Meditation

“The purpose of meditation is to achieve uninterrupted mindfulness. Mindfulness, and only mindfulness, produces Enlightenment.”
—Gunaratana in Mindfulness in Plain English

People meditate for many reasons. Some do it to lower their blood pressure; others like to see special effects with their eyes closed. Many people do it simply because it makes them feel good.

There is nothing wrong with these motives, but on this article, we are only interested in meditation methods that can help lead to enlightment.

We think all such methods have something in common: all of them are exercises in remaining aware of where your attention is pointing. In other words, they teach you to avoid getting lost in thought. When the exercise becomes automatic, permanent, and effortless, enlightenment may follow.

Note the word permanent: you are supposed to meditate all day while engaged in normal activities. If you want to get enlightened, meditation is not just something you do for half an hour while sitting on a cushion. This can’t be stressed enough: these techniques lead to enlightenment only if they become permanent states of mind. They must become habits.

People sometimes say that practicing a deliberate technique is not meditation. According to them, only an effortlessly alert and quiet state is meditation. Such assertions are confusing. Actually, both things are meditation, because the word meditation has two meanings.

The important point to understand is that meditation in the first sense (deliberate effort) is intended to lead to meditation in the second sense (an effortless state of quiet awareness). It is a two-stage process. (And it is designed to lead to a third stage, the dissolution of the ego.)

Although many types of meditation have been advocated by various schools of Hinduism and Buddhism, this page emphasizes insight methods associated with Theravada Buddhism, and the method of self-enquiry as taught by Ramana Maharshi.

The best book about the first is probably Mindfulness in Plain English, which is on our website here; the best book about the second is probably Be As You Are, which can be purchased here.

Beginning meditators may find it useful to divide meditation methods into two categories, those that stress concentration (holding onto a single thought) and those that stress mindfulness (remaining aware of what the mind is perceiving without getting lost in thought). This conceptual division is associated with Theravada Buddhism and is explained brilliantly in the book The Meditative Mind. The reason we recommend mindfulness techniques is that they automatically develop both concentration and mindfulness. This is not true for concentration techniques: they do not necessarily develop mindfulness.

When the English word “Meditation” is used in the context of Hinduism or Buddhism, as we use it here, it is a translation of the Sanskrit word “Dhyana” or its cognates in other Asian languages: “Jhan” in Pali (the language of the Buddha), “Chan” in Chinese, and “Zen” in Japanese.

This page was published on www.realization.org

Enjoy this conversation

A Project Manager working in a MNC (Indian Govt. office), as usual after lunch goes to the cafeteria for coffee.

He relaxes in canteen. He sees a canteen boy cleaning tables there. so he decides to have fun with him. He calls him.

Project Manager – (Asks canteen boy): How much do you earn?

Canteen boy smiles…

Project Manager: what are your future plans?

Canteen boy keeps quiet…

Project Manager: where do you see yourself 10 years down the line?

Canteen boy gives a cold stare.

Project Manager: Jab mai Bangalore aaya tha tab mere paas bhi kuch nahi tha…. Aaj mere paas kya nahin hai… naam hai, shohrat hai, paisa hai…. tumhare paas kya hai?

Scroll down to find out his answer
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Don’t think that he answered like Shashi Kapoor of Deewar ki “Mere paas Maa hain”
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Canteen boy: Sa’ab mere paas kaam hai….

Project Manager leaves the cafeteria silently…….

By: Jagadeesh, for http://www.19.5degs.com

Importance of Guru

Dear KathaVarta visitors, I have already post some article for the Importance of Guru, in this month, I found one another useful article for the same. I hope you wiill enjoy this as well. Hapy Surfing with http://www.KathaVarta.org

When Lord Narayan was in the midst of creating universe, Goddess Laxmi, His consort was very upset. Lord Narayan saw this and asked her what the reason was. To this She replied that Lord Narayan was creating the universe in which He would crerate human beings and the Karma Department, which would be totally independent of anything. Due to the Karma theory, mankind would only suffer due to their own doings, as Karma is totally an independent theory.

No God or Demi God influences what a human being wants to do and all this would lead to misery and unlimited sorrow and sadness.Since humans are no one else but the children of Lord Narayan/Goddess Laxmi it was all but obvious that a mother would cry if she sees her children in misery. So She wanted the Lord to create some method, which could end the misery of mankind. To this Lord Narayan created the following method:

He said that any human being, no matter whatever bad karma he has done earlier in this birth as well as his previous births—once he accepts a spiritual leader or Guruji (in the disciple succession of guru Parampara),takes naam daan from the Guru and surrenders himself totally to his Guru(Sharnagati)— this person’s sin would be forgiven and forgotten and he would be on the path to Moksha (oneness with the Supreme Lord)

It is very funny that if someone wants to learn music, they look for a good music teacher. If someone wants to learn tennis he looks for a good tennis coach, but when it comes to spiritual life it is basic human nature that he thinks he is good enough on his own and does not need a teacher in this field.

We see around that everything needs a teacher so how on earth we enter the spiritual world without a teacher.That’s why a spiritual teacher or Guru is so important. The scriptures also say that a Guru is not only important, but is essential which means that there is no choice, if one wants to head towards self realization, then one has to have a Guru and there is no allowance to this rule.

LAXMINATH SAMARAMBHA

NATHYA MUNI MADYAMAH

ASMADACHARYA PARYANTA

VANDE GURU PARAMPARA

Lord Krishna himself tells Arjuna that if you want to approach me then approach me through a teacher who himself is self realized and who knows who I am so that He can guide you successfully through this spiritual world and make you one with Me.

Our own Guruji says to have a Guru is so important in life. He further says that we feel Guru Nanikji was himself a Guru so He may not have needed another Guru,but dear friends even Lord Rama ,Lord Krishna everyone needed a Guru to sail across life cycle.

In the Purana we can get the gyan of our Gurus. Guru Nanikji in His Granth starts saluting His past Gurus including Pandit Hardayal Shastri and Bjakt Renu.

Lord Rama had Vashisht Muni as his spiritual teacher and Lord Krishna’s spiritual teacher was Sandipan Muni. So who are we to go through the spirtual world without a teacher or Guru.

To sum it all as Kabirdasji wrote:-
“Ram Krishna se koi bade, jinhone Guru kinh, teen lok taran tarn Guru aage aadheen.”

Source: www.jagatguru.in
Visit www.eTirth.com for more religious information.

Surrender and Devotion to a Guru

Whereas the creation in general was created by God, so that its nature is to surrender to Him. In the same manner, we must surrender to a liberated Guru. Mankind has been endowed with moral choice and free will so that, having an innate awareness of God and capable of reason and understanding, each individual may choose good or evil.

The Guru usually does not act, he/she is mainly a reactor. Whenever you pray to him/her with faith, devotion and surrender, a spiritual connection is established with his/her Light and then you may receive. What you receive from your Guru will be in accordance with the faith, devotion and surrender that you have towards your spiritual master. If there is real faith, devotion and surrender to your Guru, he/she will always be spiritually near you in order to attend your prayers nourishing and purifying your soul.

It is very important to understand the relevance on having a total surrender of mental, physical and spiritual activity to a fully realized Guru, who is the veritable physical manifestation of God, because by doing this, we establish a strong spiritual connection with the Guru’s Light, in order to attain a prompt spiritual liberation.

According to Vedic law, surrender of the will is part of the first commandment of all. Surrender draws down the Guru’s grace. In Christian teaching, no good or perfect work can be done without resignation, or surrender of the individual will to the Will of God; while surrender is the actual meaning of the word Islam!

He/She who attains victory over the mind and the ego is the truly free man. It is to attain this victory, that man surrender to the higher evolved personality of the Guru. By this submission, he/she vanquishes his/her lower ego and realizes God’s Light.

Around 60 000 000 000 beings of a different nature abide in the astral planes. We are interconnected with them in one way or another. As a result of this, we face two tremendous problems. One of them is that thousands of millions of these souls, are of a very low nature and they can influence our thoughts, words and actions leading us astray.

Another problem is that some deities, such as Christian saints, angels and also devas -‘gods’ misconceived by the Hindu tradition as spiritual liberated souls-, have reached certain stages in spiritual evolution, though they have not attained full spiritual realization. All these deities are immersed in pleasure and tied to it. They are bound to their emotions, because they have not attained spiritual liberation. They can feel all sort of emotions, positive and negative, such as joy, anger, hatred, egoism, envy, etc. Therefore they might even cause the physical destruction of each spiritually evolving man in this human Universe, as he/she evolves approaching the deva stage, mainly due to envy and jealousy shown towards the increase of evolution in the evolving human. Devas, ‘gods,’ saints, angels or any kind of deity, don’t want to be overcome by any evolving soul in this Universe.

All the earlier spiritual masters -Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Krishna, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, etc. had suffered like this in the hands of evil forces and jealous spirits of their spiritual evolution.

So always keep in mind what is stated in the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: “Devotion to the spiritual master -Guru- becomes the purest, quickest, and simplest way to realize the nature of our mind and all things.”

In other words, it is the fastest path towards liberation.

Source: www.santhigiri.com.
Visit www.eTirth.com for Gurus information.

Stick to One Guru

After finding a fully realized Guru we must stick to him only, because if we dig here and there, we might find many false Gurus and then chaos and confusion will arise within ourselves. We must remember that we can find a real Guru within a million ‘Gurus.’

Try to imbibe thoroughly the spiritual teachings from one preceptor alone. Merge with his Light and knowledge through faith, devotion, surrender and righteous actions. Drink deep from this realized man or woman.

There is no use of wandering from one Guru to another Guru, out of curiosity, losing faith in a short time.

Follow the spiritual instructions of one man only. Only then you will have rapid spiritual progress. If you go to several people and follow the instructions of many persons, you will be bewildered, then you will be in a great dilemma, and automatically chaos and confusion will arise in your mind.

Source: www.santhigiri.com
Visit www.eTirth.com for Gurus information.

Finding a Guru

To find a fully realized Guru is a blessing and it is undoubtedly very hard to find him. It is easier to find a pearl in the sea than to stand in front of a real spiritual being. We usually cannot recognize a fully realized Guru, because we are attracted by false Gurus who exhibit siddhis -occult powers, such as levitation, walking on water, invisibility, etc., though a real Guru does not exhibit any siddhi.

For a real seeker, help on finding a Guru comes in a mysterious manner. When the time is ripe, the Guru and the disciple are brought together by God Almighty in so many mysterious ways. By dreams, by reading a book or an article on that Guru, by meeting someone related to that Guru, by chanting a mantra in which the Guru’s name is involved, by meeting the Guru itself, or by some other means a reaction can be experienced within your soul, such as an inner heat, a vibration within your body, the attainment of darshans -spiritual visions-, the arousal of a great joy within yourself, or not being able to pronounce not even a word when you find yourself in front of such a Great Soul.

In my case I, Carlos Guzman, had a spiritual vision of the Guru, when I was in Mexico thousands of miles away from him and without even knowing him personally, I felt an urge of the soul on making a trip out of my country in order to find this Great Soul. In October, 1991, two and a half months after starting this trip, I had the fortune of meeting my Guru. An incredible detailed narration is given in this Web Page under the name “Experiences of Guru’s Disciples.”

After reading the article “Experiences of Guru’s Disciples”, I will extend an invitation to meet Nava Jyothi Sri Karunakara Guru.

Source: www.santhigiri.com
Visit www.eTirth.com for Gurus information.