Meditation is a process of reflecting the Infinite (Brahma, God, Krsna, Jehovah, Yahweh, Allah, etc.) on the mind. Does this sound impossible?Well it is!Mind can only reflect finite entities. So the process of meditation is actually a process of reflection that causes the mind to expand until it cannot expand anymore and explodes.When my mind explodes, what was outside my mind and what was inside my mind merge and that is Yoga.

To achieve this ecstatic experience the meditator creates a proper psychic environment as part of his or her meditation. The sense of Identity is focused to a point of being, withdrawn from its sense of having and doing.

How is this done?

When a person decides to meditate, the mind is already occupied with a multitude of thoughts related to present, past and future.Therefore, singing and dancing is the easiest way for the mind to be channeled in one direction.Singing and dancing is universal and primal.If you want to see intensity of concentration, attend a First Nation Tribal dance or a night club.Depending on the music and message, people in these gatherings lose body consciousness and become focused on the idea in the music.

Similarly, singing mantra and dancing rhythmically is a beginning step in preparing the mind for meditation.All the sensory and motor organs are engaged.When singing mantra there are three concerns, the acoustic impact, the meaning of the mantra and the relationship with the Infinite that the mantra enables.

Baba Nama Kevalama is the mantra I use.It has 8 syllables—Ba, Ba, Na, Ma, Ke, Va, La, Ma.Each of these sounds vibrates the endocrine and nervous system in a special way.Baba means beloved, nearest and dearest.Nama is name. We have given names to so many things so which name to choose?Kevalama means to focus mental energy like a magnifying glass concentrates light from the sun.So the mantra expresses the fact that I concentrate or focus (kevalama) all my physical and mental energies to one name (nama) of that Infinite Entity which is my Beloved (Baba).Singing and dancing this mantra creates a special vibration in my body and mind that prepares me for the next step in meditation.

Now as I sit for meditation I bring my mind slowly and gradually away from my senses away from their connection with the external environment.This is the having mind, the mind that identifies itself by what is “owns”. In various ways I identify myself with what I own or with what I have created out of the potentialities of the environment.I rise above smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing.I bring my sense of self above each of the five centers (cakras) in the trunk of the body. I am no longer aware of my body and its connection with the physical universe.

The next level of disassociation of the mind from the body is the concept that I am the one who is doing this meditation.I am responsible for what happens.I give my busy mind the duty of repeating my own individual mantra that sets up a particular relationship with the Infinite.Mantra has an energy of its own.I simply repeat the mantra with my breath.Breathing in I am individual, separate and unique.Breathing out I merge in the Divine, Oneness.The doing mind becomes busy with its doing-ness, repeating the mantra with the breath.

And now I am alone. It seems as though I am the only entity existing.

However I sense that surrounding me in every direction is the one, indescribable, unimaginable, indefinable who is witnessing the fact that I am.That entity is my Baba. And as I repeat my own mantra with my breath and feel the presence of that Infinite Witness, I feel that I am gradually being absorbed into that Infinite Oneness. That Infinite is pulling me into Oneness. I have no power here. I can do nothing. I can only surrender. It seems the mantra repeats itself. My mind dissolves.That which was within the boundaries of my mind longing for that Divine Embrace merges with itself in Holy Union.

My mind explodes into that Infinite Entity, I become Baba.

THIS IS YOGA!!!

My Consciousness is confined within a bundle of samskara’s which defines my mind. At some future time this samskara will express itself, complete itself, and then, it is called karma, action happening now. Samskara is the bottled up energy in the mind that was somehow not completed when the original action was done.

As a result of grace, this bundle of samskara’s is vibrated and some of these samskara's are released. This release allows me to see the world and my condition in a new way. However the remaining samskara’s act as a filter (some would call it ego) and through this filter I interpret my world as good or bad when actually it is only a process of returning to my orginal state of Oneness. When all my samskara’s are released then my individual consciousness can merge in Cosmic Consciousness and that is Yoga, union, my goal.

It is how I respond to grace that defines it as good or bad. Grace is neither positive nor negative. I personally do not agree that samskara’s are good or bad. Whether you define them as good or bad, they still confine my consciousness and it is my thirst for limitlessness that pulls me out of that confinement. Spirituality is a process of greater and greater intimacy called bhakti.

It is also the belief that I have only one life to live that gives a kind of finality to my experience. I may at first consider my experience as bad but then further down the road I may realize that because of that “bad” experience I had great realizations. Spirituality is not a business of profit and loss, good and bad, heaven and hell. Everything has to be brought in relationship. Keeping the Beloved always in my mind, a mental effort, is my karma that leads to bhakti.

In the evening after everyone had dinner, I was resting in my bunk bed on a ship carrying almost a thousand other people. It wasn’t a luxury ship. It was just a simple passenger liner. I was dressed in my saffron sannyasi uniform.

Sauntering through the maze of bunk beds, the captain of the ship was looking for something interesting to do. Quite frankly riding on a ship for 24 or 36 hours can be quite boring unless there is an occasional fish jumping out of the water or perhaps a rough sea.

So the captain was looking for some entertainment in the form of a conversation. Seeing me, lying on the bunk bed, he wandered over and asked me who I was and why I was dressed in saffron. He then invited me to the bridge where he and his men guide the ship through the sea to its destination. So I agreed. I was curious after all.

When we arrived on the bridge, I was struck by the silence. In the passenger area, there is a continuous noise coming from the engines. Here there was complete silence. The full moon was beautifully reflected on the sea water which was like glass. It was an awesome site.

I asked the captain what he would do if there were to be a typhoon. He replied that he would be advised ahead of time and would head for a safe port. Still curious I enquired further. I asked, “What if you had no time to reach the port or were not informed in time?” He then said that the important thing to remember is to keep the propeller running. If the propeller which moves the ship through the waves were to stop, then the ship would be at the mercy of the waves.

I suddenly realized that meditation and life is similar to his description. Sometimes meditation is like a calm sea with a beautiful reflection of Divinity on my mind. At other times my mind is like a typhoon of emotions and thoughts. It is important in the rough sea of emotions to keep the mantra running as the mantra is the propeller that moves me toward intimacy with the Divine and prevents me from becoming overwhelmed with my emotional challenges.

It is truly amazing that my Guru teaches me through the most ordinary events of life and they make deep impressions on my mind. I have never forgotten this experience even though it happened years ago.

Mantra and Ideation: A psychological approach to enhancing our spiritual connection

In this highly interactive and tranformative workshop, I lead participants in a series of exercises to understand how to use mantra as a tool for growth. Participants experience and exchange ideas on how mantra affects our physical body; how to use mantra to deal with the emotional issues that are bound to arise on the spiritual path; and how to apply mantra to experience a spiritual intimacy with the Divine..

One Day Intensive Description

When a person does meditation, two things happen. The mind expands allowing for a more magnificent reflection of Consciousness on the mind and all previously unresolved experiences bubble up into awareness. These past experiences are bubbling up because the mind is expanding, this is the natural response.

When any thoughts arise in meditation, it is important to acknowledge them, dialog with them, and satisfy them. In the Heart Circle, with the support of a safe community, we take time for each individual to resolve issues that have arisen as a result of mind-expanding spiritual practices. We experience the purposeful use of mantra to awaken these dormant thoughts, beliefs, and emotions; and learn techniques to dialog and resolve these issues.

1. What smells, tastes, sights, touches, or sounds in your environment connect you with your inner sense of happiness or pleasure?  Do you ever use memories of sensory experiences to connect with your inner sense of pleasure or happiness when you are alone or with close friends?

2. Did you ever meet your Guru?  Did you ever experience his darshan (seeing him) or visit him? Or did you experience him in some personal way after his death/departure?  What was your experience like?  Do you often remember that experience?  Does the memory of that experience rekindle the same or similar happiness as you had in person? Can you remember that experience now and hold onto that feeling now?  Where does that feeling come from and how do you hold it in your body or mind?

3. Have you ever thought that these memories of your Guru are similar to other sensory experiences?  Can you hold a particular sensory experience and savor it for a few moments?  And now can you hold your past experience with Guru and also savor it now for a few moments?  How are these two experiences similar?

4. After your Guru's death/departure did you ever seek out another Guru or spiritual personality to replace that external presence of Guru?  Did this new Guru or spiritual personality give you a similar internal happiness or joy as your experience with your previous Guru?

5. If you were to remove that external presence could you still hold onto that inner sense of happiness or joy?  Where does it reside?  Does it belong to you or to the external presence?

6. How do you use this internal experience of joy and happiness in your meditation?  Can you connect this internal experience with your own meditation without the need for an external source of inspiration?

I give you this quotation as my definition of the word authenticity, to unify the two into one.

As a child I remember how I used to sense that some inner voice was guiding me to act.  It was not only about what was “right” or “wrong”, but also whether I should study or not, play or not, meet this friend or that friend, etc.  I discovered that whenever I followed the advice of that inner voice, all went well.  When I did not, life was messy.  Sometimes there would be a conflict between what my inner voice told me to do and what the external society told me to do.  Sometimes I had to go away somewhere to gain the strength to follow my inner voice so I could stand up to the challenges of social demands.  I found that meditation was similar to that time away, gaining strength, although more powerfully.

Was I an unusual child?  Do all children have this experience?  I think it is the duty of every teacher to find out.  Every presenter has to know his or her audience.  Our children are our audience.  If the teacher is going to be effective, then he or she has to know the children.  Discovering where the children are physically, mentally, morally, socially and spiritually and then guiding them to their next level of development is the work of teaching.

I was a child, a small person in a big person’s world.  Sometimes the force of the big people was so powerful that I felt overwhelmed.  How could I follow my own inner voice surrounded by the voices of big people?  Being new to the planet I depended on the big people to take care of me, to protect me from harm and to explain what’s going on here. I remember wondering, “What are these big people trying to do?  Why do the big people want me to do these things?”  I must say that until I reached high school I wasn’t really sure what all these big people were talking about.  So I eventually went away to college so I could hear my own inner voice and try to follow it. There I learned that I needed to find a harmony between my external teachers, elders, guides and my internal voice.  My inner inspiration needed boundaries to express myself outwardly.

As a teacher, how do I help my children cultivate their inner voice?  How do I give them the space to be with their inner voice and discover who they are, what they want to do and how they want to do it?

Now I am one of those big people. I am a teacher and I meet young people all the time.  I want to share my self with them.  Am I able to remember how I felt at their age?  If I am going to be an effective teacher, I need to understand their thoughts and emotions.  I certainly do not want them to be overwhelmed by me.  I want to help them become aware of their power, not dominate them with my power. I want to welcome them into this strange new world, to give them a sense of belonging, to be with us here on this planet.  I want to give my legacy to them so that they can build on it.

Belonging is a very powerful need.  Sometimes the need to belong can even overpower conscience.  Internally I may know what is best for me to do, however I may go against my inner knowledge so that I can be accepted, especially if I do not have the strength to be who I want to be.  Every child wants to be somebody and also wants to belong to the group.  How can I as a teacher help these children fulfill that desire?  As a teacher, how do I help children find the connection between their inner “I” and the outer “I”.

We perform physical exercises to develop our bodies.  We do mathematics and science to develop our intellect.  We study art and literature to develop our emotional bodies.  Meditation develops our intuition.  As a teacher I would not neglect any of these disciplines.  I want to develop the whole child.  I want to give the child the tools to be authentic.