beginning of spiritual journey!

[Jayant]

Namaste everyone!
I am Jayant.Currently i am in the final semester of final year if Btech and new to this forum.
I have been practising chakta meditation for 2 weeks. I was really confused about how to practice chakra meditation in right way and for the same I have surfed lot of websites_ too.Fortunately I happened to visit this websites and through a forum I came to know that right time for performing meditation is Brahamamuhurat .Here are some questions that trouble me-
1.since the last two days I wake up between 4-5 AM and start meditating.
BUT I did it without answering the nature's call,brushing teeth n washing face. :O
Is it okay to do so?
2.Are sexual desires an obstruction in the path of meditation?
3.Should there be any aim in mind before performing meditation?
I mean to say has it to be done for purposes only?

Sorry for the poor English and stupid questions (as it may sound to others)
But still I hope to see your response.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam, and Welcome to HDF. I hope your stay is fruitful

Aum Namasivaya

[surrenderindailylife]

Namaste Jayant

Currently i am in the final semester of final year if Btech and new to this forum.

IMHO, a daily systematic study of Bhagavad Geeta while pursuing your wordly duties would help. After you feel, you know a particular teaching of Bhagavad Geeta, try to apply this in your daily life as best as you can.

Aum Namah Shivay

[c.smith]

Hari Om!

You are more than welcome here and I find your questions much less than "stupid" as you say that they may sound to others.

Sant Sri Asaram Bapuji has a most excellent book on the subject, "The Secret of Eternal Youth" as does Swami Sivananda, "Brahmacharya" which will answer your queries in detail.

From my own experience, it is imperative that cleanliness be attended to before beginning mediation, etc. This includes the calls of nature as the body is truly ready to purge the bowels at this time.

Desires, sexual or otherwise can be an obstruction on the path. Many find that the sexual urge especially strong and may dissipate over time. But this can also apply to desires in general. The more we have the more we want it seems but this can also apply to spiritual practice and a longing for union with god or moksha.

Am aim in mind before mediation? More experienced members of the forum will have to tackle this one.

Not certain how you are practicing chakra mediation but a simple practice follows:

Breathe. Inhale and see the breath going up the spine connecting to god and releasing all to this god, exhale, see the breath going down the spine centering and grounding.

May not seem like a chakra mediation but is does activate the centers as the breath energizes as it passes each and aligns the whole system as well. If this doesn't work for you or conflicts with a system that already works, please avoid as there is no need for additional add-ons or confusion.

Hope this helps in some small way. Is only what has worked for me and from experiences shared from others that I have incorporated into my own practices that have been beneficial.

Again, welcome.

Om

[Jayant]

A big thanks to each and everyone for the reply (c.smith in particular! )

[Amrut]

Namaste Jayant

Welcome to HDF

I have been practising chakta meditation for 2 weeks. I was really confused about how to practice chakra meditation in right way and for the same I have surfed lot of websites_ too.Fortunately I happened to visit this websites and through a forum I came to know that right time for performing meditation is Brahamamuhurat .

Waking up at Brahmamuhurata is a good thing. Chakra Meditation needs a proper guidance and over activation too much stress for improper handling of thoughts in meditation may not give good results. You may end up getting more frustrated.

Please do not depend upon net. There is a lots of info, all call it their way of teaching as authentic.

If you wish to actually do chakra meditation, please check for Paramhansa Prajnanananda (PraGYAnanda) of Kriya Yoga. He is disciple of Paramhansa Hariharananda, who inturn is disciple of Sri Yukteshwar, a house hold saint and Paramhansa Yogananda. They are not attached to Paramhansa Yogananda's any of the ashrams. Different Guru-s gave him different initiations.

The teachings are straight, to the point and there is no diverting of attention, pressing one for money, donations, etc. The atmosphere is home-like. They are not pro and setup is also not of pro level. But they are very genuine people as far as I know.

Paramhansa Prajnanananda ji himself gives initiations to many and one initiation is enough for one life time.

If at all you wish to practice, please be aware of heart chakra then Ajna (AGYA) chakra, as many times too much focus many result in headache, heavyness. Heart chakra makes things soft.

Please can you tell me how exactly and what exactly you do in meditation.

Here are some questions that trouble me-
1.since the last two days I wake up between 4-5 AM and start meditating.
BUT I did it without answering the nature's call,brushing teeth n washing face. :O

Is it okay to do so?

If Moksha is the only goal of life and you are ready to quite everything for it, including your degree, instructions given will be different. Generally this is not the case.

We want knowledge and want to excel in spirituality, but we also wish to continue our journey in the material world. The instructions will differ in this case. So will to have to tell us the goal of life.

If you sleep chanting Gods name and then when you wake up, and the name continues i.e. the first thought immediately after waking is the name of God, then you can ditch the daily rutine like answering nature's call. But tow things should be there.

1. moksha should be the only goal
2. strong will and faith to by one with Paramatman

Else better answer nature's call, brush and bath.

In general, it is not allowed to bath immediately after finishing chakra or kundalini meditation. This is because, when you meditate, lots of spiritual energy flow through you. After you finish meditation, you are left with excess energy. You will have to know how to handle it.

Some are taught to release in environment,
Some to pass or say root it to mother earth,
Some may bless the entire planet,
Some use excess energy for healing purpose (guidance is necessary) and
Some may store the energy in different ways (guidance is necessary)

So it all depends how you have been taught.

Generally Yogi-s do not bath after meditation, as bathing drains energy. So it will be better if you take bath, answer nature's call, brush teeth and then sit for meditation. Outward purity leads to inner purity. This is the general rule. Also bathing will make you fresh and you will not feel sleepy.

I again request you to please join an authentic or tradition Yoga foundation and do a course.

2.Are sexual desires an obstruction in the path of meditation?

Sex energy is natural. It should not be considered as negative and hindrance to spiritual growth. But this energy can be transformed into spiritual energy. Again guidance is necessary. Transforming it into spiritual energy will reduce sexual desires.

Remember Sex energy is necessary. Excess sex energy, over activation of mulAdhAra chakra is not good. Sex energy keeps body fit and healthy.

As a general rule, anything in excess is poison. It is natural to have desires and ejaculation follows from time to time. This is natural too, but to give it importance or take it as an aid to relieve mental pressure is not a good idea. For mental relaxation, meditation and chanting Gods name should bring tranquillity. We must develop ourselves in this way.

Anything in excess is poison. Hence do not go for excess and do not completely curb it either.

3.Should there be any aim in mind before performing meditation?
I mean to say has it to be done for purposes only?

Answer depends upon your goal in life and why you are meditating and for what you are meditating.

The type and direction of meditation depends upon your goal. Ultimate goal of Yoga is the be united with Paramatman.

Sorry for the poor English and stupid questions (as it may sound to others)
But still I hope to see your response.

No questions are silly and please do not worry about your english either. You may not loose marks here in HDF

But I must say that you will have to read some spiritual books which may not directly deal with chakra meditation.

For spiritual progress, Gita is the most recommended text. It has been interpreted in many ways. Hence selecting a proper book, that suits you is good. That again will depend upon which foundation you join.

For general reading, books by Gita Press are good one and they sell very cheaply. Many Yogi-s have also written commentary on Bhagavad Gita, including saints of Kriya Yoga order.

Another text is 'Patanjali Yoga Sutras' and the third one is 'Thirumandiram'. Though big is very good, but it may be studied later.

Aum

Amrut

[Jayant]

#Indianspirituality Amrut :First of
all a big thanks to you for
enlightening me.I have never been
explained in such a detailed
manner before.
I am just a novice at meditation . So
I was rely on internet stuff for most
of my query and practice method.
So when I meditate I first surrender
myself to Almighty lord Shiva and
pray Him to guide and teach me.I have been performing chakra meditation in following ways :-

#1.In the begining I used to focus on
one chakra at time for 20-30 min.I
first focused on my breath for 2
min and then chanting "Om namah
shivay " continuously in background
I foccused on the respective
chakra location and the color
associated with each respective
chakra.
For example while focusing on Root
chakra I imagined red colour in my
mind as this colour is associated
with this chakra.
I repeat the same above process for
other chakras with the one hand
mudra "jnana mudra " for each
chakra.

#2.After gaining more insight into
the chakra meditation i studied
about the structure of each chakra
and what element they represent
and sound associted with each
chakra.
This is my experince of meditating
on Svadisthana chakra:First i build an image of Svadhisthana chakra -
the second chakra, is situated just above the
genital region, it has six vermillion
lotus
petals. The moon-shaped crescent is
the yantra of this chakra and crocodile in water . Its element is water.I tried my best to meditate on this
image.As there were so many
objects in the image so I couldn't
concentrate properly.Most of the
time was spent building this image.I repeated the same process for
other chakras too with their
associated sound (like LAM for root
chakra, VAM for sacral , RAM for
solar plexus etc and no sound for
crown..)..And this time I used
different hand mudra for each
chakra .But this time again i
meditate one chakra at a time for
20-30 min.

#3.Then I started performing on
Brahamamuhurat but with slightly
different approach. I focussed on
each chakra that is after meditating
on one chakra I made jump to the
other chakra just above . But this
time neither I bring any image (of
chakra) nor the colors on my
mind.So while chanting the sound
of associated chakra I focused on
the area where chakras are located
with their respective hand mudra. I
continued this till crown chakra. As I already told this I have done without answering the nature's call and bathing. So I felt acidity in my stomach. On the next day I wake up again at Brahamamuhurat but this time at 3AM and focused on every chakra from bottom to top same as I just described
I
felt immense peace and joy .
Usually I used to get the perception
of different colors but this time my
mind didn't induce a single colour.
Not even the color of respective
chakra that I was meditating
on.While meditating I got the
perception of an animated image
that was more like Lord shiva!
But this blissfull experience didn't
happen on the next day of
Brahamamuhurat as I can feel my upset stomach and bad breathing :/



As far as my goal is considered my
main aim is to feel divine
experience. There are so many
questions that I can't find in outer
word,only my inner mind can
answer them.
I really dont know how to do chakra
meditation in proper way and not
sure the way I am doing it these
days may have any negative side
effect. You people have suggested
that I should join some camp for
meditation and reading spiritual
books and I truly appreciate that. In
current
I am preparing for a competitive
GATE exam that is scheduled to be
on the mid of next month.I think I
should do meditation in order to
improve my concentration. But still
clueless which and what meditation
should I perform?


Thank you in anticipate!

[Amrut]

Namaste Jayant,

I humbly request you to approach a Guru and not depend upon net resource. Also please meditate after finish your daily morning routine.

Regarding the type of meditation. I have a few suggestions.

1. Check this post

2. Try Autosuggestion for relaxation

Please note that the links given are temporary. They are not intended to replace actual meditation.

For chakra meditation, I cannot give any net reference. You may just be aware of a chakra for 2-5 minutes not more, specially ajna chakra / AGYA chakra (3rd eye)

You simply need to feel the chakra. having too much in mind will not help. So just be aware of chakra if possible.

It is also important to do breathing and physical exercise before and after meditation.

Before meditation to cleanse the body and make mind empty i.e. ready for mediation. After meditation to digest or absorb energy and release extra energy.

Breathing exercises are first step before chakra meditation.

If time is critical, as you need to prepare for exams, shift the meditation timing temporarily to evening. It will refresh you.

Breathing exercises

Note: These exercises can be done by any age group, unless one is diabled and or has several heart ailment or any acute or chronic disease.

Breathing patterns include

equal breathing - 6-6-6-6 (all are counts, that we mentally count like seconds)

6-3-6-3

3-6-3-6

3-9-3-9

Inhale and retain as much as you can

exhale as long as you can.--> this will remove all stale air inside your lungs. This will also clean your nadi-s and clear your mind.

Repeat each count sequence (e.g. 6-3-6-3) for say 3-5 times.

Anuloma viloma helps. You can repeat 10 times. one inhalation through right nostril, one exhalation through left and one inhalation through left nostril constitute one cycle.

Physical Exercises

Note: These exercises can be done by any age group, unless one is diabled and or has several heart ailment or any acute or chronic disease.

Do basic stretching and bending exercise. Move your joints. It takes around 15 minutes to finish 3-5 rounds of all physical exercise.

rotating wrists clockwise and anti-clockwise 10 times
rotating arm and shoulder clockwise and anti clockwise 10 times

same for

ankle, knee and hips

rotating eyes with the help of guidance of finger clockwise and anti-clockwise

slowly rotating neck ...

moving neck softly up and down and sync with breath

doing some 50 semi-squats or more, depends upon.

swing your waist left and right by

1. keeping your hands on hips 5-10 times
2. raising hands upwards towards sky 5 times
3. raising hands and neck upwards towards sky 5 times

These exercises will keep you fit and clean negative energy of your aura and chakra-s. They prepare you for meditation.

Prayer

Prayer is important. Pray in the beginning and in the end. End prayer is a thanksgiving prayer.

Pray to Lord Shiva for offering guidance, showing his blessing, his grace. Pray to keep showing his grace and show me correct path and give correct direction.

common prayer in beginning and end may include

Pray to remove all negative emotions

Oh Lord Shiva, please remove my negative emotions
Oh Shiva, Please remove my hatred, stress, tension and other negative emotions
Oh Shiva, take away all these negative emotions. Purify me Oh Great Lord.

Oh Lord, fill me or give me divine qualities and emotions (sattvik qualities)
Fill me with joy, happiness, bliss, love (unconditional love) and selfless devotion.

You may also pray to sharpen your intellect

Pray to the Lord.

Oh Lord, please replace my lower emotions with higher divine emotions

Replace hatred with love
Replace intolerance with tolerance
Replace anger with peace
Replace irritation with peace
Replace impatience with patience.

Forgive All

IF you have a spat with someone. Imagine his face and say, I forgive you, in return please forgive me.

Do this with joining hands to in a posture of blessings with both palms facing outwards.

Repeat this for 2-3 times for one person. After finishing to speak, stay silent for 1-2 minutes. then continue for another person.

Pray for their well being. 'Let them be happy. Let them be filled with joy and peace'. Pray with folded hands

Please do not underestimate the strength of forgiveness. It can even cure physical ailments and at times instantly. I have seen it happening.

Necks problems may arise if one is narrow minded and has not forgiven a close relative since long time. Moment you release negative emotions, which hang up and then manifest as physical ailment, the physical ailment also vanishes as it's root cause is uprooted.

I hope this will be helpful.

Om Tat Sat

[Amrut]

Namaste,

I should further add that you should meditate with empty stomach. Meditate after 2.30 hours after eating. Best is 4 hours if you are doing too much breathing and physical exercises

Aum

[Jayant]

Namaste,

I should further add that you should meditate with empty stomach. Meditate after 2.30 hours after eating. Best is 4 hours if you are doing too much breathing and physical exercises

Aum

Thanks #Indiaspiritual Amrut for giving your precious time in replying my questions. Thanks for imparting your knowledge and direction on the right way of meditation. And your concern on the effects of chakra (the third eye chakra in particular ) are highly appreciated. And I truly understand that only a guru can help this spiritual advancement. Without a guru I might lost in this spiritual world with no direction. Though i dont have any teacher/guru at moment to direct and answer my queries but I have read somewhere that the guru and his disciple are destined to meet. So I should wait for that moment.

Dhanyavad! !