After marathon election campaigning for over two months, Prime Minister Modi remained in the news for spending forty-five hours at the Swami Vivekananda Rock Memorial, meditating in silence. This coincided with blogs in the ‘Speaking Tree’ of Times of India on attaining eternal bliss by revered spiritual master Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev and James Anderson on the mantra as a tool for transformation. These events prompted me to delve deeper into this subject.
Let’s explore both transformative approaches: the guidance of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev on sustaining wonderful feelings and James Anderson’s advice on continuous mantra recitation.
Sadhguru’s 24-Minute Bliss Practice: Sustaining Wonderful Feelings
Guidance: Sadhguru emphasizes the profound impact of sustaining positive feelings. By maintaining a wonderful feeling for at least 24 minutes, we can sweep through our energy body and experience a state of bliss. This practice involves consciously choosing to dwell on positive emotions and nurturing them consistently.
Way to Practice:
- Find a Quiet Space: Choose a peaceful environment where you won’t be disturbed.
- Focus on Positive Emotions: Think of something that brings you joy, love, or gratitude. It could be a memory, a person, or even a beautiful aspect of nature.
- Sustain the Feeling: Immerse yourself in this positive emotion for a full 24 minutes. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the positive feeling.
- Observe the Effects: Notice how this practice impacts your mood and energy levels. Over time, this can lead to a profound sense of inner peace and happiness.
James Anderson’s Continuous Mantra Practice: Transformative Living Through Mantra
Guidance: James Anderson advocates for the continuous internal recitation of a mantra throughout the day. This practice, he suggests, can lead to a transformative way of living. A mantra is a sacred word or phrase repeated during meditation to aid concentration and spiritual growth.
Way to Practice:
- Choose Your Mantra: Select a mantra that resonates with you. It could be a traditional mantra like “Om” or a personal affirmation such as “I am at peace.”
- Integrate into Daily Life: Begin by repeating your mantra during meditation sessions. Gradually, start reciting it internally throughout the day, during mundane activities like walking, washing dishes, or commuting.
- Consistency is Key: The continuous repetition helps to anchor your mind and transform your mental and emotional state.
- Experience the Shift: Over time, this practice can bring a sense of calm, focus, and spiritual alignment, transforming the way you interact with the world.
The Mathematics of Spiritual Transformation
Objective: Sync the amplitude of our inner energy with that of the divine to feel vibrations and resonate with the infinite energy of Brahman, leading to a permanent state of bliss.
Log Transform Analogy: Just as a logarithmic transformation can simplify multiplication and division into addition and subtraction, spiritual practices like Sadhguru’s and Anderson’s simplify the complexities of our mental and emotional lives. They help us move from a state of mental turbulence to one of serene clarity.
Applying the Transform: By integrating these practices, we transform our internal landscape. Sustaining wonderful feelings and continuous mantra recitation become the logarithms that simplify the multiplication of stress and division of attention into the addition of peace and subtraction of anxiety.
The Bhagavad Gita on Different Yogas
The Gurus of all Gurus, Bhagawan Krishna, also known as the Yogeshwar has described four paths to attain a state of Bliss viz. Karm Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Dhyan Yoga. To deepen our understanding, let’s explore relevant verses from the Bhagavad Gita that highlight different paths (Yogas) to attaining bliss.
Karma Yoga (Path of Selfless Action): Chapter 3, Verse 19:
तस्मात्सर्वेषु कालेषु मामनुस्मर युध्य च |
मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्मामेवैष्यस्यसंशयम् ||
Translation: Therefore, always perform your duty efficiently and without attachment to the results, for by doing work without attachment, one attains the Supreme.
Interpretation: This verse teaches us to focus on our actions without attachment to the outcomes. Engaging in practices like sustaining positive feelings and mantra recitation with dedication, without being overly concerned about immediate results, aligns with this principle. This implies that even if one can remain unattached to the outcome after putting in a sincere effort, with full application of mind and action-one can attain a State of Bliss.
Applying it on myself, I don’t claim that I am one hundred percent immune to the outcome of my action or I am completely unattached. Yet, I have attempted over the years to mellow down the feelings of ego or jealousy while doing my work sincerely. It doesn’t however mean that after not attaining the desired results, I don’t analyse them, learn from it and try to do it better the next time. Yet the feelings of success or failure can not pin me down for ever. But it took me more than 65 years of life to learn it ! Yet, as I see my seniors and contemporaries in constant state of tension for nothing. For example in one of my earlier blogs, I have described the plight of those ensnared in the ‘Infinite Do Loop’ of accumulation, sacrificing their health and happiness in pursuit of material wealth, even after overdoing their duties towards their children.
Bhakti Yoga (Path of Devotion): Chapter 9, Verse 22:
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते |
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ||
Translation: To those who are constantly devoted and who worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
Interpretation: Devotion and continuous remembrance, similar to mantra recitation, foster a deep connection with the divine, bringing inner peace and bliss.
As for myself, I don’t claim to be fully engrossed in the worship of the Supreme. However, I try my best to spend around 35 minutes each day chanting various mantras. Though I have yet to fully resonate with the divine, I firmly believe in the protective power of this practice. In 2018, my family and I experienced a severe accident when an SUV hit us at high speed in the USA. Miraculously, by the Grace of Lord Shiva, we remained unhurt. Besides this, my firm belief in the power of submission to the Lord has helped me to tide over the serious illness of my wife and my own.
At least twice in my life, I have landed at places of devotion and spiritual importance totally unplanned—once at the abode of Lord Jagannath in Puri and the other time at Shirdi, the abode of Sai Baba. These incidents reinforce my faith in the power of mantras and their ability to safeguard and transform our lives. I believe that it is the power of this practice that prevents me from falling into a state of permanent depression and gives me the strength to face problems without getting overwhelmed. My experience reaffirms that the Lord does not necessarily come to help directly but often provides an unsinkable boat to face the vortices of life with determination and resolve.
Jnana Yoga (Path of Knowledge): Chapter 4, Verse 38:
न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते |
तत्स्वयं योगसंसिद्धः कालेनात्मनि विन्दति ||
Translation: In this world, there is nothing as purifying as divine knowledge. One who has attained purity of mind through prolonged practice of yoga receives such knowledge within his heart, in due course of time.
Interpretation: Knowledge of the self and the divine, gained through meditation and reflection, leads to spiritual transformation and bliss.
I frankly admit, I never had the time, inclination, or urge to acquire the immense Jnana (knowledge) in our scriptures. As I previously mentioned in one of my blogs, it took me more than 24 years after purchasing an English translation of the Bhagavad Gita to finally open and read it. I tried to read some of the Upanishads but found my mind inadequate to absorb them. Since then, I have decided to stick to the Gita as a source of inspiration and guidance for my life. To my limited understanding, I find it good enough.
I revere those who claim to fully understand the Gita or those who have read and interpreted several versions of it. I am content with my two or three versions of the Bhagavad Gita and am trying to understand and adopt its teachings into my life as much as possible with my limited intellect.
Dhyana Yoga (Path of Meditation): Chapter 6, Verse 15:
युञ्जन्नेवं सदाऽऽत्मानं योगी नियतमानसः |
शान्तिं निर्वाणपरमां मत्संस्थामधिगच्छति ||
Translation: Thus always keeping the mind absorbed in Me, the yogi, of disciplined mind, attains the peace that is the supreme Nirvana, and comes to Me.
Interpretation: Regular meditation and sustaining wonderful feelings align with this path, leading to a state of serene clarity and eternal peace.
Dhyana Yoga, or meditation, is the weakest link in my spiritual practice. I have never tried it, even though I have written this blog to promote what Sadhguru and James Anderson say. The only semblance of Dhyana Yoga I experience is when my wife yells at me for not joining her for lunch on time, as I often lose track of time while working.
Though I have tried to decipher a procedure to pursue Dhyan Yoga in this blog, I make no promise to myself to try it immediately. Perhaps I will do it someday when my inner self wishes it. As a mere mortal, I acknowledge my limitations and leave room for future growth.
Inspire Positivity 