The mind and its physical instrument, the brain, are restless and must be brought under control before we can meditate properly. In normal waking consciousness, we are programmed to deal with millions of bits of information coming through the senses. After receiving data, we must evaluate it and make countless decisions, most of them completely below the level of conscious awareness.
Think for a moment about the simple act of walking across your living room to soothe a crying baby. Visually you must see your environment so you can walk through it. This involves not only perceiving objects but also continuously evaluating what your eyes are seeing. Another part of your brain is furiously processing feedback from nerves and muscles, allowing you to remain upright, but not so upright that you can’t continue the process of controlled falling that we call walking. Your auditory system is handling sounds, yet you are probably not aware of any of these activities. Your conscious mind is thinking simply, “Oh, the poor thing! I wonder why he’s crying?”
Is it any wonder that we have a difficult time focusing this supremely dynamic mind of ours when we try to meditate? In this lesson we will learn three powerful aids to help us: visualization, prayer, and chanting. While it is true that these techniques focus our thoughts, they also do much more. They connect us directly to Spirit. They are the heart and substance of religious practice of virtually every spiritual path, East or West.
Mental activity is a defining activity of all advanced species but only in man, with his highly evolved body with seven cerebro-spinal centers, is consciousness able to be fully
awakened. Traditionally, yoga identifies four aspects of consciousness, in Sanskrit called mon, buddhi, ahankara, and chitta. Mon (the mind) receives information from the senses, buddhi (the intellect) analyzes it while ahankara (the ego) evaluates it according to how it affects us. Finally, through chitta (the feelings) we judge it positively or negatively according to our learned likes and dislikes. Sometimes translated as “mind stuff” and used to define the whole mental process, it is this feeling aspect of chitta that Yogananda most emphasized. “Overcome your likes and dislikes,” he often advised.
Mon, the mind, is responsible for receiving a seemingly endless stream of information from the senses. These bodily organs are designed to translate waves, pressures, or chemicals into electrical signals that are sent by an electrochemical process to the appropriate part of the brain. The apparently simple act of receiving sensory information is, in fact, an amazingly complex operation—the brain’s visual cortex alone is composed
of billions of neurons! But, even though our brain has received information, it (we?) cannot yet make sense of it any more than a television set can recognize images flashing across its surface. Much more is needed.
Raw data from the senses must be processed it into a coherent perception of the world. This “processing,” the action of buddhi (sometimes called the “intellect”), is an even greater source of mental activity than the reception itself. Modern research shows that sight, for instance, relies on extremely complex interactions between many parts of the brain. We use highly specialized regions of the cerebral cortex to construct a series of overlapping “maps.” Some nerve cells “see” only straight, vertical lines, others see only straight, horizontal lines, others see curves, movement, or color. All of these maps, at least a dozen, must be coordinated and combined into a consistent whole in order for us to see and recognize objects in the world around us. Buddhi is the aspect of consciousness that
objectifies neutral information. Only then can we put a name to what we are seeing — a puppy, a pencil, or a parent.
As we process information, we also personalize it in relation to ourselves through ahankara, the ego principle. We continually (but subconsciously) ask, “Is this mine or not mine? How does it affect me? Will this be positive or negative for me—for my body, my territory, my family, my possessions, my opinions? Does this threaten me in any way?” Quiet your mind sufficiently to observe your thoughts and you will be amazed by how much mental agitation is caused by ego concerns. It is here, with sense of “me and mine” that separation begins to take hold. In a very real sense, the purpose of yoga is to overcome the perception of “I-ness.” As Yogananda put it, “I killed Yogananda long ago. No one dwells in this temple now but God.”
Yet, having a sense of self does not necessarily bind us to delusion if we can live without attachment. Even saints, after all, must take care of their bodies. It is through the influence of chitta, however, that we judge the world according to our likes and dislikes and are kept enslaved in the world of matter. It is through this “feeling” aspect of consciousness, with its “seat” in the heart, that we create an endless stream of desires and repulsions. While we are often unaware of our likes and dislikes, it is they, more than anything else, that determine our level of happiness. They determine whether the world pleases us or disappoints. Try, especially in meditation, to be completely non-attached.
Pull back from your likes and dislikes to simply observe your mind and feelings, and you will quickly be able to focus your energy. In fact, Patanjali, an ancient and universally respected sage, gave as his classic definition of yoga, “Yogas chitta vritti nirodh”—“Yoga is the neutralization of the vortices of likes and dislikes.” The blissful state of union with God waits in the silent calmness just beyond the restless waves of our likes and dislikes.
How do we still the mind and emotions? By deeply focusing our energy and thoughts! You have learned the very powerful technique of Hong-Sau for concentration.The practice of Hong-Sau will automatically still your restless thoughts and calm agitated feelings.
Yoga recognizes everything as existing as simply different levels of energy. It doesn’t judge events as intrinsically good or evil but rather evaluates actions and decisions according to their ability to elevate or decrease energy. Through experience we learn that we are inherently happier when our energy and sense of self expands. We are unhappy when it contracts. Unlike some religious dogmas, yoga doesn’t try to suppress the flow of energy, but instead gives us techniques to channel it in a helpful direction, and to transmute thoughts rather than repress them.
In successful meditation, our mind is calm, focused, and expansive. But to succeed you must first escape the tendency toward restlessness. Visualization, prayer, and chanting focus our minds and direct our attention toward Spirit. Each works with a different function of the mind, and each, if done correctly, can connect us directly to our own higher self, the superconsciousness. These three activities, present in all religions, are the primary practices of most spiritual paths.
