To remain detached in whatever condition,
watching and observing from a space
that is behind everything,
impersonal, impartial.
Just watching, observing,
pleasant, unpleasant,
without going into either –
detached,
watching the dualities of life’s movements.
Watching, observing becomes even more sharp
if one can maintain a certain awareness
or become aware even before things come up,
even before they actually come up
and become sensible or visible in the mind’s consciousness.
Automatically from there you can come to the origin,
the source of these movements
and therefore come to the ground of your being.
To get to the source obviously you have to go deeper into yourself
and that is exactly what our objective is –
the ground behind everything
that is the atman.
And this sphere of the atman is
wherein all these movements appear and pass away –
and therefore the atmosphere.
The atman is always aware of the atmosphere it finds itself in.
That is the idea.
In terms of thoughts, feelings, emotions, states.

(silence)

If you have managed to proceed to thoughts ,
or whatever that may have come up in the mind’s consciousness,
or if by following the thoughts,
and therefore coming to the end of them,
you can have ten minutes of concentration in the heart.
Nothing but concentration,
In the heart of your being.
There can be an attitude of surrender,
Feeling of devotion,
To the source of all things
To the Master craft’s man,
who has created this atmosphere.

Just concentration, nothing else,
You are all together there
with all your concentration.
Everything else is outside you,
You are there with the concentration in your self.

(silence)

Stay with the concentration,
and not join with any thoughts.

(silence)

You can relax for a few moments if you like.
Have a release from the concentration,
and just watch,
whatever that may be inwardly.
Or if you feel,
To carry on with the concentration, you can.

We can try out some visualization.
Use your imagination, to transport yourself mentally,
to a place, an area, an environment,
Which may be pleasing
and therefore help one’s self in meditation.
So five minutes of visualization.
You can even take and follow up on a thought,
That may be persistently recurring.
Thought about some place, some idea,
and using your imagination to create an environment within yourself which may be pleasant.
That helps one’s self to relax, and be meditative.

(silence)

So deep and long breathing,
To settle yourself in yourself,
Observe the breath,
Keep your observation with the breath.
You are the observer of the breath.
Allow the breathing to relax.
The observation leads to a self awareness,
The self observer reaches you to a deeper in yourself,
Settling, centering you.
Long deep breath,
Your back up-right, but relaxed,
You have to be lifted up in the back, not slumped over,
Be like the mountain,
Straight, upright, erect,
Magnanimous and majestic.

Then you begin from one nostril,
Place your one hand, right hand preferably,
Between the eye-brows two fingers,
The thumb on one side of the nose and the other two
Fingers on the other side.
Then you can begin with left nostril,
Close the right with the thumb.
Draw in the breath, deep breath, a full breath,
Draw it in, hold it for three, four or more counts,
As per your capacity.
This is the state of ‘Kumbhak’,
After the count release the breath,
Allow the breath to be released, empty out,
A state of emptiness.
Then keep the breath out for a number of counts, the same number, when you had the breath in.
That is a complete round.
You begin the in-breath again,
Five counts on each side.
So in-breath,
State of fullness,
Hold the breath in, ‘kumbhak’,
Then breathe out,
State of emptiness.
Hold the breath out.
Five rounds on each side,
After you have finished with the left,
Then close the left and begin with the right.
Again five rounds.

(silence)

Then alternate,
Take in from one side,
Breathe in from the right,
Close the right with the breath in,
And release from the left,
The keep the breath out,
For the number of counts,
After keeping the breath out for number of counts,
Inhale from the left,
close the left,
Keep it in for some time,
Open the right.
Breathe out from the right.
That is one round,
Two rounds like that.
This is alternate breathing.

So breathe in from one side,
Hold it in,
Close that side,
Then after holding it in for number of rounds,
Then breathe out from the other side.
Keep the breath out,
And then breathe in from the side you exhaled,
Closing the other side
Then close the side you inhaled from,
Keep the breath in and
Breathe out from the other side.
This is complete one round.
Two rounds like this.

Then after two rounds,
Same few rounds of breathing as you did before.
Deep and long breath,
Rhythmic breathing for a few rounds.
Rhythmic breathing,
Harmonizing you in yourself.
Taking a full breath,
State of fullness,
Followed by emptying out,
State of emptiness.
Breathing out,
And filling in again.
There will be an inner urge to slow down the breath,
Let go of the breath,
Continue for a while.
Until the urge is strong enough
Then follow it,
Let go of the breath,
And come to a stop in yourself.
It can be vigorous to begin with,
This rhythmic breathing.

Then following the inner urge to slow down,
And coming to a stop in yourself,
And reaching to meditation.

Arya Vihar Ashram
13 December 1996