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PREKSA MEDITATION
Generally our deeds and our minds do not run parallel to each other. When the body is doing one thing, the mind remains busy in another thing. This results in a depletion of
energy. Bhāvakriyā stops this depletion.
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Bhāvanā is the third step. It increases the vital force and strengthens the will. A Strong will does not allow inclination towards material pleasures to become effective. Resolution is the key to all kinds of success.
The fourth step is anuprekṣa or contemplative assessment of perception. It is a useful exercise in removing, selfnegligence and the contamination of the mind by the consequences of social relations and indulgence in material pleasures. It concentrates the process of thinking on a single object until a state of experience has been arrived at. It develops tolerance and the purity of heart prekṣā is the fifth step. It activates the body and the centres of consciousness. It enables us to perceive and know the internal structure of the body. Perceiving long breathing improves physical and mental health. It activates the taijasa body and stops the fickleness of the mind. It removes poisons from the body and reveals to the practitioner the subtleties of the mind.
Body perception means watching and under standing the ever happening changes in the body. It enables the practitioner to come face to face with substance by studying its modifications. It means perceiving the chemical changes in the body and to be convinced that the body and all that is in it are ephemeral. It is the process of proceeding from the perishable to the imperishable. It means watching all physiological happenings and the feeling of pleasure and pain with a dispassionate mind and to make a distinction between the body and the soul.
By perceiving the centres of consciousness we can establish our mastery over them and employ our energy in bringing about chemican changes in the body.
Then comes the perceiving of the ever happening vibrations in the body, mind and breath. These vibration can be increased by means of subtle prana and reduced and stopped by restraining the flow of vital energy. Counter vibrations can also be produced by means of Bhavana or suggestion. Both purity of thoughts and thoughtlessness are useful in
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