MEDITATION/PRAYER OF THE HEART ....................................... The indestructible drop within the Heart is the origin of life and consciousness within the body. Since the breath(prana) and mind are linked, prana follows the mind when guided by concentration; prana gathers when the mind focuses it. Meditating on the heart centre will bring about unceasing joy, illumination and enlightenment. ------------------------------------------ I seek your blessings, O Protector, that you may place your feet On the centre of the eight petalled lotus at my heart, So that I may manifest within this life The paths of illusory body, clear light and union. .............................................. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Gospel of Matthew, 5:8. .............................................. ...The wheel of phenomena is found at the heart, the residence of the very subtle wind and mind that are themselves the root of all phenomena... ..At the center of the channel-wheels are drops, white on the top and red on the bottom, upon which physical and mental health are based. At the top of the head, the white element predominates, whereas at the solar plexus the red element predominates. These drops originate from the most basic drop at the heart, which is the size of a large mustard seed or small pea, and, like the others, has a white top and red bottom. Since it lasts until death, this drop at the heart is called the “indestructible drop.” The very subtle life-bearing wind dwells inside this drop; at death, all winds ultimately dissolve into it, at which point the clear light of death dawns. The Dalai Lama ...................................... Sit alone in a quiet place, take your mind from every temporal and vain thing, bow your head towards your chest and stay attentively inside yourself, not in the head but in the heart, and hold the mind there with your eyes watch your breathing. With your mind find the place of the heart and let it abide there. In the beginning you will experience darkness and discomfort, but if you will continue with this activity of attention without interruption, you will attain unceasing joy. St. Simeon the New Theologian .................................................. Smaller than the smallest, greater than the greatest, this Âtman forever dwells within the hearts of all. When a man is free from desire, his mind and senses purified, he beholds the glory of the Âtman and is without sorrow. Katha Upaniśad, 2.20. ........................................ The Wheel of the Heart corresponds to the Body of Truth. The Wheel of the Throat to the Body of Enjoyment. The Wheel of the Head to the Body of Manifestation. Kâlachakra Tantra ................................ The Ven. Moggallaana has described how, with the aid of the Buddha, he has passed through all the jhaanas right up to the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. Then, friends, I thought: The signless concentration of the heart, the signless concentration of the heart, they say — now what is that? Then I thought: In this a monk, paying no attention to any distinguishing signs, enters on and dwells in that concentration of the heart which is without signs. This is called The signless concentration of heart. Then, friends, paying no attention to any distinguishing signs, I entered on and dwelt in that concentration of the heart which is without signs. But as I dwelt thus, the consciousness-conforming-to-signs arose. And then, friends, the Blessed One came to me by his powers and said: Moggallaana, Moggallaana, Brahman, do not slacken off in the signless concentration, make your mind steady, make the mind one-pointed, concentrate your mind in the signless concentration! And after that, friends, paying no attention to any distinguishing signs, I entered on and dwelt in the signless concentration of the heart. Now, friends, if anyone were to truly declare: Through the Teachers compassion the disciple gained great super-knowledge, he could rightly declare this of me. Animitto Sutta: The Signless Concentration of the Heart. ............................................. Remember the clear light, the pure clear white light from which everything in the universe comes, to which everything in the universe returns; the original nature of your own mind. The natural state of the universe unmanifest. Let go into the clear light, trust it, merge with it. It is your own true nature, it is home. ~ Padmasambhava ...................................... O lamps of fire! in whose splendors the deep caverns of feeling, once obscure and blind, now give forth, so rarely, so exquisitely, both warmth and light to their Beloved. How gently and lovingly you wake in my heart, where in secret you dwell alone; and in your sweet breathing, filled with good and glory, how tenderly you swell my heart with love. -Saint John of the Cross ............................................ The first step is that of purest prayer. From this there comes a warmth of heart, And then a strange, a holy energy, Then tears wrung from the heart, God given. Then peace from thoughts of every kind. From this arises purging of the intellect, And next the vision of heavenly mysteries. Unheard- of light is born from this ineffably, And thence, beyond all telling the hearts illumination. Last comes- a step that has no limit Though compassed in a single line- Perfection that is endless. The Philokalia .............................................. Sri Aurobindo on the Heart Centre (psychic being/soul) The psychic being is in the heart centre in the middle of the chest (not in the physical heart, for all the centres are in the middle of the body), but it is deep behind. When one is going away from the vital into the psychic, it is felt as if one is going deep deep down till one reaches that central place of the psychic. The surface of the heart centre is the place of the emotional being; from there one goes deep to find the psychic. The more one goes, the more intense becomes the psychic happiness which you describe..... ...the psychic entity in us persists and is fundamentally the same always: it contains all essential possibilities of our manifestation but is not constituted by them; it is not limited by what it manifests, not contained by the incomplete forms of the manifestation, not tarnished by the imperfections and impurities, the defects and depravations of the surface being. It is an ever-pure flame of the divinity in things and nothing that comes to it, nothing that enters into our experience can pollute its purity or extinguish the flame. — Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine ..................................................... Those who received revelation have given us sacred books such as the Bible, the Quran, and the Bhagavad Gita. Hundreds of thousands of years have passed and their sacred teachings remain alive even now. But at the same time we must know that what they have given in the form of preaching, in the form of teachings, is the interpretation of the living wisdom that cannot be fully expressed in words. One can only know that living knowledge when one has experienced it oneself by opening the heart. It is then that the purpose of life is fufilled. Hazrat Inayat Khan ................................. As fire when not kindled gives only smoke, but when kindled, the illuminating flame springs forth, so it is with love. It is blind when undeveloped, but, when its fire is kindled, the flame that lights the path of the traveler from mortality to everlasting life springs forth. The secrets of earth and heaven are revealed to the possessor of the loving heart. Hazrat Inayat Khan ................................... Sufi Heart Centres. Nafs- under the navel (blue) Qalb- on the left side of the chest (yellow) Ruh- on the right side of the chest, below the nipple (red) Sirr- between Qalb and Ruh, adjacent to the left nipple (white) Khafi- in the forehead, or adjacent to the right nipple (black) Akhfa- in the brain, or, alternately, in the centre of the chest (green). 1. Nafs is usually translated as soul or psyche. Some Sufis consider under the term nafs the entirety of mental/emotional/volitional life; however, the majority are of the opinion that nafs is a lower, egotistical and passionate human nature. Along with tab (literally, nature - a physical one ), it comprises vegetative and animal aspects of human life ( in the vocabulary of medieval Thomist psychology ). Synonyms for nafs are devil, passion, greed, avarice, ego-centredness etc. The central aim of the Sufi path is transformation of nafs from its deplorable ego-centered state through various psychospiritual stages ( hal- temporary, and maqam- permanent ) to either purity and submission to the will of God (orthodox Sufis) or annihilation and deification ( unorthodox Sufis who are frequently lost in a maze of questions which part of nafs is destroyed and which one is deified or fused with God ). 2. Qalb stands for heart. In Sufi terminology, this spiritual heart ( not a pump in the breast ) is again variously described. For some, it is the seat of beatific vision. Others consider it the place of divine love/ishq. Yet, for the majority, it is the battlefield of two warring armies- those of nafs ( where nafs-i-natiqa/rational soul is equated with aql/intellect, the better, rational part of the soul as opposed to animal/passionate ), and ruh/spirit, who will be the object of analysis in the next point. In short, cleansing of the qalb/heart is a necessary spiritual discipline for travellers on the Sufi path. 3. Ruh or spirit is the third entity and the second contender in the battle for human life. Again, opinions on ruh differ among Sufis. Some deem it coeternal with God; others consider it a created entity. Be as it may, ruh is the plateau of consensus for the majority of Sufis, especially early ones ( before 11/12 century C.E. ). After ruh, opinions diverge even more ( with the addition that probably the majority of Sufis even dont pay attention to the supposed higher spiritual faculties or subsume them under the variety of ruh/spirit- related experiences). The three highest spiritual faculties are a matter of controversy. Here, we will follow explications offered by spiritual giants Jurjani ( 14.century C.E. ) and Ruzbekhan Bakhli Shirazi ( 12/13 century C.E. ), both Iranian Sufis ( ref, ref ). While holding centrality of these doctrines indisputable, we shall also mention interpretation of these functions or faculties according to the Naqshbandi order of the Sufis. Three higher organs of spiritual perception are sirr, khafi and akhfa. 4. Sirr or secret is the centre of inner consciousness where perceptual contact with the Divine is accomplished. Judging from Hallajs words, this is a faculty whereby one attains union with his/her Higher/Spiritual Self...It has been said that the inner consciousness/sirr is part of the ultimate inner consciousness that is God... It is recounted that Husayn ibn Mansur Hallaj said My sirr is virgin, and cannot be revealed by imagination of anybody (ref) From these passages one could deduce that sirr is the faculty of fusion with the Divine, but in its particular aspect of Spiritual Self. N.B. The Semnani attributions place the sirr below ruh/spirit. For him, it is virtually equivalent to mind. We shall adress this, and similar issues, later. 5.Khafi or the arcane is, according to Jurjani, the seat of apperception of the Manifest Absolute/Lahut. ( Although the concept seat is a bit problematic. Maybe the term faculty would be more appropriate.) ..In Sufi terminology, the arcane/khafi is a divine subtlety which lies in potential in the spirit/ruh....the arcane becomes the intermediary between the Divine presence and the spirit/ruh in receiving theophany of Divine Attributes and Gods emanating grace to the spirit. (ref) 6.Akhfa or the most arcane/the innermost consciousness represents immersion in Gods Essence of the Unmanifest Absolute. In Ruzbekhan Shirazis words, ..The innermost consciousness/akhfa is equivalent to the Ultimate Unseen ( Ghayb-ul- Ghaib ). bahaistudies.net/asma/sufi_cosmolosy_and_psychology.pdf .......................................... Zikr Hazrat Inayat Khan sufilab.home.xs4all.nl/05inayatzikar.html .......................................... Prayer of the Heart Eastern Orthodox Christianity https://iamheart.org/heart_rhythm_meditation/origins/christianity.php ......................................... On the Indestructible Drop within the Heart, Consciousness as the Mind of Clear Light & the Empty Space Particles - The Dalai Lama zeropoint.ca/monadsI5DalaiLama.htm ........................................... The Window of the Good Heart by Wim van den Dungen sofiatopia.org/equiaeon/heart.htm ........................................... Creating a Magnetic Centre praxisinstitute.net/Praxis%20Past/Abstracts-Text/917.%20MAGNETIC%20CENTRE/17_PAGE_1.htm ............................................. The Three Ways of Attention and Prayer of the Heart St. Symeon the New Theologian myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/symeon_threeways.html
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 12:05:49 +0000
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