I have the habit of taking notes or scrubbing down important points while reading a book from my childhood. I am blogging those notes/scrubbings only to encourage the readers who see my blog to read the original book and is not meant for any commercial purpose. It is just sharing information about a good book.
Getting into reading habit is one of the significant developments in my life. I think I started sometime around when I was in 6th standard reading Telugu newspapers and my all time favorite newspaper ‘The Hindu’. Around the same time, I started my first magazine reading with a telugu magazine ‘Wonder world’ and later on moved to ‘Competitors Success Review - CSR’ and continued with it for almost a decade. I am proud to say I have till date all the magazines of CSR. Then I went on to compare news in Telugu and English newspapers as well as from different local newspaper. Then I started with India Today, The Week and Outlook. But above all, it was the ‘Frontline’ magazine for which I waited eagerly. Till date, Frontline and Hindu newspapers are my benchmarks in regard to writing and presenting a topic.
After when I first stuck with my failure, I got my hands on these Self Help books and with them I also started reading Autobiographies and historical books. On the same path of reading, I started my journey into spiritual books with Ramakrishna Math books which were at affordable prices for me at that time. Another great thing which happens to me was the discovery of State owned libraries which contains tons and tons of good books. I almost spent my Engineering days in the local library and read any and all books on which I can lay my hands. As these books were costly and I couldn’t offer them at that time, I use to go to library (as they didn’t allow Non-locals to borrow the books) and spend the whole day.
Second hand books purchased on Sundays in Abids, Hyderabad, is from where I started my own library which old and new books. I am proud to say I have a collection of almost 2000 books ranging from spirituality, history, autobiographies, self help and technical books.
Books have more influence on me. I also depend on books for emotional support as they are my stress busters. It takes me 60-70 pages per hour and almost 4 to 5 hours to complete a book depending on the size of the book. I normally underline or take notes during reading and will summarize the whole book as per my understanding. When I feel bored, I pick up two or three books and travel to some nearby places and make a point to return after completely reading those books.
I like serious books. I hate reading novels, coffee table books and classic English literature.
I have a big list of books to read and very happy to have this habit of reading.
‘My mind does not find interest in japa and meditation. What shall I do?' `Mind is a machine that works just in the manner you run it. We have to consider—how much time in twenty-four hours we try to do japa and meditation and how much time we spend in other works. But what is the remedy? A simple remedy is to try to keep the mind engaged in the thought of God for some more time. Sri Ramakrishna has said, `Do you know how the mind is? It is like a cloth just returned from the washerman. It takes the colour you dip it in.' If we keep the mind in worldly thoughts for much time, those very thoughts will continue to rise at the time of japa-meditation. If you want to relish a thing for which you have no taste, you have to try to direct your mind to that very thing. Repeated efforts ultimately develop relish. And Ramakrishna prescribed the way also: (1) to chant the name of God, (2) to keep holy company and, (3) to occasionally think of God in solitude. To chant the name of God means japa, meditation, worship, visit to places of God, and service to God. Holy company means to mix with those who think of God and love Him. Again, mixing with them does not mean just to sit near them; it means to assimilate their ideas and follow their examples. Otherwise it is no sâdhusanga (holy company). The third way is to live in solitude occasionally. A short stay in solitude from time to time is necessary.
(1) Japa: The first means prescribed by Sri Ramakrishna—to chant the name of God, i.e. to think of Him and worship Him—is the way of acquiring devotion. This devotion has been called vaidhi bhakti or preparatory devotion. By the cultivation of this preparatory devotion, gradually love of God develops. A verse in the Bhagavatam says, bhaktyâ samjâyate bhaktih—devotion begets devotion. Supreme devotion, i.e. love of God, develops through preparatory devotion and as a result symptoms of devotion like thrill, horripilation, etc., manifest in the body. (2) Holy Company: Sâdhusanga does not mean just to live with a sadhu or to visit him. It means that you have to accept him as your ideal and try to follow his examples.' A sadhu is he whose company activates God-consciousness. Those who come in contact with him become influenced by his feelings. That's why sâdhusanga is efficacious. (3) Solitude: The third means prescribed by the Master is occasional stay in solitude. We are so habituated to live forgetting God that we have no comprehension of the real nature of samsâra (worldliness).
Neither a monk nor a householder achieves anything until he realizes that worldly concerns are worthless and God alone is real.
For more information and queries, contact Sri Ramakrishna Math in your place or visit http://www.rkmath.org/articles/howtoreachthegoal
Disclaimer: [As these types of topics cannot be put down in very few lines and there are different methods and schools of thoughts regarding the same, I, being at the beginner level, trying to follow what great sages or swami has written, will be blogging all those materials which I have read and thought of useful. These are notes or scribing I normally take when I read a book or some stuff on net and is not intended for any commercial use and no claim is made by me on this written material. This written stuff belongs to the writer or publisher or organization but is blogged by me only to spread awareness about a good book or method so that the blog readers are encouraged to read the original books. Details about the book name, author, publisher, organization, price and the links are given below. ]
Meditation is a state of intense concentration. If the mind is made to flow in an uninterrupted manner to its object of thought for a prolonged period of time, it is called meditation.
“Tatra pratyaikatanata dhyanam” i.e., “Uninterrupted thinking of one thought is Dhyana or meditation.” – Yoga Sutras 3/2.
It is not true that we cannot concentrate. What we lack is the ability to concentrate our minds on everything, and under all circumstances. It is easy to concentrate on what is pleasant. The difficulty arises when we have to concentrate on something unpleasant. A student finds it hard to concentrate on a dull and uninteresting book and a parishioner feels drowsy when listening to a boring sermon.
Yet, all that is pleasant is not necessarily good. On the other hand, what is unpleasant may be good and beneficial. We must learn to concentrate on whatever we do, whether pleasant or unpleasant, as long as it is beneficial for us. Meditation – which is no other than training in concentration – can enable us to do this.
Concentration is indispensable in achieving success in life. Success in no area of human life can be attained without it. Swami Vivekananda used to say that the different between a genius and an idiot is in their power of concentration.
Benefits:
Some say that meditation is good for health. It removes stress by relaxing the body and mind. It reduces high blood pressure. It helps slow down the aging process and improves memory. Some also say that meditation helps in gaining supernatural powers. While all these claims may be true, the sages tell us that these are not the best reasons to meditate. Rather, meditation has a much higher purpose which is God-Realization or experiencing the Ultimate Truth.
Now a days, Yoga is often incorrectly known to be only some physical postures that can enhance health and longevity. In India, where all these techniques were originally developed – such exercises are called Hatha Yoga. The word Yoga has many other meanings. In the context of spiritual life, it means methods which help one in establishing communion with the Divine Reality, viz. Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, etc.
Man is a combination of
1.The physical body
2.The vital energy
3.The sense organs
4.The motor organs
5.The mind
These put together are called the body-mind-complex. Although involved with the body-mind-complex, the soul of man is not a part of it. The soul is eternal, changeless, infinite, and the only source of consciousness. Man’s body-mind-complex acquires consciousness by borrowing it from the soul. The soul is also called the Divine Spirit, the Divine Self, and the Divine Essence.
Methods of God-Realization – The Four Yogas
The Sanskrit word Yoga means a yoke or a link – a link between the spiritual aspirant and God, means a technique or path by following which we can establish communion with God.
Hinduism offers many different Yogas or techniques to reach God. Out of them, four are most important as they correspond to the four broad catagories into which Hinduism classes all spiritual seekers. These Yogas are:
1.Bhakti Yoga or the path of devotion. This path is meant primarily for people who are temperamentally emotional and respond easily to love and affection.
2.Jnana Yoga or the path of rational inquiry. This path is prescribed for people of rational temperament to whom reason appeals more than faith.
3.Raja Yoga or the path of psychic control. Raja Yoga is for aspirants who are of meditative temperament with a natural yearning to completely maser their minds.
4.Karma Yoga or the path of right action. The path of Karma Yoga is most attractive to people who are habitually very active.
All these paths, except for Karma Yoga, prescribe their own kinds of meditation to experience Divinity. The path of Karma Yoga teaches the practice of selfless action as a means to experience Divinity. It does not teach meditation. Raja Yoga, however, puts maximum emphasis on meditation.
Book: Meditation – Mind and Patanjali’s Yoga by Swami Bhaskarananda, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai. Price Rs.75/-. Pages – 252.
Note – The above points are notes I have scrubbed down while reading the book “Meditation – Mind and Patanjali’s” written by Swami Bhaskarananda. I am blogging this material only to encourage the readers who see my blog to read the book and is not meant for any commercial purpose. It is just sharing information about a good book.
1.Know first that ‘I’ and then you shall know the truth.
2.There is only one thing to be done. Look into your own self. Do this in the right way and you shall find the answer to all your problems.
3.Through deep reflection on the nature of one’s self and through constant meditation, the light can be found.
4.How do you know that no progress has been made? It is not easy to perceive one’s progress in the spiritual realm.
5.Guru can give his discipline all that he needs for his quest.
6.Getting enlightenment depends upon the maturity of the seeker’s mind. The gun powder catches fire in an instant, while much time is needed to set fire to the coal.
7.Why should you trouble yourself about the future? You do not even properly know about the present! Take care of the present; the future will then take care of itself.
8.As you are, so is the world. Without understanding yourself, what is the use of trying to understand the world? People waste their energies over all such questions. First, find out the truth behind yourself; then you will be in a better position to understand the truth behind the world, of which yourself is a part.
9.When you go back there, you shall have this peace which you now feel, but its price will be that you shall henceforth can’t aside the idea that you are this body or this brain. When this peace will flow into you, then you shall have to forget your own self, for you will have turned your life over to THAT.
10.The life of action need not be renounced. If you will meditate for an hour or two every day, you can then carry on with your duties. If you meditate in the right manner, then the current of mind induced will continue to flow even in the midst of your work. It is as though there were two ways of expressing the same idea; the same line which you take in meditation will be expressed in your activities.
11.As you go on you will find that your attitude towards people, events and objects will gradually change. Your actions will tend to follow your meditations of their own accord.
12.A man should surrender the personal selfishness which binds him to this world. Giving up the false self is the true renunciation.
13.You have to ask yourself the question, ‘Who am I? This investigation will lead in the end to the discovery of something within you which is behind the mind. Solve that great problem, and you will solve all other problems thereby?
14.Man’s real nature is happiness. Happiness is inborn in the true self. His search for happiness is an unconscious search for his true self. The true Self is imperishable; therefore when a man finds it, he finds a happiness which does not come to an end. All men, without exception, are consciously or unconsciously seeking happiness. Even a sinner is trying to find the Self’s happiness in every sin which they commit. This striving is instinctive in man, but they do not know that they are really seeking their true selves, and so they try these wicked ways first as a means to happiness. Of course, they are wrong ways, for a man’s acts are reflected back to him.
15.To understand SELF, it is first necessary for a man to analyse himself. Because it has long been his habit to think as others think, he has never faced his ‘I’ in the true manner. He has not a correct picture of himself; he has too long identified himself with the body and the brain. Therefore, I tell you to pursue this enquiry, “Who am I”.
16.The first and foremost of all thoughts, the primeval thought in the mind of every man, is the thought ‘I’. It is only after the birth of this thought that any other thoughts can arise at all. It is only after the first personal pronoun ‘I’ has arisen in the mind that the personal pronoun ‘you’ can make its appearance. If you could mentally follow the ‘I’ thread until it leads you back to its source, you would discover that, just as it is the first thought to appear, so is it the last to disappear. This is a matter which can be experienced. It is possible to go inwards until the last thought ‘I’ gradually vanishes.
17.The sense of ‘I’ pertains to the person, the body and the brain. When a man knows his true Self for the first time, something else arises from the depths of his being and takes possession of him. That something is behind the mind; it is infinite, divine, eternal. Some people call it the kingdom of heaven, others call it the soul, still others name it Nirvana, and we Hindus call it Liberation; you may give it what name you wish. When this happens, a man has not really lost himself; rather, he has found himself.
18.‘Who am I?, if you begin to perceive that neither the body nor the brain nor the desires are really you, then the very attitude of enquiry will eventually draw the answer to you out of the depths of your own beings; it will come to you of its own accord as a deep realization.
19.Know the real Self and then the truth will shine forth within your heart like sunshine. The mind will become untroubled and real happiness will flood it; for happiness and the true self are identical. You will have no more doubts once you attain this Self-awareness.
20.The greatest error of a man is to think that he is weak by nature, evil by nature. Every man is divine and strong in his real nature. What are weak and evil are his habits, his desires and thoughts, but not himself.
21.Who am I?
Am I this body of flesh, blood and bone?
Am I the mind, the thoughts and the feelings which distinguish me from every other person?
22.Pursue the enquiry ‘Who am I? Relentlessly. Analyse your entire personality. Try to find out where the I-thought begins. Go on with your meditations. Keep turning your attention within. One day the wheel of thought will slow down and an intuition will mysteriously arise. Follow that intuition let your thinking stop, and it will eventually lead you to the goal.
23.Trace thought to its place of origin. Watch for the real Self to reveal itself, and then your thoughts will die down on their own accord.
‘The Maharshi and His Message’ is a small book of around 80 pages which are the extracts of three chapters from the Paul Brunton’s ‘A Search in Secret India’ book. This book starts with the invitation to Brunton to visit Tiruvannamalai from a disciple of Ramana Maharshi and explains about all the personal experiences and discussions he had with Maharshi.
I like the second chapter “The Hill of the Holy Beacon” more.
Source: The Maharshi and His Message – Paul Brunton. Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai. Price Rs.20/-. Pages – 77.
Disclaimer – The above points are notes I have scrubbed down while reading the book “The Maharshi and His Message” written by Paul Brunton. I am blogging this material only to encourage the readers who see my blog to read the book and is not meant for any commercial purpose. It is just sharing information about a good book.
