Thursday, September 8, 2022

Nididhyasana - Contemplation Steps

 


In Mundaka Upanishad, the following verse can be used for contemplation. 

दिव्यो ह्यमूर्तः पुरुषः स बाह्याभ्यन्तरो ह्यजः ।

अप्राणो ह्यमनाः शुभ्रो ह्यक्षरात् परतः परः ॥ Mundaka Upanishad २.1.1॥

He is the self-luminous and formless Purusha, uncreated and existing both within and without. He is devoid of prana, devoid of mind, pure and higher than the supreme Imperishable.

Here the rishi reveals divyah amurtah purushah - purushah the conscious being, the truth of who you are, is divyah shining consciousness, amurtaH formless- that which has no form, that which has no edge or boundary and there therefore sah bahya- abhyantarah it is present bahya outside and abhyantarah within – meaning it is all pervasive, it is inside and outside, he indeed it is ajah – unborn.

Atmabodha verse number 32 picks up from the Mundaka Upanishad saying

अमनस्त्वान्न मे दुःखरागद्वेषभयादयः।
अप्राणो ह्यमनाः शुभ्र इत्यादिश्रुतिशासनात्।। Atmabodha 33।।

I am other than the mind and hence, I am free from sorrow, attachment, malice and fear, for “HE is without breath and without mind, Pure, etc.”, is the revelation of the great scripture, the Upanishads.

This Atmabodha verse is for contemplation. It is pointing out, that conscious being, (meaning you), is apranah free from prana, independent of prana, hi amanah free from the mind, independent of mind, shubrah shining, pure, utterly unaffected by the defects of prana and mind. And he indeed is aksharat parataha parah beyond everything,  transcendent.

In contemplation or nididhyasana we address the habitual identification. For example, one can feel I am getting old. Age is reflected in prana, in the body. I have conceptually understood that I am sat-cit-ananda atma. However habitual identification with the body, with prana being there - it is to be addressed.

So the first step is to identify which habitual identification one wants to address. Here as an example, it is the feeling of being older.

The next step would be to take to a meditative practice that quiets the mind. What works for me is simple observing and resolving whatever is observed in Ishvara. Then the mind becomes very still, silent.

The next step is to reflect on that silence. Right now, the experience is of being older. However in that silence is there any age, any feeling of being older? In that silence, there's no oldness, there's no age, there's no birth, death, there's no time. So these few moments of silence gives one the opportunity to confirm what we have conceptually understood and ascertained to be true. 

With thanks to Swami Tadatmananda for pointing out these three steps of contemplation. 

Om Tat Sat