May we harness body and mind to see
The Lord of Life who dwells in everyone.
May we with one-pointed mind
Ever strive for blissful union with the Lord.
May our senses through meditation be
Trained to serve the Lord of Life.
Great is the glory of the Lord of Life,
Infinite, omnipresent, all-knowing.
He is known by the wise who meditate
And conserve their vital energy.
Hear, O children of immortal bliss,
You are born to be united with the Lord.
Follow the path of the illumined ones,
And be united with the Lord of Life.
Ignite kundalini in the depths of
Meditation. Bring your breathing and mind
Under control. Drink deep of divine love,
And you will attain the unitive state.
Dedicate yourself to the Lord of Life,
Who is the cause of the cosmos. He will
Remove the cause of all your suffering
And free you from the bondage of karma.
Be seated with spinal column erect
And deep inwards turn the senses and mind.
With the mantram reverberating in
Your mind, cross the dread sea of birth and death.
Train the senses to be obedient.
Regulate your activities to lead you
To the goal. Hold the reins of your mind
As you hold the reins of restive horses.
Choose a place for meditation that is
Clean, quiet, and cool, a cave with a smooth floor
Without stones and dust, protected against
Wind and rain and pleasing to the eye.
In deep meditation aspirants may
See forms like snow or smoke. They may feel
A strong wind blowing or a wave of heat.
They may see within them more and more light,
Fireflies, lightning, sun, or moon. These are signs
That they are well on their way to Brahman.
Health, a light body, freedom from cravings,
Clear skin, sonorous voice, a pleasant odor:
These are signs of progress in meditation.
As a dusty mirror shines bright when cleansed,
So shines the one who realizes the Self,
Attains life’s goal, and passes beyond sorrow.
In the supreme climax of samadhi
He realizes the presence of the Lord
In his consciousness and is freed from all
Impurities – he the pure and deathless.
The Lord dwells in the womb of the cosmos,
The Creator who is in all creatures.
He is that which is born and to be born;
His face is everywhere.
Let us adore the Lord of Life, who is
Present in fire and water, plants and trees.
Let us adore the Lord of Life!
Let us adore the Lord of Life!
The Shvetashvatara Upanishad, canto 2. Translated by Eknath Easwaran in The Upanishads (Petaluma, California: Nilgiri Press, 1987).
From God Makes The Rivers To Flow, Sacred literature of the world selected by Eknath Easwaran, founder of the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation; third edition 2008, reprinted by permission of Nilgiri Press, P. O. Box 256, Tomales, Ca 94971, www.easwaran.org.