4-4-15 -- Easter Transformation













































































































Jeshua: Easter Transformation


I Am Jeshua and this is the week of Easter. I Am here to walk with you in these last few days before the transformation, before the moment when the reality of Love meets the illusion of the human mind and is powerfully transformed.

The story of Easter is told on many levels and has messages to share about many, many things. But most importantly, it is a message that goes straight to the heart and reminds you of what you truly are and of the power of Love that lives within you. For the resurrection is less a story about the transformation of a body, and more a story of the power of Love.

Your heart deeply understands this. It already knows that you are ready to take this story and make it your own. To step into the fires of transformation, that you might emerge as the glorious heart of freedom that you truly are.

As I take your hand, let us move joyously through the ideas and stories of Good Friday, through thoughts of suffering, loneliness, betrayal or distress. And let us move effortlessly into the glorious culmination of Easter itself, which is the shift to the truth of Love and the Reality of the heart. For My beloved friends, there is nothing more important or Real than this.

Love is the only truth of God. And Love effortlessly transforms the ego's world, transforms the stories of suffering into the truth of joyous unity and the wondrous power of Love.

This is the story of the heart's remembrance of itself. It is the recognition that what you are is the greatest power in all creation. And that as soon as you make this shift in focus, the world that comes into view is completely different than the world that has been painted for you to see by the consensual dream of human minds.

You have walked this path with me for so long. Your heart is familiar with the ending. You are the acknowledgment of the universe that Love is everything. And you are living here to become this very statement. That the world you see with the two eyes of the ego-mind is not the world that you see with your heart. And you are ready - you know the difference. You are willing to take my hand and become the resurrection.

You are deeply blessed. For even to recognize what lies beyond the story of Good Friday, is powerful, and important and needed to bring into alignment the hearts of humanity with the truth of Love.

When you step into the Reality of Love, what you see with your heart is an experience of beauty. A cohesive whole of joy and increase that continuously unfolds expressions of wonder and experiences of deep abiding peace.

My experience of the transformation was effortless. For I already knew deeply the truth of the heart. I could see with the eye of pure Love and look right beyond the duality of the ego-mind. This is why, in my presence, there were healings, because only the truth of the heart appeared in my presence. And those who could say yes to this, never turned back - they left behind the stories of less than God's perfection. This was true on the day of Easter as well, as I became the doorway, the symbol for the remembrance of the power of Love and the truth of the heart.

Easter is certainly a statement to leave behind concepts of death. But even greater than this, is the turn and the acceptance of the Reality of Love. For once the heart is your instrument through which you live, through which you see the world, that which is less than Love doesn't appear anymore. And you become, as I did, a symbol for the Reality and the power of Love, and the heart's ability to make it visible.

So let this time, as Easter draws closer, be a time to renew your experience of Love. Lift up, let me take your hand, let me show you why I never had any fear. Because my every step was taken in the view of the heart, where the path before me was pure and perfect. Where every experience was orchestrated by Love, and where every moment I knew the communion with God.

Joy welled up from deep within, from that point where Love becomes the experience of the world. And in the moment upon the cross, I made the connection with every precious, wondrous human being to lift them - everyone - beyond the view of duality. To blaze a trail to the truth of Love -- visible and unfailing -- to be the proof that Love is the only true power. And that even ideas about body and death cannot stand before the truth of the heart.

I created a bridge for the whole of humankind to make this shift to the Reality of Love. And from that moment, step by step, this bridge has been used to great advantage. And all around you, you can see and feel the result as you reach this time where the balance has been tipped. Where the opening of hearts far surpasses the beliefs of the mind and ego. Where a point has been reached where there is no turning back. Where the light is dawning. Where Love has come to live in all of us, to be present, to be valued, to be experienced as life on earth.

This threshold has been crossed this year. And I Am here to assist in the unfolding of what it means to remember the truth of Love. To make the shift to the heart, to be the transformation, to be the acknowledgment of this open doorway of Love which is the shared heart of humankind -- alive and blessed -- real and activated for this Easter and this celebration of the power of Love.

So come my friends, and take my hand. The moment that you feel me, you know you are the miracle. You are the very fires of creation itself blazing forth in remembrance of the glory of Love. And everywhere you now look with the eye of the heart, you hear and feel this acknowledgement. The world is the chorus singing yes. Every breath you take is breathed in gratitude. And every heartbeat is communion with the Creator. You are aware that Love is everything and you are Love made visible.

I Am more than your friend. I Am your blazing example of what lives within you. I Am the reflection of your ability to claim the truth of your heart and then to live it. I Am here to be the heart that now entrains you. That brings you into the vibration of Love, and will not let you go.

As you say "yes" to the fulfillment of your purpose as Love, you will find that all around you hearts are opened, lives are transformed and the truth of Love is made more visible, moment by moment, as the world we live in.

And I certainly live here too. Not in the physical sense, but I Am deeply interwoven with your hearts, my beloved friends. And you know me so deeply, in such a beautiful communion, that just hearing my name makes you resonate with joy; helps you celebrate the potential of every heart waking up in remembrance of the truth and power of Love.

This Easter we are celebrating a miracle. It is the tipping of the scales. It is the choice for Love accomplished. And regardless of the view of the ego-mind, regardless of the storyline of the human consensual dream, that bridge created in the timeless space of Easter is holding strong and it is filled with open hearts saying "yes", creating a starfield of endless light that now blazes through the world creating a new platform for life. Becoming the acknowledgement of God, the Creator living here as Love's fullness. And awareness as the success of the choice for transformation of old beliefs in less than Love, to the glorious truth of the limitless heart of God that we share.

You can feel me. I Am with you so strongly. And I Am showing you the joy that is Easter. The joy that filled me on Good Friday in spite of what the body-mind seemed to be experiencing. For the vision of the heart never wavered. My eye was on Love, and nothing else. And while it was somewhat of a shock to make the deep connection with the experiences of humanity in the dream of humankind in duality that I experienced on the cross, in an instant I became the upliftment. The lines of light creating a matrix of new possibilities for every story of being less than God. Creating a new weaving of Reality into the story of life on earth. And that creation comes to fruition here and now.

Let this Easter mark the beginning of the glorious transformation of life on earth. The remembrance of the truth of only Love. The reclamation of the innate ability to see God. To be alive within this communion of Love. To be a part of this living conversation of the heart. To recognize the divine that lives within you here.

That every precious lifestream now may celebrate the truth and to sing together the song of Love unfolding that becomes the beauty of the natural world; that becomes the celebration of the resources of Love; that becomes the out-picturing of Real success. The fulfillment of the destiny you have come to unfold. The fulfillment of the statement, "I Am the light". And the ability to use the instrument of the magnificent open heart to be the living transformation of every storyline, every belief in less than Love into the experience of the truth that only Love is Real. And you are Love's expression in and as the world.

I Am here to help you approach the story of Good Friday differently now. To see it through the single eye of the heart. To realize how deeply I rejoiced in My destiny. And the power held in me and Mary Magdalene as the forces of creation in the world bringing Love's upliftment to all of humankind.

Therefore, every moment of the passion was filled with purpose. Every single moment filled with potent symbols. Each one perfectly expressed, each one chosen by the heart for its message and its truth. And the power of that resonance pulsed through me -- through that time -- and everything was filled with light. Even those moments I seemed to be bereft. Even in those, my heart felt the hologram, felt everything that was included in that moment, and my heart rejoiced.

You are moving into the time of full consciousness. And while through the perception of the mind it may seem to take time to manifest, through the heart you have stepped through the doorway. The perfection of Love is now unfolding in the world - and as it.

It is very important to make the shift to the heart, to let this Easter be your time of transformation. For the truth of Love shifts the vibration of every experience instantly. It shifts your perception to the unity of Love. It transforms the subconscious into the spirit, so that everything that is made manifest is the unfolding of the truth of your heart.

It easily supersedes the story of duality, the belief in a personality that has experienced much that is less than Love. And once this has been lifted up into the vibration of the heart, then that which is created is the expression of God celebrating the beauty of humankind and becoming the magnificent open heart of Real Love experienced as life on earth.

So let us walk this pathway together. Let us be the expression of the heart of only Love. Let us celebrate the power that Easter holds and know that I Am with you every step as you live the unfoldment of Love with everyone.

The Messages from God
Through Yael and Doug Powell
at Circle of Light
www.circleoflight.net
3969 Mundell Road
Eureka Springs, AR 72631
connect@circleoflight.net

Circle of Light

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A Surge of Peace by Lady Quan Yin
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A Surge of Peace by Lady Quan Yin

Channelled through Natalie Glasson- 2nd April 2015- Sacred School of OmNa

There is an opportunity which presents itself from the divine for many on the Earth who are willing to receive over the next few days also known as Easter time for some people. This divine opportunity is a gift from the Creator while also being an aspect and stage of your own physical and spiritual ascension. A great surge of peace, stronger and more potent than ever before is being provided to those who wish to create the vibration of peace within their beings and realities, drawn from the 11th Ray Ashram and expression of the Creator. The 11th Ray of Light is overseen by myself, Lady Quan Yin and is often identified as a pink and orange colour; it is a space of exploring and experiencing levels of embodiment of the soul as well as being a powerful source of the Creator’s expression of peace. The 11th Ray of Light is opening its core vibrations of light showering these upon those who are ready and willing to receive great volumes of peace to sustain and enthuse their ascension. The surge of peace is supported by the Christ Consciousness, the Great White Lodge of Ascended Masters, Lord Buddha the Planetary Logos and the Angels of Peace, overseen by my energies Lady Quan Yin and the Masters of the 11th Ray of Light.

Many at this time are working upon soul embodiment within their physical and energetic bodies; this is a collective focus for humanity. The vibrations of peace flowing from the 11th Ray of Light presents an opportunity for further soul embodiment with tremendous ease and perfection as well as bringing forth states of peace through spiritual practices, physical experiences and of course soul embodiment. Processes of soul embodiment are to access and communicate with different levels of your soul, it is to further open all the channels of communication with your soul thus further acknowledging and once more becoming familiar with your soul. The vibration of peace especially from the 11th Ray of Light creates a state of acceptance which is attuned to the larger picture and greater reality of your being, rather than the narrow perspective of the physical reality. Acceptance of the soul can be challenging when many contradictions exist within and around your being, however acceptance of peace creates a vibration of contentment within your being which awakens your inner truth with greater ease. Acceptance of peace creates the ideal energetic conditions for communication with your soul. In order for the Era of Love to more fully anchor and be experienced upon the Earth there is a need for many  to operate from a state of peace within their beings which will then evolve to communicating, connecting and acting from the truth and divine wisdom of the soul.

Imagine each day and each moment acting, reacting and experiencing from a space of peace within your being. This is not to be silent and still always, it is to be content with all you have, experience and create in your reality. Many may say they will be content or peaceful when they receive or achieve certain things they aspire to in their reality and yet this is to push the acceptance of peace within your being further away from you, almost allowing it to be unreachable or unobtainable. Anything in your reality is only unreachable or unobtainable when you choose them to be through a resistance or unwillingness to recognise yourself as worthy. I invite you to take a few moments to imagine a reality for yourself born from peace within your being. Think or allow yourself to feel the shifts which would occur within you, how peace would influence your perspectives and beliefs, the way you connect and communicate with others. Then allow yourself to observe how peacefulness would impact upon your reality and experiences. It is not to imagine what you wish to experience, more so to imagine or allow yourself to be inspired as to the influence of peace upon your reality and experiences.

It is a powerful experience to realise you can choose to create and experience your life from a state of peace, rather than pain or dissatisfaction, realising how this would alter and shift your entire reality and experiences at a physical and spiritual level.
As a surge of peace flows from the 11th Ray of Light you are invited to take reasonability for your inner and outer reality with the purpose of alignment and resonance with love; the very truth and core of the Creator. We invite you to take responsibility by allowing this great surge of peace to flow through your being, as we support you in being a channel, anchor and expression of peace. A great surge of peace will be delivered through your being, chakras and energy fields creating shifts within your being, anchoring into your physical reality while also bringing peace to Mother Earth with a purpose of rejuvenating Mother Earth’s energies.

‘Protected, guided and deeply loved by my guides, I align my entire being to the 11th Ray of Light, inviting Lady Quan Yin to be present with me. I open myself up to be a channel, anchor and expression of the Creator’s light as I invite the 11th Ray of Light Surge of Peace of a pink and orange colour to connect with my being, beginning to flow through me and continuing to flow through me. I allow the vibration of peace to anchor into my being, reality and the Earth guided appropriately by the Creator. I accept the necessary shifts which are required to take place within my being; reality and Mother Earth in order to further create a state and experiences of peace. I am ready to choose to create and experience my life in all its many forms from a state and space of peace, knowing this will fulfil my being inviting my soul to embody my entire being more fully, thus creating sensations of completion and synthesis on a greater scale. I am peace, I am my soul embodied.

I now choose to allow the surge of peace from the 11th Ray of Light to flow through my being for as long as is appropriate whether it is for a few minutes, days, months or years. I am resolved to fulfil my purpose on the Earth and know this purpose further reveals itself and guides me as I allow myself to become love and peace, a powerful expression and reflection of the Creator. I now choose to be peace, knowing this to mean fulfilled, content and aligned with the Creator and my soul. Thank you.’

Take a moment to breathe deeply and to allow the words and your intentions to resonate within your being. Then imagine a surge of pink and orange light flowing through your being in whichever way is and feels appropriate. Know the surge of peace will create shifts within your being, reality and will rejuvenate Mother Earth. 

Allow yourself to be reminded about the vibrations of peace flowing through your being throughout your day as a way of anchoring further more advanced vibrations of peace. Know this process will also awaken your crown chakra and channel as well as healing and purifying your being. You may feel the energies intensely at certain points of your day or throughout the day. You may not even notice the surge of peace flowing through you. Whatever you experience know you are divinely guided and all is well. You may also wish to call upon the Christ Consciousness, the Great White Lodge of Ascended Masters, Lord Buddha the Planetary Logos, the Angels of Peace, myself Lady Quan Yin and the Masters of the 11th Ray of Light to be present forming a source of energy and support around you, as well as inviting us to guide you to connect with deeper states of peace within your being.

Peace is majorly underestimated and is often seen as a weak or passive energy and state, when truly it is a state which opens you up to the universe of the Creator, allowing the gifts and blessings of the Creator to shower upon you. I hope you will enjoy and allow yourself to accept this potent surge of peace from the 11th Ray of Light it truly has transformational energies and can truly support the tremendous purification you are moving through while also allowing you to be of service as your soul desires to be.


In peace and tremendous support,
Lady Quan Yin

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Heavenletters™, bringing Earth closer to Heaven.
HEAVEN is here to reach every soul on earth to reawaken:
* Our connection to God *
* Our belief in ourselves *
* Our awareness of our shared worthiness to God *
* Peace on Earth *
God is always bringing us closer to Him.

Heavenletter #5244 Your Attachment to Permanency, April 4, 2015

God said:

Nothing ends, beloveds. Life does not end. Life does not end with the death of the body, you know that. Love does not end. Impossible.
 
There are those who say the world ends. Many of My children have lived through what seems like the end of the world to them, through Tsunamis and what-not.
 
Most are appalled to even conceive of the very idea that the world could end. No no, that cannot be.
 
The idea of dissolution of the world brings up a point I will get to in a minute.  
 
Even as you hear that someday you too will die, it is hard to believe. Oh, yes, your body will die. I tell you that this is no tragedy. The world is convinced death of the body is a tragedy. Otherwise, there would be no mourners and mourning. There would not be sadness. There would be joy instead that a loved one has come Home to the full splendor of Heaven. God is always.
 
For you to conceive that the world as you know it should end is blasphemy, even though you personally at a given moment wouldn’t choose to be here on Earth, even if you don’t much revel in life as you know it. Nevertheless, you are aghast and bereft at the idea of the world’s coming to an end. It is more than hard for you to comprehend this.
 
What would it mean? No planet Earth? No trees? No greenery? No oceans, no water? If the planet disappears, would all the people on Earth also disappear? Would there be no human beings remaining? Would all the beautiful books and movies disappear? Would there be nothing? And does nothing mean literally nothing?
 
To think of the manner in which the world could end is a devastating idea. Although the world is often too much with you, you would be up in arms against the idea of anything happening to Earth.
 
Now We come to the point of this discussion. The point is that you are to let go of attachment altogether. Even an attachment to something as great as the world, you must let go of. You must let go of your attachment to permanency. Infinity is another matter. Infinity makes permanency small.
 
It is impossible for Infinity to disappear. It is impossible for Oneness, Vastness and Love to disappear. Hey, the world is illusion anyway.
 
Maybe as We talk about this today, you begin to see how much the Earth deeply means to you. You may be discontent with life on Earth as you know it, yet you also discover that you would protect every hair on Earth’s head. You care that others see the world’s beauty. You would defend the world and its beauty to your body’s death.
 
It’s a good thing to remember that you live on Earth for a while, yet you do not own it. The world is not your possession. No matter if you own the deeds to a whole city block, you do not own a speck of Earth. You have no real authority here except in how you perceive and how you behave.
 
One act of yours may make all the difference in the world for you, and you can only guess how many others.
 
You are a painter of this world. Right now, for all practical purposes, is the only chance you have. This minute you are King or Queen of the Mountain. Now you can bless your palace or cardboard box.
 
Now you know that you are a shareholder, but not an owner. You don’t even have a lease. Now you are grounded in what is real and what is not.
 
Never forget that I, God, AM Forever. Inasmuch as We are not two but One, then that which is referred to as you is also Forever. This Oneness is all there ever was anyway. There never is really anything to lose – except, well, sentiment, perhaps.


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Be in the now. Desire is wanting to be happy tomorrow. Be happy and joyful now.

Follow Sri Sri @ Twitter


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Sivananda Daily Reading


5 April

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 10:00 PM PDT

Selfless Action
Karma yoga removes the impurities of the mind and prepares it for the reception of divine light, divine grace and divine knowledge. Service of humanity is service of God. Work always elevates when it is done in the right spirit, without attachment and egoism.
Karma yoga expands the heart, breaks all the barriers that stand in the way of realising the ultimate unity and takes you to the door of intuition. It helps you to develop divine virtues such as mercy, tolerance, kindness, cosmic love, patience, self-restraint, etc.  It destroys jealousy, hatred, malice and the idea of superiority. 
Karma yoga is the yoga of selfless action, without the idea of agency and without expectation of fruits. Work is worship of the Lord. There is indescribable joy in the practice of karma yoga.
A karma yogi should be absolutely free from greed, lust, anger and egoism. Only then can he do real and useful service. A karma yogi should have an amiable, loving nature. He should have perfect adaptability, tolerance, sympathy, cosmic love and mercy. He should be able to adjust himself to the ways and habits of others.
A karma yogi should have an all-embracing and all-inclusive heart. He should have equal-vision. He should have a cool and balanced mind. He should rejoice in the welfare of others. He should have all his senses under control. He should lead a very simple life.
A karma yogi should bear insult, disrespect, dishonour, censure, infamy, disgrace, harsh words, heat and cold and the pains of disease. He should have great power of endurance. He should have absolute faith in himself, in God, in the scriptures and in the words of his guru. Such a man is a good karma yogi and reaches the goal quickly.
The man who serves the world, really serves himself. This is an important point. When you serve a man, when you serve your country, always think that the Lord has given you a rare opportunity to improve. Correct and mould yourself by service. Be grateful to that man who has given you a chance to serve him.

Raja Yoga, Message 18

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 10:00 PM PDT

(The section ‘Qualifications for Practising Meditation’ now resumes.)
Leading a virtuous life is not by itself sufficient for God-realisation. Constant meditation is absolutely necessary. A good virtuous life only prepares the mind as a fit instrument for concentration and meditation. It is concentration and meditation that eventually lead to Self-realisation. 
The student of yoga should not possess wealth as it will drag him to worldly temptations. He can keep a little sum to meet the wants of the body. Economical independence will relieve the mind from anxieties and will enable him to continue the sadhana without interruption. 
You must have a pure mind if you want to realise the Self. Unless the mind is set free and casts away all desires, cravings, worries, delusion, pride, lust, attachment, likes and dislikes, it cannot enter into the domain of supreme peace and unalloyed felicity — the immortal  abode. 
You cannot enjoy peace of mind or practise meditation if there is tossing of the mind. Desires and tossing of the mind co-exist. If you really want to destroy the latter you must destroy all mundane desires and cravings through dispassion and self-surrender to the Lord. 
If you apply fire to green wood it will not burn; if you apply fire to a piece of dried wood it will at once catch fire and burn. Even so, those who have not purified their minds will not be able to start the fire of meditation. They will be sleeping or dreaming — building castles in the air — when they sit for meditation. But those who have removed the impurities of their minds by japa, service, charity, pranayama, etc., will enter into deep meditation as soon as they sit for meditation. The pure ripe mind will at once burn with the fire of meditation. 
Mind is compared to a garden. Just as you can cultivate good flowers and fruits in a garden by ploughing and manuring the land, by removing the weeds and thorns and by watering the plants and trees, so also you can cultivate the flower of devotion in the garden of your mind by removing the impurities of the mind (such as lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, etc.) and watering it with divine thoughts. Weeds and thorns grow in the rainy season and disappear in summer, but their seeds remain underneath the ground. As soon as there is a shower the seeds again germinate and sprout. Even so, the modifications of the mind manifest on the surface of the conscious mind, then disappear and assume a subtle seed-state in the form of samskaras or impressions. The samskaras again come to the surface of the mind either through internal or external stimuli. When the garden is clean, when there are no weeds and thorns, you can get good fruits. So also, when the mind is pure, when it is free from lust, anger, etc. you can have the fruit of good deep meditation. Therefore cleanse the mind of its impurities first. Then the current of meditation will flow by itself. 
If you want to keep a garden always clean, you will have to remove not only the weeds and thorns and other small plants, but also the seeds that lie underneath the ground, which again and again germinate during the rainy season. Even so, you will have to destroy not only the big waves or modifications of the mind but also the impressions or tendencies which are the seeds for births and deaths and which generate the thoughts again and again, if you want to enter into samadhi and attain liberation or perfect freedom. 
The aspirant who wants to attain samadhi should have patience like that of the bird Tittibha, which tried to empty the ocean with its beak. Once he makes a firm resolve, gods will come to his help in the same way that Garuda came to the help of Tittibha. Help invariably comes from all beings in a righteous act. Even the monkeys and squirrels helped Rama to rescue Sita. He who is endowed with self-control, courage, prowess, fortitude, patience, perseverance, strength and skill can achieve anything. You should never give up your attempt even if you face insurmountable difficulties.
Requisites 
The following are indispensable if you want to practise vigorous meditation and attain samadhi or Self-realisation quickly.
1. There must be mauna and solitude in a cool place.
2. There must be capacity for spiritual practice.
3. There must be good, pure, substantial, light, nutritious food.
4. There must be a good spiritual teacher to guide you.
5. There must be good books for study.
6. There must be burning dispassion, longing for liberation and strong discrimination in you.
7. You must have a sharp, subtle, calm and one-pointed intellect to understand the reality of Brahman. Then, and then only, is realisation possible. 
Many do not get the above favourable conditions for spiritual practice. That is the reason why they do not make any spiritual progress. For purposes of meditation everything is to be rendered pure (sattvic). The place of meditation must be pure, the food must be pure, the wearing apparel must be pure, the company must be pure, talking must be pure, the sounds that you hear must be pure, thinking must be pure, study must be pure. Then only is good progress possible, particularly in the case of beginners (neophytes). 
This body is an instrument for attaining God-realisation. God-realisation is not possible without spiritual practice. Spiritual practice is not possible without good health. A sickly, dilapidated body stands in the way of practise of discipline. If you do not possess good health you cannot do any rigorous yoga practice and meditation. 
Just as clouds screen and obstruct the sun, so also the cloud of sickness stands in your way. Even then you must not leave the practice of japa, concentration and meditation. These small clouds of sickness will pass off soon. Give the suggestion to the mind: 'Even this will pass away'. Just as you do not leave your food even for a day, so also you should not leave your spiritual practice even for a day. The mind is ever ready to deceive you and stop you from the practice of meditation. Do not hear the voice of the mind. Hear the sweet voice of the soul. 
The aspirant should try his level best to always keep good health by regular exercise, asana, pranayama, walking and running in open air; moderation in diet; regularity in his work, meals, sleep, etc. He should avoid drugs as much as possible. He must take recourse to nature-cure such as fresh air, wholesome food, cold bath and dietetic adjustment. He should always keep a cheerful attitude of mind under all conditions of life. Cheerfulness is a powerful mental tonic. There is intimate connection between body and mind. If one is cheerful the body is also healthy. That is the reason why doctors now prescribe laughing three times daily in the treatment of diseases. 
Some foolish aspirants refuse to take medicine when they are ailing seriously. They say; "It is our fate. We should not go against fate. Taking medicine is against the will of God. The body is illusory. It is insentient. If I take medicine, it will increase the body-idea." This is foolish philosophy. Take medicine. Try hard. Leave the results to karma. This is wisdom. These foolish people unnecessarily torture the body, allow the disease to strike deep root and spoil their health. They cannot do any sadhana. They ruin this instrument by a wrong conception of vedanta. Vedanta says: "Have no attachment for this body, but keep it clean, strong and healthy for constant, rigid sadhana. The body is a boat to cross to the other shore of immortality. It is a horse to take you to the destination. Feed the horse well — but give up 'mine-ness'." Tell me friend, which is better? To take a purgative, to take some medicine for a couple of days, to tide over difficulties in a few days and to again start sadhana quickly, or to neglect the disease, not to take any medicine, to allow the disease to assume a grave form, to suffer for a month or two by negligence, to make the disease chronic and incurable and to allow the practice to suffer for a month? 
HINTS ON MEDITATION
When you are a neophyte in meditation, start repeating some sublime hymns for ten minutes as soon as you sit for meditation. This will elevate the mind. The mind can be easily withdrawn from worldly objects. Then stop this kind of thinking also and fix the mind on one idea only, by repeated and strenuous efforts. Then meditation will ensue. 
You must have a mental image of God or Brahman (concrete or abstract) before you begin to meditate. 
When you start a fire you heap up some straw, pieces of paper and thin pieces of wood. The fire gets extinguished. You blow it again several times through the mouth or the blow-pipe. After some time it becomes a small conflagration. You can hardly extinguish it now even with great effort. Even so, in the beginning of meditation beginners fall down from meditation into their old grooves. They will have to lift their mind up again and again and fix it on the object of meditation. When meditation becomes very deep and steady they eventually get established in God. Then meditation becomes natural and habitual. Use the blow-pipe of intense dispassion and intense practice to kindle the fire of meditation. 
Just as the student creates interest in his study of mathematics or geometry (although it is disgusting in the beginning) by imagining the advantages that he will gain by passing the examination, so also you will have to create interest in meditation by thinking of the incalculable benefits of immortality, supreme peace and infinite bliss that will be derived by its constant practice. 
Clarify your ideas again and again. Think clearly. Have deep concentration and right thinking. Introspect in solitude. Purify your thoughts to a considerable degree. Still the thoughts and silence the bubbling mind. Just as in a surgical clinic the assistant surgeon allows only one patient at a time to enter the consultation room or the operation theatre, so also you will have to allow one thought-wave only to rise in the mind and to settle down calmly. Then allow another thought to enter. Drive off all extraneous thoughts that have nothing to do with the subject matter on hand. An efficient control over thoughts through long practice is a great help in meditation. 
Watch every thought very carefully. Shut out all useless thoughts from the mind. Your life must tally with your meditation. Keep up your meditation during work also. Do not give new strength to evil thoughts by constant thinking of them. Restrain them. Substitute sublime thoughts. Control of thought is absolutely necessary. You should not waste even a single thought. 
Do not store needless information in your brain. Learn to unmind the mind. Forget whatever you have learnt, it is useless to you now. Then only can you fill your mind with divine thoughts in meditation. You will gain fresh mental strength now. 
Mind your own daily business. The fruit will come by itself. Let me repeat here the words of Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita: ''Your business is with the action (austerity, practice and meditation) only, never with its fruits; so let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor be attached to inaction.'' Your efforts will be crowned with sanguine success by the Lord. It takes a long time for purification of the mind and getting a one-pointed mind. Be cool and patient. Continue your sadhana regularly. 
Be careful in the selection of your companions. Undesirable persons easily shake your faith and belief. Have full faith in your spiritual preceptor and the spiritual practice which you are pursuing. Never allow your own convictions to be changed. Continue with zeal and enthusiasm. You will have quick spiritual progress and you will ascend the spiritual ladder step by step and ultimately reach the goal. 
Do not plan, do not imagine, do not try to fulfil desires. Be indifferent. Annihilate emotion. Do not be attached to desires. Desires are powerless in the absence of emotions and attachment. They dwindle and die. Find out the causes of disturbing thoughts and remove them one by one. Watch the mind carefully. Dwell in solitude, do not mix. Have patience, enthusiasm and courage. If you find great interest and happiness in meditation and if you are progressing, stop study also for some time. Study also is an object of enjoyment. God is not in books. He can be reached only by constant meditation. Erudition is to gain applause in society. Avoid pedantry. 
Sometimes the mind feels tired. Then take complete rest. Do not strain the mind. Go for an evening stroll along the sea-shore, along the banks of Ganges or any other delightful road. Chant OM. Feel OM. Hum OM. Reduce the period of meditation for a couple of days. Use your strong common-sense and listen to the voice from within. Observe the moods of the mind. The two currents of joy and grief are moving in the mind. When you are depressed, go for a good walk. Close the books. Remember that these are all characteristics of superimposition and they do not belong to the thing itself — the Atman. They will pass away quickly. 
When you meditate, disregard the substratum awakenings in the mind that arise out of the senses. Avoid carefully the comparisons with all other cross-references and memories of ideas. Concentrate the whole energy of the mind on the one idea of God or Atman Itself without comparison with any other idea. Whenever the mind wanders you should check it. Try to identify yourself with the eternal, immortal, ever-pure Atman that resides in the chambers of your heart. Think and feel always: "I am the ever-pure Atman." This one thought will remove all troubles and fanciful thoughts. The mind wants to delude you. Start this anticurrent of thought. The mind will lurk like a thief.  
You can get the meditative mood quite easily without effort if you do your practice at fixed hours, both morning and night. In winter you can have four sittings. You should have the same pose, the same room, the same seat, the same mental attitude and the same hours for meditation. Everybody should have his daily routine and should strictly adhere to it at all costs. Leniency to the mind will upset the whole programme. You should meditate regularly and do spiritual practice untiringly with indefatigable energy, dogged patience, adamantine will and iron determination. Then only sure success is possible. 
Meals should be taken at regular hours. One should go to sleep at a fixed time and get up at a fixed time. See how the sun is very regular in its rising and daily work! 
A glutton or a sensualist, a dullard or a lazy man cannot practise meditation. He who has controlled the tongue and other organs, who has acumen, who eats, drinks and sleeps in moderation, who has destroyed selfishness, lust, greed and anger, can practise meditation and attain success in samadhi. 
What does a passionate man do? He repeats the same old ignominious act again and again and fills his stomach as many times as he can. What does an aspirant with burning desire for Self-realisation do? He takes a little milk and repeats the process of meditation again and again the whole day and night and enjoys the eternal bliss of the Self. Both are busy in their own way. The former is caught up in the wheel of births and deaths and the latter attains immortality. 
Just as you require food for the body, so also you require food for the soul in the shape of prayers, japa, kirtan, meditation, etc. Just as you are agitated when you do not get food in time, so also will you be agitated when you do not pray in the morning and evening at the proper time if you keep up the practice of prayer and japa for some time. The soul also wants its food at the proper time. The food for the soul is more essential than the food for the body. 
Whatever spiritual practice you do — either japa, practice of asana, concrete meditation on a form of the Lord or pranayama — do it systematically and regularly every day. The reward is immense. 
Just as you take food four times — morning, noon, afternoon and night — so also you will have to meditate four times a day if you want to realise quickly.
If interruption comes in your practice, make up the deficiency in the evening or at night or on the following morning. Rapid progress and great success can be attained if regularity is observed by the practitioner. Even if you do not realise any tangible result in the practice you must plod on with sincerity, earnestness, patience and perseverance. You will get success after some time. There is no doubt of this. 
Fill the mind again and again with pure, divine thoughts. New grooves and avenues will be formed now. Just as a gramophone needle cuts a small groove in the plate, pure thinking will cut new healthy grooves in the mind and brain. New impressions will be formed. 
The period of meditation should be gradually increased with caution. The meditation should not be by fits and starts. It should be well-regulated and steady. You must always use your commonsense and reason all throughout your practice. You should ascend the summit of yoga gradually, slowly, stage by stage, step by step. You must not give up the practice even for a few days. 
Just as you saturate salt or sugar with the water, you will have to saturate the mind with thoughts of God, with sublime soul-awakening spiritual thoughts. Then only will you be always established in the divine consciousness. 
If you keep lemon juice or tamarind juice in a golden cup it is not spoiled or tainted, but if you keep it in a brass or copper vessel it is at once spoiled and rendered poisonous. Even so if there are some sensual thoughts in the pure mind of a person who practises constant meditation they will not pollute the mind and induce passionate excitement, but if there are sensual thoughts in persons with impure minds these sensual thoughts will cause excitement in them when they come across sensual objects. 
Just as you render turbid water pure by the addition of clearing nut (strychnos potatorum), so also will you have to purify the turbid mind filled with desires and false ideas, by thinking and reflecting on the Absolute. Then only will there be true illumination. 
You must not be too hasty in longing for the fruits at once when you take to meditation. A young lady perambulated the asvattha tree (ficus religiosa) one hundred and eight times for getting a baby, and then immediately touched her abdomen to see whether there was a child or not. It is simply foolishness. She will have to wait for some months. Even so, if you will meditate for some time regularly, then the mind will be ripened and eventually you will get Self-realisation. Haste makes waste. 
During meditation, note how long you can shut out all worldly thoughts. Watch your mind. If it is for twenty minutes, try to increase the period to thirty minutes, and so on. Fill the mind with thoughts of God again and again. 
In meditation do not strain your eyes. Do not strain the brain. Do not struggle or wrestle with the mind. Relax. Gently allow divine thoughts to flow. Steadily think of the object of meditation. Do not voluntarily and violently drive away intruding thoughts. Have sublime pure thoughts. The vicious thoughts will vanish by themselves. 
If there is much strain in your meditation, reduce the duration of each sitting for a few days. Do light meditation only. When you have regained the normal tone, again increase the period. Use your common sense throughout your sadhana. I again reiterate this point. 
When you go in for seclusion for intense tapas or when you practice intense meditation in a quiet room, do not bother much about your shaving. Let the hairs grow. These mechanical thoughts such as thoughts of shaving, etc., will produce great distraction in your mind, and interfere with the continuity of divine thoughts. Do not think much of the body, bread, clothing, etc. Think more of God or Atman. 
If you are a very busy man and if you always lead a travelling life, you need not have a special room and a special time for meditation. Do japa of 'soham' and meditation along with the breath — this is very easy — or associate your mantra also with the breath. Then every movement of breath will become a prayer and meditation. Remember God and feel His presence everywhere. This will suffice. 
Why do you close your eyes during meditation? Open your eyes and meditate. You must keep your balance of mind even when you are in the bustle of a city. Then only are you perfect. In the beginning when you are a neophyte you can close your eyes to remove the distraction of mind, as you are very weak. But later on you must meditate with eyes open even during walking. Think strongly that the world is unreal, that there is no world, that there is the Atman only. If you can meditate on the Atman even when the eyes are open, you will be a strong man, you will not be easily disturbed. You can meditate only when the mind is beyond all anxieties. 
All vrittis (mental modifications) such as anger, jealousy, hatred, etc., assume subtle forms when you practise japa and meditation and they are thinned out. They should be completely destroyed through samadhi. Then only are you safe. Latent vrittis will be waiting for opportunities to assume a grave and expanded form. You should be ever careful and vigilant. 
Resist the fatal downward pull by the dark, antagonistic forces through regular meditation. Check the aimless wanderings of the mind through clear and orderly thinking. Hear not the false whispers of the lower mind. Turn your inner gaze to the divine centre. Do not be afraid of the severe set-backs that you will encounter on your journey. Be brave. March on boldly till you finally rest in your centre of eternal bliss. 
You must daily increase your dispassion, meditation and sattvic virtues such as patience, perseverance, mercy, love, forgiveness, purity, etc. These help meditation. Meditation increases the pure qualities. 
Have the one all-pervading feeling of God. Try to keep up the feeling always. Deny the finite body as a mere appearance. 
When you put a piece of iron rod in the blazing furnace it becomes red like fire. When you remove it, it loses its red colour. If you want to keep it always red you must always keep it in fire. So also if you want to keep the mind charged with the fire of wisdom you must keep it always in contact or in touch with God through constant and intense meditation. You must keep up an unceasing flow of God-consciousness. 
Just as cannabis, indigo, opium or alcohol give you intoxication which lasts for some hours even if you take a small quantity, so also the God-intoxication that you get from regular meditation lasts for some hours if you meditate for half an hour daily. Therefore, be regular in your meditation. 
Those who meditate for four or five hours at a stretch can have two meditative poses. Sometimes blood accumulates in some part of the legs or thighs and so gives a little trouble. After two hours change the pose, or stretch the legs at full length and lean against a wall or pillow. Keep the spine erect. This is the most comfortable asana. Or you can join two chairs, sit in one chair and stretch the legs on another chair. This is another contrivance. 
Some students like to meditate with open eyes, others with closed eyes, while some others with half-opened eyes. If you meditate with closed eyes, dust or foreign particles will not fall in your eyes. Some students who are troubled by lights and jerks prefer meditation with open eyes. Within a short time sleep overpowers some who meditate with closed eyes. If the eyes are kept open the mind wanders to objects. Use your common sense and adopt that which suits you best. Overcome other obstacles by suitable intelligent methods. 
Meditation is possible when the mind is full of peace. The stomach should not be loaded. There is an intimate connection between the mind and the food. A heavy meal is harmful. Take a full meal at eleven a.m. and half a seer of milk at night. The evening meal should be light for those who meditate. 
Meditate for two or three hours. If you get tired, take rest for half an hour. Take a cup of milk and then again sit for meditation. Repeat the process of meditation again and again. You can have a stroll on the verandah in the evening. Do not allow the mind to entertain any worldly thought even for a few minutes. This method will keep the mind very very busy and entrap it within a short period. Practise this. You can enter into samadhi within forty days. Householders can convert a room into a forest and can achieve this end at their very threshold. You will be able to sit continuously even for fourteen hours at a stretch after some practise. Padmasana is good for householders. Siddhasana is good for sannyasins. 
If you wish to attain success in yoga you will have to abandon all worldly enjoyments and practise austerity and celibacy. These will help you in the attainment of concentration and samadhi. 
If you are not able to form the image of your chosen deity or fix the mind on it you may try to hear the sound of the mantra repeated by you or think of the letters of the mantra in order. This will stop mind-wandering.
Prana is the overcoat for the mind. The vibration of the subtle psychic prana gives rise to the formation of thought. By pranayama you can improve your meditation by making the mind more steady. 
If you place a big mirror in front of a dog and keep some bread in front of it, the dog at once barks at its own reflection in the mirror. It foolishly imagines that there is another dog. Even so, through his mind-mirror man sees his own reflection only in all people, but foolishly imagines, like the dog, that they are all different from him, and he fights on account of hatred and jealousy. 
It is the actions of the mind that are truly termed karmas. True liberation results from the disenthronement of the mind. Those who have freed themselves from the fluctuations of their minds have supreme steadfastness in meditation. Should the mind be purged of all its impurities, then it will become very calm and all worldly delusion with its attendant births and deaths will be soon destroyed. 
Meditate on the idea: 'There is no world. There is neither body nor the mind. There is only one pure Consciousness. I am that pure Consciousness.' This is nirguna meditation (meditation without attributes). 
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NOTE: The section ‘Hints on Meditation’ will continue next week.

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