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Thread: some thoughts on meditation...

  1. #11
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    Re: some thoughts on meditation...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    Now this is slightly different when it comes to sāmbhavopāya and śākopāya which we will take this up in the next post.
    Let's look to śākopāya as it is quite dear to me. It is an approach that engages awareness itself. There is no mantra that is engaged - it is ever-refreshed awareness ( the term used by svāmī lakman-jū). What does that infer ? No dullness or wandering, but refreshed awareness that is focused. Another word for focused is madhya or centered.But centered where ? Between any two things ( breath, thought, item); it is this gap where one may say awareness resides in itself.

    Some call this center ūrdhva mārga : ūrdhva = height, elevation, aloft + mārga = passage, a way, manner, method. When this is done with success ( some say with firmness, without wandering) one is deposited in mahāvyomni. This word mahāvyomni comes to us via the spanda kārikā-s. It is a beautiful word mahā + vyomni : mahā we know as 'great' + vyomni = vyoman = space, either (ākāśa) and is another name for viṣṇu; hence what is inferred is one comes to universal consciousness.

    Yet let's talk of the one that practices this , gets close, yet does not reach this upeya¹ via their upāya (technique or approach). The practitioner ( yogī) then experiences the sauṣupta¹ state. You see when this ever-refreshed awareness faulters, the yogī is deposted in a very restful, yet void level. This gap, this center where one's awareness is pointed can be said to be between wake and sleep. It is that place where turiya ( the 4th) resides. Yet if one's awareness slips, one is then deposited into sleep ( or for some dream also can occur). Yet the point is the awareness is in a very suble level; very refined. It is neither wake, dream or sleep.

    So what does one do ? Pick one's self up again and begin the practice anew. As this condition may occur during one's sādhana. We are grooming the nervious system ( my teacher called the village of the senses) to reside in this state. It is the home of Being, of perfect rest and silence, of samā¹.

    Yet why is it called śākopāya (shakti-upāya ?) Becasue it is the technique of śakti or energy , liveliness of awareness.


    praṇām

    words
    • upeya - to be striven after or aimed at , that which is aimed at
    • sauṣupta - deep sleep some would call void.
    • samā - always the same , constant , unchanged , fair , impartial, equal, balanced.
    यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  2. #12
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    Re: some thoughts on meditation...

    [QUOTE=yajvan;81023]hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté


    Let's look to śākopāya as it[FONT=Tahoma][FONT=Tahoma][SIZE=3] is quite dear to me.

    Pranam,

    I can't say like Yajvanji, that śākopāya is dear to me (since one gets into a path best suited for him/her as per his karmas), but it was something I was brought into by my lord and was initiated into Shaktipat Yoga. Needless to say as mentioned by Yajvanji, it is one of the fastest means of realization.
    When practiced sincerely the results can be achieved in a very short span of time, miracles become part of life so much so that sadhak is no longer interested in miracles (and should not be), the journey on the mortal plane continues till the prarabdha lasts.
    One remains in the state of awareness all through, the need for sitting in meditation no longer exists, as one is enveloped in a continuous state of meditation "with open eyes". A state highly desired by the advanced sadhaks, yet the sadhak may not be considered fully realized but then a very thin veil remains between him and the final state and with some serious efforts can be achieved easily.. and finally sadhak becomes Jivan-Mukta- a stage where one is left with nothing to achieve- attain.

    Lets hear more from Yajvanji.

    OM
    Jo sahaj hai, saral hai, wohi satya hai!

  3. #13

    Re: some thoughts on meditation...

    Namaste Ekoham,

    Thank you also for sharing of your knowledge and wisdom, I couldn't agree with you more; the words and insight of yavjan bring much reflection and cause for deeper understanding.

    Thank you!


    praNAma

    mana

  4. #14
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    Re: some thoughts on meditation...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté


    With all these practices offered in the above posts and before we get to a discussion on sāmbhavopāya, one must ask, where are we heading ?
    This is a worthy question. We are going in the direction of turīya ( the 4th) and then turyātīta ( lit. beyond the 4th). These words are for
    us ( the sakala&#185. Yet if we talk to the realized ones ( the jñānī-s) that know this realm personally, they may use the term mahāpracaya.

    This comes from the mālinīvijayottaratantra and it will tie-in turīya (sometimes spelled turya) to pracaya (a heap , mass) to mahāpracaya.
    It took some time to get the translation right to offer and I enlisted friends to help me with it, so I thought it worthy of sharing it with you.

    pracayaṁ rūpātītaṁ ca samyak turyamudāhṛtaṁ|
    Mahāpracayamicchanti turyātītaṁ vicakṣaṇāḥ ||38||

    Turya - the fourth state of consciousness - (turyam) is said to be (udāhṛtam) truly (samyák) pracaya - lit. the mass/heap - (pracayam) and (ca) rūpātītam -the state beyond rūpastha or deep sleep- (rūpá-atītam). The wise (vicakṣaṇāḥ) wish (to attain) (icchanti) mahāpracaya -lit. the great mass, the great fullness, totality - (mahāpracayam) (also known as) turyātīta - lit. beyond the fourth - (turya-atītam) ||38||

    So, all this talk, all these practices is for one to be guided to ( to unfold and become 'fit') to reside in the great fullness , mahāpracaya. Svāmī lakman-jū says this mahāpracaya is the unlimited and unexplainable Supreme totality.

    Out of all things my teacher mentioned of this level of Being, his words fullness, wholeness were always in his discussions.

    praṇām

    1. sakala - effected by the elements the material world ; (with śaiva-s it is applied to one which has limited advancement in terms of spiritual development).
    Last edited by yajvan; 01 April 2012 at 11:05 PM.
    यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  5. #15
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    Re: some thoughts on meditation...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    Now this sāmbhavopāya (sāmbhava upāya) ... this method is really no method at all. It is the direct (access) to nirvikalpa. And what is this ? Let's take a look but it will need some foundation to set the stage.

    Mind is involved in 'this' and 'that' (apohana śakti)
    Mind = manas = in its widest sense can be considered intellect , intelligence , understanding , perception , sense , conscience or the faculty or instrument through which thoughts exist. It is not unual to separate out the instrument of thought from intellect (buddhi), as well as memory , from the definition of the mind.

    Let me call attention to the notion of 'this' and 'that' as the arena where the mind is most attracted to. What do I mean? When we have thoughts ( and the ones we pay attention to) is of this notion:
    this place, this time, this moment, this house,car, place, family, job, friends, etc.
    that house, that idea, that old neibhoorhood, car, pants, shirt, shoes, etc.
    Its the notion of identifying this or that in the mind in time and space. But note what is absent ? The notion of 'now'. Now never ceases yet the mind gravatates to a condtion of past or future. Even if I say 'this moment' it becomes in a millisecond 'that moment' and is now in the past. This is where the mind lives... in 'this' and 'that'. It is conscousness that is fragmented into slices. Yet in Reality full consciousness ( citi meaning a heap, collection) is not fragmented.
    Yet when we experience it as human beings it takes on the nature of apohana śakti
    • apoha = to strip off , push away , to remove
    • na = the dental nasal sound found after certain consonants
    • śakti = we know as energy; some wish to know this by personalities - śrī devī as indrāṇī , vaiṣṇavī , brahmāṇī , kaumārī , nārasiṃhī , vārāhī , māheśvarī , cāmuṇḍā, caṇḍikā, etc.
    Hence this apohana śakti is the energy that 'strips off' or makes things appear as different between objects - or 'this' and 'that'. But strips off from what ? From the whole, from the one-ness. That is, the distinction between things e.g. 'this' and 'that', we perceive or experience. This distinction is done by śiva as part of the unfoldment in creation.

    During 'this ' and 'that' there is vikalpa or mental occupation, variety, thinking. Nothing new here, yet here is the idea I wish to offer. When there is a cognition of perception occuring of an object or event, there are two components: the object of attention, and that of which attention is made of - consciousness or awareness.
    Now some will say there are 3 things - the object or event, the faculty of experiencing the event ( the senses) and the experiencer ( this is called the seer).

    Every event has awareness involved for one to view, experience or sense what is occuring. When name and form are taken out of equation what is left ? Awareness itself. This awareness is there all the time yet for many it is passed up. Why so? Because the mind looks to get engaged again with another 'this' or 'that'.

    What I find interesting is the notion vikalpa. One on hand vikalpa is considered thinking, mental occupation. Yet on the other hand vikalpa is defined as an intermediate kalpa¹ , the interval between two kalpa-s. That is, between a measurement of time.

    Here is the point to consider. As the mind alights from one object and then begins to puruse another yet does not yet land on the other object ( or thought, or idea) there is this vikalpa period in between. Here there is no mind only awareness itself. Hence one can arrive at nirvikalpa.
    And what is that ? nirvikalpa निर्विकल्प = not wavering , free from change or differences , not admitting an alternative. The mind is no more for that period of time. It is a thought-free state of knowing.

    It's said in the īśvara pratyabhijañā kārakā-s That awareness is present even in an instant of perception. When the name and form are taken out from the experience what shines through is that of pure awareness ( some like to call pure consciousness) or prakāśa (light, splendor). In this condition we find nirvikalpa and this is associated with sāmbhava upāya.

    The beauty of sāmbhavopāya (sāmbhava upāya) is that it can come by the grace of the master, spontainiously, as the result of śaktipāta, perhaps even the grace of the Supreme. It is considered the effortless method where very little 'doing' is needed on the part of the aspirant. It is effortless. Yet if this upāya is not effective (possible) then the other upāya-s are then saught...
    • śākopāya (shakti-upāya )
    • āṇavopāya (āṇava upāya)
    & have been reviewed in the posts above.

    For the astute HDF reader, they will note I left this discussion of sāmbhavopāya (sāmbhava upāya) for last. Many may think , oh yes, one needs to pursue the other upāya-s before even considering this most high approach. That is not the case.
    If we look to the śiva sūtras, the 1st chapter in fact addresses sāmbhavopāya vs. the entry level upāya-s that are possible. Now why would this be ? We will address this in the next post.

    praṇām

    words

    kalpa = a period of time
    यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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