1912 · PDF PAGE 40
Book 4 (Part I)
A GOOD POSITION FOR MEDITATION.
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Page 1 of 11912 · PDF PAGE 15
Book 4 (Part I)
PART ἷ MEDITATION OR THE WAY OF ATTAINMENT OF GENIUS OR GODHEAD CONSIDERED AS A DEVELOPMENT OF THE HUMAN BRAIN
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1912 · PDF PAGE 54
Book 4 (Part I)
…n the sedentary; for in this way walking and fresh air are assured. But some of the Sedentary practice should be done, and combined with meditation. Of course when actually “ racing ” to get results, walking is a distraction.
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1912 · PDF PAGE 101
Book 4 (Part I)
…conditions of Samadhi; but in the meantime there seems no particular objection to our following tradition, and using the same objects of meditation as our predecessors,with the single exception which we shall note in due course. The first class of objects for serious meditation (as opposed to pre- liminary practice, in which one should keep to simple recognizable objects, whose definitenessis easy to maintain) is varz'ousparz'sofz‘lzelady. The Hindus have an elaborate system of anatomy and physiology which has apparently no reference to the facts…
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1912 · PDF PAGE 24
Book 4 (Part I)
…tue” (of various kinds), solitude, absence of excitement, moderation in diet, and finally a practice which some call prayer and some call meditation. (The former four may turn out on examination to be merely conditions favourable to the last.) On investigating what is meant by these two things, we find that they are only one. For what is the state of either prayer or meditation? It is the restraining of the mind to a single act, state, or thought. If we sit down quietly and investigate the contents of our minds, we shall find that even at the best…
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1912 · PDF PAGE 26
Book 4 (Part I)
…ice which tells us that we have had enough. The same rule applies to sleep. We have determined to control our minds, and so our time for meditation must take precedence of other hours. We must fix times for practice, and make our feasts movable. In order to test our progress, for we shall find that (as in all physio- logical matters) meditation cannot be gauged by the feelings, We shall have a note-book and pencil, and we shall also have a watch. We shall then endeavour to count how often, during the first quarter of an hour, the mind breaks away …
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1912 · PDF PAGE 100
Book 4 (Part I)
…inking of any common object of the sea-shore, such as a blue pig ; but Frater P.,s constant reference to this as the usual object of his meditation need not be taken cm pied de-Za [612%. His records of meditation contain no reference to this remarkable animal. - It will be a good thing when organized research has determined the 1 It is rather a breach of the scepticism which is the basis of our system to admit that anything can be in any way better than another. Do it thus: “ A. is a thing that B. thinks ‘holy.’ It is natural therefore for B. t…
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1912 · PDF PAGE 12
Book 4 (Part I)
Χ So like a flame straight and unstirred Burn up thy being in one word! Next, still that ecstasy, prolong Thy meditation steep and strong, Slaying even God, should He distract Thy attention from the chosen act! Last, all these things in one o’erpowered, Time that the midnight blossom flowered! The oneness is. Yet even in this, My son, thou shalt not do amiss If thou restrain the expression, shoot Thy glance to rapture’s darkling root, Discarding name, form, sight, and stress Even of this high consciousness; Pierce to the heart! I leave thee here:…
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1912 · PDF PAGE 79
Book 4 (Part I)
…uthorities have been fairly reliable guides, except with regard to their crabbed ethics,- but when they get on the subject of results of meditation, they completely lose their heads. 63
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1912 · PDF PAGE 47
Book 4 (Part I)
…his sceptical system one had better content one’s self with statements which are not worth the trouble of doubting. The ultimate idea of meditation being to still the mind, it may be considered a useful preliminary to still conscious- ness of all the functions of the body. This has been dealt with in the chapter on Asana. One may, however, mention that some Yogis carry it to the point of trying to stop the beating of the heart. Whether this be desirable or no it would be useless to the beginner, so he Will endeavour to make the breathing very s…
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1912 · PDF PAGE 37
Book 4 (Part I)
…ch is firm and pleasant.” This may be taken as meaning the result of success in the practice. 1 Yoga is the general name for that form of meditation which aims at the uniting of subject and object, for 3/08”is the root from which are derived the Latinwordjugum and the English word Yoke. 23
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1912 · PDF PAGE 49
Book 4 (Part I)
…e in sound, as the pantacle 1 should do in form. Occasion- ally a mantra may be “given,” i.e., heard in some unexplained manner during a meditation. One man, for example, used the words: “And strive to see in everything the will of God; ” to another, while engaged ’ apparently referring to the action of the inhibitory centres which he was using. By in killing thoughts, came the words “and push it down,’ keeping on with this he got his “ result.” The ideal mantra should be rhythmical, one might even say musical; but there should be sufficient emp…
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1912 · PDF PAGE 75
Book 4 (Part I)
…al sensations. These should have been overcome by Asana. Secondly, breaks that seem to be dictated by events immediately pre- ceding the meditation. Their activity becomes tremendous. Only by this practice does one understand how much is really observed by the senses without the mind becoming conscious of it. Zsz'rdly, there is a class of breaks partaking of the nature of reverie or “ day-dreams.” These are very insidious-one may go on for a long time without realizing that one has wandered at all. Fowl/21y, we get a very high class of break, w…
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1912 · PDF PAGE 58
Book 4 (Part I)
…ing anything by mischance is, on the whole, worse than a hand-to-hand conflict with a griesly bear. If the barking of a dog disturbs your meditation, it is simplest to shoot the dog, and think no more about it. A similar difficulty with wives has caused some masters to recommend celibacy. In all these questions common sense must be the guide. No fixed rule can be laid down. The “non-receiving of gifts,” for instance, is rather important for a Hindu, who would be thoroughly upset for weeks if any one gave him a coconut: but the average Euro— pean t…
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1912 · PDF PAGE 76
Book 4 (Part I)
…s of breaks. As control improves, the percentage of primaries and secondaries will diminish, even though the total number of breaks in a meditation remain stationary. By the time that you are meditating two or three hours-a day, and filling up most of the rest of the day with other practices de- signed to assist, when nearly every time something or other happens,and there is constantly a feeling of being “ on the brink of something pretty big,” one may expect to proceed to the next state—Dhyana.
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1912 · PDF PAGE 102
Book 4 (Part I)
86 and more convincing if the meditation is directed to an object which in itself is apparently unimportant. One does not want the mind to be excited in any way, even by adoration. See the three meditative methods in Liber HHH (Equinox VI).1 At the same time, one would not like to deny positively that it is very much easier to take some idea towards which the mind would naturally flow. The Hindus assert that the nature of the object determines the Samadhi; that is, the nature of those lower Samadhis which confer so— called “magic powers.” For ex…
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1912 · PDF PAGE 91
Book 4 (Part I)
…te the mind but to calm it, not to produce any one thought but to exclude all thoughts; for there is no connection between the object of meditation and the Dhyana. Why must we suppose a breaking down of the whole process, especially as the mind bears no subsequent traces of any interference, such as pain or fatigue? Surely this once, if never again, the Hindu image expressesthe simplest theory! That image is that of a lake into which five glaciers move. These glaciers are the senses. While ice (the impressions) is breaking off constantly into th…
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1912 · PDF PAGE 27
Book 4 (Part I)
…ccess. In your early struggles you may have found it difficult to conquer sleep; and you may have wandered so far from the object of your meditations without noticing it, that the meditation has really been broken; but much later on, when you feel that you are “getting quite good,” you will be shocked to find a complete oblivion of yourself and
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1912 · PDF PAGE 28
Book 4 (Part I)
… you are doing! This is only one of many adventures that may come to you ; but it is one of the most typical. By this time your hours of meditation will fill most of the day, and you will probably be constantly having presenti- ments that something is about to happen. You may also be terrified with the idea that your brain may be giving way ; but you will have learnt the real symptoms of mental fatigue, and you will be careful to avoid them. They must be very carefully distinguished from idleness! At certain times you will feel as if there were a…
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