So, a very interesting topic tonight – “A secret to better relationship.” I think this is something that we can all dwell upon on and improve upon.
So before I begin I always offer my respects to my spiritual teachers. The knowledge that I have received from them has definitely assisted me in my life which automatically includes many relationships. I speak from the platform of bhakti-yoga.
I know some of you were with us last night. Actually how many people were here last night? Everybody (laughing). Great, thank you for coming back. Almost everybody. And of course there is always some people who weren’t here last night, so there will be a little repetition from last night’s lecture. But actually in the position of spiritual knowledge repetition is very, very common and necessary. If you will read the Vedic scriptures you will see that it is stated again and again many of the same points, because we need to hear these things often.
As we did last night, we will begin with a meditation. Actually there are different reasons why we always begin with our meditations. Number one – obviously we have all been quite busy today, so it helps us to relax, slow down. Number two – by doing the meditation it helps us to understand the subject matter a little more easily. And number three – you get to learn the meditation and you can actually take it home with you.
So the type of meditation we will be doing is mantra meditation. Mantras are transcendental sound vibrations that actually originate in the spiritual realm and then they descend into the material realm. And because they do come from the spiritual realm they bring with them great spiritual power. Therefore when we come in contact with this sound vibration then automatically we receive great spiritual benefit. So it is the easiest of all types of meditation, but at the same time the most effective. For this meditation we will be using the mantra GAURANGA.
Our technique of meditation is also very easy. This is a deep breathing technique. We will begin with breathing through our nose very slowly, gently but also deeply. We will take the air all the way down to the lower abdomen. And as we inhale silently in the mind we will chant GAU-RA-AN-GA. And I always remind people to chant very softly and gently in the mind. Make it very, very attractive in the mind. So gradually our body gets fills with air and we begin to exhale and then out loud we chant GAU-RA-AN-GA. And then we repeat: inhale – GAURANGA in the mind, exhale – GAURANGA out loud.
Before we begin we want to sit erect in our seats. It helps us to breath. Also we want to relax. Especially the face, neck, shoulders, chest. You see, just focus on relaxing the whole body. And to assist us in doing this we will take a big breath and let it out through the nose. And with that outgoing breath let your anxiety, frustration, tension, whatever may be there, just go away. And while we do the meditation we want to listen very closely to the sound and also put our mind on the sound, meditate on the sound, okay? I suggest that once you have learned the mantra you close your eyes. This helps to prevent getting distracted and also helps us to relax.
So just make it very easy, soft, gentle, relaxing experience. Just follow my guidance and remember: the object of the meditation is the sound. Everybody take a big breath, let it out and relax. And now very slowly, gently and deeply inhale and chant GAURANGA in the mind.
GAURANGA meditation.
All right, so you can see this is a very easy meditation to do. And I am sure you found it quite relaxing. It is actually a very good way to start your day. Maybe somebody did today. You were here last night and I said the same thing. Also it is a nice way to end the day just before you are going to sleep at night. But of course you can do it anytime. I know here in Norway many people like to go to nature a lot which is wonderful. So also you can go, sit down amongst the trees and do your GAURANGA meditation. Very nice.
Before an exam… I know many of you are students. It is a very good way to approach the exam. Just before you are going in, maybe you are little nervous. So you can just do your meditation and go in. You will be very, very relaxed and easy.