by Gurani Anjali
“There’s a place called meditation, beyond the senses, beyond the mind, beyond you and me. In this place there is no fear. The heights are soared beyond the stars. There’s a place called meditation.”1 We are brought to this place of meditation to uphold the sacredness of life. We are brought to meditation because of the afflictions in life: pain and suffering, uncertainty, betrayals, ignorance. We are brought to this place of meditation. “In this place there is no fear. The heights are soared beyond the stars. There’s a place called meditation.”2 It is this place we often want to go to. It’s a perfect place where we find the perfection of life. So take time to meditate. All great leaders of the world, spiritual leaders of the world, have always taken refuge in this place called meditation. It’s a time that you give to yourself. It’s a time when no other can be in that place but you. To the seeker of truth this time is very, very necessary.
Avidya (ignorance), asmita (I-am-ness), raga (attraction), dvesa (aversion), abhinivesha (clinging to life) are the afflictions. These afflictions are painful. Every living being has these afflictions and these afflictions are to be removed, gently, carefully. Every single day they are to be removed. The seeker of the truth, who desires to uphold the sacredness of life, works diligently in removing these afflictions that are known as the kleshas. The attenuation of the kleshas must be carefully done every single day. Constant vigil is the rule. Never let the heart to fail. When the spirit within you that resides in the hridayam (heart center), is submersed by the constant vrittis (thoughts) of the afflictions (kleshas), then the heart begins to fail and one becomes quickly removed from life. Life is very sacred and all living beings all over the world want to be free of the afflictions which cause suffering, causes violence. Violence causes pain, pain to the one who receives the violence and pain to the one who puts out the violence. A thing in itself does not exist. Blessed is a place called meditation.
In the practice of the Yoga dharma one learns to practice and live by the disciplines that are set. One of the disciplines is called ahimsa (non-violence). This means not to hurt anything by thought, word or deed, including oneself, which is a very high order. Together with the practice of nonviolence comes the discipline of silence. In the quietness, in the silence, you will see a glimmer of light taking the form of intelligence. You will learn many wonderful things. Why do we keep silent? Why do we always want to be quiet? Sometimes the noise around us bothers us so much and we look for that quiet place, so we go among the trees in the forest. We run away to a mountain. We sit by the river. We want to be away from all the noise.
Ahimsa is a discipline, one that must be cherished and respected. What is the meaning of ahimsa? It’s not enough to simply say, “It means non-violence.” It’s not enough to say, “Don’t hurt anything by thought, word or deed, including oneself.” These are all simple phrases, but they carry a tremendous amount of insight. We must go beyond the word, beyond what we hear, and what we say. What does this mean? How can I be non-violent? “I’ve practiced non-violence for years,” some may say, and I still feel the anger coming up, the hatred, the prejudices, the painful statements one utters from time to time. “I find all these and much more in my being. How can I practice ahimsa? When will this end? When will I not be violent? When will I have the embodiment of non-violence? How long does it take, how long?” When one realizes that every living being including an insect has that spirit within, the one without a second, then one respects the body of every living being. Every living being has the life force, purusha (consciousness). The spirit resides in all living beings, and because of that, one must care for the many bodies of the night and the day. That is the essential secret behind ahimsa. That is the reason to practice ahimsa, not because you are going to be a very nice person and you’re behaving yourself. No, that is not the reason. The reason is to worship the spirit that is within all living beings. Then ahimsa becomes simple, very, very simple.
Ahimsa and the practice of silence go hand in hand. Practicing silence will give you an opportunity to remove yourself from the noise that comes out of your very existence. Ahimsa is a beautiful discipline. Everyone ought to say that. “I love the body that I see before me, for the spirit within the body gives me the opportunity to worship, and all living beings are entitled to that worship.” So when we meet each other on the way—when we see all living beings, including trees, grass and everything that is alive—recognize that all these have spirit nature, purusha nature. The many flowers, the many vegetables, everything that is alive, everything multiplies itself a thousand-fold. Everyone is to be respected, honored, loved for one very important reason. Can you imagine God lives in every living being? Can you imagine that? And when you see that, you see the person in front of you. Let that body go quickly by, because what you see is an illusion. Pass by that form that you get trapped in. Go beyond it. Pass by it, take a second look and look for that silent one that is silently watching.
The living form that’s there is very precious. It takes you beyond, and because of that we must bow our heads in respectfulness and acknowledgement, and then please that one that stands before us. We’ve got to please the one that stands before us. It’s like paying your toll. You can not pass over the bridge unless you pay the toll. The one that stands before you has to be pleased; so you offer your gifts of love, give what you can. And put a smile on the other’s face and that face will say, “Hi, how are you?” And the other will embrace you, and then you know you’ve got it. You got it. You passed the gate keeper, the body, the form. That’s why we all want to please the body that stands before us. The body is an illusion and is constantly changing and moving from childhood to adulthood and maturity. The body is constantly changing, but in the change you will see that which never changes.
Enter into meditation on a regular basis every day. It will give inner strength, and allow you to be a great dharman, a powerful person in the world. The world around is suffering. I wish you the best on this path. May you become stronger every day. Apply meditation in your life on a regular basis. Find the time that is perfect for you. Of course, there are three significant, auspicious times: sunrise; when the sun reaches its height at noon; and sunset. There’s a fourth one, that’s at midnight. You don’t have to maintain the midnight vigil. But if you can, do so. These auspicious times are very sacred. Apply meditation to your life and let’s see how the world will change through your own changes. Om shanti.