There is a Indian tradition that promotes a technique, in which one gets quiet and then ask “WHO AM I?”. For those who are not that far along in their spiritual growth, the apparent realization may be of a person who is fragmented, dysfunctional, etc., which is not the result intended. On the other hand someone very advanced might ask this question and the realization might be that they are the self (atman), which is the result intended.
There is a great Indian saint who said we should not meditate but just see and know that everything before us and within us is god. I am sure that for him this is the reality. But how many of us can have that experience and can we grow by inflating our belief systems?
For the techniques that are put forth in this instruction there are some very important questions:
- “WHERE AM I”?
- “FROM WHERE DOES THIS ARISE"? (the thing focused on one example
would be joy)
- "WHAT IS ITS SOURCE”?
When we advance, our ability to 'see' in meditation, then can we have glimpses of these mysteries. It can be said that technique is the vehicle that gets us from here to there.
Will
Will is truly one of the greatest mysteries in the human make up, there are religions and spiritual organizations whose very foundations are based on right use of will (prayer, fasting and surrender, etc.)... The general spectrum of human will is willful action control to surrender... acceptance.
Here watching and becoming familiar with the will are very important. It is true that many levels of activity can be happening at the same time while we meditate, and each can have different degrees and types of will applied. An example is... applying a number of different techniques in our meditation process and in the end, give up, stop doing, relax completely, surrender and open ourselves to divine truth.
It is said that if we can sense and see from where our will arises, then we have entered the sacred domain of the inner self.
Mantra
Mantra (sacred words with power) is an Indian word (Sanskrit). It is said to be an objective language constructed by the ancient sages (rishis) who were the great yogis that created the sacred science of the soul, yoga, and the very foundation of the 'Sanatana Dharma', that includes Indian spirituality, Hinduism, Buddhism...
Generally you could say that mantra means repetition of sacred words. These Sanskrit words have divine connotations. Many mantras are simply making salutations to the divine reality, others are more geared towards developing certain aspects of our being. (To know more about Mantras, click here)
There are a number of techniques, with a variety of desired results. One, said to be a siddha technique, is to start saying, singing or chanting the mantra slow and as time passes one speeds up the tempo faster and faster then stops, which hopefully creates a sensation that propels us to the next level - a deeper state of meditation. This is a classic example of the unleashing of a personal form of grace (energy) that helps us evolve spiritually. In Indian terms, this would be called 'Shakti' or 'Kundalini'. It is said that this energy is always present, but the reality of 'sadhana' applied hopefully will bring us this energy in a rarified form. As we go forward, hopefully, a love for sadhana and the experience of divine truth will arise. At this point we have just progressed to a new level. When we chant with love and devotion and hear this in our own voice, then can we be put into a deep and sweet state of meditation.
Another technique is called 'Japa'. With this a new dimension is addressed, that of discipline. Sometimes the results we are striving for are in the realm of difficult accomplishments. An example would be to repeat the Mantra - HARI OM TATSAT JAI GURU DATTA - 10,000 times. The general tools here would be a rosary of Mala (meditation beads, necklace, numbering 108). One would simply start with the first bead of the mala then chant the mantra on each of the 108 beads till we come to the last bead, then this process would be repeated approximately 93 times, which is a number over 10,000.
