The Divine Chant ॐ

[vijay nikore]

                           THE  DIVINE  CHANT  ॐ

     

In reference to the Divine Chant ॐ, an esteemed reader commented,

"Bet, it's very hard to perceive this Divine chant'."

It is hard and not so hard ... depends on the state of mind.

I will expand on it.

There are two aspects to it, i.e. PERCEIVING ॐ, and FEELING ॐ.

Hearing occurs with our ears, which represent an organ of  perception,

but the perception of sound is by our mind (via the ears), and then,

depending on the quantity and quality of our practice, we can feel this ॐ,

as explained further.

When the mind is calm, it is easier for us to meditate, and when

the mind is in turmoil, we resort more to prayer. The difference is that

in and before meditation, we are contemplating, thinking of our Ishta,

and trying to unite with Him/Her. On the other hand, in prayer, we

are asking God for something, a wish, a desire, to be fulfilled.

Prior to meditation, as we chant ॐ several times, this divine sound ॐ

continues to resonate for some time in our ears. At this stage, we are

hearing it, i.e. perceiving it, and then as we think of our Ishta along with it,

this sound becomes more personal, more enjoyable, and we start feeling it.

The feeling of this resonance continues long after the physical sound has

stopped.

This "feeling" is very precious, for it marks a different level of connection

with ourselves, and makes us more and more calm, and we can actually feel

this calmness within us.

The "feeling" described above, can reside in the mind, or with practice, it can

preferably be moved to our heart centre. This heart centre is not our physical

heart, but can be thought of as around there, but a little to the right of the centre.

To move this feeling of resonance of ॐ from our mind to the heart centre,

we can consciously imagine some fluid moving from our head towards our

chest, and feel as if this resonance is traveling with it. Keep repeating ॐ,

and keep imagining this ॐ moving like a fluid, ... do it several times, may be

20, 30, 50 times, and all of a sudden you will not have to imagine it any more

... you will start feeling the ॐ in your heart centre as you chant it.

 

As it happens, we feel lighter in our mind, our mind keeps getting

more calm, and we feel joy.... and this cycle continues, giving us

peace, and we begin enjoying meditation.

The resonance of the Divine Chant ॐ that we feel within us, is like the

trailing resonance of a bell...(ummmmmm). We say ॐ again and again,

and we feel this ummmmm again and again, and it becomes joyous to feel it.

After practicing the above repeatedly during meditation, comes a time

when it is possible to feel this "ummmm" even when we are not in formal

meditation. This is if our mind is naturally tuned to thinking of God not only at

specific times, but if we feel His/Her presence in and around us in our normal

daily course of life. This can happen certain times, but for most of us, is difficult

to have all the time. It is especially not possible if our mind is in turmoil, in which

case, many of us resort to prayer. Prayer has its own benefits, if done with a

spirit of total humility and total surrender.

What I have described above is from my personal every day experience, hoping

that it may be applicable or useful to my fellow seekers. Readers may have their

experiences that I cherish to hear.

 

With humility and respect,

In His/Her Service,

Vijay Nikore

[Vindu Babu]

Respected sir shubhprabhaat!
I m glad to get such spiritual inspiration really thats possible to come in Practicle only with the help practice. Ur words/ideas echo to Bhagvadgeeta.
MAN stables in Parmatma(ईष्ट) after meditation(ध्यानयोग) and then soul gets complete consolation in itself.
Bt sir is DHYANYOG also sugam (easy)for BHOGEIS?
According GEETA JI-
योगी युंजीत सततमात्मानं रहसि स्थित:।
(ध्यान योग का अधिकारी वह है जोसुखभोग के लिए वस्तुओं का संग्रह करनेकी इच्छा नही रखता )
it means none now a days!
Sir please clear it.
सादर

[vijay nikore]

Respected Vandana ji:

Thank you for your interest. Like the above write-up, I will keep this answer simple and practical. A whole lot can be written on it, but I will try to keep it brief, and therefore, the following is not an all inclusive answer.

 

I am restating your question here: "is DHYANYOG also sugam (easy) for BHOGIES?"

 

Let us first ask who is this bhogie :

(1)  a consumer/user who wants to satisfy a practical/basic needs? ... or

(2)  an enjoyer who would like to satisfy more than the basic needs, but is not compulsive? ... or

(3)  one with a compulsive habit to indulge?

 

The key word in the above is "compulsive", the temptation because of which we cannot walk away from a habit or a desire. 1 and 2 are not compulsive. So long as our mind is not compulsive, it feels free.

 

If we enjoy eating मिठाई but do not have pangs in the absence of it, then our mind is 'free' to engage in dhyanyog.

 

Similarly, if a businessman would like to earn more wealth with honest means, following dharma, and if he is not attached to it, and does not have the feeling of doership in his actions, his mind is 'free' to engage in dhyana.

 

It is not wrong to make more money, or to acquire more material things (with honest means), so long as our ego (doership and sense of ownership) is not attached to them, that we can walk away from them without being affected, we realize that they are not ours, that we are only the custodians of them, that everything really belongs to God, that He/She gave them to us and that He/She can take them back, too.

 

This is a tall order, for all of these above conditions, and some more, have to be satisfied for the mind to be 'free' to practice dhyana. However, though difficult, is it possible to achieve this mentality? Yes, there are people who have done it, and there are people amongst us who are achieving it effectively right now.

 

Because it is difficult for a person to have the control enough to meet all of the above conditions, and some more, Shankracharya ji, Sri Ramakrishna Pramahansa ji, and many others, have advised us to avoid wealth and lust, for they can be addictive/compulsive, make us lose our self-control, and they can become impediments in our path of spirituality.

 

Again, the above must be achieved with a feeling of utter humility and total surrender, for dhyana to be effective.

 

Finally, it is good to remember Lord Krishna's words from sacred Bhagwat Gita that  IN  THIS  THERE  IS  NO  LOSS OF  EFFORT  ... that we need not be discouraged, that we can start our 'journey' from where ever we are, and in this endeavor no effort will ever be a waste.

 

With regards and humility.

In His/Her Service,

Vijay Nikore

 

[Vindu Babu]

Oh!what the dence thougts u pour venerable sir,i had to go throgh 3 times!
Now concept is clear about Bhogi bt i couldn't meet any person,really having no OWNERSHIP yet nither i m least able to b free.
As I m getting gist of ur witty write-up that PRACTICE(अभ्यास) leads us to DHYANA and DETACHMENT(विरक्ति) from the materialistic world.
Ur last words r most inspiring.we should start our JOURNEY...
May LORD provide us Victory on OURSELF.
I m grateful to u sir for enlightening.
Thanks a lot!