Professional Documents
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Shanti Mandir
BHAGAVAN NITYANANDA*
Issue 10
April 2012
The seeker thought, Why? I never think of monkeys. Why would I think of a
monkey when I meditate?
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A Golden
Vessel
Question:
Could you speak about the hazards of meditating too
many hours a day?
gurudev:
We need to prepare
and purify the physical
body, and also the
other bodies within it,
to avoid the pitfalls of
too much meditation.
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Question:
In our world full of noise and confusion, how do I focus?
gurudev:
Our world is noisy for sure. Yesterday as we were
walking here, after wed spent a few minutes in the
cottage, I said, Its so quiet.
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I dont think you can read about the Blue Pearl in too
many places other than Babas books. Thats why I say
that it was his experience. Of course, after he wrote about
it, many people talked about it.
Question:
So is the Blue Pearl something we can achieve?
Question:
Baba talked a lot about the Blue Pearl. Could you
explain more about it?
gurudev:
The purer you become
within, the brighter
your face is. That
brightness is not
because of anything
other than the light
shining within you.
gurudev:
You can get to a place where you see the light of
Consciousness. How you see it may be the same as
someone else, or it may be different.
Within this physical body are the subtle body, causal
body, and supra-causal body. They are all bodies of light,
or energy bodies. When you dont meditate, you become
denser. You put more covering over the light bodies.
When you begin to meditate, you cleanse and purify the
various bodies. Then the light shines through.
Therefore, its often said our face is a reflection of how
we are inside. The purer you become within, the brighter
your face is. That brightness is not because of anything
other than the light shining within you. And for that you
have to do living yoga.
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The Mantra
Redeems
Question:
.
I have been practicing Om Namah. Sivaya, and today you
.
mentioned Hamsa. I started to do it, but I was battling
with it. Could you please put some light on that?
gurudev:
.
Use the mantra Hamsa
as a means of
concentration, of focus.
.
Use Om Namah. Sivaya
as a reminder.
Youre not the only one. So thank you for that. Everybody
.
has this issue when theyve done Om Namah. Sivaya, or
some mantra, for a period of time. They wonder, How
.
.
do I do Hamsa when my mind automatically goes to Om
Namah. Sivaya?
As you sit for meditation every day, you begin to become
aware of the full breathing process. We breathe, but its
very rare that we find ourselves taking a full, deep breath,
down to the abdomen, and a full exhalation up from the
abdomen.
First allow yourself to become aware of the inhalation
and exhalation. When you find you are able to inhale and
exhale from the abdomen, then along with that breath,
.
do Ham and Sa.
The philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism explains that this is
the sound the breath makes as it goes in and goes out.
.
Up to a certain point, you repeat Ham and Sa. Then you
find that you become quiet. Sometimes you will hear
yourself doing the mantra. But you arent actually doing
it. It is happening.
.
Then the question arises, What do I do with Om Namah.
Sivaya?
As you go about your daily activities, without being
aware of your breathing, without trying to go into
.
meditation, repeat Om Namah. Sivaya.
You have to remind yourself in some way or another that
all of this is a reflection of Consciousness. How can you
do that? You cant say, Reflection, reflection, reflection,
.
reflection, reflection, reflection. So you say Om Namah.
Sivaya. And that reminds you its a reflection. It reminds
you to smile. It reminds you to laugh. It reminds you to
simply sit back and enjoy.
.
You use the mantra Hamsa as a means of concentration,
.
of focus. And you use Om Namah. Sivaya as a reminder.
Question:
If a person repeats a mantra, either consciously or
unconsciously, with the wrong pronunciation, can that
person kill somebody else or himself because of the
power of the mantra?
gurudev:
You wont kill yourself with the power of mantra. Mantra
is that which redeems through contemplation. When
you do it with a positive understanding, it helps you and
uplifts you.
There are people who use mantras to do bad things. Yet
if at the same time you repeat a mantra that protects you,
you wont be hurt by that other person. Ive always found
that the person who chooses the positive route wins.
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All This Is a
Reflection
Question:
Can you speak about ways of staying connected to this
living yoga at times when the mind needs to be focused
on practical, worldly things?
gurudev:
The philosophy of Shaivism talks about a practice called
abhasavada. It means seeing everything as a reflection.
There is no mirror
between you and the
reflection to remind
you that all this is a
reflection. You have
to know.
I think when you are dealing with the world, rather than
think something cant be done, you have to look at it the
other way. You have to think of what is possible, what
can be done. The only question is how.
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and forwards. He knows all the verses. He knows everything. So I said, Lets ask him why he is reading this at
8 oclock in the morning. Normally one would want to
read the newspaper, to know the latest gossip. So we
asked him.
He said, I am Arjuna. And this is Kr.s.n.a speaking to me.
Over the sixty years, somewhere along the line, he
realized Arjuna is not somebody else. The teachings
arent just for preaching or sharing, they are what we
have to learn. We have to take away the distinction that
this is a conversation between Arjuna and Kr.s.n.a on the
battlefield. No, this is my battlefield. I am Arjuna. And
Kr.s.n.a is speaking to me. These teachings are for me.
I am Arjuna. And Kr.s.n.a
is speaking to me.
These teachings are
for me.
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We as seekers have to
learn to trust that first
response. It comes from
a place of truth, of
Consciousness.
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G l o s s a r y
abhasavada
arat
Kr.s.n.a
kun.d.alin
Arjuna
mantra
Bhagavad G ta
Hindu scripture
dharma
righteous law
.
Hamsa
.
Om Namah. Sivaya
sadhana
spiritual practices
sakti
japa
Kashmir Shaivism
universal, eternal
kriya-
repetition of a mantra
philosophy based on the idea that all is Consciousness
mental or physical purification, generated by the
awakened kun.d.alin-
sanatan
.
satsang
Tukaram Maharaj
[1608-1650] poet saint