Page 146 - Wisdom Unfurled

relates to the proper observance of sandhya and upasana. It may be said that this commandment and the commentary on it by the Master summarizes the entire system of SRRY in a sense. He discusses the concept of the Origin, the beginning of creation, the conditions prevailing at that time, the Kshob, the descent of the individual souls and the concept of Tam the ultimate goal.
It may be seen that the Master uses the word Puja in the place of the usual word meditation. This implies that we shall be conscious that we are contemplating the holy divine with the avowed purpose of attaining the final state of oneness with the divine. Hence a worshipful attitude should be maintained all through and not the idea that we are doing a mental exercise. Today it is common to see that meditation of various colours and hues are being prescribed for having peace of mind, reduction of stress and anxiety, improving memory, efficiency at the work place, creating an optimistic and cheerful attitude to life. The goal is not realization or even evolving into a nobler and higher kind of person. Hence a conscious attempt is to be made by the aspirant to reinforce the idea of the goal in his mind and cultivate a strong craving in his heart to attain the original condition. A state of restless impatience is to be kept all through with an attitude of utter dependency on the Supreme Master for solving the problem of existence.
We have seen that the morning sandhya reminds us of the origin and creates the urge in us to get back. The Master refers to the sandhya at noon called madhahnika in tradition and which is not observed generally even by those who are enjoined to do so. The Master distinguishes between the material heat of the sun and the power of the Source, the sun’s heat being grosser. The sun’s rays are quite direct at noon causing greater heat. Nature’s eternal heat which proceeds from the origin is also attached with it. Thus indirectly we connect ourselves with the Ultimate Power through the medium of material heat and secure closeness to it. Thus when we meditate at noon our thoughts get unconsciously attached to the powers of the Centre. The Master however does not instruct that the noon sandhya be followed strictly by the abhyasi though the sages have recommended it, not merely because the heat of the Sun is more and hence inconvenient but because the heat is more than what is necessary for us to be reminded of the power of the Base and the need to get back to the source. When the heat of the sun comes down and it becomes cool in the evening sandhya, we are reminded of the state at pralaya, the end state of withdrawal. This suggests that every one is going to his original state some time or the other and will unite with the absolute. As we have seen above the evening period is devoted to cleaning in PAM for achieving the individual pralaya by getting rid of all the samskaras covering the soul as mala, vikshepa and avarana. The keen seeker can not obviously wait for the general pralaya which is a far off thing. The whole night is one of dormancy in the absolute