Deep Meditation
Excerpts from God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda
The Bhagavad Gita — VI:20-23
(20) The state of complete tranquility of the feeling (chitta), attained by yoga meditation, in which the self (ego) perceives itself as the Self (soul) and is content (fixed) in the Self;
(21) The state in which the sense-transcendent immeasurable bliss becomes known to the awakened intuitive intelligence, and in which the yogi remains enthroned, never again to be removed;
(22) The state that, once found, the yogi considers as the treasure beyond all other treasures—anchored therein, he is immune to even the mightiest grief;
(23) That state is known as yoga — the pain-free state. The practice of yoga is therefore to be observed resolutely and with a stout heart.
(…) In the twenty-third stanza, every spiritual seeker is advised to practice yoga, not in a haphazard or depressed state of mind, but with great enthusiasm and perseverance. He should try undauntedly to unite his ego with his soul and his soul with Spirit, until he reaches the final Beatitude in which the soul is never again to be separated from Spirit. The reincarnation-making past seeds of good and bad action are forever roasted in the all-consuming fire of ultimate wisdom.
Making Meditation Deeper
The Gita points out the impossibility of attaining satisfaction by practising yoga methods desultorily.
Every yogi should joyfully try to make his daily meditation deeper than the previous day's meditation; his yoga practice of tomorrow should always be deeper than the one of today. |
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Again, the yogi should not be satisfied by deep meditations for one or two years, but should practice yoga with ever-increasing intensity to the end of his life, and for incarnations if necessary! Better it is to try to be free in one life or in a few lives than to undergo the suffering of thousands of incarnations, owing to lack of continuous efforts for salvation. The yogi who is not determined to meditate until final emancipation is achieved (by the removal of all seeds of karma lodged in the subconsciousness) is apt to be discouraged and to give up his yoga practice because he has not quickly found the ultimate state. He should, however, intensely meditate without concentrating on the fruits of his actions.
The following story will encourage laborious disheartened yogis.
A man planted a flower seed in his garden. He looked after it, steadfastly weeding and watering the soil around it. A robust plant appeared—but, for years, no flower. He thought of destroying the plant, but finally decided: "My business is to look after the plant; it is for God to produce the flower. I will keep myself busy in tending the plant and not in concentrating on my flowerless labors." Years passed; he contented himself with the care of the plant and forgot all about the flower. One sunny morning, when a breeze was gently blowing, he smelled a strangely attractive fragrance. He ran to his plant and stood speechless in joy—there in front of him was the gorgeous flower! The aromatic beauty had always been present in the plant, a hidden potential awaiting the right moment of blossoming made possible by his labor of love.
The yogi should similarly keep himself busy nurturing his plant of Self-realization; if he is not impatient, he will find (one day when, God in His infinite wisdom deems it proper) the amaranthine* flower of eternal freedom.
[* amaranth — an imaginary flower that never fades]
