Here is Ramakrishna Mission Monk's Teaching You Should Follow For Best Meditation |

I want to talk about something practical regarding meditation something that helped me and helped many other people I will share with you today this is um from Swami ashokananda there is a nice book before this book is called meditation by the monks of the ramakrishna order it's a nice collection it's a collection of essays the first one in that series is before you sit in meditation before you sit in meditation but first universally before you sit in meditation there are certain things to be observed which makes meditation if you do these things meditation will become effective very soon joyful peaceful without these things meditation will always remain a kind of a struggle so what are these things as in that first essay uh in that book collection meditation by the monks of the ramakrishna order in the first essay he gives 10 points 10 points so I'll quickly share them with you before we go into the actual discussion on on the panel yoga sutras first be regular in meditation that means meditate daily be regular in meditation meditate daily what is the practice of meditation just start just start there's no good meditation bad meditation to begin with just start do it meditation is practice remember it no amount of reading or Theory or Pali yoga sutras and no amount of commentaries if you have read all the books on meditation and not meditated you have not Advanced a single inch but if you sit quietly morning and evening at least for 10 minutes 5 minutes each youve already begun you made the made a start so regular regularity why regularity remember meditation is to do with the mind the mind is also a body just like the physical body the mind is also a body it's called the subtle body sukma Shar you are not the mind but you have a mind and spirituality is basically in the mind now why is what is the significance of saying that it's a body body needs training body does not need information just like you want a Fit Body if you have read all the articles about healthy eating and exercise and all the uh news feeds and books will you be will the body become fit not at all maybe a little more sick than before after reading all so many books but if you exercise every day in the morning without reading a single book your body will begin to show the changes similarly the mind uh it's a body it's a subtle body and body requires training mind also requires training training is repetition it's worth repeating that training is repetition training is not information training is not understanding I had a friend I remember in the um when I was a student he was very spiritual and he used to live in the room next to mine and uh I got in fact some good books from him he gave me some good books on spirituality you you have heard of akat iswaran who lived in San Francisco he wrote very nice books have you met him you have met him books yes so I was introduced to his books by this this boy now one thing which I noticed he would meditate when the mood took him so days would go by he's not meditating sometimes s he would feel like meditating and he would meditate more than me but I had already taken mantraa and one of the the rules is daily you have to meditate morning and evening even if it is mechanical which is better you would say no this mechanical meditation does not appeal to me if I don't feel like meditating how can I meditate when I feel like meditating I will meditate no big trick of the mind it's like the elephant saying I will be trained when I feel like training I don't feel like training you can't train me then the elephant will never be trained no amount of training will work if I say I will get up only when 4:00 some days when I have the mood I will get up at 4:00 that mood will become rarer and rarer you see so regular meditation daily you must meditate then the second point he says have a fixed time for meditation not only daily but have a fixed time as far as possible I know people are busy so the schedules but as far as possible and swam sh recommends at least twice a day Thrice if possible if not at least twice a day once of course but at least twice a day morning and evening and he said there are special times which are suitable for meditation best time is always you get up from bed fresh the previous days Impressions have been cleared off uh you rested use that time for meditation when the world is quiet there beautiful descriptions of Swami vivean in New York um how he would always be in a meditative mood sometimes he would sit quietly and become so absorbed people would be waiting for him to give the talk they would sit for meditation they thought maybe 5 minutes 10 minutes 15 minutes 30 minutes 40 minutes 1 hour they would slowly they would not dare to disturb him they slowly get up and walk away and he would open his eyes and find the room empty everybody is gone and he actually became embarrassed about these things he taught the American disciples just like s Rak Krishna you see the continuity there certain mantras that if you see me sitting in meditation like that repeat it into my ears and I'll come back to awareness he would try to stop his mind from going into deep meditation just the opposite for we try we try to go into deep meditation he try to stop his mind from going into deep meditation at all hours but especially beautiful description when that busy City even when manat in city that never sleeps when it it finally went to sleep very early in the morning everybody this whole city is quiet vianda would be immersed in deep meditation at sometimes students would walk into a room and suddenly find he's sitting there and they they began to recognize that inward mood they would quietly walk out without disturbing him at as evening fell upon the city as night deepened on the city this say viand would remain immersed in samadhi in the little room meditative mode if we cannot do that at least twice a day and early morning is good and evening in India the the yogis they felt that there are certain times in the day when night changes into morning Dawn when noon time this there are inflection points so to say they are called sui sui Twilight when afternoon changes into evening and then midnight these are good times for meditation I don't know how true it is in modern cities in the world but definitely in know just imagine a small Indian Town very early in the morning of course quiet and afternoon when it changes into the hot Indian afternoon it quietens down a little and then evening as the sky reddens and the sun sets and the Darkness Falls again a quietness comes on the world so nature is quiet there's something in the patterns in the body also that at these times it is conducive to meditation conducive to inwardness spiritual C so that's another thing there's um Swami brahmanand used to say and Sak Krishna also different places especially holy places pilgrimage places at different times there is um a special spiritual vibration so he identified different times B mut much to my annoyance it's at 4:00 in the morning so it's if you want to catch that time the monks were uncompromising we would grow that it's hot and sweaty and you don't get hardly get enough sleep at night you have to get up at 3:40 in the morning I should still remember our very senior Swami our Mentor saying no that one is we cannot compromise on that but you feel sleepy the next day fine you can sleep but you have to get up at 3:40 in the morning and meditate at 4: 4: to 5: or almost till 6 sometimes you can meditate suppose I can't work properly after that and whatever you can do after that is acceptable to us that one is you have to get up we don't want your efficiency afterwards we want you to get up and meditated at that it's just way of pushing the mind because mind is tricky you know then I think he said Puri is probably in afternoon um Banaras is midnight I think midnight brindavan also I think probably midnight the different spiritual ual centers have special vibration they have the vibration throughout the day but at special times also special times special Puja times you will find the holy days in the year which are regarded as sacred times at that time you will find a special vibration where large numbers of be human beings think of God or at least they're supposed to there is a special vibration in the air and for centuries they have those days like we we think of shivaratri in Bengal the dura Puja five days and nights and there are special times like that in the year the good times for meditation so time second thing is take advantage of time um I some of the monks I knew regularity time I mentioned sometimes one monk who passed away in the ICU and the nurses there would see the ICU difficult to know whether it's day or night because it's always neon lit and all very sick patients are there but he would always struggle in his bed and get up he's dying he died a few days later but every day he would get up at just before 4:00 and you sit like this on the pillow the hands are moving the japa is going on it's a lifetime practice time exactly at that time he gets up and although he may not be very much conscious of anything outside so regular time make it a lifetime practice as much as possible if not possible we know lives are busy it's may not be always possible then do whatever you can but if not you see mind becomes trained in such a way s ramakrishna said like the needle of a compass it normally points the polar axis north south axis if you spin it around like this what will happen it will go around and then again swing back to that so the mind of the yogi should become like that Compass our meditative habit should be such that when the world throws your mind into a spin problems come difficulties come mind gets upset annoyed unhappy anxious but very soon it will s around and come back to that problem is our minds are just the opposite always rling around and takes effort to bring it back to that axis that pointing towards God that part should be effortless whatever the world does your mind will be thrown off balance for a while but it come back again so that you have to train your mind like that and auspicious place number three swam asokan says have a place it also means if a it could be a corner in your house it could be a room in your house a special meditation seat for yourself the moment and some people have special clothes don't do too much of it then it will not be possible the danger of training yourself too much in this way is when you don't have that seat and when you don't have those that set of clothes when your mind feels I'm impure I can't meditate now it's because of those clothes so don't this should not become a weakness it should become a support for meditation so a special place now there are auspicious places that's why churches somebody said I like this room it has a Good Vibration yes there's a Good Vibration it's like a it's a church basically and there have been some holy thinking some meditation which has gone on here so a temple a church a meditation Hall where people have thought about God or contemplated quietly for a long time so there meditation Hall this idea spread everywhere but the way they execute it sometimes I found in International Airport fantastic and they said proudly They will announce meditation room in such and such place meditation and Interfaith room so good I must go and see I saw just next to the bathroom that's the only place they could because it's low down on the priority big food coat is there big uh um quat for um like a you know all sorts of shiny objects are there dutyfree but in one corner next to the washroom there is a meditation room because that's not high priority um no it should be a holy place which which has associations right time and right place immediately when you sit down it's a big support to your mind and people do feel a vibration it's not enough to say just because you've conditioned your mind this is a holy place this is a temple so it you'll feel holy there but that might have something to do with it but I have seen in Bel our main Monastery thousands of people come many people are just like tourists they're just coming there I still seen how they entered the gate and they say ah shant wow what a peaceful place now it's not at all peaceful at that hour there are thousands of people coming in but just entering the gate they feel peaceful so it's not just Association they're not regular devotees they have come maybe for the first time in their life but there is something there association with Place regularity time place you know one of the most powerful meditations I have is a very simple thing uh it's I um year after year every day in the morning and evening in Borat we have this prams we offer our salutations to the Temple of Sri ramak Krishna to the temple in Swami brahmananda M sharada's Temple Swami VI's Temple and the place where the monks are created the direct Disciples of samadi St and it's a routine now because I have done it quietly attentively day after day month after month year after year for maybe 12 to 14 years of my life more than that 15 16 16 years of my life now it's effortless I just sit down quietly I can recall the feel of the pavement below my feet these stairs as I can climb them the whole thing is vivid before just close my eyes it's so vivid the image of Sri ramak Krishna and the temple it's very the cool touch of the marble on my forehead when I bow down everything is the tactile the visual the feeling around and the mental feeling inside it's very clear every path every step of the path to the Temple of the holy mother that Temple itself what thoughts come when you go there now it's just repetition time and place and regularity and it's it's a powerful effortless visualization but effortless now because 15 16 years it's been repeated every day so this is the power of repetition regular time place Bad Company Swami Ashok says a very powerful impact on your mind is bad company company of whom you whose Company You Keep Bad Company it's not pejorative in the sense of that person is bad not in that sense a person may be very worldly and if you keep company with such a person knowingly or unknowingly one might think I'm very clever I will not be affected but if you live in a house of suit then some black mark will come on on your clothes so be careful whose Company You Keep if you actually start one one advantages if you actually start practicing spiritual disciplines such people will move away from you and say oh that person has become so boring one Swami said how if you are being bothered by Thug by by Crooks how do you you can't fight with them they're violent people what do you do start keeping company with the police the thugs the crook see that you're hanging around with the police they will keep away from them so keep holy thoughts in your mind the other thoughts will keep away our mind is basically it's beyond our control now Swami Nishan used to give a nice example he said our condition our mind is we do not know our own minds we think it's my mind so I can do what whatever I want I can think right now I'm entertaining some not so good worldly thoughts but when I want I can think about God very easily not so easy we are very unaware of the strengths of our own mind we are aware of the physical strength can you run the New York Marathon no I'm not in shape can you left lift 200 lb weightlifting no I cannot do that we're aware of our physical limitation can you sit in meditation for 30 minutes yeah what's wrong it's so easy it isn't we our mental mind also has capacity and it also takes training so Nishan used to give this example suppose you have an apartment in some other city and your friend comes and says can I stay in your apartment a few days I'm going to that City for for some work and you say yeah I have uh some a caretaker is there I'm going to give you this note he is my friend please let him stay in my apartment for a few days you go to present that note they will let you stay now your friend goes and rings the bell a few rough looking characters come out and say what I'm going to stay here says who know this is the owner of the apartment he has given a note see and that guy takes the note and tears it up and then catches your friend and throws him out on the street now will you still say the apartment is yours it may be legally yours but practically it has been taken over by squatters or somebody else has come and taken over similarly our mind has become so used to worldly thoughts thoughts desirous thoughts envious thoughts angry thoughts resentful thoughts thoughts of Suspicion all to do with the world that when now you say I have taken Mantra from the guru the Mantra has to remain in my mind you tell the Mantra it's my mind don't worry go in there here's the note Guru says Mantra has to remain here I say my mind Mantra will remain here go in there and then this rough thoughts come out and yes what do you want the poor Mantra says I have to stay here ram ram ram Krishna Krishna Krishna and those fellows they catch hold of Envy anger resentment hatred desire suspicion they catch hold of the poor Mantra and throw it out go that's what happens because of bad patterns of thinking that can be replaced and Bad Company Bad Company encourages brings out these Tendencies which are already there in our mind it just brings out exactly the opposite happens holy company it brings out the good we all have good samsaras we all have satk samsaras holy company very powerful that's the last point he will say so I'm not talking about it now but um one of the most powerful things I've seen spiritual practice holy company but Swami ashuki himself was humorous about it one he talk often about that so one lady wrote to him Swami I am convinced about the power of holy company so I have I want holy company and Swami wrote back to her the letters are still there Madam I'm glad to know that you want holy company but the question is do the holy want your [Music] company was joking of course then the next one is so be careful of The Company You Keep good company is good if don't get good company then no company is good and Solitude is better Solitude is very good one sadu put it very nicely Solitude the aani the ignorant man the man of the world is terrified of solitude alas I alone nobody likes me I am lonely I am unhappy just think about it what does when you are alone and you what unhappy what does it mean it means I am not happy in my company then why would anybody else be happy in my company I don't like my own company then why would anybody else nobody likes me do you like yourself [Music] no I asked a sadhu and then then that sadu said but the opposite is the gani who for whom Sol Solitude is the highest state in fact the definition of Mo in the in the yoga sutras aloneness that is Moka that's Liberation nothing to be scared of aless with the capital A I think who said it probably platinus I think what is spirituality it's a journey of the alone to the alone alone with small a capital A alone journey of the alone to the alone Solitude not loneliness aani is lonely spiritual person enjoys Solitude I asked a sadu who lived in the high Himalayas very happy Punjabi sadu tall powerfully built long hair white dress up to his ankles and the little kids would come and play in the asham and he would have this aborus laughter very nice now one day asked him now it's summer time and all these people are visiting and it's beautiful there are snows in the higher and the higher Peaks but that place that there was no snow it was a very nice place to stay but what happens in winter when everybody goes away and you are alone for 6 months nobody's there and there is no remember there's no if it's minus5 outside it's also minus your bed is also -5 there's no internal Heating and external there's no difference between inside and outside unless you have a stove going or something so it's tough and it's absolutely you're helpless set to yourself there's nobody around and that's when the Wolves and the Bears start prowling because the higher mountains there's no prey for them so they come down lower looking for things to eat so um so how do you stay at that time when you're absolutely alone and his answer was very beautiful I still remember he chuckled and he said Swami then now I am happy at that time I'm happier happiest he said in [Music] Hindi means real happiness I'm happy now and at that time I'm even happier that's a sign of a truly mature mind are you comfortable with with your solitude then the next one Swami asokan says is sixth point is aestheticism aestheticism aism that is uh some AER living in Sanskrit it's called [Music] tapasia tapasia means in matters of sleep Comfort enjoyment food company entertainment you don't be severe on yourself that's not sustainable the good rule which I have found is whatever you comfortable with in all these matters make it a little less tighten it a little bit so there will be some resistance from the body there'll be some resistance from the mind and that's good um number seven yes what I told you earlier with that when you enter the Hall come to the presence of God sit down for meditation I am God not I as father I'm worried about son and daughter not I as mother not I as husband wife I as corporate executive will I be laid off what will my boss think of me what about the deadline no I'm not coming to God as a corporate executive as father mother son not as person who what is happening to the stock price on Wall Street no everything like the shoes you cast off before entering Temple you cast off all identities somebody pointed out busy tension so much responsibility huge New York just outside New York in Queens you have huge graveyard Cemetery those were among the busiest people in the [Music] world now look at them think you're like that nothing in the world depends on you nothing in the world depends on you nothing in the world depends on us don't worry when you're taking care when you're trying to catch hold of God that's when the Mind plays tricks we have got so many other responsibilities yes mind thinks about responsibilities only when you ask it to think about God other times no so feel completely detached from all the roles of your life I approach god with the Ashokan says beautifully approach god with a sense of Eternity look back upon your life this this day in your life no matter what the tension what the fear 20 years later 40 years later when you look back upon this day in your life it will be a small thing some memory mostly will forgotten then why give importance to it [Music] now

Channel: The Vedic Verse

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Length: 28min 21sec (1701 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 25 2023