Saturday, December 20, 2008

BOOK REVIEW - MEDITATION THE WAY TO SELF REALIZATION AUTHOR: TAOSHOBUDDHA

Book Review

AS APPEARED IN TRINIDAD GUARDIAN AUGUST 12TH 2008

Meditation—The Way to Self-Realization’
AUTHOR: Taoshobuddha

REVIEW BY:

Prof Rattan Lal Hangloo
Chair of Indian Studies
University of the West Indies
St Augustine, TRINIDAD WEST INDIES


To me meditation means living silently with love for total existence in the world.
I do not mean imposing changelessness of thought process on oneself but to understand very deeply ones body and sense organism by controlling ones mechanism of mind.

In this book on meditation, apart from introduction, Taoshobuddha has presented his views and experiences about Meditation in four sections. These deal with definition of Meditation, Methods, Techniques and the necessity of indulging in meditation.

The author’s foremost aim has been to give a connected and comprehensive account of meditation.

There are no time space limitations in this work. The mode of treatment has rendered it possible for the author to bring so many of details in one volume.

The characterisation of meditation clearly reflects author’s comprehensive understanding of the subject not only in theory but in terms of practice as well.

He has brought out plethora of personal examples to illustrate the growing nature and the process of meditation which is intertwined with ones material existence.

The misery of existence particularly in today’s world is due to the fact that one’s spiritual being (jiva) very easily subjects itself to materialism at every stage without slightest resistance to corruption, cheating, sensual activities, marginalisation of ones honest and integral self for very small opportunities.

The material existence is repetitively so tempting that one is never satisfied with any thing till death. This is brought out by the author very clearly when he says, “Strangely enough desires are never fulfilled. The more you go on fulfilling them the more will arise. One gets fulfilled, many arise. This you see around you every day and yet you remain unaware of this.
“Food never satisfies the hunger. If it were so, you would never be hungry again.
“Water never quenches thirst. Drinking water gives birth to new thirst. For a while you may feel fulfilled but very soon thirst again becomes intense.

“The desire for sex never fulfils you. For a while you feel satisfied, and that, too, happens because you are tired, but the desire will soon arise again.

As a result after fulfilling one desire be it food or sex, or any other material gain you realise its futility only for a while and then again the same desire arises.”

The author puts forward some of the principles such as discipline and learning, inner awakening, alertness, freedom, self realization, unification and consciousness etc as necessary ingredients for invoking of absolute being. What is required is the awakening of one’s inner self. Awakening of inner self to author is, “key in meditation. One need not talk about meditation. It is only to be experienced. Awakening is the phenomenon that radiates like the sun. An awakened person is recognized by particular signs.

“An awakened person has united all his discordant elements within him. This radiates through his being and presence…..The first characteristic of such a person is liberty.

“He does not allow himself to be tossed about by the vicissitudes of life-fear, joy, anxiety success and failure.”

Taken in conjunction with author’s personal experiences, as a practitioner of yoga, the work covers a wide path. The nature of subject matter has made it necessary to treat the scientific and spiritual together. Many people reject the mediation and its philosophy as inhuman and selfish because they consider it as a cold, deliberate shunning of everybody and everything for the sake of working out one’s own salvation. But the truth is exactly opposite. However, those who are not sure that revelations obtained through Samadhi are genuine revelations or not some form of delusion to such minds the analysis in this work would appear to be devoid of historicity and at times logic.

“Meditation implies to pass through the door of death consciously. To die consciously is meditation. However, you cannot wait for death, because death happens every moment and the door is not somewhere outside. And also it is not a normal door that you know. The door is inside you. It is right there now. What is necessary for this is to accept the very fact of death.”
However, despite such occasional interpretations, the work carries out the sustained and rigorous analysis of the philosophy of meditation and its techniques through a variety of experiences. It is based upon the understanding of Patanjali’s Yog sutras and the writings and inspirational speeches of Osho and his vision. The entire volume reflects in depth the feeling of this life and beyond matched with perfection of expressions and rhythm.

“For meditation it is essential that the ego cease to function. Discipline is therefore necessary to challenge this false centre—ego. Ego is negation of truth. It does not like any sort of disciplining. Sometimes the ego pretends to have discipline. This is to avoid discipline and be more comfortable. And then create a small world to live in, to avoid any possibility of interaction with other egos. Negative feelings like anger, fear, and repression are variations of the ego. They give you the feeling of reality and constitute your behavior pattern. These remain hidden, within. Furthermore, these form rigid and inflexible ways of living and interaction, even without paying any attention to actual situation of life within and without.”

The author also shows how meditation has posed such questions as whether we can be sure we know anything, whether words mean anything, whether it is possible to generalize from observed regularities in nature and whether there is anything in nature (Prakriti) or in reality corresponding to our concept of self and consciousness around us.

“When ignorance is no more, there is no conditioning. When conditioning ceases, we are no more leagued by consciousness of rebirth. Both the mind and body cease to exist as a conditioning. Then also ceases the sense organs. And then without these there can be no contact when birth ceases also ceases death. You experience that which is never born, never dies. Thus ceases the process of Dukkha or pain.”

The work is original in nature with deep intuitive insights. Most of the questions have been handled with fresh insight yet in very simple terms but in a stimulating manner.

This work is truly an excursion into the physical and divine domain of meditation.

Entire picture is painted by the author with rare acuteness, simplicity, mastery of language, and the understanding of the subject matter. He is endowed with a rare talent which is reflected in the construction of a true narrative that attracts attention and purifies mind and consciousness.
It is indeed a precious possession and a gift from someone who has not only known but has tremendous capabilities to transfer his being-ness to those who seek inner serenity, bliss and harmony.

The audio CD creates the meditative effects. Like an enlightened master Taoshobuddha connects you to your being. His voice and modulation creates inner serenity and harmony in the listener.

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