[Advaita-l] Who Doesn’t Have Arjuna’s Question? Those who are off the Training Wheels!

[Sundar Rajan]

Namaste,

Added slides to illustrate:
https://godzillaborland-arch.github.io/QuantumView/From_Effort_to_Effortlessness.html

Added an explainer video as well:
https://youtu.be/18-fgEmf4Qc

Check out the playlists for this and previous articles if interested.

Thanks


On Thu, Oct 30, 2025 at 7:09 PM Sundar Rajan <godzillaborland at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Namaste,
>
> This post continues from my earlier post, *“Why Is Meditation Hard?”* in
> the Tesla=Dhyana series
> (
> https://quantumviewpoint.blogspot.com/2025/10/what-is-common-between-arjuna-and-yuval.html
> )
>
> There we saw how both Arjuna and Yuval Harari confessed the same problem —
> the mind refuses to obey.
>
> Here we ask the natural follow-up:
> * Who doesn’t have Arjuna’s problem? Anyone?*
> If everyone struggles with restlessness, who are the rare ones whose minds
> have become truly steady?
>
> “O Kṛṣṇa! The mind is restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate.
> I think controlling it is more difficult than restraining the wind.”
> — Bhagavad Gītā 6.34
>
> *The answer is simple: Those are the ones off the training wheels.*
> They have moved from preliminary effort to true *Dhyāna* — the stage
> where meditation begins to meditate itself.
>
> For better viewing of this post, see the blog post:
>
> https://quantumviewpoint.blogspot.com/2025/10/beyond-training-wheels-who-doesnt-have.html
> ------------------------------
> Measuring the Inner Journey
>
> To treat meditation as a real discipline, we need a yardstick.
> Vedānta offers *Neti Neti* (“Not this, not this”) — a process that
> removes externals such as posture or duration and reveals three internal
> measures:
>
> • *Absorption* – Was I truly focused and present?
> • *Peace* – Did calm arise naturally?
> • *Bliss (or Joy)* – Did a quiet pleasantness well up from within?
>
> These three — Absorption, Peace, Bliss (APB) — form the inner compass for
> judging an inward session.
> ------------------------------
> From Effort to Stillness
>
> Progress is not a straight climb.
> There is a *gap* between disciplined concentration (*Dhāraṇā*) and
> spontaneous absorption (*Dhyāna*).
> Many plateau here, mistaking focus for meditation.
> Path Goal Reach
> Secular meditation Calm within the self Up to Dhāraṇā (trained
> concentration)
> Spiritual meditation Seeing the Self beyond the self Begins at Dhāraṇā →
> blossoms into Dhyāna
>
> “The Lord made the senses outgoing; therefore, man looks outward, not
> within.” — Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.1.1
> Our awareness is born extroverted; turning it inward is like reversing
> gravity.
> Until the spiritual center awakens, practice remains helpful — but not yet
> liberating.
>
> ------------------------------
> From Effort → Pull
>
> “Driving the mind inward, as a shepherd drives sheep into the pen, is not
> meditation.
> True meditation arises from the natural inwardness (*pratyak-pravāṇatā*)
> of the mind, caused by an inward pull.”
> — Swami Bhajanananda (Vedanta Society of Southern California)
>
> At first we *push* the mind; eventually something *draws* it home.
> When that inward pull awakens — from the depth often called the spiritual
> heart — meditation stops feeling like effort and becomes a gravitational
> slide toward stillness.
>
> In Tesla terms, this is when *autopilot* engages: you were steering
> manually; now awareness moves on its own.
> ------------------------------
> “Dhyāna Is a Secret” — The Jagadguru’s Mandate
>
> “*Dhyāna is a secret. *The Guru imparts it only after examining the
> disciple’s competence. Readiness decides what can be given.”
> — Jagadguru Śrī Abhinava Vidyātīrtha Mahāsvāmin, *From Sorrows to Bliss*
>
> Meditation cannot be mass-produced.
> Grace reveals itself only when a qualified teacher sees readiness in the
> seeker.
>
> When a student protested that controlling the mind was impossible, the
> Jagadguru replied:
>
> “The mind does not wander when one feels there must be no error.
> Why should it wander if such seriousness is brought to dhyāna also?”
>
> Seriousness of purpose (*śraddhā*) is itself a channel of Grace.
> The mind obeys when the heart values stillness more than distraction.
> The point is simple: the mind *can* be trained — if the heart values
> meditation as deeply as the salary packet.
> ------------------------------
> The Inner Dashboard — Dhāraṇā to Dhyāna
> Refer to the Meditation Stages Monitor:
> https://godzillaborland-arch.github.io/meditation-stages-monitor-app/
>
> This phase of self-effort (*abhyāsa* and *vairāgya*) can be summarized:
> Stage Power Source Description APB Range
> 1A Scattered Mind Self-effort Restless, distracted, fleeting calm 0–25 %
> 1B Building Foundation Routine + discipline Short calm windows, guided aid 25–40
> %
> 1C Emerging Stability Mature *abhyāsa* Longer focus; first inward pull 40–49
> %
> Crossing Point ≈ 50 % Grace begins Awareness flows *taila-dhārāvat* —
> “like a steady stream of oil” → Dhyāna Zone
>
> At that crossing, effort transforms into receptivity.
> Meditation begins to meditate itself.
> ------------------------------
> Tesla = Dhyāna (Analogy)
> Component Inner Meaning Tesla Parallel
> Lifetime Charging Guru’s Grace (*karuṇā*) Supercharger Network
> Full Self-Driving Inward pull (*pratyak-pravāṇatā*) Autonomous Navigation
> Sensor Calibration *Abhyāsa* + *Vairāgya* Repeated feedback loops
> Firmware Update Study + Reflection Cognitive retraining
> Silent Cabin Mode Inner *mauna* (stillness) Engine off; motion within
>
> Grace is the hidden algorithm that activates when enough training data —
> discipline and devotion — have been supplied.
> ------------------------------
> Bridging the Gap — The Role of the Yogic Guru
>
> Self-effort ripens into receptivity only when purity and maturity invite
> the Guru’s *karuṇā* — the compassion that completes what discipline
> begins.
>
> A Self-realized Yogic Guru:
>
>    1.
>
>    Implants the goal of the path — direct realization of the Self,
>    transmitting not just method but meaning and inspiration.
>    2.
>
>    Initiates the path through their *Tapahśakti* (power generated by
>    spiritual austerity).
>
> Practice steadies the mind.
> Dispassion frees it.
> Grace drives it home.
>
> Grace powers the vehicle; discipline builds the chassis.
> When both align, meditation drives itself — straight toward the Self.
> ------------------------------
>
> *References*
>
> • *Bhagavad Gītā 6.34*
> • Swami Bhajanananda — Vedanta Society of Southern California
> • *From Sorrows to Bliss* — dialogues and essays of Jagadguru Śrī
> Abhinava Vidyātīrtha Mahāsvāmin
> • *Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.1.1*
>
> Previous posts:
> https://godzillaborland-arch.github.io/QuantumView/Advaita-L_Posts.html
> ------------------------------
>
> In this essay, we explored the mystery and role of Grace — when “training
> wheels” give way to self-driving awareness.
> In the next essay in the *Tesla = Dhyāna* series, we’ll explore further
> the role of Grace and how it fits the Tesla=Dhyana metaphor
>
> — Sundar Rajan
> *The Sanctuary Project / Tesla = Dhyāna Series*
>
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