SPIRITUAL VIBRATIONS AND AURA - Part 3

Some vibrations can be felt or detected by ordinary physical and sensory means. When you shake hands with another man, a distinct vibration can be felt passing from one hand to the other. A man who is both blind and deaf can easily know one individual from another because no two persons have the same vibrations. You will observe a definite rhythm in all vibrations. The law of rhythm operates in the working of this human machine. There is rhythm in every movement in this universe. Inhalation and exhalation, the systole and diastole of the heart, the ebb tide and the flood tide in the sea, the movements of the stars and the planets in the firmament, days and nights, seasons and monsoons—all follow definite rhythmic laws. Everything has a different rate of vibration. Various sorts of waves are passing about in this universe. Some waves oppose each other and bring about discord, disharmony and rupture. Some other waves move harmoniously side by side. Then there is peace and harmony. You must know how to harmonise your physical and mental vibrations with those without. Then only you can be really happy. If you can place yourself in tune with the vibrations of another man, you can really understand him. If you have immense liking for another man, it means your vibrations are in tune with the vibrations of that man. People of similar vibrations are united by friendship. If the vibrations of one man strike against those of another, they cannot be united. Hatred, prejudice, dislike and jealousy will result.
From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

SPIRITUAL VIBRATIONS AND AURA - Part 2

Every thought, every word and every physical action produces a molecular vibration in the atmosphere which affect every object. Any evil thought, evil word or evil action immediately creates a bad vibration in the atmosphere and does harm to many persons. Conversely any good thought, good word or good action immediately produces a good vibration and does good to many persons. Telepathy is thought-vibration. The mind is constantly vibrating. The mind is acted upon by the psychic Prana or subtle energy and various thoughtforms are produced. Thought vibrates. The trained Yogi can send a thought in the ether to any distance he likes. Thoughts are separated from each other by different rates of vibration. Wherever and whenever any work is done, a motion or vibration is caused; wherever and whenever a motion or vibration is produced a sound is produced. The sound of the first motion of the equipoised Nature in the act of creation of Pranava or OM. The Lord willed at the end of the dissolution (Maha-Pralaya): “May I become many.” There arose a motion or vibration in the unmanifested Nature (Prakriti). It is Omkara or Pranava-Nada. There must be harmony or concord in vibration. Then there is peace. There must be rhythm in vibration. Then there is order. There is rhythm in the systolic and diastolic movements of the heart during contraction and dilation. So there is order in internal harmony in the circulation of blood. Man enjoys good health. There is rhythm in the vibration or the movement of the lungs. So man is hale and hearty. If there is a disturbance of the rhythm in the motion of either the heart or the lungs, then man gets incurable diseases of the heart and the lungs and passes away soon.
From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

SPIRITUAL VIBRATIONS AND AURA - Part 1

Vibration means motion. The Lord willed and there was a vibration. The world was projected. The sound OM emanated. The three qualities viz., Sattva, Rajas and Tamas differentiated themselves from the unmanifested. There was a vibration in the ether and the other four elements came forth. Through the process of quintuplication or mixing up of the elements the phenomenal world came into being. The whole universe is full of molecular vibrations. Any word or Mantra uttered silently or forcibly produces molecular waves, gross, subtle, or more subtle. These waves spread throughout the universe. It is said that the radiowaves move round the world seven times a second. Everything in this world, both visible and invisible, constantly vibrates. All particles of matter are in a state of vibration. From the tiniest atom to the mightiest planet all things are in a state of vibration. The atoms of the human body are in constant vibration. Different rates of vibration balanced in the cosmic rhythm produce, before us the magnanimous world. Matter is being acted upon by energy and innumerable forms are produced. Forms break down incessantly and new forms come into being. There is nothing in absolute rest in nature. The air is ever vibrating. Rivers are ever flowing. The earth is ever revolving. The stars are ever moving. Forms come and go but the reality that lies behind these forms is unchangeable.
Earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, thunder, lightning and so forth, are the
outcome of vibration. Electricity and magnetism are vibrations only. Music is vibration. If various kinds of musical instruments are kept in a room, properly tuned, and if one instrument is kept in vibration, all other instruments also will vibrate themselves. Music produces harmonious vibrations in the mind and soothes the nerves and the mind
From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

CONCENTRATION - Part 4

When you study one book, do not think of any other book. Fix the mind there steadily like the
arrow-maker24 who had no consciousness of his surroundings. Eminent scientists are so busy and attentive in their experiments and researches in their laboratories that they forget to take food even for days together. Once a scientist was very busy at his work. His wife who was living in another district had a serious calamity. She came running up to him to the laboratory with profuse tears in her eyes. Strange to say, the scientist was not a bit agitated. He was so very attentive in his work that he even forgot that she was his own wife. He replied: “Madam!Weep for some more time. Let me make chemical analysis of your tears.”
Once some gentleman invited Sir Isaac Newton for dinner. Newton repaired to his host’s
bungalow and took his seat in the drawing room. The gentleman forgot all about Newton, took his dinner and proceeded to his office. Newton was amusing within himself very absorbedly on some important point of science. He did not stir from his seat. He forgot all about his dinner and remained in the same chair like a statue for over thirty-six hours! The next morning the host saw Newton in the drawing room and then only remembered of having invited him for dinner. He really felt sorry
for his forgetfulness and apologised to Sir Isaac in a meek voice. What a wonderful power of
attention Sir Isaac Newton had! All geniuses possess this power to an infinite degree.
According to Prof. James we attend to things because they are very interesting. But Prof.
Pillsbury is of the opinion that things are interesting because we attend to them, or because we are likely to attend to them. We do not attend to them because they are interesting.
By the constant practice and ever-renewed effort of attention, a subject that in the beginning
was dry and uninteresting may become full of interest when you master it and learn its meaning and its issues. The power of concentrating your attention on the subject may become stronger.
When a great misfortune has befallen you, or when you pass in review a certain course of
conduct in order to find out the cause of failure, it may take possession of your mind to such a
degree that no effort of the will can make you cease from thinking over it. An article has to be
written, a book is in the process of preparation; the work is carried on to the loss of sleep and you are unable to tear yourself away from it; the attention which began voluntarily has taken entire hold of the field of consciousness.
From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

CONCENTRATION - Part 3

If you closely watch, you will note that you observe different objects at different times. This perception of now one object and now another when the physical conditions are constant, is known as fluctuation of attention. Attention is changing. The objects themselves change or fluctuate but there is no fluctuation in the observing individual himself. The mind has not been trained to bear prolonged voluntary attention. It gets disgusted through monotony and wants to run towards some other pleasing object. You may say: “I am going to attend to one thing only,” but you will soon find that even though you attend very hard, you suddenly perceive something else. The attention wavers. Interest develops attention. It is difficult to fix the mind on an uninteresting object. When a professor is lecturing, when the subject is abstract and metaphysical, many people leave the hall quietly because they cannot attend to a subject which is not interesting. But if the same professor sings and tells some interesting and thrilling stories, all people hear him with rapt attention. There is pindrop silence. Lecturers should know the art of attracting the minds of the hearers. They will have to change the tone to talk with force and emphasis. They will have to watch the audience and see whether they are attentive or not. They will have to change the subject-matter for a short while and bring in some nice stories and suitable illustrations. They will have to look at the hearers directly in their eyes. So many things are necessary if one wants to become a successful lecturer, if one wants to make the hearers attentive. Napoleon, Gladstone, Arjuna and Jnanadeva had all wonderful powers of attention. They could fix their minds on any object. All scientists and occultists possess attention to a remarkable degree. They cultivate it by patience, regular and systematic practice. A judge and a surgeon can get positive success in their respective professions only if they are endowed with the power of attention to a high degree.When you do any work, plunge yourself in it. Forget yourself. Lose the self. Concentrate upon the work. Shut out all other thoughts. When you do one thing, do not think of any other thing.

CONCENTRATION - Part 2

If you analyse carefully the mental functions or operations, no one process can be singled out and called attention to. It is not possible to separate attention as a distinct function. You observe something; therefore you are attentive. Attention belongs to every state of consciousness and is present in every field of consciousness. An attentive student in the spiritual path can do hearing (Sravana) of the Srutis22 in an efficient manner. The military officer says: “ATTENTION” and the soldier is ready with his gun to carry out his behests. An attentive soldier alone can hit the mark. No one can get success either in temporal or spiritual pursuits without attention. There are Yogins who can do eight or ten or even hundred things at a time.23 This is not strange. The whole secret lies in the fact that they have developed their attention to a remarkable degree. All the great men of the world do possess this faculty in varying degrees.
Attention is of two kinds viz., external attention and internal attention. When the attention is
directed towards external objects, it is called external attention. When it is directed internally within the mind upon mental objects and ideas, it is known as internal attention.
There are again two other kinds of attention viz, voluntary attention and involuntary
attention. When the attention is directed towards some external object by an effort, of the will, it is called voluntary attention. When you have an express volition to attend to this or that, it is called CONCENTRATION
22 Hindu Scriptures such as the Upanishads Brahma-Sutras etc.
23 Read my book “Mind, Its Mysteries and Control.”involuntary attention. The man understands why he perceives. Some deliberate intention, incentive,
goal or purpose is definitely involved. Voluntary attention needs effort, will, determination and
some mental training. This is cultivated by practice and perseverance. The benefits derived by the practice of attention are incalculable. Involuntary attention is quite common. This does not demand any practice. There is no effort of the will. The attention is induced by the beauty and attractive nature of the object. Individuals perceive without knowing why and without observed instruction. Young children possess this power of involuntary attention to a greater degree than grown-up people. If a man is not observant, he is not attentive. If he observes something, he is said to be attentive. Intention, purpose, hope, expectation, desire, belief, wish, knowledge, aim, goal and needs serve to determine attention. You will have to note carefully the degree, duration, range, forms, fluctuations and conflicts of attention. There is great attention, if the object is very pleasing. You will have to create interest. Then there will be attention. If the attention gets diminished, change your attention to another pleasant object. By patient training you can direct the mind to attend to an unpleasant object also by creating interest. Then your will will grow strong

From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

CONCENTRATION - Part 1

Hari Om! My speech is rooted in my mind,
My mind is rooted in my speech;
Brahman, reveal Thyself to me;
Ye mind and speech enable me
To grasp the truth the scriptures teach.
Let what I have heard slip not from me;
I join day with night in study,
I think the truth, I speak the truth;
May That protect me,
May That protect the teacher,
Protect me, protect the teacher, protect the teacher.
Om Peace! Om Peace! Om Peace!
Desa-bandhas-chittasya dharana—Concentration is fixing the mind on an external objector an internal point. Once a Sanskrit scholar approached Kabir21 and asked him: “O Kabir! What are you doing now?” Kabir replied: “O Pandit! I am detaching the mind from worldly objects and attaching it to the Lotus Feet of the Lord.” This is concentration. Right conduct, posture, Pranayama and abstraction from sensual objects will pave a long way in achieving rapid success in 51 PRACTICAL LESSONS IN YOGA
20 For further details refer to my book “Science of Pranayama.”
21 Kabir, a weaver saint of the holy city of Kasi is said to have lived during the reign of Sikandar Lodhi and died in the year 1519 A.D. He was a distinguished disciple of the great religious reformer, Ramananda, and had marvellous psychic powers. concentration. There can be no concentration without something upon which the mind may rest. Concentration is the sixth step in the Yogic ladder. You must evince good interest in the practice of concentration. Then only your whole attention will be directed towards the object upon which you wish to concentrate. There can be really no concentration without a remarkable degree of interest and attention shown by the practitioner. You must therefore, know what these two words mean.
Attention is steady application of the mind. It is focussing of consciousness on some chosen
object. Through attention you can develop your mental faculties and capacities. Where there is
attention, there is also concentration. Attention should be cultivated gradually. It is not a special
process. It is the whole mental process in one of its aspects.
Perception always involves attention. To perceive is to attend. Through attention you get a
clear and distinct knowledge of objects. The entire energy is focussed on the object towards which attention is directed. Full and complete information is gained. During attention all the dissipated rays of the mind are collected. There is effort or struggle in attention. Through attention a deeper impression of anything is made in the mind. If you have good attention, you can attend to the matter in hand exclusively. An attentive man has very good memory. He is very vigilant and circumspect. He is nimble and alert.
From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

THE WAY OF ATTAINMENT OF GENIUS - Part 2

It is certainly not to be found in dogma. Even so simple an idea as that of a supreme and eternal being is denied by a third of the human race. Legends of miracle are perhaps universal, but these, in the absence of demonstrative proof, are repugnant to common sense. But what of the origin of religions? How is it that unproved assertion has so frequently compelled the assent of all classes of mankind? Is not this a miracle? There is, however, one form of miracle which certainly happens, the influence of the genius. There is no known analogy in Nature. One cannot even think of a "super-dog" transforming the {7} world of dogs, whereas in the history of mankind this happens with regularity and frequency. Now here are three "super-men," all at loggerheads. What is there in common between Christ, Buddha, and Mohammed? Is there any one point upon which all three are in accord? No point of doctrine, no point of ethics, no theory of a "hereafter" do they share, and yet in the history of their lives we find one identity amid many diversities. Buddha was born a Prince, and died a beggar. Mohammed was born a beggar, and died a Prince. Christ remained obscure until many years after his death. Elaborate lives of each have been written by devotees, and there is one thing common to all three -- an omission. We hear nothing of Christ between the ages of twelve and thirty. Mohammed disappeared into a cave. Buddha left his palace, and went for a long while into the desert. Each of them, perfectly silent up to the time of the disappearance, came back and immediately began to preach a new law. This is so curious that it leaves us to inquire whether the histories of other great teachers contradict or confirm. Moses led a quiet life until his slaying of the Egyptian. He then flees into the land of Midian, and we hear nothing of what he did there, yet immediately on his return he turns the whole place upside down. Later on, too, he absents himself on Mount Sinai for a few days, and comes back with the Tables of the Law in his hand. St. Paul (again), after his adventure on the road to Damascus, goes into the desert of Arabia for many years, and on his return overturns the Roman Empire. Even in the legends of savages we find the same thing universal; somebody who is nobody in particular goes away for a longer or shorter period, and comes back as the "great medicine man"; but nobody ever knows exactly what happened to him. Making every possible deduction for fable and myth, we get this one coincidence. A nobody goes away, and comes back a somebody. This is not to be explained in any of the ordinary ways. There is not the smallest ground for the contention that these were from the start exceptional men. Mohammed would hardly have driven a camel until he was thirty-five years old if he had possessed any talent or ambition. St. Paul had much original talent; but he is the least of the five. Nor do they seem to have possessed any of the usual materials of power, such as rank, fortune, or influence. Moses was rather a big man in Egypt when he left; he came back as a mere stranger. {8} Christ had not been to China and married the Emperor's daughter. Mohammed had not been acquiring wealth and drilling soldiers. Buddha had not been consolidating any religious organizations. St. Paul had not been intriguing with an ambitious general. Each came back poor; each came back alone. What was the nature of their power? What happened to them in their absence? History will not help us to solve the problem, for history is silent. We have only the accounts given by the men themselves. It would be very remarkable should we find that these accounts agree.
Of the great teachers we have mentioned Christ is silent; the other four tell us something; some more, some less. Buddha goes into details too elaborate to enter upon in this place; but the gist of it is that in one way or another he got hold of the secret force of the World and mastered it. Of St. Paul's experiences, we have nothing but a casual illusion to his having been "caught up into Heaven, and seen and heard things of which it was not lawful to speak." Mohammed speaks crudely of his having been "visited by the Angel Gabriel," who communicated things from "God." Moses says that he "beheld God." Diverse as these statements are at first sight, all agree in announcing an experience of the class which fifty years ago would have been called supernatural, to-day may be called spiritual, and fifty years hence will have a proper name based on an understanding of the phenomenon which occurred. Theorists have not been at a loss to explain; but they differ. The Mohammedan insists that God is, and did really send Gabriel with messages for Mohammed: but all others contradict him. And from the nature of the case proof is impossible.
From -THE WAY OF ATTAINMENT OF GENIUS

How Greed Arises

When you come into contact with objects the mind conceptualises and says to you: ‘is is good , useful, harmless, you can’t do without it, just this once’. Gives you all the positive qualities.at’s when lobha arises. at’s the cause of lobha. If we just observe the ‘seeing’ process then lobha will not arise.Lobha (greed) can not differentiate between want and need. Dosa (anger) cannot differentiate between right and wrong. ese mind states are already in moha (delusion) and cannot know what is appropriate or not and cannot see causes and effects.Kilesa is not mature. But if you can see your mind feeling lobha, dosa, comparing itself to this or that, then this mind that is aware is more mature, it has sati, it is knowing, it is not blind.Defilements are not simple, and they don’t let you be simple. ey confuse you (they are of a confusing, deluding nature) they delay you on the path, distract you and push you out of the right way.In ActionWhen you start practising, it takes U Tejaniya a very short timeto find where you are in your own practice, whatever that practice might be, and guide you very skilfully to start watching your mind (consciousness).So assuming that you can look into your mind, Cittanupassana starts with observing the characteristics of the consciousness; if you recognise the work they do, that is their characteristic.You are aware of some object and the mind that is aware of that object. You know this mind as the noting mind or consciousness or citta.en another consciousness-citta arises which is aware-watches over the first one which is aware of object and arises with the object and because of the object. It knows what this first one is doing, knows its ‘whereabouts’ object and behaviour.is consciousness is called watching mind, or one step up mind.Once an object hits the field of awareness the noting mind is automatically there. e watching mind is watching-knowing what the noting mind is doing-experiencing.Don’t try to make your meditation experience better but be with whatever is happening completely.at’s the most important aspect of meditationVery important: to live in the present moment.Every moment is a moment of meditation.When sitting, look at the defilement that tells you to move. It’s like a demanding child underestimating your wisdom. Look at it. Ask: Why?Look at all these perfect reasons that it gives you. Don’t take it for real, just keep looking at it. en if you have to move, move. ere’s no rule that says not to move.Try to see the ending of the noting mind. It happens very suddenly; like a snap of the fingers.Don’t get attached to happiness, to peace, to comfort, in sitting meditation. Keep your mind balanced all the time. Fly free.You don’t think, do I like this or do I not like this, but think should I do this or should I not do this.Watch out for that liking mind!Don’t try to stop others disturbing you, it is impossible!Personality is more like an idea in the mind, a thought. Which way are you going to go concept or reality?e frowning face shows the state which the mind is into (especially in sitting).Judging and “‘I’-ness” go together. When you find you are self-judging you are caught in identification.‘Blank’ Options— Stay with the consciousness that knows of the consciousness which is aware of that blankness.— Be aware of that neutrality as feeling.— Don’t stay with the blankness, go back to rising and falling.When there is ‘blank’ as you watch your mind, don’t take it as ‘practice gone wrong’. Blankness is object.Also your reaction to it, the mental state that arises because of it: ‘No object, what do I do now’? It is a very obvious object, don’t miss it.
from - Contemplation of the Mind

Shwe Oo Min Dhamma Sukha Tawya

Shwe Oo Min Dhamma Sukha Tawya — Vassa there should always be the greatest effort possible without forcing, without creating tension.’‘Insight comes from the realisation that observation is going on without the observer. Witnessing is going on without the witness.’‘An ounce of practice is worth more than a ton of theory.’From Shwe Oo Min SayadawPut your mind at the solar plexus. Don’t label. Just be aware of what is happening. If you hear something, just know there is hearing. If you know what sound it is you are hearing, this is not meditation.It’s only meditation when there are two minds:Knowing-noting mind and observing mind.If there is only one mind, ‘I’ is always there.e object is not the dhamma,e dhamma is the mindat is being aware.You don’t need to follow the objects or identify or know them. Awareness will do it’s own work.Even when the person sleeps the Dhamma does not sleep, even when you are near death and you are overcome by exhaustion, the feeling of being overcome is just the feeling of being overcome, knowing it, is separate from the sensation.
from - Contemplation of the Mind