MEDITATION FOR HEALTH & SELF REALISATION
Her Divine Grace Gurumatha Amma's Discourse for World Holistic Summit 2003
Man encompasses all the secrets of nature and universe in him. Only he is endowed with the power to visualize the interplay of positive and negative energy in an enlightened state of consciousness (Tapasya). He is also testimony to the fact that creation, sustenance and destruction are a perpetual process.
Meditation is a state, which only a few can experience. Although it is the most natural state of man, he should be equipped with discretion to elevate to this state and experience the joy of it.
To experience meditation, the body, which is a confluence of five different matters and composed of five layers; and mind, which have the ability to think and experience, are most essential. Both are conduits in achieving this blissful state. In other words, both the body and the mind are in complete state of awareness, which is a pre-requisite to experience the elevated state of mind. Under this state, the mind achieves complete equilibrium, and frees itself from the humdrum of everyday life and the cycles of Karma. To achieve this state, self-awareness as well as self-introspection is a function, which one should continuously indulge in. The mind should be in an eternal state of awareness to differentiate between the real and the unreal, and the perpetual from the fleeting.
By meditation, one can achieve a number of tangible benefits as well. Just like instincts, which have their impact on the body, triggering of chemical reactions, which drive man towards action(Karma), thereby vitiating the body and leading to diseases, meditation too has an impact. Only here, the impact has a beneficial effect on man. In this state, the mind is completely silenced and actions are suspended with thoughts being pushed out of the realms of the mind. Meditation rectifies anomalies in breathing; fine-tunes the heartbeats, propelling body into a healthier state. Happiness, peace and good health are the natural effects of practicing meditation.
Energy continues to reiterate itself in the five sheaths viz Annamaya kosha, Manomayakosha, Pranamaya kosha, vignanamaya kosha, Ananadamaya kosha composing man. While body and the mind continue to converge in the Pranamaya kosha, the seven Chakras (Energy Centers in the body) work in tandem, having an effect on the nerve centers, thereby maintaining a state of equilibrium in man.
When Mooladhara, Swadishtana and Manipura charkas (Energy Centers in the Body) are activated and canalized, it disciplines the sex glands, adrenal glands and digestive glands respectively. The activation of this energy helps man to win over desire or lust, greed and jealousy. By activating and canalizing Anahata, Vishudi and Ajna charkas ( Energy Centers in the body), one can effectively win over attachment, anger and pride, The activation of these energy centers disciplines Thymus, Thyroid and Pituitary glands, thereby ensuring an eternal state of health and robustness.
Meditation is not something being practiced for one day. Nor it is tied to traditions or conventions. It rarely needs an aid and even the mantras used in meditation fail to yield results if one is not acquainted with the conditions to achieve the exalted state. Anyone who has realized the Self knows that man is born to elevate himself through meditation. Life is for meditation and a state of complete health is consequence of only meditation.
If meditation is to become a way of life, man who has to don numerous roles, change many bodies and mould himself according to situations, should continuously indulge in self-introspection, thereby reducing the baggage of Karma. In the first phase, while meditation relaxes the body and the mind, it cleanses them in the second stage. During Chitta Shuddi or the third phase, Vestiges of Karma which are latent in the layers of the mind, are done away with and the mind achieves a state of tranquility.
Meditation is not something to be understood but an experience to be cherished. Each session of meditation is different from the other, which leave the mind and the body with a host of experiences, each different and more profound than the other. These experiences make meditation a worthwhile and each session of meditation rejuvenates the body and mind. Also, the mind evolves gradually, enriched by meditation, heaping health and happiness on the individual.
The power that meditation unleashes is omnipotent. It is the same power that surrounds the universe. Although present everywhere, it can be harnessed only man through meditation. When he reaches the state, he realizes the nuances between the Sthula, grosser and the Sukshma, subtler dimensions, outside and within him. Meditation is the path for self-realization. As man is steeped in mundane affairs, both his body and mind, benefit of the experience of the inner energy, have lost their vibrancy. Such an ignorant man increases his tribe. He pursues worldly pleasures at the cost of everlasting happiness and treats his body with medicine.
Man, who has been hailed as the most profound creation, can unveil the secrets of the universe through sheer power of meditation, which sets off self introspection and the thirst for truth. Man is strong, healthy, enlightened and conscious in his natural state. But with the lack of awareness about himself, he languishes in sickness and indolence. But seldom is he aware that the root cause for all his sickness in him in his ignorance. Until he acquaints himself with his power latent in him is his ignorance. Until he acquaints himself with his power latent within himself, he will continue to be bothered by sickness and ill health. Diseases not only make him weak but also continue to span beyond a single life. In his desperation, man becomes a victim of science, seeking refuge in medicine, never realizing that medicines can only give temporary relief but never his original energy.
Diseases, which are manipulations of ignorance, are called by several names. Both doctors as well as researcher, who pursue the cause of diseases, do so only to find a cure for that specific disease, but do not concentrate on keeping man completely healthy. Health is not an effect of consuming medicines or being immune to infections. It is a quality inherent in all of us. A complete state of health in the mind and the body is the only way of realising god and the state of health that man is endowed with the mental powers unknown to other creatures. With ignorance casting its shadow on man, he remains oblivious to his true self and continues to wallow in pain and sickness. Enlightenment is panacea for such a person. If uncloaked from ignorance, both body and mind have a natural ability to be a state of healthiness. Meditation not only reminds mind with its inner strength but also cleanses mind. Thereby eliminating any negative thoughts. By achieving concentration, man uncovers the mystery of his life. He also sheds his parochial attitude as a consequence of meditation. The power of meditation is gradually reflected in the personality of the man and he gains mastery over his mind as well as body.
The cosmic energy, which originated for creation of the universe, is omnipotent. The awareness that this energy is present in all and sundry is enlightenment. Experiencing this energy is experiencing God. Man, in a natural state, falls in line with nature, as the energy is all pervading. But, when he distances himself from this realization, his life is full of disruptions. When man assumes a character, accumulating Karma becomes indispensable, leading to diseases. An enlighenetned man seeks God in everyone, as the energy is presents in all of us. Through his power of discretion, man slowly discovers the differences of nature which leads him to internalize the reality. This truth that he uncovers is beyond skepticism and he finally discovers himself. Since man is endowed with the ability to think, he can also use this power towards any end. Some people, steepe3d in illusion, fall behind hedonistic pursuits and rarely free themselves from the shackles of karma.
Hence, although the world is full of intelligent people, many among them are ignorant about themselves. While such people continue to be sucked by the quagmire, they rarely realize the precarious nature in which they are. But the Enlightened use their discretion to understand Maya, thereby growing healthier by the day. Health is the chief concern of many people. For majority of them, health is God's greatest blessing. But hardly do they know that health is not something to be sought but is a natural state of the body and the mind. This fear of ill health goads one to perform karma, a result of which is increased illness.
Health is not a gift and if someone is in a high state of health, we should understand that he has invested himself to achieve this state.
The purpose of all Yogis to keep diseases at bay by understanding the fact that both the body and the mind are divine in nature and it is important to maintain their sanctity. In this regard, the potential of the mind to think is harnessed. The dichotomy of man is that although he is vested with the power of self introspection, rarely does he exploit this power, leading to a deplorable state of the body. He is caught in a never ending cycle of life and death like other animals. Mind is responsible for both his bondage as well as his freedom from the shackles of rebirth. Hence, we can infer that the greatest task man has to accomplish is to gain mastery over his mind. Also, many hold that taming mind is the most arduous task; it is the easiest when man sets his mind on it. Many sages have proposed "Gayathri Mantra" to provoke the mind. Even Lord Krishna, the greatest of all the preachers, has advocated that transition and establishing righteousness is possible only when the mind is provoked. Once the mind is provoked into thinking and freed from the darker side of ignorance, it naturally results in a healthy state of mind.
A mind steeped in darkness has no energy. It only results in illness. Prone to illusions, the mind pushes man towards fickleness. Slowly such a man is taken over by his senses. The world is full of such people who live a meaningless life. With an increase of such people, the world is characteristic of lust, greed, revenge, indolence, haughty pride and such other negative qualities. They reinforce each other, plunging man deeper into Karma. While the intelligent try to find cure for diseases in hospitals, they fail to realize the root cause of such a malady.
The mind continues to bloat egged on by ignorance and in the company of egotism. Man becomes a bundle of "I" and the mind starts evaluating everything on those terms. Although the mind continues to bloat, it starts loosing its actual caliber. Though such a man may occasionally come across concepts such as "Aham Bramhasmi" or "I am god" or realizes there is no independent 'me' ( which is the import of the Upanishads), he continues to treat such knowledge as mere addition to what he already knows thereby failing to implement such knowledge into action. Mind in the company of conceit, is reduced to mere inactivity, which evokes disgruntlement and robs the man of his agility. After a period when the burden of Karma increases, mind begins to turn inwards. At such juncture, mind refuses the company of egoism. It pulls away from the affairs of the world and seeks the company of the Guru and the company of the learned and devoted. Sometimes such a stage is also reached through Maya. But such a person wastes his mental energies in purists without indulging in self introspection.
A healthy mind is always inward looking. A mind which is unconcerned about the affairs of the world and also repulsive to the process of self-enquiry is not a healthy mind. Such a mind doesn't realize its full course whereas an inward looking mind deals with worldly affairs in a detached manner. To gain mastery over mind self awareness is the stepping stone. Such a man should reject egoism and keep his mind in an eternal state of relaxation. A person yet to achieve enlightenment thinks of boy and minds as two different entities and always palaces the body above the mind. Such a man lives in illusions, perceiving what his senses register and is guided by his personal convictions and beliefs. Such as man leaves a dual life and a philistine existence. The dual role that he tries to assume leads to clash of personalities and thereby mental ill health. He fails to perfect life, which operates on a mechanical mode. He is always caught in the vortex of the past and the future, unable to make sense of present.