Daily Excelsior
Sunday, February 24, 2008
There are two levels of Consciousness: Sensory perception and Extra sensory perception We usually live more on the level of sensory perception. To understand sensory perception, a little analysis is necessary. Our five senses are - sense of Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight and Hearing. All our communication with the external world is through the medium of these five senses. Our external world is sensory in that it can be touched/felt, tasted, smelt, heard and seen in all its colour and form. We have five senses and the external world can be characterized in these five ways. Senses allow knowledge of the characteristics of the external world, and they establish our contact with it. There is, however, a sixth sense and that is the mind. This is also a sense. It is more developed than all the other senses. The first five senses are limited to knowing only the present, whereas the mind spans three worlds: it knows the present, past, & future. Senses can only know the present. Thus, sensory perception limits our daily lives.
Preksha Meditation means the balanced management of our sensory perception. Sensory perception can be managed and has been managed. We see, hear, and taste: this is the employment of sensory perception. This can be divided into two types: one is seeing while being affected by attachment and aversion, hearing while being affected by attachment and aversion, eating, tasting, etc. while being affected by attachment and aversion. This is how sensory perception is commonly employed in the world.
There is nothing special about this. Not only man, but other living beings also employ sensory perception while being affected by attachment and aversion. As the art of seeing develops, man only sees. He does not see through attachment and aversion: he only sees. The use of the word "only"denotes balanced management. Where it was felt "I only see, only hear, only taste", it now purports balanced management of the sensory perception. Its nature is to know. The common man, however, does not employ his senses to know, but for attachment and aversion. Upon seeing another, attachment sprung up and a feeling of love was born. Upon seeing another, aversion set in and the feeling of hatred was born.
Meditation means to control the wavering nature of mind and to decrease its instability. The two words are 'restlessness' & 'one-pointed ness'. The mind cannot remain stable at one point. Its preferences keep on changing. This is the restless state of mind. When it stabilizes at an object or at a point, it attains the steady state. The primary definition of meditation is the practice of concentration of the mind at one point or base. As our mind is able to remain steady for a longer and longer time on a preferred point (which we choose), our concentration power has increased and restlessness has reduced.
It has been said that the way to develop concentration power and to reduce instability is to practice 'Pratisanlinta. 'Pratisanlinta is the terminology of Jain Aagama. Maharishi Patanjali has defined it as 'Pratyahar in his Yoga Darshan Philosophy. Senses are attracted towards their external subjects. Redirect them from that path and introvert them.
Don't let them act outwards. This is Pratisanlinta and its practice causes automatic reduction of instability. Whenever the senses go out and sense different scenes of the outer world, they communicate with their subjects and the mind becomes fickle. The mind works along with the senses. It cannot directly communicate with the outer world. The only means for the mind to communicate with the outer world is through the medium of the senses. Whatever raw material is presented by the senses is concretized by the mind.
The wavering nature of the mind is highly dependent on the instability of the senses. It is asked in meditation that you close our eyes, which means that you will not communicate any more with the colourful fantasies of the outer world. Shut your ears and don't listen to words anymore. Your communication with the outer world has broken. The cessation of five senses to their subjects, their Pratisanlinta or restraint is in order to prevent increase in restlessness of the mind.
The mind becomes unstable when the senses are unstable. The resolution to the problem of mind is through employment of the mind. Let your mind be fixed on any one point, any one base. That is why it was resorted to employ the breath as the fixed point. Concentrate your mind on your breath. As much as your mind fixes on one object, your concentration power will increase, and balanced management of the sensory perception will result. Then neither the senses nor the mind will create any problems.