The Mindset You Need for Meditation | Essence of the Geeta | Episode 83

You are listening to the essence of the Gita. In this episode, Swamiji explores the inner preparation needed for meditation and what it means to be truly ready for the journey within. The person who is ready for meditation, every action, every movement has to be done with full attentiveness. When we work with dedication, when we work with love, there is full attention in whatever we do, whatever we offer. That brings a glow of efficiency, a glow of beauty. Whatever we do with love will have a shine of perfection. How much more is it necessary to be attentive when we are praying, when we are doing our sadhanas, when we are performing our pujas, when we are doing our chanting? If we have to invoke the power, the presence, the grace of the Lord, then our minds have to be attuned. Mere mechanical worship to get something in return, mere mechanical reputations of mantras or chants which are done without love and attention, mere invocations like shanti pats when people do, it does not have effect because we do not do it with attentiveness. We don't do it with mindfulness. Today people talk about mindfulness in doing your work. How much more mindfulness is needed when you are listening to the teacher? How much more mindfulness is needed when you are trying to connect to the power behind the universe? Because your mind alone is the connecting rod. If that is loose, some electricity might pass but you know there is a lot of friction and there can be also a lot of... cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut. Therefore, why do we have the chance before class? Why do we come before the teacher comes into class so that we poise ourselves? Therefore Bhagawan pointed out first that having kept a stable seat, giving up all activity, sitting steady without any movement, we prepare our mind for meditation and the revelation of knowledge. Such a poised and quiet mind alone can gain knowledge. Therefore, to have not just information but the discovery, a meditative mind is required. What is a meditative mind? Gurudev used to explain very beautifully that normally our minds are all to acquire, to save or in all our different lives. It is for offense or for defense. Every animal acts either to attack or to protect oneself, to have or to save. That we have done through many, many, many, many, many lifetimes. But this mind which is the cause of our bondage, that mind which is carried away by the wake of the senses and not under the mastery of your discriminative intellect, such a mind is your deadliest enemy and the cause of your bondage. But this mind only is also the cause of your liberation. Which mind that has been won by the mind, the mind which has been won by you, such a mind. Now you will notice the moment you are not attentive, your mind follows its past habits, its past instincts. The moment a check is put on it, it starts behaving. You allow the mind to go on misbehaving, unchecked. When a time comes, it is not going to listen to your intellect. Then you say, Saturn has come into your intellect. Because whatever your intellect says, your mind will do the opposite. Because it will learn to misbehave. Therefore bring the mind under the mastery of your... which intellect, discriminative, knowledgeable, one who holds ideals, you should bring it under that intellect. You may be used to say, all your sadhana should be with alertness and vigilance. The moment you slack, your mind slips. Therefore everything has to be done with full attentiveness. Alertness and vigilance is the price you have to pay for your sadhana to have peace of mind. Thus having given the complete discipline of how do you prepare your seat and how do you prepare your body. When the body is unsteady, the mind also is unsteady. When the mind is unsteady, the body cannot be steady. Therefore our fidgetiness reflects only the agitation of our mind. Mind we are not able to directly control because when it slips, who is there to watch it? But if we keep our physical body steady, then to some extent because there is a link between mind and body. Your body is nothing but the grossification of your mind. Your mind is relaxed, the body is relaxed. Your mind is stressed, your body will be stiff. The other way round also, you make a shift in the condition of your body. You make a shift in the mind also. Same way with your senses, your gaze. Minds unsteady, the senses will be going haywire. It's like the rains are loose, the horses go wild. At the same time, if the senses are kept focused in one area on one object, especially your eyes, your gaze, your mind also becomes focused. Having created such a serene atmosphere around you and at your physical level, in the 14th verse Bhagawan explains very clearly how your mental condition should be. If in all our pujas and worship we become even more restless, then it has not served its purpose or rather we have not performed it properly. Every sadhana should bring us to be centered in the Self. It should turn away from our extrovertedness and therefore from our restless activities and agitations of our minds to make us peaceful, serene, focused, steady. Then only it can be steady in the Atma. So Bhagawan points out very beautifully and this is very important verse which we have just studied, the 14th verse. Prasanth Atma Vigatabihi Brahmachari Vratay Stitha Stitha firmly established in Brahmachari Vratay. In simple words, Brahmachari means all senses under one's mastery. How is it possible? Because such a person thinks himself that I am only the seeker of Brahman, the infinite. And how does that person work in the world? Brahmavacharati. How would a realized master? How does Brahman, which is serene, which is infinite, which is the Self in everyone, which is complete and therefore with no incompleteness, if the goal is so serene, if the goal is infinitude, then not giving into finitude, not giving into incompleteness, not being a slave but rather the master of your senses. That is called as Brahmachari Vratay Stitha. When you are sitting in the seat of meditation or even when you are doing shravan, listening from the teacher and only then really speaking, knowledge takes place, not in meditation please. At that moment when you say Brahmachari Vratay Stitha, when you are doing shravan, listening and gaining knowledge, when you are doing reflection, manana and when you are doing nidhidhyasan meditation, there should be only one identity and that is I am the seeker of Brahman. I am the seeker of the infinite. Naturally if I am seeker of the infinite, I should not be craving or bothered by the ever-changing finite objects, situations, people. That should be the attitude of the meditator. That should be the attitude of the seeker of truth. So Brahmachari Vratay Stitha. And one who is a Brahmachari and doesn't want then anything from the world, must also not have any anxiety, must have the enthusiasm but not the anxiety and therefore must be fearless. The seeker of truth cannot be full of fear. A person who wants to reach the truth has to walk the path of honesty and to walk the path of honesty it is not for people who are cowards. The spiritual path is not for cowards. See this is what is reflected even in the teachings of all the saints and sages. Brahmana Santu Nirbaya Ha. May those who are seekers of Brahman, they should be fearless. Guru Nanak Sahib also, Ikonkar Satnam Kartapuruk Nirbhao Nirvair. Those are qualities of the seeker. Our insecurities whether we will get food or not. Our insecurities about people will be there for us or not. All these fears are there because we are wanting. How do we become fearless? And only when Brahmachari Vratay Stitha and Vigata Bihi fearless, will the mind be Prasan Tatma. The mind will be quiet and serene. And how can we become fearless? How can we be reminded of our goal? And how can we be peaceful? Bhagawan says, Manasamyamya Machitta. Bringing the mind to be balanced or fixed. How is this possible? In Kivalya Upanishad, it is said that once you have made your seat and sat on it, made your body steady, first and foremost, mentally in your mind, invoke the presence of your Guru and Swagurum Pranamya. Mentally surrendering, bowing down to the Guru. And when you feel the presence of the Guru whom you have seen, whom you have benefited from, two things happen at that time. One thing, you feel consoled that someone is there with me here now to protect me. Again you will find in the works of the various works. In this context when you read Sant Gyaneshwar, his brother only was his Guru, Nivritina. How at every chapter, he just goes on glorifying his Guru and says that my Guru is here with me, I am fearless. There is a child like me, how am I even going to speak on what Jagadguru Krishna has said? And Gyaneshwar was still a young boy. But that my Guru is there with me. My Guru who is full of compassion has given me an opportunity. My Guru who is sitting here with me, when that feeling is there, I am courageous, I am confident. Guru Nanak Sahib also says, Guru mere sang sadha hai naal. That my Guru is always with me. Even as you meditate, there will be times and occasions where you feel you are not progressing. There will be times and occasions when your mind is wild. Why in the ashramas, when the Guru enters everybody becomes quiet? If you train yourself outside, inside also, the moment you think of your Guru, your mind will start behaving. So, my Guru is there. If there is any obstacle like Ganesha, he will remove it. All you have to do is invoke. Because Guru is not a body. Vande bodhamayam nityam gurum shankarrupinam Because Swami Tulsidas Ji says that knowledge is Guru. And Guru embodies the knowledge and therefore when we picture our Guru, we bring in all the knowledge that we have gained from the Guru. That's a Kivalya Upanishad goes in such great details like the Gita goes in such details. Remember that Sri Krishna to Arjuna is not only the Lord of the Universe but also his Guru. So, therefore says, Machittha. Keep your mind on. Therefore, here Bhagawan Krishna specifically doesn't say Guru because here Bhagawan only is the Guru. So, Machittha. How do you do it? That Samyamya Machittha. Your mind remembering me, your mind thinking of me. Now you can think about TVVV but considering me as Supreme, Mat Paraha. So having bowed down to the Guru, invoking your Isht Devata, the Lord of your heart. These days, unlike the sun, the moon, the earth, the wind, we have beautiful manifestations of the Lord in the form of Sri Ram, Sri Krishna, Shiva. Today we are being Dinesh Chaturthi, Lord Dinesha. Whoever is your Isht Devata, that form of the Lord, even though Lord is one, that form of the Lord which is dear to you, taking that form you invoke but considering your Lord and Guru to be Paraha Supreme. Not an individual, not a body. So not only remembering fondly because we are caret for, we are loved. So all that is there. But Mat Paraha, when you are worshipping the Lord, remember when even a minister comes to your home or is passing by, what happens? And when the Prime Minister comes, you are the Lord of the universe is there. And if you consider that only as an idol, then that is not Mat Paraha. That feeling that the Lord of the universe, the Supreme Most, is in our presence. How will we behave? See, something wonderful had happened. After we attended the Gita Marathon camp, see till then, even when we listened to our Guru, of course, Guru Dev was such an awesome person that naturally that awe and reverence was there. But still we see the Guru only as an individual, great, wonderful, divine, everything. But when we went back to our day to day, what do you say, living, naturally suddenly from this upliftment during the camp where day and night satsang is going on, we are in such a beautiful atmosphere, we are in the presence of our Guru Dev. Naturally every moment was uplifting. But when you go back, again get involved in all the problems in the house and all the issues that you start dealing with, soon your mind forgets. And what happens? Not only you get affected by all that is happening, but also you then get carried away even by sense objects. Because mind is left loose. And before you know it, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, then, ladder of fall. But when we went back, one of our friends who had attended the camp, he always felt that his mind was always very agitated and would also go into the worldly objects. Not just objects that you need for your duty, etc. You get distracted with temptations. Wherever he went, as though he would carry Guru Dev with him, he would carry a photograph of Guru Dev. Thus when we went for our discussions on Vedanta and we went anywhere, there was Guru Dev's picture. After that, if we were late and we went to a restaurant at that time for breakfast, we used to go early morning classes, there also used to keep Guru Dev there. So now the feeling was that my Guru is sitting here. Can you do anything? Can you eat something? That is wrong. That feeling when you have, can you be afraid of anything? Can you be in afraid of a fall? Because you cannot. That is how we have to keep. When it says that, machitta mat paraha That faith that my Lord and my Guru is all powerful, that I have been given the highest knowledge. My Lord is there to protect me. tum rachhak kahu ko dharana See in Hanuman Chalisa, where was your Ishtadevata? If you are there to protect me, why should I fear anything? What if some losses take place? What is faith? Not that there will be no loss, no profit, nor health, nor disease. But this much I know that whatever He gives me is the best for me. That faith, mat paraha Considering me as the supreme love, considering me as the highest truth, considering me as the highest gain, beyond which there is nothing. Here Bhagawan Ishwara himself is saying that considering me as the supreme most, because our mind, we have to consider something to be more important, it is bound to go there. That's why people say, we have taken mantra, dikshas, and we want to meditate, but our mind goes everywhere else, but on the truth or on God. Why? Because shopping is more important. Swamiji, duty is more important. Don't forget, duty is to purify your mind so that you become fit for knowledge to attain the Lord. When the flute plays, the gopi just abandoned everything and they run. You think Krishna did not test them? You said, what is this in the middle of the night? Alone you women have come to the forest where there is a man standing there. Don't you have any duties? Now is the time your children will be sleeping? Now is the time your husbands will require you there? Now is the time your mother-in-law will need you to press her feet? Don't you think you have to go back? Do your duty. Krishna to Arjuna says, you do your duty. Bhagawan gives this lecture to the gopis also, you do your duties. The gopis said, listen, they quote the Bridhanya Kopeneshad. There it is said, the wife is dear because of the self. The son is also dear, or daughter is dear because of the self. And you are the self in all the beings. All duty is to reach the self. And now when we are reaching the self, you are talking to us about duty. Krishna says, full marks, past. You are the Brahman, you are the Supreme. See, means and goal is not clear. Therefore, mat para. This is very important because if you don't do that, in every action should be geared, as Gurudev said, to meditation. Therefore now, every action, every thought, requires this adjustment. Prasanthatma, where peace has become your nature. That's everything you do with poise. You sit also peacefully, free of all fear, whether you can attain it, not attain it, that is none of your business. You put in your effort, remaining, he is there to take care of. Brahmachari vratya stita, ready to follow all instruction implicitly. Self-controlled and seeker of the truth, thus free of all worries. And bringing the mind to rest at the feet of the Lord. Yukta asita, and sit there, pursuing, seeking, me who is Supreme. And Bhagawan uses the word me, not because, you know, So Bhagawan wants to meditate on me. That me is, he doesn't think me as this you who is a stupid ego. Gurudev used to put it that way. When Bhagawan says me, he doesn't think that he is a body, mind or intellect, individual or total. Those are the equipments. Machitta means the Atma, which is the Atma in everyone. Therefore Krishna uses the word my, not an egoistic God who says, Meditate on me. That me is your me also. It's the me of everybody. Therefore, Machitta, I am the innermost self in each and every one of you. And therefore, turn your attention to that which is your essence, your core. When we directly cannot, when we are all loving God, we hold on to. Since at the moment we consider ourselves to be the form. We hold on to the beautiful form, the compassionate Lord, the Sagun Sakaar. With essence, the Sagun Sakaar is also the Satchidananda Brahma, the Atma.