This is the final part of the Love Series, a bit of pre-reading is required before starting the passage below, please click the links below to read the previous parts.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
So far we have seen love alone powerful enough to liberate one from the bondage of the world. When love embraces someone - it only remains in the heart removing anything apart from it, could have been there otherwise. Love itself is the biggest virtue, the path of paths, the God Itself.
In this final part of the love series, I plan to table one of the most exciting and intoxicating meditation techniques called love meditation. I found it intoxicating as it is so enjoyable that ended up giving me an addiction.
The concept of the technique roots back to the sameness of love and beloved detailed earlier in this series. A beloved is just an embodiment of love in the physical plane - loosely having a seed-fruit relationship with love. It can be thought in this way, the enormously mighty seed of love in the heart of the lover manifests as the beloved in the physical world, and love for the beloved in the mental world. The seed is present in the core of every heart - that very core is the place of GOD [Please read the previous parts for further elaboration on this].
In this technique, we would use the fruit to reach the seed. The technique tries to invoke such a strong feeling of love in the heart and mind - that it only tends to remain there. It starts with a thought of the beloved, then goes to the feeling of love for the beloved, and finally forces the mind to hold on to that feeling - as long as possible.
Listing a couple of simple steps below that I followed,
a. Sitting Posture - Find out a peaceful yet comfortable place and sit with a straight back; if you are sitting on a chair place your feet flat on the floor. Avoid wearing footwear but also better not to let your bare feet touch the floor - you may use a mat or a piece of cloth for this purpose.
If you are sitting on the floor, make sure you do not sit on the floor directly; spread a mat, mattress, or at least a piece of cloth.
B. Calming of mind - Start with a simple breathing exercise to calm the mind first, so that you concentrate better in the next steps.
Start with three very deep breaths - with the first one try to relax the lower part of your body (parts below your waist), with the 2nd one try to relax your heart and upper body. The 3rd one should be focussing on relaxing your head. If you do not feel relaxed enough after three, please feel free to repeat this in sets (e.g 2X3 breaths, 3X3 breaths maintaining the original order).
After your body is relaxed, try to focus completely on breathing, bringing your concentration to the area around your heart. Feel how it feels in that area - when the fresh air enters your chest and when it exits. Try to figure out the difference between the inhale and exhale sensations in the heart area. Repeat until your eyeballs are still, the mouth has got slightly opened leaving the tongue and jaw muscles relaxed.
C. At the place you have been focussing on, imagine the image of someone you love. The most effective way would be to imagine someone whom you love the most, the person could be any of your parents, your spouse, kid, long lost lover practically anyone, even God.
Watch the heart getting filled up with the sensation of love for that person. Let the person stay till your heart is so full with the sensation that it spills and spreads through the upper body. Hold on to the sensation; notice when you stop breathing and try concentrating harder on the area around your heart - the sensation increases.
D. Ideally few minutes of holding onto the sensation would generate vibration through your spine and you would feel a strange current moving upward from your genital to your heart - however, this may come after a few days of repetition. This is nothing but the movement of energy from the Root/Sacral Chakra (Swadhisthana) to the Heart Chakra (Anahata), this gradually awakens the Heart chakra.
Even if the "Step D" does not happen immediately, staying in the sensation as long as it is possible, makes the feel get over you - it is you who is bound to get intoxicated to it, such is the power of "Love meditation". If properly deepened, the sensation itself is so ecstatic, practitioners say it alone is enough to get you off your ego (the I ness) and take you a step further towards the ultimate unity (read previous parts for details).
If you happen to stumble upon this piece and try the meditation don't forget to write your experience to hello.actualization@gmail.com.
~ Avirup Chakraborty
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