Sri Saradamma
Q: You say that one must give up all idea of reaching or wanting God. I can understand that this is so on the path of surrender, but what about self-enquiry? If one is trying to reaching the Self within, surely a desire to get there will increase one's determination and concentration. Isn't this helpful?
S: So long as you set up the Self as a goal or target to be reached, you will never experience it directly. The harder you try to get to it, the more it will recede away from you. You will only experience the Self when all desire for it is gone.
Q: Jesus says in the Bible when two or three people are gathered together in his name, then he will be in the midst of them. This seems to indicate that collective prayer or meditation is more beneficial than practise by oneself. Is this so?
S: Does the Bible say that when one prays by oneself, God is not present?
Q: No. Actually there is another passage in the Bible when one prays one should find a private place where other people cannot see you.
S: It is all a matter of personal preference. If you find that it is helpful to meditate with other people then do so. If you prefer to be by yourself then meditate by yourself. It is the same with your meditation technique. Find something that works for you and then stick to it.
Q: You say that one must give up all idea of reaching or wanting God. I can understand that this is so on the path of surrender, but what about self-enquiry? If one is trying to reaching the Self within, surely a desire to get there will increase one's determination and concentration. Isn't this helpful?
S: So long as you set up the Self as a goal or target to be reached, you will never experience it directly. The harder you try to get to it, the more it will recede away from you. You will only experience the Self when all desire for it is gone.
Q: Jesus says in the Bible when two or three people are gathered together in his name, then he will be in the midst of them. This seems to indicate that collective prayer or meditation is more beneficial than practise by oneself. Is this so?
S: Does the Bible say that when one prays by oneself, God is not present?
Q: No. Actually there is another passage in the Bible when one prays one should find a private place where other people cannot see you.
S: It is all a matter of personal preference. If you find that it is helpful to meditate with other people then do so. If you prefer to be by yourself then meditate by yourself. It is the same with your meditation technique. Find something that works for you and then stick to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment