Concentration & Meditation - Vedanta

18 Swami Bhajananandathe unmanifested primordial stuff of which mind and matter areonly two different manifestations.Prakriti is unconscious but is not dead or inert. It is an unconsciouspower animating the whole universe. It is not self-luminous.It is known only when the light of the Purusa falls on it. Butthe Purusa or Atman is self-luminous and does not need anythingelse to reveal it.The distinction between consciousness and unconsciousness,one of the great discoveries made in ancient India, is an importantpoint in spiritual life. Those who want to practisemeditation must have the basic knowledge that the self alone isconscious and that, in the absence of self-awareness, all mentaland physical activities go on unconsciously. The circulation ofblood, digestion and assimilation of food, and other physiologicalactivities go on without our being aware of them.If we study our mental life we find that a major part of it goeson automatically. We talk, read, eat, walk and play, hardly beingaware that we are doing these activities. When we sit for meditationthe same automatism continues within us. Having spent amajor part of the day more or less unconsciously, we find wehave very little control over the mind during meditation.The more we hold on to the self, the more conscious we become.And the more conscious we become, the greater becomesour control over our thoughts and actions. This kind ofself-awareness, popularly known as alertness, is essential notonly for those who follow the path of jnana but also for those whofollow the path of bhakti.The self is the abode of consciousness. Spiritual aspirantsmust learn to open its doors and allow consciousness to flow intotheir mental activities more and more. It is desires and other impuritiesof mind that obscure the self and drive us through unconsciousness.As the mind becomes purer, the light of the selfmanifests itself more, giving us greater self-awareness andself-control.The second basic principle of yoga psychology is that knowingis the result of a mental modification. In order to know an objectthe mind must take the form of that object. This modificationof the mind is called a vritti.