Talks Excerpt 409. Swamiji gives a tip from Sri Ramakrishna for meditation spine alignment.

From Mother Radha’s notes, written at Swamiji’s feet.

[Swami Yatiswarananda says in his book, Meditation and Spiritual Life]:

You must take a particular consciousness to unlock that Consciousness, or, as Sri Ramakrishna said . . . to awaken the spiritual consciousness there.

You must hold on to that centre of Consciousness always. You can find it only by seeking the source of your I-Consciousness – or keeping contact with the Divine always.

Never choose a centre [chakra] lower than the heart. Why? Because that will awaken the animal qualities in you.

These things are very very important if you are to live a spiritual life. You must not only remember it, but practise it.

Never overload the stomach with food. Fix the type and quantity of food to suit your needs. Fasting one or two days a week is good – but it is better to exercise moderation always. Instead of thinking of God always, we waste a lot of time on these needless struggles – things like dieting etc.

Have two different postures [in mind] when meditating, so you can change position when you feel strained. The central theme of a sadhaka is meditation. Everything else is but preparation for the mind to have the right mood. Then meditation becomes very easy.

All the asanas [hatha yoga postures] are not necessary for spiritual life, though they may be necessary for something else. The most important thing is to feel stable, relaxed and comfortable with body and head erect. Stable, relaxed and comfortable.

Sit up straight, with spine, head, neck and back in a straight line. Some people stick their chins out, but that is not a straight line, look at your neck. Sri Ramakrishna gives us a slight hint, ‘bend your head a little low’, chin slightly down and in, at meditation time. If you bend it, it becomes straight here. [Swamiji points to the back of his neck.] What I am saying is very, very important – it is not to play.

When you meditate, the mind is telling you exactly what you are. Your mind tells you when you behave wrongly. But in public you are telling everyone how good you are. The mind is telling you, but you are telling it, ‘Never mind’. We ignore the good advice that the mind gives us.

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These recordings or the excerpts from them, were made from the early 1970s onward, by Mother Radha, a close devotee of Swamiji’s and edited for uploading here by our gurubhai and her son, Brother Tim. Please be mindful that what Swamiji was saying may have been specific to an individual or a group of people with him, at the time.