Acharya Mahaprajna
Practice of spiritual exertion is a valuable instrument of changing human nature if it is pursued continuously and constantly.
Sadhana is capable of changing human relations also. In the context of human relations there is no difference between the practitioner and those who have not adopted sadhana. But as soon as the practitioner has succeeded in changing his own nature, a lot of change in his relations with others will become apparent to him. The practitioner of perceptive meditation who watches the centre of consciousness and experiences consciousness in each and every particle of his body is bound to enter into a state of equality. This will change his entire conduct and his relations with others. These relations will be inspired by the feeling of equality. Conduct based on the sense of equality is the highest form of conduct. It sweetens his relations with others. Inconsistency, sternness and cruelty produce bitterness and spoil human and social relations. Sometimes parents show favouritism in their relations with their children. This disparity spoils the harmony of the family and creates dissensions. Favouritism produces dissensions not only in family relations but also in human and social relations. Those who are not favoured begin to revolt. Revolt is a natural reaction to injustice. Only the docile do not revolt. Those who have been unjustly treated must revolt if they are conscious of injustice.
Disparity in conduct and social relations is the greatest problem of the modern age. It does not allow harmonious and cooperative life.
Sternness is another cause of dissensions. We do not generally behave politely with those whom we consider to be inferior to us although we have to be polite to our superiors. This is a common practice. The master feels it undignified to behave politely with his servants. On the other hand, he feels dignified in behaving politely with his equals. This creates bitterness in the give and take of personal and social relations. The manager of a mill would always take a stern attitude towards the labourers. He feels that he would not be able to manage the affairs of the concern if he were not stern in his behaviour. This attitude has split society into opposing camps. We are not prepared to admit that politeness, friendliness, love and finer feelings can produce sweetness and smoothness in social relations and inspire confidence in every one. Even plants can grow quickly if we show sympathy to them. Agricultural production can be increased by means of sympathy. If flowering plants are treated sympathetically, they will produce better and more useful flowers. Shall we not treat sentient beings in the same way? Man is not stone. Even stones can be endowed with consciousness with the help of mild feelings.
Modesty and mildness cast a magical influence on everyone. They make cows yield more milk, plants grow more fruit and creepers more flowers. A Christian lady performed an interesting experiment. She sowed a few seeds. When the seeds sprouted and became plants a creeper, which grew nearly, began to spread on the plants with the result that the growth of the latter was arrested. The lady mildly warned the creeper that because it had arrested the growth of the plants, she would be forced to cut it. She actually cut it. Then she suggested to the creeper, again mildly, that it should change the direction of its growth. In a few days the creeper grew but now it began to spread in a different direction. When even plants and creepers are amenable to polite advice, why can man not behave in the same way? Unfortunately we rigidly believe that we cannot rule others without being stern. We take others to be aliens, nay even enemies.
Preksa meditation brings about changes in human nature and in human and social relations. It is a powerful meditation. It is weak meditation, which is ineffective.
Along with meditation it is necessary to sweep of the dirt, which has accumulated in our mind. The dirt and dust, which accumulate on our clothes, skin and body, are to be washed off daily. Unfortunately we are unaware of the fact that dirt is daily deposited on our minds also. We never think of removing it. Human nature and social relations will never be changed unless this mental dirt has been removed. Purity of the mind and heart is basic factor in sadhana. We should continuously dissociate ourselves from all the evil and undesirable deeds we had done in the past. We should also be careful not to allow any more dirt to accumulate in our minds any more.
It is our contact with sense objects, which introduces impurity in heart. Sense objects and the false pleasure, which they give, are perishable and not eternal. We generally mistake them to be imperishable. This attitude keeps us in ignorance with the result that we become passionately attached to them. Even the loss of a needle makes us sad. We are not prepared to part the company with our material possessions. If we break a glass cup, we lose our sleep. We have taken it for granted that our material possessions will last till the end of our life. This attitude makes the heart impure.
We identify ourselves with our family, but this false identification lasts only till we are in a position to support the family. Once this support is stopped, members of the family begin to take us in a different light to our great disgust. In such a situation we become miserable. Misery is a kind of dirt settled on the mind. We should, therefore, have the courage to think that there can be no identity between us and our family. The truth is that man is an individual rather than a member of a group or collective. Family relations are temporary and perishable. The realization of this truth gives a sounder base to family relations.
We will have to practise retrospective contemplation (Anupreksa) in order to keep our hearts pure. There are three kinds of retrospective contemplation.
- Contemplation in our independent identity.
- Contemplation on our self-identity and
- Contemplation on the perishable nature of things.
Anyatva anupreksa means that the soul and the body are two different entities. Impurity of the heart is also the result of our ignorance of our body. This ignorance brings about all kinds of demerits in us. Once anyatva anupreksa has become mature, we will be able to develop a correct attitude towards the body. In such a case sense objects will not encroach upon the self to keep us self-forgetful. This will reduce the impurity of the heart.
Ekatva anupreksa or the feeling of self-identity removes our ignorance towards social relations. Anitya anupreksa (the feeling of the perishable nature of materials objects) removes our negligence towards sense objects. These contemplations remove the impurity of the mind and heart.
There is a misunderstanding regarding meditation. People have been believing that meditation gives us miraculous powers, like the power to raise the body above the ground. If we meditate with such a belief, it will not have any spiritual effect on us. We will not be able to achieve anything substantial from such a meditation. Acrobats may amuse their spectators but they are not spiritually rich. Meditators who believe in miracles are spiritually wretched.
Siddhis or accomplishments of supernatural powers are of three kinds:
- Those which are natural and give us mastery over our material circumstances
- Those from which we get the power of meditation and supersensual perception and
- Those which help us in changing our being and in gaining freedom from passionate attachments
Natural powers like raising the body above the ground, making the body light or heavy or walking on water, floating in the air etc. can be achieved by our knowledge of the laws of nature. However, they do not bring about any kind of spiritual transformation in us. They may enable us to help or harm others, but they make us peevish and are ineffective in spiritual pursuits.
The second kind of siddhis aims at arousing consciousness, which extends from mati jnana (indeterminate knowledge) and sastra in jnana (scriptural knowledge) to pure knowledge. They purify the mind, increase knowledge and deepen experience.
The third kind of siddhis chiefly aim at the eradication of passions and the consequent purification of the heart. The second and the third kinds are great achievements. Powers, which produce miracles, are also accomplishments, but from the spiritual point of view, they are of an inferior order.
