One of the first lessons in the Yogi Science of Breath, Is to learn how to breathe through the nostrils, and to overcome the common practice of mouth-breathing. The breathing mechanism of Man is so constructed that he may breathe either through the mouth or nasal tubes, but it is a matter of vital importance to him which method he follows, as one brings health and strength and the other disease and weakness. It should not be necessary to state to the student that the proper method of breathing is to take the breath through the nostrils, but alas! the ignorance among civilized people regarding this simple matter is astounding. We find people in all walks of life habitually breathing through their mouths, and allowing their children to follow their horrible and disgusting example. Many of the diseases to which civilized man is subject are undoubtedly caused by this common habit of mouth-breathing. Children permitted to breathe in this way grow up with impaired vitality and weakened constitutions, and in manhood and womanhood break down and become chronic invalids. The mother of the savage race does better, being evidently guided by her intuition. She seems to instinctively recognize that the nostrils are the proper channels for the conveyal of air to the lungs, and she trains her infant to close its little lips and breathe through the nose. She tips its head forward when it is asleep, which attitude closes the lips and makes nostril-breathing imperative. If our civilized mothers were to adopt the same plan, it would work a great good for the race. Many contagious diseases are contracted by the disgusting habit of mouth-breathing, and many cases ofcold and catarrhal affections are also attributable to the same cause. Many persons who, for the sake of appearances, keep their mouth closed during the day, persist in mouth-breathing at night and often contract disease in this way.
Discovery of India
Have the picture ofOMin front of you. Concentrate gently on this picture with open eyes till
tears flow profusely. Associate the ideas of eternity, infinity, immortality, etc., when you think of
OM. The humming of bees, the sweet notes of the nightingale, the seven tunes in music, and allsounds are emanating from OM only. OM is the essence of the Vedas. Imagine that OM is the bow, the mind is the arrow and Brahman (God) is the target. Aim at the target with great care and then, like the arrow becomes one with the target, you will become one with Brahman. The short accent of OM burns all sins, the long accent gives Moksha, and the elongated accent bestows all psychic powers (Siddhis). He who chants and meditates upon this monosyllable OM chants and meditates upon all the Scriptures of the world.
XII
Sit on Padmasana or Siddhasana in your meditation room. Watch the flow of breath. You
will hear the sound “SOHAM”, So during inhalation and ham during exhalation. SOHAM means I
AM HE. The breath is reminding you of your identity with the Supreme Soul. You are
unconsciously repeating Soham 21,600 times daily at the rate of 15 Sohams per minute. Associate the ideas of Existence, Knowledge, Bliss, Absolute, Purity, Peace, Perfection, Love, etc., along with Soham. Negate the body while repeating the Mantra and identify yourself with the Atman or the Supreme Soul.
XIII
Uddhava asked Lord Krishna: “O Lotus-eyed! How to meditate on Thee! Tell me what is
the nature of that meditation and what it is?” To which Lord Krishna replied: “Be seated on the
Asana that is neither high nor low, with your body erect and in an easy posture. Place your hands on the lap. Fix your gaze on the tip of the nose (in order to fix the mind). Purify the tracks of Prana by Puraka, Kumbhaka and Rechaka, and then again in the reverse way i.e., first breathe in by the left nostril with the right nostril closed by the tip of the thumb, then close the left nostril by the tips of the ring finger and the little finger and retain the breath in both the nostrils. Then remove the tip of the thumb and breathe out through the right nostril. Reverse the process by breathing in through the right nostril, then retaining the breath in both the nostrils and letting out the breath through the left nostril. Practise this Pranayama gradually with your senses controlled.
From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA
V - Meditate on the magnanimity of the ocean and its infinite nature. Then compare the ocean to
the Infinite Brahman, and the waves, foams and ice-bergs to the various names and forms. Identify
yourself with the ocean. Become silent. Expand. Expand.
VI -This is another kind of meditation. Meditate on the Himalayas. Imagine that the Ganga
takes its origin in the icy regions of Gangotri near Uttarakasi, flows through Rishikesh. Haridwar,
Benares, and then enters into the Bay of Bengal near Gangasagar. Himalayas, Ganga and the
sea—these three thoughts only should occupy your mind. First take your mind to the icy regions of Gangotri. Then along the Ganga and finally to the sea. Rotate the mind in this manner for 10
minutes.
VII -There is a living Universal Power that underlies all these names and forms. Meditate on this Power which is formless. This will terminate in the realisation of the Absolute, Nirguna, Nirakara
(formless) Consciousness eventually. VIII - Sit on Padmasana. Close your eyes. Gaze steadily on the formless air only. Concentrate on
the air. Meditate on the all-pervading nature of the air. This will lead to the realisation of the
nameless and formless Brahman, the One Living Truth.
IX -Sit on your meditative pose. Close your eyes. Imagine that there is a supreme, infinite
effulgence hidden behind all these names and forms which is tantamount to the effulgence of crores of suns put together. This is another form of Nirguna meditation.
X - Concentrate and meditate on the expansive blue sky. This is another kind of Nirguna
meditation. By the previous methods of concentration the mind will cease thinking of finite forms. It will slowly begin to melt in the ocean of Peace, as it is deprived of its contents. The mind will become subtler and subtler.
From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA
Sometimes Devatas, Nitya Siddhas (eternally perfected Yogins) and Amarapurushas
(immortal beings) will appear in meditation. Receive them all with due honour. Bow down before
them. Get advice from them. Do not be frightened. They appear before you to give you all spiritual help and encouragement. “Having made Atman as the lower Arani (sacrificial wood) and the Pranava as the upper Arani, one should see the God in secret through the practice of churning which is Dhyana (meditation).” Dhyanabindu-Upanishad.Exercises
I -Place a picture of Lord Jesus in front of you. Sit in your favourite meditative pose.
Concentrate gently with open eyes on the picture till tears trickle down your cheeks. Rotate the
mind on the cross, on the chest, long hairs, beautiful beard, round eyes, and the various other limbs of his body; the fine spiritual aura emanating from his head, and so on. Think of his divine attributes such as love, magnanimity, mercy and forbearance. Think of the various phases of his interesting life and the “miracles” he performed and the various “extraordinary” powers he possessed. Then close your eyes and try to visualise the picture. Repeat the same process again and again.
II -Place a picture of Lord Hari in front of you. Sit again in your meditative posture.
Concentrate gently on the picture till you shed tears. Rotate the mind on His feet, legs, yellow silken robes, golden garland set with diamonds, Koustubha gem, etc., on the chest, the earrings, then the face, the crown of the head, the disc oh the right upper hand, the conch on the left uppe hand, the mace on the right lower hand, and the lotus-flower on the left lower hand. Then close the eyes and try to visualise the picture. Repeat the same process again and again.
III -Keep a picture of Lord Krishna with flute in hands in front of you. Sit in your meditative
pose and gently concentrate on the picture till you shed tears. Think of His feet adorned with
anklets, yellow garment, various ornaments round His neck, the necklace set with the Koustubha
gem, the long garland of beautiful flowers of various colours, ear-rings, crown set with precious
jewels of priceless value, dark and long hairs, sparkling eyes, the Tilaka30 on the forehead, the
magnetic aura round His head, long hands adorned with bracelets and armlets, and the flute in the hands ready to be played upon. Then close your eyes and visualise the picture. Repeat the same process again and again.
IV- This is one kind of meditation for beginners. Sit on Padmasana in your meditation room.
Close your eyes. Meditate on the effulgence in the sun, or the splendour in the moon or the glory in the stars.
From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA
As a clever cook in serving his master notes the kind of food that his master relishes and
henceforward serves it and gets gain, so the aspirant too notes the conditions such as nourishment, etc., at the moment of attaining meditation and Samadhi and in fulfilling them gets ecstasy again and again. Leading a virtuous life is not by itself sufficient for God-realisation. Concentration of mind is absolutely necessary. A good virtuous life only prepares the mind as a fit instrument for
concentration and meditation. It is concentration and meditation that eventually lead to
Sell-realisation or God-realisation. “A Yogi should always avoid fear, anger, laziness, too much sleep or waking and too much food and fasting. If the above rule he well and strictly practiced each day, spiritual wisdom will arise of itself in three months without doubt. In four months, he sees the Devatas; in five months, he knows (or becomes) Brahmanishtha; and in six months, he attains Kaivalya at will. There is no doubt.” Amritananda-Upanishad. During meditation some of the visions that you see are your own materialised thoughts while some others are real objective visions. In meditation new grooves are formed in the brain and the mind moves upwards in the new spiritual grooves. In meditation and concentration you will have to train the mind in a variety of ways. Then only the gross mind will become subtle.When you first practice meditation, lights of various colours such as red, white, blue, green and a mixture of red and green, etc., will appear in the forehead. These are Tanmatric (elemental) lights. Every element has got its own colour. Water has white colour. Fire has red colour. Air has green colour. Ether has blue colour. So the colourful lights are due to these Tattvas (elements) only Some times you may see a big blazing sun or moon or lightning in front of the forehead. Do not mind these. Shun them. Try to dive deep into the source of these lights.
From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA
During meditation you will get into rapture or ecstasy. It is of five kinds viz., the lesser thrill,
momentary rapture, flooding rapture, transporting rapture, and all-pervading rapture. The lesser thrill will raise the hairs of the body (like the goose-skin). The momentary rapture is like the productions of lightning moment by moment. Like waves breaking on the seashore, the flooding rapture descends rapidly on the body and breaks. Transporting rapture is strong and lifts the body up to the extent of launching it into the air. When the all-pervading rapture arises, the whole body is completely surcharged and blown like a full bladder. “Whatever he (the Yogic practitioner) sees with his eyes, let him consider as Atman. Whatever he hears with his ears, let him consider as Atman. Whatever he smells with his nose, let him consider as Atman. Whatever he tastes with his tongue, let him consider as Atman. Whatever the Yogi touches with his skin, let him consider as Atman. The Yogi should thus unwearied gratify his organs of sense for a period of one Yama (3 hours) every day with great effort. The various wonderful powers are attained by the Yogi, such as clairvoyance, clairaudience, ability to transport himself to great distances within a moment, great power of speech, ability to take any form, ability to become invisible, and the transmutation of iron into gold, when the former is smeared over with his excretion.” Yogatattva-Upanishad.
Just as a very skilful archer in shooting at a bird is aware of the way in which he takes his
steps, holds the bow, the bow-string, and the arrow at the time when he pierces the bird, thus
“standing in this position, holding thus the bow, thus the bow-string, and thus the arrow. I pierce the bird,” and ever afterwards would not fail to fulfil these conditions that he might pierce the bird, even so the aspirant should note the conditions such as suitable food, thus “eating this kind of food, following such a person, in such a dwelling in this mode, at this time, I attained to this meditation and Samadhi.”
From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA
If there is much strain in your meditation, reduce the duration of each sitting for a few days.
Do light meditation only. When you have regained the normal tone, again increase the period. Use your common-sense throughout your Sadhana. I always reiterate on this point. 70 MEDITATION “Though men should perform Tapas standing on one leg for a period of 1,000 years, it will not in the least, be equal to one-sixteenth part of Dhyana-Yoga (meditation).” Pingala-Upanishad. Those who meditate for four or five hours at a stretch can have two meditative poses. Sometimes the blood accumulates in one part of the legs or thighs and so gives a little trouble. After two hours change the pose. Or stretch the legs at full length and lean against a wall or pillow. Keep the spine erect. This is the most comfortable Asana. Or join two chairs. Sit in one chair and stretch the legs on another chair. This is another contrivance.
You must daily increase your Vairagya, meditation and Sattvic virtues such as patience,
perseverance, mercy, love, forgiveness, etc. Vairagya and good qualities help meditation.
Meditation increases the Sattvic qualities.
Considerable changes take place in the mind, brain and the nervous system by the practice
of meditation. New nerve-currents, new vibrations, new avenues, new grooves, new cells, new
channels are formed. The whole mind and the nervous system are remodelled. You will have a new heart, a new mind, new sensations, new feelings, new mode of thinking and acting and a new view of the universe (as God in manifestation).
From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA
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