An extract from the book
“Glimpses of the Divine Vision” by Swami Ramdas – Section “Meditation”
·
At intervals, during the periods of mental
repetition of Ram Nam, thoughts of the great attributes of God as the
all-pervading, infinite, changeless, formless, eternal Truth, and also as the
universal manifestation, must be dwelt upon by the mind. Know, in the first
place, that the supreme Reality is within your own heart and that He and you
are one. By concentrating your mind, i.e., by making all thoughts converge up
to one point, revert your gaze within. Therein lies the splendour of your soul
which animates all your thoughts. This splendour is the divine consciousness
within you. Then you behold the immortal consciousness within you. Then you
behold the immortal root of your existence and of the world, from which your
mind and all manifestations derive their light and movement. In short, to turn
your gaze within and see your own eternal Self is to see God. Repetition of Ram
Nam simultaneously with meditation on the great Ideal is perfectly right. But
the remembrance must flow in the mind without break like the stream of oil
poured from one vessel into another. This must continue until you lose yourself
entirely in the infinite Reality, and rising above the body- consciousness,
feel one with all lives and existences.
·
During meditation, repeat mentally the Ram
Mantram; you have to bring up in it the glorious attributes of God. After some
practice, let even the repetition of the Mantram stop so that the mind may be
perfectly still without any waves of thought rising in it. Thus be
self-absorbed for some time. You may see lights at this stage, or hear sweet
sounds from within. Go past these until you transcend the body-consciousness.
Go on steadily in your course. Cling firmly to the Lord’s Name. It will save
you from all pit-falls and temptations.
·
By concentrating your mind on the sound of
the Name, the mind absorbs the Name, and thereafter mental repetition starts.
This mental practice at a certain stage ceases, bringing on inner stillness and
peace. Meditation on the great attributes of the Lord should go on side by
side. Then, the pure and waveless mind merges in the great Truth, and you
attain Self-illumination. This experience takes you still higher and grants you
the rare cosmic vision which is the goal of your life.
·
You have to realize that you are the whole
and all-inclusive Truth. You get thrills of bliss when you have completely
merged your individual sense in God-the universal consciousness. If you could
maintain this supreme consciousness at all times you will ever live in the
Eternal, and be ever in a state of perfect freedom and ecstasy. Rise above name
and form, and you experience your onenes lives with all existences. The sense
of duality-be it between you and the world or between you and God- is the
offspring of ignorance. So soar to the height of the transcendent Truth where
all forms and lives resolve into one. Divine Name is a ladder by the help of
which you ascend to the supreme zenith of the above described state. When
through the repetition of the Name, the mind gets dissolved in the ocean of
stillness and peace within you, repetition of the Name is no longer necessary.
Of course, off and on, you can drink the nectar of the charming music of the
Name, but do not depend entirely upon this music for your peace and bliss.
Because no joy which is conditioned and dependent can be permanent. Through the
power of the Name, let the bliss of the eternal Atman, which is self existent
and independent, reveal itself within you, so that you can experience it at all
times and in all states. Find joy in the non-repetition of the name as much as
in the repetition of it, by realizing that all the activities of your life are
tuned together by the divine Shakti to produce the sweet music of the Name.
Listen to this music in all sounds and movements in yourself and the world.
Verily, all the worlds and beings move and act to the grand symphony of God’s
own music.
·
If you unite yourself with your
all-powerful and immortal Self through meditation, you will gain untold
strength and will conquer every weakness. Go on with the practice. By continued
effort you will succeed.
·
The end and aim of all spiritual Sadhanas
is to merge your individuality in the great universal Reality beyond name, form
and movement. So, enter still deeper in meditation so that your body consciousness may entirely leave you,
thus, granting you an experience of the Nirguna aspect of God. Let all the
waves of Sankalpa and Vikalpa be totally subdued. Transcend all sounds, lights
and forms that appear before your mental vision in meditation. After gaining
this realization of the inmost truth of your being, come out of it with a
transformed vision that beholds every being, creature and thing in the visible
manifestation, as the image of that great Truth whom you have experienced in
the depths of meditation. See the whole Prakriti and the power that works in it
as belonging to the Divine Mother- -Shakti who is the manifest aspect of the
Lord who is both this aspect and also the unmanifest, unaffected, invisible,
all- pervading, motionless, changeless, all-peaceful and ever blissful Truth.
Feel thereafter all your actions and thoughts, all your impulses and feelings,
as the expressions of the Divine Mother- Shakti Herself. Now you will know that
the ego no longer exists in you and all your actions start only from the great
universal centre- Shakti. This is the height of realization which you have to
reach. March onward until you attain to this highest goal. May the Lord grant
you courage and strength and lead you to this loftiest consummation of life.
