The previous vignettes from the life of the world renowned Vipassana teacher Mr. Satyanarayan Goenka, were from the days prior to, and just after his coming into contact with pure Dhamma. Now we move ahead to the period of his teaching courses in India. We offer this series from his autobiography so that it may inspire others. NL Part - 15
Journeying through India Within three months of attending my first Vipassana course, I left Burma to tour India. My teacher had said that the vibrations of pure Dhamma are very powerful and remain in the environment for hundreds of centuries. I went to experience Dhamma vibrations in these places where the Buddha had set foot: Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Savatthi, Kushinagar and Lumbini. The journey proved to be very worthwhile indeed.
A thought came to my mind at this time that if a householder, saintly teacher in Burma could lead me to such powerful, sacred spiritual experiences, then surely in the ancient and great land of Bharat many meditation practices, perhaps deeper and more powerful must exist. I visited many ashrams and met well known teachers of those days.
I first went to Rishikesh and Hardwar and met a world renowned teacher who was kind enough to grant me an audience though he was unwell. Lying on his bed he welcomed me warmly, but when I narrated my experiences in response to his query, his demeanor changed. Finally, he said dryly, if you have received so much, then what more do you want? Saying this he turned his back. Clearly he had not taken my narration seriously.
Unner ved, I thought perhaps I had made some mistake, been arrogant, though I had taken care to remain humble. I decided to be more careful in my future encounters. Instead of narrating my experience in Vipassana, I would talk about the meditation technique prevalent in Burma that leads one to such experiences.
Thereafter, I visited Bombay (Mumbai), Lonavla, Madras (Chennai), and Pondicherry and met many teachers. After nearly three months in India I remained disappointed, as most of them were not ready to believe that a technique existed that could give immediate, profound results. One of them said what I described was certainly a very high state, but did not admit that a technique existed that could lead one beyond this state. Another said that he did not teach any meditative practice, but only offered facilities whereby others could follow their own path.
It is possible that such teachers existed who could lead one beyond what I had learnt, but I did not come across any. I returned reassured that Vipassana was indeed my path and I must now proceed with total confidence.
Maharishi Time moved on. I was immersed in my regular meditation practice while maintaining my familial, professional and social responsibilities, now better than before. Once I visited Madras where my elder brother Balkrishna lived, and one day he took me to meet Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, an internationally renowned spiritual master who was visiting Madras. It was a pleasant meeting, and he casually mentioned that a follower had offered him an air ticket for a world-wide tour, but he had no financial backing, nor did he know anyone abroad who could assist him on his journey. My brother and I suggested that if he so wished, he could utilise this ticket to come to Burma. We assured him that further travel arrangements would be taken care of since I had good connections in South East and East Asian countries, and our friends would take good care of him so he would have no difficulties.
He came to Rangoon, and for 17 days he was our respected guest. A most fruitful outcome of this was that my entire family was initiated into meditation; I was very grateful for this. No one in the family had been ready yet for Vipassana despite witnessing the huge transformation in my nature and behaviour, and especially seeing me free of migraine headaches. As such, devotional pūjās and rituals and the singing of bhajans, was still a strictly followed daily ritual at home. In addition, the fearful block of getting initiated into the Buddhist religion had also remained.
Now Maharishi had initiated my family on the path of meditation. Paradoxically, in times to come, this opened the gateway to Vipassana meditation for them. Though I had never meditated with the base of a mantra, I now had an immensely unusual experience with it which made me understand the difference between Vipassana and a meditation practice carried out with the base of a mantra.
At times, Maharishiji would visit Sayagyi U Ba Khin with me and discuss what he taught. He had heard about my meditation experiences where I had mentioned how the physical body turns alive and vibrant' with no solidity left in any part. And that this state is reached during meditation when the mind goes within, and it continues to linger for a while after meditation. Maharishi commented by saying that this stage of meditation, undertaken without any medium (like mantra), is indeed the last stage of meditation, there is nothing beyond; what remains are only bliss and joy. He then asked, "Why does your guru not tell you then that you have reached the final state of meditation?"
What could I tell him? I knew that there were many levels beyond this and that many Dhamma brothers and sisters had achieved them, while indeed, continuing to go beyond. Though I did not say anything at the time, I knew that there were many more stations on the way, minor and major. The final destination, doubtlessly, is the state without medium or support. But can the state that I was experiencing, a subtle, blissful state, be said to be without support', as the sensations arising from the contact of the mind with the body were ever present-phassa-paccayā vedanā. In reality the state beyond existence, beyond becoming, where there is total cessation of mind and body, of all the senses, was yet to come.
Indeed, what could I say? This knowledge, the very ancient knowledge of Vipassana which was so widespread in those days, as well as its written material, was totally wiped out. Now, even though the levels that one encounters in meditation from arising and falling to bhanga (dissolution) remained; the very words describing this state beyond the senses was lost. What hope was there, then, of knowing it at the experiential level.
Yet, I was immensely grateful to the Maharishi as he had successfully turned many Indians residing in Burma, besides my own family, towards meditation. What surprised me most was that though I was fully satisfied with Vipassana meditation, I got drawn towards meditation with a mantra. As a result, the entire family was initiated, barring one-my wife Illichidevi. When she was ready to receive the mantra, Maharishi refused her saying that he would only grant her a mantra together with her husband, not otherwise. I hesitated, saying that he had told me I did not need a mantra since according to him, I had reached the final, or at least a very high state. He then said that even if I did not take the mantra, I must sit along with her.
Normally, a mantra is spoken softly in the ear of the initiate. But in this instance, he uttered it out loud for my benefit. As we left the guest house, the mantra continued to resonate in my entire being. Without taking the mantra I was initiated. At home, I sat immobile for three hours. I had never left Vipassana, but now I clearly understood the difference between the two.
Maharishiji gave a huge gift of meditation to the world. By introducing and initiating so many into mantra meditation in Burma and later across the globe, he had raised India's stature in the world.
May 2020, Vipassana News Letter
(from the Autobiography of Mr. S.N. Goenka) -