Signs of Progress in the Path of Meditation
The goal of life is the
attainment of final beatitude or Moksha. Moksha can be attained by constant
meditation with a heart that is rendered pure and steady by selfless service,
Japa, etc.
Meditation is the only real
royal road to the attainment of salvation. Meditation kills all pains,
sufferings and sorrows. Meditation destroys all causes of sorrow. Meditation
gives vision of unity. Meditation induces sense of oneness. Meditation is a balloon
or an aeroplane that helps the aspirant to soar high into the realms of eternal
bliss, everlasting peace and undying joy.
Reality or Brahman can be
realised by man. Many have attained Self-realisation. Many have enjoyed the
Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Sankara,
Dattatreya, Mansoor, Shams Tabriez, Jesus, Buddha were all realised
souls who had direct perception of the Truth or Cosmic vision. But one who has
known cannot communicate it to others for want of means. Even the knowledge
acquired by the five senses which are common to all cannot be communicated to
others. You cannot tell the taste of sugar-candy to a man who has never tasted
it. You cannot communicate the idea of colour to one born blind. All that the
teacher can do is to tell his disciple the method of knowing the Truth or the
path that leads to the unfoldment of intuitional faculty.
These are the signs that
indicate that you are growing in meditation and approaching God. You will have
no attraction for the world. The sensual objects will no longer tempt you. You
will become desireless, fearless, 'I'-less and 'mine'-less. Deha-dhyasa or attachment
to the body will gradually dwindle. You will not entertain the ideas, "She
is my wife; he is my son; this is my house." You will feel that all are
manifestations of the Lord. You will behold God in every object.
The body and mind will become
light. You will always be cheerful and happy. The name of the Lord will always
be on your lips. The mind will be ever fixed at the lotus-feet of the Lord. The
mind will be ever producing the image of the Lord. It will be ever seeing the
picture of the Lord. You will actually feel that Sattva or purity, light,
bliss, knowledge and love are ever flowing from the Lord to you and filling up
your heart.
You will have no
body-consciousness. Even if there be body-consciousness, it will be in the form
of a Samskara or a mental retention. A drunkard may not have full consciousness
that he has a cloth round his body. He may feel that something is loosely
hanging from his body. Even so, you will have a feeling of the body. You will
feel that something is sticking to you like a loose cloth or loose shoes.
Women will appear to you as
manifestations of the Lord. Money and gold will appear to you as pieces of
stone. You will have intense love for all creatures. You will be absolutely
free from lust, greed, anger, jealousy, pride, delusion, etc. You will have
peace of mind even when people insult you, beat you and persecute you. The
reason why you are not perturbed is that you get immense spiritual strength
from the Indweller or the Lord. Pain or pleasure, success or failure, honour or
dishonour, respect or disrespect, gain or loss are alike for you.
Even in dreams, you are in
communion with the Lord. You will not behold any worldly pictures.
You will converse with the
Lord in the beginning. You will see Him in physical form. When your
consciousness becomes cosmic, conversation will stop. You will enjoy the
language of the silence or the language of the heart. From vaikhari (vocal
speech) you will pass on to Madhyama, Pasyanti and Para (subtle forms of
sounds) and eventually you will rest in soundless Omkara or soundless Brahman.
Dispassion, Discrimination,
serenity, self-restraint, one-pointedness of mind, Ahimsa, Satya, purity,
forbearance, fortitude, patience, forgiveness, absence of anger, spirit of
service, sacrifice, love for all, will be your habitual qualities. You will be
a cosmic friend and benefactor.
During meditation you will
have no idea of time. You will not hear any sounds. You, will have no idea of
the environments. You will forget your name and all relationship with others.
You will enjoy perfect peace and bliss. Gradually you will rest in Samadhi.
Samadhi is an indescribable
state. It is beyond the reach of mind and speech. In Samadhi or the
superconscious state the meditator loses his individuality and becomes identical
with the Supreme Self. He becomes an embodiment of bliss, peace and knowledge.
So much only can be said. You have to experience this yourself through constant
meditation.
Contentment, unruffled state
of mind, cheerfulness, patience, decrease in the excretions, sweet voice,
eagerness and steadiness in the practice of meditation, disgust for worldly
prosperity or success and company, desire to remain alone in a quiet room or in
seclusion, desire for association with Sadhus and Sannyasins, Ekagrata or one-pointedness
of mind are some of the signs which indicate that you are growing in purity,
that you are progressing in the spiritual path.
You will hear various kinds of
Anahata sounds like the sound of a bell, a kettledrum, thunder, conch, Vina or
flute, the humming of a bee, etc., during meditation. The mind can be fixed on
any of these sounds. This also will lead to Samadhi. You will behold various
kinds of colours and lights during meditation. This is not the goal. You will
have to merge the mind in that which is the source for these lights and
colours.
A student in the path of
Vedanta ignores these sounds and lights. He meditates on the significance of
the Mantra of the Upanishad by negating all forms. "The sun does not shine
there, nor do the moon and the stars, nor does this lightning shine and much
less this fire. When He shines, everything shines after Him; by His Light all
these shine." He meditates also like this: "This air does not blow
there. The fire does not burn there. There is neither mind nor Prana
(vital-energy) in that homogeneous essence." "Asabda (soundless),
Asparsa (touchless), Arupa (formless), Agandha (odourless), Aprana (without
Prana), Amana (mindless), Atindriya (beyond the senses), Adrishya (not
perceived by the physical eye)--Chidanandarupah Sivoham, Sivoham. I am blissful
Siva, I am blissful Siva."
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