What Meditation is not!

Meditation is a word which is used by many in different ways to convey different meanings. Sometimes it is used very casually. For example, when we say someone, Meditate over it it may mean ponder over it or think over it. Sometimes it is used to convey concentration e.g. Do your work more meditatively (Dhyanse kam karo!) it means do your work with more focus and concentration.

Most of the people in New Age circles are used to Visualization and they label it as guided meditation! Many meditation groups listen to recorded music or messages and they call it meditation too! But is it really meditation?

Chanting of any Mantra, Stotras, Naam-smaran or Japa may help some people to quieten their mind and bring it to one point of concentration, but it is not meditation.

Concentration on any one point like trataka is not Meditation.

Contemplation on any one thought or an idea is not meditation.

Idol worship (Murti pooja) - Offering of prayers in various forms is not meditation.

Twisting and turning the body in various postures or Asanas may be good for the suppleness of the body but it is not meditation.

Bio-energy exercises, Pranayama, holding of breath - kumbhaka- or manipulation of

breath in any form may be useful for increasing vitality levels of cellular body but it is not meditation.

Guided relaxation processes and creative visualizations may be helpful in relaxing the mind in the beginning but it is not meditation.

Listening to good instrumental / classical music, as a tool, can be a good help in preparation for meditation to begin with but 'musical-entertainment' is not meditation.

Singing 'Bhajans' - devotional songs - is not meditation, but as a natural and spontaneous outcome of meditative experience, bliss is sometimes expressed with devotional songs.

It has been noticed that people spend lot of time in 'preparation for meditation' and are left with no time for actual 'Meditation'. Masters suggested many aspects mentioned above to the beginners as a good help in the preparatory stages of Sadhana. But what has happened is that more and more people cling to the preparatory stages and get stuck there and do not proceed further on the path. The purpose of segregating real meditation from the preparatory stages is to help seekers to come to the real journey and progress on the path faster.

What is Meditation?

Meditation is the freedom from thought, a state of no-mind. It is a state of pure consciousness with no contents. It is the activation of natural 'seeing' activity, of the 'Self' or Consciousness. It is the finest way to increase one's personal energy by getting connected to the Source.

Meditation is a key to unlock the mystery of existence. It is a method par excellence, to go into altered states of consciousness, wherein it is possible to perceive alternate frequency universes, which are all simultaneously co-existing.

Meditation is a knack, which can be mastered with the help of regular practice. Meditation begins basically with "Anapanasati", which means to keep one's total attention and awareness only on one's normal breathing process. In Pali language, in which Buddha talked, 'Ana' means 'In-breath', 'Apana' means 'Out-breath', 'Sati' means 'To be one with'. Meditation is neither 'prayer', nor 'chanting' nor 'contemplation'. No 'mantra' is to be chanted, no form of 'deity' or outside 'Guru' is to be entertained, nor any 'pranayama' practice like holding one's breath i.e. 'kumbhaka' should be attempted during meditation.

Meditation, Meditation, Meditation... Meditate so deeply that you disappear completely!

Shivoham

Om Prem Posted byPrem Nirmalat10:07 AM5 comments Labels:Meditation Links to this post

Friday, May 14, 2010

Akashic Records

Akasha is a Sanskrit word that means sky or space or ether. According to Hindu mysticism, akasha is thought to be the primary principle of nature from which the other four natural elements - Air, Fire, Water, and Earth are created. In this sense, akasha or ether is considered the fifth element and the most subtle of the five.

Akashic Records are etheric records, have also been known as: Hall of Records, Akashic Hall, Akashic Library, Mind of God, Soul Records, Library of Records, Library of the Soul, Book of Life (The Bible), Hall of Awareness etc.

The Akashic Records or "The Book of Life" can be equated to the universe's super computer system. It is this system that acts as the central storehouse of all information for every individual who has ever lived upon the earth. More than just a reservoir of events, the Akashic Records contain every deed, word, feeling, thought, and intent that has ever occurred at any time in the history of the world.

Much more than simply a memory storehouse, however, these Akashic Records are interactive in that they have a tremendous influence upon our everyday lives, our relationships, our feelings and belief systems, and the potential realities we draw toward

us.

History of Akashic Records:

Nostradamus claimed to have gained access to the Akasha, using methods derived from the Greek oracles, Christian and Sufi mysticism, and the Kabbalah.

Other individuals who claim to have consciously used the Akashic Records include: Charles Webster Leadbeater, Annie Besant, Alice Bailey, Samael Aun Weor, William Lilly, Manly P. Hall, Dion Fortune, George Hunt Williamson, Rudolf Steiner, Max Heindel and Edgar Cayce amongst others.

A Chinese man named Sujujin was reported to need only the first name of anyone to access the Akasha and describe their life history. Another Chinese seer, named Tajao, explored a variety of topics in the records which span over two thousand years.

Madame Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophical society in her book "The Secret Doctrine" defines Akasha as follows:

Akasha is one of the cosmic principles and is a plastic matter, creative in its physical nature, immutable in its higher principles. It is the quintessence of all possible forms of energy, material, psychic, or spiritual; and contains within itself the germs of universal creation, which sprout forth under the impulse of the Divine Spirit.

There are many direct as well as indirect ways to read Akashic Records. You will learn these methods in more details in "Secrets of Sutratma" workshop.

By entering in a deep meditative state, you can access your own records in Intuitive ways! However, for most people, this is a difficult task. Learning this skill often takes years of practice.

Hypnosis is another means of accessing Akashic Records, and an experienced hypnotist can take you to the Hall of Records to find answers and guidance for your souls journey. This is often part of a life between lives journey, as pioneered by Dr. Michael Newton and chronicled in his books, Memories of the Afterlife, Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls.

By understanding Akashic Records 1) We can recognize our soul patterns and heal ourselves completely. 2) We can understand our Souls Journey. 3) We can understand Cosmic Secrets. 4) We can understand Shiva Leela! 5) Our Understanding becomes complete and we get Liberated!

Posted byPrem Nirmalat5:02 AM10 comments

Links to this post

Secrets of Sutratma

SECRETS OF SUTRATMA

What is Sutratma? Let us consider our life as one of the flower. We also had many lives in past. The each one of that life is also a flower! We may also have many lives in future...each of that life is also a flower. Now if you connect all these flowers with a thread, it becomes a garland! The thread that is passing through all the flowers is called Sutratma, the soul that gains many bodies, on the path to enlightenment.

Birth is the beginning of the body and death is the end of it, but the life that flows through it is eternal! The Soul that occupies the body is ancient and had been in many bodies before. Every Soul is on its journey to Enlightenment. It changes many bodies on the way to complete the Karmic entanglements in relationships and to learn various lessons. The purpose is to enrich itself with many experiences and gain life mastery! Once we understand that eternal aspect of ourselves, many issues just disappear!

The workshop Secrets of Sutratma is created for experiential understanding of this fact and removes the energy blockages to make the journey smoother. The entire program is to understand and realize the continuity of LIFE in the form of Sutratma that removes the fear of death. It helps us to understand and remove various energy blockages and release the psychic impressions and karmic imprints created because of negative experiences, through various Karmakshalan techniques.

Day-1: 21st May, Friday Evening 7pm to 9.30pm: Understanding the meaning of Sutratma, Evolution and Souls Journey, Prati-prasav Sadhana of Patanjali Rishi, Jatismaran Gyan and Jataka tells of Mahavira and Buddha, Past Life Regression (PLR) Therapy.

Day-2: Saturday 8am to 5pm: Understanding the energy blockages from past births, Fears & Phobias and removing unwanted emotional energy blockages from our system through various Karmakshalan Kriyas, exercises and therapeutic methods in three sessions for better (1) Health, (2) Relationships and (3) Finance. Also there will be presentation on Secrets of Akashic Records and how to read them!

Day-3: Sunday 8am to 5pm: Understanding Purpose of Life, Finding ones own past birth talents, your present birth Life Mission and Path to Enlightenment. This is done in three Meditative sessions. (1) Finding you past birth talents (2) Finding one's own Life Mission and (3) Finding one's own Path to Enlightenment. Also there will be presentation on Past Life regression therapy and its various aspects.

Day, Date & Timings for "Secrets of Sutratma" workshop Friday May 21st - 7 pm to 9.30 pm, followed by dinner. Saturday May 22nd - 8 am to 5.30 pm Sunday May 23rd - 8 am to 5.30 pm.

Venue: TAO, 210, Krishna, Laxmi Ind. Complex, Vartak Nagar, Pokhran road 1, Thane (W).

Pre-requisite for this workshop: Must have done Level-1 Art & Science of Holistic Living workshop and regular practice of Nirmal Kriya.

Please note: This is a non-residential program, to be conducted personally by Prem Nirmal at TAO, Thane. For outstation candidates, staying arrangements can be done at extra cost in a nearby hotel. For more details, send a mail to pdnirmal@gmail.com or talk / SMS 09224127682.

Feedback of Participants from previous batch:

1) I have done Vippasanna programs a couple times and knew about sankharas to be removed from our system. In this workshop, with the help of Kriya Yoga the process of removing karma-beej (samskaras) became very simple yet faster! I got instant results in case of solving the relationship entanglements and family problems. During the meditation that followed the kriya after special ommm chanting, I could experience how the past samskaras got released from my bio memory and disappeared! I felt as if my full body was very heated up that removed the deeply embedded psychic impressions and karmic imprints (karma-beej) along with unwanted self sabotaging patterns. Also became aware of how our childhood patterns affect us throughout the life and create bonding. With the help of simple Karmakshalan kriya I could get rid of many unwanted patterns during the workshop. I must say that various karmakshalana processes were simple yet highly effective! The results are very much seen right here, right now! The perfect combination of Knowledge sharing by Guruji, Karmakshalan Kriyas and deeper Meditations with high-tech music that brought about rapid changes and solutions to current life issues is much appreciated! Thank you. ~ Shashikant Jawale

2) All topics chosen for this workshop are very interesting and practically useful to improve day to day living. During the workshop, I became very clear about my life mission and how to go about it. The process of removing deeply embedded psychic impressions and karmic imprints from cellular memory was amazingly simple yet very effective process. I am highly excited to know the secrets of Sutratma and deeper aspect of Science of antakarana. ~ Yogesh Patel

3) Secrets of Sutratma workshop showed me exactly where I am on the path and the journey ahead. Various process and meditations gave me tremendous experiential understanding on exactly how things work and the results achieved were tremendous for self growth. Introduction to science of antakarana and secrets of Sutratma was amazing especially the portion pertaining to causal lab gave many insights. I understood why only

meditation experiences on the path does not lead to growth, as most of the time, those experiences are without the associated understanding. Got very good clarity about life mission and was able to recognize Gifts, Passions, Mission and talents. The session on path to enlightenment with reference to panch kleashas (five afflictions) was very good and got an understanding on how the Sadhana should be done based on the individual need. Thank you very much Guruji for giving all the participants the individual methods and attention as no method is equally good for all. Now, everyone has one own way! ~ Ma Gyaanda Niranjani.

4) The most important thing that clicked to me in this workshop is that the soul takes many bodies and comes on earth to gain mastery over life in all dimensions and the soul has to come again and again until the mastery is attained! Finding of the life mission was also a revelation and I also found many of my talents from past births which I was not aware of. The Karmakshalan kriya done during relationship exercise was very powerful and I could feel the effect during meditation where I saw the energy blocks dissolving and karma-beej removed from bio-memory in cellular system. The cellular experience was felt all over the body! Overall a very useful workshop with lots of practical applications and gives solutions to many issues! ~ Rutuja Pandere

To know more about Trainer visit http://www.premnirmal.com/

Read articles by Prem Nirmal at http://www.premnirmal.blogspot.com/ Posted byPrem Nirmalat1:01 AM6 comments Links to this post

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Most memorable evening with Grand Master Dadaji

Everybody at Tao know my Master Sri Dada Gavand, Lovingly known as Dadaji but few new members had not met him in person. So all those who knew about this event on 9th May, 2010 Sunday evening - made it a point to come and enjoyed a wonderful evening with Dadaji and also had darshan and blessings from him! The special evening was the book release function of his two books in Marathi (Beyond the Mind and Intelligence beyond thought) by Sri Mangesh Padgaonkar, a very popular Marathi poet. The function was organized at open lawns of Kids nursery at Gawand Baug, Thane.

The program started with Arati of Sri Dadaji performed by Bharati Nirmal who joined other family members of Dadaji for Arati.

The book release... by Sri Mangesh Padgaonkar - Popular Marathi Poet; Subhada and Dr. Anjali Bhelande had been assisting Dadaji throuout the program. Sri Mangesh Padgaonkar also shared in very humourous manner his experiences with Dadaji and his books publications.

Mrs. Gauri Kshirsagar shared her and Bharati's expereinces as both had translated these books from English to Marathi... A difficult job was done with great fineness with the help of apt words!

At the end everybody was eager to have Darshan of Dadaji and get his blessings... everybody waiting in queue for the turn!

Tao group celebrated this evening in a special way and every one got Darshan and Blessings from Dadaji. A surprise meeting with Ma Mittachaya from Pune, an Osho sanyasini who introduced Prem to Dadaji in 1991.

Synopsis of Books by Bharati Nirmal:

It was a book launch ceremony. Two new books of Shri Dada Gavand were being released. Both were the translations of his earlier English versions in Marathi one his autobiography, a classic guiding light to the seekers on the path of enlightenment. The other one Beyond the Mind, which opens up the understanding from eight different angles about how the mind functions and the way to go beyond.

In the autobiography he has beautifully explained the process through which the annihilation of the ego happens. He shows how the constant promptings and drives of the ever active desiring mind keep you busy. He also leads the seekers into the deeper understanding of how this subtle thought which arises within, grips you and then thrives on your life energy, slowly gains a momentum and converts itself into a strong desire. This desire finally compels you to act accordingly. This is how the thought-mind survives by consuming the life energy, and starts dictating you. The drive is so strong that like a python it grips you and you fall prey to its compulsive promptings.

He has specifically elaborated onto the three basic opposing forces - the deep rooted fear, insecurity and sex, which a seeker has to face when he starts his inward journey. He has zoomed in into the working of the fragmentary mind how the mind fragments the Life Energy and keeps it trapped in different compartments of memory. In the name of spirituality or religion also this mind keeps you trapped in the arena of thought. And then using the life force keeps playing with it part by part and thereby never allows the Life energy to integrate. The integration of the Total Life Energy or the real Yoga never happens.

He has shown a way by which one can observe this mind with aloof attention. Eternal vigilance is the price one has to pay for Freedom, says Dada. Only with constant vigilance and by remaining aware all the time, one can really start seeing the working of this cunning manipulative mind. While observing with aloof attention, all these compartments open up and the contents surface up.

In that field of eternal vigilance you start observing the whole trajectory of the thought. Then like a hawk you are able to catch the thought as soon as it arises in your inner space. Thus by catching a thought right at the point of onset, you can dissolve it before

it catches you. Slowly the grip of the thought-emotional mind loosens up. And the awareness gains momentum. More and more Life energy gathers up which strengthens the field of vigilant awareness. All these thought-emotions get dissolved into the light of vibrant awareness. This is the way one can remain in the field of pure consciousness for longer duration.

This is how the integration of Total Life Energy happens and in an unexpected moment the explosion happens in the inner domain which shatters the crystallized structure of the mind and gives the experience of Beyond.

After four hours long function, meeting 500+ people personally... 94 years Young Dadaji in great spirit!!! What a wonderful way to say bye bye to public life! In his short speech he declared that this is the last public function and now onwards no more personal meetings with visitors. He will be soon shifting to Swanandadham, near Sajjangad for his solitude until Samadhi. His declaration brought tears to many eyes, but so is his decision and it has to be respected. He has played a long inning with utmost vigilance. We all need to learn a lot from his life. Jai Ho!!!

Shivoham

Om Prem