Kriya Yoga / Primary Mistake
Meditationtime Forum Post
Date: Posted 3 years before Apr 23, 2016
MiBeloved 3 years ago
Two primary mistakes in kriya yoga practice are visualization and expectation of specific results. Both of these processes affect the buddhi organ in such a way as to deter advancement. And yet, a student might cling on to these systems for years even though these yield no substantial progress.
A few days ago Srila Yogeshwarananda said something which inspires this short essay on the downside of visualization and expectation in kriya practice. He said this:
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A yogi should not visualize anything. What is the need for visualizing something which really exists? If there is a psychic object, then it is an object in its own right and does not require the support of anyone’s visualization for it to appear. It exists in some other dimension and you won’t move it over into your mind’s periphery merely by visualizing it.
Work on going into the dimension in which the psychic object exist, for then you will naturally see the object. Visualizing it will not command it to come into your level of awareness.
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The other unwanted behavior is to expect that whatever was described by a previous yoga master as his experience, will be your experience in exactly the same way. This expectation of the student causes years of stagnation but some student are so dishonest unto themselves, they continue on for many years with this dishonesty and are so satisfied with it, that they even make disciples whom they impart with this obnoxious system.
Whatever a previous yogi experienced, he experienced. There is no need to feel that one has to experience the exactly same reality in the exact same way. The example of a previous yogi, should inspire one to practice and to wait patiently for results, even unique results. If you are thinking that you must experience in exactly the same way as a previous yogi, that idea may hamper your progress because the state of expectation during meditation practice might condemn you to a lower plane of consciousness and to an expectant mood which restricts ascent into higher states.
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A person, who is habituated to visualization or to imagining, will not be able to do Patanjali yoga. It will not be possible because the person’s mind will rebel and will hate the practice since it is designed to stop visualization and imagining. (Yogah cittavritti nirodhah)
However we should also realize that many of us would be completely miserable beings if we were not into visualizing. It is the one way to imagine yourself out of a bad situation and to even imagine yourself to be better than you really are.
Left with the bare self and no imagination some of us would be completely depressed beings.
Thomer Scheepens 3 years ago
Srila Yogeshwarananda said: "A yogi should not visualize anything. What is the need for visualizing something which really exists? If there is a psychic object, then it is an object in its own right and does not require the support of anyone visualization for it to appear. It exists in some other dimension and you won’t move it over into your mind’s periphery merely by visualizing it."
Thomer Scheepens’ Comment:
This is exactly how I have always seen it with the whole visualization part.
However I think sometimes a little visualization can help in going deeper into the subtle body as an instruction tool, showing you the way like using a flash light in a dark tunnel, it might not completely show you the way out, but it can give you a sense where to go.
A blind man uses his awareness and senses to get a feeling of his surroundings, there is no need for him to visualize anything else since everything is already in place, visualization will just "add" more mess to his surrounding making him more confused.
But I prefer just to use my awareness and attention.
Alfredo 3 years ago
Michael!
You have covered very well the visualization trap in meditation.
What about the schools of the vacuum? What I mean here is a teaching that tells the students to meditate on a vacuum, simply keep the mind empty of thoughts and when thoughts show up, reject them and continue. I was part of that, and was taught that from a somehow reputable lineage.
This also must depart from your teachings as explained in "Meditation Pictorial", etc.
MiBeloved 3 years ago
The vacuum thing is okay except that most of the lineages which are teaching that now are doing so in an incomplete way because of having divorced themselves in the past from two essentials which are:
Samkhya Philosophy of Kapila Rishi, son of Devahuti
Pranayama practice
When these two aspects are absent, the vacuum meditation method is a dead letter.
In the Thailand, Acharya Mun used the Buddhist system successfully.
Lords Buddha is not an example because he was practicing pranayama practice up to the point of his enlightenment and he was aware of Samkhya and was in touch with deities all the way through as he explained his interviews with these supernatural personalities.
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See the Bookfile :Mahayogin Acharya Mun here:
File Name: Mun_Mahayogin_Bio.pdf
Go to the Files section and look for the File with the above name.
