pavitra on meditation and discipline

8/20/2019 Pavitra on Meditation and Discipline

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On Meditation and Discipline

PAVITRA


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Table of Contents

On Meditation

On Discipline

The Miracle of Birth


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On Meditation

Select a 1uiet and secluded place where you will 2eel secure and

undisturbed 2or at least three 1uarters o2 an hour to one hour.Sit in a chair or an arm chair with the back resting or, i2 you

pre2er, cross-legged on a cushion or a carpet. straight body ispre2erable but without strain. 3n 2act posture is o2 little importance.What is important is to 2eel at ease so that the body can be rapidly2orgotten. )ecumbent position is not advisable, e4cept in case o2illness or incapacity, as it induces sleep.

lways begin the meditation by an inner call or a prayer, anaspiration towards the Divine.

a' 2irst method consists in watching the thoughts as theyswarm about in the mind. 5our mind is like a public place across

which thoughts move in and out. 2ew attract your attention andremain a longer time. 6bserve their play without identi2ying yoursel2

with any o2 them. 5ou will become aware that your consciousness 7

that is your mental sel2 7 stands apart like a 8Silent Witness9separate 2rom the movements o2 the mental nature in you. 6n oneside this 8Witness onsciousness9, on the other the mental naturein you.

Because you re2use to identi2y yoursel2 with the thoughts, theirmotion and insistence gradually weaken. The waves o2 the mentalnature subside and a2ter a time you enter into a state called

81uietude9 or 81uiet mind9. Thoughts still occur but they aresubdued and do not disturb inner perceptions.

b' nother method o2 mental control consists in creating a voidin your mind. 3t is 1uicker and more radical than the 2irst but alsomore di22icult. 5ou have to banish altogether all thoughts 2rom themind. s soon as one comes in, push it out or discard it right away,be2ore it has time to settle down. ;ot only should all reasonings bee4cluded in this way but all memories and associations too. 5ourmind enters gradually into the peace o2 81uietude9.

5ou should know that such an attempt to 2orce2ully control the


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mind results at times in an apparent increase or the mental chaoticcondition. Donoy or pleasure 7 can be compared. 3t is an impersonalstate, without an ob>ect, and still there is a /resence, invisible butpenetrating into the depths o2 the soul, or perhaps descending 2romthe highest ranges o2 the Spirit.

ll doubts have disappeared, problems vanished. 3nstead therereign security, con2idence, certitude.

The world, things and beings no longer re1uire to be e4plainedAtheir very e4istence is their own >usti2ication. They 8are9 7 2rom alleternity 7 and they will never cease to be, now or ever. Death has


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become an absurd impossibility.

62 the wonder2ul e4periences that one reaches in this stale anumber o2 descriptions have been given which vary according tothe depths that have been reached, the aspects that came 2orward,the individual conditions and spiritual needs o2 the time andaccompanying occurrences &such as light, opening to a universalconsciousness above the head. etc.'. What is spoken o2 here is notvisions 7 visions are o2 a 1uite di22erent nature 7 but 8states o2 mind9or rather, 8states o2 consciousness9.

=ystics o2 all countries who have lived these e4periences havegiven them various names: the ?reat /eace, the ord


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On Discipline

The e4periences >ust now described are 2ugitiveE short time a2ter

the meditation is over, they lose their living 2orce and, in spite o2 alle22orts at retaining them, they 2ade away. This transience comes2rom the composite structure o2 our being. We are made up o2several pieces each pulling in a di22erent direction. Below thehighest aspiration and will are the mental and the vital beings, thenthe material body, and each o2 these is itsel2 a compound o2 manyparts. ll these parts react di22erently to the solicitations o2 the outer

world. These cross currents blur the memory o2 spirituale4periences.

The 2orce, peace. light and bliss perceived or received duringmeditation can only remain alive all through our ordinary engrossingactivities, i2 all the parts o2 our being are organised harmoniously toaccept their guidance. To this end a strict discipline isindispensableA it alone can allow this 8uni2ication9 o2 our being andprepare it.

5ou will soon realiFe that uni2ication is an arduous task. 3t goesagainst all normal habits which consider sense li2e as the onlyreality. long and insistent discipline can however break down allresistance and bring about a trans2ormation o2 our being, thecrowning e4perience o2 which is a decisive reversal o2 our wakingconsciousness.

@ere is an outline o2 Sri urobindoection and surrender,

7 an aspiration vigilant, constant, unceasing 7 the mindection o2 themind


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re>ection o2 the vital natureealousy, envy, hostility to the Truth, so that the true power and >oy may pour 2rom above into a calm, large, strong andconsecrated vital being 7 re>ection o2 the physical nature


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guides you, and has always guided you throughout the years. new >oy will rise 2or you every morning.

a' During your meditation you have e4perienced that yourmental sel2 can stand aloo2 2rom the mental nature in you and isthere2ore separate 7 on one side: you, yoursel2A on the other: yourthoughts, ideas, opinions &are they really yoursI'.

b' 5ou can now e4tend this dissociation to the realm o2 emotionsand 2eelings. This is better done in the daily li2e itsel2. When you2eel an emotion 7 disgust, anger, greed or passion 7 rising in you,stand aloo2 and observe. 5ou will at once notice that the emotion or2eeling loses its grip on you or even vanishes, This realiFationbrings you. the means o2 controlling your &are they really yoursI'

2eelings, emotions, cravings 7 the vital nature in you.c' Then comes the third realiFation, the distinction between you

and your physical body 7 the most di22icult o2 the three. Stand aside2rom your sensations and observe that your sel2 is the same

whether they come or go. Dissociate your sel2 alike 2rom thepleasant and the unpleasant or pain2ul. )ealiFe that none o2 them isable to move you unless you accept it and identi2y your sel2 with it.

This dis>unction between you and your physical reactions isdi22icult because you have been trained all your li2e to consider thephysical world as the only reality. But once it is achieved, it bringsto you an immense gain: the control over the physical nature in you,its obscurity and dullness, its instability and 2ragility. So long as thisdis>unction is not there, you are the slave o2 your body 7 onceachieved you are its master.

The triple-dissociation thus established will allow you toaccomplish every action, even the most trivial, to the best o2 yourability, with great concentration, control and e22iciency. 5ou willperceive that, as Sri urobindo says. the Divine Shakti is pouringinto you 8more and more o2 hersel29, 2ounding in you 8the 2reedomand per2ection o2 the Divine ;ature9. 5ou will uncover a treasure o2concealed nanda, o2 which indi22erence, pain and >oy are a tripledisguise. She brings thus to you the key to per2ection in 5oga and

to the trans2ormation o2 your nature.3t is an e4cellent habit to include a little reading in your discipline.

Take up the books o2 Sri urobindo and the =other that are


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available to you. 3t is not necessary to read much 7 hal2 an hour aday su22ices. )ead slowly, read again i2 need be, then ponder over

what you have read and think o2 it at times during the day. Try toput it into practice, to live it. 5ou will thus gradually come in touch

with Sri urobindo and the =other


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The Miracle of Birth

3 saw my soul a traveler through TimeA

rom li2e to li2e the cosmic ways it trod,6bscure in the depths and on the heights sublime. !volving 2rom the worm into the god.

spark o2 the eternal ire, it came To build a house in =atter 2or the Jnborn.The inconscient sunless ;ight received the 2lame.

3n the brute seed o2 things dumb and 2orlorni2e stirred and thought outlined a gleaming shape Till on the stark inanimate earth could move,Born to somnambulist ;ature in her sleep thinking creature who can hope and love.

Still by slow steps the miracle goes on,

The 3mmortal


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Pavitra

/avitra &/hilippe Barbier Saint-@ilaire' &2rom the Sanskrit word 2orKpureK' was one o2 the very early disciples o2 Sri urobindo and The

=other. @e was born in /aris, Lanuary "*, "(#. 3n "#" hegraduated 2rom the Mcole /olytechni1ue with a degree in!ngineering. @e served in the army in World War 3 as an artilleryo22icer, and a2ter the war worked as a >unior engineer in /aris, at the=inistry o2 transport and communication.

@e was interested in occultism, and in "#%+ departed 2or Lapanto study Nen Buddhism. 3n "#% he le2t Lapan and spend time withtantric lamas in monasteries in ;orth hina and =ongolia.

3n "#%H he came to 3ndia and met Sri urobindo and The =otherin /ondicherry, where he was accepted as a sadhak, and Sriurobindo gave him the name /avitra &OlearnessO'. 3n "#H" the=other appointed him director o2 the >ust 2ounded Sri urobindo3nternational Jniversity entre. @e served in this position 2oreighteen years, as well as the general secretary o2 the Sriurobindo shram, until his death in "#*#. The =other reports in

genda &=ay "#*#' that /avitra le2t his body in a totally yogic wayand merged with her.

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