Today, all of us are exploring divinity to attain peace. In this process, we are experimenting with ourselves and divinity too. We fail to anchor ourselves firmly to one form of divinity because our mind vacillates and we demand variety. We want to try different meditation courses, kriyas, mantras and forms of worship. We use the faculty of logic to comprehend everything. Due to this, our faith and devotion are very shaky.
Sage Kashyapa tells us that with the practice of pranayama we can stabilise the restlessness of the mind and enhance our concentration. It integrates the power of will, comprehension and action to form the power of resolution, which actualises all our aspirations. Without this, however hard we try, most of our aspirations do not fructify and we lose peace.
Prana—our vital life force—can be compared to the chain of a bicycle which connects the wheels of the cycle to the pedals. One wheel represents our body and the other represents our mind. If the chain is strong and well-aligned, the bicycle moves smoothly. The handle of the cycle represents our power of will, comprehension and action that steer us in the right direction. With daily practice of pranayama, the wheels of life move forward effortlessly.
Pranayama naturally leads to dharana which is complete focus, concentration or awareness. With this, the power of will is fully transformed into the power of comprehension and faculty of discrimination or viveka.
This acts as the inner guide to prompt us in the right direction. It stabilises the mind and removes its fickleness. Discrimination is the pinnacle of human life. Our name, fame and happiness arise from our ability to discriminate. Sages say, “The power of discrimination is the most precious gift of human incarnation. Nurture and cultivate it. Do not lose it at any cost.”
When we have discrimination, we begin to ask ourselves: “Why am I doing things in this way? What is the purpose of my life? What is it that I have to achieve? What have I come here to establish? Often, I think only of what I can get, but how many times do I think of what I can give?”
In this manner, with dharana we acquire the ability to focus on the right things in life and when we sit down for sadhana, our mind acquires the capacity to withdraw itself from our senses and concentrate completely on divinity.
Dharana automatically takes us to the next step which is dhyana or meditation, where the mind is completely established in divinity. The mind dwells spontaneously on the form, name or energy of God, all the time. This is true meditation. When the mind is constantly chanting the name of God, it acquires great power.
Meditation culminates in samadhi or complete dissolution of our identity in divinity like the sages of the yore have demonstrated to us. We have read in the scriptures that the sages would be immersed in the state of samadhi for days, weeks and sometimes years. In this state of deep absorption, they were totally oblivious of everything around them. They sat so still that termites would build anthills around them and they would be completely enclosed.
A yogi can meditate anywhere —even in the noisiest place, because he has acquired the ability to transcend senses and hold the mind steady. He has pin-pointed concentration or dhriti like a laser beam. When we reach this stage of evolution, the mind is always at peace. It is completely stable and in a state of total equipoise.
Just like a four-year-old child cannot acquire an M.A or M.Tech degrees as soon as he or she joins school. He or she has to climb the ladder of education in a systematic way. In life, too, when we progress step by step, the success we achieve is stable and equipoise extends to every facet of our lives.
ashram-india@shrinimishamba.org