Swami Shivapadananda with meditation recommendations
SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji
571
[Pictured: Padmasana or the Lotus Posture in Hatha Yoga]
The preparation for meditation is important. Firstly, you must have a comfortable asana [sitting position]. You do not have to sit in padmasana [the lotus posture] or siddhasana if it is not comfortable (or if your bones are creaking). Sit in the asana that you are most comfortable with and in which you can sit for long periods. That is the first rule.
Secondly, your head, neck and spine must be in a straight line. There are about seventy two thousand nerves [nadis] in the body the Rishis [Sages, Seers, Saints] say, and each time we twist or turn the current goes somewhere else. That is why you are not supposed to move about in meditation. You can be comfortable as long as your head neck and spine are in a straight line.
Thirdly, you must send out good thoughts, thoughts of blessing, to the whole universe. Peace be to the east, peace be to the north, peace be to the south, peace be to the west, peace above and peace below. Om dhyau shanti – peace everywhere. Sarveshaam mangalam bhavatu – may there be good to all. Beautiful. Say this for the whole world and sit like that, calmly.
Now look at your guru seated on the thousand-petalled lotus [sahasrara chakra] on your head. He is dressed in white. Think of him full of knowledge. Think of him full of purity. Think of him as the Liberated One, God Himself, come down to liberate you. Meditate on that guru for at least five or ten minutes, or as time allows. Before you mentally leave your guru, you must reduce your guru to a small size. Make the guru small enough to be seated on your head. And then slowly leave the guru there.
The next part that you must follow is dhyanam. Dhyanam means you meditate as described in the dhyanam mantra. [to be continued]
1) Care should be taken by the reader to understand and take Swamiji's
words in these postings, in context. Every teaching or instruction that he gave
was specific to the people who were with Swamiji at the time.
2) Mouse-over the words highlighted in
red in the posting for further explanation
or links.
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