You are here: SriPedia - Oppiliappan - Archives - Mar 2009

Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00137 Mar 2009

 
Mar 2009 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


  So long Krishna has been elaborating on the state of yogaarooda, the one who has scaled the heights of meditation. Now He starts to  give the guidelines to reach that state, namely the discipline to be followed by a aarurukshu, one who is desirous of reaching that state.

 

 

10. yogee yunjeetha sathatham aathmaanam rahasi sThithah

   ekaakee yathachitthaathmaa niraSeeH aparigrahaH

 

The yogi who wishes to reach the state of yogaarooda described above, he should always fix his mind on the Self, retiring to a secluded spot alone, controlling his mind and intellect, giving up all desires and possessions.

 

          One who wishes to meditate should keep himself  secluded as meditation is not possible in a crowd. He should be alone, ekaakee. Nowadays group meditation has become popular and this may appear to be a bit out of place but the words rahasi sthithah and ekaakee are used to indicate that the meditation should be done in a place and time  as to have no disturbance or interruptions. That is why in those days  the sages retired to the forest to do thapas. The state of yathachitthaathma , control of mind and intellect will come only when one becomes niraaSeeh, free from desire and aparigraha, not attached to possessions. Otherwise his mind will be full of desire for things he wants to acquire and anxiety for his possessions. To renounce the world and to become a sannyasin is no guarantee that one will be niraaSee and aprigraha. The story goes that when Janaka was listening to the upadesa of his guru, he was told that his palace was on fire. He never moved from his because being atrue karmayogi he thought that nothing belonged to him but the hermits who were with him ran to rescue their meager possessions of cloth and water pot etc. This does not mean that Janaka was failing in his duty as a protector but it shows that having done his duty well he was sure that everything would be done without his presence or concern. Individually he was not worried about his possessions which he considered to be not his in reality.

 

  But simply by retiring to a secluded place will one be able to meditate. This is a common misconception. When we try to insist the importance of persistent contemplation of God to develop bhakthi we often hear people say  " How can we think of God all the time living in the world pressed by our family commitments? It may be possible if we are allowed to go to a secluded spot away from family atmosphere."  What they do not understand is that even if they go to Himalayas they take their thoughts with them. This is what exactly Krishna told Arjuna in the eighteen chapters of the Gita when he wanted to go away from the battlefield. Then what should an aspirant do? The answer is given in the next line ' yatha chitthaathmaa  niraaseeh aparigrahah

 

 One who wishes to scale the heights of meditation should be  yathachitthaathmaa, self-controlled, niraasee, without desire and aparigrahah, without possessions. This does not mean renouncing the world physically but mentally, like King Janaka., by giving up clinging attachments to worldly pleasures and possessions.

 

 

11. Suchou dheSe prathishTaapya sThiram aasnam aathmanaH

 

      na athyucChritham na athineecham chailaajinakuSottharam

 

He should place himself in a pure spot, in affirm seat neither too high nor too low and covered with cloth, deer skin and dharbha grass.

 

 Next Krishna elaborates on the physical aids to meditation. The spot must be clean, conducive to spirituality, the seat must be firm to reduce anxiety and covered with kusa grass, a hide and a cloth in that order. To avoid the roughness of the seat deer skin is spread on it and dharbha grass is to preserve the skin. The cloth on the skin prevents the hairs on the skin from sticking on the body.

 

The seat should not be very high or very low. That is , one should not sit on a cliff or under the ground. This again is to ensure  safety.If one sits in a high seat or on a cliff he may fall down if he happens to doze! In a low seat like under ground he may be disturbed by insects or water.

 

These conditions have to be understood in the context of the period of Gita and should not be confused with the modern times. The point stressed here is that the seat on which you meditate must be comfortable and secure just enough to enable you to concentrate.

 

 

12.thathra ekaagram manaH krthvaa

                                                            yathachitthendhriyakriyaH

 

    upaviSya aasane yunjyaath yogam aathmaviSudDhaye

 

There he should practice yoga, with mind single-pointed, with his senses and mind controlled, seated on the seat , for the sake of purifying himself.

 

Seated thus one should withdraw his mind from the outside world and and concentrate on the supreme for purification of his inner equipment. Is there any other conditions to practice yoga other than choosing the proper seat? This is explained in the next sloka.

 

13. samam kaayaSirogreevam Dhaarayan achalam sThiram

 

      samprekshya naasikagram svam dhiSaSchaa anavlokayan

 

Keeping his body, head and neck straight, holding himself motionless and steady, seeing the tip of his nose not looking in other directions.

 

This sloka is translated as 'holding the body, head and neck evenly and steadily, the resolute yogin fixes his gaze on the tip of his nose, not looking around.' This instruction is not given so as to make the meditator develop a squint or stiff-back! It only means that one should not be distracted by body movement or by outward objects. Fixing the gaze at the tip of the nose signifies the position of the  half-closed eyes as being kept open one will be tempted to look around and closing them may induce him to sleep!

 

 

13. praSaanthaathmaa vigathabheeH brahmacaarivrathe

                                                                                         sThithaH

 

      manaH samyamya macChitthah yuktha aaseetha

                                                                                     mathparaH

 

With his mind calm, free of fear, following abstinence, with his thoughts centered on Me by restraining his mind , he should meditate on Me.

 

Such a yogi becomes calm in mind, praSaanthaathma, free of fear, vigathabheeH, because he sees Brahman everywhere and in his self as fear come only from something other than us. We do not fear ourselves. Te control of mind manassamyama come from his brahmacharyavratha, which does not mean celibacy but control of desire. Then he is able to turn his mind on the Lord, macChitthaH and becomes engrossed in Him, mathparaH . Then he is yuktha, integrated in yoga.

 

 

14.yunjan evam sadhaathmaanam yogee niyathamaanasaH

 

     Saanthim nirvaNaparamaam mathsamsThaanam

                                                                         aDhigacChathi

 

Ever applying himself in this state of contemplation, the yogi, whose mind is restrained, attains the highest state of supreme peace that abides in Me.

 

 With tranquillised inner sense and  indriyas under control the yogi should direct his thoughts on the Supreme Reality. Thus he gets peace  which will culminate in emancipation, nirvana.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

..

 

.'

 

 

!

 

                                                



__._,_.___


Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan
http://www.sadagopan.org




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
oppiliappan-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list