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A Three Mudra Meditation Exercise
In this meditation exercise, it begins with the Jnana Mudra, followed by the Dyama Mudra and finishes with the Anjali Mudra
Kindly begin by resting your hands comfortably in your lap and breathing deeply a few times. The first position we will use is the Jnana Mudra. This is a classic meditation pose which is good for developing concentration and willpower. Hold the end of your thumbs, with your first finger, and try to feel a pulsation only in the tips of your thumbs. That pulsation is your life energy, your breath, your realisation, soul and Goal. It is all there in the tip of your thumb. The Jnana Mudra literally means ‘Seal of Wisdom’ and is used in seeking the wisdom and knowledge of the highest self
Now gently place your right hand on top of the left, with the palms up and the thumbs touching. This position is called the Dhyama Mudra. The open palms represent renunciation. Certainly we have to renounce in the spiritual life. What are we going to renounce? We are going to renounce fear, doubt, imperfection, ignorance and death. We are not going to renounce individuals; we are going to renounce qualities which stand in the way of our union with the Divine. When we enter into the spiritual life, we get the opportunity to renounce, or rather, to transform these qualities. So for the next few minutes try to feel as if you are breathing out these limitations and breathing in the opposite qualities, which are peace and light.
Now fold your hands, gently placing your palms together on the centre of your chest. This pose is called the Anjali Mudra. A position which has been used for thousands of years in meditation, most closely connected with meditation on the spiritual heart. Try now to feel, that only your heart exists and no other part of your being. When you pray and meditate with folded hands, at that time your attention, concentration and everything in you become one-pointed. Your physical mind, your physical being become more devoted and devotion is like a magnet; it pulls in Light and other divine qualities. When you meditate in the heart, you are meditating where the soul is. True, the light, the consciousness of the soul permeates the whole body, but there is a specific place where the soul resides most of the time, and that is in the heart. If you want illumination, if your ultimate goal is illumination, you will get that illumination from the soul, which is inside the heart.… You have to know that the Source and the Reality are in the heart. Reality is everywhere, but the actual manifestation of the Reality has to be in a particular place. Inside the heart is the soul, and if you meditate in the heart, the result is infinitely more fulfilling.
Resources from books by spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy
