{"id":1124,"date":"2013-07-13T01:32:43","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:32:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=1124"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:32:43","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:32:43","slug":"08-sadhana-through-meditation-vol-23-letters-on-yoga-volume-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-sabcl\/23-letters-on-yoga-volume-23\/08-sadhana-through-meditation-vol-23-letters-on-yoga-volume-23","title":{"rendered":"-08_Sadhana through Meditation.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\n
\nS<\/font>ECTION<\/font>
\nS<\/font>IX<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

Sadhana through Meditation<\/font><\/b> <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

         
\nY<\/font><\/b>OUR<\/font>
\nquestions cover the whole of a very wide field. It is therefore necessary to
\nreply to them with some brevity, touching only on some principal points. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1.      
\n<\/span><\/span>1.
\n<\/span>What meditation exactly
\nmeans<\/i>. <\/p>\n

There are two
\nwords used in English to express the Indian idea of dhyāna<\/i>, \u201cmeditation\u201d and \u201ccontemplation\u201d. Meditation means
\nproperly the concentration of the mind on a single train of ideas which work
\nout a single subject. Contemplation means regarding mentally a single object,
\nimage, idea so that the knowledge about the object, image or idea may arise
\nnaturally in the mind by force of the concentration. Both these things are
\nforms of dhyāna<\/i>, for the
\nprinciple of dhyāna<\/i> is mental
\nconcentration whether in thought, vision or knowledge. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are other
\nforms of dhyāna<\/i>. There is a
\npassage in which Vivekananda advises you to stand back from your thoughts, let
\nthem occur in your mind as they will and simply observe them and see what they
\nare. This may be called concentration in self-observation. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This form leads
\nto another, the emptying of all thought out of the mind so as to leave it a
\nsort of pure vigilant blank on which the divine knowledge may come and imprint
\nitself, undisturbed by the inferior thoughts of the ordinary human mind and
\nwith the clearness of a writing in white chalk on a blackboard. You will find
\nthat the Gita speaks of this rejection of all mental thought as one of the
\nmethods of yoga and even the method it seems to prefer. This may be called the dhyāna<\/i> of liberation, as it frees
\nthe mind from slavery to the mechanical process of thinking and allows it to
\nthink or not to think, as it pleases and when it pleases, or to choose its own
\nthoughts or else to go beyond thought to the pure perception of Truth called in
\nour philosophy Vij\u00f1āna<\/i><\/span>.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Meditation is
\nthe easiest process for the human mind, but the narrowest in its results;
\ncontemplation more difficult, but <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 721<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

greater; self-observation and
\nliberation from the chains of Thought the most difficult of all, but the widest
\nand greatest in its fruits. One can choose any of them according to one’s bent
\nand capacity. The perfect method is to use them all, each in its own place and
\nfor its own object; but this would need a fixed faith and firm patience and a
\ngreat energy of Will in the self-application to the yoga. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2.     
\n<\/span><\/span>2.What should be
\nthe object or ideas for meditation<\/i>? <\/p>\n

Whatever is most
\nconsonant with your nature and highest aspirations. But if you ask me for an
\nabsolute answer, then I must say that Brahman is always the best object for
\nmeditation or contemplation and the idea on which the mind should fix is that
\nof God in all, all in God and all as God. It does not matter essentially
\nwhether it is the Impersonal or the Personal God, or subjectively, the One
\nSelf. But this is the idea I have found the best, because it is the highest and
\nembraces all other truths, whether truths of this world or of the other worlds
\nor beyond all phenomenal existence, \u2013 \u201cAll this is the Brahman.\u201d In the third
\nissue of Arya<\/span>, at the end of the second instalment<\/span> of the Analysis of the Isha<\/span>
\nUpanishad, you will find a description of this vision of the All\u00b9 which may be
\nof help to you in understanding the idea.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3.     <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n
\n3.<\/span><\/font><\/span>Conditions internal and external that are most essential
\nfor meditation. <\/i> <\/p>\n

There are no
\nessential external conditions, but solitude and seclusion at the time of
\nmeditation as well as stillness of the body are helpful, sometimes almost
\nnecessary to the beginner. But one should not be bound by external conditions.
\nOnce the habit of meditation is formed, it should be made possible to do it in
\nall circumstances, lying, sitting, walking, alone, in company, in silence or in
\nthe midst of noise etc. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The first
\ninternal condition necessary is concentration of the will against the obstacles
\nto meditation, i.e. wandering of the mind, forgetfulness, sleep, physical and
\nnervous impatience and restlessness etc. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The second is an
\nincreasing purity and calm of the inner consciousness (citta<\/i>) out of which thought and emotion arise,<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\u00b9 See Sri Aurobindo, Isha<\/span> Upanishad (1965 Edition), p. 35<\/span>. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 722<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

i.e. a freedom from all
\ndisturbing reactions, such as anger, grief, depression, anxiety about worldly happenings
\netc. Mental perfection and moral are always closely allied to each other.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Concentration is a gathering
\ntogether of the consciousness and either centralising at one point or turning
\non a single object, e.g., the Divine; there can also be a gathered condition
\nthroughout the whole being, not at a point. In meditation it is not
\nindispensable to gather like this, one can simply remain with a quiet mind
\nthinking of one subject or observing what comes in he consciousness and dealing
\nwith it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Concentration means fixing the
\nconsciousness in one place or on one object and in a single condition.
\nMeditation can be diffusive, e.g., thinking about the Divine, receiving
\nimpressions and discriminating, watching what goes on in the nature and acting
\nupon it, etc.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Concentration, for our yoga,
\nmeans when the consciousness is fixed in a particular state (e.g. peace) or
\nmovement (e.g. aspiration, will, coming into contact with the Mother, taking
\nthe Mother’s name); meditation is when the inner mind is looking t things to
\nget the right knowledge.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then as to concentration.
\nOrdinarily the consciousness is spread out everywhere, dispersed, running in
\nthis or that direction, after this subject and that object in multitude. When
\nanything has to be done of a sustained nature the first thing one does is to
\ndraw back all this dispersed consciousness and concentrate. It is then, if one
\nlooks closely, bound to be concentrated in one place and on one occupation,
\nsubject or object \u2013 as when you are <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 723<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

composing a poem or a botanist is
\nstudying a flower. The place is usually somewhere in the brain if it is the
\nthought, in the heart if it is the feeling in which one is concentrated. The yogic
\nconcentration is simply an extension and intensification of the same thing. It
\nmay be on an object as when one does Tratak on a shining point \u2013 then one has
\nto concentrate so that one sees only that point and has no other thought than
\nthat. It may be on an idea or word or a name, the idea of the Divine, the word
\nOM, the name Krishna, or a combination of idea and word or idea and name. But
\nfurther in yoga one also concentrates in a particular place. There is the
\nfamous rule of concentrating between the eyebrows \u2013 the centre of the inner
\nmind, of occult vision, of the will is there. What you do is to think firmly
\nfrom there on whatever you make the object of your concentration or else try to
\nsee the image of it from there. If you succeed in this then after a time you
\nfeel that your whole consciousness is centred there in that place \u2013 of course
\nfor the time being. After doing it for some time and often it becomes easy and
\nnormal. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I hope this is
\nclear. Well, in this yoga, you do the same, not necessarily at that particular
\nspot between the eyebrows, but anywhere in the head or at the centre of the
\nchest where the physiologists have fixed the cardiac centre. Instead of
\nconcentrating on an object, you concentrate in the head in a will, a call for
\nthe descent of the peace above or, as some do, an opening of the unseen lid and
\nan ascent of the consciousness above. In the heart centre one concentrates in
\nan aspiration, for an opening, for the presence of the living image of the
\nDivine there or whatever else is the object. There may be Japa of a name but,
\nif so, there must also be a concentration on it and the name must repeat itself
\nthere in the heart centre. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It may be asked
\nwhat becomes of the rest of the consciousness when there is this local
\nconcentration? Well, it either falls silent as in any concentration or, if it
\ndoes not, then thoughts or other things may move about, as if outside, but the
\nconcentrated part does not attend to them or notice. That is when the
\nconcentration is reasonably successful. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One has not to
\nfatigue oneself at first by long concentration if one is not accustomed, for
\nthen in a jaded mind it loses its <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 724<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

power and value. One can relax
\nand meditate instead of concentrating. It is only as the concentration becomes
\nnormal that one can go on for a longer and longer time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One can concentrate in any of the
\nthree centres<\/span> which is easiest to the sadhak or gives
\nmost result. The power of the concentration in the heart-centre is to open that
\ncentre and by the power of aspiration, love, bhakti, surrender remove the veil
\nwhich covers and conceals the soul and bring forward the soul or psychic being
\nto govern the mind, life and body and turn and open them all fully to the
\nDivine, removing all that is opposed to that turning and opening. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is what is
\ncalled in this yoga the psychic transformation. The power of concentration
\nabove the head is to bring peace, silence, liberation from the body sense, the
\nidentification with mind and life and open the way for the lower (mental, vital,
\nphysical) consciousness to rise up to meet the higher consciousness above and
\nfor the powers of the higher (spiritual nature) consciousness to descend into
\nmind, life and body. This is what is called in this yoga the spiritual
\ntransformation. If one begins with this movement then the Power from above has
\nin its descent to open all the centres<\/span> (including the
\nlowest centre) and to bring out the psychic being; for until that is done there
\nis likely to be much difficulty and struggle of the lower consciousness
\nobstructing, mixing with or even refusing the Divine Action from above. If the
\npsychic being is once active this struggle and these difficulties can be
\ngreatly minimised<\/span>. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The power of
\nconcentration in the eyebrows is to open the centre there, liberate the inner
\nmind and vision and the inner or yogic consciousness and its experiences and
\npowers. From here also one can open upwards and act also in the lower centres<\/span>; but the danger of this process is that one may get
\nshut up in one’s mental spiritual formations and not come out ofthem<\/span> into the free and integral spiritual experience and
\nknowledge and integral change of the being and nature. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 725<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

If one concentrates on a thought
\nor a word, one has to dwell on the essential idea contained in the word with
\nthe aspiration to feel the thing which it expresses.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I have not the original chapter
\nbefore me just now; but from the sentences quoted\u00b9 it seems to be the essential
\nmental Idea. As for instance in the method of Vedantic knowledge one
\nconcentrates on the idea of Brahman omnipresent \u2013 one looks at a tree or other
\nsurrounding object with the idea that Brahman is there and the tree or object
\nis only a form. After a time if the concentration is of the right kind, one
\nbegins to become aware of a presence, an existence, the physical tree form
\nbecomes a shell and that presence or existence is felt to be the only reality.
\nThe idea then drops, it is a direct vision of the thing that takes its place \u2013
\nthere is no longer any necessity of concentrating on the idea, one sees with a
\ndeeper consciousness, sa pasyati<\/span><\/i>. It should be noted that this concentration on
\nthe idea is not mere thinking, mananam<\/i><\/span> \u2013 it is an inner dwelling on the essence of the
\nIdea.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There is no harm in concentrating
\nsometimes in the heart and sometimes above the head. But concentration in
\neither place does not mean keeping the attention fixed on a particular spot;
\nyou have to take your station of consciousness in either place and concentrate
\nthere not on the place, but on the Divine. This can be done with eyes shut or
\nwith eyes open, according as it best suits you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00b9 \u201cThis concentration proceeds
\nby the Idea… for it is through the Idea that the mental being rises beyond
\nall expression to that which is expressed, to that of which the idea itself is
\nonly the instrument. By concentration upon the Idea the mental existence which
\nat present we are breaks open the barrier of our mentality and arrives at the
\nstate of consciousness, the state of being, the state of power of conscious-being
\nand bliss of conscious-being to which the Idea corresponds and of which it is
\nthe symbol, movement and rhythm.\u201d Sri Aurobindo, The Synthesis of Yoga
\n(Centenary Edition), p. 307.<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 726<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

            
\nYou can
\nconcentrate on the sun, but to concentrate on the Divine is better than to
\nconcentrate on the sun.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most people associate
\nconsciousness with the brain or mind because that is the centre for
\nintellectual thought and mental vision, but consciousness is not limited to
\nthat kind of thought or vision. It is everywhere in the system and there are
\nseveral centres<\/span> of it, e.g., the centre for inner
\nconcentration is not in the brain but in the heart, \u2013 the originating centre of
\nvital desire is still lower down. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The two main
\nplaces where one can centre the consciousness for yoga are in the head and in
\nthe heart \u2013 the mind-centre and the soul-centre.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Brain concentration is always a tapasya<\/span> and necessarily brings a strain. It is only if one
\nis lifted out of the brain mind altogether that the strain of mental
\nconcentration disappears.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the top of the head or above
\nit is the right place for yogic concentration in reading or thinking.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The sitting motionless posture is
\nthe natural posture for concentrated meditation \u2013 walking and standing are
\nactive conditions. It is only when one has gained the enduring rest and
\npassivity of the consciousness that it is easy to concentrate and receive when
\nwalking or doing anything. A fundamental passive condition of the consciousness
\ngathered into itself is the proper poise for concentration and a seated
\ngathered immobility in the body is the best position for that. It can be done
\nalso lying down, but that position is too passive, tending to be inert rather
\nthan gathered. This is the reason why yogis always sit in an āsana<\/i><\/span>. One
\ncan <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Page \u2013 727<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

accustom oneself to meditate
\nwalking, standing, lying but sitting is the first natural position.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is better to make the deeper concentration
\nwhen you are alone or quiet. Outward sounds ought not to disturb you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is certainly much better to
\nremain silent and collected for a time after the meditation. It is a mistake to
\ntake the meditation lightly \u2013 by doing that one fails to receive or spills what
\nis received or most of it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You enter into a condition of
\ndeep inwardness and quiet. But if one comes too suddenly out of it into the
\nordinary consciousness, then there may be a slight nervous shock or a beating
\nof the heart such as you describe, for a short time. It is always best to
\nremain quiet for a few moments before opening the eyes and coming out of this
\ninwardness. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Your new feeling
\nabout the work is all right, it is part of the new quietude and shows that the
\nconsciousness is getting more poised and free. Laziness is not likely to come. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The open ground
\nyou saw is the symbol of the silent inner consciousness free and bright and
\nclear and calm. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The things you
\nsee are mostly indications of a working that is going on inside you; there is
\nno fear that they will be merely visions without effect on the consciousness.
\nAlready your consciousness has changed much and yet it is only a beginning of
\nthe still greater change that is to come.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What you saw about the outward
\ngoing movements was certainly not imagination, it was a true and accurate
\nperception and vision of their action. To feel yourself separate from them and<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 728<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

see them is the right inner condition
\nnecessary for getting rid of them in the end altogether.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Concentration is
\nvery helpful and necessary \u2013 the more one concentrates (of course in the limits
\nof the body’s capacity without straining it), the more the force of the yoga
\ngrows. But you must be prepared for the meditation being sometimes not
\nsuccessful and not get upset by it \u2013 for that variability of the meditations
\nhappens to everybody. There are different causes for it. But it is mostly
\nsomething physical that interferes, either the need of the body to take time to
\nassimilate what has come or been done; sometimes inertia or dullness due to
\ncauses such as those you mention or others. The best thing is to remain quiet
\nand not get or nervous or dejected \u2013 till the force acts again.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One can have no fixed hours of
\nmeditation and yet be doing sadhana.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Both the realisation and the
\nsubsequent idea have their truth. In the beginning for a long time
\nconcentration is necessary even by effort because the nature, the consciousness
\nare not ready. Even then the more quiet and natural the concentration, the
\nbetter. But when the consciousness and nature are ready, then concentration
\nmust become spontaneous and easily possible without effort at all times. Even
\nat last it becomes the natural and permanent condition of the being \u2013 it is
\nthen no longer concentration, but the settled poise of the soul in the Divine. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is true that
\nto be concentrated and do an outward action at the same time is not at first
\npossible. But that too becomes possible. Either the consciousness divides into
\ntwo parts, one the inner poised in the Divine, the other the outer doing the
\nouter work \u2013 or else the whole is so poised and the force does the work through
\nthe passive instrument.  <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 729<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

Naturally one does not get tired
\nif the meditation has become natural. But if the capacity is not there yet,
\nthen many cannot go on without a strain which brings fatigue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If the mind gets tired, naturally
\nit is difficult to concentrate \u2013 unless you have become separated from the
\nmind.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You have to separate yourself
\nfrom the mind also. You have to feel yourself even in the mental, vital,
\nphysical levels (not only above) a consciousness that is neither mind, life,
\nnor body.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Effort means straining endeavour.
\nThere can be an action with a will in it in which there is no strain or effort.\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Straining and
\nconcentration are not the same thing. Straining implies an over-eagerness and
\nviolence of effort, while concentration is in its nature quiet and steady. If
\nthere is restlessness or over-eagerness, then that is not concentration.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was by your personal efforts
\nwithout guidance that you got into difficulties and into a heated condition in
\nwhich you could not meditate etc. I asked you to drop the effort and remain
\nquiet and you did so. My intention was that by your remaining quiet it would be
\npossible for the Mother’s Force to work in you and establish a better
\nstarting-point and a course of initial experiences. It was what was beginning
\nto come; but if your mind again becomes active and tries to arrange the sadhana
\nfor itself, then disturbances are likely to come. The Divine Guidance works
\nbest when the psychic is open and in front (yours was beginning to open), but
\nit can also work even when the sadhak is either not conscious of it or else
\nknows it only by its results. As for Nirvikalpa<\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 730<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

Samadhi, even if one wants it, it is only the result of a long sadhana in a
\nconsciousness prepared for it \u2013 it is no use thinking of it when the inner
\nconsciousness is only just beginning to open to yogic experience.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If the difficulty in meditation
\nis that thoughts of all kinds come in, that is not due to hostile forces but to
\nthe ordinary nature of the human mind. All sadhaks have this difficulty and
\nwith many it lasts for a very long time. There are several ways of getting rid
\nof it. One of them is to look at the thoughts and observe what is the nature of
\nthe human mind as they show it but not to give any sanction and to let them run
\ndown till they come to a standstill \u2013 this is a way recommended by Vivekananda
\nin his Rajayoga. Another is to look at the thoughts as not one’s own, to stand
\nback as the witness Purusha and refuse the sanction \u2013 the thoughts are regarded
\nas things coming from outside, from Prakriti, and they must be felt as if they
\nwere passers-by crossing the mind-space with whom one has no connection and in
\nwhom one takes no interest. In this way it usually happens that after a time
\nthe mind divides into two, a part which is the mental witness watching and
\nperfectly undisturbed and quiet and a part which is the object of observation,
\nthe Prakriti part in which the thoughts cross or wander. Afterwards one can
\nproceed to silence or quiet the Prakriti part also. There is a third, an active
\nmethod by which one looks to see where the thoughts come from and finds they
\ncome not from oneself, but from outside the head as it were; if one can detect
\nthem coming, then, before they enter, they have to be thrown away altogether.
\nThis is perhaps the most difficult way and not all can do it, but if it can be
\ndone it is the shortest and most powerful road to silence.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The mind is always in activity,
\nbut we do not observe fully what it is doing, but allow ourselves to be carried
\naway in the stream of continual thinking. When we try to concentrate, this
\nstream of <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 731<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

self-made mechanical thinking
\nbecomes prominent to our observation. It is the first normal obstacle (the
\nother is sleep during meditation) to the effort for yoga. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The best thing
\nto do is to realise that the thought-flow is not yourself, it is not you who
\nare thinking, but thought that is going on in the mind. It is Prakriti with its
\nthought-energy that is raising all this whirl of thought in you, imposing it on
\nthe Purusha. You as the Purusha must stand back as the witness observing the
\naction, but refusing to identify yourself with it. The next thing is to
\nexercise a control and reject the thoughts \u2013 though sometimes by the very act
\nof detachment the thought-habit falls away or diminishes during the meditation
\nand there is a sufficient silence or at any rate a quietude which makes it easy
\nto reject the thoughts that come and fix oneself on the object of meditation. If
\none becomes aware of the thoughts as coming from outside, from the universal
\nNature, then one can throw them out before they reach the mind; in that way the
\nmind finally falls silent. If neither of these things happens, a persistent
\npractice of rejection becomes necessary \u2013 there should be no struggle or
\nwrestling with the thought, but only a quiet self-separation and refusal.
\nSuccess does not come at first, but if consent is constantly withheld, the
\nmechanical whirl eventually ceases and begins to die away and one can then have
\nat will an inner quietude or silence. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It should be
\nnoted that the result of the yogic processes is not, except in rare cases,
\nimmediate and one must apply the will-patience till they give a result which is
\nsometimes long in coming if there is much resistance in the outer nature. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How can you fix
\nthe mind on the higher Self so long as you have no consciousness or experience
\nof it? You can only concentrate on the idea of the Self or else one can
\nconcentrate on the idea of the Divine or the Divine Mother or on an image or on
\nthe feeling of devotion calling the presence in the heart or the Force to work
\nin the mind and heart and body and liberate the consciousness and give the
\nself-realisation. If you concentrate on the idea of the Self, it must be with
\nthe conception of the Self as something different from mind and its thoughts,
\nthe vital and its feelings, the body and its actions \u2013 something standing back
\nfrom all <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 732<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

these, something that you can
\ncome to feel concretely as an Existence-Consciousness, separate from all that
\nyet freely pervading all without being involved in these things.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you try to apply everything
\nyou read, there will be no end to your new beginnings. One can stop thinking by
\nrejecting the thoughts and in the silence discover oneself. One can do it by
\nletting the thoughts run down while one detaches oneself from them. There are a
\nnumber of other ways. This one related in X’s book seems to me the Adwaita-jnani<\/span> method of separating oneself from body, vital, mind,
\nby viveka, discrimination, \u201cI am not the body, I am not the life, I am not the
\nmind\u201d till he gets to the self, separate from mind, life and body. That also is
\none way of doing it. There is also the separation of Purusha from Prakriti till
\none becomes the witness only and feels separate from all the activities as the
\nWitness Consciousness. There are other methods also.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The method of gathering of the
\nmind is not an easy one. It is better to watch and separate oneself from the
\nthoughts till one becomes aware of a quiet space within into which they come
\nfrom outside.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For the buzz of the physical
\nmind, reject it quietly, without getting disturbed, till it feels discouraged
\nand retires shaking its head and saying, \u201cThis fellow is too calm and strong
\nfor me.\u201d There are always two things that can rise up and assail the silence, \u2013
\nvital suggestions, the physical mind’s mechanical recurrences. Calm rejection
\nfor both is the cure. There is a Purusha within who can dictate to the nature what
\nit shall admit or exclude, but its will is a strong, quiet will; if one gets
\nperturbed or agitated over the difficulties, then the will of the Purusha
\ncannot act effectively as it would otherwise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The dynamic
\nrealisation will probably take place when the<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 733<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

higher consciousness comes fully
\ndown into the vital. When it comes into the mental it brings the peace of the
\nPurusha and liberation and it may bring also knowledge. It is when it comes
\ninto the vital that the dynamic realisation becomes present and living.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To be able to detach oneself from
\nthe action of the mechanical mind is the first necessity; it is easier then for
\nthe quiet and peace of mind to remain undisturbed by this action even if it
\noccurs. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If the peace and
\nsilence continue to come down, they usually become so intense as to seize the
\nphysical mind also after a time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was rather that the active
\nmind became more quiet so that the movements of the mechanical mind became more
\nevident \u2013 that is what often happens. What has to be done in that case is to
\ndetach oneself from these movements and concentrate without further attention
\nto them. They are then likely to sink into quietude or fall away.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That is the nature of the
\nmechanical mind \u2013 it is not due to any sensitiveness in it. Only as the other
\nparts of the mind are more silent and under control, this activity looks more
\nprominent and takes more space. It usually wears itself out, if one goes on
\nrejecting it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You are probably paying too much
\nattention to them [the thoughts of the mechanical mind]. It is quite possible
\nto concentrate and let the mechanical activity pass unnoticed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I am not quite sure about what
\nyou propose. It is of course because of the old habit of the mental
\nconsciousness that it goes <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 734<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

on receiving the thoughts from
\noutside in spite of its being a fatigue \u2013 not that it wants them, but that they
\nare accustomed to come and the mind mechanically lets them in and attends to
\nthem by force of habit. This is always one of the chief difficulties in yoga
\nwhen the experiences have begun and the mind wants to be always either
\nconcentrated or quiet. Some do what you propose and after a time succeed in
\nquieting the mind altogether or the silence comes down from above and does it.
\nBut often when one tries this, the thoughts become very active and resist the
\nsilencing process and that is very troublesome. Therefore many prefer to go on
\nslowly letting the mind quiet down little by little, the quietness spreading
\nand remaining for longer periods until the unwanted thoughts fall away or
\nrecede and the mind is left free for knowledge from within and above. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What you might
\ndo is to try and see what results \u2013 if the thoughts attack too much and
\ntrouble, you could stop \u2013 if the mind quiets down quickly or more and more,
\nthen continue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The more the psychic spreads in
\nthe outer being, the more all these things [the mechanical activities of the subconscious
\nmind] fall quiet. That is the best way. Direct efforts to still the mind are a
\ndifficult method.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The best help for concentration
\nis to receive the Mother’s calm and peace into your mind. It is there above you
\n\u2013 only the mind and its centres<\/span> have to open to it.
\nIt is what the Mother is pushing upon you in the evening meditation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chit is the pure consciousness,
\nas in Sat-Chit-Ananda. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chitta is the
\nstuff of mixed mental-vital-physical consciousness out of which arise the movements
\nof thought, emotion, sensation, impulse, etc. It is these that in the Patanjali
\nsystem <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 735<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

have to be stilled altogether so
\nthat the consciousness may be immobile and go into Samadhi. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our yoga has a different
\nfunction. The movements of the ordinary consciousness have to be quieted and
\ninto the quietude there has to be brought down a higher consciousness and its
\npowers which will transform the nature.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you suppress the
\nChittavrittis, you will have no movements of the Chitta at all; all will be
\nimmobile until you remove the suppression or will be so immobile that there
\ncannot be anything else than immobility.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you still
\nthem, the Chitta will be quiet, whatever movements there are will not disturb
\nthe quietude. <\/p>\n

If you control
\nor master, then the Chitta will be immobile when you want, active when you
\nwant, and its action will be such that what you wish to get rid of, will go,
\nonly what you accept as true and useful will come.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is not easy to get into the
\nSilence. That is only possible by throwing out all mental-vital activities. It
\nis easier to let the Silence descend into you, i.e., to open yourself and let
\nit descend. The way to do this and the way to call down the higher powers is
\nthe same. It is to remain quiet at the time of meditation, not fighting with
\nthe mind or making mental efforts to pull down the Power or the Silence but
\nkeeping only a silent will and aspiration for them. If the mind is active one
\nhas to learn to look at it, drawn back and not giving any sanction from within,
\nuntil its habitual or mechanical activities begin to fall quiet for want of
\nsupport from within. If it is too persistent, a steady rejection without strain
\nor struggle is the one thing to be done.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let us not exaggerate anything.
\nIt is not so much getting rid of <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 736<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

mental activity as converting it
\ninto the right thing…. What has to be surpassed and changed is the
\nintellectual reason which sees things from outside only, by analysis and
\ninference \u2013 when it does not do it rather by taking a hasty look and saying \u201cso
\nit is\u201d or \u201cso it is not\u201d. But you can’t do that unless the old mental activity
\nbecomes a little quiet. A quiet mind does not involve itself in its thoughts or
\nget run away with by them; it stands back, detaches itself, lets them pass,
\nwithout identifying itself, without making them its own. It becomes the witness
\nmind watching the thoughts when necessary, but able to turn away from them and
\nreceive from within and from above. Silence is good, but absolute silence is
\nnot indispensable, at least at this stage. I do not know that to wrestle with
\nthe mind to make it quiet is of much use, usually the mind gets the better at
\nthat game. It is this standing back, detaching oneself, getting the power to
\nlisten to something else, other than the thoughts of the external mind that is
\nthe easier way. At the same time one can look up as it were, imaging to oneself
\nthe Force as there just above and calling it down or quietly expecting its
\nhelp. That is how most people do it, till the mind falls gradually quiet or
\nsilent of itself, or else silence begins to descend from above. But it is
\nimportant not to allow the depression or despair to come in because there is no
\nimmediate success; that can only make things difficult and stop any progress
\nthat is preparing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The silent mind is a result of
\nyoga; the ordinary mind is never silent…. The thinkers and philosophers do
\nnot have the silent mind. It is the active mind they have; only, of course,
\nthey concentrate, so the common incoherent mentalising<\/span>
\nstops and the thoughts that rise or enter and shape themselves are coherently
\nrestricted to the subject or activity in hand. But that is quite a different
\nmatter from the whole mind falling silent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The mind when it is not in
\nmeditation or in complete silence, is <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 737<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

always active with something or
\nother \u2013 with its own ideas or desires or with other people or with things or
\nwith talking etc.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That is not called meditation \u2013
\nit is a divided state of consciousness; unless the consciousness is really
\nengrossed and the surface thoughts are only things that come across and touch
\nand pass, it can hardly be called meditation (dhyāna<\/i>). I don’t see how the inner being can be engrossed
\nwhile whole thoughts and imaginations of another kind are rambling about in the
\nsurface consciousness. One can remain separate and see the thoughts and
\nimaginations pass without being affected, but that is not being plunged or
\nengrossed in meditation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is quite natural that at first
\nthere should be the condition of calm and peace only when you sit for
\nconcentration. What is important is that there should be this condition whenever
\nyou sit and the pressure for it always there. But at other times the result is
\nat first only a certain mental quiet and freedom from thoughts. Afterwards when
\nthe condition of peace is quite settled in the inner being \u2013 for it is the
\ninner into which you enter whenever you concentrate, then it begins to come out
\nand control the outer, so that the calm and peace remain even when working,
\nmixing with others, talking or other occupations. For then whatever the outer
\nconsciousness is doing, one feels the inner being calm within \u2013 indeed one
\nfeels the inner being as one’s real self while the outer is something
\nsuperficial through which the inner acts on life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The ease and peace are felt very
\ndeep and far within because they are in the psychic and the psychic is very
\ndeep within us, covered over by the mind and vital. When you meditate you open
\nto the psychic, become aware of your psychic consciousness deep within and feel
\nthese things. In order that these ease and <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 738<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

peace and happiness may become
\nstrong and stable and felt in all the being and in the body, you have to go
\nstill deeper within and bring out the full force of the psychic into the
\nphysical. This can most easily be done by regular concentration and meditation
\nwith the aspiration for this true consciousness. It can be done by work also,
\nby dedication, by doing the work for the Divine only without thought of self
\nand keeping the idea of consecration to the Mother always in the heart. But
\nthis is not easy to do perfectly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If higher meditation or being
\nabove keeps one dull and without any kind of satisfaction or peace in sadhana,
\nthese are the only two reasons \u2013 ego or inertia \u2013 I can think of.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is quite natural to want to
\nmeditate while reading yogic literature \u2013 that is not the laziness. <\/p>\n

The laziness of
\nthe mind consists in not meditating, when the consciousness wants to do so.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is not a fact that when there
\nis obscurity or inertia, one cannot concentrate or meditate. If one has in the
\ninner being the steady will to do it, it can be done.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When one tries to meditate, there
\nis a pressure to go inside, lose the waking consciousness and wake inside, in a
\ndeep inner consciousness. But at first the mind takes it for a pressure to go to
\nsleep, since sleep is the only kind of inner consciousness to which it has been
\naccustomed. In yoga by meditation sleep is therefore often the first difficulty
\n\u2013 but if one perseveres, then gradually the sleep changes to an inner conscious
\nstate. <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 739<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

The sleep does come like that
\nwhen one tries to meditate. It has to be dealt with, where that is possible, by
\nturning it into a conscious inner and indrawn state and, where not, by
\nremaining in a quietly concentrated wakefulness open (without effort) to
\nreceive.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No, it is not sleep. But when the
\npressure gives a tendency to insideness<\/span> (samadhi),
\nthe physical being, not being accustomed to go inside except in the way of
\nsleep, translates this into a sense of sleepiness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is probably that you go inside
\ninto a sort of samadhi but are not yet conscious there (hence the idea of
\nsleep). X is not asleep, but he has when he goes inside no control of his body.
\nMany yogis have this difficulty and use a contrivance which is put under the
\nchin to hold up the head and with it the body during this inward-going
\nconcentration. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

II<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In samadhi it is the inner
\nmental, vital, physical which are separated from the outer, no longer covered
\nby it \u2013 therefore they can fully have inner experiences. The outer mind is
\neither quiescent or in some way reflects or shares the experience. As for the
\ncentral consciousness being separated from all mentality that would mean a
\ncomplete trance without any recorded experiences.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nirvikalpa<\/span>
\nSamadhi according to tradition is simply a trance from which one cannot be
\nawakened even by burning or branding \u2013 i.e. a trance in which one has gone
\ncompletely out of the body. In more scientific parlance it is a trance in which
\nthere is no formation or movement of the consciousness and one gets <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 740<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

lost in a state from which one
\ncan bring back no report except that one was in bliss. It is supposed to be a
\ncomplete absorption in the Sushupti<\/span> or the Turiya.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNirvikalpa<\/span>
\nSamadhi\u201d properly means a complete trance in which there is no thought or
\nmovement of consciousness or awareness of either inward or outward things \u2013 all
\nis drawn up into a supracosmic<\/span> Beyond. But here it
\ncannot mean that \u2013 it probably means a trance in a consciousness beyond the
\nMind. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To break and
\nrebuild is often necessary for the change; but once the fundamental
\nconsciousness has come there is no reason why it should be done with trouble
\nand disturbance \u2013 it can be done quietly. It is the resistance of the lower
\nparts that brings in trouble and disturbance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Immersion in Sachchidananda is a
\nstate one can get in the waking condition without samadhi \u2013 dissolution can
\ncome only after the loss of the body on condition that one has reached the
\nhighest state and does not will to return here to help the world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It depends on the nature of the
\nphysical consciousness you keep. When there is the descent of consciousness
\ninto the body one becomes aware of a subtle physical consciousness and that can
\nremain in samadhi \u2013 one seems to be aware of the body, but it is really the
\nsubtle body and not the outward physical. But also one can go deep within and
\nyet be aware of the physical body also and of working upon it, but not of
\noutward things. Finally one can be absorbed in a deep concentration but strongly
\naware of the body and the descent of the Force in it. This last is accompanied
\nwith consciousness of outward things, though no attention may be paid to them.
\nThis last is not usually called samadhi, but it is a kind of waking samadhi.
\nAll conditions from the deep <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 741<\/font><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

samadhi of complete trance to the
\nworking of the Force in the fully waking consciousness are used in this yoga;
\none need not insist on complete trance always, for the others also are
\nnecessary and without them the complete change cannot take place. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is good that
\nthe higher consciousness and its powers are descending into the parts below the
\nhead and heart. That is absolutely necessary for the transformation, since the
\nlower vital and the body must also be changed into stuff of the higher
\nconsciousness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The reason why you remember
\nnothing when you come out of your meditation is that the experience is taking
\nplace in the inner being and the outer consciousness is not ready to receive
\nit. Formerly your sadhana was mainly on the vital plane which is often the
\nfirst to open and the connection of that plane with the body consciousness is
\neasy to establish because they are nearer to each other. Now the sadhana seems
\nto have gone inward into the psychic being. This is a great advance and you
\nneed not mind the want of connection with the most external consciousness at
\npresent. The work goes on all the same and it is probably necessary that it
\nshould be so just now. Afterwards if you keep steadily to the right attitude,
\nit will descend into the outer consciousness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The medium trance is of a
\ndifferent kind \u2013 they get not into touch with Sachchidananda but with the
\nbeings of the lower vital plane. To develop the power of going into this higher
\nkind of trance, one must have done some sadhana. As to purification, entire
\npurification is not necessary, but some part of the being must have turned to
\nhigher things.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Trance in English is usually used
\nonly for the deeper kinds of <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 742<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

samadhi; but, as there is no
\nother word, we have to use it for all kinds.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Samadhi is not a thing to be
\nshunned \u2013 only it has to be made more and more conscious.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is not necessary to be in
\nsamadhi to be in contact with the Divine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the contrary, it is in the
\nwaking state that this realisation must come and endure in order to be a
\nreality of the life. If experienced in trance it would be a superconscient
\nstate true for some part of the inner being, but not real to the whole
\nconsciousness. Experiences in trance have their utility for opening the being
\nand preparing it, but it is only when the realisation is constant in the waking
\nstate that it is truly possessed. Therefore in this yoga most value is given to
\nthe waking realisation and experience. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To work in the
\ncalm ever-widening consciousness is at once a sadhana and a siddhi.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The experience you had is of course
\nthe going inside of the consciousness which is usually called trance or
\nsamadhi. The most important part of it however is the silence of the mind and
\nvital which is fully extended to the body also. To get the capacity of this
\nsilence and peace is a most important step in the sadhana. It comes at first in
\nmeditation and may throw the consciousness inward in trance, but it has to come
\nafterwards in the waking state and establish itself as a permanent basis for
\nall the life and action. It is the condition for the realisation of the Self
\nand the spiritual transformation of the nature. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 743<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

Yes, they [all the states of
\nhigher realisation] can be attained even in full activity. Trance is not
\nessential \u2013 it can be used, but by itself it cannot lead to the change of
\nconsciousness which is our object, for it gives only an inner subjective
\nexperience which need not make any difference in the outer consciousness. There
\nare plenty of instances of sadhaks who have fine experiences in trance but the
\nouter being remains as it was. It is necessary to bring out what is experienced
\nand make it a power for transformation both of the inner and the outer being.
\nBut it can be done without going into samadhi in the waking consciousness
\nitself. Concentration of course is indispensable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are two different states,
\nthat which the consciousness takes in concentration and that which it takes in
\nrelaxation \u2013 the latter is the ordinary consciousness (ordinary for the sadhak
\nthough not perhaps the ordinary consciousness of the average man), the former
\nis what he is attaining to by Tapas of concentration in sadhana. To go into the
\nAkshara<\/span> and witness experiences from there is easy
\nfor the sadhak who has got so far. He can also concentrate and maintain the
\nunification of the main aspects of his being, although with more difficulty \u2013
\nbut a relaxation there brings him back to the relaxed ordinary consciousness.
\nIt is only when what is gained by sadhana becomes normal to the ordinary
\nconsciousness that this can be avoided. In proportion as this is done, it
\nbecomes possible not only to experience the truth subjectively, but make it
\nmanifest in action. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The higher consciousness is a
\nconcentrated consciousness, concentrated in the Divine Unity and in the working
\nout of the Divine Will, not dispersed and rushing about after this or that
\nmental idea or vital desire or physical need as is the ordinary human
\nconsciousness \u2013 also not invaded by a hundred haphazard thoughts, feelings and
\nimpulses, but master of itself, centred and harmonious. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 744<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

                                                                                                                       
\nIII<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The japa is usually successful
\nonly on one of two conditions \u2013 if it is repeated with a sense of its
\nsignificance, a dwelling of something in the mind on the nature, power, beauty,
\nattraction of the Godhead it signifies and is to bring into the consciousness,
\n\u2013 that is the mental way; or if it comes up from the heart or rings in it with
\na certain sense or feeling of bhakti making it alive, \u2013 that is the emotional
\nway. Either the mind or the vital has to give it support or sustenance. But if
\nit makes the mind dry and the vital restless, it must be missing that support
\nand sustenance. There is, of course, a third way, the reliance on the power of
\nthe mantra or name in itself; but then one has to go on till that power has
\nsufficiently impressed its vibration on the inner being to make it at a given
\nmoment suddenly open to the Presence or the Touch. But if there is a struggling
\nor insistence for the result, then this effect which needs a quiet receptivity
\nin the mind is impeded. That is why I insisted so much on mental quietude and
\nnot on too much straining or effort, to give time to allow the psychic and the
\nmind to develop the necessary condition of receptivity \u2013 a receptivity as
\nnatural as when one receives an inspiration for poetry and music. It is also
\nwhy I do not want you to discontinue your poetry \u2013 it helps and does not hinder
\nthe preparation, because it is a means of developing the right position of
\nreceptivity and bringing out the bhakti which is there in the inner being. To
\nspend all the energy in japa or meditation is a strain which even those who are
\naccustomed to successful meditation find it difficult to maintain \u2013 unless in
\nperiods when there is an uninterrupted flow of experiences from above.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

OM is the mantra, the expressive
\nsound-symbol of the Brahman Consciousness in its four domains from the Turiya
\nto the external or material plane. The function of a mantra is to create
\nvibrations in the inner consciousness that will prepare it for the realisation
\nof what the mantra symbolises<\/span> and is supposed indeed
\nto carry within itself. The mantra OM should therefore lead towards <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 745<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

the opening of the
\nconsciousness to the sight and feeling of the One Consciousness in all material
\nthings, in the inner being and in the supraphysical worlds, in the causal plane
\nabove now superconscient to us and, finally, the supreme liberated
\ntranscendence above all cosmic existence. The last is usually the main
\npreoccupation with those who use the mantra. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In this yoga
\nthere is no fixed mantra, no stress is laid on mantras, although sadhaks can
\nuse one if they find it helpful or so long as they find it helpful. The stress
\nis rather on an aspiration in the consciousness and a concentration of the mind,
\nheart, will, all the being. If a mantra is found helpful for that, one uses it.
\nOM if rightly used (not mechanically) might very well help the opening upwards
\nand outwards (cosmic consciousness) as well as the descent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As a rule the only mantra used in
\nthis sadhana is that of the Mother or of my name and the Mother’s. The
\nconcentration in the heart and the concentration in the head can both be used \u2013
\neach has its own result. The first opens up the psychic being and brings
\nbhakti, love and union with the Mother, her presence within the heart and the
\naction of her Force in the nature. The other opens the mind to
\nself-realisation, to the consciousness of what is above mind, to the ascent of
\nthe consciousness out of the body and the descent of the higher consciousness
\ninto the body.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The name of the Divine is usually
\ncalled in for protection, for adoration, for increase of bhakti, for the
\nopening up of the inner consciousness, for the realisation of the Divine in
\nthat aspect. As far as it is necessary to work in the subconscious for that,
\nthe Name must be effective there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Namajapa<\/span>
\nhas a great power in it. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 746<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

Whatever name is called the Power
\nthat answers is the Mother. Each name indicates a certain aspect of the Divine
\nand is limited by that aspect; the Mother’s Power is universal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I did not encourage the name with
\nthe breathing because that seemed like pranayam. Pranayam is a very powerful thing,
\nbut if done haphazardly it may lead to the raising of obstructions and even in
\nextreme cases illness in the body.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The power of Gayatri is the Light
\nof the divine Truth. It is a mantra of Knowledge.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Gayatri mantra is the mantra
\nfor bringing the light of Truth into all the planes of the being.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is not necessary to give up
\nGayatri Japa or the process which you are following at present. Concentration
\nin the heart is one method, concentration in the head (or above) is another;
\nboth are included in this yoga and one has to do whichever one finds easiest
\nand most natural. The object of the concentration in the heart is to open the
\ncentre there (heart-lotus), to feel the presence of the Divine Mother in the
\nheart and to become aware of one’s soul or psychic being which is a portion of
\nthe Divine. The object of the concentration in the head is to rise to the
\nDivine Consciousness and bring down the Light of the Mother or her Force or
\nAnanda into all the centres<\/span>. This movement of ascent
\nand descent is implied in the process of your japa and it is not therefore
\nnecessary to renounce it. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There is a level
\ncorresponding to the Satya Loka<\/span> in the head but the
\nconsciousness has at a certain stage to rise above the head <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 747<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

freely to meet the same level in
\nthe universal Consciousness above.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It [Pranava<\/span>
\njapa<\/span>] is supposed to have a force of its own although
\nthat force cannot fully work without the meditation on the meaning. But my
\nexperience is that in these things there is no invariable rule and that most
\ndepends on the consciousness or the power of response in the sadhak. With some
\nit has no effect, with some it has a rapid and powerful effect even without
\nmeditation \u2013 for others the meditation is necessary for any effect to come.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Verses of the Gita can be used as
\njapa, if the object is to realise the Truth that the verses contain in them. If
\nX’s father has taken the salient verses containing the heart of the teaching for
\nthat purpose, then it is all right. Everything depends on the selection of the
\nverses. A coherent summary of the Gita’s teaching cannot easily be put together
\nby putting together some verses, but that is not necessary for a purpose of
\nthis kind which could only be to put the key truths together \u2013 not for
\nintellectual exposition but for grasping in realisation which is the object of
\njapa. I have not gone through the book, so I don’t know how far it fulfills the
\nobject.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When one repeats a mantra
\nregularly, very often it begins to repeat itself within, which means that it is
\ntaken up by the inner being. In that way it is more effective.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Naturally, whatever name one
\nconcentrates on will repeat itself, if any does. But the calling of Mother in
\nsleep is not necessarily a repetition \u2013 it is the inner being that often calls
\nto her in difficulty or in need.<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n⁂<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 748<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

Mantras come to many people in
\nmeditation. The Rishis say in the Veda that they heard the Truth by vision and
\ninspiration, \u201ctruth-hearing seers\u201d, kavayah<\/i><\/span> satyaśrutah<\/span><\/i> \u2013 Veda is śruti<\/i><\/span> got by inner hearing. <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 749<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SECTION SIX Sadhana through Meditation              YOUR questions cover the whole of a very wide field. It is therefore necessary to reply to them…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-23-letters-on-yoga-volume-23","wpcat-24-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1124\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}