This is a blog on meditation. Two spiritual teachers issued clarion calls, one in the middle of last century and the other in recent times inviting humanity to meditate.
One was Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal (20 May 1894 – 8 January 1994) also known as the Sage of Kanchi or Mahaperiyava (meaning, "A venerable sage"). He was the 68th Jagadguru of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. He is still revered and loved by all.
The other is Revered Shri Kamlesh D. Patel (affectionately known as Daaji) is the fourth spiritual Guide in the Heartfulness System of Raja Yoga meditation. He has initiated the worldwide Heartfulness Movement. He is a role model for students of spirituality who seek that perfect blend of eastern heart and western mind. He travels extensively and is at home with people from all backgrounds and walks of life, giving special attention to the youth of today. This blog examines the relevance of these Clarion Calls in the current times and how the responses to them can influence human activity in a positive way.
In my last blog, I had mentioned as to how a very brief Association with Mahaperiyava had a deep impact on my spiritual pursuits.
The chant “Jaya Jaya Shankara, Hara Hara Shankara” reverberates in many religious functions we attended. But I always felt that when taking a great personality’s name like this, one must understand his teachings and introspect as to what extent the same is incorporated in one’s daily life. This was the basis of my quest to find out more about Mahaperiyava and his teachings.
I started by reading his magnum opus, Deivathin Kural ( Voice of God). Reading the very first chapter “The Acharya’s Commandment” in Section 1(Advaitham) sent me into raptures. Here Mahaperiava has conveyed the Commandments of Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada’s message on meditation, to his followers in specific, and to humanity in General . Some of His important quotes, are reproduced below :-
1.Sri Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada’s important Commandment to us in the Peedams, which have come down in his name is that we should always engage in meditating on the Lord (Ishwara Dhyanam) and make others also meditate.
2. When thus He (Ishwara) and we become one, all attributes will go and what remains will be attribute less.
3. The sins of the disciple (go) to the Guru, the teacher, says the age old code of morals. If one is a Jagadguru, the entire sins of the world will become His.
4. I (Mahaperiyava) try to meditate on behalf of all of you, but to the extent all of you meditate yourself the burden on me will be less. (Therefore) everyone must meditate as much as possible.
5. Engaging in meditation should be considered the first duty in everyday life.
6. I have placed before you Bhagavatpada’s commandment to us- meditate- tell others also to meditate.
7. Each one should ask himself or herself, for how long He/she meditates.
8. If you so manage that we can say that there is no baggage of sin, when leaving this world, we fly away happily as light as carton. We can return to the same place where we had started. After that we can have continuous bliss.
The entire message can be heard in Audio here
Now to an avid fan of cricket like me, this message is comparable to Mahaperiyava hitting sixer after sixer in the very first over of the match. If the reader consider my comparison audacious, I beg his or her pardon. But you will understand how excited I am on making this personal discovery after my 26 years of meditation, which was spent in total ignorance of Bhagwatpada’s message. This message, in the form of a Commandment, is nothing short of a Clarion Call by the Mahaperiyava to his followers.
The issue of this direct commandment by Mahaperiyava may seem surprising, because normally Gurus, and more particularly Mahaperiyava, are reluctant to issue direct orders. This is because, it is said that to disobey a true Guru’s instructions is probably the greatest sin the disciple can commit. To avoid the forming of yet another deadly layer of Karma on the disciple, mostly such advices are conveyed indirectly. Yet if Mahaperiyava had chosen to give direct commandments, that too in the name of Adi Guru Bhagwatpada, I feel that there must be a great element of seriousness in this Clarion Call. I request readers to ponder over this deeply in their heart.
Having had some experience on meditation, insignificant though it may be, I would like to elaborate on my understanding of this call by the Revered.
On reading some of the other writings of Mahaperiyava, one comes to the clear understanding that various activities such as performing charitable deeds, engaging in traditional rituals, tirtha yatras, attending religious discourses etc. can have a positive impact in our spiritual pursuits. But they cannot be substitute for meditation, particularly if the purpose of human life, i.e., to merge in the Lord within us is to be achieved.
Some people may be under the misapprehension that meditation involves controlling the mind which is often stated to be difficult. Further there may be this unfulfilled expectation that they will be induced with a state of thoughtless right from beginning of their meditation practice. It is therefore necessary to demystify various aspects of meditation as it is commonly perceived. These aspects will be dealt with later on in this blog.
Another difficulty which a seeker may have is that there are so many types of meditation and even if one wants to follow Acharya’s call, which method of meditation does one choose? Here I feel that I may not be able to assist in making a comparison of different types of meditation for you because I do not have any experience of these different systems of meditation, except the one I practice. I consider it unethical and purposeless to discuss without experience on this subject of different practices, merely on the foundation of bookish knowledge. I also consider it against etiquettes to make a public comparison of different systems of meditation, because the choice is purely personal depending on what attracts the aspirant to the system.
Therefore, I would like to suggest that, if you are already following a system of meditation which will help to realise your goal of life as prescribed by the Bhagwatpada then you should continue to follow the same so long as you are satisfied with your progress.
For others who would now like to respond to the ‘Acharya’s Commandment” and start meditation practice, I would recommend the System of Heartfulness Meditation, which I have been practicing with some degree of diligence for last 26 years. Here, I would like to enumerate only a few of the features based on my experience :-
a) For those of you who would rightly like to take pride in ancient Indian culture and practices, you would be pleased to know that Heartfulness practices traces it’s to origin an unknown Rishi who lived 72 generations before Raja Janak. Someone I knew had done calculations to trace the origins back to 1100 BC. Give or take a few centuries here and there, this is as ancient and as Indian as anything that can be.
b) One of the unique features of the Heartfulness Meditation is the infusion of Yogic Transmission (called Pranahuti in Sanskrit) into the heart of the aspirant by a qualified Heartfulness Trainer. This Pranahuti is nothing but pure Love emanating from the Source (also known by different names such as Adi, Iswara, Paramatma, Khuda, Holy Spirit etc) and the aspirant can feel its profound effect in the very first Heartfulness meditation session. I find it difficult to add any further description to it. But I invite you to have a practical experience of the same, which will convince you of its efficacy. It is Pranahuti which brings life and joy to the Heartfulness practice.
c) Another important feature of the Heartfulness Meditation system is known as “cleaning” which is done at end of the each day by the Aspirant. During the process, the aspirant is able to actually remove all the accumulated emotional burden of the impressions gathered during the day. As a result the soul feels totally refreshed an reinvigorated - in the same manner as one’s body would on taking a cool shower at the end of a hot summer day.
d) Progressively as the aspirant continues the practice, erasure of the accumulated baggage of emotional burden ( generally known as Karmas) happens. By leading an appropriate lifestyle, further accumulation of such burdens is arrested. Thus a feeling of lightness of the system results so that one feels connected continuously with Love of the Ishwara. Again it must be reiterated that Pranahuti simplifies the process, which is generally otherwise thought to be complex. Gradually, the feeling of Love expands to encompass every other being in the planet and universe. I am of the opinion that this is what Mahaperiva means by saying “we fly away happily as light as carton.” - A state which is experienced by many Heartfulness Practioners during their lifetime- many times in the initial stages of the practice.
e) Now it must be borne in mind that during the times of Mahaperiva, the people in general took to meditation with an aspiration for God Realization. Slowly this purpose changed into a desire for peaceful life. Now a days, people take up meditation (for stress relief, health benefits etc.) If it would help them in the smoother conduct of their daily lives. Whatever may be the purpose of starting meditation, in the Heartfulness System they are guided to go deep within their inner self and seek guidance from within. Over a time aspirants, which include a large number of youth from all over the world, realise that the search within in no way hinders in the performance of their worldly duties. On the other hand they are able to perform their duties with much more diligence- practically demonstrating Lords Krishna’s famous quote in Bhagwat Gita- “Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam” – Yoga is skill in action. In the process we learn to fly as a bird would, with both wings, material and spiritual.
f) In Heartfulness Meditation, we do not try to control the mind but with regular practice, regulation of the mind is achieved. Further though the burden of the thoughts decreases with time, we are trained to accept and live with whatever thoughts that may arise during meditation. Your Heartfulness Trainer will elaborate and clarify to you on these aspects when you will take up Heartfulness Meditation.
g) Practice of Heartfulness System including meditation sessions with a Trainer is always free of charge. There are about 13000 qualified Heartfulness Trainers worldwide in over 100 countries. You can search for a nearby Heartfulness Trainer here at https://heartspots.heartfulness.org/ and ask for an appointment now, wherever you may be in this world.
h) If you are engaged in any other spiritual practice, you can try Heartfulness Meditation in parallel. You can experience as to how it adds depth to your existing practice. Further if you choose to do so, you can continue to offer Guru Dakshina to your existing Guru.
I have enumerated only a few features which I find attractive in the Heartfulness system. The field is so vast and there is so much to grasp that I consider myself to be one of the six blind men, who tried to describe the elephant, each as per his perception. You may visit the website Heartfulness.org for more details or contact your nearest trainer should you need further information.
Mahaperiyava in his talk has mentioned that “Holy place, Holy waters, body mind, shastra and other conveniences are available in this world only.” I would humbly suggest that you may, to start with, consider Heartfulness practices as one of the “other conveniences” available in this world and take it up earnestly.
If you closely observe the title of this piece it is the story of “Clarion Calls” –two to be precise. One as already stated above is given by Mahaperiyava many decades ago. The other Clarion Call is given in recent times by Revered Shri Kamlesh Patel(affectionately called Daaji), the present Global Guide of Heartfulness Movement. For over a hundred years the Heartfulness system spread spredominantly by way of word of mouth. Nevertheless, about five years back, there were thousands of practioners in over 130 countries all over the world. Daaji has now taken this movement to more and more people all over the world. The movement is presented to Schools, colleges, hospitals, Corporates, government institutions, temples, housing societies etc. in a structured way so that people can assimilate it in their daily lives
Daaji aims to create an Egregore - which in the context of meditation is defined as “ A collective thought form, feeling form, or vibrational field that is created by our collective thoughts and feelings. It creates an atmosphere”.
Daaji carries this message : “There is a humble request which is made. I need your help. How ? Purify yourself by practice, Only when you do this are young of the next generation eligible for the genetic changes (which will bring positive changes in this world).It is the vibratory level preparing for this genetic change. Our preparation has a great effect, a great echo into the future. The Egregore that we prepare, the field that we prepare here, will have its impact there (future).” To ensure over one lac persons can have the experience of meditating together, he has created the world’s largest meditation hall at Kanha Shantivanam, near Hyderabad, which was inaugurated recently.
Therefore Daaji has given another clarion call to all like minded persons and organisations with the same objective to come together and join the movement for welfare of Humanity. I find the resonance of this call in the simple commandment of Bhagwatpada conveyed by Mahaperiyava- “meditate- tell others also to meditate.”
Mahaperiyava has said “They should be told lovingly and in a manner they react favourably. If something is told with love, even a hard hearted person will soften.” If I cannot muster enough love in my heart when I place these clarion calls before you, I can only pray that the Love of Ishwara and all the Great Saints may induce us all to do what is right for us and our future generations.
In the end, on behalf of Daaji, I would like to invite the reader of this blog all the followers of Bhagwatpada to come and visit Heartfulness Ashram at Kanha Shantivanam, near Hyderabad. Experience meditating with thousands of others at the World’s Largest meditation hall. Certainly this is something to be cherish for the entire life.
