Happy Dīpāvali..!

(On 04-11-2021)

During this auspicious occasion of Dīpāvali, in the midst of colourful crackers enlightening the earth and sky, let’s remember these words of Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, who reminds us about the importance of being realistic in the path of seeking for the highest Truth.

“It is necessary therefore, that advancing knowledge should base herself on a clear, pure and disciplined intellect. It is necessary too, that she should correct her errors sometimes by a return to the restraint of sensible fact, the concrete realities of the physical world. The touch of Earth is always reinvigorating to the son of Earth, even when he seeks a supra-physical Knowledge. It may even be said that the supra-physical can only be really mastered in its fullness – to its heights we can always reach – when we keep our feet firmly on the physical. Earth is His footing, says the Upanishad whenever it images the Self that manifests in the universe. And it is certainly the fact that the wider we extend and surer we make our knowledge of physical world, the wider and surer becomes our foundation for the higher knowledge, even for the highest, even for Brahmavidya.” [Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, The Life Divine, p. 11]

padbhyām pṛthivī hyēṣa sarvabhūtāntarātmā

(Meaning: Earth is the footing of the innermost Ātmā of all beings. Munḍaka Upaniṣad. II - 1 – 4.)

Dīpāvali reminds us of the Light without a shadow, the brightest Wisdom without ignorance and the complete Ananda without the shade of suffering. All individuals on Earth seek this joy in their own way. However, in the quote above, Sri Aurobindo reminds us that it is not possible to gain the ultimate truth by being unrealistic and superstitious. “Being on Earth, while searching for the ultimate Truth” means to be as practical as we can in facing the real issues of life.

There is no doubt that joy (Ananda) is inevitable in life, but what exactly is joy? It is necessary to understand the real nature of joy. The message of Dīpāvali is to cast aside the momentary pleasures and seek the real joy. These pleasures are just like the firework crackers which explode with glitter and dazzle for a moment before fading away into the darkness. Real joy is nothing but the fulfilling of one’s personal duties with an attitude of utmost positivity and is the greatest form of worship. However, this does not mean that man should always be conscious about only material needs and fulfilling these. There are of course, several layers of higher needs for an individual, for example, the feeling of sublimity, self-respect, self-purity, confidence etc. All these various layers of experiences and realisations on the path towards the highest Truth are based on material discipline and the perfect execution of day to day affairs. Regulating the daily affairs upon the light of higher purpose is the method to gain the eligibility for such higher experiences and long-lasting joy.

Therefore, Dīpāvali reminds us of the necessity to lead a disciplined daily life for experiencing the highest and brightest Ananda within. Happy Dīpāvali..!

 

Silent Meditation: Awareness, Understanding and Management

(AUM in Mind Awareness and Management)

Dr Kannan Parameswaran

Silent meditation, in the present context, means to stay in Awareness, Understanding and Management (AUM). These three aspects; Awareness, Understanding and Management are the inner qualities of a human being which are essential in our day to day life.

To be Aware is the nature of Jīvātma. To Understand and to Manage are the activities of Prakṛti (body-mind mechanism). These are the functions of Buddhi (the deeper aspect of body-mind mechanism), which is nothing but Jñānam. Therefore, in this system, staying deeply involved in the status of Jīvātma through Awareness, at the same time as remaining in the higher subtle nature of Prakṛti through Understanding and Management is called Meditation. In essence this means that one must be Aware, Understand and Manage properly during practice.

Being in Awareness means to be aware of everything. Initially, it is necessary to be aware of the body and still the body; it should not move at all. Feeling the surface where you sit, feel the gravitational force; feel the atmosphere around you; feel the heat and cold on your body; stay in perfect communion with the surroundings and the visible Prakṛti. Stay in this silent posture, with eyes closed, for some time. When you are sitting like this, naturally the body will create some issues because it does not like to be stilled or to be controlled. However, through Awareness, Understanding and Management, the body can be managed without much effort and eventually, with consistent effort applied over some days, the body will start yielding and obeying your instruction to be still for the desired duration of time.

Managing the mind in order to bring it into an internal silence is not as easy as we might imagine. But through patient practice and effort, the inner silence can be built up in mind. Observe the mind. Be aware of the movements in the mind and try to understand the significance. Naturally when you try to bring your mind into silence, it will protest because the mind does not want to be subdued or silent. It will create problems. It might create various emotions and many visual displays as well as sounds. A number of thoughts will come and go to disturb you because the mind does not want to be still or silent. Whatever the creations of your mind, do not entertain these by giving attention. You should not give the slightest of importance to the mental formations in meditation, just reject and ignore them since all the movements, acrobatics and violence from your mind are only to destroy your silence. What you need to do in Meditation is just to ignore the creations of your mind. Whatever it may be that you are seeing: faces, actions of creatures or human beings; images like circles, patterns, colours or light, all these are creations of your mind which arise just to destroy your quality of silence. Therefore, be Aware of these facts so you can Understand and Manage them in order to lead you towards ultimate internal silence. There is no need to force the visions to vanish, because that will not work; just ignore them. When you ignore the visions, they lose their significance and gradually these deviatory circus-like performances will stop, leaving the mind to settle into a perfect silence. Once your body and mind are in silence, you can stay peacefully in Awareness, Understanding and Management.

It is necessary to manage this situation in order to prolong the practice for some time because your mind will definitely possess some habits and attachments. It is natural for your mind to turn towards those objects with which it is attached. Therefore, when your mind turns towards those attachments, thoughts associated with it will enter into your mind. Thoughts related to some incidents, some individuals or ideas; anything can be invited. Since the mind has attachments, it will naturally welcome such thoughts of objects and subjects. When such thoughts are welcomed by the mind, into the mind, you should completely ignore the thoughts.

Always remember that you are not the mind; you are the Jīvātma, the controller of your mind. Nevertheless, be careful not to fight with your mind, for fighting with your mind will create another kind of violence which can easily destroy the silence. We need a violence-free mind. We need peace and silence at heart. So, we should not fight with the mind but just ignore it! We need to learn the art of ignoring thoughts and emotions. Let the mind do whatever it wants. Once you ignore the mind, gradually, but progressively, it will discard its attachments and come to take rest inside you. Then you can be in perfect Awareness, Understanding and Management (AUM). That is silence. Through this silence, you can experience ultimate Jñānam, via which you become aware of the Jīvātma separated from your body-mind mechanism. Attaining that Jñānam is the purpose of Silent Meditation.

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                                         What, How and Why of Karmayōga..

It is clear that the purpose of Mind Awareness and Management (MAM) is to bring about happiness in the minds of its practitioners. Only a happy person can function well in life. The real happiness is nothing but the growth of Jñānam and Ēkāgrata. Everything else can be achieved through these qualities of mind. As per the teachings of MAM, Jñānam and Ēkāgrata can be cultivated only through the practice of constant Karmayōga.

And that is the challenge - though there is awareness that Karmayōga is the foundation of MAM, practising Karmayōga is not easy. As Srī Bhagavān says in Bhagavad Gīta:

          vaśyātmanā tu yatatā śakyō 'vāptum upāyataḥ

[Addhyāyam 6, Ślōkam 36. Meaning: If you can restrain yourself (vaśyātmanā), you will be able to achieve mastery over your self when you try it in a proper method (yatatā).]

It is possible to develop the habit of Karmayōga with an intentional approach and an effective method. A method essentially needs a specific structure, repeatability and power to motivate. I will now share with you such a method, through which Karmayōga can be practised and continued with considerable success.

All one needs to do is ask three basic questions to yourself, when you are not motivated to do your Karma. 1. What is Karmayōga? 2. How is Karmayōga? 3. Why is Karmayōga? Answer to these questions have the the power to motivate you to involve in Karmayōga.

1. What is Karmayōga?

First we need to define and explain Karmayōga. Man cannot exist without work, or doing actions. All actions are movements. Such movements are called Karma-s. Karmayōga does not mean merely performing your Karma-s. All human beings are doing their Karma-s, may be partially or reluctantly. People generally manage their Karma-s because of various pressures such as fear of failure or desire for rewards. But such works or actions do not become Karmayōga. You are said to be doing Karmayōga only when you execute your Karma-s with added values in it.

What are the these values? There is an intention behind each action. If you have a special intention while doing the Karma, it is Karmayōga. That special intention is nothing but your growth as a good human being. In short, the performance of Karma for your own internal growth and to become a better human being is Karmayōga. Let me elaborate.

There are two kinds of purposes in all actions - one is the immediate outcome of the action while the second is the ultimate result. For instance, when you write an examination you want to score good marks. This is immediate result of the action. Whereas the ultimate result is the personal growth as a human being in the process of preparation for the exam. You are learning new things truthfully with dedication and hard work. Through this process, you are building up a habit of self-progression with self-control and discipline. In short an examination is a process that improves your quality as a positively functioning human being. This growth as a human being is the ultimate result of the action.

The immediate result of the action (Karmaphalam) is not under your control. You may score well or do badly in the exam, depending on various factors. That is why MAM tells you not to worry about the immediate result of an action. You must be ready to accept success and failure gracefully. Both can happen in any situation, because the processes leading to success or failure are beyond your control. But in any case, you are able to work for your long-term growth as a good human being, which depends on the manner in which you do Karma. It is, to an extent, under your control. If you do it sincerely and truthfully, in Yajñabhāvam (without having selfish intention), you can become a better person, irrespective of the immediate outcome. Therefore involving in an action in order to cultivate good human qualities in you is called Karmayōga. The values added here can be interpreted as the positive human values which cause personal growth of the individual.

2. How to practise Karmayōga?

There is only one way to enter into Karmayōga - JUST DO IT. Stop thinking, worrying and doubting about the results and plunge into the action. Waiting for the perfect action or a perfect moment will stop you from performing a good action.

There are people who are confused as to what kind of Karma they should practise, or what is good or what is bad for them. There are two ways to select your Karma-s.

a. Whatever comes your way, accept it as your Swadharma. This can be practised in your family, in your society and even in your workplace. This is the right method when you do not have choice of action. You have to accept what comes your way and do that Karma strictly adhering to your personal values.

b. If you possess certain aptitudes or choices, you may choose that which matches your skill sets and attitude. A certain level of knowledge and experience is required for the process of selection of Karma.

3. Why should I practise Karmayōga?

Why does one give more importance to his or her growth as a human being while performing Karmayōga? The answer is simple. It is for developing Jñānam and Ēkāgrata. You can be happy in life only through Jñānam and Ēkāgrata. They lead the individual towards Mōkṣa / Mukti. Mōkṣa refers to the ultimate freedom from all miseries in life. It is a state of mind. All of us have to confront disastrous incidents and unhealthy conditions as part of daily life. No one can stop them. But it is possible to develop the Jñānam and Ēkāgrata necessary to face such situations with equanimity. This ability to shield yourself from disheartening situations is called Mōkṣa / Mukti. It is not indifference; it is a wise attitude towards life.

In this context, Jñānam must not be confused with all the information which one can easily gather from various sources. On the other hand, Jñānam refers to the experiential knowledge about the functioning of one's own body, mind, intellect and the inner Self. Ēkāgrata means an unwavering interest in an idea, an action or an object. Ēkāgrata brings Jñānam and Jñānam brings more Ēkāgrata. They cause the attainment of Mōkṣa / Mukti.

These wonderful qualities of mind can be accomplished only through Karmayōga. Therefore, do dive deep into the actions that await your skilful touch to come alive.

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