spiritual questions and answers PART 17 By Prof. G. Venkataraman
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Since Heart2Heart started in 2003, readers have very often written to us seeking answers to many spiritual questions. We have answered them at times through appropriate articles in H2H. However, there are still many that have to be explained carefully and in detail. And in the recent past, a lot more queries have arrived on varied topics concerning spirituality and personal growth.

We have now meticulously compiled and categorised these questions, and Prof. G. Venkataraman has offered to answer all these queries in a structured and systematic way as a series on Radio Sai as well as in H2H. In this way, these answers now remain always on our website as a ready reckoner on spiritual doubts. This is a suitably adapted transcript of our radio series bearing the same name.

Loving Sai Ram and greetings from Prasanthi Nilayam. It is Q and A time, and just to remind you, we are currently dealing with the topic of Spiritual Practices, and in the previous article I replied to a question on japam (chanting Lord’s name). The first question for this episode is the following:

QUESTION: What is the best form of meditation for improving our concentration?

This is the way the question appears in our question bag. Frankly, I am a little bit confused by the question, and my problem is the following.

Meditation is normally considered to be a part of desirable Spiritual Practices, and I presume the questioner means the same. Turning next to concentration, this essentially refers to focussing the Mind. Such focus is needed in many normal activities; for example, a neurosurgeon has to concentrate intensely because brain surgery is no simple matter. Similarly, an airline pilot too has to concentrate intensely, especially during take off and landing. I take it that the questioner is not thinking of this kind of concentration but concentration in a Spiritual context.

Some of you may think I am doing unnecessary nit picking; no I am not, because in the Spiritual context, Swami has a three-step procedure; first, one must engage in contemplation; from mere contemplation, one must then move upwards to concentration; after this comes the last step, namely, meditation. This is how Swami puts it, and He also illustrates His remarks with an example.

Swami says that suppose a person wants to pluck a rose from a rose plant and then offer it to God. There are three steps involved in it. First, because the bush is thorny, the person doing the plucking ought to concentrate and be careful; one must be careful not merely because one does not want to get hurt, but also for making sure that thorns and leaves do not attach to the flower – that is the first step.

Next, one holds the flower in one’s hand and admires: “What a beautiful flower!” This is contemplation, the second step. Finally, one offers the flower to God, thinking of Him and immersed in love for Him – this is meditation. In short, meditation without God being prominently involved is not meditation in the Spiritual sense of the term. So much for an introduction of the topic; let me add that I made these remarks mainly to stress the point that in Spirituality, concentration is the first step while mediation comes later. Let me now offer some further glimpses into the topic, which, I hope, would add further clarity.

I must first of all point out that mediation in the ancient Indian tradition formed a part of an eight-step procedure laid down by Sage Patanjali. The eight steps in the Spiritual ladder of Patanjali are as follows:

Now, let me offer for some explanatory comments on the above. I start with Yama. There are five cardinal or mandated vows, and they are: non-violence, adherence to Truth, abstention from theft, celibacy, and control of greed. As opposed to Yama which refers to vows that the seeker must observe, Niyama are vows which, while not mandated by the scriptures, are expected to be voluntarily observed. What about Asanas, why should they find a place in the Spiritual ladder?

The answer is that the exercises are meant to make the body supple so as to enable the body to be held in the proper posture for meditation for long periods. Next, we have Pranayama, or breath control. This discipline was imposed because the Mind and body are strongly interconnected.

I am sure you are aware that when one gets angry, a process that occurs in the Mind, the breathing rate increases. Recognising this, Patanjali mandated Pranayama so that by regulating the breath, the Mind could be held in check and put on track for Spiritual advancement. We turn next to Pratyahara, which means mental detachment.

Mental detachment basically implies that one must regulate the Mind from wandering out into the world and dwelling on the various things that the world has to offer. Why must one restrict this? Because the more the Mind dwells on such matters, the more it is dragged into the world and makes it even forget God. This takes us to Dharana, the next step in the Spiritual ladder of Patanjali. Dharana means concentration, and as already explained, is a pre-requisite for meditation. Dhyana or meditation comes last, almost as the final step.

Let me now amplify on the above, by offering some quotes from Swami, starting with the difference between concentration and meditation. Swami says:

“It is incorrect to equate concentration with meditation. Being a mental process that involves seeing through the senses, concentration maybe regarded as being below or within the realm of the senses, while meditation is beyond and above the world of the senses. If meditation were as easy as concentration, the great Rishis of yore would not have practiced rigorous austerities and subjected themselves to innumerable difficulties in the past.”

As mentioned earlier, concentration is needed even in worldly activities, indeed even in sports. I mean if you consider a person playing in Wimbledon singles finals, you would agree that the player must concentrate intensely if victory is the goal – no escape from that. However, concentration is a step that one must go through in Spirituality also. Concerning this, Swami has the following comment:

“Some people practice Dharana or concentration without first cultivating good habits and right conduct. This is a sign of incomplete knowledge. Dharana must have the Sattva Guna as its basis. The Mind has to be purified by the proper development of the character through good habits. Dharana has to follow the purification process and not precede it.

“The aspirant must be vigilant, and never lose his temper for that would block his progress. It must therefore be sublimated by systematic effort.

“Similarly, conceit, jealousy, etc., all of which represent Rajasik exhibition of one’s superiority are obstacles. The aspirant must be ever vigilant against all these.”

Turning now to meditation, this is what Swami has to say. First about the ideal time:

“The ideal time for meditation is the period commencing at 3 AM and ending at 6 AM. You must choose a fixed time in this slot and meditate regularly at the same time every day.”

Next about the process:

“Meditation is performed in the Heart; hence, it is an internal process. It is therefore vital to rid the Heart of all impurities and render it a fit abode for God.”

And then about the style:

“We should perform Dhyana or meditation in an unostentatious manner, unobserved by others. If we sit for meditation in all places indiscriminately, we would be reducing Dhyana to cheap exhibitionism.”

Meditation is by no means easy but one must persevere and not quickly give up. Commenting on this, Swami says:

“When the Mind flits from object to object, the aspirant must bring it back to the right path and the right object. If the aspirant does not struggle to achieve this one-pointedness but leaves the Mind to itself, to follow its vagaries from this to that and from that to this, the process deserves to be called monkey-meditation, a type of meditation that is very harmful to Spiritual progress.”

What I have quoted are but small samples; Swami has spoken extensively on meditation and those interested in it ought to go the vast ocean of Sai literature to dig deeper. I would, however, like to make one comment before I move on to the next question. These days, a number of Gurus conduct meditation classes for the public, especially those in the corporate sector, who have been stressed out heavily. This type of meditation cum yoga classes are OK but only for the limited purpose of stress relief. They should not be confused with real meditation in the Patanjali sense, which was really a path to Self-Realisation.

One might argue that this is not possible in the present fast age. Agreed; however, that does not mean short-cuts would deliver the ultimate Spiritual goal. We must be clear that these drills promoted by corporate gurus, while good for the body and to the Mind to a limited extent, do not serve the larger purpose of Spiritual development, which is a different ball game. Does that mean that Spiritual progress is impossible since life in this Kali Age has become so very fast, particularly after globalisation? Not at all; it is possible but not so easily via the Patanjali route.

The alternate revolves around chanting the Name or Namasmarana, doing work in the spirit of Karma Yoga, etc. But those are different topics and I shall not get into them presently. I just want you to understand that courses by various gurus so widely offered and heavily advertised on the internet, while laudable for the limited objectives of helping people to become a bit calm and get hold of themselves, etc., do not serve the larger purpose of Spiritual advancement, if that is what one is after. Assuming that is clear, let me move on.

The next question before me is the following:

If God is everywhere, why do we need to go to temples or holy places like India?

To me, this sounds like a question from an overseas devotee. It is a good question and merits a careful answer. One of the problems that Society has got itself into over the years, indeed over centuries is that it has forgotten the most important things one needs to know about God; instead, it has managed to reduce God to some kind of a simple formula. Thus one has a rule package that says:

Now I must hasten to add that none of the prescriptions I have just mentioned are bad; indeed they help a person to acquire a bit of discipline, become orderly in life, and also avoid many undesirable things and habits. However, these drills do not say anything about who is God, where is God and how exactly is God related to you and me. Rather, the feeling is created that God is someone remote, with some people feeling He is a punishing God, while others are of the opinion that He is in fact a compassionate God.

The point I am making is simply that visiting temples and holy places, taking dips in the holy rivers, etc., are just desirables because they tend to bring order in one’s life. However, they are not sufficient or adequate, because they do not address the basic questions I have raised above. In fact, I find many atheists argue about God assuming that He is nothing but a busy and somewhat unfair punisher, etc. They then demand why God is so cruel, why He could not have prevented a hurricane that killed hundreds and so on.  

What Swami is doing is to raise the level of enquiry so that one goes right to the bottom of the issue of God. In olden times, many scholars did that and there was some perception of what Spirituality really meant, but these days, few have the time or the capability for such discourses. Swami alone has been educating the public and that too for decades, literally non-stop; and there is practically no topic or question He has not touched.

Obviously I cannot compress all that wisdom into a few sentences, other than to urge you dear reader, to set apart some time for a deeper study of Swami’s teachings. When you do that, the answers to many questions such as the ones above would become self-evident.

I think there is one important point I need to stress at this juncture, and that would set the above comments in proper perspective. Let me first recall a remark that Swami frequently makes, which is: “I am in you, around you, above you, beside you, below you, etc.” I am sure you have heard that remark many times. Whenever Swami says that, there is almost invariably a huge applause. However, I wonder how many bother to spend one moment to ponder over the profundity of that remark.

The meaning of that remark would register, if we recall a story that Swami often narrates. It is all about how Draupadhi, when she was being humiliated in the extreme in public by the Kauravas, at the end of the famous dice game when the Pandavas had lost everything – I am sure most of you know that scene – Draupadhi appeals in desperation to Krishna.

Swami says that Draupadhi cries, “O Lord of Mathura, please save me!” Nothing happens, and Draupadhi now wails, “O Lord of Dwaraka, why are You allowing me to suffer like this? Why don’t You please save me?” Again there is no response from God. Losing all hope, Draupadhi makes one more attempt and this time she pleads, “O Lord, who resides in my Heart, why are You taking so long to save me? Can You not see my plight?”

Swami says that this time the Lord responded and Draupadhi was saved. Later, when Draupadhi had a chance to meet Krishna, she apparently asked Him, “Krishna, I called to You so many times but You did not come. Why did it take You so long? Could You not see my plight?” Swami says that Krishna smiled and replied, “Draupadhi, you called Me as the One who resides in Mathura; and so I had to first go to Mathura to make your word come true.

Meanwhile, you appealed to Me as the One who resides in Dwaraka. So from Mathura I had to rush to Dwaraka; you know how far apart these two cities are. That also took time; but when you called Me as the One who resides in the Heart, it took Me no time at all!”

Obviously, this is a made-up story but why does Swami tell it in this manner [and with great humour I might add]? Because He wants us to remember that we must never forget that God is our Indweller. Traditional religious practices tend to keep people at the level of temple-going.

Yes, visiting temples is good, but only for a start. When a child is admitted to school, it is always in the Kindergarten class. But would anyone accept that the kid stay in Kindergarten when it is twelve years or fifteen years old? Do we not expect progress? It is the same in Spirituality but somehow, that is not accepted. Do you know why? I shall tell you.

You see, it is convenient to believe that all that God expects is for us to go to the temple occasionally and worship Him there; after that, we can forget God and go about our business as usual. I am not making this up.

I know for a fact that a large of number wealthy businessmen, especially in the huge city of Bombay, pay periodic visits to the holy shrine of Tirupathi, offer brief worship there, and then drop some cash into the huge hundi [cash box for those of you who do not know that Indian word].

That cash, often called Conscience money, is supposed to wash out all the sins committed. Once the payment is made, the businessman feels he has duly atoned for indiscretions and sins committed and could now return to business as usual.

I have heard Swami describe such trips in detail. He says the tycoon flies in from Bombay, landing at the airport near the foot of the hill where the temple is located. He then gets into an air-conditioned car with his business partner maybe, and the two motor up the hills to the temple town Tirumalai, where the famous temple of Lord Venkateswara is located.

During the trip which usually takes about a couple of hours, the two businessmen are busy discussing market matters – hardly any thought of the Lord they plan to have a Darshan of. The two pilgrims so-called, then visit the shrine, have a brief Darshan, get back into their taxi and start on the downhill journey to the airport.

Describing all this, Swami asks, how long do such people actually think of God during the pilgrimage? Swami then goes to describe how things used to be in the old days. There was no airport, and indeed no motorable road to the temple town up the hill. If one wanted to go there, one had to climb up a rough-cut path, which was steep in many segments and therefore quite difficult to climb. However, devotees used to chant the Name of the Lord all along, and in doing so, they forgot some of the strain they had to undergo. It is the spirit of the pilgrimage rather than the trip itself that is more important, says Swami. I hope you get the point.

I hope you have got something out of this article.

May God be with you always. Jai Sai Ram.

Dear Reader, how do you like this series? Does it help you in any way? Do you have any spiritual questions which need clarification? Please feel free to write to us at h2h@radiosai.org mentioning your name and country. Thank you for your time.