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SOV
25 June 2011, 09:51 AM
One of my favorite books, really old one which my great grand father was using, mentions about the need of a guru who is qualified. But I still think there might be some exceptional cases. Anyway, my main intention of this thread is to have as much info as much views about how the meditation is practiced by the HDF members.

The things I know till now:
1) Should not sit on floor without a mat or cloth.
2) Need to see the tip of the nose(need special guidance on this. I have raked all the resources that i could but no dough. I can't see the tip of the nose. I tried to do this once and spent half an hour without success and got up and started browsing Internet again)
3) One has to do the pranayama. Need to chant the gayatri 18 times during inhale, hold and exhale(according to that old book)
4)I a still discovering the magic of OM. The vaishvanara, taijasa and prajna which we have to know in all these I exist.(more info reqd)
5) Is there anything apart from these I need to do? And much help needed on the tip of the nose thing please.
thanks

Eastern Mind
25 June 2011, 10:39 AM
Vannakkam SOV:

Sit straight, spine erect, head balanced, eyes closed... probably nothing new, but oh well. Diaphramatic breathing.

Aum Namasivaya

charitra
25 June 2011, 10:43 AM
Vannakkam SOV:

Sit straight, spine erect, head balanced, eyes closed... probably nothing new, but oh well. Diaphramatic breathing.

Aum Namasivaya

EMji
since i know 8000 Sidddhis, I should be the one talking here, enlightening our SOV hindu, back off.:rolleyes:

SOV
25 June 2011, 11:26 AM
@ Eastern Mind,
Thanks for your reply.

@charitra,
:confused: :confused:
what do you mean? 8000 siddhis? SOV hindu.....

smaranam
25 June 2011, 12:45 PM
2) Need to see the tip of the nose(need special guidance on this. I have raked all the resources that i could but no dough. I can't see the tip of the nose. I tried to do this once and spent half an hour without success and got up and started browsing Internet again)

Namaste SOV, it is the adnyA chakra (ajn~A chakra) one "looks at" but rather focuses on. nAsikagra: or some such word in Gita is the beginning of the nose or between eyebrows.

om namo bhagavate vAsudevAya
praNAm

yajvan
26 June 2011, 03:39 PM
 
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté


the tip of the nose ?? This HDF post may be of interest
http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=7419&highlight=nose


http://media.commercialappeal.com/mca/content/img/photos/2007/11/21/24india4.jpeg


praṇām

devotee
27 June 2011, 02:27 AM
Namaste SOV,


One of my favorite books, really old one which my great grand father was using, mentions about the need of a guru who is qualified. But I still think there might be some exceptional cases. Anyway,

my main intention of this thread is to have as much info as much views about how the meditation is practiced by the HDF members.

The things I know till now:
1) Should not sit on floor without a mat or cloth.
2) Need to see the tip of the nose(need special guidance on this. I have raked all the resources that i could but no dough. I can't see the tip of the nose. I tried to do this once and spent half an hour without success and got up and started browsing Internet again)
3) One has to do the pranayama. Need to chant the gayatri 18 times during inhale, hold and exhale(according to that old book)
4)I a still discovering the magic of OM. The vaishvanara, taijasa and prajna which we have to know in all these I exist.(more info reqd)
5) Is there anything apart from these I need to do? And much help needed on the tip of the nose thing please.
thanks

There are many types of meditation and every meditation is done in a particular way. I would advise to do it under the guidance of Guru. However, some points are mentioned below :

a) Sitting posture is extremely important for Raaj-Yoga. The Kundalini energy has to travel through Shushumna nerve to reach the Sahasrar Chakra & for that the spine must be erect. Many yogis teach sitting posture for quite a long time to students before teaching the actual yoga.

b) Looking at a point varies from one type of meditation to the other. Whatever type of meditation is chosen, this has to be kept in mind that there should be no strain on eyes (initially a little strain may be felt but gradually it should be a natural state of eyes). The eyes can be kept open and also closed. They may be fixed at nose-tip or on Ajna-chakra i.e. point between the eyebrows. The meditation with eyes fixed between the eyebrows is a faster way and should be done under the guidance of some Guru. Some Raa-yoga teachers teach to focus first on lower chakras & then to move slowly to higher chakras.

In Buddhist meditation, some schools prefer to look at a point a little distance from the sitting position.

===> Please note that eye-gaze at a point lower than the nose-tip will induce sleep (sub-consciousness) while meditating which should be avoided. Focussing at Ajna chakra would take towards super-consciousness.

c) Reciting Gayatri Mantra is not necessary. Yes, you should invoke God and Guru to help you during meditation. Actually, there is a vulnerable point during meditation when you are suscetible to coming under the influence of bad spirits / vibrations in the surroundings which is thwarted by invoking God/Guru before starting meditation.

d) Listening to vibration/sounds of OM is a type of meditation. OM is the Naad-Brahman i.e. Brahman in the form of sound or soundlessness which is teh ultimate reality. By closing eyees and ears & focussing on right ear, you will hear different sounds depending upon your spiritual advancement. Norammly you will hear humming bees sound, jingle bells ... which comes from the Mooladhaar chakra because of our consciousness being more under the influence of subject of sex organs.

OM

yajvan
27 June 2011, 03:11 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté


There is no doubt that 'seat' (āsana) is a fundamental requirement and this is what occurs on the level of the frame ( body)...
Devotee's offer is sound.

Let's just extend this idea a bit more. There is a most insightful sūtra offered in the Śiva sūtra-s¹ (Chapt 3.16) says the following:

āsanasthaḥ sukaṁ hrade nimajjati||

āsanasthaḥ आसनस्थ - abiding on a seat; we see the compound word of āsana and we know of postures from hatha yoga.
sukaṁ सुख - running swiftly or easily ( applied to chariots) ; agreeable , gentle , mild , easy, comfortable.
hrade is rooted in hṛ हृ - to take away, carry off, to present. We find this word at the core of hari ' the remover' and hara ' one who takes away' . This hṛ हृ also means withdraw.
nimajjati is a bit more robust - IMHO it needs to be broken to its components:
ni नि is into, within
ma म also means happiness
aj अज् is to cast, drive, or propel
jāti जाति jati birth, natural disposition and jāta जात is birth or origin, brought into existence.
So what is this telling us? Let me give you my POV and then in the next post I will offer Svāmī Lakṣman-jū's council.

I hightlighted some of the key words above they tell us what becomes of a person practicing an āṇavopāya¹ approach. That is, when one is practicing āṇavopāya in a successful manner, ones awareness is seated comfortably and easily withdrawn within to its natural disposition (pure consciousness); its natually drawn within, carried off in happiness within (if you will), that is agreeable and effortless.

This has been the position offered by my teacher too on this matter… he would use the words ' a comfortable ride ' often when he talked of transcending and what we could expect i.e. to validate the experience. This has been the experience, and verifies this most wonderful Śiva sūtra.

praṇām

words and references

Śiva sūtra-s of Vasugupta or Maheśvara sūtra-s महेश्वर सूत्र are considered śivopaniṣad saṅgraha
āṇavopāya is part of a group of 3 upāya-s:
1. sāmbhavopāya (sāmbhava upāya)
This upāya The rise of Śiva consciousness by mere hints from the guru. It is via iccha śākti that the sādhu advances; the grace/will of the master. The sadhu gains entry into sāmaveśa ( posessed of the Divine), absorption of the individual consciousness in the Divine, without adapting any process. No dhyāna, mantra or any other aid is needed.

1a. sāmbhavopāya is also known as anupāya or 'without means or no upāya' - the way is without a way, as one person has said it. It does not really involve any process. Due to śaktipata or descent of grace in a very intense degree, everything needed for the realization, beginning from the liquidation of individual impurity down to the recognition of the state of Parameśvara may be achieved by the sādhu immediately and without going through any sādhana or discipline.

2. śākopāya (shakti-upāya)
The means of approach to the Divine through śakti, the ever-recurring contemplation of the pure thought of oneself being essentially Śiva or the Supreme ahaṁ .

3. āṇavopāya
āṇu अणु = fine , minute , atomic is known as 'atom' - which is another name for the individual jiva.
This upāya is the means whereby the āṇu or the individual jiva uses his own kāraṇa-s or instruments i.e. senses, prana and manas for self-realization. It includes disciplines concerning the regulation of prana, japa, concentration, meditation, etc.
Previous conversation from http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=25724&postcount=17 (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=25724&postcount=17)

yajvan
27 June 2011, 08:49 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté




and then in the next post I will offer Svāmī Lakṣman-jū's council.


Here is Svāmī Lakṣman-jū's view on this matter.
āsanasthaḥ sukaṁ hrade nimajjati ||
He says the sutra reads like this: Seated in the real posture (āsanasthaḥ) he effortlessly dives (sukaṁ hrade) into the ocean of nectar (nimajjati)

Svāmī-ji suggests that āsana-s or postures explained in the Yogadarśana of Patańjali are beyond just the postures one thinks
of i.e. śīrṣāsana, etc. He says śivayoga is the posture that one must understand to comprehend the posture of a yogī.
That posture is the supreme energy of awareness. You are seated in that 'posture' when you possess the supreme energy of awareness.
Being 'seated' suggested being established in it at all times - residing in the SELF.

But what of this notion of diving? Svāmī-ji's position on this is the following: In diving into the ocean of nectar he lets the
impressions of the body, breath, etc. sink into that ocean and becomes one with the nectar.

And what is the nectar? The SELF, Pure awareness.

praṇām

SOV
28 June 2011, 07:36 AM
@smaranam, devotee and yajvan,

Namaste and thank you so much for your inputs. What yajvan has offered in the last post is really interesting and clears much doubt. I'll take time to read it again and try out a few things mentioned. Deeper insight on this is really going to help.

Thanks

Mana
29 June 2011, 07:55 AM
Namasté SOV

If I might add to the accumulated thoughts on this matter, our moments of meditation, introspection and prayer are intrinsically interconnected though Karma to our daily lives, every thought being a result of and creating motion in the swirling field about us, it is also through right action and awareness of karma that we still the field enough to then still the flickering of the mind; our mind then becoming a singular one pointed protrusion at the forefront of our Dharma.
Enabling the avoidance of future entanglement with Karma and facilitating both our meditation and our awareness.
Evidently if we live in aggravation or turmoil this will be reflected in our thought process.

Music is a fantastic meditative practise, The guitar has been my master for many years always solely for meditative purposes, it is via this practise that I have had the most success in my advancement. More recently with singing to.

During meditation if we cannot yet still the mind we should learn from that which is shown to us during internal observation, we should consider affecting changes in our daily lives and comportment as these thoughts may suggest to us, the watchful eye of a Guru is greatly beneficial at this time, no progress will be made if we are not honest with our selves and are thus led astray by our egos.

The further we progress the more easily we led ourselves astray, the subtitle ego has still many tricks to play.
Always dancing for Maya!

Om Shanti.

SOV
30 June 2011, 11:12 AM
Namaste mana,

Thanks for your inputs. I think soft music like bhajan would surely help, yes. It has proved to be effective for me.

After seeing the exploits of nayasurya in another thread, I began to wonder about a lot of things. I just felt, If anyone is treading the path of moksha, It is so important to follow the varnashrama dharma. Depending on when we get the zeal for mukti, one has to be either brahmachari(celibate) or a grihastha. Any guidance on brahmacharya would be of great help.

thanks

devotee
30 June 2011, 11:12 PM
Namaste SOV,

I was trying to write on Raaj-yoga in detail in this thread but due to paucity of time, it could not be completed. It still is very useful. You may like to read this thread :

http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=5798

OM

Mana
04 July 2011, 04:46 AM
Namasté SOV,

Just a thought.
This trail that has been left, through time by the wise who walk it. liberation from Maya for the pursuit of release from samsara.

If this path has been trodden through Maya, from what is it made?

Human interactions are at the very base of humanity, the very foundation of any community. If we are to rise above the base level drives and instincts of the Muladhara Chakra. We must be aware of their contribution to Maya, abstinence frees us to become more aware of these interactions.

This is of particular importance to those who are naturally more attractive to the opposite sex and thus confidant, they are at great risk of downfall from ego.

With spiritual progress comes confidence which may be very new to the aspirant, confidence is attractive to the opposite sex. An aspirant in this circumstance maybe at great danger of downfall from the spiritual path.

A sure route back into the depths of Maya for one who is not stable in their spiritual progress, is through the pursuit of another's affection or the delusion created by receiving another's affection without being truly unattached.

Brahmacharya is of the utmost importance for maintaining stability within a community, especially if that community strives for spiritual advance.
Greed and addiction in any form will create corresponding Karmic reactions and resulting movement of Dharma, the worst form of this being from the abuse of power.

I would recommend meditating on The Bhagavad Gita chapter 1 38-44 for the better clarification of this.


Om Shanti.

brahman
13 July 2011, 03:58 AM
One of my favorite books, really old one which my great grand father was using, mentions about the need of a guru who is qualified. But I still think there might be some exceptional cases. Anyway, my main intention of this thread is to have as much info as much views about how the meditation is practiced by the HDF members.

The things I know till now:

1) Should not sit on floor without a mat or cloth.

2) Need to see the tip of the nose(need special guidance on this. I have raked all the resources that i could but no dough. I can't see the tip of the nose. I tried to do this once and spent half an hour without success and got up and started browsing Internet again)

3) One has to do the pranayama. Need to chant the gayatri 18 times during inhale, hold and exhale(according to that old book)

4)I a still discovering the magic of OM. The vaishvanara, taijasa and prajna which we have to know in all these I exist.(more info reqd)

5) Is there anything apart from these I need to do? And much help needed on the tip of the nose thing please.

thanks








Dear SOV,

Pranamas to your grandfather who initiated you to the secrets of dhyana and gayatri

1) Cloth mat is fine

2) & 5) Never expect or attempt to see the tip of the nose on the first day of our meditation. As, our two eyes are optimized to see two different portions of an object, our perception of any object is the view of both eyes in its totality. Thus, our mundane life has distracted our concentration.

Instead, keep trying to look at the tip of the nose, and fix your mind on the eye brow center, where we may visualize a deity, Aum or our breath or any noble thought (depends on whatever consciousness we have).

This will empower our ‘Ajna chakra’ or the ‘guru chakra’, which is the most commanding chakra among all chakras. There is a guru in everyone and ajna is the Guru within ourselves.

Getting comfortable to be able to sit for meditation is very important. Sit calmly, get ourself comfortable with meditative abilities to sit idle for atleast 20 minutes a day, and slip into a quiet state without moving our body parts .This is asana. Now, we are prepared to try gazing the nose tip, pranayama, meditation or anything that fetches us peace of mind.

3) Gayatri is a beautiful rendition, there is no mantra as purifying as gayatri . The more we ‘inhale’ the gayatri, 18, 108, 1008, the more it calms us , purifies us and uplifts us.

4) May be we are too early for The vaishvanara, taijasa and prajna.

Love:)

SOV
13 July 2011, 12:19 PM
@all,
Thanks for your valuable inputs.