Meditation - What and How ?

The Bible says “Kingdom of God is within Ye”. Meditation is the principal method to see God, face to face. But then people say that there is no God. We must admit that whatever we see around us – the nature, the air, the beauty as well as the beast – are someone’s creation. After all, a thing can’t come out of nothing. It was created out of God as waves are created from, the ocean, ornaments from gold cloth from thread and pot from clay – the world identified with God. The effect and cause are one. The world has emerged from God and merges into him.

Lord Krishna says in The Bhagvad Gita “Turn thy back on heaven, remember me for my sake, so that you become free from birth & death and thus obtain immortality”,

“When free from all desires which had root in his heart the mortal even here becomes immortal and reaches Brahman” – The Katho-Upanishad VI-4,

“Occupy the mind with me, be devoted to me, sacrifice to me, bow down to me, thou shall reach myself; truly do I promise unto thee, (for) thou art dear to me” (The Bhagvad Gita XVIII 69)

So how do we see the God. Great Sri Sankara’s famous hymn ‘Bhaja Govindam’ says,

Sing the Gita, the thousand name of God
Continuously meditate on Lakshmi’s Lord,
Turn the mind to the company of the Good,
Give away your wealth to Needy

Trust yourself wholly to the lotus feet of Teacher
Freedom from the shackles of Sansara (world)
With your sense and mind controlled in this manner
You will see the God residing in your heart.

Meditation is a discipline to achieve the state of ‘God Realisation’. It is like a ‘journey from self to self’. By doing meditation one can slowly uncover the veils of ignorance and reveal the eternal truth and thus one can become one with the eternal Supreme –Soul.

“Not in the clamour of the crowded street
Not in the shouts and plaudits of throng?
But in ourselves are triumph and defeat” (Henry Longfellow)

Sacred Hindu text The Bhagvad Gita describes the method of meditation as –
“Shutting out external objects,
Steadying the eyes between the eyebrows,
Restricting the even currents of prana and Apana inside the nostrils
the sense, mind and intellect controlled with Moksha (Liberation) as the supreme goal, free from desire, fear and anger,
such a man of meditation is verily free forever”

Thus meditation can be summarized as deep reflection by – bringing to bear all our mental power and activity on a given subject with a view towards acquiring the right knowledge of the subject concentrated - that is, God.

Spiritual or transcendental meditation is based on how much one’s consciousness is detached from this world and is focused on or absorbed in the thoughts of God.

How to meditate - Think of God as a star of light amongst the similar other brilliant stars in the soul world ( of which you are one such star) and let thoughts come to the mind that he is emanating love, peace, bliss and knowledge in form of a glowing golden divine light onto you. The star of your soul is sitting in silence in HIS glory and slowly absorbing the Lord’s glow. Circle of your own glow around your star like body is now expanding and you are feeling all love, peace, bliss and joy. You reach a stage where your glow and God’s glow merge into each other and become One and it is all PEACEFUL and STILL. Experience this beautiful, blissful and divine state in your mind.

Our thoughts can take us where our body cannot go and it is rightly said that where mind goes we follow. Feel the bliss during meditation. Make it part of your ongoing emotions. Forget everything of the world for those few moments and soak in the bliss. What we feel and ultimately experience is added to our sanskars/impressions that are imbibed by our soul permanently. This way we nourish our soul by positive thoughts and get done with our karmic debts. This is the way of meditation which nourishes our soul, fills us up with divine energy which none can snatch and people around us start to wonder how come this person is looking so blissful despite problems in life.

Meditation is a method of setting wings of thoughts and feelings free, so that one day soul may attempt, “the immortal flight of the Alone to the Alone” and become forever one with the spiritual life (Clara M Codd)

Initially, the mind would not have the perfect stability but persistently contemplating with intense love, the meditation will take the form of concentration and then you can realize who you are, the One with the Universe. You get answer to so many questions. It is said that universe contains all the knowledge. When we are in a state of meditation we can access this knowledge. This explains how saints can tell a person his past, present and future. They are so much attuned to the Universal knowledge that they do not have much to do get the required information. So many discoveries and inventions were found when the persons concerned could tap the universal knowledge on the subject. As a common man we can meditate to find peace in the present chaos.

“Truly if you can have faith, and don’t doubt, you can do things like this, much more you can say to this Mount of Olives, Move over into the ocean and it will move. You can get anything you ask for in prayer – if you believe. ( Mathew)

Saint Janabai of Maharashtra used to sing-

I eat God
I sleep God
I breathe God
I feel God
I speak God
I give God and
I take God

The state of human body during deep meditation can be compared with that of hibernation of animals who survive the harsh weather with bare minimum oxygen and metabolism. Similarly, with meditation a human mind can survive the hard and long journey of life with ease, calm and comfort.

Vandana Ritik

New Delhi

How to meditate ?

Meditation is process of experiencing God/Universe within us. Meditation is tuning into that continous inner guidance emanating from within. In meditation, first we connect to innerself which inturn connects us with the higher self. Meditation makes us realise that God is not a figure separate from us. It makes us realise the grandeur of God, omnipresence of God in each and every seen as well as unseen creation around us. Meditation fine tunes our mental eyes to feel and experience the unseen and unreachable magnificence of the Universe.

Regarding meditation there is nothing to learn about. Many people make it sound so technical and give elaborate ways and methods of doing it. I have read many books about methods to meditate, listened to many guided meditation CDs but I have realized that basically all we are supposed to do is to find a quiet place, sit in any comfortable position of our choice, close our eyes and try to still our mind and watch the blank screen in front of our closed eyes through our mental eyes. Our physical eyes are meant to see worldly things only. Therefore, we need not try to see or strain our physical eyes.

The ultimate purpose is to find inner tranquility – reach the state of nothingness, thoughtlessness, void. Initially, all sorts of thoughts flood our mind but if we continue to be in this state, after sometime the mind starts to still itself, the darkness in front of our closed eyes turns into brightness and our inner core (universal power) starts to communicate through thoughts, messages and visions (mental). In this state of stillness, even if one can feel warmth enveloping all around them for a second or two, the peace lasts for days altogether.

Make it a point to request God for protection from evil before initiating the meditation. This is done to prevent distracting thoughts from bothering you during meditation. You can start your meditation seeking reply to some question bothering you presently. You will get reply/guidance to the same either during meditation or in next one or two days. Universe will respond to your query in some way or the other.

I have understood that not each person can get benefits of meditation through a single method. Therefore, discover your own way to meditate- whatever gives you peace and joy. Try and you will find soon.

So either before getting out of bed in morning or going to sleep at night, if you can find 15-30 minutes to sit with yourself in solitude, it will do you world of good.

I think through out the day we are mostly doing things for everyone around us so why not find sometime for just ourselves? Meditation is diet for our soul which always stays connected to the divine universal power only we do not have time to listen to it as worldly noise is too loud. And we are too busy to find any time for meditation.

In short, Constant remembrance of God in mind, whether consciously or unconsciously, is Meditation. While Prayer means talking to God, Meditation means listening to God. When you have said your prayers don’t you want to listen to what God has to say to you? Don’t miss out on this divine bliss for once you have experienced, it becomes addiction. You want to go further and further. Don't worry, it doesnot take you away from your family and world. In fact, it enhances your relations and makes you a better equipped to handle your life issues. Meditate, feel blessed, feel complete and become addicted to it.

Vandana Ritik
New Delhi