How Meditation Works | Thus Spake Babaji No.70

What is meditation? How does this practice give us the awareness of our true nature?  Babaji explains in detail how meditation works.

Thus Spake Babaji - online Q&A, No. 70 -  A themed Q&A recorded on 21 November 2021, with US participants.

0:00 Introduction
0:06 What is meditation?
0:53 What is the attention?
1:43 What is unique about Jangama Dhyana that Babaji teaches?
3:40 What are the obstacles to meditation?
5:17 The mind hindering the ability to become quiet
7:29 What watching in meditation means
9:15 The instruction to focus the mind and sight in between eyebrows
10:24 How to develop the ability to sit for longer periods 
13:47 How to focus the attention
15:29 How much effort should we put in to focus the attention?
17:55 The uncaused peace that your are
19:55 Can we have quietness when in activity?
22:12 Is it mind watching the mind or consciousness watching the consciousness?
24:07 How should we feel when we experience the gaps between thoughts?
25:07 The awareness of non-duality
26:56 In meditation is the consciousness watching the mind or the mind watching the consciousness?
27:57 Is meditation the process of giving up all imaginations until consciousness alone remains?
31:01 How one single Self can exist
35:03 Can Nirvikalpa Samadhi be reached outside the human body?

Join the live online meditation classes with Babaji at: https://www.shivarudrabalayogi.org/en/online-satsang 

___

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

Register your free place for the live online meditation and Q&A with Babaji: https://www.shivarudrabalayogi.org/en/online-satsang

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

Transcript

Discourse: Thus Spake Babaji - online Q and A No. 70
 How Meditation Works
You tube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEH2nKiNaDQ
Recorded: 21 November 2021

Start of Questions and Answers

Question:   First question Baba, what is meditation?

Babaji Maharaj:   Here meditation means ‘your attention to’.   Like, just now, your attention is totally preoccupied with its own imaginations; the mind’s attention is preoccupied with its own imagination.   Thus, it is unable to pay attention to itself.   That is the Self.  So that's why it is unaware of what the Self is, what we are in other words.  So that's why meditation is recommended that you start paying attention to yourself; once you pay attention to yourself the secret is revealed.  So that's what is meditation.

Question:   And so what is the attention?  Is the attention actually the mind?

Babaji Maharaj:   Mind paying attention to itself.  That's when it would realize it's pure consciousness and not the mind actually.

Question:   It seems like the attention is kind of like the headlights on a car.  You know, when you're that night…

Babaji Maharaj:   Generally, people start thinking attention means me paying attention to something else.  Here, it is not.  Me paying attention to me.  I pay attention to myself.  So that's how the mind paying attention to the mind; the mind turning its attention to itself.

Question:   And so what is unique about the jangama dhyana meditation that You teach?

Babaji Maharaj:   Uniqueness, I would say, first thing, when the mind becomes quiet.  Here you are trying to make the mind quiet on its own without any external anchor - no other objects held.  Thus, when it becomes quiet on its own, easily, it's going introvert and its attention goes to itself.  It is not on any object or any mantra, any sound or any sight.  Like the very idea of giving the technique ‘just watch’ also, you are asked to watch with the eyes in between eyebrows, but mind is not given any object matter to watch, or any mantra or any sound or any sight is not given.  So thus when it becomes quiet, automatically is goes to itself; it is able to watch itself.  So that is the uniqueness here.  Otherwise, say if you are given a mantra or if you are asked to watch the breath, or any such thing, then the mind may become concentrated there in due course of time, then afterwards you have to abandon that also.  If you're chanting a mantra, you might become concentrated on the mantra.  Only when the mantra is audible or visible, you feel that mantra, but then you have to give up the mantra to know yourself.  Otherwise your attention is always on the mantra or on the breath only, which is not you.  So that is the uniqueness.  That's why I jokingly I have told many times, “Like getting recruited as an officer directly.  You don't have to become a clerk and then get promoted.”

Question:   So what are the obstacles to an unwavering mind?  What are the obstacles to meditation?

Babaji Maharaj:   First thing, inability to understand that there is a need to know ourselves or where the peace comes from.  And then inability to dedicate or remained disciplined and have patience.  These are all the basic obstacles.  So then, the body’s constant moving - if it's unable to be steadily in one position, that is one major obstacle.  Then the eyeballs moving constantly.  It's unable to remain in one position is another major obstacle.  Irregular breathing also is an obstacle.  Then, mind itself is an obstacle.  Mind has acquired such habits - continuously it is like a chatterbox.  So, that has become obstacle means you have become an obstacle to know yourself.  That's what the mind is an obstacle means.  You have acquired such habits; always you are visualizing or thinking, visualizing or thinking, so you are unable to know yourself, you haven't been able to pay attention to yourself.  So you are the basic problem, finally.

Question:   Baba seems like the mind tries to help out in meditation and only complicates things because essentially meditation is non doing, it's just watching.  And you can get into trying to, [Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah],  make some effort, and it hinders you becoming quiet.

Babaji Maharaj:   Here, you see, to do nothing also, you have to do something.  Because mind is doing something, it is not keeping quiet.  To make it quiet, you have to stop that mind thinking or visualizing anything.  That's what is watching.  So that's why in the eyes, you have to watch.  In the beginning as I told, as you go on watching, slowly when the mind becomes quiet, your eyes might be watching, but your mind goes introvert to itself and it won't watch anything other than itself.  Then the eyes watching also disappears in the mind.  Just like you see, when you are watching me and I'm talking to you from this body, through this body in fact, then if your mind watches something else, it pays attention to something else in the world, it runs.  Then you are watching through the eyes, and you are not watching me at all,  what I am saying.  So, in the same way, that's what needs to be achieved here.  Whereas while listening to the Master’s teachings, it is an obstacle that the mind is unable to watch what the Master is teaching,  here it is not an obstacle.  The mind stops watching actually the front portion, and then starts watching itself when it becomes quiet.  When you are simply watching through the eyes and mind, then eventually mind gives up thinking or visualizing any effects, then it becomes silent.  Then there is nothing for it to watch, then it becomes aware of itself.  That's what is known as “you watch yourself”.

Question:   Baba You emphasize watching in the instruction, but there's another part of instruction that You don't talk about that much.  But I think it's pretty important and that's the part about not thinking and not engaging in thoughts because thoughts do come – in meditation  there’re always thoughts coming and going.  So, you can watch but often people get involved in the thoughts instead of having that thing. You say don't even ignore them, don't even recognize them, but don't get involved in any thinking, just keep watching.

Babaji Maharaj:   So when they ask repeated questions, when they are unable to understand what the watching means, I have tried to elaborately clarify.  Watching means you don't think.  The mind has two aspects, I have always clarified.  One is the thinking, another is watching.  If you just watch through the mind, then you cannot think at all.  That's what happens. You have to listen to me first.  If I ask you to watch, you have to watch; that is your job.  So you keep thinking because you are unable to watch. If you watch, your thinking habit will stop automatically.  So for that you watch the thoughts and visions also here - that repeatedly we tell.  When you watch, means you are not getting involved.  That's what.  In another sentence or word, we have to tell if necessary “Don't get involved with the thoughts or visions. Just watch them.  You don't bother about it.”  So that's what is necessary.  Either of the two if one understands, the other will automatically happen.

Question:   So Baba essentially the instruction is to focus the attention between the eyebrows and don't think?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, yeah.  So we also tell in instructions the four lines you see, 

·       Just focus the attention of mind and sight;

·       And just keep watching there.

·       Do not repeat anything.

·       And do not imagine anything;

 means don't think anything.  Imagining, thinking, both are same actually.

Question:   The focus of the mind and sight, though, seems like the mind can kind of get involved with that, you know.  Like I got to focus my mind and my sight - When really you just have to focus your attention and stop thinking?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, if you focus your attention, you will stop thinking, in fact.  That's because attention gets focused only when you really stop thinking.  You cannot do both the things; either you are thinking or you are focusing the attention.

Question:   Right. Baba, I have several friends that try to meditate, and they really struggle with it because their minds are so busy, you know, they can't quieten their mind down.  I tell them, it's kind of like, you've been running and you stop running -okay you're resting, but it takes a while for the heartbeat and the breath to slow down even though you're not working. So, I think, perhaps, tell me what You think, that it takes often 40, 45 minutes, even 50 minutes for the mind to really kind of come back and settle down.  And a lot of people that are meditating just a short time, 20 minutes or something, they never get to that point where they get the “Aha, you know, it's settling and becoming quiet.”

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, by the time you warm up, you start thinking it's over.

Question:   Yes, right, right.  And usually, as soon as that happens, and it gets better, but then then you come out of meditation. Like I have a couple friends, I really would like them to meditate regularly.  I think they really need to, their minds are just spinning crazy, but they can't sit for 45 minutes or an hour.  You know, you'd have to put a seatbelt on them to hold them in the chair.

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, that's why sometimes we have tried to explain for advanced people - when you are able to sit for one hour, when you achieve total quietness, total focusing attention, focused attention for one hour - that is when the actual meditation starts.  So, that's what you need to achieve.  So for this it’s why we repeatedly teach dedication, discipline, and patience is necessary.  So, have a relax, steady, keep the body quiet, then gently close your eyes and feel yourself.  I have started talking in this language so that it might have some effect on the people.  If they are excited or they are nervous or something, something, something, something happening, blah, blah, blah, so that they can keep quiet.  Forget the outside world.  It doesn't exist at all, maya.  So, then you watch, then you watch. So listen to these instructions.  That's why repeatedly Swamiji told “Every day I instruct them.  If only they understand and realize and take it as a command from the commander.  Not simply as a friend.  Don't be casual.  Don't take me lightly.  I am the commander.  So, I can punish you if you don't focus.”  Then they start focusing.  So that is what happens.  Seriousness has to be there.

Question:   Yeah, that sincerity in the command.  I've used that sometimes when my mind is busy and it does help.  I just imagined that You telling me to sit down and shut up.

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, imagining Babaji is in front of you as shouting, “Come on.  Let's sit down.  Close the eyes.  Just watch in between eyebrows.  Nothing else.” Like that, imagine.

Question:   Baba, so there's a couple practical things I think people struggle with the meditation and two things - one is exactly where to focus the attention or how to focus it and the other is how much effort to put into it.

Babaji Maharaj:   See, first, generally it is told just in between eyebrows, here if you're all able to see me.  So, this is the place in between eyebrows.  That's what is said.  But this also it takes time.  Some points are there.  Eyeballs move parallelly.  It doesn't come in to one direction easily.  For that, steadily you have to watch.  So, then we advise at least watch the front portion.  Don't bother about the point for now, immediately.  Then as you steadily keep watching, slowly it starts coming towards one direction, both eyeballs easily.  Then when it comes then you are able to hold on to your mind also there.  So, that's how you have to practice slowly step by step.  So, I have answered like this, many times I have told, “Just watch the front portion without bothering which point whether you are able to be focusing on to the point of in between eyebrows, no problem, you just watch the front also.  But just don't bother what you are watching.”  You watch, but don't bother what you are watching.  I repeat, you watch, but don't bother what you are watching.

Question:   Thank you Baba, and how much effort?  Once You said, “You be gentle like with a friend, but you can be firm with your friends.”   So, sometimes your mind willingly and quickly goes right to focusing.  And sometimes it's a little busy and little resistant.  So I find that maybe at that time, I might have to actually put a little bit of effort in, initially.  But you can't sustain that because you'll get a headache or we get frustrated.  But just initially to kind of get the meditation started.  What do You recommend?

Babaji Maharaj:   There will not be any headache if you gently try to focus.  So that dedication, disciplined approach is very necessary.  While doing all this, you don't have to be rude to yourself.  You can be gentle, you can be polite, but you have to be firm, that's what - you don't give up.  You are smiling, but you don't give up.  So that's important.  So that's what is needed.  So, I always tell - this is my policy, be gentle to yourself.  if you go into rudeness, then again you lose that focus; you get disturbed again, you are restless and you are trying to hit yourself and you lose that focus, and you become frustrated soon.  Because mind is very infinite, so slippery; you cannot catch with any other object.  The mind itself has to become quiet.  So, for this mind has to realize, “I am the culprit.  I am doing something wrong.  I am thinking.  I need to stop thinking.  I need to become quiet.  I need to watch.” Then it watches.   That firmness is necessary.  “I need to watch; I might die the next moment!  Before that I need to watch.”  Remind yourself of the death.  But don't get scared, afraid. It might happen, then you will be forced to watch; that is important.  When you are in danger only, when you realize that you are in danger, you put all your efforts and courage, everything to save yourself. Like this.

Question:   Baba, people are generally seeking peace and happiness in experiences.  But all experience is in the realm of the mind, which is a realm of change and boundaries.  The idea of this kind of uncaused peace and joy of the Self is foreign to people, but it's really at the heart of spirituality really, that you yourself are peace and joy and love.  But you can't experience it with the mind; you can be that but you can't know that because knowledge has got to be something separate.  There’s got to be a knower and knowledge.  Can You talk a little bit about this uncaused peace, love?

Babaji Maharaj:   You see, always you need to realize, when you focus on an object means automatically either it gets focused, then it enjoys peace.  Whenever the mind stops even for a fraction of a moment, then it enjoys.  Like when we achieve something in the world, we own an object, aah, then we are so happy. In that happiness, the mind stops there for a moment unknown to us.  Only then we derive that happiness.  So if we understand this technique, whenever the mind stops, automatically we are at peace.  When we have peace, we are happy.  When we are happy, we are enjoying actually; we won't need anything else.  This is what we need to realize whenever we become quiet.  So, this realization has to occur, “It is me who is not at peace.  If I become peaceful, I have peace.  It's me who is not at peace.  And because I am not able to remain peaceful, I am a chatterbox.  So if I become peaceful, I have peace.”  So, everything is in that ‘I’, that mind, that consciousness.  If it becomes consciousness, if it becomes quiet, it has peace without needing anything else.  So this can be achieved without any object matter.  So, then, when the object matter - if it is there it's good, if it is not there also it is good - because we don't depend for our happiness on that object, on this world.  Let this world will be there, no problem - we can be in the world also.  But we need not depend on this world only for our happiness.  At all times, we must be happy.  That happens when we are quiet, when we are at peace.

Question:   And we can have that quietness while we're in activity?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, the mind can remain quiet and the bodily we are active, mechanically it can work.  A little bit of consciousness can apply the brains and live in this world then it can remain at peace.  Just like a well-skilled experienced driver is so comfortable driving; he is neither excited, nor worried nor troubled or anything; just applies the brake, applies the accelerator, any gas needed and driving holding the steering and is comfortably watching.  He is talking also as necessary.  He is concentrated there, means his mind is not panicked.  It's not disturbed.  Then he is able to drive.  In the same way we can live in this world remaining at peace.  Even we can argue with people, we can be at peace inside.  That's why we have told, when a yogi is talking a lot, inside he is the ever silent one, that's why he is at peace. Ramana Maharishi tells, “When He is walking His steps are not on the earth.  It's like measuring the sky by sky.”  That example He has told because the consciousness is quiet and at peace. Nothing is missed.

Question:   Pranam Babaji.  So, one question You in detail talked about the mind watching the mind.  That question I already had; is it the consciousness watching the mind or mind watching the mind? You clarified that it's the mind watching the mind.  Correct?  And at what point can we access the consciousness?  Because sometimes I feel like I do have thoughts.  Sometimes there are gaps between the thoughts like I don't feel any thoughts at all, it just kind of quiet, still actually.  But then during the periods of stillness, I don't feel anything different.  I just feel still, but then I'm not seeing that it's going into, penetrating into a layer of consciousness at that point.  Should it wait for a long gap, or how does it work?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, it has to wait for a longer gap, that's when all the thoughts and visions disappear slowly, then that gap increases.  So, first important need to understand - mind and consciousness are the same.  It is not different objects or different entities, it is the same.  When the thoughts are there, the same thing comes to be known as mind.  When thoughts all disappear, the same thing comes to be known as consciousness.  This word also is used for sake of understanding.  Finally, it is ‘that’, so like that.  So, consciousness, mind are not different - at different stages.  So when you are with your child, you are the child's father. When you are with your wife, you are the husband.  Like that it is the same person, but he becomes husband also, he becomes a father also.  The same way when it is thinking it is mind.  When it is not thinking, it is pure consciousness.

Question:   Okay, so when we have those gaps in thought, will I feel something different in my body?  Or will I feel something different in my mind, or how will the peace penetrate it? I want to see like how I can…

Babaji Maharaj:   Slowly, you become unconscious of the body.  And simply you go back to the awareness of yourself.  You are quiet, but you are aware of your existence.  You are quiet, you are there, your existence is there.  And you have peace; automatically you will experience the peace.  Peace is what the experience is actually.  That's how you will know you are there.  When it is there for long time, slowly at all times it starts remaining at peace, then the gap has increased, your awareness is there, you are in yourself.

Question:   Right.  And the other thing - some of the things I've been learning about like the non-dual consciousness where you just feel as one with the universe, one with the existence with the nature, and then you don't see the subject-object kind of duality.  Let's say I'm seeing the screen, you don't see it that way, you feel somewhere… you’ll see the world itself differently once you are going into that, but of course, that's at a much higher level.  First you need to feel the consciousness awareness and then you have to go to the non-duality.  How does that work?  That is much deeper stage of things where it collapses, subject-object?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, when you achieve samadhi, the deeper state only such an experience comes.  For a clue I will use the simple nearest imagined language.  Suppose you become aware that you are the space, you become.  And then you experience the entire universe is within you.  That type of thing, that's what. And you realize you are not the universe; the universe is imagined within yourself.  And then slowly when you go into nirvikalpa samadhi, that is the non-duality; the entire universe, everything disappears.  And you are there as the single Self, one single Self.  So that's how the experience happens.  But that has to be experienced.  You should not give rise to other imaginations by listening to my language.  I'm trying to use the nearest imagination to make you understand what it is like.

Question:   Right because language cannot tell what it is.  It has to be because language…

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, it is beyond imagination.

Same questioner:  Right.  Thank You, Babaji.

Question:   Hi Baba, namaste.  So, when Baba says the mind and consciousness are actually the same, during meditation, when we're watching, is it the mind watching the consciousness or the consciousness watching the mind? Which is the dominant experience?

Babaji Maharaj:   When it becomes quiet totally, it is consciousness watching the consciousness.  When it is thinking, thinking, thinking, it is the mind which is trying to watch itself.  Heard me properly, I hope?   When the mind stops thinking totally, then it is known as pure consciousness. Then we can tell, consciousness is watching consciousness means it is watching itself.  As long as it is thinking, mind is trying to watch the mind.

Question:   So in the beginning, the imagined ego is watching all the brain’s reflections and imaginations to get kicked up with the instruction of not making any judgment, not analyzing, not making any discrimination, and that's the path towards quieting the mind so that it can become aware of its own source of consciousness, pure consciousness itself.  So meditation is a process through which we purify our mind and give up all the imaginations through practice until consciousness alone remains?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes.  There's no more mind, means there are no more thoughts or visions, no more imaginations.  That's what is important.  As long as it is imagining, it is the mind.  When it stops imagining, so it is pure consciousness.  That's how meditation means you are trying to watch yourself, ultimately.

Question:   So, how can consciousness watch consciousness?  That seems like a duality; it seems like the watching completely disappears and only consciousness remains.

Babaji Maharaj:   No, here it watches in non-duality.  It watches itself means not through the eyes, not becoming a second entity and it watches. It becomes aware - the language changes.  Now from the watching, now it becomes aware.  So, when it becomes quiet means, it is watching means, then we come to the next sentence that you become aware of yourself.  Thus, you try and abide in yourself.

Same questioner:  Thank You Babaji.

Question:   So, Baba to clarify that, basically, as long as the mind is there watching, there's an individual there.  And once the mind becomes completely quiet, individual is no longer there.  So, isn't it just pure awareness then? It's awareness of existence, but there's no second, there's no person or being that's knowing the other being.  It knows itself by itself through itself.

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah.  So nobody is watching nobody means you are not watching anybody else.  You are becoming aware of your real Self slowly, awareness is there purely. You are not conscious of the body anymore as yourself.  So, you are unconscious, you are not conscious of the body, you are aware of yourself.  Aware, we have come to use this word, by understanding that English world and the culture, that awareness means minus any thoughts or visions.  That is the awareness.

Question:   Hi Baba, thank You so much for being here.  So, my understanding is that when enlightenment or nirvikalpa samadhi is reached, the world or the universe sort of, I guess, ceases to exist, because all imagination stops.   Yet there's also sort of a description of God as omniscient, omnipresent.  So how can both of those be true or is it just omniscient of itself or omnipresent of itself?  How is that that?  How do I reconcile that?

Babaji Maharaj:   You see because different teachers or ancient teachers, sometimes depending on the culture that prevails or the language they have tried to use, like all pervadedness, omnipresent, or the omnipotent, this type of word, they are all quite common in scriptures.  So then, some other sages have tried to explain - like Ramana Maharishi has told, “One single Self exists.”  That means there is no second thing existing there.  So, like that.  So that's why we have tried to use ‘awareness’, only awareness, and we have not tried to explain that truth as all pervaded.  At the most I would have spoken as “It is all simply pervaded only,” and not omnipresent, omnipotent words I have not used, because then first you use God and then you allow the participants to imagine God as a personality and then tell God is omnipotent present, then that could be confusing how a single body can be present everywhere.  So that type of languages has been used in Indian languages also.  So God, God is there and He is in every.. what you call that particle, every particle of the world like that, so that could be bit confusing for people.  So, when it has to be simply omnipresent, all pervaded means it cannot be a human type of personality, it has to be a space type of existence, just for sake of understanding again I am telling.  Because only the space is omnipresent, all pervaded, everywhere it is there, wherever you go.  You take the earth and remove the earth from its place, the space is there, and you go on traveling, the space is there, galaxies after galaxies, and space, galaxies, space, galaxies, space is all pervaded.  So like that only that Divine can be existing.  That's why in other words, for sake of better understanding we use Supreme Consciousness. As we are discussing the conscious means, a pure existence, where there is not an iota of vikalpa or imagination.  Nothing is there, not even a dot, no other thing.  It is simply pure, space-like existence.  So, if you want to imagine what Divinity is.  That is what all pervaded means.  So, if our human mind,when it becomes quiet, if it is recognized as consciousness, the Supreme Consciousness - if this consciousness is a droplet, the Supreme Existence of that which is all pervaded for us, as if we see as a human being sticking to this earth, the space that is all pervaded we can understand.  If you become that all pervadedness, then that all pervadedness also loses its significance.  Just like when you see a tiger, it could be so exciting or threatening or terrorizing, something.  You become a tiger itself, you lose that excitement.  You are no more tiger.

Question:   Thank You.  Yeah, and I also just wanted to ask too - for nirvikalpa samadhi to be reached, that has to be reached through tapas, is that correct, or can it be reached outside of the human body?

Babaji Maharaj:   Outside? No, when you are in the human body only it can be achieved, achieved, reach means.  So, total quietness of the consciousness, mind has to become totally quiet once for all.  It must give up all its habits of visualizing or imagining any thought, everything; it must be totally silent.  That needs to be achieved, then only you can experience that.  Because before achieving this quietness, if that consciousness or the mind escapes the body due to the death of the body, then it would be holding the acquired habits, based on that it will assume another body.  It will take another body, another world it will imagine, it will imagine another life.  It gets involved into mind boggling dramas.

Same questioner: Thank You Baba.  Appreciate it.

End of Questions and Answers

End of Session