RAJA YOGA , MESSAGE 23

Raja Yoga, Message 23

The section ‘Meditation and Action’ now resumes. 

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The Atman wills and the universe comes into being. The will of the Atman upholds and governs the universe. Human beings are driven hither and thither by egoism, desires and fears, due to identification with the limiting adjuncts of mind and body. This idea of limitation is called egoism. 

The realisation of oneness with all existence, manifested and unmanifested, is the goal of human life. This unity already exists, but we have forgotten it through ignorance. The removal of this veil of ignorance — the idea that we are confined within the mind and the body — is our chief effort in sadhana. It logically follows that to realise unity we must give up diversity. We must constantly keep up the idea that we are all-pervading, all-powerful, etc. There is no room here for desire, because in unity there is no emotional attraction, but steady, persistent, calm, eternal bliss. Desire for liberation is a terminological inexactitude. Liberation means attainment of the state of infinity. It already exists. It is our real nature. There can be no desire for a thing which is already your very nature. All desires for progeny, wealth and happiness in this world or the next and even the desire for liberation, should be completely annihilated and all actions guided towards the goal by pure and disinterested will. 

This sadhana — the constant attempt to feel that you are the all — can be practised (or rather ought to be practised) in the midst of intense activity. That is the central teaching of the Bhagavad Gita. It stands to reason also, because God is both saguna and nirguna, with form and without form. Let the mind and the body work. Feel that you are above them, their controlling witness. Do not identify yourself with the support for body and mind even when it is employed in activity. Of course meditation, in the beginning, has to be resorted to. Only an exceptionally strong-willed man can dispense with it. For ordinary human beings it is an indispensable necessity. In meditation the support is steady, so the sadhana, the effort to feel unity, is comparatively easy. In the midst of activity this effort is difficult. Karma yoga is more difficult than pure jnana yoga. We must, however, keep up the practice at all times. That is absolutely essential, otherwise the progress is slow, because a few hours meditation on the idea that you are the All and then identification with the mind and body for a greater portion of the day, does not bring about rapid or substantial advance. 

Meditation is the means, knowledge is the end. Meditation is the process, knowledge is the culmination. In meditation there is struggle, striving or effort. In knowledge there is no striving. So long as there is meditation the meditator is only an aspirant. When meditation ceases and the goal is reached, the meditator becomes the knower of Truth. All meditation and effort cease. He is a liberated sage. When you try to behold a tree there is an effort in the beginning of the perception. Later on it becomes a continuous stream of consciousness of the tree. So is the knowledge of Brahman. In the beginning there is effort, later on the aspirant merges in the object of meditation and there is no further struggle. 

PHILOSOPHY OF OM 

"The sacred syllable OM connotes Him (Ishvara)." (I-27) 

You will find in the Bible, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God." Uddhava asked Lord Krishna: "O lotus-eyed! How to meditate on Thee! What is the nature of that meditation?" 

This is OM or the word of power. Volumes have been written in the Sanskrit language on the significance of OM, the sacred and mysterious mono-syllable. Even Sarasvati (the goddess of learning) will not be able to exhaust the subject of this sacred mantra OM even if she has the waters of the oceans as ink and all the trees of the world as pens. 

The pronunciation of the sacred word OM is one which has engaged the attention of all Europeans devoted to Eastern studies. The vibrations set up by the word are so powerful that if persisted in they would bring the largest building to the ground. This seems difficult to believe until one has tried to practise. Once having tried it one can easily understand how the above statement may be true and correct. I have tested the power of the vibrations and can quite believe that the effect would be as stated. Pronounced as spelt it will have a certain effect on the student, but pronounced in its correct method it arouses and transforms every atom in the physical body, setting up new vibrations and conditions, and awakening the sleeping power of the body. 

This mysterious inscrutable force tears the veils and the sheaths, destroys vasanas, desire, cravings and egoism and takes the aspirant to Brahman. It raises the thought of Brahman alone to the exclusion of all other thoughts, annihilates the primal ignorance and helps the meditator to rest in his own essential nature of existence, knowledge, bliss absolute.

OM is a magical, mysterious, divine, gramophonic record of all sounds and words. All words, all sounds and all languages proceed from OM. Therefore OM is the right representative or natural symbol or womb of all sounds and words. 

Just as the president represents the voice of the people of a country, so also OM represents the voice of all names of God, because it is the substratum or matrix or the basis for all sounds, names or words. In OM all sounds are included. OM is the king of all sounds. OM is the ocean into which all rivers of sounds flow. 

Where it is Heard

The sound produced in the flowing Ganges, the sound that is heard at a distance and that which proceeds from the bustle of a market, the sound that is produced when the fly-wheel of an engine is set in motion, the sound that is caused when it rains, the sound that is produced when there is a conflagration of fire or when there is thunder, are all OM only. Split any word and you will find OM there. OM is all-pervading like akasha (space), like Brahman. 

The humming of bees, the sweet melody of the nightingale, the seven notes in music (sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni), the sound of the mridanga (drum) and kettle-drum, the lute and the flute, the roaring of the lion, the singing of the lover, the neighing of horses, the hissing of the cobra and the clapping of the audience when a orator delivers his oration are all emanations from OM only. 

The gurgling sounds produced in the bowels on account of flatulence, the whistling sound of the railway engine, the murmur of the running brooks, the sound of thunder, the howling of jackals, the sound of the mills and the factories, the sound of landslides, the heavy rush of wind, are all OM only.

When you experience acute agony or pain you utter the long sound of 'hun' or 'hum' again and again and get some relief. 'Hun' or 'hum' is a modification of OM only. 'Hum' is partial utterance of OM which breaks on account of pain. When you suffer from pain you implore the mercy of the Lord by calling Him by His name. Laughter is nothing but a sound of many 'huns' repeatedly made. 

When a child cries or weeps, it utters 'un' or 'aung'. 'Un' or 'aung' is a modification of OM only. As the child's organ of speech is not well-developed it utters OM unintelligently, so even when the child weeps it repeats God's name. When the washerman washes his clothes he utters 'hung' repeatedly. This gives him relief. He does not feel exhaustion or fatigue. He unconsciously repeats God's name and derives power, joy, peace and strength from within. You will clearly understand now that man utters OM, the name of the Lord or Brahman, fully or partially, consciously or unconsciously, at all times. If he utters it with feeling he will quickly realise his own essential divine nature. 

OM is the voice of all creation. It is the cosmic sound, the primal sound of the universe. It is the priceless treasure of a student on the path of jnana yoga and the pass-word of the vedantins. OM is the passport for those who are sailing in the boat of knowledge of the Self to reach the other shore of fearlessness and immortality, which is Brahman. 

OM is the soul of souls, the height of heights. It is the panacea for the destruction of sins and the dire disease of death and the celestial ambrosia that confers immortality. Meditate on OM. Have a dip in OM, plunge in OM. This is the most sacred bath that will quench the fire of samsara (worldly existence). 

OM represents the canvas or the background. The forms of this universe represent the pictures on the canvas. The canvas is real, but the picture on the canvas is unreal because fire on the canvas cannot burn your fingers, the knife on the canvas cannot cut your fingers and the tiger on the canvas cannot bite you. Even so, OM or Brahman is the only solid reality. The names and forms are unreal like the pictures on the canvas. 

OM or the real Atman is the substratum for all sounds, languages, this universe, body, mind, prana and senses, the causal body and the five sheaths. Just as the substratum is a fundamental element, or the substance in which qualities exist, so also OM is the substratum or the underlying reality in which all objects appear as waves in the ocean. The waves are mere appearances. So also the forms are mere appearances. The forms are unreal in the sense that they are only relatively real, that they are changing and impermanent. The ocean is real. So also OM or Brahman is real. 

That place where there is neither hunger nor thirst, neither sorrow nor pain, neither 'you' nor 'he', neither 'this' nor 'that', neither 'here' nor 'there', neither 'yesterday' nor 'tomorrow', neither 'East' nor 'West', neither 'sound' nor 'colour', neither 'light' nor 'darkness', neither 'seer' nor 'seen', is OM. 

That imperishable Brahman; that seat of ineffable splendour; that indefinable, inexhaustible, illimitable Essence which pervades the whole universe; that which is called continuum or residuum or noumenon by Western philosophers; that place where all speech stops, all thoughts cease and where the function of the intellect and all organs stop, is OM. 

OM is the essence of the Vedas or vedanta; it is the highest flower of the tree of the Upanishads and the root of the entire universe. OM is ever-lasting Brahman; it is the real name of Brahman. OM is the symbolic representation of Brahman or the immortal Self, it is the word of power, the pranava, the sacred monosyllable of the Vedas.

OM is the spirit, substratum or essence. It is the immortal Soul, the Holy Ghost. OM is the inner music of the soul, it is the music of the silence. 

All Upanishads and all mantras begin with OM. All religious ideas are centred in OM. The breath always sings OM, the song of infinity and immortality. Thought of OM elevates the minds of all. The Christians and the Hebrews end their prayers with 'Amen', a modification of OM, while the Muslims end their prayers with 'Ahmeen', also the modification of OM. The Mandukya Upanishad, Mundaka Upanishad, Chhandogya Upanishad, Prashnopanishad, Kathopanishad, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras, sing the glory of OM. 

All the sacred scriptures of the Hindus are contained in OM. OM is the womb for everything. This world has come out of OM, exists in OM and dissolves in OM during the cosmic dissolution. The creation itself is set in motion by the vibration of OM. 

OM is your very life, your very breath. OM is the life of the Vedas and the life of all mantras. It is the basis of this world, it is everything. OM is a common mantra. It is the common property of all. All various significances are centred in OM. OM is used in the invoking or addressing in prayer and supplication. It is the formula of imperative prayer which transmits a certain grace or virtue to the person over whom it is pronounced. It should be accepted by everyone. Even Americans and Europeans meditate on OM now that they have realised its importance. 

Just as the rope is the substratum of the snake, just as Brahman is the substratum of prana, mind, senses and the body, so also is OM the substratum or cause of the whole of the illusion of speech. The scriptures declare: "All is mere play of words." "All is held together throughout by the string of speech or even by the cord of specific names." "All is rendered possible in experience only by words." Nothing can exist apart from words. Names and forms are inseparable, thought and language are inseparable. All effects are nothing but mere names. This whole phenomenal world of experience can never exist without names. All objects are to be named. You have to call a man by his name. Although there is nothing but Brahman, you cannot say, "Brahman, Brahman, Brahman, Brahman," when you wish to say, "Govind! Give me water". Names cannot exist apart from OM. Hence, the whole world has come from OM, rests in Om and dissolves in OM. Therefore worship Om, live in OM, meditate on OM, merge in Om, rejoice in Om. 

OM is an auspicious trade mark of sannyasins and vedantins whose aim is dissemination of spiritual knowledge to the world at large. It is written on the front wall of every ashram of a sannyasin. Votaries of OM write OM first before they start to write a letter. 

There is what is called the Pancha-shanti, five kinds of incantations, each ending with the word 'shantih' or 'peace'. Before each 'shantih' there is the word 'OM'. As such OM gives peace, calmness, tranquillity, serenity and so on. This symbol contains the entire universe and all its contents in its span; it includes everything we can imagine and something more too. As such, it is a fit symbol to be meditated upon. No other symbol can span so much in its embrace. Such is the glory of OM. 

By holding the flute in his hands Lord Krishna teaches its symbolic philosophy. Flute is the symbol of OM. He says: "Empty your egoism. I will play in your body-flute. Let your will become one with My will. Take refuge in OM. You will enter into My being. Hear the inner soul-stirring music of the soul and rest in everlasting peace." 

OM as Brahman 

Para Brahman, that eternal highest Being, the abiding place of all that lives and moves, is beyond name and class. The Vedas have ventured to give a name to Him, in order that man may recognise and call Him. A new-born child has no name, but on receiving one he will answer to it. Men who are troubled by the afflictions of the world run to a deity for refuge, and call Him by name. When Brahman is invoked through the name, that which is hidden is revealed to the aspirant. 

OM is the emblem of Brahman, as images are of material objects. By its application (chanting) He becomes propitiated, as men by the use of their favourite names. When you hear the sound 'tree', you at once understand that it has a root, stem, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits. Similarly, when you hear the sound OM it denotes sat-chid-ananda Brahman — existence Absolute, knowledge Absolute, bliss Absolute. Sound and meaning are inseparable. 

All colours are centred in the eye, all tastes are centred in the tongue, all touch is centred in the skin, all sounds are centred in the ear, all scents are centred in the nose, all senses are centred in the mind and all minds are centred in OM or Brahman or the Supreme Self, the support for everything. 

Why is OM taken as the symbol of Brahman? Can we not have any other word besides OM to represent Brahman or the solid Reality or living Truth? OM is a mysterious sacred syllable. Chant OM for one hour and then chant any other word also for one hour. You will yourself feel the difference. There is a real connection, an intimate relationship between OM the symbol and Brahman the thing signified by the symbol. Thought and word are inseparable. OM and Brahman are inseparable. When you think of the name of your son Govinda the name will bring to your memory the picture or image of your son; when you think of the image of OM the image will bring to your memory Brahman, the thing signified. 

Rishis and sages of yore who have attained Self-realisation have experienced the mysterious effects of the repetition or chanting of OM. They have made long research and experiments on OM and its vibrations, they have meditated on OM for a considerable period and then they have given OM to the world as the right symbol of Brahman. This is not a hocus-pocus or a juggler's trick. This is the authoritative assertion of the seers. OM served as a beacon-light or light-house or a safe boat for them when they sailed in the turbulent and deep unnavigable waters of this ocean of samsara. Through OM they ascended safely to the summit of the hill of nirvikalpa samadhi, knowledge of the Self or Brahmajnana. You can safely rely on their teachings. 

OM is the common symbol. It will represent all symbols of God, all symbols of religions, all cults and schools. Just as a large-hearted spiritual man who is of catholic, liberal nature without prejudice of any sort, represents all and becomes the supreme head of a conference of world religions, so also the common symbol OM, the basis of all sounds and all languages, represents all names and becomes the head of all names of God. Therefore it is quite proper to regard OM as the symbol or name of Brahman, the source of everything. 

O Ram, you are now living in the Himalayas. Be in tune with nature's Lord. The lofty peaks will whisper to you the secrets of life eternal. The gurgling streams around you will sing the song of OM to you. Fix your mind on OM and enter into sublime communion easily. Nature will reveal to you her closely guarded secrets. Take lessons from Her. Feel your unity or oneness with the snow-clad peaks, the glaciers, the refreshing Himalayan breeze, the rays of the sun, the blue sky, the glittering stars, etc.

May you all rest in the non-dual Brahman and taste the nectar of immortality. May you all reach the fourth state of bliss (turiya) by analysing the experiences of waking, dream and deep sleep states. May you all have a comprehensive understanding of OM. May you all meditate on OM and attain the goal of life — the ultimate Reality, existence, knowledge, bliss absolute. May this OM guide you. May this OM be your centre, ideal and goal. May the secret and truth of the Mandukya Upanishad be revealed to you! May the blessings of Gaudapada, Sankara and the seer of Mandukya Upanishad be upon you. OM OM OM. 

Japa of OM 

"Its repetition and its meditation with meaning should be practised." (I-28) 

Japa is repetition of a mantra. The aspirant gets one-pointed mind by japa of OM. The veil of ignorance and tossing of the mind slowly vanish. 

Japa is of three kinds: verbal, when the japa is done loudly; semi-verbal, when the japa is done in a whisper or humming tone; and mental, when the japa is done through the mind without moving the lips. The fruits of semi-verbal japa are a thousand times more powerful than the verbal japa, while the fruits of mental japa are a thousand times more powerful than the semi-verbal japa. Mental japa can be kept up even during work. It continues automatically during sleep also, through force of habit. Beginners should do verbal and semi-verbal japa. 

The significance of OM must be remembered during japa. This is very very important. The relation of the word and its meaning is eternal. The mind of the yogi who constantly repeats OM and habituates the mind to the constant remembrance of the idea it carries, becomes one-pointed. The mind feels bliss in the one Lord alone. God showers His blessings on him and he gets the fruit of samadhi and liberation. You must make the feeling or the understanding of the significance of OM enter the mind over and over again by constant practice, until it becomes part and parcel or the very substance of the mental existence. The japa of OM should always be accompanied by meditation on Ishvara. (Mere parrot-like repetition or gramophonic repetition will not produce the maximum benefits.) 

OM is a good companion for the mind. Just as soap washes cloth, so also OM washes the impurities of the mind. For instance, if you eat oranges twelve times, the force of samskara and desire is increased in the mind. The greater the force of the samskara the greater the force of the desire for orange. Repetition strengthens the force of habit. By constant repetition of OM or any other mantra the force of spiritual samskaras is increased. This is a great asset for you in the spiritual path. It will not allow the mind to run into the old grooves of desire for sensual things. Japa makes the mind inward and removes all physical and mental obstacles. As OM and Ishvara are inseparable, fixing the mind on OM means the fixing of the mind on Ishvara. Doing japa of OM is the remembrance of Ishvara. 

Meditation on OM

"Thence comes the cognition of the individual soul and also the removal of the obstacles." (I-29) 

Through the grace of Ishvara, the yogi will not get any disease. The divine grace will descend when one repeats OM and meditates on its meaning with concentration. 

The sannyasins are ordained to meditate on OM. They have already reached a high stage, and meditation on OM raises them further till ultimately they become paramahamsas. 

The goal can only be attained through meditation on this mystic symbol of OM. Meditation on OM is the only real, royal road to the attainment of salvation. Meditation kills all pains, sufferings and sorrows and destroys all causes of sorrow. It gives the vision of unity and induces a 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. 

Those who have a subtle intellect, bold understanding, strong will, courage, self-reliance, purity of heart, one-pointedness of mind, the four means of salvation and ability are fit to take up this meditation. 

OM is the ladder which takes the aspirant to the loftier levels of superconsciousness or spiritual heights of splendour and glory. Meditation on OM will reveal to you the laws of the higher planes and the spiritual laws. Meditation on OM will give you liberation, immortality, courage, inner spiritual strength, supreme peace, penetrative insight and change your very being. It will transmute you into a jivanmukta or a liberated sage. 

Meditation Exercises 

1. Have a picture of OM in front of you in your meditation room. Concentrate on this picture. Do tratak with open eyes (steady gazing without winking till tears flow profusely). Then visualise OM with closed eyes by calling up a clear mental image of OM. Repeat OM mentally with feeling and meaning and make the ears hear the sound also so that they may not hear other sounds outside. Meditation on OM with feeling and meaning leads to realisation of Self. This is vedantic sadhana, this is jnana yoga. 

2. Associate ideas of infinity, eternity, immortality etc. when you think of OM. This is both saguna and nirguna meditation, with and without attributes. Keep a picture of OM always before your mind and worship it. Burn incense and camphor. Offer flowers. This is suitable for modern educated people. It is a combined method of bhakti and jnana. 

3. You can associate OM with the breath during the practice of pranayama. This will increase the efficacy of pranayama. Watch the breath and repeat 'O' during the inspiration and 'M' during expiration. You can do this practice while walking also. Put sufficient force into the thoughts of OM. Feel that OM is coming from your soul. This will raise your consciousness to a very high plane. You will become one with Atman. 

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‘Meditation Exercises’ will continue 

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