Premanand: > Former TM advocate and author Paul Mason is quoted > as saying; 'I find that by not using a mantra but > otherwise using the TM instructions of quietening > the mind, and letting go of thoughts, but treating > the mantra as just another thought, the profundity > of the meditation is increased many-fold... > Maybe so. I've tried various forms of meditation, both with and without the mantra. Like BillyG I was once practicing the meditation techniques taught by Parmahansa Yogananda, who taught meditation on the sound current.
Kirpal Singh taught likewise, so this is nothing new. In fact, the Ramana Maharshi taugh meditation in this way. All you have to do is 'be aware of being aware' - it's that simple. According to the Zen Master Shunryo Suzuki, all you have to do is 'sit' - this 'just sitting' IS enlightenment itself. But, in many cases the use of nemonic devices, such as mantra, yantra, dharani, or asana, will provide support for the higher states. When you think about IT, the state of Liberation really consists of being aware of who you really are - 'You are That'. The 'Knowledge of That' isn't an object of knowledge, it is the 'Knowing Subject Itself' and you really don't even need a technique to 'Know Thyself, because you are your Self, nothing more. Everything else is just an appearance only. You can take the Direct Path.
