by Rolf Sovik
Meditation shows us that resting the mind in a focus is very different from compelling the mind to focus. Through meditation, energies that have been scattered by the stresses of daily life are collected, and a sense of inner wholeness is gradually restored. In meditation, concentration unfolds easily. It provides comfort and healing to a mind exhausted by the randomness of everyday activity.
For these and other reasons, concentration was lauded by seers of ancient times. For example, Shankara, the brilliant philosopher of eighth-century India, sang its praises in the Upadesha Sahasri: “The attainment of one-pointedness of the mind and senses is the highest of disciplines. It is superior to all other practices and all other disciplines.”
Vasishtha, the teacher of Rama, recounted that human beings may be divided into three categories: those who have yet to discover the joy of concentration, those who are practicing it, and those who have gained self-realization through it.
Two objects for concentration are commonly used; each furthers the inward movement of awareness. The first, as we have seen, is the touch of the breath in the nostrils. The second, our focus here, is the sound of a mantra.
Mantra
The two syllables of the Sanskrit word mantra give important clues to its meaning. The first syllable, man, means “to think.” The second syllable, tra, is related to a verb root meaning “to protect, guide, or lead.” Thus a mantra is a thought that protects, guides, and leads. A mantra can be chanted aloud or recited quietly, but it is most effective when it is allowed to reverberate in the mind without being externalized. Internal repetition calms thinking and refines concentration.
Soham
The first mantra used in meditation is the mantra soham (pronounced “so-hum”). This mantra soothes and focuses the mind. It is said to be the natural sound of the breath, and bringing this sound to awareness provides the mind with a resting place during meditation.
As with mantras in general, there is no one precise translation for the sound soham. We can gain a sense of its significance, however, if we examine its two parts. Soham is a compound, the union of the words sah and aham (the sound so is a modification of the sound sah). Sah is the Sanskrit pronoun “that,” but in this case “that” does not refer to a temporal object—it refers to the pure self.
The word aham is the personal pronoun “I”; it represents all the powers and forces that comprise the individual personality. When these two words are combined, they may be translated “I am that,” or “I am who I am,” affirming that within us is an identity that transcends the temporary personas of the external world.
The central theme of yoga is the journey toward that self. The mantra soham reminds us of this, centering us and linking us directly to it. With practice, this centering process will hold the mind steady even during periods of stress and tension.
Meditation with Soham
• Sit in your meditative pose and make yourself comfortable.
• Close your eyes and turn your attention to the touch of the breath in the nostrils, observing it for several minutes. Feel the cool touch of the inhalation, and the warm touch of the exhalation.
• As the breath changes direction, do not lose your focus—this is a time when it is easy for the mind to wander. Relax and follow the breath, sensing each inhalation and exhalation as well as each transition between breaths.
• Let the feeling of the breath become a resting place for your attention and gently relax your mind.
• Now silently recite the soham mantra with your breath.Inhaling, think the sound so. . . . Exhaling, think the sound hum. . . . Let each sound flow smoothly into the next.
• Other thoughts will come and go, but they are not the focus of your attention. Simply continue to follow the flow of the breath at the nostrils, letting the sound soham flow in your mind.
• Continue for five to ten minutes, allowing the sound to fill the space of your mind as you rest your attention in it.
• When your mind is refreshed, slowly open your eyes to your hands and draw your awareness outward once again.
This simple practice will lead you to a remarkably relaxing state of mind. You’ll be aware of other thoughts and images, but when the mind becomes distracted, a natural inwardness will gradually bring you back to your focus. The sound of the mantra will continue in your mind with almost no effort. This is meditative concentration.
A Personal Mantra
The mantra soham may be practiced by anyone. In this sense, it is sometimes called a “general” mantra, a mantra that may be used without permission or initiation. That is not to say, however, that its practice is less than efficacious. It has been preserved over millennia, and it is a gateway to inner peace. It introduces us to an experience altogether unlike efforts to make the mind silent (efforts we might imagine are supposed to occur in meditation). In meditation, the mind, which serves as an instrument of consciousness, rests in the sound of the mantra and thereby consciousness is re-linked (the meaning of both the word “religion” and “yoga”) to its deeper and more abiding nature. This is the special and unique role of every genuine mantric sound.
Some yogic mantras, however, are only given through a process of individual initiation. The mantra then becomes the student’s personal mantra (guru mantra)—a word or phrase revealed specifically by a teacher for the initiate during the process of giving the mantra. Following initiation, the energy of the mantra guides and protects the initiate. Repetition of the mantra is called mantra japa, and it is the means for entering into progressively deeper stages of meditation. In this way, concentration leads to a transformation of awareness—a new sense of being.
Other mantras are used in meditation as well. The two most commonly recited are the gayatri mantra, a mantra of purification and spiritual guidance, and the maha mrityunjaya mantra, a mantra of healing rejuvenation and nurturance. These mantras are relatively lengthy, but once learned, they are the source of profound inspiration and uplift. They are given here with translations.
The Gayatri Mantra (A Hymn from the Divine Mother):
The Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra (The Great Death-Conquering Mantra):
Non-Attachment
The second great theme of meditation is non-attachment. It is the counterpart to concentration, a method of addressing the forces of personality that cause us to lose focus, both in meditation and in life. What sorts of forces are these? They result—directly or indirectly—from just a few basic cravings.
One ancient teacher lists the usual suspects: food, drink, power, sex, and affluence. The concepts of attachment and non-attachment remind us that when these deep-seated urges become objects of craving, they create imbalance in the mind and disturb the fabric of outer life as well. The oft-repeated folk advice to “eat to live, rather than live to eat” perfectly captures the flavor of non-attachment. It reminds us that the pleasures of life require discipline, and it promotes the idea that life serves a higher purpose than self-indulgence. In principle, there is little to argue about.
Nonetheless, for those who meditate regularly, the problem of attachment to craving is perplexing. At one moment in our meditation we catch glimpses of profound tranquility and joy—only to find that just moments later we are arguing with ourselves over which movie to rent and whether or not to order onions on our pizza. We are unable to stop the inner debate. Such juxtapositions of tranquility and hankering are the rule, not the exception. We see, but do not understand, our cravings.
What makes craving such a crafty puzzle is that somehow it seems charming and even justified when it is our own. Throughout our lives, objects of attachment come and go. As children, we crave sweets, exciting games, recognition, and attention. During adolescence, sexuality awakens and for decades our world is transformed by it. In middle age, the preservation of family, work, or wealth occupies us. As death approaches, we crave solace. Whatever our craving, we believe that our happiness lies in fulfilling it.
During meditation the entire gamut of desires comes to
awareness—from faint wishes to passionate longings, from an earnest desire to improve the world to fantasies of life in an altogether different lane. Each appears in the conscious mind out of the force of emotional involvement with it. It is at just these moments that non-attachment assists us.
When distracting thoughts arise, a meditator works with them. Sometimes they are simply allowed to travel through the mind, to come and go without further attention. At other times, we must play with them a bit—passing them through our thinking processes. Still other distractions carry us away for a time before we are able to right the mind. In each and every case, we see our cravings for what they are—a part of ourselves.
The essence of our strategy for addressing them is this: to try not to mistakenly re-energize them by giving them new and unnecessary attention. This is what reduces their power to distract, to disturb, and to mislead us. They are part of the fabric of mental energies, but they depend upon our interest in them to survive. By withholding new energy from them, we can let them come and go without acquiring new strength.
Swami Rama sometimes explained it to students this way: “Suppose you are sitting next to a glass of water. You are attracted to it, but for some reason, it is unwise for you to drink it. Your mind entices you to drink it, and the thought is very appealing.” He continued, “Comfort your mind. Placate it. Say, ‘Yes, it looks very delicious.’ Even say, ‘Yes, you may have it.’ But do not allow your hand to take the glass and raise it to your lips. In this way, you will see the water and understand the impulse to drink it—but you will not energize the behavior. In the end, it will pass, and you will be free.”
The process is more subtle when it occurs in the mind, but the basic approach remains the same. The unconscious brings forth a thought. The thought seems enticing, and other associated thoughts are added to it to enhance its pleasure even more. You witness the thought as it comes into your mind, enthralls your mind, and seeks to expand itself. But you do not mentally reach out for it. You do not bring the thought to your mental lips and drink it. And in holding back your attention in this way, the thought passes and you are free.
The other side of this is that, by cultivating the habit of non-attachment, the experience of maintaining a steady, one-pointed concentration is deposited into the unconscious. There, it will become a new groove, supporting your meditation. Non-attachment and concentration are opposite sides of a coin, a fact that becomes apparent when sitting times lengthen and the deepening of concentration makes the attitude of non-attachment itself easier to sustain.
So that you do not gain the wrong impression from this discussion of non-attachment, we should remind ourselves that yoga does not take a puritanical approach to life—one that treats the world’s pleasures as temptations. Swami Rama frequently recited an adage to put things in perspective. He would say, “The things of the world are yours to use, but not to own.” By skillful enjoyment of the world, the path of yoga unfolds both within and without.
Mindfulness
The third theme of meditation practice is mindfulness. Mindfulness is a refinement of awareness, one that takes many forms. One dimension of mindfulness is captured by the image of a person perched on a balcony, watching a parade in progress below. Like a meditator witnessing the stream of thought, the observer witnesses the parade but does not become engaged in it.
Another version of mindfulness has us watch the process of eating a single raisin. We feel its weight and texture as we hold it between our fingers. We observe its color in the palm of our hand. We sense the first impressions of it as it enters the mouth and taste the burst of sweetness as we chew and finally swallow it. In this version of mindfulness, we learn to engage our senses, to deepen concentration, and to remain in the present moment.
Yet another aspect of mindfulness reminds us that it is a process of self-remembering. Thus a dieter is mindful of the need to eat slowly and with more attention to the tastes and textures of the food; a hot-tempered person is mindful of the need to keep things in perspective; and an athlete with a knee injury is mindful not to further stress the injury. Mindfulness, in this context, is not a matter of self-policing. It is a process of simultaneously remembering who we are and what we are hoping to become. This safeguards our sense of purpose.
What is the underlying theme behind these multiple faces of mindfulness? The word mindfulness is a translation of the Sanskrit term smriti, which means “to bring to remembrance” or “to call to mind.” It describes an experience that is part of every meditation. In its early stages, mindfulness is not so much a state of being as it is a collection of meditative skills that can be learned and practiced, including the ability to: • Remain in the present rather than journey to the past or future
• Witness thoughts and emotions that pass through the mind instead of identifying with them
• Sense the depth of emotion that has prompted a given thought, and work with that emotional energy sensitively and patiently
• Recognize the critical, judgmental self-talks that we apply to our thoughts and feelings, and set them aside in favor of self-acceptance
• Maintain the focus of concentration, knowing that this focus is the antidote to being caught up by the train of thoughts
Like rain falling on soil that holds a seed waiting to germinate, these individual aspects of mindfulness nurture the seed of meditation. Over time, they lead to a shift in consciousness. In it, the buddhi awakens and assumes its role as the quiet observer, witnessing the inner stream of thoughts. Like a memory that has at long last been recovered, a sense of being the subject, the inner person, the witness of experience, is restored to awareness.
Now, though thoughts do continue to come and go in the mind, as they will for a long time, concentration is more firmly anchored. Manas is guided as if from nearby, and mindfulness coalesces into a sense of being. Meditation at this level is self-rewarding and offers a deep and lasting peace.
A Visual Image of Meditation
The synchronization of concentration, non-attachment, and mindfulness can be illustrated in the form of a yantra, a visual representation. In it, two triangles overlap, one pointing up and the other down:
The upward-pointing triangle symbolizes the combination of concentration and non-attachment, disciplines leading to a one-pointed mind.
The triangle with the apex down symbolizes the development of mindfulness, a process in which the buddhi, the inner witness, is awakened.
When the two triangles are fully integrated, they form the well-known six-pointed star, an image symbolizing the seat of the Self.
This ancient image illustrates the transformation of unfocused and distracted thinking into a relaxed and concentrated state of mind (the upward pointed triangle), and the transformation of self-forgetfulness into mindfulness (the upward expanding triangle). At the heart of these two processes, represented by a dot in the center of the triangles, lies the transforming power of the indwelling Self. Realization of that Self is the call of meditation, the natural aim of human life, and the ultimate goal of concentration, non-attachment, and mindfulness.
A Complete Meditation Practice
That practice continued with devotion for a long time
and without a break becomes firm in foundation.
—Yoga Sutra 1:14
Through the course of this book we have examined five essential components of meditation: sitting, breathing, relaxation, breath awareness, and focusing the mind within the mind. The final stage of this work is to assemble all the components into a simple and straightforward practice—a meditation that makes sense intellectually but brings relief from too much detail. As time passes, this practice will flow smoothly—and become yours.
One final element will help. It is a continuation of the process of sushumna breathing that we began earlier. Using the combination of breath awareness—this time along the spinal column—and the mantra soham, we can securely fix the mind in its focus. We need only review the anatomy of the sushumna passag
eway to add this final step to our inner process.
Breathing Along the Spine
The central axis of energy, sushumna, extends upward from the base of the spine. When it reaches the area of the eyebrow center, it is said to divide into two branches. The front branch travels from the eyebrow center to the base of the nostrils. It is this passageway that we used for concentration in an earlier practice. The rear branch of the sushumna channel is said to continue the ascent of the spinal axis to the crown of the head.
Since the front portion of sushumna reaches to the base of the nostrils, it can also serve as a gateway from the exterior of the body inward to the ajna chakra, the eyebrow center. Traveling inward through this portion, attention can be drawn in and brought to the central axis of the spine. Awareness is then focused on the spinal axis, where it descends and ascends with each breath.
By combining the mantra soham with this movement along the spine, a powerful union of body, breath, and mind is established. On the exhalation, awareness travels down to the base of the spine with the sound hum. . . . On the inhalation, awareness travels up along the spine to the crown of the head with the sound so. . . .