Lord How do we overcome dullness of mind during Japa or Meditation?

This is a problem that almost everybody has. As soon as they sit down, they immediately fall asleep or shortly afterwards starting Sadhana. Some people don’t even know that they are sleeping; they think that they are in Samadhi! This is probably the reason when people fall asleep in front of mother when they are meditating why Mother says; Look they are in Samadhi!!:)

Samadhi is not Sleep and Sleep is not Samadhi. They are two totally different things and also you could say that they are opposites. Sleep is full of Darkness and Samadhi is all light. So as Darkness and light are opposites Samadhi and sleep are also opposites :) 

To understand how to overcome this obstacle of sleeping while meditation because the purpose of meditation is not sleep but to get concentration, we have to understand what causing this dullness or in Sanskrit it is called TAMAS.

One of the first causes is eating. So are we supposed to not eat and meditate? No you can eat, but understand that when you eat much of the energy and blood in the body goes to the digestive system to digest the food. So its not available for concentration. So we are not supposed to Meditate right after taking a heavy meal. It will be very difficult unless we are very advanced in Meditation.  You know people after taking heavy meals they feel like sleepy. So it’s not the time to meditate after meal. So if you plan to eat before meditation, eat at least few hours before meditation so there will be more energy available for concentration and the digestive system will be free from burden. Other thing is if you plan to meditate at the morning don’t eat much at night.

 If you want to eat something at night eat fruits and Milk and not cooked foods. Since they are not heavy food they won’t be a burden for the digestive system. If you follow this you will see that you are more energetic and not sleepy at the morning and you can make it better by taking only milk as Dinner. It may not seem like any connection with eating food and meditating in the morning! But every person who tries to get early up and meditate knows there is a connection with this two. So it is from experience we are saying this.

Another cause of the Tamas is we are used to have a very active life style. We always want to do something every time (except for the lazy ones) and our mind and body is in that kind of gear or in that mode of Rajasic Activity. Our system will not understand what is going on if we suddenly sit down and start stopping every activity to meditate. So it falls down to the next lower rung which is inertia. Our mind goes from Activity to inertia.  Instead of going up to the next higher rung or peace it goes down because our mind is not trained to Go to that higher levels and has no energy to go to that level. The only place it knows and goes is down that is into dullness or Tamas. How do we overcome this Tamas when we are Rajasic people or very active people? There are a number of things that the sages and our mother have advised us.

One is get sufficient sleep at night. But don’t get too much sleep at night. You have to find how much is needed for you and try to stick to that. For some people 5 hours is enough and for someone 7 hours is not enough. You have to find out, you have to play around with it and experiment with it. Nothing will happen if you sleep more by half an hour or less by half an hour, it’s not going to be the end of world or you are not going to stop yourself from self realization. So try to figure out what is optimum for you. Don’t sleep more than you need and don’t sleep less than you need. For Some people their health is not good so they need little more sleep. Don’t compare to others when it come how much you need to sleep.

Another thing is you should take shower in the morning. You should take shower in the morning before meditation because it washes out lot of Tamasic energy developed during sleep. Don’t take hot water for your shower. Even though you used to use cold water for shower because it feels so nice, if you wanna meditate in the morning and succeed in that try to bath with the possible coolest water you could bear. Actually even Amma does this, she always take the coolest water she could bear. Amma says a Sadhak (spiritual aspirant) should bath in the possible coolest water he could bear and that is good for Sadhana. infact Mother cannot be considered as a Sadhak but almost everything she does is as a role model for her children. So we should not use hot water unless we have health problems like rheumatism and arthritis or some problem like that. It is also good for your skin since, it will not dry out much. It’s good for the nervous system also. And like that we should try to meditate in a cool place. Don’t turn up the heat to many degrees in your room. Open the windows and don’t wear very warm clothes. 
- Swami Paramatmananda puri

Lord Ignorance about SatGuru

Sunday, June 6, 1999. It was the last day of the Seattle retreat. Torrential rains and the biting cold didn't deter a lot of people from coming. A huge crowd had arrived for the public darshan. I sat next to Amma for some time during the darshan.

A Jewish man came up to her and asked for a mantra. He had previously been initiated with a Hebrew mantra, and told me that he wanted Amma to give him the same mantra. When I translated this to Amma, she looked at him and smiled.

I asked him for the mantra and wrote it down on a piece of paper. It was a long mantra, consisting of six lines. I wrote it down phonetically in Malayalam, so that Amma would be able to read it. About 15 minutes later, as I was about to show the piece of paper to Amma, I noticed that she was whispering something in the man's ear. He then got up to leave.

I was puzzled and asked him, "Did you receive a mantra from Amma?"
"Yes, Amma chanted that same mantra in my ear," he replied.
I was completely stunned, because the paper on which the mantra was written was still in my hand. Also, the mantra was in Hebrew, not Sanskrit. But, then, nothing is a miracle as far as Amma is concerned.

When I enquired further, the man informed me that Amma had pronounced the mantra in fluent Hebrew, with the ease and perfect pronunciation of a Jew! His eyes were full of tears as he said this.
I asked him to tell me the meaning of the mantra. And then, even though it was an unpardonable act, due to my acute ignorance, I decided to test Mother.

I asked her the meaning of that mantra. Amma smiled at me. I felt that it was an extremely sarcastic smile. Even though it was freezing cold, I found myself sweating profusely. I was almost in tears, thinking about the grave mistake I had just committed.

But a moment later Amma's face was full of compassion. She drew me towards her and whispered the meaning of the mantra in my ear. I was amazed because Amma said exactly what the man had said to me. Though long, the mantra could be condensed to "Let the Truth shine within me."

Hours later when the darshan came to an end, I still had a guilty conscience because I felt I had committed a serious mistake. After the darshan I went inside the temple. Amma was talking with the other swamis, but she looked at me from time to time with a smile. She called me to her and put some prasad in my mouth. She looked deeply into my eyes.

I became aware of the depths of my ignorance. My condition was similar to that of the salt doll that sets out to measure the depth of the sea! I felt so ashamed to think that even after 20 years I hadn't understood an iota of Amma's greatness, and I deeply regretted that I had tested her
- Swami Amritatmananda Puri (ammas senior disciple)

Lord On the Road to Freedom: A Pilgrimage in India

We are here to tell you about a beautiful Spiritual biography by a western Spiritual seeker. Swami paramatmananda puri (Neal Rosner) is an American who came to india with a great longing heart for Spiritual life and Indian Culture.  This book narrates the story of his Indian journey and his meetings and life’s with some great Indian saints like Ratnamji, Nisargadatt Maharaj and Mata Amritanandamayi Devi. Any Spiritually inclined person would benefit from his experiences with the great spiritual masters he met.

The book ends with his meeting with Sri matha Amritanandamayi devi, Who is now famous Globally for her divine and motherly compassion towards all others.  He narrates his experience with the divine mother and her incomparable compassion and sacrifice for her fellow beings and about his acceptance of Amma as his SatGuru.  

The book has two parts; in the first part he tells his story of American life, meeting and living with Rathnamji, Nisargadatta maharaj and his arrival at his real Guru, ammas ashram. The second part is enriched with his life and experience with Amma.  This book is also available in Malayalam at Matha Amritanantamayi Stores. 

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Lord Amritasya putraha- Amma has chosen us!

The ancient sages, those seers of the Upanishads, addressed mankind with the most significant words — "amritasya putraha," meaning "children of immortality." Amma uses the words, "Omkara divya porule" — "The essence of Om." Certainly, they are not addressing our bodies or minds. We are much more than that. Though the body and mind are useful instruments, we should not make a cage of them and imprison ourselves within. We know from experience just how much happiness we can experience while living in this prison. Actually, we are all immortals. But we don't realise that. The whole universe is ours, all its beauty and mysteries.

But we are like the child collecting coloured stones from the seashore. Is this outlook due to a shortcoming? No, on the contrary, it is due to the presence of excess within us. Our "too much-ness" is creating the barrier. When you come to Amma, come alone. Don't bring along the unwanted ideas of the intellect.

We often think that we are with Amma when we are sitting in front of Her. But that may not be correct. It is not very easy to meet a Mahatma (great soul) like Amma. I have heard people saying, "I met Amma many years ago." However, some of these people do not even like to obey the line monitors, because they think that they have been devotees for a much longer time, and therefore, need not obey the line monitors.

Amma says "I am here, available for all. I am right in front of you. But where are you? You are not in front of Me. You are still hiding in your cave." The Master has found us. But we have not found the Master yet. Amma has chosen us. But we have not chosen Amma yet. One day, there will be a real meeting. In that meeting, the Master and disciple will disappear. The saint, Kabir, said, "I set out in search for You but I could not find You. Then I disappeared in the very search, and only then were You found. The one, who had set out in search for You, could never meet You as long as he was there. Only when the seeker disappeared in the process of seeking did the meeting take place." This experience is really a gift given by the guru.

There are two kinds of gifts: gifts of the world and gifts of the invisible. We can receive the gifts of the world even if we are not ready to receive them. But there is a gift that cannot be given to us until we are ready to receive it. The guru will make us pure enough to receive that gift if we are ready to surrender our ego. Then real knowledge will dawn within. The guru will take us from information to transformation, ignorance to innocence, and death to immortality.

Physicists say that an atom contains a lot of energy. In fact, the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima contained only a few milligrams of matter converted into energy that levelled the entire city. If a single atom can contain so much energy, what about the spiritual energy in man? It can completely remove the numberless delusions carried over from countless lifetimes. We are all rooted in God. Think about this small flame of consciousness in man. It can grow into a roaring conflagration of infinite energy and light. That is what happened to Buddha and Amma.

We always use our limited intellect to judge the actions of the master. But no one can really understand a realised master until he or she attains realisation. Judging the Master will leave us confused. But if we surrender to the master and open our hearts, He can easily reveal his divine powers. After my first meeting with Amma, a great transformation took place in my life. But there were still many unanswered questions. It was very difficult to understand Amma. For example, during Krishna Bhava, I noticed unbelievable changes in Amma's physical appearance. I felt as if even the colour of Her skin had changed to dark blue. At the time of Krishna Bhava, Amma used to give darshan while standing with one foot on the floor and the other on a peetham (ceremonial seat), which looked like a footstool. Her actions and smile were enchanting to behold. Devotees coming to Amma with so many worries and burdens would forget themselves just by seeing the mystical smile of Krishna. Her mischievous actions would make everybody laugh; they would never get a chance to cry. If someone tried to explain his or her problems, Amma would pour holy water into his or her mouth. If that person tried to speak again, She would fill his or her mouth with banana pieces. Finally, forgetting all the problems, that person would burst into laughter.

Amritasya Putraha - By Swami Purnamritananda Puri  

 

Lord The Only True Love is The Love of Guru

Many people come from different countries to see Amma and to spend time with Her. Sometimes they don't understand even a single word of English, let alone any Malayalam, but this doesn't in any way diminish Amma's ability to convey Her teachings. In every action that She performs can be found a supreme teaching. "Actions speak louder than words" is a famous saying and one that Amma lives by.

Many people say "I love you, I love you" to each other, maybe even several times a day -- but that isn't true love. If it were true love, why would it have to be spoken? True love is felt; it isn't just heard. When the heart is full, there is nothing to be said; for true love is beyond words. It is conveyed in all of one's actions and overflows to encompass everyone around. This is why so many people are drawn to being with Amma. She is the essence of true divine love. It is something we have only heard about but have never really experienced. Amma shows us a glimpse of it. We get to taste just a drop of it.

The love that a Guru has for a disciple is the greatest love in this world. There was once a disciple who lived with his Guru, but his mind was still inclined towards worldly desires. So, the Guru sent him off to get married, to satisfy the cravings of his mind. He was to return after ten years.

Ten years later the disciple had several children and had become wealthy. His Guru visited him and reminded him to return to spiritual life after finishing his cravings. But the man said that his children were still young and needed him and that he wanted a few more years to raise them, and then he would return to the Guru.

Another ten years went by. The Guru came back to him. This time the disciple told the Guru that although his wife had died and his children had grown up, they still didn't know how to handle their responsibilities and might squander away all his wealth, so he needed a few more years for them to reach full adulthood and a sense of responsibility before he could leave them.

Seven more years went by. When the Guru came back to see him, a big dog was guarding the gate. The Guru recognized him. It was the disciple. He had died a few years earlier and, because of his attachment to his family, he had been reborn as a dog that guarded the house and his children. The Guru called the dog to him. The dog said, "Master, in just a few more years, I will return to you. My children are at the peak of their good fortunes and have some jealous enemies that I must protect them from before I can leave."

Ten years later, the Guru again returned. The dog had died and he could see that his disciple had taken birth as a venomous snake that was guarding the safe in the house. The Guru decided it was time to deliver his disciple from delusion. He told the disciple's grandson that a venomous snake was inside and that he should remove it. He was not to kill it but was to give it a good beating, break its back and return it to him. This was done.

The Guru fondly caressed the beaten snake and threw it around his neck and went off. He spoke to the snake: "Beloved disciple, no one has ever been able to satisfy their cravings by giving in to them. The mind can never be satisfied. Discrimination is your only refuge. Wake up! At least in your next birth you can attain the Supreme." The snake was amazed. "Gurudev, how gracious you are. Even though I proved so ungrateful to you, you have always followed me and looked after me and guided me back to your Lotus Feet."

There is none in this world as full of divine love as the Guru. No love in the world can be compared to the selfless love of a true Guru towards his or her disciple. Only Amma knows about pure love. She, like the Guru in the story, is ready to wait lifetimes for us. The mother that gave birth to us will love us for this one lifetime; only the love of the Guru will follow us life after life. That love will never wane. Let us not make Her wait too long for us.

The Only True Love - By Swamini Krishnamritaprana [Part II]

Aum Amriteswaryai Namah

Lord Testing my SatGuru

I tried to test Her greatness in several ways. I remember one such incident. During one of the Krishna Bhavas, I was standing near Amma and fanning Her. I noticed how She made everyone feel extremely happy. Every half hour, She would walk a few steps to the door of the temple and gaze at the bhajan singers and devotees who were sitting outside and unable to see Her. I wanted to check if Amma could see things that did not fall within the range of Her direct vision. I tried to do something without Her knowledge. A vessel full of banana pieces that had been kept as prasad for the devotees caught my attention. When Amma walked to the door, I quickly took a handful of the banana pieces and swallowed it. I then remained where I was, and acted as if nothing had happened. When Amma returned, She looked at me and smiled. That look revealed to me that She knew what I had done. Amma took a shawl and, with one end, tied both my hands together. She tied the other end of the shawl around Her waist and made me stand near Her for the next five hours. It was sweet punishment. But this only encouraged me to engage in more mischievous actions.

When I was studying in middle school, I went to a flute concert. It touched my heart. I wanted to learn how to play the flute. However, my father did not allow me to do so. He did not want me to divert my attention from my studies. I became very sad. One day, there was a festival in a nearby temple. I saw a man there playing the flute beautifully; he had many flutes for sale. I bought one and tried to play it myself. But it was extremely difficult. The only sound I could hear was that of my own breath passing through the flute. I wanted a teacher to teach me to play the flute. My grandmother told me to pray to the divine flautist, Lord Krishna, and that He would teach me. I believed Her. I went to a Krishna temple and prayed to Lord Krishna to become my flute Guru. As if in answer to my prayer, I was suddenly able to play simple songs. I became excited. But in the house, I could play the flute only in my father's absence. Later, he started to enjoy hearing the flute and even asked me to play for him.

I wanted to test if Amma could remember how I learned the flute with the blessings of Lord Krishna, and if She would recognise my flute while She was in Krishna Bhava. One Bhava darshan day, I covered the flute with a newspaper and brought it to the old temple where Amma used to give darshan. I showed it to Amma and asked whether She could identify what was inside. She smiled and said, "You tell me, my son." I replied, "I already know what is inside, but I want to hear it from You." But She insisted that I tell Her. Finally, disappointed that Amma had not been able to tell that it was my bamboo flute, I told Her what it was. Then She said, "It is not a flute, My child, but a packet of incense sticks." I said, "No, it is my flute and I packed it myself." Amma asked me to remove the wrapper, and all the devotees were watching the scene with great curiosity. I removed the newspaper covering and, instead of my flute, I was shocked to see a brand-new metallic cylindrical incense case, full of incense sticks! I couldn't believe my eyes. How could such a thing happen? I mentally asked, "Are You a magician? Why did You turn my flute into a case of incense sticks?"

I did not want to test Amma any more, but I really wanted to get back my flute, which was very special to me. I asked Amma, "Please tell me where my flute is." With a mischievous smile on Her face, She replied, "It is in the puja room of your house, behind the painting of Krishna." I returned home immediately, went inside the puja room and searched for my flute. I found it exactly where Amma had said it would be. "How can it be?" I wondered. I tried to recollect the events. That day, after I had packed the flute and was about to leave the house, my mother had called me from the kitchen. She wanted me to eat breakfast before I left, but it was too early and I did not want to eat. She insisted, so I went to the kitchen after keeping my flute on the living room table. It was exactly at that time that my father came back from the shop, having purchased a cylindrical case full of incense sticks, which was also wrapped in newspaper. He also put it down on the living room table and went to the bathroom to wash his feet before entering the puja room.

After returning from the puja room, instead of taking the incense packet, he inadvertently took my flute and kept it behind the painting of Krishna, which was the usual spot where he would keep incense. After returning from the kitchen, I picked up the packet of incense sticks, thinking it was the flute that I was going to use to test Amma. I was totally unaware that She had already exchanged packets, playing a joke on me, instead. Then I realised that it is not possible to understand Mother, who is even more mischievous than I. At least I was happy that I did not lose my flute forever.

Amritasya Putraha - By Swami Purnamritananda Puri (ammas senior disciple) 

Lord Amma, the Incomparable

Even before I begin to jot down these lines, let me confess that for me Amma still remains far beyond, though I have spent 22 years in Her presence.

This phenomenon — known as Amma or Mata Amritanandamayi — that appears so ordinary to our eyes is actually the extraordinary in an ordinary way. Amma is so extraordinary and incomprehensible that it is impossible to describe Her accurately. Even then, if I had to choose one word to describe Amma, that word would be "wonder."

We study about the seven man-made wonders and natural wonders of the world. But Amma is a greater wonder than all of them combined! I am wonder-struck at the untainted love and compassion that She showers on everyone equally; I am wonder-struck at Her patience that is beyond comparison; I am wonder-struck at the bliss She is constantly established in; I am wonder-struck seeing the transformation that Amma brings in people’s lives; I am wonder-struck at the limitless energy that She embodies; I am wonder-struck at Amma’s purity and the way Amma is offering Herself in serving humanity selflessly; I am wonder-struck at Her supreme detachment. And my wonderment, I know, is going to be endless.

Just as a child whose eyes are filled with wonderment while beholding anything and everything, I am utterly amazed looking at Amma and the different aspects of Her life, which I am sure are only a few of Her infinite divine qualities.

I am reminded of Lord Krishna’s words to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita: "Some see the Atman (a Self-realised Soul) as wonder. Similarly, some others speak about the Atman as wonder. There are others who hear about the Atman as wonder. Yet, no one knows the Self, or a great being, who is established in that supreme reality."

Living in a world of differences, conflicts and endless problems, it is such a great relief and joy to be in the presence of a divine master like Amma.

What is the difference between Amma and us?

Simple, we find only differences, speak about them and turn people away from us, from God, and from everything that is good and wise. Most of the conversations people hold will have subtle hints such as, "Look at me, I am greater than you… I am wealthier than you... and of course more successful than you… and just look at my car, it is a fancier car than yours... and I am certainly more appealing than you. You know what? In fact, I differ from you in all respects, and I really don’t want to converse with you!" These feelings are subtle, therefore powerful. The strong vibration of our thoughts makes other people feel restless. Finally they turn away thinking, "Oh my God, I must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, and there must be some strange alignment of the planets because everything that has happ-ened so far today has gone dreadfully wrong. Otherwise why did I bump into that person?"

But Amma sees only one thing in everyone — call it God, goodness, divinity or love. Amma doesn’t compare, She doesn’t judge. Everyone and everything, including animals, plants and even seemingly insignificant objects, are unique in Amma’s eyes

Amma, the Incomparable - By Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri