Various Experiences in Meditation(med 60)

Swami Sivananda

I. In   the   beginning   of  meditation,   lights  of  various colours, such as red, white, blue, green, a mixture of red and green lights, etc., appear in front of the forehead. They are Tanmatric lights. Every Tattva has its own hue. Prithvi Tattva has yellow colour. Apas Tattva has white colour. Agni has red colour. Vayu has green colour. Akasa had blue colour. The coloured lights are due to these Tattvas only.

Sometimes a big sun or moon, or lightninglike flashes appear in front of the forehead during meditation. Do not mind these appearances. Shun them. Try to dive deep into the source of these lights.

Sometimes Devas, Rishis, Nitya Siddhas will appear in meditation. Receive them with honour. Bow to them. Get advice from them. They appear before you to help and give you encouragement.

In the beginning of meditation and concentration you will see in the centre of the forehead a resplendent, flashing light. This will last for half or one minute and then disappear. The light will flash either from above or sideways. Sometimes a sun of 6 inches or 8 inches in diameter with or without rays will be seen. You will see the form of your Guru or Upasya-Murty also.

When you get glimpses of the Self, when you see the blazing light, when you get some other extraordinary spiritual experiences, do not fall back in terror. Do not give up the Sad-hana. Do not mistake them for a phantom. Be brave. March boldly with joy.

Part 2

II. What  sort of dreams  do you  get? What kind  of thoughts arise in your mind as soon as you wake up, when you are alone in the room, when you walk in the streets? Are you able to keep up the same state of mind you have during meditation in a closed room when you walk in the street also? Introspect and closely watch your mind. If the mind is perturbed when you walk in the streets, you are still weak, you have not advanced in meditation, you have not grown in spirituality. Continue the meditation vigorously. An advanced student will have thoughts of Brahman even in dream.

Understand the power of silence. The power of silence is infinitely greater than lectures, talks, orations and discourses. Lord Dakshinamurti taught the four youths, Sanaka, Sanan-dana, Sanatana and Sanatkumara through silence. The language of silence is the language of God. The language of silence is the language of heart. Sit silently and restrain the mental modifications. Sit silently and send out the inner spiritual force to the world. The whole universe will be benefited. Live in silence. Become silent. Rest in silence. Know the Self and be free.

When you sit for meditation in the morning send out your love and peace to all living beings. Say: Sarvesham Santir Bhavatu. May peace be unto all: Sarvesham Svasti Bhavatu. May prosperity be unto all: Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavan-tu. May happiness be unto the whole world.

In the peace all the pains are destroyed; for the intellect of the tranquil-minded soon becomes steady. When the mental peace is attained, there is no hankering after sense-objects. The Yogi has perfect mastery over his reason. The intellect abides in the Self. It is quite steady. The miseries of the body and the mind come to an end.

During meditation you will have no idea of time. You will not hear any sounds. You will have no idea of environments. You will forget your name and all sorts of relationship with others. You will enjoy peace and bliss. Gradually you will rest in Samadhi.

In the beginning, the aspirant remains in a state of bliss for some time. He comes down. By constant practice of incessant meditation, he continues to remain in that exalted state for ever. Later on, the body-idea completely vanishes.

When you enter into deep meditation, you will have no consciousness of your body or surroundings, you will have equanimity of mind. You will not hear any sound. There will be stoppage of upgoing and down-going sensations. The consciousness of egoism will also gradually vanish. You will experience inexplicable joy and indescribable happiness. Gradually, reasoning and reflection also will cease.

When you enter the silence through deep meditation, the world outside and all your troubles will drop away. You will enjoy supreme peace. In this silence is Supreme Light of lights. In this silence is undecaying Bliss. In this silence is real strength and joy.

When you practise rigorous meditation, Kevala Kumbhaka or natural retention of breath without Puraka (inhalation) and Rechaka (exhalation) will come by itsejf. When Kevala Kumbhaka comes, you will enjoy immense peace and you will have one-pointed mind.

The visions of the Rishis concerning the soul and such other transcendental matters, manifest themselves to one who is devoted to the constant duties prescribed by the Srutis and the Smritis, who is unselfish and who seeks to know the supreme Brahman.

During deep meditation, the aspirant forgets the external world first and then the body.

That feeling of rising up during meditation is a sign that indicates that you are going above body-consciousness. You will feel a peculiar Ananda (bliss) also when you experience this feeling. In the beginning this feeling of rising up will last for a minute only. After a minute you will feel that you have come back to normal consciousness again.

You will enjoy a sort of higher type of indescribable peace during your meditation. But it will take a long time to get real spiritual experiences or merge the mind in your Lak-shya or chosen object of meditation or get over body-consciousness completely. Be patient. Persevere. You will succeed.

The attainment of cosmic consciousness is permanent in realised souls. It is like a glimpse in the beginning. Through steady meditation, it becomes permanent or natural.

Part 3

III. Concentration is fixing the mind on any point, external or internal. During meditation the mind becomes calm, serene and steady. The various rays of the mind are collected and focussed in the object of meditation. The mind is centred on the Lakshya. There will be no tossing of the mind. One idea occupies the mind. The whole energy of the mind is concentrated on that one idea. The senses become still. They do not function. Where there is deep concentration, there is no consciousness of the body and surroundings. He who has good concentration can visualise the picture of the Lord very clearly within the twinkling of an eye.

Do not try to drive away the unimportant thoughts. The more you try, the more they will return, and the more they will gain strengtii. You will tax your energy. Become indifferent. Fill the mind with divine thoughts. They will gradually vanish.

All Vrittis or mental modifications such as anger, jealousy, hatred, etc., assume subtle forms when you practise meditation. They are thinned out. They should be eradicated in toto through Samadhi or blissful union with the Lord. Then only you are quite safe. Latent Vrittis will be waiting for opportunities to assume a grave and expanded form. You should be very careful and vigilant.

When your meditation becomes deep, you will lose consciousness of the body. You will feel that there is no body. You will experience immense joy. There will be mental consciousness. Some lose sensation in the legs, then in the spinal column, the back, the trunk and the hands. When the sensation is lost in these parts, they feel that the head is suspended in the air. The mind may try to run back in the body.

Do not mistake a little concentration or one-pointedness of mind for Samadhi. Simply because you have risen a little above body-sensation on account of a little concentration, do not think that you have attained Samadhi.

Samadhi or superconscious state is the highest goal which one can attain through meditation. It is not a thing that can be attained through a little practice. To attain Samadhi one should observe strict Brahmacharya, dietetic restrictions and must have purity of heart. If these are not attained there is no possibility of attaining that state. These preliminary qualifications should be grasped well and then only one must try to enter the portals of Samadhi. None can enter Samadhi unless he is himself a great devotee of the Lord. Otherwise the so-called Samadhi becomes Jada to him.

The state of Samadhi is beyond description. There is no means or language to give expression to it. Even in worldly experience, you cannot express the taste of an apple to one who has not tasted it nor the nature of the colour to a blind man. The state is All-bliss, Joy and Peace. This much only can be said. One has to feel this himself.

When you practise meditation, worldly thoughts, cravings and Vasanas are suppressed. If you are irregular in meditation and if your dispassion wanes, they try to manifest again. They persist and resist. Therefore, be regular in meditation and do more vigorous Sadhana. Cultivate more dispassion. They will be gradually thinned out and eventually destroyed.

You can ford over the boisterous ocean of the world through meditation. Meditation will save you from all sorrows. Therefore be regular in your meditation.