| Purity and Meditational Fruition |
 |
By Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
[Poojya Swamiji
speaks a few words of guidance at the conclusion of the
daily morning Pushpasamarpana (flower offering) at the
Narayanashrama Tapovanam. These profound words on saadhana,
like the effulgent morning rays, would illuminate many a
dark corner in the listeners' minds. This series is titled
“Prabhaata-rasmih” (Morning rays). The following is the
text of one such talk by Poojya Swamiji on 27th April
1997.]
Dhyāna or meditation is an important constituent
of spiritual life and most of the saadhakas take to
it in their own manner. But meditation is not the be all and
end all of spiritual life. If we ask whether all seekers,
right from the beginning, should take to meditation or not,
the answer is not a uniform ‘yes’.
Meditation
is necessary to realize the Truth, to experience the Self.
However, all those who practise meditation will not achieve
this, because purity of the mind is very important for
attaining meditational fruition. Then the question arises,
“How can this purity be brought about? Should a person
take to meditation only after attaining the required measure
of purity, or meditation will itself be helpful in purifying
him?" I think, it is both.
You
start practising meditation for realizing the Self. However,
if the mind is impure, your meditation will not take
you to the desired level of mind extinction. In that stage,
the practice of meditation should serve the purpose of
purifying your mind, enriching your mind. In Bhagavad Geeta,
Krishna says: Yogam Āatma-viśuddhaye –
Yoga is to be practised for the purification of one’s own
being.
What
is this purity? How can one judge whether he is becoming
pure or not?
First,
purification means reduction and extinction of desires.
The desires may be secular, worldly, or they may be
spiritual, other-worldly. In Vedanta, vairaagya is
defined clearly as: Iha-amutra-phalabhoga-virāgah
– disinterestedness towards enjoyment of the pleasures or
rewards in this world as well as in the other world. So, the
secular as well as the spiritual desires will have to fall
completely. A mind which does not strive to eliminate
desires cannot be considered as pursuing purity.
The
second aspect of purity is the lack of ego. With the
dawning of purity, the ego must steadily decline and finally
become extinct. What is
this ‘ego’? It is a strong notion about one’s separate
identity ‘I’ with regard to anything whatsoever. “I
will do this" is an ego. “I will not do this” is also
an ego. It will be very much evident in your tone of
affirmation. In fact, any sense of doership with regard to
any action done or to be done, is ego.
The
third symptom of purity is a feeling of non-possessiveness
– nirmamatva. Possessiveness can be there only around
the possessor – around the ego of possession. Any feeling
of possessiveness with regard to anything – initially it
may be worldly things and later on it may be with regard to
even spiritual attainments – must gradually decline, and
finally become extinct.
A
Jeevanmukta (a liberated person) initially becomes conscious of his mukti
(freedom), as he was earlier conscious of his bandhana
(bondage). After the bondage is eliminated by the new
consciousness of freedom, the consciousness of freedom also
gets eliminated. Thus the Jeevanmukta attains a beautiful
state of no-bondage, no-liberation. In fact, bondage and
liberation no more carry any significance for him.
Similarly,
a seeker wants to realize the Self because he sees non-Self
all around. But, once he realizes the Self, there will be no
non-Self to be distinguished from the Self. For him, there
will be no Self to be sought, after leaving any non-Self. It
is a wonderful state, which also means ego-extinction.
Whenever
the mouth speaks, the mind thinks, and the intelligence
understands, they can do so only with reference to the Subject within. That reference to the
Subject will still
continue, but there will be no ego, pride or a sense of
causality.
So,
the fall of desires, the extinction of the ego and the
elimination of all possessiveness are coeval with purity. It
is only to inculcate purity that all the religious and
spiritual practices and disciplines have been evolved.
Through all these practices once purity is attained,
meditational absorption will become easy and spontaneous.
Sometimes
by listening to a talk or reading a book, people become
interested in practising meditation. But they are generally
so enmeshed in worldly thoughts that initially the
meditation only helps to purify their being. May be years
pass before their mind gets purified and the plural thoughts
running after variety of worldly objects start converging.
Only then they begin to get meditational absorption. Initially, while meditating, the object of meditation
becomes the focus. But the meditation fulfills itself when
the object of meditation disappears and the meditator starts
becoming conscious of his own mind-substance.
To
summarise: Do not be unduly enamoured of meditation. When
the mind becomes pure, the worldly desires fall and the ego
becomes extinct, meditation will automatically follow. The
mind will automatically get absorbed into the Self. May be
absorptions will continue until at last you start enquiring
about absorption. “What is this absorption? Where am I
getting absorbed? What do I get in absorption that I am
missing at other times?” That is the introspection which
will finally lead you to the discovery and realization of
the Self.
One
must understand that meditation also is a transitory
state.
It begins and ends like anything else in the world. So, if
you are looking for the realization of the eternal Truth,
you must outlive this state and
get hold of the ultimate wisdom that tells you: “I am
always the Self. I was the Self even before I knew it, and I
will continue to be the same Self eternally.” The
realization will hold good once and for all.
It
may not be possible in one moment. May be many many attempts
and long efforts will be necessary for the emergence. But if
you are sincere in you pursuit, some time or other the
realization has to dawn! – A wonderful dawning which you feel,
can never be missed can never be taken away from you:
yam
labdvaa caaparam laabham manyate naadhikam tatah |
yasminsthito
na duhkhena gurunaapi viacaalyate
||
(Geeta 6.22)
After attaining which, you know that nothing superior is
left aside. Being seated in which, you know that even the
deepest sorrow or the heaviest calamity cannot dislodge or
torment you any more.
That is the wonderful state of
interminable Self-seatedness or Yoga.
Harih
Om Tat Sat
