 |
||||||||
| AHYMSIN NEWSLETTER, ISSUE - September 2019 | ||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
Dear Yoga Mentor, My Question Is…Sometimes students have written to or asked Swami Veda Bharati, Swami Ritavan Bharati, and other senior teachers in our tradition questions about practice. This is one such “Question and Answer,” or Q&A. Question:I have read this quote from Kundalini - Stilled or Stirred (p.75-76) by Swami Veda Bharati: "Spiritual experience narrated to others loses its power. If people know that you meditate, half the effect of the concentration of meditation is dissipated. The true meditation is that which is held secret. Let no one know, and hold it like a treasure, close to your chest and heart. The secret of meditation is secret meditation. The secret of successful meditation is secret meditation, for which you seek no recognition, no honour and no respect. Instead, seek insult and you will succeed." Which means this message lost its power in the transmission? Another swami shared this with me years ago as I related to him an extraordinary experience I had had. When deeper revelations come it is tempting to share with others. Such as the profound firsthand experience of being one with Brahman. I just want to know how Swamis do it without losing the import of the message. Or do they understand that no such oral representation could ever come close to even approximating the experience? This is how I understand Swami Rama's explanation with regards to the guru within.Answer:Swami Ritavan Bharati has answered this question. From Swami Ritavan Bharati:The important message is: “for which you seek no recognition, no honour and no respect,” meaning: When there is an attachment to recognition, name and fame, the temptation of "graha" to hold, to possess, is identifying with the possession. Maintain the attitude of "namah" this is not mine, and, i am only an instrument of the divine, which is the guru within. Rather than the preya of pride, practice the shreya of aparigraha, and ishwar-pranidhana. Editor’s Note:If you have a question about spiritual practice, you can use the "Contact the Spiritual Committee" link on the Ahymsin website to ask it. Previous columns can be read at “Dear Yoga Mentor, My Question Is…”
|
||||||||