Monday, April 28, 2014

13. The Sabda Yoga


The Vedas speciry that - "Lord Brahma (the supreme Creator) expressed thy wish in sublime sound of Iabda, to manifest thyself in the infinity…. Whence the universe came into existence…." The other religious scriptures like the holy Kuran mentions - 'khud' (The Supreme Power) said ……"Be …." and All that happened ….'; and "The Angel" states - 'The absolute word (sound) was there when nothing was there… all has originated from thy word (eternal sound) …..
The above maxims imply the eternal power of Iabda at the origin of everything.
Our internal or external desire expresses itself (to our own self or to the others) via the medium of words, which themselves are nothing but manifestations of Iabda. If the desire has emerged from the soul then its expression will be embedded with the true power of the Iabda Brah. Such an inner wish will not remain unfulfilled provided the dissipation of its power- due to our negative feelings and thoughts - does not reduce the original impact of the former. Often, our lack of confidence in our own self or our  materialistic cravings and attachments, passions and untoward thoughts  subtly disturb our mind and induce the negative effects of this sort with the accelerating force of the evil instincts and assimilated untoward tendencies.
We must realize that our consciousness is a part of the divine consciousness… That, divinity indwells in us and therefore our words can also be so powerful that they could 'communicate' with the Nature and with the eternal Creator…. Human society has never been deprived of the existence of great personalities who had aroused the divine power of Iabda by practicing absolute truth in their sentiments, thoughts and deeds. Their supernormal potentials - of offering blessings … or creating and transforming matter by mere chanting of some mantras - were simple manifestations of this unlimited power.
Loud sounds at the peak of the very high snow-mountains can make the surrounding snow melt and thus result in a landslide! Similarly, the power (of Sabda) indwelling in the words of a prayer - emerging from the deep sentiments can even penetrate the 'skies' of the sublime consciousness… (Do we really know about the presence of this immense power in ourselves….?)
The power of the words 'uttered' by our subconscious mind manifests itself in the infinite varieties of creations in the world of our dreams and imaginations. The psychological effects of the latter are enormous…. There is also a close relationship in the Sabda of our conscious and the subconscious mind….. For instance, whenever we talk about or hear of a natural calamity or an epidemic……, our mind simultaneously starts thinking about it via the language of imaginations…. and vice versa. The elementary Yoga practices of self-hypnotism are indeed based  on a creative utilization of this relationship and have been found very effective in improving one's psychology.
There is a saying in Sanskrit - 'Yatha manasa Manute Tatha Vaca Vadati'; meaning - as we think so we speak. Our mind (conscious as well as subconscious) never remains silent. It keeps talking to itself even when we are silent…. These thoughts continue to leave their subtle impressions in our overall personality. Sometime the thoughts will also leave an instant impact on our face-expressions. Often, the state of mind (or mood) can be 'read' through such face expressions. For example, it shows wrinkles on the forehead in the state of tension….; a blushing face becomes pink….; face turns yellow in the state of real fear….. etc. Some spiritual saints and Yogis can know one's overall character just by reading the subtle expression of his thoughts (and the internal desire at the root of these thoughts) on his face.

Realizing the psychological importance of Sabda we must at least, begin to speak, hear and think in a manner that will have positive effects on our mind. Cautious use of words and thoughts may be regarded as the first step towards the practice of Sabda Yoga. Further, we must develop the confidence that, by sacred sentiments and thoughts and by the sincere practice of truth, we can strengthen our voice (internal as well as external) so much that it becomes the divine master of our own destiny.

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