PRACTICAL LESSONS IN YOGA

Exercises

Place a picture of Lord Jesus in front of you. Sit in your favourite meditative pose.

Concentrate gently with open eyes on the picture till tears trickle down your cheeks. Rotate the

mind on the cross, on the chest, long hairs, beautiful beard, round eyes, and the various other limbs

of his body; the fine spiritual aura emanating from his head, and so on. Think of his divine attributes

such as love, magnanimity, mercy and forbearance. Think of the various phases of his interesting

life and the “miracles” he performed and the various “extraordinary” powers he possessed. Then

close your eyes and try to visualise the picture. Repeat the same process again and again.

Place a picture of Lord Hari in front of you. Sit again in your meditative posture.

Concentrate gently on the picture till you shed tears. Rotate the mind on His feet, legs, yellow silken

robes, golden garland set with diamonds, Koustubha gem, etc., on the chest, the earrings, then the

face, the crown of the head, the disc oh the right upper hand, the conch on the left upper hand, the

mace on the right lower hand, and the lotus-flower on the left lower hand. Then close the eyes and

try to visualise the picture. Repeat the same process again and again.

III

Keep a picture of Lord Krishna with flute in hands in front of you. Sit in your meditative

pose and gently concentrate on the picture till you shed tears. Think of His feet adorned with

anklets, yellow garment, various ornaments round His neck, the necklace set with the Koustubha

gem, the long garland of beautiful flowers of various colours, ear-rings, crown set with precious

jewels of priceless value, dark and long hairs, sparkling eyes, the Tilaka+on the forehead, the

magnetic aura round His head, long hands adorned with bracelets and armlets, and the flute in the

hands ready to be played upon. Then close your eyes and visualise the picture. Repeat the same

process again and again.

This is one kind of meditation for beginners. Sit on Padmasana in your meditation room.

Close your eyes. Meditate on the effulgence in the sun, or the splendour in the moon or the glory in

the stars.

+ Mark or symbol made with sandalwood or ungent.

Meditate on the magnanimity of the ocean and its infinite nature. Then compare the ocean to

the Infinite Brahman, and the waves, foams and ice-bergs to the various names and forms. Identify

yourself with the ocean. Become silent. Expand. Expand.

This is another kind of meditation. Meditate on the Himalayas. Imagine that the Ganga

takes its origin in the icy regions of Gangotri near Uttarakasi, flows through Rishikesh. Haridwar,

Benares, and then enters into the Bay of Bengal near Gangasagar. Himalayas, Ganga and the

sea—these three thoughts only should occupy your mind. First take your mind to the icy regions of

Gangotri. Then along the Ganga and finally to the sea. Rotate the mind in this manner for 10

minutes.

VII

There is a living Universal Power that underlies all these names and forms. Meditate on this

Power which is formless. This will terminate in the realisation of the Absolute, Nirguna, Nirakara

(formless) Consciousness eventually.

VIII

Sit on Padmasana. Close your eyes. Gaze steadily on the formless air only. Concentrate on

the air. Meditate on the all-pervading nature of the air. This will lead to the realisation of the

nameless and formless Brahman, the One Living Truth.

Sit on your meditative pose. Close your eyes. Imagine that there is a supreme, infinite

effulgence hidden behind all these names and forms which is tantamount to the effulgence of crores

of suns put together. This is another form of Nirguna meditation.

Concentrate and meditate on the expansive blue sky. This is another kind of Nirguna

meditation. By the previous methods of concentration the mind will cease thinking of finite forms.

It will slowly begin to melt in the ocean of Peace, as it is deprived of its contents. The mind will

become subtler and subtler.

Have the picture ofOMin front of you. Concentrate gently on this picture with open eyes till

tears flow profusely. Associate the ideas of eternity, infinity, immortality, etc., when you think of

OM. The humming of bees, the sweet notes of the nightingale, the seven tunes in music, and all

sounds are emanating from OM only. OM is the essence of the Vedas. Imagine that OM is the bow,

the mind is the arrow and Brahman (God) is the target. Aim at the target with great care and then,

like the arrow becomes one with the target, you will become one with Brahman. The short accent of

OM burns all sins, the long accent gives Moksha, and the elongated accent bestows all psychic

powers (Siddhis). He who chants and meditates upon this monosyllable OM chants and meditates

upon all the Scriptures of the world.

XII

Sit on Padmasana or Siddhasana in your meditation room. Watch the flow of breath. You

will hear the sound “SOHAM”, So during inhalation and ham during exhalation. SOHAM means I

AM HE. The breath is reminding you of your identity with the Supreme Soul. You are

unconsciously repeating Soham 21,600 times daily at the rate of 15 Sohams per minute. Associate

the ideas of Existence, Knowledge, Bliss, Absolute, Purity, Peace, Perfection, Love, etc., along

with Soham. Negate the body while repeating the Mantra and identify yourself with the Atman or

the Supreme Soul.

XIII

Uddhava asked Lord Krishna: “O Lotus-eyed! How to meditate on Thee! Tell me what is

the nature of that meditation and what it is?” To which Lord Krishna replied: “Be seated on the

Asana that is neither high nor low, with your body erect and in an easy posture. Place your hands on

the lap. Fix your gaze on the tip of the nose (in order to fix the mind). Purify the tracks of Prana by

Puraka, Kumbhaka and Rechaka, and then again in the reverse way i.e., first breathe in by the left

nostril with the right nostril closed by the tip of the thumb, then close the left nostril by the tips of the

ring finger and the little finger and retain the breath in both the nostrils. Then remove the tip of the

thumb and breathe out through the right nostril. Reverse the process by breathing in through the

right nostril, then retaining the breath in both the nostrils and letting out the breath through the left

nostril. Practise this Pranayama gradually with your senses controlled.

“Aum” with the sound of a bell, extends all over, from Muladhara+ upwards. Raise the

“Aum” in the heart by means of Prana (twelve fingers upwards) as if it were the thread of a

lotus-stalk. There let Bindu (the fifteenth vowel sound) be added to it. Thus practice Pranayama

accompanied by the Pranava reciting the latter ten times. Continue the practice, three times a day,

and within a month you shall be able to control the vital air. The lotus of the heart has its stalk

upwards and the flower downwards, facing below (and it is also closed, like the inflorescence with

bracts of the banana Sridhara). Meditate on it, however, as facing upwards and full-blown, with

eight petals and with the pericap. On the pericap, think of the sun, the moon, and fire one after

another. First meditate on all the limbs. Then let the mind withdraw the senses from their objects.

Then draw the concentrated mind completely towards Me, by means of Buddhi (intellect). Then

give up all other limbs and concentrate on one thing only, My smiling face. Do not meditate on

anything else. Then withdraw the concentrated mind from that and fix it on the Akasa (ether). Give

+ See Lesson XI.

up that also and being fixed in Me (as Brahman) think of nothing at all. You shall see Me in Atman,

as identical with all Atmans, even as light is identical with another light. The delusions about

objects, knowledge and action shall then completely disappear. This is a beautiful exercise for

meditation prescribed by Lord Krishna Himself in the Bhagavata Purana.