some fundamentals...
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté
I wrote in another post,
the more you engage the mind the more you stay on the surface of the mind. Like swimming on the surface of the ocean. You are tossed here and there by the waves. The silence of the ocean is found in its depths, not on the surface. Same with the mind... the goal is not on the surface but at its depths - that is where pure awareness can be found.
This will not be an instruction post, to do that is quite different a matter indeed.
Let me offer the following for one's consideration. For some people that wish to become meditators (dhyāyin-s) they may start at the abuddha condition i.e. unawakened, where the mind flutters here-and-there. Hence swimming on the surface is the best they can do in their initial condition.
This does not suggest they are ~bad~ people nor a ~poor~ adhikārin¹. It suggests they need to begin with some fundamental techniques (upāya¹) that will bring discipline to the mind. Why discipline ? We will see after several posts how this applies.
We want to take the aspirant from the abuddha condition to buddha to prabuddha ( some say supra-buddha) condition. That is, from unawakened to fully awake. From a yoga point of view we wish to go from bhāvanā to samādhi to the samāpatti condition.
Let's define these so there is no confusion...some say all 3 are the same, others see some differences.
- bhāvanā - direct one's thoughts ; reflection; contemplation yet the key words to walk away with is 'saturating , steeping , infusion'.
- Let's call this the repeated saturation and engagement with the method/approach/instruction of meditation to the exclusion to all others. That is, awareness is engrossed in the process of meditation (the mind is the apparatus or tool that is used).
- samādhi - is the highest level of bhāvanā - the awareness is completely one-pointed and saturated.
- samāpatti - is the transformation of the mind ; the completion , conclusion or the result of ones continued practice of samādhi.
So, pending one's existing condition or disposition one needs to decide the entry point for one's practice. For some where the mind continually waivers, simple ideas that bring some discipline to the aspirant can be employed.
Yet as the person progresses additional methods are offered and tested to see how the methods bear fruit. This is the role of the teacher. To offer these methods and see the outcomes and chart the proper course for the individual.
To pick up several methods and approaches and try them sporadically is like taking mutiple colors of paint and throwing them against a
canvas and hope that a picture emerges.
Here is where disipline point 1 comes in: Well begun is half done. We need to have a method and a guide.
Now what is that method ? Let's talk of one approach that is offered by śeṣa patañjali (the author of the yoga-sūtras¹); There are other approaches but for this post it is about the fundamentals and this is where we will begin.
We need to view and understand the following:
- dhyāna ध्यान
- dhāraṇā धारणा
- samādhi समाधि
this will be reviewed in the next post ...
iti śivaṁ
words
- adhikārin - fit for; possessing authority. This word is used for one that is 'fit' for kari or accomplishment.
- That of being on the path of sādhana. And what is this sādhana ? It is the means of effecting or accomplishing , any agent or instrument or implement or utensil ; an expedient.
It is the one that wishes to be the sādhu - straightened , not entangled or the virtuous , honorable , righteous
person on the path of unfoldment.
- upāya उपाय that by which one reaches one's aim ; a means for success
- yoga-sūtras some write pātañjalayogasūtra-s
Last edited by yajvan; 18 December 2012 at 04:22 PM.
यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
because you are identical with śiva
_
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