MEDITATION – Culturing the Self
1. Sit straight in a cross-legged position. Eyes are closed. Chant from the navel in a two and one-half breath cycle, “Ek Ong Kaar – Sat Naam Siree – Wah-hay Guroo” (from “Raga Sadhana” by Sangeet Kaur & Harjinder Singh).
Continue for 11 or 31 minutes.
(Each sound of this mantra vibrates and integrates a different chakra within the aura. Take a deep inhale and chant “Ek Ong Kaar.” Ek is very short, as when we split the atom, releasing a humongous amount of energy from the first chakra. Ong is vibrated from the second chakra, resonating through the nostrils to experience the conch of the third eye. Kaar is vibrated from the navel. Take another deep inhale and chant “Sat Naam Siree.”
Sat is short, coming abruptly from the navel, pulling up the diaphragm. Naam is very long and resonates through the heart. Siree, the greatest of all the great powers— the Shakti—is chanted with the last bit of breath. It is pulled from the navel and up through the neck lock. Then take a short half breath and chant “Wah-hay Guroo.” Wah-hay and Guroo are released through the top of the head.)
2. Chant from the navel, “Sat Naam Sat Naam, Wah-hay Guroo Wah-hay Guroo” (“Sat Nam Wahe Guru” by Jagjit Singh). Continue for 3 minutes. To end, inhale deeply, hold, and meditatively recollect the sound you were chanting. Exhale. Repeat 2 more times. Relax.
In the first part of the meditation we break the atom to release power: we break the words, using the length of the breath, and we align the chakras. The central nervous system is involved. In the second part of the meditation we practice Bhakti, devotional chanting. It is most powerful when we chant and listen to our sound at the same time. If we only chant it has only half the power. Chanting and listening to the chant at the same time engages the higher consciousness, the circulatory system and the nervous system.
When you develop this listening power, you will be able to analyze what is good for you and what is not. Whenever another person talks. It is a very simple way to have knowledge. I hope you practice it.
Lecture
It takes many acres of grass to feed a cow to produce milk. When we add a culture to milk it becomes yogurt. When we churn yogurt it becomes butter. When we heat butter, the cholesterol and all impurities come out and it becomes ghee. Ghee is the purest form of grass. If a cow does not eat grass, and if its milk is not cultured, and butter is not heated, then ghee is not possible. Similarly there are stages of growth in a human mind. First is to evolve to group consciousness, where you merge with the Sadh Sangat—the holy congregation. Then is to have the touch of the master, a wise person who adds the culture. Then time churns you, and the heat of ecstasy purifies you. Meditation is when you force your mind to aim at something higher than yourself A statue of Krishna is not Krishna: is a statue! You meditate on it. It is you who, taking the guideline of that statue, become Krishna! We are very fortunate to have the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. We churn the words of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib to understand its meaning. It talks to us about our single and collective life. It is a meditation for us. The beauty of that is that it does not alter its statement, whether single or collective. Your power resides in your discipline. When you combine the elementary power of a human being with the power of discipline, you have the power of excellence. Then you cannot be swayed by anything. Then you see the highest self and the highest grace. A life without confirmed discipline has no foundations. Storms come and change the atmosphere, but those who live in a solid space are unshakable.
