VEDANTA FOR BEGINNERS -5&6. SWAMI SIVANANDA

-
======================================================================


=======================================================================
03/01/2020
5. Upasana & 6. Control Of The Senses :
======================================================================
5. Upasana  :

Practise Upasana for acquiring concentration of mind. Upasana is of various kinds, viz., Pratika Upasana, Pratima Upasana (worship of idol), Panchakopasana (worship of the five deities : Ganesha, Siva, Vishnu, Durga and Surya), worship of Avataras like Rama and Krishna, and Ahamgraha Upasana.

Ahamgraha Upasana is Nirguna Upasana. The aspirant meditates on his own Self as Brahman. He identifies his individual self with the Supreme Self or Brahman. He tries to take out the Self that is hidden, within the body of five sheaths. Hence the significant name, ‘Ahamgraha’
Upasana.

‘Food is Brahman’. ‘Akasa is Brahman’. ‘Surya (Sun) is Brahman’. ‘Mind is Brahman’. ‘Prana is Brahman’,—All these are Upasana-Vakyas of the Upanishads. These are all Pratika Upasanas. Pratika is a symbol of Brahman. All these are symbols of Brahman. You can realise Brahman through worship of these Pratikas. You will have to feel that Brahman is hidden in these Pratikas. You will have to think that the Adhishthana or substratum of these Pratikas is Brahman. These are some of the ways of doing the Upasana of Brahman.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Control Of The Senses

he senses should be perfectly controlled in order to be able to concentrate on Brahman. The eyes and ears also are as much turbulent and mischievous as the tongue. The eyes always want to see new forms, new scenes, new pictures and new places which the mind has heard of during conversation with other people. If you have not seen Kashmir, if you hear from those who visited Kashmir, “Kashmir is a lovely place. The springs and sceneries are wonderful,” the eyes helped by the mind will agitate you again and again till you actually see Kashmir. The eyes and the ears should cease from desiring.

The two most troublesome of the senses are the tongue and the genital. One who has got an appetite for the objects of the tongue and the genital is unfit for the practice of Vedantic Sadhana. The four means of Sadhana should be well practised and only a master of these Sadhanas can take up the practice of Vedantic Sadhana.

NEXT : The Mind And Its Works
=======================================================================
To be continued ...


======================================================================

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

VEDANTA FOR BEGINNERS -1 : 24. : 7,8 & 9 - SWAMI SIVANANDA

-
Image
======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20/10/2019 1. INTRODUCTION : 24 24. ILLUSTRATIONS IN VEDANTA  : 7,8, AND 9. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Padmapatra-Nyaya This is the analogy of the lotus-leaf and water. Rain water often falls on a lotus-leaf but the water drips down and the leaf does not get stained by or attached to the water on it. In the same manner, this Atman or Brahman is untainted, though there are countless worlds rolling in it, and countless bodies are seen to be put on by it. 8. Vatagandha-Nyaya The wind carries whatever scent is exposed to it and spreads it everywhere. But the air is pure and is not defiled by bad scent or ornamented by a good scent therein. This is similar to the illustration of the lot
Read more

VEDANTA FOR BEGINNERS -1.7 . SWAMI SIVANANDA

-
Image
======================================================================= ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23/01/2020. 1. Introduction -7. 7.The Mind And Its Works  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mind is Jagat. The mind moves the senses, the Pranas, etc. Mind is the cause of bondage and  liberation. A keen study of the mind and its works is necessary for the study of Vedanta.  The presiding deity of the mind is Moon or Soma. Moon is cool. It is formed of Apas-Tattva (water). Water has a tendency to run downwards. So also the tendency of the mind is always to run downwards towards sensual objects. The external ear, the eye-balls, etc., are only instruments. They are not the real senses of Indriyas. The real centres or senses are in the brain or most correctly in the astral body (Suk
Read more

On Reason and Higher Life - 3 : Swami Krishnananda.

-
Image
============================================================= Tuesday, 09  Jan 2024.  05:30. Article Philosophy On Reason and Higher Life -3. ================================================================ We do not 'give' merely because another man's need is identical with his lack of ability. This is not the reason behind giving. We give because thereby we evolve, and there is the end of it. In this world there is always someone who has a larger ability and some other who has a lesser one. There is no point in mentioning it in the interpretation of the psychology of giving. In the performance of duty the result is not the motive. The motive is the psychological process that is going on in the act of giving. What you think and feel is important. The end beyond it is not the consideration. Our philosophy of Karma Yoga, which is the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita, is one of emphasis on the essential value of active duty and not the passive existence of its remote end. It w
Read more