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Govinda
USA
176 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 11 2013 : 1:11:11 PM
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Namaste All,
How many of you fine people practice meditation upon the Internal Light and the audible Sound Current (AUM vibration)? It has been the mainstay of my sitting practice for more than 35 years now and Graced me with countless wonderful experiences.
Through my fixed attention upon the Ajna (third eye), I have been perceiving of the blinding effulgence of the living Spirit and through direct intent and unwavering focus, heard the audible Nada of the Divine Word, through the spiritual conduit of the Ajna (third ear). 
I first heard the AUM vibration when I was 16 years old and quite honestly, I thought I was going insane. A loud ringing/whirring sound occurred spontaneously, from deep within my head and was an almost constant presence in my life. At school, I would try to drive it out of my mind, fearing that it would make me so apart from my friends and fellow students, that I would become even more a misfit, than I already felt like.
When I was in Art School, in the late 1970s, experimentation with psychedelics brought this dramatically to the forefront and drew me deeper and deeper inside of myself. Seeking a more natural lifestyle, I through myself into my sadhana with intense fervor but there was a price to pay... and I gradually drifted from thoughts of my career and pull to artistic expression, towards my quest for the epicenter of Infinite Being. And this has been the primary concern ever since. 
My prior training in Seon Buddhist meditation (Korean Zen) and Transcendental Meditation, were superseded by Kriya Yoga, after reading Autobiography of A Yogi in 1978. I became an SRF initiate and practiced Sri Swami Yogananda's flavor of Kriya for several years. I quickly became disenchanted with the organization... and searched elsewhere for inspiration. I did, however, attune myself with the practice of fixing my internal gaze upon Jyoti and Nada Yoga, in preference to the variations of pranayama (which I still do occasionally practice, to this day, but an an accompaniment not a primary method). In 1980 I was blessed by the shaktipad of Sant Keshava Das and my life was forever transformed. Integrating this peak experience has been a process spanning decades.
Having been deeply attracted to the writings of Sri Swami Sivananda, I became a disciple of Sri Swami Satchidananda. I went as far as taking the pre-sanyasin vows and was on the verge of becoming a Swami, when destiny changed my plans, due to school loans, and I was required to remain in the world until my debts were cleared. Long story short, my path did not lay within any orthodox monastic tradition, it was meandering amidst the thriving buzz of society and humanity at large, like many of you dear folks. Yet, I kept up with my sadhana and have walked many roads, all aimed at Union with the Divine. So, I grounded the epiphanies I had been through within my mind's heart and my journey continues to this present moment, right here & now. 
I naturally drifted towards the Radhasoami Faith/Sant Mat, as they place so much importance upon Inner Light and the Sound Current. In the early 19th century, Sant Tulsi Sahib removed all aspects of pranayama and kundalini yoga from what I can only gather was Kriya Yoga, as it is a lineage which is derived from Sant Kabir's teachings. When I moved to Vermont, I became initiated in this lineage and was influenced by it's methods.
Sadly and IMHO, this path revolves around the worship of the living material "Perfect Master" and has degenerated into a cult of personality. Much as with fundamentalist Christianity, blind faith in the person of the Savior or Sat Guru, is emphasized as the only way towards true liberation. And so, I quickly became disenchanted with the rigid dogma and open disdain for other spiritual systems and religions. They emphatically proclaim that "Hindu Yogis only reach the lowest astral plane". Sigh... I have heard even worst distortions of reality, in their midst, and for this and many other reasons, I left this group in 1984. 
But I have continued to direct my intent towards the Light and Nada techniques they borrowed from the Vedantic/Yogic lineage. It is paralleled by the Sufis. I was involved with Sufism in the mid 1980s and studied for a spell with Pir Valayet Khan. Many of the Light and Sound meditation methods are taught in this tradition, as well. AUM is referred to as "Amin or Ameen" and the sonic boom of HU, is the primary vibratory sound adhered to as the only true name of Allah/God. HU, HUM, HAM, HAMSA, HUNG... there's only one root word, one name spoken in diverse ways.
I find that there are far more similarities than differences, in all the world's inner spiritual practices and religions. Key in all of them are the worship of the Divine Light and the resounding Word of God (AUM, OM, AYAM, AMEN, AMIN, etc...). I sincerely invite anyone here to share some of your own experiences with the Sacred tone of Brahman/Ishvara/God/Allah and the effulgence of the indwelling Godhead, facilitated within the Ajna and exponentially expanded, into fullest bloom, within the Sahasrara.
Hari Om Tat Sat
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mr_anderson
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Dec 11 2013 : 1:43:49 PM
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Hi Govinda,
Thanks for your sharing your spiritual background, I enjoyed reading that! Here is a recent experience, dream initiation, I had with the "Om" mantra: http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13161
It's a sound I have always loved and deeply resonated with. Unfortunately, I'm rarely able to chant it more than once, because my nervous system simply doesn't have the capacity for the ensuing currents of ecstatic energy. It would be like sticking my fingers into an electric socket.
The only practices I can do are Viveka, Awareness of Awareness, and just sitting (simply closing eyes, breathing, doing nothing and releasing all attempts to manipulate experience). Fortunately, these simple practices are enough to bring unending joy & (mainly) loving, congruent behavior throughout the waking hours!
Love,
Josh |
Edited by - mr_anderson on Dec 11 2013 1:47:07 PM |
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Govinda
USA
176 Posts |
Posted - Dec 11 2013 : 5:14:17 PM
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Thanks Josh,
I appreciate your sharing your experiences, mr anderson. In my own sadhana, the more I attune to the audible AUM vibration, the more ecstatic-bliss I experience. I am admittedly God-intoxicated by it sheer magnificence! I no longer chant this as a mantra, rather, I keenly listen for it's sonic presence, as a living reality. This Nam of Brahman, the Holy Nada, is audible on many frequencies and I hear it almost constantly. All other sounds seemingly emerge a echoes from it... and so, return to this source.
Of course, when I go the very deepest into it's fulcrum, I hear nothing at all. Within the roaring silence, I enter into an unmoving stillness... and there is neither vibratory sound nor light perceivable in such an eclipsing. Whatever this consciousness which I am embodied within, whatever Mego or the I-thought actually is, in it's truest essence... is lifted up into the 8th or Vyapini chakra, floating above the material husk, and it is here that I truly commune with the Divine. And it is here, that my Master comes to Grace this small persona with pure Ananda.
Most of my present work aims at this higher point, rising 10-12 inches up from the crown Bindu and seated just above the material body's shell. And when I say "commune", I mean I am all but erased as a subjective witness, by the Presence of Brahman/God/Allah. And from this side of the looking glass, this level of being is also a vortexial portal, as well.
Some speak of a 9th or Vyomanga chakra. I have sensed this but it seems to exist beyond dimension or subtle astral or causal plane of being. It surely exists within the stillness of The Clear Light of the Void. To approach this exalted state, there is no longer a subject and an object, any self witness to the Supreme Spirit... so it's not exactly a reflecting or mirroring, for there exists but ONE Indivisible conscious-awareness and upon remembrance, it's nature seems to be a limitless love.
In such a degree of quietude, even the I-thought vanishes (for a period and duration). Upon returning to this plane of being, I shift the remembrance into the vortex of my mind's heart and integrate what I may of the spiritual epiphany, within my ordinary existence inside of this time-space-continuum. Ever, the Dreamer is called to fully awaken. Does that make any sense, at all? I sure hope so.
Much love, Jon |
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snake
United Kingdom
279 Posts |
Posted - Dec 12 2013 : 3:36:12 PM
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Hi Govinda
I've been practicing light and sound since 1972 and agree it can pull you right in.i was initiated into divine light mission and this started my practice
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Govinda
USA
176 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2013 : 01:25:46 AM
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Thanks for dropping in, snake. I've had friends who we also initiates in Divine Light Mission and the symmetry with Sant Mat/Radhasoami Faith is quite obvious. Gumraji never really did it for me... I found his Satsangs vague and his disciples prone to personality worship... but he strongly impacted some folks I respect, a good deal.
From a technical standpoint, their methods are very, very similar to Nada Yoga, Sufism and Sant Mat. Regardless of religion, lineage or affiliation, there is but one eternal light and one Omniscient sound.
Let your love light shine! |
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Meditation: Inner Light and Sound Current
