Puttugam2

Neither this world nor Prakriti (Nature) which is the cause for the existence of this world, have an existence that is separate from Paramātma, the Lord of the world.

The primordial being (adi puruśa) is the one who resides within every being observing the body, mind and senses. Until the mind is fixed completely upon Srihari, the true Self who exists within, and until absolute devotion is developed in the form of pure unconditional love for Him, the aspirant should, after completing his daily mandated duties without fail, meditate upon the gross form i.e. the Universal form of that Supreme Lord as per the prescribed procedure.

With his purified intellect (buddhi) he should completely control his mind. Thereafter he should merge this intellect into ahamkara (sense of I-ness), which is a witness for the intellect. Ahamkara in turn should be merged into the pure consciousness (śuddha chaitanya). The individual Self, which is in the form of the pure consciousness, should then be merged into Paramātma, the Supreme Self. Only then pure bliss can be experienced!

Remember this procedure. At this point there is nothing more left to be done. He then ceases all his activities.

All the Devatas (Gods) are regulated and controlled by time (kāla) only. Even such time cannot control the real Self. The Devatas who control the various worlds also cannot control and govern the real pure Self!

In other words, nothing can regulate and govern the person who has perfected his sitting posture, is able to meditate with single pointed concentration upon the Supreme Lord, practice Pranayama and merge his individual Self into the Supreme Self. Spiritual Sadhana should be continued until this stage is attained.

This Self is beyond even the three modes of nature (trigunas)! Such Self is nothing but the Supreme Self! No more differences exist. Both are one and the same.

Can light be purchased? It inherently exists. But when light is dimmed it is called darkness and when it is increased it is illumination. In the same manner, when Self-realization is attained, the inherent light has turned into bright illumination. This illumination is Paramātma who eternally glows.

Only where the individual Self has separated from the Supreme Self, nature (Prakriti), mahat tattva, ahamkara (false sense of I-ness) combine.

Therefore knowledgeable aspirants who are desirous of attaining Self-realization mandatorily give up the feeling of the Self (atma bhāvana, Self-sense) in every object which does not appear to be Paramātma (Supreme Self). This includes their body too. (They reject everything that is not God). This is the meaning of the term ‘sarva dharma parityajya’.

When it is said that a person gives up all dharmas, the above meaning should be applied. The entire Bhagavad Geeta is contained in this.

At every second in their heart, they think exclusively about the venerable Srihari, who is the personification of knowledge. They totally free themselves from desires towards every other object. Although they may be engaged in other worldly activities, internally they are focused exclusively upon that Supreme Lord. Neither mentally nor physically will they ever harm others or bring about their grief. They engage in all activities without getting attached to any one among them. They never speak about their inner mental state, “I am not attached to anything. I have no connection with these objects’. They simply continue to perform good actions that have been handed over to them.

After rejecting everything else in the world as non-Self, that which is left is Paramātma alone! ‘This object is not Vishnu; that object is also not Vishnu; this task I am doing is not Vishnu’ in this manner when we begin to segregate objects, only Vishnu will be left in the end. That is liberation. This is the ultimate supreme state! This is the only one which everyone desires to attain! This is the only one which is worthy of attaining!

Recollecting this statement from the Vedas, Maharishis time and again preach about it.

In this manner, based on the knowledge of the Shastras that they have learnt from their Guru, those desirous of liberation should destroy their desires towards material comforts. Giving up performing frutitive actions (expecting some results), they should fix their mind exclusively upon the Self.

At the time of death, without considering it stressful, they should, using the heel of the foot, block the air hole at the rectum. They should push the life-force (prana shakti) up towards the aperture at the crown of the head (Brahmarandhra), through the path of the six spiritual centres (shat chakras). This is Yoga.

Using the heel the life-force is blocked at the rectum and is also prevented from leaving from any other hole. It is willfully pushed on the path of the shat chakras (6 spiritual centres) so that it will travel and reach the aperture at the top of the head. The aspirant ensures that the life-force does not leave the body through any of the 9 holes of the body. The life force which is in the Manipura chakra (at the navel) should be pushed to the Anahata chakra located at the heart.

From there, through the path of the Udāna vayu (upward moving wind), it should be directed towards the Vishuddha chakra located beneath the throat. This is Kundalini Yoga. There are so many books on this topic. Yogis also preach this at all times.

Narayana! Sriman Narayana!

Maharishi Śuka continues, “Spiritual ignorance (avidya), which is the cause for this samsāra (the cycle of repeated re-births), can be destroyed by meditating upon the Supreme Lord!

Trapped in this endless river called samsāra, which can be compared to the never-ending River Vaitariṇi that needs to be crossed by the being who is travelling to Yama loka (abode of the Lord of death), the individual suffers as a result of his past deeds. Even after seeing fellow beings suffer the person does not remember God”.

Day in and day out we see people suffering. We see death and birth at every juncture. We observe people dying in this process of suffering. Yet, despite all this, there is no awakening within us. The realization that one day we too will have to face similar situation does not arise in us.  This is so astonishing.

Hence the person who craves for comforts is a great fool! There are many whose thinking is tuned only towards happiness and comforts. ‘I need this; this did not materialize per my desire; I am yet to be rewarded for this; I should live luxuriously in this manner’ and so on. Eternally they contemplate upon comforts and luxuries. In the process they completely forget about the Supreme Essence. Such persons are losers.

“The Supreme Lord, who is a personification of completeness, has this universe composed of the 3 worlds (lokas) as His body. In a thumb sized form He resides within the heart space of the human being. Although He is the size of a thumb, He is invisible. He holds in His four hands the lotus, conch, mace and discus.

Some persons meditate upon the Lord in this form mentally.

Yogis visualize the Supreme Lord as having a happy pleasant face, wide lotus-like eyes, wearing yellow garments, wearing on His head a crown made of many precious stones and wearing armlets made of shining precious metals on His powerful arms”.

Each person can visualize the Lord per his/her desire and meditate upon it. His forms are infinite.

“Great Yogis retain the delicate lotus feet of the Lord in the centre of the lotus called their heart and meditate upon them. On His chest, Goddess Lakshmi resides. His neck is adorned with the Kausthuba gem. He wears a long Vanamāla garland that never ever withers.

His body is beautifully decorated with golden waistband, golden rings, anklets, bangles and other precious jewels. His clean black hair is beautifully oiled and curled. His charming smile coupled with the shining hair adds to the beauty of His face. With His vast enchanting smile and playful glances, He rains down blessings upon His devotees through the movement of His beautiful eyebrows.

Through those short swift lightning-like movements of His eyebrows He grants blessings. That small tinge of illumination called compassion that is seen in those eyebrows is what gets showered upon His devotees. He rains down blessings upon them.

Such a glorious form of the Lord should be focused upon until a stage of total concentration and stability of mind is attained. Starting from the feet up to the enchanting smile, each limb of this Lord Krishna, who holds the mace in His hand, should be contemplated.

With this the inner mind gets completely purified. The ability to retain the mind exclusively at a spot for a certain period of time is attained”.

The Lord should be visualized with all His weapons, His ornaments and decorations. The mind should be fixed on each ornament. ‘Aha, how beautiful are those feet. They are permanently imprinted in my mind. Aha, how beautiful is His anklet! How beautiful is His crown! In my mind I am able to see it glitter. How beautiful are those ornaments that adorn His chest! How wonderful is that discus which He holds in His hands! All these are now visible to me. I can see the Universal form of that Supreme Lord! Aha, I am able to see His beautiful lotus eyes and eyelids. His divine names are nectarous to the ears! Aha, how divine! I can see in my heart His tender smile.’

This practice can be done only when a person is sitting steadily in a particular posture. For this reason, steady posture is extremely important. With this contemplation, the mind obtains the ability to fix itself and remain steadily at a particular point.

It is imperative to give up all bodily comforts. The relationship to this human body should be destroyed. All thoughts pertaining to it should be eliminated.

When the mind is thus fixed at a particular limb, we should understand that the mind has conquered that particular limb. Always begin with the feet and proceed upward towards the head. At first meditate upon the gem studded sandals which He wears. From there visualize His feet and then the anklets that He has worn. Now contemplate upon His shanks, knees and then waist. At that point observe His gem glittered waistband. After stabilizing the mind at one of these limbs, gradually move up to the next limb. In this way meditating upon each of the limbs, try to understand the complete Universal form of that Lord.

This is the proper procedure for meditation. It should necessarily be abided by. It is incorrect to haphazardly focus upon any limb as one pleases because the mind tends to get distracted. It will be impossible to restrain the mind. To be frank, it is very difficult to get stability in seating posture itself. Only after this step is mastered, this meditation upon His limbs can be begun. When the restless mind is focused firstly at his feet and then gradually taken step by step to other limbs, it will stabilize.

Om Namo Narayana! Srihari! Krishna!