Bring Intensity To Control Your Senses
THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM
yogī yuñjīta satatam ātmānaṃ rahasi sthitaḥ ekākī yatachittātmā nirāśīraparigrahaḥ
A Yogī should always try to concentrate his mind on the Supreme Self; situated in a secluded place, he should carefully control his mind without being attracted by anything and should be free from the feeling of possessiveness
Bring integrity to control the senses
śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya sthiram āsanam ātmanaḥ nātyucchritaṃ nātinīcaṃ cailājina-kuśottaram
On a clean and pure place, one should establish his seat by laying kuśa grass, a deer skin and a cloth, one over another, neither too high nor too low
The most important thing to be aware of in any meditation is to be relaxed.
tatraikāgraṃ manaḥ kṛtvā yatacittendriya-kriyaḥ upaviśyāsane yuñjyād yogamātmaviśuddhaye
Sitting firmly on that pure seat, the yogi should practice the purification of the self by controlling the activities of mind and the senses
When we are not attached or attracted to external objects, when we are not led by our senses, we have steadied the mind and senses samaṃ kāyaśirogrīvaṃ dhārayannacalaṃ sthiraḥ samprekṣya nāsikāgraṃ svaṃ diśaścānavalokayan
Holding the body, head and neck steady, look at the tip of your nose without looking in any other direction
By fixing our eyes on the tip of the nose our awareness will settle on the third eye praśāntātmā vigatabhīr brahmacārivrate sthitaḥ manaḥ saṃyamya maccitto yukta āsīta matparaḥ
Sit with an unagitated mind, free from fear and in tune with Existence, controlling the mind, focusing it on Me and make Me the supreme goa
Meditate on the formless energy of Kṛṣṇa that is beyond the form
Kṛṣṇa gives directions for the practitioner of Yoga, the Yogī. These are general and practical guidelines given to help us with how we should sit and meditate. Senses are our doors to the external world. As long as they are open and uncontrolled, we are immersed only in the external world.
Controlling the senses requires controlling the mind. Controlling the mind requires control of thoughts. Controlling the thoughts requires integrity. When we continuously live integrity, we will become aware of the thoughts and processes happening in our inner space.
Constantly listening to our own inner space is the beginning of integrity. If our inner space says that there is nothing more to listen, if only silence is there, then that is the end of integrity. We have achieved integrity. When we start listening to our inner space, we start integrity and when we listen to only silence from our inner space, we have achieved integrity
Go on listening. Even while you are sitting, driving, talking or walking, listen to you. Also listen to you, when you are talking! It is listening to you that is going to bring integrity to you! Listen! You will see that by their very nature our thoughts are illogical, unconnected and irrational.
We need to do two things to control our thoughts. First, we need to stay in the present moment. Second, we need to disconnect thoughts. This is called Unclutching. It is not staying without thoughts. That is not possible; just witness thoughts. Understand that thoughts are unconnected. Detach yourself from the emotional baggage of the thoughts.
If we detach ourselves from the regrets of the past and the speculations about the future we will automatically rise into the present.
Unclutching is not like switching off the electricity to your house. It is like cleaning, sweeping and wiping your house. It is not like electricity that you will just switch off and be unclutched. No! It is like cleaning, sweeping and wiping. First, listen to your inner space! That is the first step to meditation, to life. Listen!! We should go to a secluded place. Why? Whatever said and done, in the house, the phone may ring, somebody may knock or some salesperson may call. A secluded place is really just a means to move us away from these disturbances.
The kuṣa, deerskin and all those things are like insulation, so that the earth will not absorb the energy we create. But now we don't have to bother about that, since we usually sit in a chair. The seat should neither be too high nor too low and it should be comfortable. That's all.
The most important thing to be aware of in any meditation is to be relaxed. We cannot meditate in discomfort. Keeping the head, neck and spine, all in one line, helps in two ways. Firstly, it prevents us from dropping off to sleep. Secondly, as long as the head, neck and spine remain steady and vertical, the flow of pranic energy, the life-giving energy, through the energy pathways will be unblocked and smooth.
Whether we close our eyes fully or half close them, it is important that we disconnect from the external world. When the eyes are focused on the tip of the nose, they are not looking at external objects and ninety percent of sensory inputs are cut off. In addition, the focus is on the third eye between the brows.
We can meditate on the form of Kṛṣṇa, with a flute and peacock feather.
When we enter into our third eye, automatically we will go beyond the form. We will start meditating on the formless energy that is beyond the form.
Learning to control our illogical thought by staying in the present moment and unclutching To learn techniques for meditation
- What happens when our senses are open and uncontrolled?
- What is the beginning of integrity?
- What is the end of integrity?
- Can we listen to us while we're sitting, driving, talking or walking?
- Are our thoughts logical and connected, or illogical and unconnected ?
- What can we do to have no disturbances while meditating?
- Why should you be a little off the ground when meditating?
- Can you fall asleep with the head, neck and spine in a straight line?
- What helps the flow of pranic energy through us?
- What does focusing on the nose help us do?
- To meditate on Kṛṣṇa, what does Swamiji prescribe?
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- 1. Paper
- 2. Colourful pens.
PROCEDURE
Draw a poster for a meditation room that includes the words "please sit with your head, neck and spine in a straight line".
INFERENCE
Informing meditators of Kṛṣṇa's techniques for meditation because they help you meditate
PROCEDURE
Let the children sit in a circle. One child starts by thinking of a few words or a short sentence. The child whispers their words into the ear of the child sitting on their left. Whisper only once! The child who heard the words has to pass on whatever they heard, going round the circle in a clockwise direction. The last child to hear the whispered words says out loud whatever they heard, then the first child says the words they used to start the game.
Play another round starting with a different child.
INFERENCE
It is very easy to hear something different to what was said. Listen with integrity
Hold Vaakyartha sadhas on the topic:
Unclutching is not like switching off the electricity to your house. It is like cleaning, sweeping and wiping your house.
CONCLUSION
General and practical guidelines help us with how we meditate Kṛṣṇa gives techniques to control our thoughts, techniques to help with meditation
- BH BO A O G K V A I, V VO A L D UM G E I I V TA
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