Which arise in the mind during puja and meditation.

A saying of the Paramhamsa Swami Satyananda Saraswati.

Explanation by the Master

All of us when we meditate find that we encounter our latent fears. What are these fears? They range from passion, lust, anger, desire, envy and of course unexplained fear. One feels completely blocked as they are churning in the mind. It is a self-defeating battle to suppress them and they keep regenerating and multiplying. Fear is an essential part of Puja with bhava, it pussyfoots in and in dhyana also it comes in.

In dhyana, it is a different kind of fear, it is the fear of dying but it is not physical death. It is the presence of a new kind of awareness, which replaces the old awareness. There are different stages, and sometimes one sees oneself as someone else. This process is very gradual and it is a gentle transition. Occasionally during puja or deep meditation, one feels as if one is being invaded by another force.

Then during meditation, one feels a sense of faintness and that one will become unconscious. The feeling is that one may not be coming back to the conscious state. Just be aware of all these experiences and ignore them. They are temporary. There is one final experience and it is called ayanash (gift of God) anubhuti, (a gut feeling or response) and it is permanent. Experiences such as fear, light, Asura, Deva, voices, visions, revelation, and prophecies should be ignored.

To avoid being influenced by these experiences, one must have a symbol, like concentrating on Aum. This results in ignoring all these experiences. Also, sadhana makes the sadhaka have a strong spiritual base and these visions come at the end and not in the beginning. Concentration leads to development of will power which enables one to concentrate on Aum alone. Karma Yoga is the most powerful method of controlling one’s negative energy originating from thoughts.

The mind has three doshas and they are mala (impurity), vitshepa (distraction), and avarna (veil). These three faults of the mind are inborn and are evolved from the crude material of prakriti composed of Sattva Guna, Rajo Guna and Tamo Guna. Our insecurities originate from these doshas. Only karma yoga can cleanse and purify us. Karma yoga is to work without expectation, only to perform and function with sincerity. Therefore, we are able to banish the fears from our mind.

Aim Hrim Klim