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meditation.
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EASY STEPS TO YOGA
(d) Where to Concentrate
8. Concentrate gently either on the lotus of the heart (Anahata Chakra) or at the space
between the two eyebrows (Trikuti). Close your eyes.
9. The seat of mind is Ajna Chakra at Trikuti. The mind can be easily controlled if you
concentrate on Trikuti. Bhaktas should concentrate on the heart. Yogins and Vedantins should
concentrate at Ajna Chakra.
10. Crown of the head (Sahasrara) is another seat for concentration. Some Vedantins
concentrate here. Some Yogins concentrate at the tip of the nose (Nasikagra Drishti). Stick to one
centre in concentration. Cling to it tenaciously. If you concentrate on heart, stick to it. Never change
it. Guru will select the centre for concentration, if you are a student of faith. If you are a man of
self-reliance, you can select it for yourself.
(e) Yogic Diet
11. Take Mitahara, Sattvic diet. Overloading the stomach with rice, vegetables, Dhal and
bread brings sleep and interferes with Sadhana. A glutton or a sensualist, a dullard or a lazy man
cannot practice meditation. A diet on milk renders the body very, very light. You can sit on one
Asana for hours together with ease and comfort. If you feel weak, you can take for a day or two a
little rice and milk or barley and milk or any light diet. Those who are in the field of service and who
do platform lectures and other intense spiritual propagandic activities need solid, substantial food.
(f) Asana
12. Asana steadies the body; Bandhas and Mudras make the mind firm; Pranayama makes
the body light; Nadi-suddhi produces steadiness of the mind. Having acquired these qualifications
you will have to fix the mind on Brahman. Then only meditation will go on steadily with ease and
happiness. For meditation, concentration and Japa, Padmasana or Siddhasana is prescribed. For
general health and keeping up of Brahmacharya, Sirshasana, Sarvangasana, Matsyasana,
Paschimottanasana are good. A short description of these Asanas and the benefits that are derived
by the practice of them are given in Chapter VIII of this book.
2. Benefits of Meditation
1. This world is full of miseries and sufferings. If you want to get rid of the pains and
afflictions of this Samsara, you must practice meditation. Meditation is the pathway to Divinity. It
is the royal road to the Kingdom of Brahman. It is a mysterious ladder which reaches from earth to
heaven (Vaikuntha or Kailasa or Brahman) from error to truth, from darkness to light, from pain to
Bliss, from restlessness to abiding Peace, from ignorance to Knowledge, from mortality to
Immortality. Meditation leads to knowledge of the Self which brings about the eternal peace,
supreme Bliss. Meditation prepares you for the integral experience or direct intuitive knowledge.
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PRACTICE OF MEDITATION
2. Truth is Brahman. Truth is Atman. Truth is quite pure and simple You cannot realise the
Truth without reflection and meditation. Be silent, Know thyself. Know That. Melt the mind in
That.
3. Without the help of meditation you cannot attain knowledge of the Self. Without its aid
you cannot grow into the Divine state. Without it you cannot liberate yourself from the trammels of
the mind and attain Immortality. If you do not practice meditation, the supreme splendour and
faceless glories of Atman will remain hidden from you. Tear the veils that cover the soul by
practicing regular meditation. Rend asunder the five sheaths that screen the Atman by constant
meditation and then attain the final beatitude of life.
4. The fire of meditation annihilates all foulness due to vice. Then suddenly comes
knowledge or Divine Wisdom which directly leads to Mukti or final emancipation.
5. There are many valuable trainings of the mind which are essential to mental culture, for
instance, the training of the memory, the cultivation of reflection, discrimination, Vichara or
enquiry of  Who am I? The practice of meditation itself is a potent clarifier of memory. The
practice of memory-culture powerfully helps the attainment of meditation.
6. Meditation is a powerful tonic. It is a mental and nervine tonic as well. The holy
vibrations penetrate all the cells of the body and cure the diseases of the body. Those who meditate
save doctor s bills. The powerful, soothing waves that arise during meditation exercise a benign
influence on the mind, nerves, organs and cells of the body. The Divine energy freely flows like
Taila-dhara (flow of oil from one vessel to another) from the feet of the Lord to the different
systems of the Sadhaka (aspirant).
7. If you can meditate for half an hour, you will be able to engage yourself with peace and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]