Sacred forms of Ishwara can be found on altars in temples, shrines, and homes around the
world.
Yet Hindu scriptures teach that Ishvara actually pervades the universe; Ishwara abides in all
things and in every being, bestowing divinity on all.
For this reason, just like you can meditate on Ishwara s sacred form on an altar, you
can also meditate on Ishvara s divine presence in yourself, on the altar of your heart, so
to speak.
Vedanta teaches that Ishwara abides in every living being as the underlying, fundamental
reality that's the ultimate source of both existence and awareness.
So, your physical body pulses with life due to Ishvara s presence.
Your powerful intellect and rich emotions are active due to Ishvara s presence.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna says: O Arjuna, Ishwara tishtati, abides, hrid-deshe,
in the hearts, sarva-bhutanam, of all creatures.
In this verse, the word heart refers not to a physical organ but to the foundation of
your existence, the innermost core of your being.
Ishvara's presence within blesses you with physical existence, life, and with consciousness.
A traditional metaphor depicts your body as a temple and your heart as the temple's innermost
chamber, the santum sanctorum, called garbagriha in Sanskrit.
Just like Ishwara's consecrated form resides in the sacred garbagriha of every temple,
in the same way, Ishwara resides in the heart of every person.
The aptness of this wonderful metaphor is not accidental.
The architecture of most Hindu temples is based on this very idea.
Temples are designed to symbolically represent Ishwara s presence in your heart.
This symbolism becomes obvious when you look at the layout of a large temple.
This is the famous Arunachaleshwara Temple in Thiruvannamalai, a town in South India.
The entire temple complex is enclosed by an outer wall that has four huge gateways called
gopurams.
If you look closely, you can make out an inner wall with smaller gopurams.
And inside that is yet another wall.
Worshipers enter the temple compound through one of its huge gopurams, leaving the nearby
town behind them.
The act of entering symbolizes the first step of meditation in which you turn your attention
away from the world around you and direct it within.
The outer wall surrounding the temple compound represents the skin that surrounds your body.
The four gateways represent your eyes, ears, nose and mouth.
The inner walls and smaller gateways represent inner parts of your anatomy.
After walking through the compound, worshipers arrive at the main temple structure.
When they enter, they find themselves inside a huge hall, whose enormous roof is supported
by hundreds of granite columns.
Then they proceed through the hall into a much smaller inner hall, where no light from
outside can reach.
The dark inner hall represents your mind, after it's been quieted by the practice of
meditation.
Deep within the temple's inner hall lies the sacred chamber, the garbaghriha.
There, worshipers finally get the opportunity to behold Ishwara's consecrated form on the
altar, brightly lit with many little lamps.
This represents the discovery of Ishwara's divine presence in your own heart during meditation.
The practice of upasana is symbolically represented by going into the temple compound, into the
temple itself, into its outer hall, into its inner hall, until you finally arrive at the
garbagriha, where you find the consecrated deity on the altar.
In a similar way, the practice of upasana takes you within yourself.
It's an inner journey that culminates in the discovery of Ishwara on the altar of your
heart.
In the practice of upasana, it's often helpful
to imagine or visualize Ishwara's divine presence in your heart.
Scriptures prescribe various ways to do this.
For example, you can imagine your ishta devata, your chosen form of God, as being being physically
present within you.
This particular practice is described in the Katha Upanishad, that says, purusho antar-atma,
the cosmic being, Ishwara, who dwells within you, sannivishtah, residing or abiding, jananam
hridaye, in the heart of every being, should be visualized as angushta-matrah, tiny, literally,
the size of your thumb, which is a poetic way of describing a form small enough to reside
in your heart.
Many other kinds of visualization have also been prescribed, such as imagining Ishwara
s presence to be like a bright flame flickering in your heart.
This wonderful imagery is used the Narayana Suktam, which is an extraordinary hymn to
Vishnu found in the Yajur Veda.
Here's a portion of the hymn: Meditate on the limitless, eternal, omniscient Lord dwelling
in your heart that's like a lotus bud hanging down between your throat and navel, surrounded
by nerves, and shining brightly.
In the tiny space within that lotus bud, a fire blazes.
Flames spread out everywhere, radiating sideways and above, warming your body from head to
feet.
Ishwara is like a tiny tongue of fire among the flames, slender as a grain and bright
as lightning.
You can meditate on Ishwara s presence in your heart using this imagery or any other
that you find helpful.
There's another important aspect of this metaphor that compares your heart to the sacred chamber
in a temple.
Any place of prayer, worship, or meditation, like a temple, should be kept clean and quiet.
So, if you meditate at the altar of your heart, it's your mind that has to be kept clean and
quiet.
Your mind shouldn't be tainted with anger, frustration, jealousy, and the like.
As we discussed before, the first two limbs or angas of yoga prescribed by Patanjali,
yama and niyama, prohibitions and observances, are specifically intended to help you maintain
inner purity, purity of mind.
Yamas, like not harming anyone, and niyamas, like prayer and scriptural study, have to
be practiced at all times to keep your heart pure and preserve the sanctity of your inner
altar.
In some temples, children are allowed to run around inside while their parents are praying.
Unfortunately, this creates a distraction for the worshipers gathered there.
In the same way, noisy thoughts sometimes run around in your mind during meditation,
and that, too, creates a distraction.
In a previous lesson, we saw that it's easier to appreciate Ishwara's divine presence within
you when your mind is quiet.
So, when you practice upasana, its best to begin by making a sankalpa and then practicing
any meditation technique that's especially effective in quieting your mind.
Then, after your mind becomes quiet, you can imagine Ishwara's divine presence on the altar
of your heart, using the imagery we just discussed, or in any other way you like.
You might find it helpful to mentally recite a mantra addressed to the form of Ishwara
that you're visualizing.
You might find also it helpful to imagine a sense of warmth radiating from your heart
and filling your body.
Since Ishwara pervades the entire universe, in principle, you can appreciate Ishwara s
divine presence anywhere, not just inside a sacred temple or on the altar of your heart.
Before we conclude this chapter on devotional meditation, let's discuss how Ishwara's divine
presence can be appreciated anywhere and everywhere.
In a previous chapter, we discussed how various places evoke different feelings.
You feel different at work, at home, in the supermarket, and in a temple.
Some places can make you feel uncomfortable or anxious, like a dark alley, while other
places make you feel relaxed, peaceful, and content.
What is it about a particular place that makes you feel extremely peaceful and content?
Would you feel peaceful in your own home if it was completely vacant, having been unoccupied
for many years?
Would you feel peaceful in a temple if its sacred chamber, the garbhagriha was somehow
empty?
Obviously, what makes your home feel special is not the building made of bricks, wood,
and plaster, but rather the presence of your family there.
And what makes a temple feel special is not the elegant architecture, but Ishwara's presence
in the garbaghriha.
Now, you can directly perceive Ishwara's sacred presence in a temple, but how can you perceive
it elsewhere?
Outside, you can't see or hear Ishwara's presence with your eyes and ears.
You can't touch it or grasp it.
But in spite of that, when you step inside a temple you've visited many times before,
you immediately feel Ishwara s presence there, even before you reach the garbagriha and see
the consecrated deity on the altar.
Why?
Because you know Ishwara is there.
Even though you can't discern Ishwara s presence with your eyes, that sacred presence can be
discerned with your mind, with your faculty of understanding.
In the Bhagavad Gita, when Sri Krishna speaks as Ishvara, he says, dananjaya, O Arjuna,
nanyat kicid asti, there is nothing at all, mattah parataram, that remains separate from
me.
Mayi sarvam idam protam, everything is strung on me, sutre manigana iva, like gemstones
on a thread.
In a necklace, the string that holds the beads together is hidden inside of each bead.
Even though you can't see the string, you know it's there.
Likewise, even though you can't see Ishwara's presence outside the temple, you can know
or understand that Ishwara is present in everything.
In this way, you can appreciate Ishwara's sacred presence in every rock, plant, animal,
and person.
You can hear Ishwara's presence in the chirping of birds.
You can feel Ishwara's presence in the wind blowing on your skin.
Sri Krishna says, kaunteya, O Arjuna, raso 'ham apsu, I am the wetness of water, prabhasmi
shashi-suryahoh, I am the light of the sun and moon, punyo gandhah pritivyam, I am the
sweet smell of Earth, tejah casmi vibavasu, and I am the brilliance of fire.
As we discussed in the previous chapter, you see what you look for.
When you go outside, you might see buildings, cars, and streets.
But if you look for Ishwara s presence, you can discover it everywhere, with the help
of the teachings we just saw.
You can learn how to appreciate Ishvara s presence as the hardness of concrete, as the
tallness of buildings, and as the speed of each moving car.
The next time you go for a walk outside in a park or around your neighborhood, you can
turn it into a wonderful practice of upasana by reflecting on these teachings and appreciating
Ishwara's presence all around you.
Instead of walking through a park, you might find yourself walking through Ishwara.
This lesson concludes the chapter on devotional meditation.
In the next chapter, we'll discuss advanced meditation techniques.