Meditation and Sufi poetry

From the very beginning of time there is a longing in every soul to reach the truth, to know who is he? why is he here ? Where he was before coming to this earth? All these questions lead to him to meditate. Man is meditating from the time of Adam. And in this process he went through different stages like search for truth, seeking truth by traveling, meeting enlightened people, finding guru, going through stages of spiritual evolution and then finally attained his goal.

Thousands of people were the travelers of this path thousands are and thousands will be but there are only few who wrote all their experiences in words which have music or rhythms.This mystic poetry made great impact on people around these Sufis. The Sufi poetry is full of love, when we hear poetry of maulana Rumi, Umar Khayyam or Baba Bulle Shah we can not stop are tear from falling down to the earth. We felt that something is missing in our life which is very essential. We get closer to our creator.

I want to share my experience with you, when ever I listen to Abida parveen (pakistani singer) her arifana kalam (spiritual poetry) from poets like bulle shah, sachal sar mast, baba farid, sultan bahoo I feel so enlightened close to God and free from all bounds I believe that spritual music and poetry can help you very much in the path of truth. This poetry can be from East or West it does not matter. What matters is that we should open our hearts with our ears to hear such gift from heaven.

--mehtab mumtaz

Dissolve Your Ego and Unnecessary Wants - Add Meditaiton to Life.

Once we learn to drop our unnecessary wants and false egos, and turn a little attention towards the sorrow of other human beings, we can progress at a fast pace. What should our understanding be? How can we do this?

To lead a fruitful life we really do not need much. Our desires of the materialistic goods, has created a wall between us, and our spiritual growth. We cannot seem to see beyond this wall. This wall is so thick that as soon as we satisfy one need, another crops up instantly like a growing fungus. One fungus doubles, then two to four, four to eight... its an endless list of desires and wants. We get so much entangled in this wire and thorns of wants that a time comes when they start stifling and pricking us. If we build up enough courage in ourselves and climb over this self made wall we will come to see the truth of life. How with the bare of necessities we can lead a more fruitful and easy life.

I would like you to sit quietly for a while and see what you have attained for yourself in this span of life that you have lived. OK, you have spent 20,30, 40 years of your life. You have made a good academic career, a good standing as parents and a good standing in society. Fine. Now spiritually where are you. Do you consider that all that is happening has been created and designed by you, or do you see God's hand in it? Does ego take over you and you can see only the I and Me not beyond that.

I know it's hard to acknowledge somebody's presence, an energy or power, which you cannot see or feel. Through the various electronic appliances we can feel the energy of electricity that we use. But how to understand the energy of the power that controls us. Our journey from Me to That is a tough one. Its indeed a hard hit on our ego that something beyond yourselves controls your life for you consider yourself the supreme - the ultimate.

We all do believe however that some energy created us. As a baby we are very close to this energy, the reason why a baby is always happily smiling even when alone by itself. But as we grow and become conditioned this energy we stop recognizing. Our elders condition us, to behave in a particular mannerism, as their parents had taught them. A child is not left alone to grow by itself.

Your life is a battery, which has been charged by a supreme energy - cosmos energy. Until the battery gets discharged your body will function. It's upon how you use this energy. If you leave the battery unattended, rust will gather. Power, which had to come out with full force, is defused and lost. Our energy level dies a slow death, a meaningless machine of no use to anyone. But if we take proper care the energy is used with full force, benefiting self as well as all around us.

Recondition your mind to become like a child. Let ego and I disappear. Remain in this world; for you will have to, as long as the energy that you have been build with does not get discharged. But remain detached. Always remember that you brought nothing, you will take nothing. Put more time, more energy on the power that created you, whatever name you like to call it by - God, Jesus, Krishna...

Meditation teaches you to live in this world with yourself, with full awareness. Earth is a planet you have visited, vacationed, and when the time comes to leave, you leave with no strings attached. You leave behind you only the songs and music of love, which you had spread, and which shall echo forever and forever.

--Uma

Meditation is a Blessing of God

I had started meditation when I was very young but after my marriage I was not able to continue that . but since last four to five years I am practicing meditation and it has changed my life greatly .
I think meditation is a blessing of God only a person who is chosen by God can meditate. In meditation a person finds such happiness which can not be found in any worldly thing. When I meditate with full concentration it makes me lighter, freeier and happier. In my daily life my attitude towards life is changed. Every thing is on going I feel shanti inside. People do not bother me. I do not care if somebody hates me or not happy with me. I want to make people happy, help them, care them as much as I can and try not to expect any return. As I am still an infant in this spritual path so some times I got frustrated and felt hurt but then I take shelter of my creator and give myself totally to him. And who can be more protector than Him.

I meditate at 4 o'clock in the morning for almost an hour. This morning time is most peaceful in 24 hours and it is scientifically proved that at this time the Earth is covered with such cosmic rays which are very good for human mind body and spirit. If a person meditate at this time regularly or even only sit silently beneath the sky his mind and bodily health improves a lot.

I practice my meditation in the guidance of my Murshid (guru) and I think every type of meditation is beneficial if practiced with honesty and love for the creator. Only love and dedication is required for success, any thing else comes after that. If a person is willing than automatically nature guides and shows the right path for him. The more carving for truth the more success in spritual life. I pray that God lights up this fire of ishq (love) in every human heart as without this ishq life is a total waste.

--mehtab mumtaz

Gurumaa is Energy

Gurumaa is energy, clairvoyant, authentic , cosmic power, light and love. Like a mother, sometimes she talks lovingly, and sometimes in hard words, an enlightened mystic Gurumaa is awaking us for meditation. Gurumaa is energy and she is awaking us saying, realize yourself that you are also energy, you are not body. This body is instrument and energy is the real power in you and all the work are done by this power.

But you are wasting energy in meaningless thoughts. So heal your mind by meditation. Your mind is not of yesterday, but of thousands of years old. There are so many blockages in your mind. See yourself if you can. Be able to see this. You can be free of all this. Your clarity of mind make you powerful.

When you meditate under the guidance of Gurumaa your kundalini can easily be awaken and you can feel energy in your body. With rise in your energy you get many experiences, you can see the energy colors in you, many emotions and vibrations happen in the body. In these emotions your clarity happen and by vibration your energy arise and you can understand where you are. It may be very clear to you that you are with an enlightened one.

Join your meditation with crystal gazing Gurumaa, in which Gurumaa is guiding you. The main thing you need when you present yourself in front of Gurumaa is that you have some practice of living in silence. This way when you join guided meditation techniques, you can find good results.

Meditation is a way to empower you, to make you realize of your true self. Your intentions and attentions make you so powerful that you can be involved in the welfare of mankind. You can try every guided meditation CD of Gurumaa for meditation. if you are not able to sit, then start with meditational music. Then start Gurumaa’s active meditation – Urja. This will be good preparation for meditation. If you prepare well, you can be meditative with Gurumaa’s spiritual songs and maybe by only seeing Gurumaa.

-veena sikri

A LIFE FULL OF MEANING

LONG time back about 7 yrs back a day came in my life that is very difficult for me to forget… A day when I came to “GURUMAA ASHRAM”. I used to hear a lot about “ANANDMURTI GURUMAA” from my parents & my uncle…& I thought I would be very lucky if I just see a glimpse of “GURUMAAJI” & that day arrived. From that day onwards my life changed a lot, now it is just the opposite of what it was seven years back. After that I attended shivir, youth shivir ,in which I just love to go…& these shivirs I think I cant afford to miss them…

“GURUMAAJI” taught us meditation & after that my concentration power had increased a lot & the best thing is that through meditation I got to know that my body & my conscious are two different things. In meditation one keeps oneself away from his body. We are looking what is happening all around us & now things don’t matter a lot.to me, like I am taking my life as it comes & my mind is calm & relaxed & worries don’t bother me a lot..

I just keep “GURUMAAJI’S WORDS” in my mind as a student” STUDY WELL & DO YOUR WORK WITH FULL CONCENTRATION “ These words for me as a student help me to live my life happily & the meditation taught by “GURUMAAJI”

“TRATAK DHAYAN”-Its concentrating on a flame without blinking your eyes. It helps students a lot to increase their concentration power in studies. as it has helped me a lot.

With GURU in my life its life full of happiness that isn’t temporary but is permanent & A LIFE FULL OF MEANING.

--shikha

Enjoying my spiritual journey with my master

About 5 years ago I was fortunate enough to meet Gurumaaji, as soon as I saw her I felt an aura of peace around her. I began listening to the discourses that were on Sony TV and even attended Satsangs. It was from this that I found out about meditation, its benefits and also about the different guided meditation techniques available. Gurumaaji stressed the importance of meditation and recommended using specially designed meditation CD’s. There is a variety of meditation CD’s on offer, with different techniques.

The first meditation technique that I used was mantra meditation. This was where you repeat out loud a word such as ‘OM’. I really enjoyed this guided meditation technique and think that it is a good meditation for beginners, as it is easy to understand. Gurumaa recommends doing daily meditation with one technique for 3 months before changing to another one. I have tried most of the meditation CD’s and derive benefits from all.

To start off I found it difficult to sit crossed legged, but with practice and doing yoga, I can now sit for longer. Some of the benefits that I think I have had from practicing meditation are that I have less of a racing mind, less thoughts, peace of mind and being more aware. I feel more positive about life in general and have the strength to face problems and feel as I am more focused about what I want to focus on in life.

My current meditation technique is to start doing breathing meditation, whilst playing meditation music in the background. This is very uplifting and a lovely experience. More recently through doing meditation I have started experiencing catharsis. Catharsis is a procedure of cleansing your mind and getting rid of all repressed feelings from the past. When the body goes through catharsis, which is caused by the rising of energies through meditation, body movements happen automatically. This is a good way to experience that we are not the body and that we are separate from the body. I can see through this that I am the one who is witnessing the movement which is the true self. I do not get frightened about anything that I experience in meditation as Gurumaa has said that nothing bad can happen has a result of doing meditation.

I am thoroughly enjoying my spiritual journey and feel blessed that I have been shown the spiritual path and I hope that I am able to progress in this beautiful path of meditation and self realisation.

--kiran

Meditation – The Spring of Bliss

More than three years ago, I had the good fortune of attending the satsang of Gurumaa for the first time in Kolkata. After that, there was no looking back. As a result of her divine grace, soon after the satsang was over, the devotees at Kolkata started weekly group meditation. I was privileged to be a part of that group. Three years have passed since then and meditation has become a constant companion who visits me everyday. Without my divine friend, life seems boring. I now sometimes feel how I could have lived without this friend of mine who leads me to the inner bliss without fail everyday!

What is meditation? In my younger years, I would wonder. Will I be able to sit for meditation, how will I be able to sit and concentrate on one particular point for so long? How do yogis do that? I know now that it all happens through the guru’s grace. The art of meditation cannot be taught, it has to come on its own. The one thing I have learnt is that if you want to meditate, ‘Your time starts now’ and you cannot relegate it to some other day when you feel more inclined towards it. Like Gurumaa says, our life is fleeting and soon it will be time to go. What better way to enrich our lives by going ahead with our sadhana by meditating everyday.

Gurus say that meditation is the way to ‘experience the power within’. For me it is going into the silence and being with myself. My body and mind both get relaxed and I emerge from my meditation totally refreshed. The practice of watching the breath brings the feeling of being a witness. Sometimes the breathing becomes so slow that it is hardly discernible. The mantra helps in the energy moving upward in the body. We find that the quantity of food and sleep required by the body slowly starts reducing.

There are different types of meditation such as chakra meditation, Buddhist meditation such as orange meditation, bathing meditation, dance meditation etc. In our Centre, we started with the ‘Pranav’ meditation of Gurumaa which introduced us to ‘Om’, the Udgeet or the Anhad, the original and primordial sound. Through ‘Bhramari’ pranayam, we learnt to control our breath, experience the shakti within and go into meditation.

‘Ram Ras’ is another very powerful and intensive meditation of Gurumaa. We invoke the power of the word ‘Ram’ through the breath. We inhale deeply and while exhaling, we say, ‘Ram’. The word ‘Rama’ slowly dissolves and we enter into meditation. We end the meditation with sankirtan.

The other two very powerful experiments of Gurumaa are ‘Urja’ - active meditation, and ‘Nishkriya’ - passive meditation. Urja brings me to thoughtlessness and tandra through the combined effect of Bhastrika, Ujjayi and Kapalbhati pranayams. The feeling of being a witness becomes very profound and I feel myself totally detached from my surroundings. ‘Nishkriya’ Dhyan helps me to remain in the present, at the same time experiencing the different parts of the body. After a few months of practicing this meditation technique regularly, I could actually see different parts of my body in meditation.

‘Tratak’ Dhyan is the practice of concentrating on the flame of a candle in a dark room. One has to constantly gaze at the flame while breathing deeply, without blinking. After some time, with my eyes closed, I see the flame within and try to visualize myself away from my body. I usually have an experience of my prana or energy being pulled upwards.

The sound of gongs and bells at regular intervals are the hallmark of Gurumaa’s ‘Sacred Spaces’ meditation. I can hear the echo of the sound long after it stops and then start waiting for the next round. It improves concentration and helps in bringing about thoughtlessness in an easy and simple manner.

Gurumaa’s other guided meditation CDs such as Shiv Naam Onkar, Shvason ka Vigyan and Sparsh are equally powerful. Stuti Sutra is an ode to the master, a real masterpiece which brings us closer to the guru and enables us to pour out our gratitude to her. Divine music such as ‘Odyssey of Love’ & Sufi Music as well as meditating on Shiva with ‘Shiva’s Ecstasy’ are equally powerful meditation techniques. I have found other meditation techniques such as ‘Mudra’ and ‘Simran’ (‘Wahe Guru’ dhyan) helpful in activating the third eye. The ‘Wahe Guru’ chant keeps reverberating inside for hours after the meditation is over. With Gurumaa, life becomes a walking, sleeping (even while sleeping the ‘sakshi bhav’ does not cease) meditation. Life becomes a celebration!

Initially, I required Gurumaa’s guided meditation to take me deep into meditation. But after so many months of regular practice, I find that on my own, even without any CD or cassette, I am able to experience the silent bliss of meditation. Such is the grace of my Guru!

--Seema

find more about my gurumaa at www.gurumaa.com