We’ll start with the breathing,

Vigorous breathing followed by rhythmic breathing.

Vigorous breathing to lighten up and energize,

Rhythmic breathing to harmonize.

Breathe long, breathe deep,

And yet strong enough to be able to hear it.

Stay with it.

The longer the breath the better it is.

 

When you breathe in,

The chest and then the belly will come out.

When you breathe out, empty out,

The belly and then the chest will go in.

 

Watch everything that comes up.

Keep letting them go.

 

Each time you have to stand behind your thoughts.

Each time you have to stand behind your feelings,

Your emotions, your passions.

To stand further back into yourself.

Therein is the being.

Therein is the observer, the witness.

Each time you have to remember,

To stand further behind, inside,

From your thoughts,

From all that which moves in you,

Even so all that which moves you.

Therein is the observer, the witness.

The freedom of the being.

 

Therein is the silence.

Each time you arrive at the silence in yourself.

And to arrive at this,

The breath is the way,

One needs to keep with the breath,

Practice with the breath.

The way of the breath will bring you to a stop in yourself.

And that stop is the awakening to the Reality.

While you continue to work with yourself,

Remember to be present consciously,

Constantly, continuously.

Each time you have to arrive at yourself.

 

In a way, thought is not yourself.

It is an expression of yourself.

So also all that which moves in you,

Feelings, emotions, your passions – even so your body.

They are all vehicles,

Vehicles of expression,

Through which you interact,

Interrelate, live and express.

There is the being and the becoming.

The ground is the being.

You take to the vehicle and become.

Through your expressions you become.

 

Your being is one,

Your becomings are many.

From the one you become many,

And from the many you return back to the one.

You have to remember to arrive at the one each time.

 

Feel for the silence in yourself.

Use the breath, the way of the breath,

To come to a stop in yourself.

Persevere, and you will arrive.

Again and again seek,

Again and again pursue,

And that is your freedom.

You arrive at this when you come to a stop in yourself.

In that stop to remain completely,

Wholly and totally, with one’s self.

Therein is the awakening,

To the Reality one is,

To the Reality, which is all.

 

Each time you have to stand behind.

To stand behind is to find the ground of your being,

Is to be present,

Is to arrive at the freedom of your being,

The Reality that is.

 

The way is through the breath.

Through your breath you can modify your state.

Bring yourself to a stop,

A complete stop;

There to remain and awaken to the reality.

 

Each time remember to be present.

To be present,

Take to the way of the breath,

Any time, every time.

Watch over the breath,

Be with it.

Lengthen the breath,

Deepen the breath.

Stay with it completely.

It will centre you,

Draw you in,

Bring you to yourself.

That moment will arrive,

When there is a complete stop.

That stop is the door that will open you out,

Awaken you to the Reality.

 

Take to the breathing.

Be there with it.

The longer the breath,

The better it is.

It will lengthen the spaces between your thoughts.

It will reach you to heaven.

It will bring your thoughts to a stop.

In that stop to remain.

 

So breathe in, breathe out.

The longer the breath the better it is.

It is a rhythm.

It will awaken you to the rhythm of your being.

Work with yourself through the breath.

When you breathe,

It should be strong enough,

For you to be able to hear it.

In that way the whole of your attention can be with it.

 

Breathe long, breathe deep,

And yet strong enough to be able to hear it.

Stay with it.

The longer the breath the better it is.

When you are breathing in,

You are reaching to the sky.

When you are breathing out,

You are getting yourself grounded to the earth.

The sky and the earth,

The heavens and the earth,

Make for all of yourself.

Fill up completely,

Empty out completely.

That is the rhythm.

It will bring you to a quiet emptiness in yourself.

It will centre you, draw you in,

Bring you to harmony with yourself.

 

Where there is harmony there is meditation.

Without harmony there is no meditation.

So breathe in, breathe out,

Always a full breath.

The longer the breath, the better it is.

There is both heaven and earth in you,

Reach out.

Come to a quiet stop in yourself.

Through working with the breath,

You bring yourself to being present.

Through being present,

You arrive at meditation.

Through meditation,

You reach out to the Reality,

To all that is.

Stay with the breath,

And you will find yourself.

You will arrive at being aware of yourself.

And when you have found yourself being present,

You have found eternity.

 

So take to the breathing,

That you may be free.

To arrive at meditation is to be present.

To arrive at being present,

The breath is the way.

To arrive at all that is,

Meditation is the way.

Meditation is the whole of your life.

It is both, rest and motion.

 

Breathe in, breathe out.

The longer the breath, the better it is.

 

Each time you stand behind your thoughts.

Each time you stand behind all that,

Which moves in you,

While you yet remain with the breath,

As you breathe in, breathe out.

The longer the breath, the better it is.

 

Long breath, deep breath,

And yet strong enough to be able to hear it.

Then you can keep yourself with the breath,

The whole of yourself.

All of your attention.

 

The beginning of life is birth.

The end of life is death.

It is meditation that will take you beyond death.

 

Breathe in, breathe out,

Always a full breath.

When you breathe in,

Fill up completely.

When you breathe out,

Empty out completely.

From fullness to emptiness,

Emptiness to fullness.

Allow yourself to relax.

Through the breathing,

Settle in yourself,

Each time,

Through each breath.

 

Breathe in, breathe out,

The longer the breath the better it is.

You have to arrive at being present.

Each moment is an opportunity to be present.

To be present is to have found your freedom.

 

To be in meditation is to be at ease with yourself.

To be at ease with yourself,

Breath is the way.

It will bring you to easiness in yourself.

 

Breathe in, breathe out.

Each time stand further back,

Behind your thoughts,

Behind all that which moves in you.

Settle deeper into yourself.

Arrive at being present.

It is the moment of tremendous power.

The power of freedom,

The power of self-revelation.

 

Breathe deeply,

It will deepen yourself.

Breathe long,

It will heighten yourself.

It will draw you to yourself.

It will centre you,

Bring you to a stop.

 

Your breath is your life.

Breathe again and again.

Breathe long.

Stay with the breathing.

Be with it completely.

Through the breath you will enter into yourself.

 

From the existence on the surface,

You will arrive at the existence within.

 

When you breathe in,

The chest and the belly will come out.

When you breathe out,

Empty out,

The belly and chest will go in,

It is all a rhythm.

The rhythm of your breath,

The rhythm of your being.

 

Your breath will set you free.

Have faith in your breathing.

 

When you are breathing in,

You are breathing in silence,

You are breathing in freshness,

You are refreshing yourself,

Rejuvenating yourself.

When you breathe out,

You are emptying out completely.

In that emptiness,

You arrive at the newness of yourself.

 

Arya Vihar 

24 October 2000