Preconditions of Preksha Dhyana
Initiation
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.
