Thieves rob your mind ...

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

Thieves rob your mind while you are meditating. They deprive you of your valuables. Hence you should not meditiate keeping your eyes closed... svāmī lakṣman-jū



What do you thing svāmī-ji is trying to tell the aspirant of meditation ?

praṇām

[ShivaFan]

Namaste

There is a saying, "There is no honor among thieves". In a den of thieves, there are no rules because that is how thieves like the "club". When thieves gather in their den, the hide out, the club, they choose a place where there are no rules, then they think they can relax from the hand of the law. But even there, in the den, they find out quickly, they cannot relax.

Why? Because where there are no rules that apply, all those other thieves around them in the den are driven by passions. So even the thief in the den of thieves cannot relax even for a moment. They tred carefully, because they know their fellow thieves in the den are driven for passion, and the worst thing you can do among such passions is to get another thief angry.

Passion ignited by anger will set the den of thieves on fire, and the noise of the fight will attract the law, to expose the den to the law.

So what does a thief do in a den of thieves?

Easy. They act "cool". Which is just slang for acting friendly to the other thieves in the den. To "be easy".

But being "cool" doesn't mean relaxing. The thief looks left and right while in the den, watching the other thieves at every moment, it is almost a state of constant action, and there is no honor among thieves so in a den of thieves each thief needs to never be distracted by the temptation of the other thief or during such distraction the thief may be robbed by another thief in the den.

So a den of thieves is a very complex and moving, intense place. It may be a hide away from the law, but you must never relax. To survive, you must be cool with your fellow thieves, always show the friendly go easy face. But you must be alert from any distraction or temptation or your fellow thief will rob you. You can never rest in a den of thieves. Action is your every moment in a den of thieves, looking left and right, up and down, every step you make, you have to be careful that bottle of gin is not spiked with death for you, that bit of food is not going to knock you out, and you are friendly with those other thieves who want to distract you or the fight will break out and the law will quickly discover your den simply due to the crash and din of the fight.

Unless you live in an excluded place on a Himalayan mountain, it is difficult to meditate if your live in a den of thieves. So you have no choice. You must be friendly with these other thieves who want to distract and tempt you, because there is no honor among thieves and they will rob you. You must have action in your meditation, if you live in a den of thieves. In a den of thieves there is no rest where law is lacking. In a den of thieves you must show them a friendly face and be "cool" if you want to survive. Be awake when you meditate, sleep is also a thief of your precious time, and be watchful of them. Never stop looking, down, up, left, right. Action is the rule of the day, and the night, in a den of thieves where no rules apply.

That is .., if you live in a den of thieves. The world has more life than perhaps some imagine. Some thieves cannot even be seen, but they are there.

So this is probably the wrong answer to the question, Yajvan.

Unless perhaps you live in a den of thieves, like I do.

Om Namah Sivaya

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: The only thief of mind I have encountered had another name: Alzheimer's ... and yet another name ... Siva.

Aum Namasivaya

[charitra]

When hindus were immersed in upasana, marauders have dealtwith a lethal blow with their repeated savage invasions for 800 years. So thereyou go, meditation has a serious downside!! Obviously pun intended.

[Arjuni]

Namasté,

My first thought about these words is that by "eyes" he is referring to the inner vision that should be awake and searching during meditation. If a person simply closes his physical eyes and "meditates" by sitting calmly with no real goal, then "thieves" like pride (How holy and pure I am, I'm meditating!) and arrogance (This 'spirituality' thing is easier than I thought! And people act like it's hard!) arise to disturb the realisation of Self. The realisation - one's most valuable treasure - will only arise with the inner eyes wide open, bravely searching out the aspirant's ignorance and seeking its remedy.

What about you, Yajvan; how do you "see" (couldn't resist the pun) this teaching?

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté


Here is one way to consider svāmī lakṣman-jū's offer.


Thieves rob your mind = they take away one's focus, they distract. The 'thieves' here can be distractions, they could be one's thoughts, or the wandering of the mind.

They deprive you of your valuables = they curtail your one pointed-ness; your resolve, but more importantly the notion of the march of the mind inward (pratyāhāra¹).

Hence you should not meditiate keeping your eyes closed - this symbolism/hint (saṃketa) is interesting. The notion has nothing to do with one's physical eyes being open or closed. We associate seeing ( and hence the eyes) with alertness, with attentiveness. Hence svāmī-ji is suggesting one always remain alert.
What is this alert-ness ? It is called anusandhāna ( anu+san +dhāna)¹ or ever-refreshed awareness. If one's 'eyes are closed' they are not alert or outside this anusandhāna, and randomness creeps into one's practice of meditation.

So , now one may ask, what am I to do about these thieves, about remaining one-pointed, practicing anusandhāna to the best of my abilities ? We can look at this in the next post.

praṇām
words

pratyāhāra - drawing back; retreating; a word for transcending.
anusandhāna ( anu+san +dhāna)
anu = one after another , repeatedly or in the words we are using in the post , ever-refreshed
san= to be successful , be granted or fulfilled
dhāna - holding, containing
Hence the continual flow ( one after the other) of successfully (san) holding (dhāna) awareness.

[Mana]

हरिः ओम्


Namaste Yajvan, All,



A fascinating quote thank you for posting; the words of Swami Lakshman Ju bring me much joy.
These are the thoughts that this quote have stirred in me.

If we are not aware of the state of the Guna, the flow of prana, we are not aware of our selves.
This is especially important during our daily lives, in our interactions and dealings with others.

My valuables are my powers of perception, of good discernment; equanimity so as to be capable of unconditional love.


praṇāma

mana


ॐ नमः शिवाय

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté


So , now one may ask, what am I to do about these thieves, about remaining one-pointed, practicing anusandhāna to
the best of my abilities ?

On theives
If one considers thieves the mischief of thoughts during meditation , then one pays them no attention.
We simply do not get caught up in them. They occur, but if one pays them no mind ( pays them no energy)
they come and go and have little affect.

On remaining one-pointed
One simply sticks to the practice of anusandhāna or ever refreshed awareness, and this cultures one-pointedness
within us.

On best of one's abilities
One practices via sandhi. This sandhi ( many write saṃdhi) means containing a conjunction or transition from one to the other ;
containing a pause or rest. This infers the time of day ( to begin with) i.e. the dawn of the morning, just before sunrise
and the dusk which brings the evening or setting of the sun. These are the junction points - the in between times.
And what do we do during saṃdhi ? We practice anusandhāna or ever refreshed awareness.

Yet as one continues their practice over time - these junction points are found many other places. We can talk
Of this if there is interest.

And from a kaśmir śaivism point of view, one can consider the practice anusandhānaikāgratā. We should be familur with this term.
Note it contains the following: anusandhāna + ikāgratā¹. This idea is more oriented to those with full attention on their practice and we can leave this for another time.

praṇām

words

anusandhāna + ikāgratā

anusandhāna = ever refreshed awareness
ikāgrata
ika = eka = alone , solitary , single , happening only once
gra can mean tuvigra or of equal name
tā = crossing

[JaiMaaDurga]

Namaste,

Certainly sound and timeless advice, considering
there are still many who confuse the goal of meditation as being
the achievement of some flavor of stupor, or hypnagogic state;
for though the intent may not have been to address the physical
or practical aspects of practice, there is still value in parsing
the statement on such a basic level.

How often has sleep been described as a thief? Also, the human
tendency to confuse one's mental model or construction of reality,
as opposed to reality as it is, give birth to countless "thieves" as well...

Some think it best to minimize all sensory input during practice,
but this is not often practical or desirable. The minds of those not
yet sufficiently advanced in their practice are subject to the sort
of hallucinations or disturbances as experienced by those who were
subjects in sensory-deprivation experiments, when they attempt such
disciplines without proper guidance or understanding.

Consider those past and present who exemplify mastery over the senses,
and the physical body. This is a means, not an end- but such mastery
was not achieved by ignoring one's senses and body, or removing any
and all possible stimuli. Take a person from 1000 years ago, and drop them
into the busiest intersection of any major modern city- in all likelihood,
they would be frozen in terror, overwhelmed by the cacophony of unfamiliar
and alien sights, sounds and smells assaulting their senses.

I fear once again I have wandered a bit farther than the reader's patience
is comfortable with, but hopefully the general essence of my words
is in some way discernible :o

JAI MATA DI

[Arjunesh]

I think as more someone meditates the point will come alone where nobody and nothing disturbes anymore

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté arjunesh,


I think as more someone meditates the point will come alone where nobody and nothing disturbes anymore

What do you feel this point in time is called, or the condition ?

Are you familar with the term samāveśa or absorption into one's own Self (sva-ātmānam) ?

praṇām

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté




Are you familar with the term samāveśa or absorption into one's own Self (sva-ātmānam) ?

Some too call this samāveśa or absorption ātmavyāpti or the submersion ( some like to call penetration¹) into one's own Self or ātman.

praṇām

1. 'penetration' is used based upon the definition of vyāpti = to vyāpta meaning spread through , pervaded , extended , covered or filled with , thoroughly occupied or penetrated by

[Necromancer]

hariḥ oṁ

~~~~~~

namasté

Thieves rob your mind while you are meditating. They deprive you of your valuables. Hence you should not meditiate keeping your eyes closed... svāmī lakṣman-jū



What do you thing svāmī-ji is trying to tell the aspirant of meditation ?

praṇām

Namaste.

Maybe it's trying to tell them if they have attachments to material possessions, they shouldn't even be meditating in the first place...either that, or Trataka is amazing then you won't care anymore because dhyan compels it.

I'll try and write up some meditation articles for here over the next few days.

Aum Namah Shivaya

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

Namaste.
Maybe it's trying to tell them if they have attachments to material possessions, they shouldn't even be meditating in the first place...either that, or Trataka is amazing then you won't care anymore because dhyan compels it.

Material possessions and the attachments to them last for some time...svāmī lakṣman-jū's wisdom goes much further then this. If one does not dip into purity then these attachments do not go away so not meditating is not the way.

Svāmī lakṣman-jū is suggesting one's practice goes on all the time eyes open or closed. This is the crux of the offer that is explained in post 6 above.

iti śivaṁ