Introduction
A haribhakta once asked Shreeji Maharaj how it is possible to realise God when the body is composed of maya (crude material elements), whilst God Himself is divine and beyond maya? Maharaj replied that if we occupy the senses in devotion, then those senses will be filled with God and also become divine; God can then be realised.
Therefore, if we keep:
a) The mind full with prayer, smurti, dhyan and jap (contemplate Him)
b) Our eyes occupied with the murti of the pratyaksh and the reading of scriptures
c) The sense of touch kept busy by turning the rosary
d) The tongue occupied with chanting jap
e) Our sense of smell filled with incense and fragrance from flowers offered to God during puja
f) The ears occupied with discourses and kirtans
then our senses will become divine. What’s more, when all these aspects are practiced during puja we can experience a total God experience.
However, the most important component of all is keeping the mind focused on God because we can perform any manner of devotional acts but if the mind is not kept on God then it is as good as not being devoted at all (Vach. G I 22). With constant bhajan we can keep our minds attached to God.
Bhajan constitutes doing namratan (dhoon or jap-yagna), prayer, dhyan and the singing of kirtans. There are many approaches and techniques that we can employ whilst doing bhajan that will help us to lose of ourselves in God. It is up to us to find our own technique according to what comes naturally to us and as per our conviction in God; there is no right or wrong way. Nevertheless, whatever method we employ it is imperative that we should stay 100% in Maharaj with total surrender and without any reservation.
But, we often find that concentrating the mind is difficult because the mind by its very nature is diffuse and full of numerous thoughts. This article discusses some general techniques and approaches that could be utilised to help maintain concentration during our devotional worship.
Namratan
In our satsang, there is an emphasis on doing dhoon and jap. This is because namratan, the reciting of God’s name holds great spiritual power and benefit. The Swaminarayan mahamantra has been given to us by God Himself (Shreeji Maharaj introduced the Swaminarayan mahamantra on 31st December 1801), and it is the most powerful mantra of all. Gunatitanand Swami has explained the greatness of the Swaminarayan mantra in Swami ni Vato Chapter 1, Section 153.
Jap-Yagna
Having prayed to the manifest form of God (Pratyaksh Guruhari) and taken total refuge in Him, with jap-yagna the mind should contemplate, concentrate and chant clearly the name ‘Swaminarayan’ (Anoopam 6, Swaroopnishta) as if there is nothing but the sound ‘Swaminarayan’:
- Whilst chanting the mantra (either silently or loudly), we can contemplate that qualitatively there is no difference between God’s name and God Himself (rather like there being no difference between Maharaj being physically manifest in the form of Pappaji and Maharaj Himself in Akshardham). Hence when we chant His name we should feel that we are in the presence of Maharaj Himself. In that regard we can consider the sound ‘Swaminarayan’ to be the murti of Maharaj.
- Another technique whilst doing jap is to engage the mind by spelling out the name ‘Swaminarayan’ in our mind and contemplating on it. In this way the mind will focus on the name completely and we will be able to gradually chant the mantra with greater concentration thereby neglecting thoughts of the material world.
- The Swaminarayan mantra is very powerful; each word chanted has a spiritual effect. Just like each individual molecule of a medicine fights a disease, in the same way each word of the Swaminarayan mantra when recited combats our faults and shortcomings and uproots them, or overcomes any difficulties that we may be experiencing no matter how big or small. By contemplating on the power of our mantra in this way it can also help us to do jap with concentration.
Dhoon
In dhoon, the mantra is not necessarily recited clearly or precisely but may be more a resonating continuous sound (Anoopam 6, Swaroopnishta). Many of the same principles described above apply to dhoon, but often it is difficult to do namratan by concentrating purely on the mantra. That is why it is advocated that whilst doing dhoon:
- We can do smruti of Guruhari and divine episodes relating to our satsang
- We may concentrate on some aspect of Guruhari’s physical form such as his tilak, the divinity in His eyes or his feet so that we can become one with that divinity
- Or we may just concentrate on the divine presence that we feel in our heart
When doing smurti we should do that which comes to naturally to us. There are some mukto who can quite literally see the murti of Guruhari without effort as if He is right in front of them. However, for those who cannot necessarily see murti we can purposely try to remember Pappaji and our experiences; there are times when it is easy to do so but there are other times when the mind is just too diffuse to concentrate on anything.
In the latter case, the mind should not be stretched too much in order to force it to do smurti. This is because in a state of agitation whilst doing smurti the mind is easily distracted, inevitably other thoughts other than God creep in and before we realise it the mind will start to think about worldly things. If this happens it may be better to apply methods described for jap to attain concentration. Also, we should bear in mind that even if we do not have the spiritual power to actually see Pappaji’s murti before us, we should be careful not to indulge in a mental concoction whereby we imagine our own God; Pappaji has called this chitta bhumika (Anoopam 6, Murti etle shun). We should instead focus on the knowledge that Pappaji is with us right here and now and so contemplate on what we have attained (Prapti no kef).
Whether we are doing jap or dhoon there should be the same level of immersing oneself in Maharaj. In order to give our chanting more power we should feel that we are invoking the power of brahm and parbrahm. Also, like the point of an arrow the Swaminarayan mantra brings power to our prayers. By such a thought process we can gain great benefit from the namratan.
Irrespective of whether we prefer to do jap or dhoon depending upon our capability or mood at the time we should always be flexible in our method so that we can do namratan in the best way we can; we should apply techniques described for jap and dhoon that best suits us at that particular moment in time. We should never be afraid to experiment to discover the method or methods that suit us best.
Dhyan
Dhyan is to meditate on God. Pappaji has explained that with dhyan it allows us to listen to God whereas with other forms of worship it is we who talk to God.
Dhyan is a way to lose ourselves in God and to become one with Him; talking about the glory of God is also a form of dhyan. Pappaji says that we should spend time meditating such that there is only ‘me and my God’:
Hai pratyaksh Guruhari Param Pujya Pappaji
You are the very image of God
Divinity emanates from Your body
We enjoy the divine bliss of God through You
With You God is near and all miseries are far
May I forever be lost in Your Murti [1]
There are many methods that we can adopt to do dhyan as per what suits us, a couple such techniques are as follows:
- Maharaj has described in Vach. Sarangpur 1 that one should contemplate that ‘I am atma and I have attained the supreme God Purushottam in human form (in the form of Pappaji Maharaj), and that human form is my very soul’.
- Pappaji has further explained that one should contemplate the God that is within, and that feeling of divinity should be applied externally to the murti of Maharaj and Guruhari with a feeling that God is manifest in front of us. Then once again by drawing that murti inwards into our heart we can meditate on the manifest God.
In this manner the God that is external and the God that is within will become one.
It should be noted that when doing meditation, we should not be too relaxed but likewise we should not be too tense and try too hard. When Lord Buddha (Siddhartha) first started his journey on spiritual enlightenment and began to meditate, he only managed to do so for a short time. When he thought as to why this was, he observed a musician tuning his sitar. He noticed that when the musician tightened the strings too tight they snapped, conversely when the strings were wound too loose then their sound was not correct. Similarly, when doing meditation if we focus too hard then that concentration can be too taut and easily broken, but if we are too lax then we cannot focus on the meditation; either we will think of worldly thoughts or we fall asleep. Therefore, we need to find our ‘zone’ whereby we can meditate steadily and consistently.
Prayer
Prayer is the total refuge in Guruhari; it is total dependence on Him in all matters large or small, even trivial things. Prayer is something that should be conducted constantly 24 hours a day and not just whilst during puja and at times of need, so that ‘our and His telephone line stays clear’ (Pearls of Wisdom). Constant prayer can help us to commune with God such that namratan and dhyan also become easy.
If we are in difficulty or unhappy then prayer should be carried out without any doubt or reservations. There should be no negative thought at all as to whether Pappaji will protect or not us: ‘God is never the enemy of His devotee’ (Swami ni Vato). Prayer should be undertaken with complete surrender, with total trust and we should talk to Pappaji if He is stood right in front of us. If we are praying to solve a problem then we should not ponder on the problem: ‘There is no problem, there is no solution, there is only Pappaji’ [2]; this is the very essence of total unreserved refuge in Guruhari.
With heartfelt sincerity and by completely throwing the burden onto Him our prayers will always bear fruition.
Other useful tips
Other techniques that can also help us to do dhoon, jap or dhyan are as follows:
- The yogic technique to maintain concentration when doing meditation is to focus the eyes on the tip of the nose. This is not easy to do, but it is possible to maintain concentration by keeping the eyes closed and relaxed but focused at the eye lids or between the eyebrows, or alternatively with 100% focus on our heart where Pappaji resides as our soul.
- Good posture – the body is divided into many parts pulling in different directions agitating the mind, but with good yogic posture the body will be in unison and the mind will become steady.
- Breathe control, not too slow or too quick to ensure steadiness of the mind.
- The tone or pitch at which we chant jap or dhoon out loud can also help to focus the mind and help with concentration.
- Chant ‘Om’ to help focus the mind. Pray to Guruhari inviting Him to come to your puja and ask for His grace so that the mind stays still and calm.
- Scientifically it has been proven that sound has the greatest impact on the brain, that is why Maharaj has emphasised that we should not listen to negative or ill talks. Likewise, if we listen to ourselves chanting out aloud the Swaminarayan mantra then that can help us to concentrate in our bhajan.
The techniques described in this article are varied and any can be applied to any form of bhajan. There is no right or wrong method, only the method that suits us best. Let us find our own methods so that the purpose for our bhajan will be successful, but also so that we can give ourselves totally to Him experiencing great spiritual bliss whilst establishing oneness with Him.
In this manner if we can occupy our mind and senses: tongue, touch, hearing and sense of smell with His divinity then it becomes a total God experience.
[1] Dhyan by Sunil Gandhi
[2] Aarticle: Satya Sankalp