Acharya Tulsi - Fifty Years Of Selfless Dedication: Preconditions of Preksha Dhyana

Initiation

At the commencement of the meditation session all sadhaks shall assume a posture of cross-legged position, totally relax the body and mind to remove the tension and, with folded hands, recite the following aphorisms:

1. abhutthiomi arahanae
   I dedicate myself to the practice of Preksha Dhyana.
   
   
2. maggam uvasampajjami
   I initiate myself into the path of Spiritual Practice
   
   
3. samattam uvasampajjami
   I initiate myself into the practice of Internal Perception.
   
4. samjamam uvasampajjami
   I initiate myself into the practice of Spiritual Experience.

Thus the sadhaks initiate themselves into the practice of Preksha Dhyana.

Five Disciplines of Initiation

(Synchrony of Mental and Physical Actions)

This is threefold:

1. Presence of mind
2. Complete awareness of one's actions
3. Uninterrupted (spiritual) vigilance

An action resulting from presence of mind is contrary to mechanical action. When one is engaged in doing something, it is not proper to be carried away by one's imagination not connected with the work in hand.

Habitually, one wastes his time and energy on useless recollections of the past or irrelevant imagination of the future. But neither the past nor the future is real. Only the present exists and is real. One who lets the present slip away is never able to recapture it, and hence bhava kriya is the only means of capturing the reality of the present. It means action resulting from presence of mind.

Bhava kriya also means complete awareness of one's actions. Habitually, again, one thinks with an incomplete mind, which means fracturing the mind and engaging only a part of it in the work in hand, while the rest of it is allowed to wander about. When the mind is totally engaged in the work in hand, the result is bhava kriya. Synchrony of mind and body helps save a lot of waste of effort and energy, increases efficiency and results in greater success.

Another meaning of bhava kriya is constant vigilance. One must be continuously aware of his ultimate aim, which is twofold: (a) purification of mind and (b) awakening of the supine will and other inherent powers.

Habitually, we react to external stimuli, that is, we are generally overwhelmed by retaliatory emotional forces within us demanding appropriate action. But surely this cannot be called 'action'; it is, in fact, 'reaction'. Discipline of the reasoning mind controls the reactive forces and results in appropriate 'action' rather than 'reaction*. One should endeavour to establish control and avoid retaliatory behaviour.

3. Amity

The behaviour of the sadhak should radiate friendliness, compassion and sympathy. This is possible only when he is able to countermand his reactive tendencies by reasoning and avoid retaliatory thoughts and actions. Subjugation of retaliatory impulse results in friendly and compassionate behaviour. The sadhak should be ever vigilant in this respect and should cultivate amity.

4. Dieting

Dieting is an important part of meditational practice. Intake of food deeply influences not only our physical health but also mental tendencies and emotional states. Habitually, we eat too much. This overloads our digestive system and results in indigestion, which, in turn, not only further weakens the digestive organs but vitiates the entire organism, including mental tendencies and emotional states.

The sadhak should be careful about his diet and avoid overeating. He should particularly abstain from such foods and drinks as are harmful to health, physical as well as mental.

5. Silence

The last discipline as part of initiation is controlled speech or complete silence. We speak in order to communicate with one another. However, habitually, we speak too much and too long. The sadhak should be careful to effect full control over his speech mechanism. It should be used only when necessary. His speech should be modulated and measured.

6. Recitation of Arham

A precondition of meditational practice is the build-up of a defensive armour to protect the practitioner from the onslaught of evil influences of the external environment. The process of the build-up is the repeated loud recitation of the word arham. Synchronized with the recitation, there should be a mental projection of the gradual build-up of the protective shell. The shell is being woven out of the crisscross of the electromagnetic radiations, emanations from the sound waves thus produced. The radiations ultimately merge together and build an impregnable armour-like cover enveloping the practitioner, keeping him safe for the duration of the practice.