Summarized by Shivkumar Natarajan
- Where should I sit down?
- India is a tropical climate. Hence we sat down on the floor
- Seat should not be very hard or very soft.
- While Bhagvad Gita tells us that we need to have Kusa grass with deer skin on top and with cloth covering it; the scripture should not be taken literally. It means be practical. Prepare seat as though you have made this arrangement for sitting. It does not mean have the same items. Fold blanket in four , put a cloth and sit down
- If we cant sit down, sit on a chair
- Its not where you sit down but what you do when you sit down
- Sit in a clean place as the the external conditions have a direct bearing on the human mind
- When everyone is turned outward why must I turn inward (single pointed) ?
- We are not doing it to reach Him as He is with you.
- Due to evolution we had to turn outward for self preservation. To defend from enemy and find food we had to turn all attention to outer world.
- Objective sciences is easy to master as its all turned outward
- To turn attention inward is very difficult. Natural to look outward. But difficult to look inward. This is similar to right handed people struggling to do same activity with left hand.
- Similar to child learning to write we need to train our muscles.
- Its analogous to having a good camera and focusing with lens. Initially the object being viewed will appear distorted but on focusing the lens you will be able to see clearly. Similarly our equipment is out of focus currently and needs to be brought to focus.
- Sitting in seat of meditation , strive to contemplate exclusively and steadily to Higher thoughts as then enormous amounts of vasanas get burnt like baked speed no longer sprout. Vasanas will not produce desire and agitation and mind becomes quieter and quieter
- Mind has to be single pointed to block the inner forces of its surging imagination and the outward pull exerted by the sense organs.
- A purified mind which has no agitation and when the mind thus has become pure and steady he Consciousness looking at the steady refection if itself comes to rediscover its own Real Nature
- While sitting on seat what should be the atmosphere around ?
- No disturbances, no pollution, no sound or smell .
- No insects around
- Essentially any thing to disturb from outside.
- The lower part of body is steady
- Upper part : Keep body, neck, head in one straight line.
- Don’t sit like a question mark. You are going to your own house.
- Dont go like a beggar. Straighten with chest out.
- Hold upper part in straight line and don’t move it (Sthiram). Physical movement contributes immensely to the shattering of mental concentration and inner equipoise
- The direction of attention
- Firmly look at the tip of the nose.
- Meditation does not bring any difficulty to you as it is relaxation
- Similar to when you sleep , you close your eyes, as I am not trying to see anything and experience embrace of sleep.
- Understand that this is scriptural : Similarly when you see the tip of the nose of between the brows what it means its that you areturn attention 45 degrees elevated in level of heart or direction of nose as thought Lord is atnding in front of you. Some would like to look at his face, or chest or some look at his legs
- Don’t turn your attention to all directions . Mind is steadily focused on as though in direction of face (attention to brows) , (attention to tip of nose ) chest or (attention to your heart)legs of the Lord.
- Essentially where the eyes go, the mind faithfully follows , that is the law
- Calm/Serene mind( Supremely peaceful). If Mind is agitated then do mediation. Each feeds into the other
- Fearless
- Sense Control/Discipline/Moderation
- Mind control : Else it will keep telling you that you are doing things right or wrong
- Intellect fixed on me (Brahman)
- Subtle intellect : Knowing Me as Supreme
- One who is always in meditation : Meditative state
- One who has some desires : Satsang
- One who has heavy desires : Rituals
- Perform guided mediation (using apps like headspace or inside timer app)
- Keep an alarm
- Do mediation for maximum 30 minutes. Goal is to have focused deep/intense mediation rather than do it for a long time but its disturbed
- Do what you ought to do without getting attached.
- One who is completely surrendered (Shraddha) can meditate properly. (Note: You can handover your worries to the Lord , focus on meditation and then take it back once meditation is done)
- What is outside effects what is inside
We watched the below video of Gurudev on verses 11 to 13
If mediation is the path by which one can gain tranquility and equal vision within oneself, it is necessary that Lord Krishna gives a complete and exhaustive explanation of the technique of mediation.
Link :120 - Preparation for meditation - The Seat - Ch6v11
Key points : Verse 11
Link :121 Preparation for meditation Training the Muscles Ch6v12
Key points : Verse 12
Link:122 - Preparation of Meditation - The Posture - Ch6V13
Key points : Verse 13
Link 123 - Preparation for Meditation - The Direction - Ch6V13
Key points : Verse 13 continued
We then read verse 14,15
Theme
Preparation
There are 3 types of people
Points discussed so that mind is not focused on time
Subjective Analysis
We then chanted verses 16, 17 and 18
Verses 16,17 : Do things in moderation . Not only food but all other senses too