Meditation styles and Yoga practice

Guru Patanjali Preaching in Sadhana Yoga

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Part 25
Translation: -
This is the last stage of the embodied conscious mind during its life span. This is the last scene or insight vision or feeling or realization on the stage of liberation from the cycle of birth and death of the embodied conscious mind. The embodied conscious mind can realize this sight and scene through its own senses. The stabilization of the embodied conscious mind in the self-conscious of soul itself is known as preparation yoga. The mind that is product of subtlest nature’s essence does not bear control with the breaking up of the self-conscious of soul’s conjunction with nature’s essence. When the mind is without concentration in the embodied self-conscious of soul, the vision and scene that it sees is the sight and scene of the knowledge of the self-conscious of soul itself.

The Great Sage Patanjali says that so long as concentration of the subtle essence of nature remains in the embodied conscious mind, lack of spiritual knowledge continues to hibernate in the mind’s deepest subtle state. The seed of distress continues to remain sprout in the thoughts and cravings of the mind. This seed is incapable of stopping the embodied being from undergoing the cycle of birth and death. For obtaining salvation and liberation from the cycle of birth and death, it is essential to stop the flow of thoughts of pain and pleasure in seed form also. Gross subtle and very subtle thoughts are also to be restrained and nullified in conscious mind. It is only by restraining the thoughts that the unconscious mind, which is the product of nature essence, gets stabilized. On gaining stability the conscious mind of human being breaks its connection with the inner embodied self-conscious of soul essence that is true self. It is in this state that the spiritual knowledge of lack of spiritual knowledge gets attained through concentration and meditation in Samadhi form. It is in this state that through concentration, spiritual knowledge of the self-conscious of soul also gets attained in Samadhi form. The state of self-realization in Samadhi is called the state of isolation and salvation or spiritual union.

The Guru says that it is on account of lack of spiritual knowledge or information knowledge of thoughts or logic or scientific knowledge of brain in unconscious mind that most of the human being have blind belief regarding the existence of a connection between the embodied self-conscious of soul essence and nature essence. It is on attaining knowledge about self-conscious of soul’s realization that the feeling regarding this connection which has been in vogue for a long time and is being experienced, gets broken. The disciple to yoga himself starts experiencing this feeling in more deep form. He starts realizing himself and becomes aware that apart from him and other than him and his self-conscious of soul, the innumerable subjects and objects both animate and inanimate, are all enacting a play directed by subtlest nature essence. These innumerable subjects and objects, both living and non-living which the yogic disciple is enjoying on account of his affection, enmity, fear and self-ego are engaged in a play of subtlest nature essence. He starts realizing that the enacted play is separate and distinct from him. He also starts realizing that he has no connection and no relationship with these things. The relationship hitherto believed by him with these things is all due to his lack of spiritual knowledge. Whatever sights or scene is being created in his mind, it is the sight, which gets created due to his affection, enmity and fear by senses of his unconscious mind.

He feels that the flows of five kinds of thoughts keep on running and racing through the unconscious mind. The flow is full during self-ego and pride. This flow, which is moving in the shape of a distressed flow, is felt and experienced by the yogic disciple. It is felt in full awareness during his seeded spiritual union. It is felt in the natural bent of his conscious mind and inclination in the form of waves and vibrations. The flow is all a dance of the subtlest nature essence of nature’s different states. The play has been enacted by the different states of nature. It is here that the disciple’s feeling knowledge about lack of spiritual knowledge starts getting reinforced.

It is on account of this feeling that automatic recitation of God essence starts taking place within his conscious mind itself. This feeling takes the form of distress. The yogi feels that it is due to lack of spiritual knowledge that he feels getting related. In reality this is not the case .The pure formless nature’s essence appears to the mind as having a form. It also starts appearing to the mind as false subtle and gross. It is only when the feeling which envelops the conscious mind gets broken that spiritual knowledge about lack of spiritual knowledge dawns on the disciple. It is then that the self-realization gets attained. This is the salvation state of the embodied conscious mind. This is the state of liberation from the conjunction of pain and distress of the mind.

The Great Sage says that when the embodied self-conscious of soul is connected with the nature, it is lack of spiritual knowledge, which causes a feeling in his mind about his relationship with nature. The conjunction is in the nature itself. It is on the embodied self-conscious of soul, which is static that the feeling of action and conjunction gets wrapped around. The mind keeps on harboring this feeling that the mind that is nature’s essence is a separate and distinct entity from the embodied self-conscious of soul. Due to lack of spiritual knowledge however, it is believed or felt in the conjunction the consciousness that resides in the mind. It is also believed or felt that the concentration is experienced. The concentration or consciousness gets focused in the mind is due to the thought of affection, enmity and fear of death. Concentration in the mind is felt on account of lack of spiritual knowledge.

As such its true self who is the self-conscious of soul is not believed or felt to be so. It is not experienced as a self-conscious of soul. It is not felt in awareness either. What is felt is the fear of death and birth of the mind. The unconscious mind which is eternal and non-static, non stable and impure and guilty, restless is capable of generating distress provoking thoughts, capable of harboring lingering past subliminal impressions and seeds of karma actions. Due to the presence of concentration or consciousness in the conjunction of nature and due to the presence of conjunction and lack of spiritual knowledge, the mind starts fearing birth and death. It starts believing itself to be eternal, static pure and pleasure giving. Such a belief or feeling starts getting experienced. All living beings believe or feel or experience such a belief. This is also due to the lack of spiritual knowledge of the mind.

It is due to lack of spiritual knowledge that one’s self-conscious, which is one’s true self, is not felt and experienced. It is on account of the presence of the conjunction in the unconscious mind and senses . There is affection for all the five subtle senses, for all the five senses of knowledge, for all the five senses of connection and for the self-ego. All these along with the mind and the five gross elements comprise the subtle elements state of nature. It is due to the presence of the five senses of knowledge and the senses of action that there is affection with the body. It is due to these various aspects that the embodied being continues to remain attached to the cycle of birth and death. It is only when knowledge about the subtle limbs of the body and knowledge about the mind gets attained and the embodied being believes in the existence of conjunction that the devotee becomes distinct and separate from his devotion. It is then that his connections with it no longer continue to bind him. It is due to lack of spiritual knowledge that the existence of conjunction is not believed. It is on the attainment of knowledge about this conjunction that lack of spiritual knowledge gets eliminated.

It is only on the breaking of the conjunction of the body and the senses from the mind that the fear of birth and death gets eliminated. At the same time self-ego also gets eliminated. It is then that the self-conscious gets liberated from the clutches of the four states of nature. On attaining such liberation, self-conscious becomes static and stable in its soul essence. This is the state of salvation. This is the last stage of liberation. This is also the last stage of isolation. In this state, self-conscious rests in the soul of the embodied being. Nature creates the life of a living being around the self-conscious of soul. It also creates the path of life for the living being. It is by destroying the path of life that nature stabilizes the entry and focusing of his self conscious in the embodied soul itself.

The yogi who desires to stabilize his consciousness in his inner soul essence is to undertake constant, sustained and prolonged meditation practice for this purpose. He is to undertake such meditation practice with full awareness, with full faith in inner endless and formless God essence and with grim determination. He is also to undertake the meditation practice of making his thoughts absolutely craving free. He is to undertake the pledge of this meditation practice by entering into the state of salvation and by remaining in an absolutely thought free state. This is the state known as spiritual union accompanied with conscious mind. This is the state, which is also known as seeded spiritual union with self-conscious. It is due to the preponderance of thoughts that there is affection, enmity, and fear self-ego and craving. The preparatory yogic discipline is meant for the attainment of spiritual knowledge about lack of spiritual knowledge through self-discipline, meditation and recitation of formless God’s salutation name indicative after knowing and understanding it fully.

The preparatory yogic discipline is practiced and perfected through these three steps. It is in the state of seeded spiritual union that the preparatory yogic discipline gets completed. Whatever is to take place after this completion, will take place automatically and for which the disciple does not have to perform any action. The knowledge about the conjunction dawns on the attainment of spiritual knowledge about lack of spiritual knowledge of the natures four states. It is conscious mind, which attains the knowledge about conjunction. The connection of self-conscious with the body and mind, which is undergoing nature essence states and is a play of nature’s essence is broken.

The reality of self conscious in the living soul is to be stabilized. Treading on the right path will automatically stabilize such a self-conscious. It will get stabilized during seeded spiritual union in conscious mind. Seeded spiritual union occurs during the meditation practice and perfection of non-preparatory yogic discipline. The inertia or tranquility yogic discipline is the last stage of the seeded spiritual union of the living human being. It is the final state, which is called the state of isolation or serenity or stillness or quietness or peace or harmony. It is the state of deliverance or salvation or liberation in the life of the living being.

Yoga Tip :- Select any one spiritual form & remain above any blind worship or superstition attached to it. Meditate on it with devotion regularly and consciously. Here is offered an icon of sacred image of Inanna deity in Yoga . Inanna deity in Yoga is considered the Queen of Heaven and Earth. The flowering of Sumeria, its temples, ordered cities, irrigated fields, birthplace of cuneiform writing and codes of law, and mastery of terra-cotta arts, all offer tribute to this earliest named Great Goddess. Inanna deity in Yoga is worshiped as early as 7000 BCE . Inanna deity in Yoga was widely revered after patriarchal incursions into the Euphrates plain. Inanna deity in Yoga descended from heaven to bring prosperity to all living being of universe, and then descended into the Realm of Death in a quest for spiritual knowledge. Returning, she condemned her lover and son Dumuzi to replace her there in punishment for his arrogance; their annual sexual union was viewed as the source of fruitfulness and plenty. Here, ornamented and serene, Inanna deity in Yoga offers her chain up body in a supreme gesture of tenderness.