Practical Methods of Meditation by Swami Sarvapriyanandaji

Sri Ramakrishna

Practical Methods of Meditation by Swami Sarvapriyanandaji the best teaching is the one given by Bhagwan Ramana the teaching which is given in silence Shankar Acharya says in his Dakshinamoorthy stotram guru's to monami Arcanum 

she asked in Nizam sure the teacher teaches in silence and the doubts of the disciples are dispelled that is the best teaching and that's the preferred method which Ramana Maharshi used to transmit enlightenment but since I am here and if
 I stand in silence for one hour I have a feeling you people are going to be a mighty disappointed so I guess I had better say a few words 

I heard this story which may or may not be true it was in a talk about Ramana Maharshi so it's an anecdote about Ramana Maharshi the story is very instructive it seems one day a gentleman went to Ramana Maharshi and you know expressed his feeling that he was not particularly interested in the Who am 

I method of inquiry he was a devotee who loved God loved Narayana and his preferred method was bhakti devotion to God so he asked Ramana Maharshi that I really am not so much interested in Who am I inquiring but 

I love Narayana so is it all right no monomers she says according to the anecdote I don't know-how historically accurate it is ROM I never she said yes it's all right oh it's all right and then after death will I go to to enter the abode of the god Vishnu Narayana Ramana Maharshi said yes you will oh

 I will and there will I see Narayana, yes you will oh I'll see that I you know yes and will not iron a speak to me yes Narayan I will speak to you who God is going to speak to me, Narayan, 
I would speak to he yes and what will he say to me and Ramana where she said he'll say to you find out who 

I am now that seems to capture the essence of Romanus teachings Raghavan Romano's teachings you see the code the teaching of Advaita Vedanta is that you are brahman the existence consciousness bliss such it Ananda when are you Brahma where are you Brahman will 
I will be Brahman when I am in heaven no wherever you are you are Brahman there's no specific place we have to go to become Brahman you don't have to go to to the Himalayas or even to Arunachala or even to you know to do a party or anywhere to become Brahman you are Brahman wherever you are when are we when are Brahman when I'll die after that I will become Ramon right now

 I am a human being no you are Brahman exactly as you are right now some people think I will be Brahman when I am when I get some odd he or when I get in life when I get enlightenment that's right when I realized that I am Brahman then only 
I am Brahman no not even that even when we have not yet realized Advaita Vedanta makes this bold claim even when you have not yet realized even when we think that we are this body-mind this the thing at this very moment you are none other than Brahman so there is no time limitation no limitation that at this time you are a g1 individual being and that at that particular time you 
will become Brahman no no time limitation no place limitation no time limitation you are Bremen wherever you are you are Brahmin whenever at all times and in all places now that's nice when we hear this it's nice to hear but we have a question you know we sort of scratch our heads and say um if 

I may the American phrase is rain on your parade that's alright but I don't feel it I don't know if
 I don't realize it doesn't seem to be real to me that's our question so our real problem boils down to this that though it may very well be that we are Brahmin right now we are searched on under we are liberated it may very well be true but I need to feel it I need to know it 
I need it needs to be real that I am such talent so the whole thing about spiritual life spirituality is becoming aware of what we already are according to Advaita Vedanta the monks in the Himalayas they have a nice phrase for this what do you get when you practice spiritual life when you when you're on the path of Advaita what do you get finally and there the answer they give is very interesting what happens in spiritual the life I'll give you the Hindi first and then translate what happens in spiritual life they say practice your property in every test University what you have already got you will get that what kind of thing is that what was never there goes away the fact that you never body and mind that becomes clear that body and mind identity that goes away you never wear body and mind and so the body and mind identity goes away you always wear Brahman that becomes clear evident so it's 

put in a very nice way you get what you've already got and what was never there goes away that's the whole point of spiritual practice because we have this question we because we have this the question that 
I don't no I am Brahman it could be that I am Brahman but I don't know it how do I know this that's the when that question comes the whole question of spiritual practice comes before us spiritual practice the subject was sadhana that that's the subject for today practical sadhana the Sanskrit word sadhana has two dimensions sardine and sod him sod Diem means a goal to be reached sathya means what 
I want so I want to come to a renewal ashram so that's my goal Satyam and for that, I need a sadhana Swami Vivekananda once said that I'm fully convinced that when a baby cries he's actually expressing the highest philosophy it's only that we do not understand this so sad Diem is the goal to be 

attained and siddhanam is the instrument of the method that we use so
 I want to come to tarnish a lush room that's Satyam and the car that I Drive to come here that's sadhana so sad and Sathya the method that we use and the goal that we are going to attain what is the goal here in Advaita Vedanta the goal becomes very interesting because you already are Brahman the goal is already attained you are Raman alright so what so what do you do it's already attained you don't need a method all that you need a method for is to dispel the ignorance that you are not Brahman that we strongly feel that there is something wrong with Raghavan Buddha called dukkha we strongly feel that we are suffering we strongly feel that though the Scriptures tell us that you're Brahman, we strongly feel that we are not Brahman feeling this feeling this is called ignorance in Advaita Vedanta Agana that we do not know what 

we already are so this ignorance has to be dispelled Shankar Acharya often uses in his commentaries a phrase a video karma karma Ovid dia, the karma of India, karma means ignorance desire and desire prompted action this generates the network of samsara we are bound in so video karma what is this ignorant I do not know I am Brahman I do not know that I am truly infinite I do not know I am Poonam complete that's ignorant not knowing this it leads to the next thing that kama desire I do not know I'm complete hence I want to be complete so I feel if

 I get the money I'll be complete if I get a the relationship I'll be complete if I get a house and a car and the latest iPhone I will be complete 
I am nobody ever has been completed this way but this persists is persisting delusion if I add something to myself then I will be complete then I'll be fulfilled I'll be happy if I get that particular thing or that relationship or whatever and then 
I will be really really happy and I don't want anything more this delusion this is karma where did it come from ignorance avidya ignorant and then come in between his error brontë or in Sanskrit in technical terms or dasa an error happens to see when I do not know that it's a rope then the possibility of

Sri Ramakrishna

making a mistake appears that I'll think it's a snake not knowing it's the rope
 I think it's a snake if I knew it was a rope I would never make that mistake if I knew 
I was Brahmin I would never make the mistake of thinking and body and mind even while experiencing body and mind this numerous stories about how Romana kept correcting this error for us that's Ramana Maharshi 
if you ask Ramana Maharshi that are you this thing this body and mind no matter how beautiful somebody said is the most beautiful face ever seen Ramona's face he would say no

 I am NOT this thing but we continuously we make the mistake that we are this body-mind from that error comes the desire 
I the body needs something it needs food and shelter and want especially in this cold the weather so I need food shelter and warmth the mind has many many more desires the desires of the body art but not particularly bad it is as of the mind and many folds more so I think 
I need them because I think I am the body-mind and prompted by desire we engage in action karma karma once we engage in activities we are caught in the network of karma results keep coming to us karma-phalam good action Punya merit and you get happiness bad action if you're particularly naughty then it leads to pop or demerit and the result is misery and we are caught in this network of pleasure and pain generated by our own merits and demerits Jenna those are generated by our own actions good and bad and the actions are generated by desire and desire is generated by ignorance so the root cause of our trouble even though you and

I and all of us are Brahman that self which ramanamma she speaks about we are that we are one with Ramana Maharshi right now we always wear this ignorance that we are not this ignorant alone has to be dispelled so all of the sadhana this is the one point I'm making sadhana method to attain a goal Satyam 
so all sadhana is meant to attain a goal not of becoming brahmin you are that already the method is meant only to remove ignorant about the fact that you er Brahmin so all such so this is the takeaway today all I'm going to speak about is um the whole purpose of sadhana is to remove this ignorant not to make us Brahmin but to remove the ignorant that we are not Brahmin not to make us alright but to remove the ignorance that everything is not alright so that's

the goal of sadhana in a great evident removing ignorance about what not about physics chemistry or computers removing ignorance about what we are now you begin to make a connection between what Ramana mochi again and again and again said when you're listening to this talk what's important here Rama Nama she would immediately say the talk is not important what's important is to find out who is listening to the talk so again and again Rama name she's central teaching why to find out who am I is exactly this it is asana for removing the ignorant not to become Brahman but to remove the ignorance that 

I am NOT prominent Brahman so the central sadhana central southern of the method used is knowledge knowledge of who am I why is this central why not meditation should be central sadhana or why not devotion why not the elaborate rituals those are all certain others are all methods why not all of those why only knowledge because it's logical what is the problem is ignorance if the problem is the ignorance follow me on this if the problem is ignorance the solution can only be knowledge it's logical if my problem is 
I don't know physic what's the solution should I worship the physics textbook no the solution is knowledge knowledge of what knowledge of physics if I don't know who

 I am Advaita Vedanta is telling me Ramana Maharshi is telling me that you do not know who you are if you knew who you were you who you are all your problems would be solved if that is the central problem then the solution will always be knowledge are you with me on this how do we get this knowledge knowledge of Who 
I am the traditional method is innovative Ananta shravana Montana needed the asana shravana means hearing literally, it means hearing practically it means a systematic study of Vedanta from a teacher the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-gita and the Brahma sutras and numerous texts Viveka chudamani and ashtavakra and avadhuta gita Vedanta para version so many Pancha Joshi numerous a vast body of literature and yet in all of this only one thing is going on Ramana Maharshi Arunachala Rama and all that vast Vedantist scriptures all of that is about only once there's only one thing going on there or here what am I Who am I by the way just a little clarification here you know when Rama Nama she says Who am I find out who I am I would refine that question a little bit we are to take the question as meaning what am I because Who am 

I especially in English the answer would be I'm an American I am an Indian I am a Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian I'm a Democrat or a Republican those are our identities that's not what Roman MA she was asking closer to what Ramana Maharshi is asking you to ask us to inquiries what am 
I am I this king of flesh and blood this body this barn and it ages and it decays and gets old and it dies is this what I am or the mind thoughts emotions feelings ideas memories desires are that what I am or something beyond this body and mind so that's the question that the ramanamma she's asking Who am I means what is the reality about this thing which I call I myself another thing you all know it very well when ramanamma she says to ask yourself Who am 

I he's not asking for an answer, there's this famous Zen a nice Zen story Zen teacher will give you a corn a question like like a paradoxical statement and you're supposed to meditate on it for hours and hours and hours together so for example what is the sound of one hand clapping so the student gets that Kwan and starts meditating after some time after a few hours he comes I've got the answer I've got the ants and the Zen teachers actually have a stick luckily you don't have that here in ramanamma sure they have a bamboo stick on with which they leave a cue on the head even I've got the answer and this teacher hits him on the head with that stick go back and meditate strangely you asked me to find out who or what's the sound of one hand clapping I'm trying to tell you you're hitting me anyhow he goes aback and meditates the second time he comes running even before he says anything the teacher hits him with a stick on the head go back and meditate and the final the time 

he comes is calm and quiet and his face is shining with deep inner peace and the teacher doesn't hit him with a stick the teacher boughs to him and said you've got it so Who am I is not meant to give an answer you're not supposed to give an answer or write a thesis about it Who am I and that's not what ramanamma she is asking the central way of the method in Advaita Vedanta to get this knowledge is shravana Monona needed asana systematically studying and hearing Vedanta once you do that the knowledge should arise from within Montana needed their arsenal to other components thinking to reason and is it the asanas meditation they are secondary this hearing is primary somebody asked me he is it just listening to talks or studying something listening there is that enough now that's already quite that's

Sri Ramakrishna

a question that one must consider very carefully you know apparently the answer seems to be very simple listening can't be enough our the primary urge is to do something today subjects are jhana what am i what am I supposed to do yet we understand from what I have said if you we understand doing something is not the solution if you want to do something remove the ignorance that you are not Brahmin and that removing the ignorant does not come from doing something rather from knowing from knowledge and knowledge comes 

from listening from study with from that the knowledge which is transmitted by that by the scriptures or by the teacher that has to come alive within us so yes I'll make a radical statement here if you ask a strict a Drayton he's listening enough it seems to be deep inside us is that we have to listen to the teachings and then go out and do something that's deeply ingrained in us a strict adroit in would say listening is the final sadhana the central sadhana is to listen to this teaching because ultimately we want the knowledge which removes all others 

then what about meditation what about bhakti what about rituals what about a service and all of that all of those culminate in this listening to all other sadhanas will culminate in listening to this truth what is the truth the Guru tells you that thou art taught drama si and we will get the realization a hum brahmasmi so that this transmission from the guru the highest form of transmission is the silence with which in which Raman which gentleman always bathed in and always radiated that's the highest form the teaching otherwise one step 

lower is that when the Guru teaches with words the words of the Upanishads that thou art so listening is, in fact, the highest sadhana in a great event listening is the highest sadhana all other forms of sadhana whether it's Patanjali yoga or bhakti or whatever you learn how to meditate suppose Patanjali Yoga Sutras you take-up the book you learn about meditation unless you actually go out and do meditation it's not much good you're a scholar of yoga philosophy but you need to do that you take up a book on puja you learn how to do the puja but actually until you go out and do the puja it will not get it will not give you result advice as different see I'm trying to emphasize the difference between adroit and everything else doing 

it is different or does it as pure knowledge you're not supposed to go out and do something you have supposed to know it or understand in the fact I'll put it in this way we are in the realm of sadhana here and 
I told you the goal of southern ultimately is not a positive goal to make you something the goal is a negative goal to remove the delusion that you are not Brahman now I'm reminded of what one Swami said in the Himalayas very nice he says in Sanatana dharma in the spiritual life in eternal religion, there is only there are only two ways only two ways john Aoyama no Giano means to know it realizes it get it to see it that's John oh I can't then the other option is mano believe you see most of most people in the world today understand religion as faith in this country, for example, the word used for religion especially these 

days his faith what's your faith Advaita Vedanta is not a faith its realization its knowledge its understanding its insight it's getting it jhana otherwise until we get it mano okay take it to take it for granted that it is correct what the scriptures are saying but Bhagwan Ramana is saying what all the masters are saying is true I don't get it yet but I'll try to get it so that is the core practice listening to these teachings and trying to understand it when we try to understand it they'll be doubts and these doubts are clarified in the second component of practice which is mononym Shravan um first mononym is thinking to reason it through I have doubts about how can I be 

Brahman what is Brahman how can I be Brahman when 
I reason it through all the questions that come to our mind all the questions that come to our mind have answered it's a vast body of and all these texts all the questions that come to our mind have been asked at some time or the other and the answers are available that's mononym at the end of Shravan um 
we should if you don't get enlightenment at the very least what we should get is all these teachers all these scriptures they are telling me one thing I am Brahman uh-hum promise me that's what they're telling me that's what it's all about that's the end of conclusion of Shravan um then the problem is the doubts come mononym is the next stage at the conclusion of mononym reasoning the first the stage was I know what the scriptures are telling me but the problem was I don't get it I don't there's 
I don't understand I have got so many questions at the end of the second stage you will say I know what the opening shots and Vedanta is telling me and now I understand it I get it but

then what's the problem I get it but it seems to be an intellectual understanding if I have the problem that it seems to be an intellectual understand I get it intellectually but in my life it's not making a difference I don't doubt it what Vedanta is telling me that in some sense yes I am Brahman right now but it doesn't seem to be real to me I'm still behaving like that old person in this then the third stage comes needed the asana which is 
the assimilation of the truth assimilation of the truth by meditation on what you have got in shoving on the first stage what you have clarified in mononym now you say I know what Vedanta teaches I am Brahman and 

I'm clear about it now no more doubts but it still has to become real to me then you meditate on that Vivekananda says to tell yourself again and again that 
I am that I am the so um till it tingles with every drop of your blood but then it becomes real to you needed asanam so that is the method sadhana today's subject sadhana let's see how I'm doing okay we have the time now what happens is this enough again we scratch our head and say sorry I have been studying Vedanta for thirty years what you're saying is fine 
I've been coming to their natural ashram for 25 years of 40 years but my delusion is not gone I'm studying it I'm listening to it,

 I hear it all the time I chant and I meditate on it and all of that I do not clear I mean it's not becoming real to me then what do I do then Advaita Vedanta says the problem is he says weak shape or they call it the first problem was a gana ignorance and the solution to that problem was shoving of mana and is it just a solution to our Yana is Gana ignorance is always removed by knowledge and how do you get knowledge shravana to manage it the asana now our complaint now is it's not working we have been trying it all this wife is not working what's the problem Miranda says the problem is weak shape the my is not grasping it the 

teacher transmits we are plucked the mind is scattered it's unable to assimilate the teaching it floats on the surface so the problem is this flickering of the mind this unable inability to assimilate this is in Sanskrit it's called weak shape or the scattered Ness of the mind scattered nests of the mind is the problem then the solution will be a concentration of mind scattered mind problem solution concentrated mind and what is the method for concentrating the mind now we are on more some familiar ground meditation so this whole science of meditation according to Advaita Vedanta well anta is a sadhana is a method of practice no doubt it is useful for concentrating the mind so you

Sri Ramakrishna

have the whole science of meditation is also a thousand but we must realize it's a method a sadhana what is the goal of that according to the rate of Atlanta, the goal is not enlightenment enlightenment comes only from knowledge Ghana but 
the method of this meditation the goal is concentrating the mind focusing the mind stealing the mind so that the truth becomes evident so that's meditation that's also South Anna but we must be clear what is the goal of that it's a

 method so method must have a goal purpose the purpose of meditation is telling the mind quite anning the mind focusing the mind ok very good we start meditating sit with eyes closed is it straight and breathe in this way and repeat a mantra whatever problem what problem yes for me when we do that two kinds of problems either we fall asleep especially when it's nice and warm inside or the other problem is the mind is scattered I try to meditate meditating on ohm or on 

Shiva or on my sister's avatar but the mind runs here and they're scattered mind is disturbed Chanchala arjuna asked this question to Krishna in the 6th chapter of the Gita the meditation methods you have taught me are useless Arjuna says why because it you might as well try to catch the wind the mind is so Restless it's like trying to catch the wind now what's the method the mind why is this happening why is the mind not getting focused in spite of dedicated meditation Vedanta says there is a another tier of the problem another layer of the problem 

what is the new problem now Chitta mala the impurity of the mind it's because of the mind is impure we have dumped garbage in the mind for years and years and years in our life and we believe in many lives so many lives of garbage has accumulated in the air that's the meaning of the of Jian stables Linda in the myth of Hercules 
who cleaned out the stables which were dirty that's basically our subconscious because of the impurity of the mind we are unable to meditate so now the problem is impurity Chittim Allah in Sanskrit and what is the solution to impurity simple Chitta should the purity of mind how does purity of mind comes one very powerful method for purifying the mind is Karma Yoga is unselfish action their many ways but

 unselfish action is recommended in Vedanta if you purify the mind when the mind gets rid of its dross then it's very easy to meditate once so 
I mean The Himalayas said Samadhi is very easy I'll give you some Adi in two minutes we'll take meditate for only two minutes we'll get Samadhi he said in Hindi short to hell 
I can shoot the man law I'll give you I'll give but there's a condition I'll give you the deepest meditation Samadhi but come with a pure mind well there therein lies the trick a pure mind not so easy to attain okay we'll pause here I'll give you the big picture of what has been the outline of what has been outlined so far remember the sub sadhana spiritual

 practice why spiritual practice any kind of practice is meant to give you a the certain result right so we have talked about three problems three solutions and three methods and summing up what we have done so far three problems three solutions three methods what is the problem in the purity of mind chit Tamala what is the solution purity of mind Chitra should be what is the method karma yoga unselfish action with the purified mind then you go to the next level what is the problem there the wick shape 
a scattered mind what is the solution just a car grata concentrated mind what is the method meditation in Sanskrit loop asana that's where bhakti yoga and raja yoga meditation Patanjali yoga they become useful that's the second level than the 

final level the highest level what's the problem Gianna ignorance what's the solution Jana knowledge what's the method Shavon Amana needed the asana the essence of Shravana Montana needed the asana is Atma vichara if you want to compress the entire method of Gana yoga into one term is Atma vichara what Ramana Maharshi again and again and again said find out who I am if you ask a question about sadhana to Ramana Maharshi he will not give you a one-hour long lecture what is the sadhana today's subject if you ask Ramana ma she would have said find out 

who is asking to find out who is asking in the Mundaka Upanishad seventh mantra there's a term very deep term used a god ma practice Arum Atma practice arum follow this I consciousness continuously we have this experience 

 I am speaking I am standing I am looking at you I'm thinking well the standing speaking looking at you comes later the constant is this I and we experience it this I is not the atman let's be very clear this I is not the Atman it's a function of the mind it's the ego but in the ego is reflected the consciousness of the Atman they 

call it in Sanskrit Tschida Abaza if you follow it back to the source, he'll come to you to our real self that is Atman or Brahman that is the highest sadhana 

I will I'll take questions so think about if you've got questions that are a much much a better way of discussing this so let me just summarize what we have done so far the whole problem is we do not know we are promised if we knew that none of this would be necessary now this would be necessary Ramana Maharshi never ever asked what is dis Adana why he already got it is immersed in Brahman in the real nature in the self so no need for southerner there that's the highest southerner to be always aware at Manam satatam jeonnam in in in the production of booty what's the stage of a demon Mukta all these immersed in the Bliss of the art when the vision of Atman vision not in the sense of seeing this that I am Brahman is ever before that person is no longer the person it's one he's one with Brahman so that's the highest so that's the purpose of sadhana to become aware of our real nature 

how do you become aware of a real nature the question is what prevents you ignorant prevents us take it in three stages ignorant problem solution knowledge ignorant of what the self solution knowledge of what the self how do you get that shovin am an idiot asana and the essence of shravana modernization is what Bhagwan Ramon used to always say Who am I trace it back now the problem is 

we it is not working why is it not working then the second tier of the problem the mind is not ready mind is scattered so scattered mind problem Tiktaalik shaper solution you can tell me concentrated mind cheat take out rata method meditation who pass on our Joerger we're trying that what's the problem fall asleep mine is running here and there not working then what's the problem third-tier bottom tier of the problem the fundamental problem in the purity of mind chit Tamala solution purity of mind method 1 method is karma yoga unselfish the action

 I hope you've got the metrics in your mind clearly about both sadhana this is from the perspective of Advaita Vedanta Shankar Advaita sadhana is like this sadhana is it required or not not required your brahman 

what Sarna do you really need so the only purpose of southern is to remove the ignorant that you are not prominent I'm reading out the matrix which should be in our minds by now what is the scope of sadhana ignorance knowledge shravana monotonicity asana scattered mind concentrated mind meditation

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