klesha – day to day tensions

Karma – expecting the fruits of actions

Vipaka – excitement about some special skills, our luck, etc.

Aashaya – bag of desires

One who is not troubled by the above is Vishesha Purusha, special being. That special being is Ishvara and connecting with Ishvara is Satsanga.

Gurudev concluded the session by saying that our transformation from PURUSHA to PURUSHA VISHESHA is possible by following the voice of the Lord, OMKARA.

 - A report by a 'Sadhaka'