by Gurani Anjali
Namaste. Please sit up straight as we chant Om. [Om chanted by all].
Each one of you have different lung capacities, so when you say “Om,” go as long as you can and in ending don’t wait for the last one to finish to say “shanti, shanti, shanti” (peace, peace, peace) – just say it. Let it come out of the exhaled breath. Each one finish according to your own timing; your own capacity. Don’t wait to be lost in the herd – to be part of the whole. Of course, you are part of the whole already, and at the same time, you have your own capacity. Therefore you have to begin and end the Om according to your own capacity. Don’t wait to be pulled by another voice, another sound, another’s strength. You have to go with your own capacity.
See the power of keeping the mind in one place, feeling the vibration. Keeping that one-pointedness of the mind is so beneficial. All other activities, all other thoughts, everything else is removed when the mind is totally engrossed in just what is being done. See the power you have over your circumstance. If you take every day and every activity that you have and perform in such a manner, then there is no problem. The problems come from not focusing, from not keeping one hundred percent one-pointed. Other than that it is so beautiful that you found yourself here in one place, just in Om and in the breath. You were in the hearing, in the doing, in the breathing. You were just right there, in one place.
Now there are two types of dharana. One is internal and one is external. For some internal is very difficult and for others, external is very difficult. All the senses, all your thoughts, your whole life – fix them in a place. This is what has to be done in dharana training. Take all your thoughts, all your senses, take everything that is you and bind it in a place. Each sense that you have: hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, seeing – all these are like countries, cities, places. A village, a country, a highway – each sense is a place. And in these places (the senses), certain activities are performed; like in a city or in a village certain activities are performed. The highway, also, is a place with activities. A place for what? – a place to be in, to work in and to hide in.
Now in your being, you have these places – sight, smelling, hearing, touching, tasting. You have all these places. They are great empires in the body. But they are so close to you that you do not see them; like your hands, for instance. You’ve touched so many things. And they’ve gone through so many sensations. Yet it remains in the realm and confinement of sensation. The same goes for seeing. Seeing has its confinement too. Seeing just sees. The hearing just hears. It’s the instrument of hearing. What do we do with all these powers that we have? It takes the comprehension of the mind to understand all this and then to bring it together. Like you already know, every sense that you have is not isolated. Each is interdependent and works together for the unity of the whole. Each sense has its separate responsibility, but at the same time, it is unified into one big whole.
What does dharana teach us? – to hold the mind – the thoughts. The thoughts have to be known to the thinker. Then in the thinking, the thoughts are purified by the thinker. You must know why. What is the purpose of this? What is the reason for this? That must be your responsibility. How is it purified? When is it purified? Why is it purified? All this must be known to the thinker – that is you.
Therefore, holding the mind, knowing, understanding, focusing, is very important. You take all these powers that you have and bind them (bandha) to a place. When the mind is scattered here and there, you are trying to do everything at the same time. You are trying to see, to hear, to smell, to touch. You are trying to do everything at the same time. But it is not very easy to do everything at the same time. All the senses must be put in one place, so through all their powers, the fullness of that place will be known; according to the situation, to the different circumstances. They must be tuned in with that and help in that particular situation.
Now we will be doing a lesson which was done a while ago – fixing you in your thoughts. Just be in your thoughts. Is this civilization, this culture, which you are a part of, the habit has been to always visualize everything outside you. External from you. In the East, everything is from here to there. Over here in the West, everything is from there to here. The external stimulus is very important for the outside coming to here, but in the East is from here to there, inside to outside.
What you must do is concentrate on bringing your thoughts to your own being. This doesn’t mean to become an “I-conscious” person, but to take responsibility from within you into the world – not the outside world affecting you, but you affecting the world.
In this lesson we also see our body as a place. It is a place. It is a whole place. It is complete. In the West, everything is so visual. And everyone gets attracted by what’s out there. And you try to bring what is out there to here, without ever realizing that what’s here is also out there. When you come from here to out there it’s a bigger step in taking responsibility. Once taken, life is more ordered.
Look at your body sitting right there. Don’t think the body, just look at it. Don’t think it. Just look at the form that is you. Okay, inhale. Keep looking at the body, holding the breath in, then holding the breath out. There is a tendency to let go of the body when the breath goes out. See the form, that’s your form. There is a tendency to keep the body relaxed with the exhaled breath, but keep the body firm. Okay, breathe normally and sit in a relaxed pose. Shoulders back, don’t slump. Keep the eyes slightly open and look on the floor in front of you. Don’t be away from your body. I want you to feel your form. See your body. Keep your eyes open and look on the ground in front of you. Your mind should be on the body, not on the floor. Keep your eyes open. You are looking on the floor in front of you, but the mind must be fixed on the form of your body. You are looking at the form, your form.
You cannot see your face. But you can see your arms, your hands, your knees, your chest. Don’t let the mind drift. Look directly on the floor in front of you. Your mind must be on your form. Just keep viewing your form. You can move your eyes from place to place, but not your head, just your eyes. Not looking up or away from your body. Keep looking on the floor in front of you. At the same time, move your eyes to see the different parts of your body, but always remaining on the form, just the form. You’ll find that your thoughts will try to pull you away. Take the many other conflicting thoughts and get rid of them as quickly as you can. And hold to the form. Now we’ll do dharana on holding the mind to the form of the body. Keep your eyes open. Chin up. Keep the breathing steady, rhythmic. Don’t drift off. Stay with the body. Okay, return to chin mudra. Inhale, exhale. Sit comfortably.
In this culture, in all Western civilization, there’s attachment to out there. It is such a hard thing to get to just the form. To just see the form. Looking out there; but you can see that the form is here. You are looking here, but you can see from the sides, from the back, from the front. You can see other areas of what is. So the thing to do is look in front with the intent on looking, not thinking. Just looking, without thinking.
You know how sometimes you will just look at something, but you are really just in your thoughts someplace else. Your eyes are here, but your thoughts are turned to the inside of your being. Instead see your form. Of course, you’d like to see your face, but your face is very occupied. But you see your chest, your shoulders, up to the neck, if you can. Just don’t go into further speculation, like “this is my arm” and “this is the hair on my arm.” “I have toenails” and that type of thinking. Just look and observe and be aware. Be conscious of having this body.
What is the body? Why is it here? That can lead into a different form of exercise, but in dharana you are to focus all attention into one place – and then you look. And this period of looking can sometimes go on for a long time and then after a while you may go internally. You will expand that particular place. Not to go with the thoughts. Just stay within the realm of “this is the form.” But don’t have a dialogue, don’t start talking to yourself. Just look. Like you would look at the picture. Don’t say, “oh it’s beautiful, oh it’s nice, oh, it’s this or that.” Don’t give it any compliments and don’t degrade it either, just look. Just be with it.
The Western civilization is always looking out and then saying, “What is that? What can I do with it?” Those two questions are not too healthy for an aspirant on the spiritual path. Rather, you just look and then say, tell me about it. Don’t say, “What is it? What can I do with it?” The next thing you’ll want to do is put a price tag on it. That is what Western civilization asks; not for self-realization, but for profit.
Get in touch with this body, with the form. Do breathing exercises. Remember the internal and the external breath. The internal and the external. Try to come closer to you. Don’t stay out there. Try to come close to you. Then fix your mind on this form. Then this body will become such a responsibility to you that you will have to do something with it. Putting it here or there, this body will become very responsible. You will become very responsible for this body. Om, shanti, shanti, shanti.