“To understand the immeasurable, the mind must be extraordinarily quiet, still.”
-Jiddu Krishnamurti
"Pay no attention to your thoughts. Don't fight them. Just do nothing about them, let them be, whatever they are. Your very fighting them gives them life. Just disregard. Look through. You need not stop thinking. Just cease being interested. Stop your routine of acquisitiveness, your habit of looking for results and the freedom of the universe is yours."
-Nisargadatta
Happy Passover!
Today I am writing on the continuing series of posts on meditation. I am focusing on another of the more advanced forms of meditation, an exercise which is much more than stilling the mind.
There are many forms of meditation, so I imagine I will have many of these posts on the subject, but thankfully that just means I have something to write about.
I feel I should clarify on one thing- not all the forms of meditation I am writing about I do actively. I have at one point or another dabbled in those I am writing about, giving them a try for a week or a month, or in-between long stretches of time, but that does not mean I actively engage in them. I am merely offering an example of kinds of meditation one can choose to explore; what works for one will not necessarily work for everyone.
The technique I would like to focus on today is that of Jangama dhyana, a yogic technique which found its roots as early as 2500 years ago when the Bhagavad Gita was composed. The technique is taught as the following by Baba Shiva Rudra Balayogi Maharaj,
"Sit, closing the eyes.
Concentrate the mind and sight in between eyebrows.
Keep watching there by focusing the attention.
Do not repeat any mantra or name.
Do not imagine anything.
Do not open eyes until the duration of meditation is over."
Interestingly, other cultures have recognized this principle of an inner essence in association with the divine. In Hebrew the word is Shekinah, and refers to the divine presence when one gathers together with others.
In Matthew 18:20 it is also reflected in Christianity, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
This meditative technique is excellent for self-realization. It allows one to isolate the inner essence from one's mind, where thoughts and other inputs generate and come together. All thoughts have an impact on the mind, as do all emotions.
By practicing this one can identify that process, and in a sense absorbs the mind into the inner essence.
When I speak about inner being, or our inner essence, I am speaking of who we are when we strip away the layers of identification. When we define ourselves, and then subtract our sex, our religion, what we have done, everything until we are just left with that 'me' that is present, even when many have not contemplated the matter and have yet to observe how they are present in experiential existence.
This meditation technique allows one to observe when one is being affected externally, such as by sensations or experiences, or internally by their thoughts. I often liken our inner essence as being like a smoke, and external sensations being like the wind which affects that smoke to curl. Our inner thoughts are what cause the smoke to curl on its own even when outside currents aren't affecting it, though of course in practicality this never occurs. It is always a combination of the two which affects the form of that smoke, and it is a combination of sensations, thoughts, emotions, and experiences which combine together to affect and change our inner being.
This is important for a martial artist, because it allows us to identify ourselves within the arts we practice, how those styles we practice affect us. It allows us to actually be present when we practice our forms or techniques, when we fight- it removes ghafla, the distracting fly, as Frank Herbert puts it, and allows us greater focus and control when we do practice. I believe that essential for martial artists to have, because so many of us when we practice become distracted which affects how we perform.
“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
-Thich Nhat Hanh
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