Questions and Answers on a
Decisive Issue
Theosophy Magazine
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Reproduced
from “Theosophy” magazine,
Los Angeles,
January / February 2007, pp. 56-59.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Meditation as used by us, is
what is called in Sanscrit Dhyana, i.e., want of motion and
one-pointedness. The main point is to free the mind from the power of the
senses, and to raise a current of thought to the exclusion of all others. “Realization comes from dwelling on the thing
to be realized.”
W. Q. Judge says, “To meditate
on the Higher Self is difficult; seek then, the Bridge, the Masters. The patient dwelling of the mind on a
single thought results in the gaining of wisdom, and it is thus that the true
Occultist is developed. Aspiration toward the Higher Self should form part of
the daily meditation; the rising toward the higher planes of our being, which cannot be found unless they are
sought. Earnest and reverent
desire for Master’s guidance and enlightenment will begin the attunement of the
nature to the harmony to which it must
one day respond. Concentration on a single point in the Teaching is a
road to the philosophy; self-examination, a road to knowledge of oneself. To put oneself in the place of another,
to realize his difficulties, and thus be able to help him, is that faculty – which when extended
makes it possible for the Adept to understand the nature of the stone or other
form of consciousness.” Meditation is a good beneficent practice leading to a
great end. It is also a great destroyer
of the personal idea. (Robert Crosbie, “The
Friendly Philosopher”,
Theosophy Company, Los Angeles, p. 93)
QUESTION:
How does Theosophy view or
define meditation?
COMMENT:
Meditation
really means that upon which the heart is fixed. Every one has, deep down in
his nature, a constant, ever-flowing undercurrent of thought, will and feeling
in some one direction. This current is like a great river draining an immense
area of land into which flow hundreds and thousands of smaller streams. The
life meditation of the average person is a brooding upon what pleases or what
displeases either in physical or metaphysical things – the meditation of the
personal being.
QUESTION:
Why
is there so little specific guidance about “how to meditate” in Theosophic
literature? Sometimes it seems students are even warned against meditation,
which runs counter to the many books, courses, and workshops teaching these
age-old techniques.
COMMENT:
Meditation
in the true sense refers to the activity of certain principles for the most part
dormant in every-day life. Their activation, while it gives glimpses of
profound states of consciousness not normally accessible, also can arouse
dormant passions whose existence is likewise hidden to our daily awareness. We
may find that what is imagined to be meditation and concentration is simply a
continuation of the activities of the personal mind. These are the “dangers of
the lower IDDHI” we are alerted to in the opening lines of the book “The Voice of the Silence”. Our
“ignorance” of these dangers allows us to venture into the deep waters of the
true nature of Mind before we have developed charts or guides to steer by.
QUESTION:
What
are these lower “Iddhi” and how do we combat them?
COMMENT:
The nature of the “lower, coarse, psychic and mental
energies” of the personal Mind are discussed by W. Q. Judge, who comments that:
“It
is tinted by each object presented to it, whether it be a thought-object or a
material one. That is to say, Lower Manas
operating through the brain is at once altered into the shape and other
characteristics of any object, mental or otherwise. This causes it to have four
peculiarities. First, to
naturally fly off from any point, object, or subject; second, to fly to some pleasant idea; third, to fly to an unpleasant idea; fourth, to remain passive and considering naught.” (W. Q. Judge,
“The Ocean of Theosophy”, Theosophy
Company, Los Angeles, p. 56)
As a
first step, we need to “take stock” of our nature as it is known to us. Can we
give, at will, absolute attention to whatever subject we select, and especially
to whatever duty needs to be performed? Can we control the wandering eye and
the itching ear and limit them to seeing what we choose to see and to hear what
we choose to hear? The constant, watchful attention of our human instrument in
all actions and relations of ordinary life, while not usually defined as
“meditation” in fact provides the royal talisman for a deeper encounter with
our inner nature. As Patanjali states, “Concentration, or Yoga, is the
hindering of the modifications of the thinking principle.” (“The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali”, William Q. Judge, Book I, #2)
QUESTION:
What
happens when this has been achieved?
COMMENT:
Our
mind and hearts then begin to turn toward a consideration of the unity of all
life, seeing every contact, every communion, every motion of consciousness as
the action of the one spirit in and through the countless variety of forms.
This is that universal meditation which sees oneself as part of and not
separate from the whole of life and all its conditions, whether pleasant or
painful, good or evil. This kind of meditation leads us naturally to the consideration
of how to fit oneself to work in harmony with all beings, of every grade. It
brings us to a study of our own nature and the constant striving to use that
nature for the amelioration of the conditions of all.
QUESTION:
Are
there any methods to achieve this state?
COMMENT:
In a general way, meditation
as a set of performances or practices in a rote manner is not recommended.
Those who are most truly able to meditate have the least notion that this is
the case. One does not LEARN what one already knows; one USES it. Those who
speak often of meditation are the very ones who least of all know what it
means. Sometimes we meet those whose whole life is a standing example of
meditation yet who, if asked to define the term, would say they could not do
so, yet live it daily.
As is
well-said in “Light on the Path”,
the first two steps in true meditation are negative, not positive. They involve
a retreat from a position, not an advance into a new position:
“Before
the eyes can see, they must be incapable of tears. Before the ear can hear, it
must have lost its sensitiveness. Before the voice can speak in the presence of
the Masters it must have lost the power to wound.”
We
know that our mind and senses are ill-trained: these steps are meant to reverse
their habitual use. As they are shaped into a new direction, little by little
we begin to see what the positive steps are – that is, the advance into a new
condition of mind.
“The Voice of the
Silence” notes that “Unpraised by men and humble is the mother of
all rivers…”; this simple statement is a sound antidote for the aggressiveness
of the personal mind. In time, it will be seen that intervals of silence are as
necessary and as fruitful as periods of communication. One can eat in ten
minutes what it takes hours to digest and which provides energy for a still
longer period. Few of us in the stressful civilization in which we live are
able to realize the great value of thought and reflection in the growth of the
soul. To consciously consider what has been read, studied, or experienced helps
assimilate the essence of meaning into the inner nature.
W. Q.
Judge’s rendition of the “Bhagavad-Gita”
and the “Notes on the Bhagavad-Gita”
encourage us to see that Krishna and Arjuna are not two separate
beings but the crystallization into words of that soundless, invisible and
continuous self-communion which goes on all the time between our impersonal and
personal minds. As we learn to control and purify the latter, this silent
dialogue reveals itself as the essence of true being.
In
this Great Journey of inner discovery, “Each man is to himself absolutely the
way, the truth, and the life.” (“Light
on the Path”, Theosophy Co., p. 5) It is well to keep in mind, however,
that, as on any journey, when various experiences - pleasant or unpleasant - are
encountered, they are not in themselves the purpose of the trip. A state of
bliss, however comforting and elevating, is neither more nor less in itself
than a state of bliss. True meditation, then, consists in the constantly
evolving answer to the question: what practices lead to knowledge, self-control,
wisdom, service?
000
In September 2016, after
a careful analysis of the state of the esoteric movement worldwide, a group of students
decided to form the Independent Lodge of
Theosophists, whose priorities include the building of a better future in
the different dimensions of life.
000
