Emotions experienced during Bandagi
Emotions experienced during Bandagi
Hi, I was just wondering if it is common to experience moments of sadness and frustration upon practicing bandagi?<BR>
In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna (the ideal disciple) questions Lord Krishna (the Imam) on this issue as (Chapter 6: 33,34):
33- Thous has told me of a Yoga of constant oneness, O Kishna, of a communion which is ever one. But, Krishna, the mind is inconstant: in its restlessness I cannot find rest.
34- The mind is restless, Krishna, impetuous, self-willed, hard to train: to master the mind seems as difficult as to master the mighty winds.
Lord Krishna responds:
35- The mind is indeed restless, Arjuna: It is indeed hard to train. But by constant practice and by freedom from passions the mind in truth can be trained.
36- When the mind is not in harmony, this divine communion is hard to attain; but the man whose mind is in harmony attains it, if he knows and if he strives.
Paramhansa Yogananda commenting upon the above verses states in his "God Talks With Arjuna - The Bhagavad Gita":
[At tiimes the Yogi feels his invading restlessness to be stronger than the restlessness-dissolving power of yoga; he should then patiently pray to God until that intoxication of delusive habit wears off and he becomes free.
Arjuna the devotee, prays within: "O God. Thou slayer of Madhu, the demon of ignorance! the yoga that I have been practicing has given me some tranquility; yet I do not see its lasting benefit! Restlessness still invades my mind."
The novice yogi, even after repeatedly experiencing peace during the practice of yoga, may yet be confronted by restless thoughts suddenly springing to the surface of conciousness from long-hidden subconcious sources. This invasion should not influence the yogi to abandon yoga through disbelief in its power to produce a lasting tranquility. He will find that the subconscious habits of restlessness will gradually cease to appear in a mind that becomes strongly fortified by the habit of meditation.
The aspirant should not be discouraged by initial failure in the most difficult art of mind control. By scientific yoga the beginner finds the right way to free the mind from all conscious and subconscious restlessness. Of course, much depends on one's intensity, zeal, and continuity. These will help the mind grow into the habit of peace and to rise above the unnatural mortal habit of restlessness that is rooted in the identification of conciousness with the bodily senses.
It is natural for the people who constantly indulge in restless habits to become more restless; similarly it is natural for calm devotees, those who perseveringly practice the proper methods of yoga, to become more divinely tranquil.
The real nature of the soul as ever new bliss develops, instead, a powerful eclipsing "second nature" of restlessness when identified with the body. In that state it is "natural" for the mind to be boisterous and unruly. Yet, by yoga practice, when the mind contacts the soul's bliss and becomes disengaged from the short-lived sense pleasures, the consciousness of the devotee again displays its true restful divine nature. Man has not to acquire, but to remember, the soul joy within.
In response to the prayer of the ideal devotee Arjuna, his God-incarnate guru, Krishna, revealed to him the following wisdom, applicable to all yogis:
"O mighty-armed devotee, made in the image of Spirit! no doubt the mind is restless and difficult to control! But there are two ways to subdue it. First: By meditation and ecstacy the mind must be taught to regain its natural power of abiding in the soul's tranquil state. Second: At the same time, the mind must be dispassionately disengaged from desires for pleasures of this world and of the hereafter- desires that stimulate the mind to restlessness."
In other words, the yogi should revive by daily deep yoga practices the memory of soul tranquility, and should simultaneously keep the mind away from external and internal temptations. He cannot permanently feel the joy of his soul in meditation if he does not sever his desireful ties with the sensory environment.
The yogi should not stimulate his material habits by remaining, through choice, in unspiritual environments and by merely dreaming of the heavenly joys of sainthood. By staying away from worldly-pleasure-reminding environments and by relinquishing sense attractions, the yogi is better able to concentrate on the divine bliss of the soul. As a naughty boy should be removed from a restless environment and kept, instead, in the company of a calm friend, so the yogi should remove his restless mind from sense entanglements and keep it concentrated on soul perceptions.]
I think it should also be realized that Baitul-Khayal is only one facet of Ibadat which includes Dua, Dasond, Seva, good deeds and seeking knowledge. And therefore we should also be conscious of other duties in our lives and be mindful of our actions and thoughts. Seeking correct knowledge helps to orient the mind in the right direction, which in turn helps to still the mind during meditation.
33- Thous has told me of a Yoga of constant oneness, O Kishna, of a communion which is ever one. But, Krishna, the mind is inconstant: in its restlessness I cannot find rest.
34- The mind is restless, Krishna, impetuous, self-willed, hard to train: to master the mind seems as difficult as to master the mighty winds.
Lord Krishna responds:
35- The mind is indeed restless, Arjuna: It is indeed hard to train. But by constant practice and by freedom from passions the mind in truth can be trained.
36- When the mind is not in harmony, this divine communion is hard to attain; but the man whose mind is in harmony attains it, if he knows and if he strives.
Paramhansa Yogananda commenting upon the above verses states in his "God Talks With Arjuna - The Bhagavad Gita":
[At tiimes the Yogi feels his invading restlessness to be stronger than the restlessness-dissolving power of yoga; he should then patiently pray to God until that intoxication of delusive habit wears off and he becomes free.
Arjuna the devotee, prays within: "O God. Thou slayer of Madhu, the demon of ignorance! the yoga that I have been practicing has given me some tranquility; yet I do not see its lasting benefit! Restlessness still invades my mind."
The novice yogi, even after repeatedly experiencing peace during the practice of yoga, may yet be confronted by restless thoughts suddenly springing to the surface of conciousness from long-hidden subconcious sources. This invasion should not influence the yogi to abandon yoga through disbelief in its power to produce a lasting tranquility. He will find that the subconscious habits of restlessness will gradually cease to appear in a mind that becomes strongly fortified by the habit of meditation.
The aspirant should not be discouraged by initial failure in the most difficult art of mind control. By scientific yoga the beginner finds the right way to free the mind from all conscious and subconscious restlessness. Of course, much depends on one's intensity, zeal, and continuity. These will help the mind grow into the habit of peace and to rise above the unnatural mortal habit of restlessness that is rooted in the identification of conciousness with the bodily senses.
It is natural for the people who constantly indulge in restless habits to become more restless; similarly it is natural for calm devotees, those who perseveringly practice the proper methods of yoga, to become more divinely tranquil.
The real nature of the soul as ever new bliss develops, instead, a powerful eclipsing "second nature" of restlessness when identified with the body. In that state it is "natural" for the mind to be boisterous and unruly. Yet, by yoga practice, when the mind contacts the soul's bliss and becomes disengaged from the short-lived sense pleasures, the consciousness of the devotee again displays its true restful divine nature. Man has not to acquire, but to remember, the soul joy within.
In response to the prayer of the ideal devotee Arjuna, his God-incarnate guru, Krishna, revealed to him the following wisdom, applicable to all yogis:
"O mighty-armed devotee, made in the image of Spirit! no doubt the mind is restless and difficult to control! But there are two ways to subdue it. First: By meditation and ecstacy the mind must be taught to regain its natural power of abiding in the soul's tranquil state. Second: At the same time, the mind must be dispassionately disengaged from desires for pleasures of this world and of the hereafter- desires that stimulate the mind to restlessness."
In other words, the yogi should revive by daily deep yoga practices the memory of soul tranquility, and should simultaneously keep the mind away from external and internal temptations. He cannot permanently feel the joy of his soul in meditation if he does not sever his desireful ties with the sensory environment.
The yogi should not stimulate his material habits by remaining, through choice, in unspiritual environments and by merely dreaming of the heavenly joys of sainthood. By staying away from worldly-pleasure-reminding environments and by relinquishing sense attractions, the yogi is better able to concentrate on the divine bliss of the soul. As a naughty boy should be removed from a restless environment and kept, instead, in the company of a calm friend, so the yogi should remove his restless mind from sense entanglements and keep it concentrated on soul perceptions.]
I think it should also be realized that Baitul-Khayal is only one facet of Ibadat which includes Dua, Dasond, Seva, good deeds and seeking knowledge. And therefore we should also be conscious of other duties in our lives and be mindful of our actions and thoughts. Seeking correct knowledge helps to orient the mind in the right direction, which in turn helps to still the mind during meditation.