Meditation for Mind Control | Thus Spake Babaji - online Q&A, No.127

Meditation for Mind Control | Thus Spake Babaji - online Q&A, No.127
Recorded on 11 March 2023 with worldwide participants.

0:00 Introduction from Babaji
2:03 The final battle for a human being to control the mind
13:25 Importance of adopting a discipline and not forcing the mind
15:57 The polite but firm approach
22:21 How we have to become infinite to control this infinite mind
25:53 How to keep the mind quiet when in activity
33:09 Adopt any role but without the ego
34:35 How do we know we are moving in the right direction with our practice?
37:42 Will physical yoga or other practices help you physically as well as spiritually?
39:41 Is it ok to meditate in a public environment with external noises?
42:35 How important is it to get initiated by a guru?
43:53 What is the purpose of heat in the body when meditating?

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Website: http://www.srby.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shivarudrabalayogi
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SRBYmission
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Transcript

Discourse: Thus Spake Babaji - online Q and A No. 127
 Meditation for Mind Control
You tube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDu0Rf5fYTo
Recorded: 11 March 2023

Start of Short Discourse

   So nice to be with you all once again, giving you all an opportunity to sit with me and silence your mind.  That is the important thing you have to achieve.  For that you need to understand the ‘watching’ once again.  Even if I had explained to you, the Master always would like to say one more time so that it penetrates your inner layers of the mind.  Watching is helping you to silence your mind.  When you are just watching, using your eyeballs, slowly, gradually, progressively, you won't be able to think anything.  So, then automatically all thoughts and visions, they will all evaporate, dissolve in the mind, which never existed; only because of your imagination it existed.  So thus, eventually, if you practice like this, you can achieve silence of the mind and you can see that your mind becomes pure consciousness, turning its attention to itself.  That’s when you become aware of yourself.  So, when you are just watching, just watch without bothering anything.  Whatever thought or visions come, just watch them, don't try to get involved, do not get excited, do not get worried; either way, don't bother what it is, don't try to know about it at all - just watch.  So that is very, very important for you all.  

Start of Questions and Answers

Question:   So today's theme is meditation for mind control.  Babaji, there’s a quote from Baba, "The final battle for a human to win is the battle over one 's own mind.  Once you win over your mind, you have won everything, even if you have lost the whole world, and if you win the world but lose to your mind, you have lost the battle." Can Babaji talk about this final battle for a human to control the mind? 

Babaji Maharaj:   You know, since time immemorial, mind has gone out of control.  Maybe so many lives have passed by, and every life the mind acquires habits.  When it recognizes either with its own imagination or when it comes across this universe an object is recognized – recognizes means it analyzes whether “this is mine” or “not mine” and what it is.  “It is apple, it is matter, it is space”, anything.  Thus, it makes a judgment - when it reaches a conclusion,  it makes a judgment; “this is apple.”  So, that apple imagination is absorbed as an imprint into the mind.  That becomes the habit of the mind.  Now whenever the mind comes across that fruit, instantly it recognizes it as an apple.  It won't agree or accept for anything else to be recognized as that, once it becomes habitual.  So, it considers that recognition as the fundamental truth, a reality.  Anybody else talking anything about that fruit, it might reject or it might make fun, like that.  Say for example, if I tell “This is not apple, this is God”.  So, anybody who cannot understand the truth of all-pervadedness of the space, the one-ness, so they might even make fun, “How can this be God?  This is apple.  This is only a fruit.”  Because that is how it has been recognized.  So, that's how the acquired habits of the mind can be so strong, solid that it will become so difficult to remove or erase that imprint; life after life we go on acquiring habits.  So, that is why the practice of meditation also is taught so that you first withdraw all acquired habits, means all type of recognitions that you have made, all type of definitions that you have made; they are all based on your own imaginations.  Just for sake of understanding and communications in this world; it need not be that truth, it can be something else, we don't know.  

Means the entire universe, we will take it.  We really don't know what this appearance is.  For a while, let us give the benefit of doubt.  But we all have recognized since childhood, whatever we read in the school, whatever we heard, either through science, technology or spirituality or religion, in any way, whichever way we would have heard, we have accepted it as a definition and absorbed it as an imprint.  This is sitting in the mind.  So, we are unable to get rid of this.  When we have imagined and taken an imprint, whatever happens in this universe, according to our own imagination, either a good or a bad, a happiness or an unhappiness – a certain thing could be happiness for one person, the same thing could be unhappiness for another person.  So, thus, now our mind had started depending on its own imagination instead of trying to find the truth.  So, it has totally absorbed.  “Yes, this is the truth.  This is unhappiness.  Why this has happened?  I cannot be happy anymore.  I am very unhappy.”  We try to teach them “No, happiness is your existence right.  You don't have to lose your happiness.  Simply accept it, try to forget in the mind.”  That will not be easily acceptable.  So that's why we teach the meditation - just watch.  So, this is what, when you just watch, all your impressions are gradually… in due course of time, depending on the concentrated effort of the person, by understanding the technique given by a Master, considering that as a teaching, an upadesa, then with total faith when you take and practice, then you can get rid of all impressions and then you will be able to see the truth as it is.  So, this is what we tell of the acquired habits of the mind, and the mind has absorbed such imprints and it totally depends on that only.  So, now by practicing the meditation, we will be taking the control of the mind, means, in one definition what we can say, mind is meant, means your own consciousness has the ability to be creative, imagine, think and not to think also.  It has the ability, but because temporarily we have lost that ability, it's only into thinking and unable to remain quiet.  That's what we mean about mind control through the practice of meditation.  So, finally the mind should be… it is meant so that when you need to think, need to be creative in this world, you should be able to think, imagine and be creative.  When you do not need that, when the thoughts are torturing or troublesome creating unhappiness, you should be able to stop them.  No need to think in that way unnecessarily; it need not be the truth.  Simply, we might be magnifying in our own consciousness and imagining a certain thing which may not be the truth at all.  Like that we should have control over our own mind, then it is possible.  

   But the mind has gone out of control since time immemorial, so much, strongly.  One simple example I have given in my talks, when you have a hundred thousand dollars with you, if you lose ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine  or something like that and you have only one dollar with you.  If you have to earn back that much to make it a hundred thousand dollars again, how much effort you will have to put.  It is not easy.  Honestly, with hard work, if you have to earn, little by little, you have to save also, to make it a hundred thousand. Like that when the mental energy has lost the ability to remain quiet and has got involved into imagining.  Consistently, constantly it keeps imagining like a chatterbox that many people call it.  It is a chatterbox.  Even when you close the eyes also, millions of thoughts would be coming and it is imagining, imagining; that is what is happening.  So, since time immemorial it has become like that.  So, it is so strong now.  It has the upper hand.  We as the soul or the pure consciousness who want to take control of this mind, we are like underdogs.  That's when we have to wage a battle.  That's what we try to use the terminology.  It is the final battle.  We can win the entire universe, but the mind, if it is not won, it will keep troubling us.  It won't allow us to sit peacefully or be happy.  Cravings will be coming and coming and it will make us unhappiness.  Whoever it is, it might be the emperor of the entire universe, people are struggling today, different countries are struggling to become more powerful.  The leaders want to be there forever.  They don't want to give up their seat and they want to be more and more powerful.  But that itself is giving them tension, stress.  They want to compete with each other.  They are worried all the time.  “O, the other country person might be becoming stronger.  He might be getting more military strength, more intelligence strength, more technological strength.  We also need to increase our defense budget needs to increase.”  Like that, the whole world, if it starts competing, everybody is losing peace.  Nobody will have peace finally.  So, that is why we try to call it as a final battle for a human being to win over one’s own mind, means we should be able to keep… - When there is no need to think, at all times we should be able not to think.  

   Finally, if one can become a yogi - yogi means by practicing a long time of meditation, for a long time, and achieves total silence of the mind which is known as samadhi, means the totally stabilized mind.  Then what one can achieve is - like even if I am talking a lot, any topic, my consciousness is totally silent.  Now I am using the terminology of consciousness - same mind has now become consciousness because there are no thoughts in it, no imprints are there, it is purified, it is quiet, silent.  So that is why it is now known as pure consciousness.  This is what is also known as mind control, that our Swamiji always spoke.  Meditation for mind control.  Many people might misunderstand that a Guru will control your mind.  No, that is not the thing that we teach.  By a practice of meditation, you become the master of your mind.  If you want to think you can think, if you don't want to think you don't have to think.  Eventually, when you achieve the Self-realization, awareness, when you can be a yogi, you can be a normal person in this world.  You can be talking, mechanically you can operate in this world using your brains and through the body and still you will see your consciousness, your mind is totally in silence, in the quietness.  So thus, all the twenty-four hours, at all times, a yogi shall be enjoying that peace. Supreme peace is there.  No power, no incident, no thought, nothing can disturb that peace for a yogi all the time.  So, this is what we meant about the final battle and the mind control that you are asking.  

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  So, it seems so difficult for us with our mind full of thoughts and the habits to try and control this mind.  And we might try and force it a little bit.  And Babaji has said, controlling the mind doesn't mean beating it with a cane, or trying to force it.  Controlling means practicing a discipline.  Can Babaji talk about the importance of a discipline to adopt to control the mind and not to use force?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, exactly.  To control the mind or make it quiet - and controlling means we be the master of the mind.  It is under our control.  When we want to think we can think, if we don't want to think we don't have to think. Without even thinking much, only with a little bit of consciousness on the brain we can think very little.  We don't have to think too much, don't have to become anxious or don't have to brood about the past. In the present to put an effort we would need a very little bit of energy of our consciousness.  So, that is how we would be able to do that one with a control over our mind.  We have the control over the mind means that is what it is.  Like you are flying an aircraft, you are the pilot.  If it is totally under control, then you are flying smoothly.  It's going on.  Occasionally a turbulence might happen due to the wind blow.  But very soon, if you are a skilled pilot and everything is there under control, all machinery, then you can bring it under control and make it go smoothly again.  Like that controlling means.  That's what Swamiji meant, “Mind control, mind control”.  It is under your control.  That means you have won the battle.  Now the mind is your servant.  Now you can use the brain.  Brain also is your servant.  You can use the brain.  Brain is no more your enemy or no more your master.  Your master means if you simply listen to whatever the brain reflects, then you are becoming a victim of your own brain's reflections.  But here, now you can apply the brain.  Wherever you need to apply, use the wisdom.  So, that's what the mind control is.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  And Babaji often talks about the polite focus, a gentle approach.  But a firmness must be there as well, that willpower has to be strong to overcome - but still a gentleness in the approach.  

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, very often we were taught during our school times and our parents also, even if you have to say no, try to say no with a smile.  That's what it is.  You are polite, but you are firm.  “No, sorry, I cannot do this one, not possible.”   So, you don't have to lose temper.  You can remain firm.  No matter a hundred times the other person tries to tempt you, induce you - “Come on, let's have some alcohol, some drink, some smoking, something.” “No, sorry, thank you.  You enjoy your thing.  I am always happy.  I don't have to.”   So like that, if you have your mind under control, you can be polite.  Because mind is the most infinite.  Infinite here, you see, nobody has seen the mind in naked eyes.  “This is my mind, this is the color, it has five fingers” - That is not the mind.  About this hand we can tell, “This hand has five fingers”.  But what is the mind?  Where is it located?  Nobody knows.  Only through the thoughts and visions we recognize the mind.  “My mind wants to do this, my mind wants to go there”, like that.  Repeatedly I have spoken about this thing in my talks or answers I have given.  So that is the mind.  It is infinite; that's what we use, the nearest clue to give an idea to you what is the infinite. Like the space is infinite.  You cannot simply take a rope or tie it to a pillar, not possible.  You cannot dictate terms to the space also, “Hey, remain under control.”  It won't listen.  So, that is why it is recommended that you be gentle, relaxed – skillfully you have to bring it to a stillness.  That means by watching.  Slightest you give up that control or your watchfulness, be mindfulness, then it slips and it starts beginning its own story, and it spins and spins and goes into big story, creativity - all these things happen.  

So, you cannot afford to lose temper at that time.  It might be irritating sometimes, but you should not feel irritated because you will do more damage to your consciousness.  If you feel irritated, if you lose temper, if you get into an anger, you might feel like banging your head, “Meditation is not happening, it's not coming, millions of thoughts, O God, how to stop this one?”  Nothing else can stop it.  Only the mind has to stop itself.  For that you can use your five sensory organs. Amongst them, eyes are the strongest.  Like when you are listening to a beautiful devotional music through the ears, sometimes somewhat the mind can stop there, come under control.  The same way using the eyeballs here you practice the meditation of watching skillfully with all the patience.  But in all doing these things, gentle, patience, you need to be firm and polite, “Not give up, not give up”.  Means you need to be compassionate, doesn't mean that you have to give up your path.  Like you are going on the spiritual path.  On the path it is taught that you have to be compassionate, you be kind to others as much as possible.  You try that one, be forgiving, let go the things.  All these things we can do, but if somebody asks you, “You give up the path of spirituality itself” - then you cannot be compassionate.  Just because we are compassionate, “Okay, we will give up our spiritual path.  We will become a worldly person” - that cannot happen.  But still, you can remain polite and gentle and firm and keep going.  That's what we practiced since our younger days.  If somebody was criticizing, doing anything, going against, talking against, making fun of us, trying to belittle us, anything, we tried to keep quiet, but we always went ahead, went on, kept on going; that we did not stop.  

But from the mouth I never shouted at anyone, never answered, never felt confused, never showed any confusion at all, never lost faith in ourselves.  That confidence we did not lose.  We kept on going.  But it was in politeness, smiling at others, but we went on doing meditation.  Like that, you are recommended to be gentle to yourself, skillful so that you don't lose grip over yourself.  You, as the consciousness, pure consciousness, do not lose grip over yourself.  When you are watching, you see? So much of patience is necessary along with the…first thing to practice the eyeballs to be focused into one point itself is a difficult thing.  Then along with those eyeballs the mind also has to be there.  Means you must be feeling that ‘I,’ ‘I am’, that feeling of your own existence.  That's what I always talk about -  Consciousness of existence is there.  So, you must be sticking on to that one.  This is possible when you are polite but firm, gentle but firm, don't give up, never look back.  That point you need to be firm.  

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  Babaji mentioned the mind being infinite and I remember Babaji before said that, "To become aware of this infinite mind, you have to become infinite as well." So, by controlling the mind and stopping… can Babaji just explain that a little bit more, about how we can become infinite. ?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, exactly.  You see, if you need to know about the space, you need to become space because nothing else can measure the space, impossible.  Because space is simply all-pervaded.  You go on measuring with the measuring tape - The more you try to do and declare that you have measured, you are simply trying to limit the space, that is all.  That is how the mind is so infinite.  You cannot take control by any other means, measure or know it by anything else.  And mind itself also cannot talk about itself as long as it is into imagination.  Because as long as it is mind, it gives only what it imagines.  That's why we tell, "Mind can never give us the truth of existence as it is." Mind might be using the brain.  It might give the wisdom of this world.  We might be able to tackle things in this world, achieve many things in this world.  We might win battles in this world, but we won't be able to control the mind itself by imagining, by thinking.  Because the mind has to become quiet, if it has to come under our control.  We are also that infinite soul.  That's what we will realize in deeper meditations.  And only that meditation, means only the mind itself has to become quiet.  That's why we tell only the mind can control itself.  No other means is possible.  In any other way, no other instrument, no other machinery, no other medicine, nothing can control the mind.  It will always be there.  Only the mind itself has to become quiet.  This is what you have to eventually realize in meditation – “O, it's me who is the troublesome, I have to become quiet.”  The day you realize, meditation will become easy.  You will try to become quiet.  Till then, you are always trying to visualize as if that you may have to see something.  You may have to come across some experience.  That's when often many people try to work out  “This is the experience” - any appearance or any such colors, any sound, they start thinking them to be the experience.  I try to correct them.  Do not get excited and get carried away by these experiences.  When such an experience either of a sound or a sight is available, use it to focus your mind so that the mind can remain single pointed.  It shall not run away.  More than that, don't get involved with the thought or a vision.  Don't try to analyze.  It is never ending.  It is a mind-boggling thing because it is simply an imagined thing.  Thus, the mind only can control the mind.  This is what it is.  Mind itself has to become quiet.  That is the practice of meditation.  

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  And also in the world, Babaji has said before, “We should always be preoccupied in trying to be quiet in the mind, in action.” And Babaji, in the twenty years of your service to Swamiji, whenever You were doing anything, Babaji was aware that the important thing is to keep the mind quiet.  So, we should really be very preoccupied with the idea of just keeping the mind quiet, even when we are doing things with the mind.  

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah.  Like again, as we call it, a final battle - that’s the most difficult thing because ego - ego is a problem.  It gets hurt always and it loses temper and it goes into an imagination, wild imaginations of annoyance, hurt, disappointment, all these things might happen.  If one can sacrifice the ego is one definition.  Somebody might hurt you, deliberately might hurt you, they might criticize.  If it's an authority, might use such foul language and hurt you, keep scolding you, might find fault with you if it's your boss, anybody might find fault with you.  And the world itself is a basket of obstacles.  You want to go ahead like this and some obstacles will be coming all the time.  Sometimes you may work out extraordinarily, then you might be able to cross that hurdle, but sometimes you may have to accept it when it is beyond your capacities.  So, these things are all which can be helpful.  When it is possible for you to change the situation, be courageous to change it, work for it.  But when it is not possible, accept it, use the wisdom, pray for wisdom and inspiration so that it is beyond your capacity, that is the final; now you have to accept it.  Only then, in these circumstances only, mind recedes and it becomes quiet.  That's what it is.  

So, that is why service at the Lotus Feet of Master is recommended.  The Master tests your ability to remain mentally quiet.  He might find faults deliberately.  He might be pulling you up.  He might ignore you.  He may not show you love and affection all the time.  Sometimes He might show you annoyance.  He might neglect you.  All these things, so many ways He might be testing you.  Under all circumstances, you must not lose faith in yourself, in your Master.  You must love the Master.  Love is one such thing which can overlook everything.  “No problem.  Now You have done this to me  I am going to love You more.  You cannot make me not to love You.  Come what may be.  You talk about me anything.  You humiliate me, no problem.  You tell the whole world that I am an useless idiot.  No problem.  I will love You.”  That's what is like a matter of self-respect.  “I have to love You and I will love You.  Nobody, no power, not even You can make me to give it up.”  So, that must become the self-respect thing.  Then your mind can recede.  When you remain determined, you don't bother.  That means you are sacrificing your ego.  You are not allowing any of these things to hurt your consciousness.  You will take it simply a drama of this world.  World is an illusion.  So, all these things keep happening.  Good happens, bad happens.  Somebody criticizes, somebody praises, somebody tries to beat you, somebody tries to defeat you, somebody is jealous of you, everything.  You just keep quiet, accept and see the Divine play.  Like that if you adopt the attitude, things will move smoothly.  Then your mind will recede and remain quiet. 

I know it's not as easy as we talk when you are in the world.  Same thing, not simply because I was in the monastery of my Guru at His Lotus Feet that things were easy.  It's equally difficult.  Because all the people, devotees of the Master, those who come, they are also human beings after all.  They will be bringing their temperaments, their good and bad, their jealousy and hatred, their love and affection and fun, this, that, everything they will bring.  It is same equivalent to if you are working in a company or in the society living, same experience here also.  Means, no discount in these things.  You will have to face the world, human temperaments.  Like my Guru Himself used to tell, “I did twelve years tapas so easily.  Simply the time passed by.  I kept quiet and just was watching; the mind was in samadhi.  But after my twelve years tapas, when I wanted to establish Ashram, people ate me up, my God! To convince them, to make them understand, to make them work, to make them to be sincere is the most difficult thing,” Swamiji used to tell, these words He used to tell.  “They will never be sincere.  Hundred times they will promise you, but they will do what they want to do.  I tell them “You do like this,” but they will accept, “Okay, okay, yes Master, yes Master, we love You Master, You can beat us up, You can do anything.”  But one time I scold them, they will leave and go away, “O, this is not the Master.  This is not the right person for me.  He is scolding me.  I cannot be with Him anymore.  I want to get liberated from these troublesome times and these places.”  They will simply leave and go away.”  We have seen during my Guru's times, so devotional for so many years, they were so close, serving Him, trying to do everything for Him, monetarily and when they had the authority, through that authority, they could do that one.  But they could not take one single scolding.  They left Him, sacrificed Him and forgot about Him.  They didn't want to take His name at all again.  They abused the Guru also.  Practically we got to see this thing.  That is the human temperament.  It can turn in any way, unpredictable.  Today, it might be very friendly with you, and tomorrow it might consider you as the enemy number one.  You never know.  This world is like that.  So, in the midst of all these, that means again it is the tapas when you are awake also, not to feel hurt, to sacrifice the ego.  That is the biggest challenge.  Ask anybody.  That's why we call it the final battle to win over one's own mind.  

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  So, we can have any role in society but we shouldn't have the ego of that role.  Is that right Babaji? We shouldn't have the ego, idea of “We are this.”

Babaji Maharaj:   If anybody can understand, this is the definition actually.  You do the role.  If necessary, you get annoyed.  Like if you have to face a war, you have to remain annoyed to defend your country - that is necessary, but there should not be any personality clash.  No hatred towards any person.  “I am a soldier.  I am just doing my job, that’s all.”  Like that people tell, people who are holding jobs, you are doing your job, you are asking a question and you are just doing your job.  You don't have hatred to anybody.  You don't have liking to anybody.  Like that.  You don't have any ego.  Just for sake of education you are asking the question, that people may be benefited.  In the same way I also, we don't have any ego.  We are just answering the question for educational purpose.  Not about any one personality or group of personalities.  So that is how, egoless act.  

Question:   Namaskaram Babaji.  Thank You for all your wisdom and showing us the light - tremendously grateful.  My question is, You, Babaji and Swamiji took many, many years to get to the state where You are, the Ultimate Truth.  And leading a life of completely spiritual way also.  For us being in the society, doing family and everything and doing one hour meditation every day, assuming we are doing the meditation properly and continuously, what can we expect…it's going to take a long time but what can we expect along the way to validate, “Okay, we are moving in the right direction.”

Babaji Maharaj:   First thing that is important, if you can understand the right technique.  As I have been answering about ego, about the practice of meditation, these points wherever you are, if you are a householder or in the society, you have to work for your livelihood, anywhere, if it's possible for you to understand and adopt this technique. Never feel dejected, never lose hope and try not to mentally get affected because mind is your powerhouse.  As long as your mind is intact, you don't have to lose hope.  There is always a chance again to come back, to work for it.  That is why destiny world has been taught.  Before it happens, if we try to look in the right sense of science, there is no such thing called destiny.  Until it doesn't happen, we don't know what is going to happen.  We work for a thing; we have some expectation.  Sometimes things might happen according to our expectation.  Sometimes it may not happen.  But at that time, it's important that the mind is not broken.  We should not be heartbroken type, that language.  We should not lose hope.  That is why you are destined to undergo this trouble.  Don't worry, try again, you might be able to overcome it.  Don't worry, you try, keep trying.  So that's how elders used to teach - you are destined means you shall stop brooding – “Why this happened to me?  Why was it that I failed?  What was the reason?”  There are no conclusive answers.  If you go to an astrologer, they will tell according to them.  And if you go to somebody else, they will talk about that.  But actually, nobody really knows a conclusive answer.  Simply you have to look for the future.  There is one more chance.  That is why destiny was taught.  “You don't brood; it's over.  Now try again.”  So that's how these things were taught.  So, if you can adopt all these methods, slowly you will acquire the expertise how to live successfully.  It's like the art of living teaching in this world.  It will be possible.  

Same Questioner:   One more question, Babaji.  Is there significance in yoga or kriyas like shambavi maha mudra kriya or things like that?  Is that going to be any helpful in meditation, spiritually? Physically it will be helpful as You have said many times…

Babaji Maharaj:   See, definitely, India, since ancient times had two types of yoga schools.  One is when you adopt the body, exercises, asanas, what they are known as, and then slowly come to meditation.  Well, body's health is important as we have always spoken for you to maintain.  And another school, directly you go for meditation.  So, you can adopt any way that is possible.  You can learn from an expert Master about the yoga exercises bodily, and then try to meditate.  One recommended thing is, don't get absorbed too much into one of them.  Means, for body exercises, if you want to become a champion of that, you might not be able to take up meditation seriously.  So, do a little bit of exercises to keep yourself healthier, and then try to absorb into meditation.  So that is always recommended. Like shambavi mudra or any chants, any mantras, anything that has been taught, any other type of sadhanas, they are all to make the mind single pointed; instead of allowing it to have millions of thoughts, you try to stick to one thought.  If you are chanting a mantra, keeping your mind over there is important.  Simply the mantra itself cannot be powerful.  The power is in your mind.  You have to remain focused on that mantra, then that can channelize the energies that is in your mind.  So, that’s what you need to understand.  Then it's your choice.  You can take up any type of exercise.  

Question:   Pranaams Babaji.  Thank You for this wonderful opportunity.  Babaji, my question is regarding, is it okay to meditate in a residential environment, in a public environment where there is so much of noise from the cars, machines, chainsaws, all those buzzing machines that we have these days?  Because why I am asking this question is, when I meditate, I used to meditate for long hours, like I used to do it for eight hours meditation - last year, I did eight hours every day.  And one thing that I noticed is that when some machines starts buzzing and our inner being starts to react to this machine in such a way that you get so much of, you know…I think you understood my question.  

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, it happens, definitely.  In the beginning times for some years until you obtain the total expertise that you are able to keep the mind concentrated, you would need a peaceful atmosphere wherever you are, if possible, you must adapt.  So that's why these monasteries are there, ashrams are there.  They are all meant so that you can take out some time in a month, whatever holidays are available, go to such places and try to sit in a peaceful environment.  This is recommended, otherwise it can be quite disturbing.  So nowadays, that's what we tell, when we were kids, we used to have less of these noises.  There were less vehicles and less of these machineries.  Now with the advancement of science and technology, everywhere there are these things; you need to adapt, you have to try to find out some place that is peaceful in the beginning so that your mind gets accustomed to such peace and tries to become quiet also.  Maybe after you obtain the expertise, then these sounds may not be that disturbing.  Though you will hear the sound, but the mind will not get disturbed and run away.  It will continue to remain in concentrated efforts.  That is always recommended, a sanctified place or a peaceful environment is recommended.  You have to find this.  

Same Questioner:   Babaji, I'm using this kind of stuff, you know, ear plugs. 

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes. 

Same Questioner:   It's okay, right? 

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, yes, that also is good, recommended.  If it is helping you not to get disturbed from the sound, you can always use that also.  Any such methods which is not harmful, it is always recommended.  You can use it.  

Same Questioner:   How important is getting initiation from a Guru?

Babaji Maharaj:   Finally, it's your own inspiration, ability to draw inspiration and continue - never feel confused.  Otherwise, generally it is recommended that if you can adopt some person as a Guru, whoever is appealing to you, your choice again, then you are in touch with that person, that person could be able to remove any confusions and keep inspiring you to keep going, keep going always.  So, this is why a Guru-disciple relationship is recommended.  However, if it is not possible, if you don't find it appealing, you can continue with your meditation and wherever you get guidance, you can always adopt such a place as like a Guru.  Guru means one who dispels the darkness of ignorance.  From anywhere that your ignorance gets guided and comes towards knowledge and your confusion is removed, that can be a Guru.  You don't have to adapt and bind yourself to one Guru.  

Question:   I had a follow-up question to the last time I asked You about the heat I was feeling, but could You speak to the purpose of heat that manifests in the body when You are meditating?  And I've often heard, "O, people say heat is very good,” and yet it can be very intense.  So, can You speak to the purpose of why that heat surfaces and how that affects the mind? 

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah.  More than the purpose, it happens because mind is made up of consciousness and energy.  When you are trying to gather the mind, concentrate, achieve the concentration, a concentrated mind is the pure consciousness, along with the movement of energy.  When the energy gathers, then certain heat can be generated within the body.  So, you keep drinking water sufficiently, that is all.  Don't have to bother more about the purpose.  That means one thing is that your mind is becoming more concentrated, more peace will descend, you will not get agitated very quickly.  That's what the signal is that your meditation is going well.  

Same Questioner:   Thank You Baba.

End of Questions and Answers

End of Session