Meditation

Sai Baba has given suggestions for meditation. These include the So-Ham meditation, the repetition of the Name, and the Meditation on Light.

So-Ham (or So-Hum)

This is simply a meditation on the breath. The natural sound of breath entering and leaving the body is so-ham (or so-hum, hereafter referred to as so-ham). Here, Sai Baba speaks on So Hum meditation.

Soham means I am God. So is That (God) and Ham means I. (Divine Discourse, 22 May 1993, Brindavan)

The respiratory process conveys a significant spiritual message when air is inhaled and exhaled. The message is contained in the mantra "So-Ham", which is also known as Hamsa Gayatri [Swami demonstrated how during inhalation the sound "So....." is produced and how "Ham" is produced when air is exhaled.] "So Ham" conveys the message of identity between God ("So") and the individual ("Aham"). (Divine Discourse, 6th October 1997, Prashanti Nilayam)

What is the inner meaning of the Inhalation and exhalation processes, i.e., 'So - Ham'? 'So' means 'That' (God); 'Ham' means I. The sum and substance of this is, we have to take God into us ('So' -Inhalation) and leave out Ahamkaram ,i.e., ego ('Ham' - Exhalation). This is called "Hamsa Gayathri". This Inhalation and Exhalation process goes on continuously for 21,600 times in a day in us. This means, you welcome God into you and drive out ego from you as many times. So long there is ego in you, you will never be happy. (Divine Discourse, 4 September 1998, Prashanti Nilayam)

The joy you get by devotional singing and by performing worship is temporary. But you will get eternal joy by experiencing the Soham Mantra. Soham is also known as Hamsa Gayatri. 'So' means 'That' (God), 'Ham' means 'I am'. 'I am That' is the meaning of Soham. You should experience it with every breath. When you breathe in, you listen to the sound 'So' and while exhaling, you hear the sound 'Ham'. Watch your breath carefully and experience the reality of Soham with every breath.(Summer Showers in Brindavan № 11, 26-05-2002)

The body is bound to perish one day or the other. The body may die, but not the mind. Such a mind has to be controlled. That is the true Sadhana. You will not have any troubles if you offer your mind to God. Mind is very fickle. It is not steady even for a minute. So, it should be ever engaged in work. Only then it can be brought under control. What is the work you should assign to the mind? Let the mind be a watchman at the gate of your nostril. Let it observe who is going in and who is going out. Then the mind will understand that 'So' is inhaled and 'Hum' is exhaled. 'So' symbolizes that which is good (Divinity) and 'Hum' stands for that which is bad (ego). So the mind will understand that the Divinity has to be taken in and ego has to be given up. This principle of 'Soham' is known as Hamsa Gayatri. Mind is like a mad monkey. Unless it is kept busy, it will go according to its whims and fancies. The only way to control a monkey is to make it go up and down a pole repeatedly. Likewise, mind also has to be kept busy thinking of God. (Divine Discourse, 13 September 1999, Prashanti Nilayam)

Repetition of the Divine Name

Repetition of the Divine Name may be done in one of four ways:

• Through song
• Through Community Singing
• Through meditating on the Divine
• Through contemplating the Divine Form

Sathya Sai Baba teaches there is no distinction to be made between the Name of the Divine and the form of the the Divine. This means that the Name of God (e.g. Rama) contains the same efficacy and potency as the form of God. Where ever the name of the Lord is present, there His form is. Where ever the form of the Lord is presence, there his name is.

An ideal devotee devotee of the Lord who is engaged in repetition of the divine name under all circumstances, will become immortal. Repetition of the divine name is the only property that lasts forever. Therefore, you also undertake this spiritual activity as a lifelong activity. Whether your voice is good or not, continue to sing the glory of God by constant repetition at least in your heart. Thereby, you will acquire merit that will protect you throughout your life. If you do this spiritual discipline, God will always be with you, in you, around you. (Divine Discourse, 23 August 2004, passim)

It is impossible to achieve anything without the grace of God. Sadly today, man is steeped in injustice and unrighteousness. All his thoughts are selfish and evil. His vision lacks the warmth of love. Idealism has reached rock bottom. First of all, man needs to grow the crop of love in the field of his heart. ... God is not in some distant land but resides in your very heart. He is with you, within you, above and below you and also around you. With such faith, man should chant the Divine Name. Discarding such an easy path, man is subjecting himself to needless agony and suffering. On the other hand, people in ancient days would instantly get rid of any suffering — all by chanting the sacred Name of the Lord.

Do not be carried away by worldly pleasures. Take to the sacred path and sanctify your time by chanting the Divine Name. There is no need to allocate a specific time or place for repetition of the Divine Name. You can do it wherever you are and whatever you are doing. One needs to pay tax for water, electricity, etc., but there is no tax for reating the Lord's Name. Nobody can stop you from doing it. It is very simple, yet most effective.

But man does not realise the value of repeating the Lord's Name as it is so easy to practise. He thinks that God can be attained only through severe austerities. This is a misconception. Without troubling yourself or causing trouble to others, you can chant the Divine Name.

Cultivate love for God. That is true devotion. Without love, there is no devotion. Love is the basis of all spiritual practices like rosary, penances, sacrifices, etc. Bereft of love, any spiritual practice is a futile exercise. For the life here and hereafter, love is most important. Love is the basic requirement for all. Love is the foundation for the theist as well as the atheist. Develop such sacred love. Do not criticise or ridicule anybody. Give happiness to all by sharing your love with them. This is the true spiritual practice. Follow this simple path, experience Bliss and sanctify your lives (Divine Discourse, 24 February 2002, Prashanti Nilayam)

Take any name that is favoured by you. It may be Rama, Krishna, Jesus, Buddha, Allah or any other name of the Divine. See the form in the mind's eye. When the mind wanders, repeat the name to bring attention back to the form. Thus, make your lives noble and always keep the Lord before you in name and form.

Meditation on Light

This is sometimes described as The 'Most Effective Form of Meditation'

The most effective method of meditation

Set aside a few minutes, every day, in the beginning for this; later, you are sure to extend the period, when you experience the thrill of peace. Let it be the hours before dawn. This is preferable because the body is refreshed by sleep and the peregrinations of day-time have yet to impinge on the senses and distract physical and mental energy. Have a lamp, with a bright little flame, steady and straight, or a candle, before you. The flame does not diminish in lustre, however many lamps may be lit therefrom. So, the flame is the most appropriate symbol of the eternal Absolute.

If you can, sit cross-legged; if your are not able to sit thus, then sit in any comfortable position, in front of the flame. Look on the flame steadily and closing your eyes, try to feel it inside you, between your eyebrows. From there, let it descend down into the lotus of your heart, illumining the path. When it enters the heart, in the centre of the chest, imagine that the petals of the lotus bud open out, one by one, bathing every thought, feeling, emotion and impulse in the Light and removing darkness. There is no space now for darkness to take refuge; it has to flee before the flame. Imagine that the Light becomes wider, bigger, brighter. It pervades the limbs; they can no more busy themselves in dark, wicked, suspicious activities. They have become, you are conscious of it, instruments of Light, that is to say, of Love.

The Light reaches the tongue. Falsehood, slander, bragging and spite vanish from it. It reaches the eyes and the ears. All dark desires that infest and infect them are destroyed by the brilliant Light of Wisdom and Virtue. No more puerility, no more poisoning of the ear. Let your head be charged with Light; all wicked, vicious thoughts disappear, for, these are denizens of darkness. Imagine that Light in you more and more intensely — and it will be so. Let it shine all around you, enveloping you in the brilliance of Love; let it spread from you, in ever widening circles, taking into its fold your kith and kin, the loved ones, friends, companions — nay, strangers, foes, rivals, enemies — all men all over the world, all living beings — all Creation.

Do this every day, without break; for as long as you enjoy it; do this deeply and systematically; a time will certainly come when you can no more relish dark and evil thoughts, no more yearn for dark and sinister books, no more crave for toxic food and drinks, no more handle ugly demeaning things, no more suffer infliction of infamy or injury, no more formulate evil designs. You are then in the realm of the Divine, of Peace beyond words.

Stay on in that thrill, witnessing Light, being Light, everywhere, for all. If you are used to adoring God in any form, visualise that Form in that Light. For, Light is God; God is light. When light meets light, it is all Light. There is no boundary between your light and His Light. They merge, they fulfil.

In this peacelessness that is confounding the world, you must seek the higher spiritual peace; in that higher spiritual peace you can visualise Supreme Splendour and in that Supreme Splendour, the all-embracing Light (immanent and transcendent splendour, boundless, benign) is experienced; in that all-embracing Light, the Universal Eternal Absolute is experienced. When the individual meets the Universal it becomes Universal. I and I become we; we and he become only we. Practise this meditation, regularly everyday. At other times, repeat the Name of God (any Name that arouses in you the spirit of adoration and devotion), always taking care to be intensely conscious of His Might, Mercy and Munificence.