Sant Mat Practices --- A Spiritual Discourse and Mystic-Verses from Maharishi Mehi Paramahansa Ji
From the Philosophy of Liberation
87. The practice of Nadanusandhana (the Yoga of Sound) is not mere child's play. Its full practice cannot be exercised by one who lacks Yama and Niyama (virtues and moral rectitude). See the following section 88 for more detail on Yama and Niyama.
87. The practice of Nadanusandhana (the Yoga of Sound) is not mere child's play. Its full practice cannot be exercised by one who lacks Yama and Niyama (virtues and moral rectitude). See the following section 88 for more detail on Yama and Niyama.
There are sounds due to gross vibrations in the material body. To meditate on these gross sounds and believe it to be as the full practice of the Yoga of Sound shows a lack of knowledge of Yoga. According to the literature of the Sants (Saints), Yama and Niyama are essential for mastery in the practice of the Nadanusandhana (Yoga of Sound [Nada-nu-sand-hana, the spiritual practice of inner Sound meditation, also called Surat Shabd Yoga]).
88. Yama consists of five disciplines: satya (truthfulness), ahimsa (non-violence), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacarya (continence), and aparigraha (control of greed or non-possessiveness).
Niyama also consists of five practices, which are the following: sauca (internal and external purity), santosha (contentment), tapas (penance), svadhyaya (study of spiritual matters) and lsvara pranidhana (meditation on God).
89. In following Yama and Niyama, one exercises aversion from the five sins, serves the spiritual master, attends satsang, and practices meditation as referred to in section 60.
90. A comfortable asana (a pose of sitting or posture) of keeping the head, neck and trunk straight and steady is a must for meditation. Without the ability to sit in such a steady posture for prolonged periods, meditation cannot be practiced.
91. Meditation should be practiced being alert, without being drowsy, shutting the eyes comfortably and without turning the eyeballs or pressing them in any way.
92. The practice of meditation should be an essential part of the practitioner's daily routine. The preferred time of meditation is Brahmamuhurta ([Hour of God: Brahma-mu-hurta, or Amrit Veela: Hour of Elixir]: very early in the morning: 3:00 A.M.). Likewise one should meditate at mid-morning and then again in the evening time. While falling asleep, one should also engage his mind in meditation. Further, it is good to practice Manas japa [Simran] or Manas dhyana [Dhyan] while working.
93. Before learning the Nadanusandhana (meditation on inner Sound) in practicing Manas japa (mantra repetition), Manas dhyana (focusing on the form of the master or deity) and Drshti Yoga ([inner Light meditation in the Third Eye Center or Eye-Focus] focusing on a Point that is practicing one-pointedness), one should meditate with eyes and mouth shut. Upon learning Nadanusandhana (Yoga of Sound [Inner Sound meditation]) from the Master, one should also close the ears.
94.............In the initial stages of dhyana (absolute concentration), pratyahara is practiced. [Note: Pratyahara means to bring back. Bringing back or refocusing one's attention during meditation, bringing the mind distracted by worldly thoughts back to the Focal Point during meditation.] Through the means of pratyahara, the mind is brought back repeatedly to the Focal Point. By this constant practice of pratyahara, one is eventually able to concentrate for a short period on the Focal Point. This state of concentration is called dharana (steadiness of concentration or absorption). When absorption is maintained for longer and longer periods of time, then it is dhyana (absolute concentration). Then in this state of dhyana, one is able to grasp the Streams of spiritual Sounds (described in section 60) and finally achieves samadhi (Unity [Union, Absorption, Oneness in deep meditation]). Drshti Yoga (seeing the inner Light---the Yoga of Vision) will greatly facilitate pratyahara and dharana......
--- Maharishi Mehi
An English translation of, The Philosophy of Liberation, by Maharishi Mehi, is now online at this address:
http://www.sadgurumehi.com/book/philosophyOfSalvation.html
Mystic-Verses: Below is From the Padavali of Maharishi Mehi
Because of the wonderful light of the rays of the Moon;
How will the amazing Moon together with the sounds look like?
Those experiencing it are truly are the wise ones,
The brave get fully immersed into such endeavors,
Fully plunged into such a practice one becomes extremely cool and calm,
And forgets all about one's material body;
Paramhans says such introvert-aspirants remain completely unaware of morning, day and night.
And are effortless as if dead from outside,
The Sun outside compared to one inside is dark enough,
That splendorous Sun is beyond the boundary of the Moon,
Louder sounds highly repetitive inside are not discernible enough,
Paramhans says, sounds like the beating of drums and roaring of clouds are heard in the cosmos,
Above Trikuti, are colourless, shapeless compartments, where there are only resounding sounds;
The true spiritual aspirant remains in Dhyana Yoga [Yoga of Light],
And with Yoga of Sound reaches the Highest Realm;
In such a shapeless universe, he hears the extremely sweet sound of a Flute,
The Yoga of Sound causes such wonderful experiences;
On getting such a perceptive Guru, one knows how to do meditation upon inner Sound,
That Matchless Sound which never changes is the Quintessential One,
And that Quintessential Sound is finally changed into the Soundless one.
Saints describe it with words such as "Soundless", "Nameless" or "Wordless",
The Quintessential one along with surat [soul] at the final stage disappears,
The very stage of Soundlessness, Wordlessness or Namelessness is entirely different,
According to Mehi that stage is devoid of dualism,
Surat, merging with the Absolute, never returns to the physical world.
88. Yama consists of five disciplines: satya (truthfulness), ahimsa (non-violence), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacarya (continence), and aparigraha (control of greed or non-possessiveness).
Niyama also consists of five practices, which are the following: sauca (internal and external purity), santosha (contentment), tapas (penance), svadhyaya (study of spiritual matters) and lsvara pranidhana (meditation on God).
89. In following Yama and Niyama, one exercises aversion from the five sins, serves the spiritual master, attends satsang, and practices meditation as referred to in section 60.
90. A comfortable asana (a pose of sitting or posture) of keeping the head, neck and trunk straight and steady is a must for meditation. Without the ability to sit in such a steady posture for prolonged periods, meditation cannot be practiced.
91. Meditation should be practiced being alert, without being drowsy, shutting the eyes comfortably and without turning the eyeballs or pressing them in any way.
92. The practice of meditation should be an essential part of the practitioner's daily routine. The preferred time of meditation is Brahmamuhurta ([Hour of God: Brahma-mu-hurta, or Amrit Veela: Hour of Elixir]: very early in the morning: 3:00 A.M.). Likewise one should meditate at mid-morning and then again in the evening time. While falling asleep, one should also engage his mind in meditation. Further, it is good to practice Manas japa [Simran] or Manas dhyana [Dhyan] while working.
93. Before learning the Nadanusandhana (meditation on inner Sound) in practicing Manas japa (mantra repetition), Manas dhyana (focusing on the form of the master or deity) and Drshti Yoga ([inner Light meditation in the Third Eye Center or Eye-Focus] focusing on a Point that is practicing one-pointedness), one should meditate with eyes and mouth shut. Upon learning Nadanusandhana (Yoga of Sound [Inner Sound meditation]) from the Master, one should also close the ears.
94.............In the initial stages of dhyana (absolute concentration), pratyahara is practiced. [Note: Pratyahara means to bring back. Bringing back or refocusing one's attention during meditation, bringing the mind distracted by worldly thoughts back to the Focal Point during meditation.] Through the means of pratyahara, the mind is brought back repeatedly to the Focal Point. By this constant practice of pratyahara, one is eventually able to concentrate for a short period on the Focal Point. This state of concentration is called dharana (steadiness of concentration or absorption). When absorption is maintained for longer and longer periods of time, then it is dhyana (absolute concentration). Then in this state of dhyana, one is able to grasp the Streams of spiritual Sounds (described in section 60) and finally achieves samadhi (Unity [Union, Absorption, Oneness in deep meditation]). Drshti Yoga (seeing the inner Light---the Yoga of Vision) will greatly facilitate pratyahara and dharana......
--- Maharishi Mehi
An English translation of, The Philosophy of Liberation, by Maharishi Mehi, is now online at this address:
http://www.sadgurumehi.com/book/philosophyOfSalvation.html
Mystic-Verses: Below is From the Padavali of Maharishi Mehi
Because of the wonderful light of the rays of the Moon;
How will the amazing Moon together with the sounds look like?
Those experiencing it are truly are the wise ones,
The brave get fully immersed into such endeavors,
Fully plunged into such a practice one becomes extremely cool and calm,
And forgets all about one's material body;
Paramhans says such introvert-aspirants remain completely unaware of morning, day and night.
And are effortless as if dead from outside,
The Sun outside compared to one inside is dark enough,
That splendorous Sun is beyond the boundary of the Moon,
Louder sounds highly repetitive inside are not discernible enough,
Paramhans says, sounds like the beating of drums and roaring of clouds are heard in the cosmos,
Above Trikuti, are colourless, shapeless compartments, where there are only resounding sounds;
The true spiritual aspirant remains in Dhyana Yoga [Yoga of Light],
And with Yoga of Sound reaches the Highest Realm;
In such a shapeless universe, he hears the extremely sweet sound of a Flute,
The Yoga of Sound causes such wonderful experiences;
On getting such a perceptive Guru, one knows how to do meditation upon inner Sound,
That Matchless Sound which never changes is the Quintessential One,
And that Quintessential Sound is finally changed into the Soundless one.
Saints describe it with words such as "Soundless", "Nameless" or "Wordless",
The Quintessential one along with surat [soul] at the final stage disappears,
The very stage of Soundlessness, Wordlessness or Namelessness is entirely different,
According to Mehi that stage is devoid of dualism,
Surat, merging with the Absolute, never returns to the physical world.
