(From the Teachings of Swami Chidananda Saraswathi of Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh)
Introduction
To achieve the benefits of meditation, it is essential to cultivate a calm and focused mind. A disturbed, restless, turbulent, or wandering mind cannot successfully and fully engage in meditation. Meditation becomes unfeasible with a mind that is constantly troubled, cluttered with distractions, and engaged in activities that breed restlessness.
The teachings of Guru Maharaj Swami Chidananda Saraswathi offer guidance on preparing the mind, creating a suitable mental environment for effective meditation. Here are some of his most profound teachings.
Key Teachings of Swami Ji for Profound Meditation
Follow Sattwic diet. Sattvic diet, rooted in Hinduism and Ayurvedic principles, emphasizes foods that are considered pure, natural, and vital, promoting physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
Carefully avoid distracting activity that is avoidable and unnecessary to you, and keep a serene interior, unagitated by negative feelings, allowing things to be without being upset by the state of things outside yourself.
Do not allow yourself to be too much agitated by the world’s condition but take a philosophical attitude. The world does not owe you a certain standard of behavior. Take the attitude that I am not a schoolteacher and the world my classroom, it was there before I came. I may owe a certain type of behavior to the world, but the world owes me nothing. It will continue on after I go, so let me take it as it comes and let me live it without the desire to control and exert power over everything.
This does not mean becoming heartless and callous towards things which are brought to your notice, such as suffering in the world. It does not mean that you should not bother about it. It means not bothering yourself about things which you cannot change, about things with which you have no concern, but being positively concerned about things which come within the area of your own immediate obligations and duties; by doing the right thing by it and then forgetting it; by not being overly involved.
You must know how to do the right thing in a situation, yet be detached. Stand back and know “I have not done it. Ego has not done it. God has done it. He knows more and better how to deal with it than I. Who am I? A grain in the seashore of life.”
Thus, being fully aware that in the ultimate context it is God that is controlling the world, don’t allow yourself to become too upset and agitated by things. Carefully steer clear of negative attitudes about people and things, thus keeping the interior serenity as untouched as you
possibly can.
Keep out of your life avoidable distractions which are not necessary for you. Avoid the company of such people who make you restless, who make your mind agitated, who create disturbances in your mind. You should not keep such contact if you want to have serenity and peace, if you want to be able to meditate.
Thus, wisely use your commonsense which is given to you by God. As an intelligent human
individual, wisely and cautiously keep out of such associations, such company, such situations and
occupations which needlessly disturb and distract your mind.
Try to bring into your life factors that will help to stabilize your mind: dispassion, detachment, discrimination, philosophical attitude, the refusal to react violently to outer stimuli, contentment and satisfaction, control of desire, surrender to the will of God. Always hold onto a certain background of thought in the midst of distracting things.
While Hinduism acknowledges the importance of material success and wealth, it also advises moderation. Control of desire here pertains to not being overly attached to material possessions and understanding the transient nature of worldly success.
Swami Chidananda has stated that the practice of Japa, or the repetition of sacred mantras, is also an effective way in eliminating all negative thoughts from the mind, thereby preparing it for meditation.
Employing all these methods will gradually build up an interior that is suitable and fit and
capable of entering into a meditative state. It is only with a fit instrument that you can do a very
specialized procedure. You cannot pare your nails with a blunt pair of scissors; you cannot shave
yourself with a blade that has rusted. If that is so in an ordinary procedure, how can you hope to
meditate with a mind that is always upset, full of distraction, and involved in things which cause
restlessness.
At every step one has to be cautious. At every step one has to use commonsense. At every step one has to draw from one’s own previous experience. You have lived in the world long enough. You know what situations upset your mind, what brings in disturbances and confusion. You have learned enough and experienced enough, so you are expected to keep out of situations which are likely to lead you again into an undesirable state of mind.
That is why God gives you experiences. You are expected to remember them, make use of them, and become wise, and not once again get into the same net by which you have been caught
hundreds of times. Then whatever method of meditation you employ will be effective and
progressive.
Apply the lessons you have learned from previous experiences because your mind is yours. You are the only person who can manage your mind. The physician cannot take the medicine to cure the patient; he can only prescribe it for him. I am prescribing now, but the medicine will have to be taken by the meditator because the mind belongs to the meditator and the life of the meditator also belongs to the meditator.
The outer life and the mind of the meditator are closely connected because of the simple fact
that your outer life is also lived with the same mind. You have to think and get involved in
situations with the same mind. You have to relate to other people with the same mind. And with that same mind you are supposed to do Yoga and meditate and attain Samadhi. So you don’t have
two separate minds; one for functioning in this world to be put aside when you go into the
meditation room.
Therefore: the need for being wise, for using commonsense, for always remembering past
experiences and applying them to present situations so that the mind is not in any way
disturbed and rendered unsuitable for prayer and meditation. If you are always cautious and live in
the light of past experience and wisely avoid pitfalls and do not create situations likely to upset
and disturb your mind, then your interior will keep its spiritual state to carry on undisturbed prayer, contemplation and meditation.
Within this frame of classical religion, meditation always means an attempt to meditate upon God, upon the ultimate Reality. But this technique can be used for various things. If you want to get rid of a very bad temper, you can meditate on peace, on Lord Jesus, on Buddha, on Mahatma Gandhi, all of whom were devoid of anger. You can meditate upon the disadvantages of anger, and meditate upon one of these glorious beings who were the very embodiment of angerlessness, passionlessness. Then meditate upon yourself as already in possession of this anger less state, fully and completely free of anger and full of joy. Meditate upon yourself as already in the state of perfection.
This is also a method of meditation that can be used in order to overcome a specific negative quality, and to grow into a spiritual quality. It can be used to overcome fear, as we are always full of fear. Meditate upon fearlessness, the advantages of being fearless, the disadvantages of being timid and full of fear. Then meditate upon some fearless being, like Joan of Arc, or any other fearless person. Meditate upon yourself as already possessed of absolute courage. In this way meditative techniques can be used at different levels. If you want to master a subject, you can meditate upon that subject.
Swami Chidananda advises that if you seek mastery in a subject, meditating on it is an effective approach. Swami Ji’s statement emphasizes the use of meditation as a tool for deepening understanding and achieving mastery in a particular subject. This approach involves focusing the mind solely on the subject matter during meditation. By doing so, one can gain deeper insights, foster a clearer understanding, and develop a more profound connection with the topic.
Meditation, in this context, acts as a means of intense concentration and contemplation. It allows for the quieting of external distractions and internal chatter, creating a mental space where the subject can be contemplated in isolation. This focused state of mind can lead to a better grasp of complex concepts, enhanced memory retention, and a greater ability to connect different ideas within the subject.
Moreover, this practice isn’t just about intellectual understanding; it’s also about developing an intuitive grasp and a more personal relationship with the subject matter. By regularly meditating on a subject, one might find that they start to internalize the knowledge, making it a part of their natural thought process, which is a key aspect of mastery.
Conclusion
In conclusion, “The Meditative Mind: Cultivating a Conducive Mental Environment for Meditation Mastery” emphasizes the importance of creating a mental environment conducive to effective meditation. Key teachings of Swami Chidananda Saraswathi highlight the need for a calm and focused mind, achievable through practices like following a Sattvic diet, avoiding unnecessary distractions and mental disturbances, maintaining a philosophical attitude towards life, and practicing detachment and dispassion. The article also stresses the significance of learning from past experiences, managing desires, and using meditation as a tool for personal growth and mastery of specific subjects. By applying these principles, one can develop a mind not just capable of deep meditation, leading to spiritual well-being but also mastery over one’s thoughts and emotions, and mastery of specific subjects.
