उपेक्ष्य नामरूपे द्वे सच्चिदानन्दतत्पर:।
समाधिं सर्वदा कुर्याद्हृदये वा अथवा बहि:।। 22
Disregarding both name and form, the seeker engrossed in sat-cit-ananda must make the mind always absorbed in it by practicing samadhi either in the heart or without.
सविक्लपो निर्विकल्पः समाधिर्द्विविधो हृदि।
दृश्यशब्दानुवेधेन सविकल्प पुनर्द्विधा।।23
Samadhi the absorption of the mind is of two kinds, namely absorption recognising a distinction of subject and object (savikalpa Samadhi) and the one without recognising any distinction of subject and object (nirvikalpa Samadhi). Savikalpa Samadhi is further subdivided depending upon its association with Drishya (cognized object) or shabda (the words of scripture). Thus, three types of samadhi can be practiced in the heart.
कामाद्याचित्तगा दृश्यास्तत्साक्षित्वेन चेतनम्।
ध्यायेत् दृश्यानुविधोयं समाधिः सविकल्पकः।।24
The internally cognized thoughts such as desire etc. are available in the inner organ. One should contemplate on pure awareness as there direct illuminator. This is called drishya-anuviddha- savikalpa-samadhi - absorption of the mind while recognising a distinction with the help of the ( internally) cognized thoughts.
असङ्ग सच्चिदानन्दः स्वप्रभो द्वैतवर्जितः।
अस्मीति शब्दविद्धोऽयं समाधिः सविकल्पकं।। २५
One should contemplate, "I am un- attached, sat-cit-ananda, self-effulgent, non-dual." This is called shabda anuviddha savikalpa-samadhi - absorption with the recognition of distinction, mixed with scriptural words. (25)
For assimilation and owning up of Vedanta's teaching Shastra recommends being indifferent to objects of the sense-organs, the workings of our mind and instead being committed to recognizing our true nature to be ever-existent, indestructible, independent, infinite consciousness.
So we started with baby steps of practicing Vipassana meditation in which we put aside all our preoccupations with past, present and future and instead brought our attention to focus on our moment to moment experiences brought in by our sense-organs organs (jnanedriyas).
In this kind of Vipassana meditation it is very easy for the mind to become calm and peaceful. It is in this calm and peaceful mind that we are able to it assimilate certain basic truths pointed out by Vedanta.
We simply observed in an open and receptive mind, sensations, sounds, perceptions of light and shadow against our closed eyes, aromas and watched our breath. We concluded from this meditation the following truths :-
1. The objects brought in by the sense-organs are all changing drishyas -so they are impermanent.
2. Seeking permanent security and satisfaction with ourselves from these is futile.
3. We also assimilated from this meditation that the truth of the observer ( the feeler, the hearer, the seer, the smeller, the breather) is self-existent, self-revealing consciousness who never changes in spite of all the changes being observed. In fact the self-revealing consciousness that we are, is the one in whose ever-presence all these observations take place.
4. We also gave a training to our mind at a very simple level to be accepting, to be receptive, even reverential towards our moment to moment experiences, acknowledging them to be Ishwara's manifestations.
When thoughts distracted us during the Vipassana meditation, we simply brought our attention back to observation of our breath. If the thoughts are very painful and difficult to bear and therefore extremely distracting and not allowing us to continue our Vipassana, then we need to learn to handle them through compassionately staying with the feelings while breathing deeply and saying our mantra . .and later after meditation, processing them psychologically when we are ready.
In the next level of assimilation, we can continue with Vipassana, which is observing clearly, this time, our thought world. As we observe our thought-world, instead of getting drawn into it, we use the thoughts that occur, to shift our focus from any thought/feeling/ memory to the illuminater of the thought - who is the self-existent, self-revealing witness-consciousness, my very Self.
One needs to do this repeatedly during meditation, and even every now on then when not meditating, so that one very clearly recognizes oneself to be the changeless sakshi chaitanya, who is independent of thought, in whose ever-presence the changing thoughts are cognized. If required go over all the logic Vedanta provides you for understanding this.
When your understanding of yourself is firm, that you are the sakshi-chaitanya, now you can contemplate on the nature (svarupa) of the Sakshi being totally independent, self-revealing, free of knower-knowing-known triputi in every experience. Deeply assimilate that the three-fold factors in every experience is mithya ....they have no independent existence apart from Sakshi caitanyam, moreover they are impermanent. They are just appearances which come to go - born gone, born-gone. They are not intrinsic to consciousness. Therefore they can never affect Sakshi caitanyam.
It goes without saying that these kind of meditations have to be repeated again and again .... सर्वदा कुर्यात् the Shastra says.
Om Tat Sat
