Meditation Archives

Sayings of Sri Gajanana Maharaj of Nashik

We wish to share with you some of the teachings of Sri Gajanana Maharaj of Nashik which you will find in our new book, Light of Soham. We have also created a short introductory video about Sri Gajanana Maharaj which we think you will enjoy … Continue reading

The Subconscious: What Meditators Need to Know

Q: What is the subconscious? Some may call it the “Unconscious.” The human being consists of many layers, but the three large divisions are the physical, astral and causal bodies or layers. The mind is also physical, astral and causal. The physical brain is the … Continue reading

The Science of Sound and Breath in Meditation: Essential Facts

This article on Sound and Breath in Meditation is taken from “Perspectives on Yoga,” a book by Abbot George Burke to be published later this year.

Although there is a great deal of interest in gimmicks and tricks in yoga and endless expositions of “shakti” and suchlike, the yogi really has one all-absorbing interest: sound (shabda).

He begins with sound and ends with sound, and his involvement in sound is what carries him along the path and ensures his success and prevents his going astray. Those who do not follow this path will almost surely go astray and wander afar.

Every element (bhuta) has a sensory experience that is common or “native” to it.

Earth (prithvi) has smell;
water (apa) has taste;
fire (agni) has sight;
air (vayu) has touch;
and ether (akasha) has sound (shabda).

The power of sound alone has both an active and passive aspect. Akasha possesses the power to both generate sound and to hear it. Furthermore, Akasha alone is pure; all the other elements have admixtures of one another, including akasha.

Even more, the elements predominate in each one of our five bodies.

Earth predominates in the annamaya kosha, the physical body.
Water predominates in the pranamaya kosha, the pranic body.
Fire predominates in the manomaya kosha, the body that is the sensory mind.
Air predominates in the jnanamaya kosha, the body of the intellect.
Ether predominates in the anandamaya kosha, the body of the will.

The two powers of the Ether

Since Ether is the ruler of the elements, and it has two powers, will and sound, yoga is based on sound produced by the yogi’s will and in which he becomes absorbed in meditation.

This is an important principle to keep in mind because many aspirants throughout the ages have wasted their lives practicing methods not based on these two powers of ether, and therefore became wanderers, and often self-distracters and self-deluders.

Raja Yoga: What Is True and What is False

raja yoga header

To someone who inquired about the nature of authentic Raja Yoga.

Raja Yoga is the science of Prana, the breath being the main yogic instrument for its accomplishment. It is much more than controlling or refining the breath (for real pranayama is refinement, not control), it is the Way of Unity.

Raja Yoga both leads to and is the experience of unity with the Self and Brahman. Total unity is its only goal. This is important to recognize, because Raja Yoga involves mastery of our inner and outer life, which inevitably involves the emergence of inner powers which can easily be wasted or misapplied.

Raja Yoga and yoga powers (siddhis)

It is pointless to tell a yogi to “shun the yoga powers” any more than it would be to tell a child to avoid adulthood. Certainly, an adult is subject to many more delusions and addictions than a child, and certainly has the ability to work much more harm to himself and others. Nevertheless, adulthood is inevitable.

And so it is with the yogi: these powers will manifest in him. If he keeps his eye upon the goal of liberation in Brahman, those powers will ripen into something more, into spiritual realizations, much the same way that sexual energies conserved are transmuted into far higher and greater forces within the consciousness of the yogi.

Chakras and Meditation: What Is the Best Practice?

To someone who asked which of the chakras was the best to focus on in meditation. Meditation on a specific chakra can confine and limit the yogis awareness. What happens spontaneously alone is correct and worthy of attention. I wrote in Soham Yoga: “Sometimes during … Continue reading

Fasting: A Sensible Perspective for Meditating Yogis

Q: I think I remember reading in one of Abbot George’s writings that “fasting is not the way.” Should an occasional fast, or time-restricted eating be considered healthy or unhealthy?

Body-identified people who aspire to be yogis think that the body is what is wrong with their minds, when it is the mind itself that is the problem. And the mind is a field of energy formed of the food we eat. This is the teaching of the Chandogya Upanishad:

“Mind consists of food. That which is the subtle part of milk moves upward when the milk is churned and becomes butter. In the same manner, the subtle part of the food that is eaten moves upward and becomes mind. Thus, mind consists of food” (Chandogya Upanishad 6.5.4; 6.6.1-2,5).

Therefore diet–both what we do and do not eat–is a key element in attaining success in yoga. However, what we think is also a key element in the condition of our mind. And that is where correct sadhana comes in. But that is another matter altogether, and I will stay with your question.

Pure body, pure mind?

The body-identified for some reason are obsessed with fasting. They think that if they purify their body by fasting they will purify their mind, but they are wrong. (However, I have observed that a lot of “yogis” are intuitively very intent on things that will leave their mind alone while they entertain themselves with disciplines such as fasting which will leave the delusions of the mind safely and surely intact. Such persons are the kind that love to let everybody know they are having “a day of silence” or are “on a fast.”)

There is no doubt that people who have harmed their body and mind by eating destructive things or good things in a destructive, mistaken manner, can be benefitted by a very mild form of abstinence from food such as a day on water or juice alone.

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