by Sri Bmal Mohanty
VOL No. 15
Nov. 2001

CHAPTER SIXTEEN- ON MEDITATION - Part 4

Meditation the vital support of life.

Continued from Chapter fourteen which dealt with The Benefits of Meditation- on the mind, knowledge and the bliss sheaths.

"Based on the lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

It is manifested by a sense of physical well-being. The body responds to and harmonises with the powerful influence of divine natural laws and acquires strength and resistance against decay.
   
Being an evolutionary process, the effect spreads beyond physical and affects next our vital sheath- the sheath of vital breath, the pranamay kosha.

Along with harmonized body, we acquire harmonized breath. The fruits are great physical health as well as stronger will force.

Harmonised physical state along with harmonized vital breath provide base for tranquility of mind.

A tranquil mind being more reflective and contemplative becomes ready to receive the knowledge of Self - the source of true happiness, rejecting the husk and going for the kernel, the Bramhan.

Following the divine law of the omnipotent spirit, the Bramhan which is the fountainhead of true knowledge reveals itself. The sheath of knowledge - the jnanamay kosha - is next activated and glows with the light of knowledge.

As veils after veils of ignorance gets lifted, we approach towards supramental consciousness- purna caitanya. The result is pure ananda- unlimited pure bliss as the individual self goes to unite with the Supreme Self.

As Sri Aurobindo explains, the governing principle of supramental lodged in the unity of all existence ensures this awakening for all. That is the promise of our very coming into existence.

Lives after lives, strengthened by the power of Yoga, is the very process towards fulfillment of this promise. The promise of uniting with Bramhan.

The discovery of oneness with Bramhan is indeed the discovery of the limited individual consciousness of its true potential by virtue of its oneness with universal consciousness which is vast beyond limits of comprehension. Ananta, without end, Apara- without boundaries, Achintya- beyond comprehension, Anirvacaniya- beyond description, Bhuma- all encompassing, Virata the great, Mahato Mahiyan- higher than the highest, all these descriptions which have been described in our scriptures with various interpretations- all these relate to the greatly expansive character of the Bramhan.