In our system of sadhana, our Gurudeva has given several types of meditation lessons depending on the disciple's ability and sam'ska'ras (karmic situation). So we have a very basic yoga called 'Sadharana Yoga', easy yoga, 'Sahaja Yoga', 'Kapalika Sadhana' for the brave at heart, and a special but difficult yoga called 'Vishesha Yoga'. The highest lesson of all yogas is Guru Dhyana, the 6th Lesson of Sahaja Yoga. Now I will outline a general description of each lesson for your common knowledge, and I will also give some special tips for those who are already practicing these lessons. Please note for those who are just beginners that if you want to practice these lessons, you must consult with an a'carya (spiritual instructor) of A'nanda Marga. 1st Lesson: Iishvara Pran'idha'na This lesson is the first step in the practice of meditation. This technique of meditation is very important as it paves the way to higher lessons. If a spiritual aspirant is established in this lesson, the attainment of savikalpa samadhi is a certainty. Iisvara Pranidhana has 4 important steps. The fourth step is the repetition of the Ishta mantra, but before one can do this successfully, you must follow the first 3 steps properly. The general characteristic of this meditation technique is that it is a one-pointed meditation, that is, the mind must be made one-pointed in order to dive deep in the spiritual realization and the attainment of samadhi. The mind usually is always jumping onto different directions, a thousand directions. The restlessness of the mind occurs due to the influence of Avidya Maya, the force of negativity. Therefore, in our sadhana, what we are going to do is withdraw the mind from all negative ideas, all distractive thoughts, all materialistic pursuits, and channel all that energy of the mind towards one point, and then merge that pointed mind into the Effulgent ocean of Consciousness. Now, in order to achieve that task we need to follow the technique of Shuddhis before repeating the ishta mantra. So the Shuddhis are 3: 1) Bhuta Shuddhi - After you are seated in meditation posture, as in the pictures above, you will start withdrawing the mind from all the external influences of the physical world. The detailed technique will be taught to you by an a'carya. However, keep in mind that the first visualization and concentration has to be done slowly, not in a hurry. 2) A'sana Shuddhi - Once you have withdrawn your mind from the physical reality, then you will withdraw your mind from your body, moving your one-pointed mind upwards towards your Ishta cakra or personal point of concentration. Notice that these points of concentration differ from different individuals, and are prescribed in detail by the meditation instructor. When you reach your point of concentration, then you will visualise that point of effulgence only and try to maintain that concentration very steadily. 3) Citta Shuddhi - The ideation that the infinite Divine effulgence is surrounding your pointed mind is called Citta Shuddhi. 4) Now you will repeat the Ishta mantra. The Ishta mantra is only given by the Guru or His physical medium. This mantra is very special because, as it was explained before, it is a siddha mantra, specially empowered by the spiritual vibration of the Sad Guru. This mantra has two syllables, one for inhalation and one for exhalation. The technique of repeating the ishta mantra, is not only concerned with its sound vibration, but its meaning and ideation are of utmost importance. So when you repeat the mantra, you must also feel the meaning. That conscious knowing of the meaning with each and every repetition is called spiritual ideation. Then the mantra will have its full effect. The repetition of Ishta mantra in meditation has three spiritual effects: 1. At the moment of receiving the mantra, the kulakundalinii will awaken from her stupor. This is called Mantra Ghat. 2. When you practice meditation repeating the Ishta mantra with one pointed concentration and ideation, you will attain a psycho-spiritual parallelism with the Supreme Subjectivity or Consciousness, at that point you will realize the meaning of the mantra. That state is called Mantra Caetanya. 3. When as a result of Mantra Caetanya, one attains union with that Supreme Effulgence, it is Mantra Siddhi. TIPS FOR 1ST LESSON 1) When you perform Bhuta Shuddhi, give more time to this process than the other two. The visualization of the object (by object you know what I mean) instructed by your acarya should be pictured in your mind clearly, and if your mind wanders, return again to the visualization, until the disappearance of the object goes gradually and without interruptions. 2) If at the time of meditation or when performing the shuddhis, you are assailed by too many disturbing thoughts, use your Guru Mantra (2nd Lesson) to cool your mind. Use your 2nd lesson at every instance of disturbing thoughts. 3) Visualize your pointed mind clearly at the time of performing A'sana Shuddhi. And move your point slowly, do not hurry. 4) When you have performed the first three processes correctly, your mind will automatically become one-pointed. Now, the ideation is very important: when you are repeating your mantra with full ideation, the subjective feeling behind the ideation should be that "Parama Purus'a is always looking at me" So remember that He is not your object, although you think that He is your object of adoration and love, but also He is watching you and that you want to please Him by loving Him; He is your Supreme Subjectivity, and you are His little child. 2nd Lesson: Guru Mantra (Madhuvidya) In this universe, every action has a reaction, sometimes equal and opposite, but at times, if the period is delayed, then the reaction will come with interest. That is the law of Karma or Sam'skara. Sam'skaras are those reactions in potential that remain to be expressed; the resultant of our every good or bad actions. So due to this law of sam'skara we take rebirth, life after life. Sometimes we come in human form, and sometimes we may come as animals, depending whether we have performed virtuous actions, or degenerating actions that have brought our level of mind to degrading levels or upgrading levels. In fact human life is very rare, and when we have the chance to have a human body we have to utilize it to the maximum to attain our goal. You do not know if your next life will be human, or perhaps human but not with a chance to do spiritual practices. By the grace of Marga Gurudeva Shrii A'nandamu'rtijii, He gave us the Guru Mantra or Madhuvidya Lesson. Madhuvidya means the nectarean knowledge. When we repeat this mantra before any physical or mental activity, we ascribe the ideation that "Everything is Brahma, all is the divine manifestation of the Supreme, All is He" When you are able to apply 2dn lesson before every action you perform, Shrii A'nandamurti guaranteed that one will attain the experience of Dharma Megha'nanda Samadhi. In this samadhi you will realize that the Lord is everywhere and in everything, and you will see an effulgent cloud at your anahata cakra, and experience incredible intoxicating bliss at all times. You will also feel that the whole world has become full of sweetness. This samadhi is the result of repeating Ishta Mantra and Guru Mantra at all times during 24 hours, during waking or sleeping hours. Now the other great benefit of Guru Mantra is that when your ideation is that everything is being performed by the will of the Supreme, then the reaction does not go to you, but to the Supreme Lord. So you will be freed from accumulating new sam'skaras but you will only burn the sam'skaras from this life and your past lives. TIPS FOR 2ND LESSON 1) Repeat the mantra before a main action. For example, before you enter the building of your place of work, repeat the Guru Mantra, while you go inside and walk keep on repeating the Ishta Mantra. However, if you are going to talk with someone then, as the action has changed, you have to repeat the Guru Mantra again. However, you should repeat your second lesson without fail before sadhana, eating, taking a bath, and sleeping. 2) If at some time you forget to repeat the Guru Mantra before the action, repeat it after the completion of the action. 3) If you are in a dangerous situation, do not forget to repeat your Guru Mantra; it will protect you without fail. 4) If you are going to do something negative, repeat the Guru Mantra and it will make you see and understand everything with clarity.
3rd Lesson: Tattva Dharana Tattva Dharana means concentration and control of the 5 fundamental factors in the microcosm. The first 5 cakras control all the 5 fundamental factors of the body and the first 48 mental vrttis. Therefore, by the practice of this cakra lesson one is able to control the mental propensities, balance the fundamental factors in the body, help to cure or prevent deceases of body & mind, and make the mind to flow onto one direction, thus facilitating the practice of 1st lesson meditation and Dhyana. Just to give you a general idea of what this lesson is all about, I will describe the basic practice. At the moment of practice, the spiritual aspirant will sit in a certain a'sana (not in this picture) and focus on each cakra. He will visualize the cakra and repeat several mantras given by the sadhana instructor. Each cakra has a particular colour and shape, and those will have to be meditated upon during Tattva Dharana. The longer you can maintain the concentration, the better benefits for Dhyana, as Dhyana practice requires a strong skill in visualization. The Citta has to be very steady in order to perform all lessons, so this lesson is very essential for concentration purposes. ONE WORD OF CAUTION: If you have not been instructed in this lesson by an Acarya, please do not try to do what you are not sure; doing otherwise will invite injury in the physical and mental level. 4th Lesson: Sadharana Pran'aya'ma Pran'a: Vital Force + Ya'ma: To control. So Pran'aya'ma is the science of the control of the vital force in our body. The main scientific principle is that the mind controls the sensory and motor organs, and the vital force (air flow or pran'a vayu) controls the mind, hence, by controlling the flow of breathing, that is by controlling the pran'a vayu, one is able to control the mental activity and ideation that comes with it. The centre of the pran'a activity is controlled by a psychic organ located at the level of the solar plexus called Pran'endriya. This Pran'endriya controls the perception of all vibrations emanated from the external world and transmitted to the mind by the sensory organs. Pran'endriya has 2 activities: expansion and contraction. When the Pran'endriya is in a state of contraction or pause, the mind is most receptive for all kinds of vibrations and inferences from the external world or from the mind itself. Therefore, when the mind is immersed in deep Cosmic Ideation at the moment of the practice of pran'aya'ma, then the Citta (ectoplasmic stuff) will be filled with very subtle spiritual ideation and it will become still, channeling thus all its flow towards the Supreme Cognitive Factor. In this state the spiritual aspirant can attain samadhi very easily. However, in our system of pran'ayama, Yuddhisthira Pran'ayama, in order to achieve this, first, the mind has to be restrained into one-pointed concentration (Bindhu dharana) that is, a proper cakra for point of concentration will be prescribed by the instructor to practice breath control. Next, also a proper mantra should be utilized that possesses two syllables, one for the inhalation and the second for exhalation. Without these requisites pran'ayama can become very harmful for body and mind. In Hata Yoga pran'ayama there are no such requirements as the breath control is intended for only physical and mental purposes. However, a serious practitioner of sadhana will never entertain practicing pran'ayama without knowing the proper technique. If you try to do this practice from books or from your own idea, it will result in physical injury and the great possibility of becoming mentally unstable. DOs AND DON'Ts in PRAN'AYA'MA PRACTICE 1) Do not think of anything mundane during the pran'ayama practice. For this reason, you have to follow the instructions of the Acarya on the mental process and technique. If you entertain any negative feelings, the mind will become extremely negative. 2) If you are upset or worried about anything, do sadhana first for a long time before practicing pran'ayama. 3) Do not do Pran'aya'ma right after a'sanas or if you performed another type of pran'ayama connected with curing some physical ailments, etc. 4) Always do pran'ayama as part of your sadhana practice, do not do it separately. 5) Before you start to learn the 4th lesson, you have to be established in the habit of eating sentient food, that is strictly vegetarian diet without onions, garlic, mushrooms, and any other type of flesh items or intoxicants such as coffee, tea, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. 6) When you just start practicing pran'aya'ma, you should drink plenty of pure milk and eat a lot of fruits. 5th Lesson: Cakra Shodhana This is the lesson to purify the cakras. Normally it is very difficult to raise up the kulakundalinii if the nodes of the cakras are dirty and impure, due to samskaras and unrestrained mental propensities. Therefore, all the main 7 plexi have to be cleansed and surcharged with positive spiritual vibrations. This is the work of Cakra Shodhana lesson. In this cakra concentration you focus on the one-pointed flares at each cakra and use a siddha mantra to cleanse the cakra. As your mind is in a very subtle calmness due to the practice of Pran'aya'ma, then your concentration will certainly be one-pointed. This lesson has tremendous effect SOME TIPS FOR CAKRA SHODHANA 1) Focus first at the base of the spine at the first cakra, in order to feel the point, you may contract the point of the base of the rectum to feel the muladhara cakra. Same contract the muscles of the sphincter to feel the svadhis'thana cakra. 2) As you focus on the pointed light, repeat the mantra and feel as if the Supreme Lord is touching your cakra. You may experience in deep sadhana, while doing this meditation, the divine tactual relationship with God. 6th Lesson: Dhyana The 6th Lesson, Dhyana is the cream of all meditations. It is the highest meditation technique in Tantra sadhana. Iishvara Pranidhana, 1st lesson, is the meditation that can establish the spiritual aspirant in Mukti (emancipation), that is, the attainment of Savikalpa Samadhi or the merger with Qualified Consciousness. However, through Dhyana the sadhaka will attain the ultimate realization of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, or the merger with the Objectless Consciousness. The sadhaka will merge his own small self into the ocean of Transcendental Bliss and attain Moks'a (Liberation). Even though we are talking about the state of Nirguna Brahma, this technique of sadhana is not at all impersonal as many would think. In fact in order to perform this meditation, the sadhaka will elevate his/her mind to establish a very sweet and personal relationship with the Personal aspect of the Supreme. This personal aspect of God is called the Taraka Brahama, who is the bridge between Qualified Consciousness and Transcendental and objectless Consciousness. This personal aspect of God has the capacity to have a loving relationship with the devotee. He is the Parama Purus'a and He is intimately related with His children through tremendous love and affection; He is father, mother and friend, capable of loving deeply, scolding, punishing, teaching, rectifying, and, when the proper time comes, bringing His divine child onto His lap. In order to perform this sadhana, the Guru Cakra is of utmost importance. The Guru Cakra is the inner plexus of the Sahasrara Cakra and is located a bit below the 9th plexus. However, one should understand clearly that doing only Dhyana at the exclusion of other lessons will not give the desired results. One has to control and purify all the lower cakras first, and perform the 6th lesson at the last. Therefore, if you want to succeed in Dhyana, you will have to practice all lessons at least twice a day, morning and evening before taking meals. TIPS FOR A BLISSFUL DHYANA 1) As you focus your mind in the Guru Cakra, first visualize Taraka Brahama from head to foot. 2) Address the Taraka Braham with your Dhyana mantra, but also address Him with the utmost loving words, preferably in your own mother tongue. Use the words that you would use for your closest and most loving relative or friend. 3) Do not think that He is your object and that you are serving Him. Think that He is seeing you, that His divine eyes are always on you. When you are giving loving service to Him, you are fulfilling His deepest desire to receive service from you. 4) You are to give Him pleasure and to fulfil His every wish. 5) Never ask anything from Him and do not even think that you want to get samadhi or spiritual bliss. But if you still have to ask, only ask for devotion and how you could love Him more and more. 6) In order to attain complete success in Dhyana you will have to love God with all your being; you will have to attain Parabhakti or Kevala Bhakti, that is, the highest and purest devotion. When you are established in Bhakti Yoga, you will attain Mahabhava or the deepest tactual relationship with the Supreme Lord. That's why it is being said that: Bhaktir Bhagavato seva Bhaktir Prema svarupini Bhaktira'nanda rupaca Bhakti Bhaktasya jiivanam Devotion is service to God Devotion is Love personified Devotion is the that Form of Bliss Devotion is the Life of the Devotee
