SPIRITUALITY
bad. It is only the bad one that has to be
avoided. For this, wisdom is important.
But wisdom can only be attained once
we have realized our self, and self-
realization can’t happen without
calming the mind and reaching to the
depths within us. So calm the mind first.
The practice of Yoga aims at calming the
mind in the initial phase.
This is what it does. Meditation throws
trash into trash. It’s a great strength for
me today, and I am sure for those
millions of people who have learnt this
mind control technique and been
practicing it regularly. I’d go as far as to
term it as a “life saver”.
Dharana is actually the initial phase of
Yoga in which the practitioner or seeker
begins as a completely ignorant being.
There lies darkness inside, there lie
frequent interceptions by the mind,
there lies lapse in concentration, and
there lies lack of physical ability to
sustain meditation for long periods.
30 www.yogicherald.com Apr./May 2019
Hence the practitioner is only asked to
meditate for 30 minutes in the initial
phase. In these 30 minutes, one has to
simply try to concentrate at the place
one has been asked to.
Those who practice dharana go through
various criss-cross and spiral
movements that finally take them to a
pin-point (bindu) where they can
meditate. This point is the place where
concentration and non-judgemental
observation happenss. During such a
session of concentration, there are no
interceptions from the mind. The
practitioner is completely immersed in
what one can call – Shunya. While
performing meditation in some
particular points or shunyas in the
body, one can experience powerful
cosmic vibrations such as AUM. During
dhyana, one is completely at peace.
Post Kundalini awakening, the
practitioner experiences and practices
some life transforming Kriyas (of what I
prefer to call autonomous Yoga).
The regular practice of meditation
balances our chakras and pancha
kosha, stabilizes our body and mind,
heals us at a physical, psychological,
aural and intellectual level, completely
relieves us from stress, and takes us
from mind control in level one to
complete awareness of the self. A great
meditation technique is to simply
observe everything happening within