WORDS OF GRACE! His Holiness Sri Sri Swamiji speaks on "Dhyãna"

Sri Swamiji has been rendering ‘Upanyãs’ (discourses), in Tamizh. This is being brought to you here.

There may appear to be variations in the ‘tense’ of the language. This is due to the fact that great effort has been taken to maintain the original style of the ‘Upanyãs’. Therefore, we request you to keep this in mind while reading the translated ‘words’ of Sri Swamiji.

Sri Swamiji,

"HARE RÃMA HARE RÃMA RÃMA RÃMA HARE HARE
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE"

“ None can remain without doing any work. So, let the body perform any work but let the mind rest. This is dhyãna. All paths, be it Bhakti, Jnãna or Vichãra all finally lead to only dhyãna. This includes even karma mãrga. Dhyãna means concentration. Fixing your mind in it.So, even karma marga will not be fruitful unless you put your mind into it. Dhyãna does not mean just sitting with our eyes closed for long hours. Dhyãna is popularly believed to be meditating on a form of God but even japa of a Mantra done inwardly is Dhyãna only. Chanting the Mantra outwardly is japa and it becomes dhyãna when done inwardly.

Our Dharma always refers to the mind that has to be controlled. This can be brought about only through practice. One can even control the movement of the body and sit for long hours but to hold the mind is very difficult, indeed. The body may be restful but not so the mind. It travels all over the world! There is an interesting story. A king while on a visit to the Temple in his kingdom found that the food offered to God was being distributed amongst those who served in the Temple. But there sat a Sãdhu without doing anything but he was also offered a portion of the 'prasad'.

The king questioned his Minister, "Well! The garland maker, the player of 'Tavil', the Temple priest and the rest who offer their services in the Temple are given 'prasad'. But what does this man do?"
The Minister explained, "Your Majesty! He sits without doing anything. He is, therefore, given some 'prasad'!"
The king was aghast, "Why give food to one who does nothing?" and he ordered to stop giving 'prasad' to the Sãdhu.
The Minister said to the king, "Your Majesty! It is very difficult to sit quietly".
But the king would not listen to him. However, later at the palace the king thought, 'why not try to sit quietly,' and the next day he tried to sit quietly. But the king was unable to sit quiet even for a few minutes. He then went to the Temple and ordered, "From today, give the Sãdhu three packets of food!"
It is very difficult, indeed, to sit quiet!

One should still the mind through the path he/she has taken up, be it bhajan or puja. All sãdhanas are only for stilling the mind. All desire to do dhyãna only. But the problem is that one does not exert any effort in this direction. One can perform puja or 'pãrãyana' (read Holy Texts) easily. With continued practice, the mind sets in.

First of all one must set a goal. One should be sure about his need. Whether it is Liberation from the life's cycle or wealth or earning supernatural faculties. You then approach a Guru and learn dhyãna. Once you have entered into Sãdhana, you must practise it incessantly. Fix a time for the practise of your sãdhana because the mind becomes slave to habits. It will never bow down to orders. If you instruct your mind, "Oh! Mind! From now on do not get angry" will it stop losing its temper? No. Instead, you practise ceaselessly in this direction and the mind is enslaved. Once you have entered Sãdhana there should be no looking back. Desire alone will not help but only perseverance.

In 'pãrãyana' or 'Nãma Sankirtan', one does not face adverse effect even if not performed properly. Even if you read the 'Grantas' wrongly or sing with not so melodious a voice, one does not face any repercussion. But a wrong step taken in Yoga or Vichãra leads to dire consequences.

Not everyone can do dhyãna. At the most, one can sit with his/her eyes closed for long hours. It is here that the Guru helps you in knowing your ability and leads you on.

Let us say that we are at a crossroad wondering which direction to take to reach our destination. We ask someone and he points out to the road that leads to our destination. What will be our next move? Just take that route and not stop until we reach the destination. Is that not so? Similarly, once we have come to the Guru who points to us the path leading to the destination sought, we should not stop but just rush towards it until we reach the destination. There should be no looking back. We should move ahead with courage and not with the complex that it is only the Incarnations who can do it and that we simple 'jivas' cannot. Such an excuse cannot be accepted. Many an ordinary mortal has attained liberation with effort coupled with the Grace of the Guru. If 'A' has been successful then 'B', too, can achieve. This excuse of 'I cannot' is a lame one and is unacceptable. We are aware of our goal; have been shown the path to the destination by a Sadguru who guides us all through the way; then what can stop us from moving ahead? Faith in the Sadguru and perseverance will never fail us.

A sãdhak who practices dhyãna should remember and follow certain rules. His speech, food intake and sleep should be within permissible limit. This does not mean he should give them up totally. Not so. The person who has control over his taste buds ('jihva') easily wins over his senses and progresses geometrically in his sãdhana. He should speak only what is absolutely necessary, for, his tapas is wasted in it. Can one who exerts much effort to earn tapas lose it all up in a fraction of a second in wasteful talks? Sleep is the sign of 'tamo guna' (lethargy/laziness). One should avoid eating old/stale food, thick curd, hot and spicy food, all of which 'activate' 'tamo guna'! The sãdhak should avoid company that dampens the spirit. Solitude is the best 'company' that a sãdhak should seek. It is in solitude that one feels closer to Bhagavãn/the Self.

Dhyãna that is performed as a 'sãdhana' (spiritual practice) gradually becomes 'sãdhya' (natural). But this is achieved not in a day or two but with continued effort for a long number of years.

Arjuna asks Lord Krishna who advocates various ways of spiritual practice, "Krishna! On your advice, I give up my dharma and practice sãdhana. What happens if my time on earth comes to an end even before I successfully complete my sãdhana?"
Lord Krishna, "By giving up your dharma with the sole purpose of practicing sãdhana to attain ME you do not incur any sin. Do not worry if your time on earth comes to an end before you complete your sãdhana, for, you would reach the world where those who have performed the best of 'punyãs' (good deeds) reach. You would then be born again on this earth in a wealthy family and continue your tapas, even from an early stage of your life, from where you had left it off."
And, here Sankara explains the term ‘wealthy family’ as ‘a family which is devoted to God’ and not one that is financially well off.

The Sãdhak should abstain from using others’ things - clothes, vessels, beds, footwear, etc. The objects for his personal use should be kept separately. This is because the 'vãsanas' of those whose things we use will affect us. Therefore, a Sãdhak should be very careful and not receive anything that is not his due from anyone.

The path of a Sãdhak is not bed of roses. Though the path is filled with thorns, enthusiasm and perseverance along with Guru's Grace makes it smooth sailing.
The initiating Mantra given by the Guru is the fire that burns away our 'vãsanas' and leads us to our goal safely. "

GOPIKA JEEVANASMARANAM!
GOVINDA! GOVINDA!”

NOTE: Any discrepancy/lapse in the translated version of the Upanyasam is the sole responsibility of the person/s who translated the work from Tamizh into English.

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