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Meditation

Posts about the practical and theoretical aspects of meditation

What to Do About Sleep in Meditation and Other Problems

sleep in meditationTo an Indian Christian friend who asked about experiencing blankness and spontaneous bodily movements in meditation.

I am very happy that you are meditating regularly. This is so very important. It is also good that you are meditating longer.

Sleepiness

It does happen sometimes that the meditator gets into a kind of blank or tamasic state in meditation, and may even pass into dreamless sleep without realizing it. This is because the mind is used to going into the sleep state when the mind becomes still and relaxed. In time this problem goes away. But be sure you are getting enough sleep at night.

How to deal with bodily movements

Bodily movements and tremors do occur to some yogis in the beginning. When it happens, stand up for a few moments and then sit back down. Sometimes these things occur because the meditator has habitually been living with some muscles tensed, and now they are beginning to relax and cause such movements. It is good to take a deep breath and let out all tension occasionally. It is important to not let such movements take over, but stop them immediately. There are so many sources for these problems that it is impossible to determine them.

There are many people who sway back and forth or side to side and claim subtle pranic forces are causing this. Really it is their restless minds seeking some distraction and activity. (I am not saying this is your situation, but it is good to know, especially if in the future you meet such people.)

The yogi must always be in charge of body and mind. That is easier said than done, but can be done.

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Paramatma, Prakriti and Jivatma: Three Concepts You Need to Understand to Pursue God-Knowledge

Paramatma, Prakriti, and Jivatma

Q: I am wondering about the concept of Paramatma, Prakriti and jivatma: Why have a construct of Paramatma, Prakriti and atma/jivatma? Why not simply have Paramatma, without the need for any existence, any Universe, creatures or beings, given that Paramatma is eternal, unmanifest, not of Prakriti, and does not require Prakriti or jivatma to “be,” whilst the latter two require Paramatmna to “be”… etc?

I do understand that with this hypothesis, there would be no beings, universe etc. which is a false statement in itself, but from a Vedanta standpoint, what is the “tarka” or logical reasoning for the construct of Paramatma, Prakriti, and jivatma?

You see yourself into what absurdity it all falls when a person subscribes to Advaita Vedanta rather than Sankhya, the original philosophy (darshana) of Sanatana Dharma, especially the Bhagavad Gita, and of the Yoga Darshana itself. When we realize that these three concepts are necessary for an intelligent pursuit of Brahmajnana and moksha, it is really an absurdity to deny their value.

Any concept is fundamentally merely an image in the mind, but the entire universe is being held as a concept in the consciousness of Brahman. It is a dream, but a dream that is real like any other dream of the mind. To say that something is not real because it is not material reveals the mind of a materialist, of Charvaka, not Dharma.

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Tantra: The Extreme Dangers of the “Path of Power”

tantra textQ: You have written that Tantra is dangerous, having seen half a century of people harmed by it. Could you expand on this? Why is it dangerous? Which practices for example are dangerous? How was it harmful in your observation?

The “path of power” is always dangerous, whether yogic or occult/esoteric. Our nature is consciousness, not shakti, and obsession with and cultivation of shakti leads to delusion.

But the ego, being energy itself, naturally loves it because it will increase the ego and eclipse the Self whose realization puts an end to our involvement in prakriti and the various worlds formed of it. One former Christian (Franciscan) monk who had become deeply involved in a tantric/occult tradition told me: “I feel like I am dying inside.” And he was. There was no way to help him because he was deeply enmeshed in his self-disintegration. It pleased his ego.

The difference between Yoga and Tantra

Tantra is not Yoga, though of course it seems to be so since they appear to have elements in common. But they are opposites, for Tantra is involved with shakti and Yoga deals with consciousness (chaitanya) alone. For example, they both work with mantra and breath. But the mantras and the breath modes are completely different because they do not at all have the same purpose. They are two different paths and do not lead to the same result.

It is the nature of Tantra to alter the configurations of the subtle bodies and the mind rather than to resolve the awareness into Self-awareness. Oh, of course tantrics talk about realization, but it is only talk. Sincerity on their part in no way protects them from the harm they inflict on themselves ignorantly.

Tantric distortion

Just as there are drugs that so distort the mind that the addict is not even aware of the distortions until the drug wears off, so tantric practices do the same. I have met people who lived on the edge of mental collapse from the practices given them by a tantric guru. (Suicide is not unknown among such people.)

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9 Obstacles to Yoga Meditation You Need to Overcome

The following is an excerpt from Abbot George’s soon-to-be-published Commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Yoga Sutra I:30. Disease [vyadhi], languor [styana], doubt [samshaya], carelessness [pramada], laziness [alasya], worldly-mindedness [avirati], delusion [bhranti-darshana], non-achievement of a stage [alabdhabhumikatva], instability [anavashtitatvani], these (nine) cause the distraction … Continue reading