part 2 eight

    The story of the golden mongoose (As in Karma Yoga).
    And the four little birds.
    Then the housewife and butcher and the svayamvara.
    Sakhya bhava. In the course of a Bhakti Yoga lecture, Swamiji said that we find the worship of God as our own friend, in India alone. It is not found much in other religions, or wherever it is found, it is not common. If one performs sadhana as the friend of God, great strength comes to the heart, and many people will get benefit from it.
    As Lord, Master: this instruction is given in many religions. Do the will of God and remain under His control.
    “In the spiritual life, if improvement is to take place, personal attachment to some person or Ideal is very necessary. Every form of the bhakti path depends on this steadfastness or sincere attachment. In the measure that one has steadfastness to the ishta, so will be the feeling of his closeness. The fidelity will slowly take the devotee’s mind to a higher plane.” By way of example he said, “I am giving the lecture and so many persons have gathered, but as is each person’s personal involvement, so will they take the matter to heart, and just so will a truth be reflected within them. This nishtha, adherence to one ideal, is the essential thing. The discourse will not be fruitful for one who has no faith in the speaker. The wife has faith in her husband, so their life is so pure, so sweet. At first our fidelity to the ishta is not total, but if we practice a few days, the way becomes revealed and it gradually increases.” As Swamiji talked on, a profound sincere devotion was awakened in everyone. A kind of group-feeling was quite palpable. It seemed each listener’s mind had mingled with Swamiji’s mind and been colored by it.
    “The body is made of a collection of molecules, kept up by a state of vibration. This is the vibration of gross objects, as a result of which we are not able to see the subtle ones. But when we advance from the gross to the subtle objects, this vibration projects a different reality. The mental thing is a bundle of ideas. All these conceptions are difficult at first for us to grasp properly, but when we progress to the subtle plane, the subtle vibration brings form and color to the subtle thoughts. Everything is the projection of vibration. This bundle of ideas, endowed with form and color, stays at first in a hazy condition and gradually condensing, gets clear. This is called superimposition or self-projection. In other words, the collection of ideas inside takes visible form and stands before us. In measure as the inner energy or vibrational power is there to sustain it, so long does the perceptualized concept remain, and when that decreases, the vision before us fades. If I can make my idea visible, then I can say something definite. When the idea is clearly visible in the mind, my lecture too, will be taken to heart by the audience. I simply see before my eyes and speak it out.” He spoke a long time about the visualization of ideas.

Previous birth

“Our minds are always out-going. The path of the movement of energy too, is from inside to outside. It is the natural propensity of the mind to wish to seize upon something new, and so it runs in this direction. That is why people are always making new discoveries. But there is another direction for the mind, which is inward, turning the mind back upon itself. Most people do not remember their actions of long ago. If you ask most people what they did three or four days ago, with whom they spoke etc., usually they cannot say. All this bundle of actions does not arise in their memories; perhaps with a little mental effort they may be able to recall a little. But there is a practice by which all past events can be very much awakened. At first we have to think hard, when we did what; gradually we are able to walk backward and reawaken these memories. At first it is very troublesome and exasperating, but after a while, by practicing this the mind becomes firm. By thinking into the past like this, finally we can catch the memory of our childhood. Whom we played with, whose house we visited, who were those who loved us etc. – all must be minutely awakened. After that, the mental power becomes fixed in one place; it cannot waver from looking back, as it were. If anyone can go beyond this limit, one can reach even the knowledge of one’s previous lives. All these things are written in the books, and I can tell you that I firmly believe them. From what I have done myself and so far back as I have been able to go, all this appears to me to be true.” That day he quoted freely from various books about the above subjects.

The early stages of sadhana

“When we first try to control the mind, many sorts of thoughts arise. At first it is best to let them run. Whatever energy we have, then this has to run down a bit and they will subside of themselves. After that, the body begins to itch as if something were crawling around on it. Sometimes it is like ants tickling. These are all phenomena of the beginning stage. Later the back of the head heats up and a pain may be felt. If this happens it is good to stop meditation for awhile. No special gain is made by forcing; on the contrary, it may be counter-productive and weaken the body. Or we may feel, in the backbone, that someone is pricking us with a sharp needle. In that case too, stop meditating, because if all the nerves get a little rest, they will again become strong and the power to meditate will return. In this state it is necessary to urinate frequently; it is not a symptom of illness, rather it has an improving effect on the health. Sometimes when the mind is raised up from the ordinary state, many changes take place in the body.

The attachment of chitta

    “The mind is not to be attached to any contemplated object. Forsaking all other objects, the chitta is to be absorbed in one target only. Some meditate in the heart lotus, some on one of the others. Pratyahara means that the mind is to be separated from the material objects or range of the senses. But the mind cannot remain long in this separated condition.
    “Lifting the mind from all sense-objects is the result of strength, no doubt, but this is a negative process. The mind cannot long remain in this negative condition, because a positive or active process of the mind is essential. It is necessary to meditate on some positive object, so we use the heart or other lotus. The devotee thinks about some ishta.
The ishta has a form, and according to the devotee’s own inclination, a color and other qualities. Some, relinquishing an ishta, fix their mind on a spot. At any rate, some positive object is to be taken. Even if, at the time of making the mind inward, the body at first becomes tired or restless, once the inward mood comes, a new feeling appears. Ordinarily we are not conscious of whatever heat is in the skin or its immediate vicinity, because that is our normal condition. If the mind ‘goes in,’ this nervous heat enters the deep levels of the body and vrittis of the mind will all change too. So the body feels light, and our inhaling and exhaling become controlled. After some practice, whatever swift motion there is in the blood vessels of the hand will relax or diminish. This is not a symptom of disease.
    “In various kinds of harmful thoughts and wasting of our strength outwardly, the body gets worn out. That is why food and drink are so essential to us. But when the power is turned inward, this process of wearing out is much less rapid. When the energy is inward-directed, it preserves our bodily sustenance. So the food intake decreases. There are some philosophic views to the effect that, if the wear and tear on the body caused by evil thoughts (or ‘hampering anxieties’) is prevented by inward-directed energy, one can sustain oneself. One need take no external physical food. They say all this is accomplished by the air (vayu) which pervades all subtle things; when the inner power is specially increased, by means of the subtle particles of air, one can maintain one’s body. There are examples given in the Puranas and other ancient books of many ascetics who lived in this way. For, in that case all the nerve currents move in a different way and there is no need for food.
    “Whatever you think becomes one with the object of thought. There is no use in uncontrolled thought. The thought-current is to bring in each object as if it were completely filled with that, i.e., one with it. When the current of thought will flow with power in whichever direction it is sent, the undertaking will be most fruitful.