At the commencement of the meditation
session, all sadhakas shall assume a posture of cross-legged
position, totally relax the body and mind to remove the tension, and with
folded hands, recite the following aphorisms
1.
abbhutthiomi arahanae
I dedicate myself to the practice of
Preksha-Dhyana.
2. maggam uvasampajjami
I initiate myself into the path of
Spiritual Practice.
3. samattam uvasampajjami
I initiate my self into the practice of
Internal Perception.
4. samjamam
uvasampajjami
I initiate myself into the practice of
Spriritual Experience.
Thus the sadhakas initiate
themselves into the practice of preksa-dhyana.
Five Disciplines of Initiation
1. Bhavakriya (Synchrony
of Mental and Physical Actions)
This is three-fold :
1. Present-mindedness.
2. Complete awareness of one�s actions.
3. Un-interrupted (spiritual) vigilance.
Present-minded action is contrary to
mechanical (absent minded) action. When one is engaged in doing some
thing, it is not proper to be carried away by one's imagination which is
not connected with the work in hand.
Habitually, one wastes his time and
energy in useless recollection of the past or irrelevant imaginations of
the future. But neither the past nor the future is real. Only the present
exists and is real. One who lets the present slip away, is never able to
re-capture it, and hence, Bhavakriya is the only means of capturing the
reality of the present. It means present-minded action.
Bhavakriya also means complete
awareness of one's action. Habitually, again, one thinks with 'half a
mind', that is fracturing the mind, and engaging only a piece of it in the
work in hand, while the rest of it is allowed to wander about. When the
mind is totally engaged by the work in hand, the result is Bhavakriya.
Synchrony of mind and body saves much waste of efforts and energy,
increases efficiency and results in greater success.
Another meaning of Bhavakriya, is
constant vigilance. One must be continuously aware of his ultimate aim,
which is twofold : (a) Purification of mind and (b) Awakening the supine
Will and other inherent powers.
2. Act - Do not "Re-act"
Habitually we react to external stimuli,
that is, we are generally overwhelmed bv retaliatory emotional forces
within us demanding appropriate action. But, surely this cannot be called
"action", it is, in fact, "re-action". Discipline of the reasoning mind
controls the re-active forces and results in appropriate "action", rather
than "re-action", One should endeavour to establish control and avoid
retaliatary behaviour.
3. Amity
Behaviour of a sadhaka should
radiate friendliness, compassion and sympathy. This is possible only when
one is able to countermand one's reactive tendencies by reasoning and
avoid retaliatory thoughts and actions. Subjugation of retaliatory impulse
results in friendly and compassionate behaviour. The sadhaka should
be ever vigilant in this respect and cultivate amity.
4. Dieting
Dietics is an important facet of
meditational practice. Intake of food deeply influences not only our
physical health, but also mental tendencies and emotional states.
Habitually we eat too much. This overloads our digestive system and
results in indigestion etc. This in turn, further weakens not only the
digestive organs but vitiates the entire organism, including mental
tendencies and emotional states.
Sadhaka should be vigilant
towards his diet, avoid over-eating. He should particularly abstain from
such foods and drinks as are unsalutary to one's health, physical as well
as mental.
5. Silence
The last discipline of the initiation is
controlled speech or complete silence. We speak in order to communicate
with one another. However, habitually we speak too much and too long.
Sadhaka should be careful to effect full control over his speaking
mechanism. It should be used only when necessary. His speech should be
modulated and measured.
Recitation of Arham
A precondition of meditational practice
is a build-up of a defensive armour to protect the practitioner from the
onslaught of evil influences of external environment. The process of the
build-up is repeated loud recitation of the syllable "arham". Synchronised
with the recitation, there should be a mental projection of the step by
step build-up of the protective shell. The shell is being woven from the
crisscross of the electromagnetic radiations, emanations from the sound
waves thus produced. The radiations ultimately merge together and build an
impregnable armour-like, enveloping the practitioner, keeping him safe for
the duration of the practice.
