Sunday, September 22, 2013

Dissolve four

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

VBT 138 :
Maanasam chetanaa shaktir aatmaa cheti chatushtayam,
yadaa priye pariksheenam tadaa tad bhairavam vapuh

Translation :
O Dear, When the four, the mind, awareness, energy, individual self, dissolve, then that Bhairava state manifests.

Commentary :
This is a statement rather than a 'to do'. When mind , awareness, energy and individual self dissolve, then the Bhairava consciousness is attained.

Knowledge and knower dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

VBT 137 :
Jnaanaprakaashakam sarvam sarvenaatmaa prakaashakah,
ekam ekasvabhaavatvaat jnaanam jneyam vibhaavyate

Translation :
Knowledge reveals all, and the self of all is the revealer, and the knowledge and knower is of same nature. One should meditate on knowledge and known.

Commentary :
Known is the object, knower is the self, and knowledge is about the object.  The nature of knowledge and knower is same. With this knowledge contemplate on knowledge and known.
What this means is that knower, and known is also same.

Pratyahara

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

VBT 136 :
Indriyadvaarakam sarvam sukhaduhkhaadisangamam,
iteendriyaani samtyajya svasthah svaatmani vartate

Translation :
All the doors of perceptions produce pain and pleasure through contact. Leave the senses aside, and situate in yourself, and stay within your Self.

How to do :
All the doors of perception (including mind) produce pain and pleasure and hurt and suffering and joy. To be in the Self, we have to take a break from the contact with these sense perceptions. As the physical body generates sensory perceptions constantly, it is advisable to withdraw your mind from enjoying the sensory perceptions. What this means is , neither be attached to pleasure, nor be repulsed with pain. Have an equal eye towards pain and pleasure. Reduce the mental vagaries, and do not be attached to joy and repulse hurt. You can either embrace both the feelings or be neutral to both the feelings. This neutrality allows your mind to stay near the center, the Self.  

Ever free dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

VBT 135 :
Na me bandho na moksho me bheetasyaitaa vibheeshikaah,
pratibimbam idam buddher jaleshv iva vivashvatah

Translation :
There is no bondage and no liberation for me. These scare cowards and are the reflections of intellect, like the reflection of sun in water.

Commentary :
Sun reflects in water, similarly the reflections of intellect are the thoughts 'I am bound, I need to do these practices to be liberated etc'. These scare cowards. But for me, who is Atman, there was no bondage, there is no bondage, there will be no bondage, and the question of  liberation doesnt arise. I am ever free.
Meditate on the above lines.

Atman is changeless dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

VBT 134 :
Aatmano nirvikaarasya kva jnaanam kva aacha vaa kriyaa,
jnaanayattaa bahirbhaavaa atah shoonyam idam jagat

Translation :
How can there be knowledge and action for Atma, which is changeless ? All the external objects are under the control of knowledge , therefore, this universe is void.

Commentary :
The Self is changeless. How can there be knowledge or action for atma ? If you allow that Atma can acquire knowledge, that means you are allowing change. Similarly with action. No change can be attributed to Atma. If you look at the world, everywhere there is action as well as exchange of knowledge. In these transactions, all the external objects are defined and controlled. Hence they are ever changing, and what changes doesnt remain what it is, and it doesnt exist anymore. From this thought process, it can be known that the world is void. 

Jagan mithya dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

VBT 133 :
Atattvam indrajaalaabham idam sarvam avasthitam,
kim tattvam indrajaalasya iti daardhyaachchamam vrajet

Translation :
This world is illusory like a magic, devoid of essence. What essence is there in magical world ?, convinced firmly of this thought, one attains peace.

How to do :
Shankara Advaita philosophy propounds that 'Brahman alone is Truth, world is illusory or transient appearance in Brahman, individual soul is none other than Brahman'. This sutra is in accordance with that theory, wherein the sadhaka has to think firmly that world is like an illusion created by magician, and devoid of any concreteness. One has to firmly think with conviction that 'What essence is there in a magical appearance of world ?'. This thought pattern weakens the involvement , attachement in life and makes one immune to the vagaries of the life. This leads to peace of mind.

saguna dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

VBT 132 :
Nityo vibhur niraadhaaro vyaapakashchaakhilaadhipah,
shabdaan pratikshanam dhyaayan kritaartho arthaanuroopatah

Translation :
Meditate every moment on the meaning of the words like 'eternal', 'omnipresent', 'supportless', 'all pervasive', 'master of all', and attain fulfilment according to the meaning of those words.

How to do :
Take one word amongst the qualities that are used to define the supreme being, like eternal, omnipresent, supportless, all pervasive, master etc and meditate on the meaning of that word. One attains the fulfilment of the meditation according to the meaning on which you meditated. There are many words that describe the supreme. You need not confine yourself to the words given above. You can use the above words and in addition use some more and meditate. 'Yad bhaavam tad bhavati', as you think so you become.