The Master of the Carriage, Part 4 - Meditation

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Rumpelteazer
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The Master of the Carriage, Part 4 - Meditation

Postby Rumpelteazer » Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:53 pm

We started with a review of the exercise from our last meeting. (See report here.)

This week we watched Part 4 of the film “The Master of the Carriage”
Our paper focussed on the main theme of Meditation and Surrender:
20120614 The Master of the Carriage - Part 4.doc
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We started by considering how we can become light-hearted and free of burdens. Comments included:
  • Stillness is the key. Stillness is possible even in middle of activity.
  • It’s just a matter of remembering Param-Atman and this is possible even in noisy, unattractive surroundings
Although it sounded illogical, the quote from Mr Ouspensky about suffering being far harder to give up than pleasures seemed to strike a chord with several members of the group. We discussed what caused suffering as it is only by understanding the causes that we can give it up:
  • "Suffering is caused by negative emotions"
  • "Any identification – pleasant or unpleasant – creates suffering. For example, if you think you have done a wonderful job and identify with it, it will bring its own suffering later when someone criticises it, or when you realise it's not as good as you thought. And all negative emotions arise from identification."
  • Feeling sorry for oneself is also suffering, and entirely pointless and unhelpful.
We then moved on to Meditation and the problem of fear of the void. Someone mentioned that H.H. has said that in deep meditation there is nothing to experience: it is only after one comes out of meditation that the bliss can be felt. The nothingness is frightening because it feels like allowing oneself to die – giving up even the Observer and allowing it to merge into the nothingness.

On the subject of surrender another person commented “It is really a matter of doing everything for Param-Atman and allowing Param-Atman to direct our lives. Then life is happy and easy.”

User avatar
Rumpelteazer
Posts: 143
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2009 5:30 pm
Group: Cheltenham
Location: Gloucestershire, UK

Re: The Master of the Carriage, Part 4 - Meditation

Postby Rumpelteazer » Fri Jun 22, 2012 5:22 pm

At the next meeting we discussed people’s experiences of the exercise set last time:
Sri Chinmoy wrote: ‘If we can surrender in absolute silence, we shall ourselves become the reality of the real, the life of the living, the centre of true love, peace and bliss.’
This week, in our meditation and in our busy, daily lives, let’s practise an awareness of this inner silence.

Comments included:
  • “This inner silence is there all the time, even when the mind is clouded by activity. We never actually lose it.”
  • “I have felt it since childhood. It gets temporarily lost when I’m working on something and a whole load of ideas come in.”
  • “Everything we do needs to start from that silence.”
  • “I’ve been remembering a couplet on the subject of silence and stillness, for as many times as possible during the day. The memory occurs automatically now, but not in words, and it brings a deep stillness and feeling of unity with it.”


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