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Only Practitioners of Dhyana...

Date: 03 Apr 2010 16:39:28 -0000 From: NJK Majumdar To: am-global@earthlink.net Subject: Only Practitioners of Dhyana... Baba "Iisha'n toma'r vis'a'n' bejeche, alasata' dure sare geche..." (P.S. 2496) Purport: Baba, Your divine call and thundering voice is resonating all around & has removed the staticity, dogma, and lethargy from everyone's mind. Those negative things which were impeding the path of human progress have disappeared into the far distant horizon. Now the degenerated state of dogma cannot remain any longer. Living beings have gotten new life, smiles, and joy due to the rejuvenating spirit of neo-humanism. The world which was sleeping in the past is getting awakened. New leaves and flowers are beautifying the green vegetation and trees. Everything has been filled with the colours of flowers & fruits-- ensconced in the feeling of service to one and all. Now there are no narrow sentiments or dogmatic thoughts which can hinder our forward movement. Now there is no one to create obstacles on our path towards our cherished Goal. The time has come that, under this free sky and beautiful environment, I should go on marching forward undauntedly towards You. O' Parama Purusa...
== ONLY PRACTITIONERS OF DHYANA CAN UNDERSTAND ==
Namaskar, We have all heard and read about how Baba says that we are to 'sit on the lap of Parama Purusa'. Baba says, "One is sure to reach one’s destination. And what is the destination? To merge into Parama Purus'a, to sit on His Lap." (AV-22) This He has repeated in numerous discourses. However, to understand its inner meaning and true import, one must be a sadhaka of dhya'na and have a high intensity of love for Parama Purusa. This Baba also says. Otherwise it is just an empty show or play of words to say, 'sit on the lap of Parama Purusa'. So this letter is only geared towards those who are pointed practitioners of dhyana. The idea being, without one's sincere practice of sixth lesson, the phrase 'sit on the lap of Parama Purusa', will remain misunderstood, if not a mystery. That is why some wrongly conclude that the phrase, 'sit on the lap of Parama Purusa', is only related with the mantra from our AM shraddha ceremony or that it only could happen in PC with Baba. They do not realise how it is also related with dhyana. They do not understand that one can sit on Baba's lap in sadhana. On the whole though, there are countless sadhakas who are quite familiar with the inner idea & true import of sitting on Baba's lap in dhyana.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF 'SITTING ON THE LAP'?
As we know, the phrase 'sitting on the lap of Parama Purus'a' is not meant to be taken literally. Taking the phrase at face value is to lose the inner import. The question then remains, what does the phrase imply. What is the actual meaning and inner intent behind the phrase: 'sitting on the lap of Parama Purusa'. How is it possible for this to happen in dhyana? What form does it take. That is what this letter aims to discuss.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Before moving ahead, here are a few important points to note: 1) One attains salvation by sincere dhyana or exclusively by His causeless grace. In proper dhya'na Guru is gracing the sadhaka. 2) From the human perspective, all we can do is dhyana and ask for His grace. 3) With first lesson one can only get mukti (liberation) through savikalapa samadhi but by dhyana one can attain moksa (salvation) through nirvikalpa samadhi.
VARIOUS STAGES & DEGREES OF DHYANA: Part 1
As most any practitioner of dhyana will admit, the practice of 6th lesson is not easy: It demands sincere and proper effort, and, most importantly, His grace. Without devotion, all those steps in dhyana are mechanical, or may even seem to be fruitless. Depending on one's devotional feeling and quality of mind there are various phases one may undergo in dhyana. First, if one's mind is down and one is not feeling love towards Parama Purusa, then that sadhaka will not even like to practice dhyana. Rather sixth lesson will seem boring or mechanical, and one may just do it for one minute at the end of sadhana, or even not at all. And in that condition, they will not even like to talk about Baba in a devotional manner. In every sadhaka's life this type of feeling may come at one time or another. In contrast, when one loves their own child then they will always be thinking about the welfare of that infant and they will always discuss their darling baby with their friends and family members. So in the next phase of dhyana, when one feels more love towards Parama Purusa, then one gets the idea that 'I should talk to Him and do something for Him'. In that flow, when doing dhyana, one tries to serve and please Him. Yet even in this stage, His image may come and go in the mind, and one might find it difficult to concentrate. This seems to be the common experience of many sadhakas. In spite of that, if a sadhaka goes on practicing and struggling in dhyana, and asking for His grace, then that will invariably lead one towards the next tier in dhyana.
VARIOUS STAGES & DEGREES OF DHYANA: Part 2
Finally, when by Baba's grace one feels immense love for Him and a deep yearning to get Him, then one will like to practice dhyana more and more. The sadhaka will feel a strong surge of love and wish to hold Him tightly and embrace Him in dhyana. And when this feeling reaches its climax and culmination, then by constantly thinking about Him and Him alone, and using one's dhyana mantra and calling His name, then one unique moment comes when one forgets oneself, by Baba's grace. That is the stage of losing one's identity wherein one's mind remains absorbed in Him. This is the cherished state. It may continue for some time such that one will not even realise that the time is going by, until at some stage one may again gain their unit awareness. However, at end of one's life, after finishing their worldly duties, a deserving sadhaka gets the special grace of Parama Purusa and leaves their body and becomes one with Him. In that case, they do not come back or take rebirth. Whereas, when experiencing this high state in dhyana, one does come back into their unit existence after sadhana. And even if one does not experience this type of merger in dhyana during their life, but by grace of Parama Purusa that feeling can come at end of life, as per Baba's guideline in Supreme Command. Here it should be added, that these above realisations in dhyana are essential for understanding the meaning of the phrase, 'sitting on the lap of Parama Purusa'.
MAKING OUR DHYANA SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT LOVE, DHYANA IS MEANINGLESS
So dhyana has various stages and degrees; even then it is not uncommon for a sadhaka to complain that they have no such feeling or experience like this of Baba in dhyana. Here we have to understand that doing dhyana is a difficult process and we should furthermore understand why it is difficult. Being human, we have all come from from animal life and to some or more degree we all cultivate animalistic desires. The more prevalent these desires are, the more they prevent us from moving towards Him in dhyana. That is why doing sadhana can seem like a uphill task. Even then the goal of life is to realise Him in our sadhana, and for that reason we must continue and persevere in this endeavor. Otherwise one will just be stuck on the treadmill and endless cycle of life and death. Indeed the illusion of maya keeps us in the dark and makes us unaware of the divine truth. The only way to escape this cycle is to go close to Parama Purusa. This earth is not our permanent abode-- our ultimate destiny is to realise Him. And on the very practical level, if our dhyana is not good, then we have to sincerely ask ourselves if in our daily routine we are practicing shravan, manan, niddhidhyasana. For only with the support of these practices can dhyana be done. For more information about this please reference our AM books. So as sadhakas, the main thing we should remember is to cultivate more and more love for Him. In its broadest sense, dhyana is the culmination of all one's activities. So we are to remember Him always from morning till night, singing His name, listening His discourses, serving His creation, and doing His sadhana. Plus, we should always request Him to grace us with more and more love for Him. Then, with His divine compassion, our quest in dhyana will become successful. Otherwise, if we live our lives in a mundane way and just think by closing our eyes for a few minutes in the morning and evening that magically we will get Him in dhyana, then our practice will not be fruitful. Baba says, "Dhya'na is withdrawing the mental propensities from all extroversive entities, and then collecting those withdrawn mental forces, mental propensities, and urging them towards the Supreme Entity. If there is no love for the Supreme Entity, this movement cannot be done. Where there is no love, the mind will not run after Him. So dhya'na also becomes meaningless." (AV-1) So love is an essential requisite for true dhyana, and that love gets cultivated by thinking more and more about Him, by including Him in all our thoughts and movements through the day. Then our love for Him grows more and more, and by His grace our dhyana becomes successful.
CULTIVATING THAT STAGE IN DHYANA
In our worldly lives, we generally achieve something by this common step-wise process. First an idea comes in the mind, then one develops the desire of having or achieving that thing, and then finally one gets that object or outcome. This we have all experienced in our own personal and professional lives. Similar is the case in dhyana. First the idea comes to think about Baba, then one feels a strong urge to get Baba, and then by His grace after continued effort one receives Him in dhyana. Then one has truly fallen in love with Baba and it is in that depth of love that one may lose their own existence while doing dhyana. This happens by His grace and by the constant effort of wanting to merge in Him.
CONCLUSION: THE REAL MEANING OF, 'SITTING ON THE LAP OF PARAMA PURUSA'
This then all leads us to the real meaning of 'sitting on the lap of Parama Purusa' and how intense dhyana is an essential requisite. The phrase, 'sitting on the lap of Parama Purusa, is characterised by one's strong urge of wanting to become one with Him. The phrase 'sitting on the lap of Parama Purus'a' parallels the idea of 'merging into Parama Purusa'. These two phrases express the same concept: That of a sadhaka losing oneself in dhyana, wherein the mind actually loses its own unit identity due to great love for Him. Initially, a sadhaka feels love for Parama Purusa and one feels separate from Him. And then, as that love mounts more and more, a certain moment may come when one completely loses their individual identity and becomes one with Parama Purusa. When, by His grace, the loving attraction and divine pull towards Baba becomes so great that one forgets their own existence in the pursuit of getting Him, then one is 'sitting on the lap of Parama Purusa'. Thus 'sitting on the lap of Parama Purusa' and 'merging in Him' mean the same thing; the only difference being, the first is a devotional expression whereas the latter is more philosophical. Baba says, "One is sure to reach one’s destination. And what is the destination? To merge into Parama Purus'a, to sit on His Lap." (AV-22) In more technical language, when one loses their own individual existence in Cosmic Self, then this is nirvakalpa samadhi. That is also the meaning behind the phrase, 'sitting on the lap of Parama Purusa', i.e. becoming one with Him. And this merging only happens in dhyana, when by His grace, one calls Him and yearns for Him with such love, that one loses their own unit identity. Thus sitting on the lap of Parama Purusa occurs only at the zenith point of one's dhyana practice. And it refers to that high stage of dhyana wherein one has forgotten their own unit existence and become totally absorbed in Baba.
WHAT SHOULD ONE DO
Here Baba gives us His recipe for how to attain Him and sit on His lap. Baba says, "What a good man should do, what an intelligent man is to do, what a spiritual aspirant to do, is always to remember his loving Father. And this is what meditation is. Why should he always remember his loving Father? Because he will have to keep in the closest psychic and spiritual touch with the Supreme, because He is the Supreme abode of all. And finally one will have to sit on His lap. That is the final Desideratum." (AV-12)
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace, He has blessed us by bringing us on that path of tantra sadhana and filling our hearts with innate love for Him. By this way, we are sure to sit on His lap and become one with Him. That is our birthright and our destiny. Baba says, "Whenever anyone develops an intense desire to merge in Him, Parama Purus'a immediately arranges to impart lessons how to move towards Him, how to merge in Him." (SS-11) Baba says, "One who loves Him will merge in Him, will become one with Him." (AV-5) Namaskar, Nagendra
Note 1: BECOMING ONE WITH HIM
By Baba's grace, it is our birthright to become one with Him: To shed ourselves of all unit qualities and merge with His divine Self. Baba says, "Each and every entity has the right to move towards Him, and to be one with Him. And when the mind becomes one with Him, the mirror is lost. There cannot be any more reflection. There cannot be any more Jiiva'tma'. Jiiva becomes one with Shiva. “Pa'sha baddha bhavet jiiva, pa'shmukta bhavet Shiva” – Jiiva will become one with Shiva. This is the human goal. This is the Desideratum." (AV-3)
Note 2: OUR GURU'S MANDATE
Some in the Marga may not yet have all their sadhana lessons, yet Baba says not to delay. According to Guru, every sadhaka should practice sincerely and get all their sadhana lessons. Baba says, "Human life is short. It is wise to get all the instructions regarding sa'dhana' as soon as possible." (CC-2, 'Sadhana') So every AM sadhaka should get all their lessons, including dhyana, as quickly as possible. Every sadhaka then should be sure to consult an acarya about this and make proper arrangements to get their remaining lessons. Because it is only in dhyana that one can realise what it means to sit on the lap of Parama Purusa and become one with Him.

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