Meditation Is as Precious as Gold

By Ajayan Borys

Given October 15, 2023 at Amritapuri Ashram

Introduction

Om

Dhyayamo-dhavala-vagun-thanavatam

Tejomayaim-naisthikim

Snigdhapanga-vilokanim bhagavatim

Mandasmita-sri-mukim

Vatsalyamrita-varsinim sumadhuram

Samkirtana-lapinim

Shyamangim madhu-sikta-suktim

Amritanandat-mikam-isvarim

Om Amriteswaryai Namah

Salutations to our Beloved Amma and all my brothers and sisters. It is really a wonderful gift to have this chance to speak to you tonight. Not only because Amma is here, but because of you, Amma’s devotees. Such a precious gathering of souls who know Amma, who are devoted to Amma.

This year, it has been 50 years since I first started to teach meditation. I’ve taught in many places, even here. In the 90s I lived here with my family and Amma gave me the great gift of teaching meditation in the inner temple. That memory is one of the reminders for me of Amma’s unbounded generosity and compassion. Amma is truly our divine mother.

Tonight, I want to talk about meditation. Amma has given us all a great shortcut to success in meditation and in life. A shortcut that few in this world have. I will save that for last.

Mining for Gold in Meditation

When someone says something over and over, it must be very important to them. What has Amma said over and over about meditation? We all know it.

“Meditation is as precious as gold. It is one of the best ways to attain material prosperity, spiritual progress, peace and liberation. If along with our meditation we develop compassion, it is like gold with a fragrance, something priceless and utterly unique.”

Is there anything Amma has repeated more times?

Look at Amma’s early life and her dedication to meditation. Clearly, she says this because it must be such a wish in her heart, that we, too, know and experience this priceless value of meditation. So we should do our best, so we don’t make Amma feel like she is just a cricket.

My daughter Sudha told me Amma said that sometimes she feels like she’s a cricket making the same noise over and over and no one pays attention…We don’t want that!

Tonight I want to share how I’ve found what Amma says is true, that meditation is as precious as gold.

I know there is the second half about compassion, but we can see that priceless enlightened compassion right before our eyes. So tonight I’ll just talk about why meditation is as precious as gold, which is maybe a bit less obvious.

Meeting the Real Amma

Not many of Amma’s teachings come naturally to me. But this one thing has, that meditation is as precious as gold.

Here’s a story to give an idea.

I met Amma in 1988 in Seattle, but I didn’t really know who she was. I thought, eh, she seems to be a nice saint. A year later, she gave a retreat on Orcas Island in Washington state, and I went.

I was already a dedicated meditator. I always wanted to get in as much meditation as possible. For almost the whole retreat, I sat in my tent meditating. I came out for a meal now and then, and maybe stood in the back of the hall for a few minutes, and then went back to my tent to meditate. Yep, I was one of those weird guys.

Then on the last night, Devi Bhava, I thought I’d better attend. As I advanced in the darshan line an felt the energy, I thought, Oh, what have I been missing? Then when I was kneeling in front of Amma, she looked at me and did this (motion with arms up). The message was clear, “Where have you been?!” I wasn’t very bright back then, but I got that …

Well, that Devi Bhava, as Amma blazed divinity, I felt like a cartoon character sitting in front of a huge bullhorn that blasts, and every hair on my body blew straight back.

So that night changed me. I knew in my soul who Amma is. (As much as you can know the Unfathomable.) It set in motion my relationship with her to this day. Yes, still, meditation is as precious as gold to me, but now I know that there might be something … or someone…even more precious…. Sitting very close by…

18-Karet Gold Meditation

Now in meditation there is 18-karat gold, and there is 24-karat gold. First I’ll talk about the 18-karat gold.

Early in my relationship with Amma, she told me privately that my meditation had brought me spiritual and material wealth. I thought, Ah, okay! I appreciated Amma saying that, but I didn’t really understand how meditation can bring material wealth. Well, over the years, I have found out.

Meditation as Yajna

What is a traditional Vedic way to gain spiritual and material abundance? Yajna, right? A ceremony to engage the support of the subtle divine beings known as the Devas.

Meditation is a powerful yajna.

When we meditate deeply, we engage the Devas for our support, without even intending to.

In fact, we actually give them what they treasure the most, and in return, they support us in every way.

So where are the Devas to be found, and what does this have to do with meditation? There is a verse in the Rig Veda (1:164:39) that tells us:

richo akshare parame vyoman 
yasmin deva adhi vishve nishedhuhu

Richo Akshare: The Vedic hymns are situated in akshara, the imperishable — the Self, beyond space and time.

Parame Vyoman: In that highest heavenly space of supreme energy/consciousness.

yasmin deva adhi vishve nishedhuhu: in which reside the devas responsible for the whole universe.

And then the second half:

yasthannaveda kim richa karishyathi 
yayithath vidus tha ime samasathe

He who does not realize this level of reality,  
what can the knowledge of Vedas do for him?
He who truly knows it, is profoundly established in it.”

So this is a Vedic formula for enlightenment.

And notice there are 3 main elements in the first half of this verse that correspond to Sat Chit Ananda, each as precious as gold.

The first is Akshara: imperishable.  The Sat value.

• The infinite Self. The ultimate, eternal Truth of life.
• How fulfilling, to the depths of your soul, to know you ARE the ultimate Truth of life. Think of that! You ARE the ULTIMATE TRUTH OF THE UNIVERSE! TAT TVAM ASI. Even glimpses of that are more precious than gold. 

The second element is the Richas, the Vedic hymns.  The Chit value.

• When awareness isn’t aware of itself, it is just pure Being, unmanifest. Emptiness.
• When awareness becomes aware of itself, The richas, Veda, knowledge, become lively. This is how the rishis cognized the Vedas in their own awareness, Chit.
• Veda is knowledge. No one figured it out or created it. It is eternal and uncreated, nitya and apaurusheya, the hidden knowledge, imbedded in Akshara, that structures the whole universe. 
• This is not just spiritual. It is very practical. As a child, Amma was quick to learn in all her studies. Why? Because Akshara, the Atman, was lively in her awareness. Veda, knowledge, is the svara, the vibration of Atman. So all knowledge was lively for her.
• How much would we have to spend on an education that gave us ALL knowledge?  Such an education doesn’t even exist in the world, but if it did, it would require many lifetimes of study and cost a fortune. 
• That was Amma’s education and just look what it has allowed her to achieve. I think she has achieved more than all of the rest of us put together! Or maybe we could say she achieves what we all together think we achieve.
• This is also as precious as gold. Meditate, realize the Atman, and all knowledge and wisdom is ours.

The third element: the Devas, the Divine beings, the impulses of divine intelligence responsible for structuring and evolving this universe. This expresses the Ananda value.

• And so now we come to meditation as Yajna…

A few minutes ago, I said when we meditate, we give the devas what they treasure most. What is it the Devas love most? Soma, amrita, the nectar of immortality…

• Soma is the essence of meditation as Yajna.
• The Vedas refer to Soma as Atma yajnasya purvyahah, the ancient soul of yajna.  Why? Soma is the most precious beverage of all the Devas. Drinking the Soma invigorates the Devas.  We feed them and they support us. This has always been the essence of Yajna, even from ancient times.

Feeding the Devas with Endogenous Soma

In meditation, when we transcend from the conscious thinking mind near the vicinity of pure consciousness, something amazing happens. Our body produces Soma. Just as there is a biochemistry of anxiety or a biochemistry of depression, so there is a biochemistry of divine bliss. Soma is the special ingredient in that biochemistry of bliss consciousness.

Some people have searched for the Soma plant spoken of in the Vedas, but no one in modern times has found it. The plant may be extinct on earth. But we can find that rare nectar of immortality easily — in our meditation. 

Even science knows the body can produce any medicine, that everyone’s body is its own pharmacy. It can also can produce Soma in deep meditation. 

How do we know the devas are nourished by the Soma the body produces?

We can feel it. When the Devas are invigorated by the Soma, it creates unique effects on our inner experience, and these effects are described in the Vedas. So in meditation, we can become intimately familiar with the devas. For example:

• Soma is divine liquid bliss, and purifies by its flowing blissful streams and by its light. It clears the subtle senses and brings all forms of inner and outer wealth, happiness, intelligence, and vigor. You can feel this happening in meditation, and this is described in the ninth mandala of Rig Veda.
• Indra is the quality of wholeness that expands the firmament of consciousness and breaks all boundaries to that expansion; in other words, Indra slays Vritra. Indra has the status of the king of the devas, because the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The parts contribute to the whole: Soma invigorates Indra, the Maruts and Vayu aid Indra, and so on.
• Vayu expresses as all the forms of prana, that are invigorated by Soma. We can easily feel this power of prana growing in meditation. Prana helps health, vigor, and evolution in every way.

So many devas working in concert. When Soma flows in meditation, all these qualities of intelligence are strengthened and they support our mind and body.

The Devas Produce the Benefits of Meditation

This is taking a microscope to meditation.  We can just enjoy the benefits of meditation without knowing this. Or, we can look more closely and see all this happening. It is a hidden, inner dimension of why we feel better from meditating.

We can see just the whole leaf of a tree, or notice the intricate patterns of its veins. 

The ancient rishis had very intimate knowledge of the Devas and the richas of the Vedas. If we want, we, too, can get a taste of this divine, hidden fabric of existence.

This doesn’t mean we need to meditate on the Devas or meditate for prosperity. I’m just describing how meditation is yajna automatically.

We meditate for liberation, for divine union, and all this will come to us, as well as liberation.

By meditating on the Ishta, or on the mantra Amma initiates us into, or on ma om, it’s like a master switch that engages all devas.

If you are a dear friend of the king, all the king’s attendants will look out for you. The king is the SELF or your ISHTA. The Vedic devas are the king’s attendants.

The Devas Bring Blessings in and out of Meditation

Now, there is one final piece to the puzzle of how meditation brings material wealth, and that piece is provided by Yajurveda: “YATHA PINDE TATHA BRAHMANDE, YATHA BRAHMANDE TATHA PINDE.” As is the individual, so is the universe, as is the universe, so is the individual.” The devas aren’t just in our body or in our meditation. They’re omnipresent.

When we nourish the Devas in meditation, we not only gain deeper inner experience, the Devas support us wherever we go. Our needs in life get met. Things come together for us. We attract good fortune. It’s the Devas. This is how material prosperity comes from meditation.

The best example of this is Amma. Look how all her work to help the world is supported. How does this happen? All the devas are hustling and bustling to fulfill her every thought.

The devas can work for us, too. How precious is this? How much gold would it cost to hire all the devas to work for us so we have a good life?  Nothing. Just meditate.

Okay, that’s all I’ll say about 18-karat gold meditation. So what could be the 24-karat gold?

24-Karet Gold Meditation

First, what is the hallmark of success in meditation?

Samadhi, right? That is the main subject of Patanjali’s first chapter of the Yoga Sutras.

So how do we achieve samadhi, and quickly?  

There are many means, and I am a great lover of all those techniques, all of which require dedicated practice for years.

But there is a well-known shortcut, and Patanjali spells it out in the second chapter of the Yoga Sutras, verse 23. He says:

Ishvara pranidhaanaadvaa

From Ishvara Pranidhana also…

He has been speaking of the various means of gaining samadhi and the lengths of time it can take depending on our fervor and the effectiveness of our practices …and then this verse: “Oh yes, by the way, from Ishvara pranidhana also, we can gain samadhi, by God’s grace.”

What is Ishvara pranidhana? Complete surrender to God, taking refuge in God, surrendering all actions and their fruits to God.

When Amma says we don’t even have to hold her hand, she will take ours and guide us to our goal, she is suggesting we try Ishvara pranidhana.

This reminds me of a wonderful verse from the 12^th Book of Shrimat Bhagavatam, Discourse12, verse 53:

Naishkarmyam apy acyuta-bhaava-varjitam

na shobhate jnaanam alam niranjanam

That wisdom free from blemish in that it is a direct means to Liberation, does not adorn your soul if it is devoid of devotion to the Lord.

It rings true, doesn’t it? No matter how effective a path, if it leaves out the highest value of the heart, it does not fully adorn our soul. It doesn’t do justice to our soul, because we have a heart. We have that capacity for sublime devotion, and it shouldn’t be ignored on the spiritual path.

This is the first key that Amma is culturing in us. To have that special devotion. It is a most graceful shortcut to all spiritual and material success.

So this is now getting to the 24-karat gold: We don’t want to be just Somapaas, Soma drinkers, in our meditation. Who enjoy earthly happiness and abundance and heavenly pleasures after death, but eventually return. We don’t even want only enlightenment. We can go for more.

Meditation and Devotion in Unity

Lord Krishna describes this state in Chapter 9 of the Gita, Verse 22:

ananyāśh chintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate
teṣhāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣhemaṁ vahāmyaham

Those who meditate on Me as non-separate, who worship me all around—to them who are ever devout, I secure gain and safety.

This is devotion and meditation in the state of unity, where we see the supreme God as our own Self and see the divine all around, so we are naturally ever devout.

Why is what I said earlier only 18-karat gold? Because it’s mixed with desire for personal gain. They strive for themselves. Whereas, those in this state don’t think for a moment of their gain and safety. They are ever devout, the Lord alone is their refuge. So the Lord provides everything for them. This is 24-karat gold meditation, fully matured Ishvara pranidhana, and Amma sets the example of this with every bhajan she sings.

A Secret to Achieve 24-Karet Gold Meditation

So how to develop this meditation?

First, we can renounce the thought of personal gain from our actions as it first arises in the mind, just brush it aside, and leave the fruit of action to our Ishta. This develops evenness, calm, and faith.

And this brings me to the secret key I mentioned in the beginning that Amma has given us.

Amma encourages us to chant the Lalitasahsranama every day. It is chanted in the temple every morning, and continuously, for all the years the ashram has been here. Again, how important must this be to Amma? Now, whether we chant the full 1000 names or the 108 names of our Ishta, the same principle of what I’m about to say applies. In fact, the same principle applies to the mantra Amma initiated us into.

The vibration of these names is very special. The divine is everywhere, as the sap is in every part of the tree. But the ripe fruit of the tree is sweeter than the bark or leaves. Likewise, we can more readily taste the divine sweetness in these names than elsewhere.

Here is another metaphor: they say Agni, fire, permeates wood. But this doesn’t seem so, until we take a magnifying glass and focus light at a point on the wood and then it ignites.

Like this, the divine permeates these names. When we apply the magnifying glass of clear, focused awareness to the names, we find the divine ignites in our awareness and heart. This is the inception of Ishvara Pranidhana. This is why Amma has us reciting these names.

Now how we chant is important. First, with focus, shraddha, and so on.

But there is another point, and here Amma can correct me if I’m wrong: After we’ve been meditating for some years, and the mind becomes subtle and expansive, we can Chant the names with all our voices.

Not just Vaikari, audible speech. After some months of chanting with the voice of Vaikari, the names just begin to flow. They get imprinted on our chit. We don’t need to look at the book. Which means we can close our eyes. And then, sometimes, maybe let them flow at the silent thinking level, the voice of madhyama. And then maybe they become finer, and let them flow at the super subtle, concentrated level of thought, the voice of Pashyanti, with devotion increasing at each level.

This is the best way to apply the magnifying glass of subtle, clear awareness to the names. Our awareness is much more concentrated at Pashyanti than it can possibly be at Vaikari or Madhyama. Here is where we get the divine juice really flowing into our heart and mind. And then maybe we find the names vibrating in the transcendent voice of para, and we are in the divine bliss of Samadhi.

Now of course in the hall in a group, we chant audibly. But privately, sometimes, if the mind dives within, maybe see if it takes us to 24-karat gold.

Om Namah Shivayah!