ANNAMALAI SWAMI REMEMBERED
After a few months in Palakottu I noticed that my mind was beginning to get quieter and quieter. During my working days my mind had been constantly occupied with thoughts about building matters. The mind would continue its incessant activities even after the end of each day’s work. Plans, problems, and theoretical solutions to problems, would continue to fill my mind long after the actual work was over. I found it very hard to meditate under such circumstances.
Bhagavan had told me, ‘You are not the body, you are not the mind. You are the pure consciousness, the Self. You are all-pervasive. Be aware of this at all times, even while you are working.’
I tried very hard to put this upadesa into practice while I was working, but I cannot say that I had much of a success.
When I moved to Palakottu I found it far easier to practice Bhagavan’s teachings. My mind became much quieter and even my body began to change. While I had been working in Ramanasramam there had always been a lot of heat in my body. Working with lime had made the body feel very hot and I compounded the problem by spending a large part of each day out in the sun.
After a few months of meditation in Palakottu my mind became relatively quiet and still and a wonderful coolness pervaded my body. In the course of time, after many years of practice, both of these conditions became permanent.
- LWB
