After successfully completing The Basic Meditation Programme Swami Prakarshananda began a four day session on “Enhance Will Power Through Meditation”at Chinmaya Mission Lodhi Road. The opening day saw the auditorium filling up fast since nobody wanted to miss out even a minute.
On the dot of 7.00 Swami Prakarshananda was received at the entrance in the traditional manner with Vedic chanting and the Purna Kumbh, after which he proceeded to inaugurate the function by lighting the lamp. The Secretary Prema Viswanath introduced Swami Prakarshananda who has been posted at Chinmaya Delhi, just six months ago. The large audience present on the first day was an indicator of how quickly Swamiji has been able to reach out to the spiritual seekers in the capital.
After a short prayer Swamiji began the talks by first recapping some of the basics, since the audience had first timers who had not attended any meditation session.
Swami Prakarshananada began by pointing out that meditation is an art; for any art a special effort has to be made to learn it. One who can talk does not automatically become a good orator; just knowing how to walk does not make one an athlete. This requires conscious and concentrated effort. For the purpose of meditation the instrument to be used is our mind . So it is essential to understand the nature of the mind, how it works and befriend it. Quoting the Bhagawad Geeta, Swamiji urged the audience to understand that we have to lift our mind to an elevated level by our own efforts; having lifted the mind to a certain level, we should ensure that it does not slip down for then it becomes our worst enemy; the mind that has been lifted up, becomes our best friend.We have to take charge of our own lives and accept responsibility for our own upliftment.
Swamiji emphasized repeatedly that the mind being subtle in nature, no object can help us to reach it and make the required corrections. The only method of correcting the mind is through knowledge in the form of thought. Unless we are absolutely convinced about this, we will not make any effort to improve the quality of our mind. Adjustments have to be made within, not externally as is our normal tendency.
The watchword for a meditator is AWARENESS. We must be very aware of and alert about the quality of our thoughts, how we interact with others at every moment.It must be clearly understood that if the mind is disturbed it is because of negativities in the mind – anger, greed, jealousy and so on. No other person, object or situation is causing this disturbance and agitation it is the negativity of my own mind. Another important principle of which we must be aware is that if there is an effect, we must discover the cause and eliminate it. For example, when we are angry we tend to focus on that fact but we do not try to find out the cause for the anger. The cause for anger is our non-acceptance of the situation/our ego has been hurt. A subtle mind understands that it is not always possible to get what we want, situations do not unfold as we desire; therefore, it is best to rise above the situation and let go that which is beyond our control. This is the mantra for a peaceful mind.
Illustrating the principles under discussion with varied contemporary examples Swamiji kept the audience fully engaged. The first day of the course also saw delegates from the US and Turkey among the audience. Every session included a segment where the audience practiced the art of making the mind single pointed for about 15 minutes.
While concluding Swami Prakarshananada stressed the fact that changing the quality of one’s mind is not achieved overnight; it requires enthusiasm, perseverance and patience. There is no short cut if one wishes to reach the higher level of bliss of the mind. For this it is necessary to achieve perfection in all aspects of our life by following the universal principles discussed. Only when we have put in the necessary effort in the right direction can we expect to reap the benefit in the form effortlessly gliding into meditation.
