Meditation And Its Utility In Daily Life

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Meditation is not for a few but is necessary for all human beings.

The inner self of a person touches the Higher Self (the Param-Tattwa)

during deep sleep daily. This unknown touch recharges the battery of

man. So, when he gets up from his sleep, he feels that he is

refreshed, full of strength and relaxed. This is a natural process

for all persons alike. If one could not sleep properly, he feels

disturbed and is in a sort of weariness. It is the experience of

every man, whether he is rich or a beggar, a literate or an

illiterate, an executive or a labourer, a farmer or a business man, a

housewife or a huckster. So, every man needs peace, strength, ability

to discharge his duties and for tranquillity of mind. So, a wonderful

discovery of man is to keep his inner self in touch with the SOURCE

in a wakeful state for longer periods continuously through specific

type of systematic practices. This is called the art of meditation.

And such a person is said to be a YOGI without any

discretion/distinction of caste, creed, colour and country.

 

Dhyanam nirvishayam manah—That state of the mind, wherein there are

no Vishayas or sensory thoughts, is meditation.

 

Whether oriental or occidental, Hinduism or Mohammedanism, Buddhism

or Jainism, Christianity or Judaism, Shinto-ism or any other `ism',

the spiritual purpose and meaning is to lead an individual soul to

the ecstatic communion with the Universal Divinity or ONE TRUTH, the

SOURCE. A continuous flow of perception of thought is Dhyana—Tatra

pratyayaikatanata dhyanam. It is the flow of continuous thought of

one object or God or Atman or Supreme Source—Tailadharavat. According

to Raja Yoga, meditation is the seventh rung or step in the ladder of

Yoga. One cannot attain this state unless he knows the art

of " Concentration " . What is concentration?—Desa bandhas-chittasya

dharana. Concentration is fixing the mind on an external object or an

internal point continuously, without interruption or break for twelve

seconds. So, an aspirant has to develop himself in concentration,

which itself is changed into meditation, if his state of keeping the

mind focused at one object/point/subject continuously and

spontaneously for 12x12=144 seconds. It is termed as `Dhyana' in

Sanskrit scriptures, which comes from the root `Dhi'. In English we

generally call it `intellect' which is the basic root with different

derivations in different practices. However, `Buddhi' (reasoning

faculty) is said to be directly based on this root term; yet this

term is used liberally by all systems of Yoga, which is central theme

of all mystic techniques leading one to higher levels of spiritual

consciousness with profound depths of spiritual expansion and takes

one to God-realisation or Self-realisation.

 

Meditation may be objective, or on qualities or purely subjective or

one's own breath. In objective meditation the Sadhaka meditates upon

an idol or picture of his Ishta devata—may be Lord Shiva, Vishnu,

Rama, Krishna, Christ, Buddha or any other god or goddess. For him,

the idol is something alive, vibrating with supreme reality,

omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent. He may meditate upon the

beautitude, the qualities, the activities of his Ishta-devata. Or he

may meditate upon the all-pervading pulsating Supreme Energy which is

within him and without, permeating everywhere. This is subjective

meditation. Similarly on his breath while inhaling and exhaling with

MINIMAL SILENCE. All meditations are good; what counts is the

intensity and unbroken continuity of meditation.

 

An aspirant has to rest his soul on the bosom of the Lord, to bathe

in the bliss of Divine ecstasy, to drown his ego in the ocean of

eternity, to draw sustenance and strength from the SOURCE to attain

whatever he is capable of achieving. A Sadhaka should meditate

regularly, chew and digest what he has learnt, to transform what he

has learnt into wisdom, to apply that wisdom to solve the problems

that cross his path daily. Says F.W. Robertson: " It is not the number

of books you read, nor the variety of sermons you hear, nor the

amount of religious conversation in which you mix, but it is the

frequency and earnestness with which you meditate on these things

till the truth in them becomes your own and part of your being, that

ensures your growth. "

 

A sincere spiritual seeker meditates to realise the Ultimate Reality

to unravel the mystery of life and death, to understand in the bottom

of his heart, what is Truth. Once he knows Truth, he knows the

Ultimate Reality, he becomes That, and there is nothing more to know.

A person who has realised Brahman, becomes Brahman, and lives in

Brahman. Knowing is being. That is the highest state.

 

India has been fortunate to have produced many saints and seers who

had realised the Truth and for more or less time lived in a state of

Divine Ecstasy. Even during the past hundred years people have

witnessed such saints like Paramahamsa Ramakrishna, Swami

Vivekananda, Swami Ramatirtha, Sri Aurobindo, Ramana Maharshi, Swami

Ramdas, Swami Sivananda and several others of world fame. Ramakrishna

would while talking relapse into Samadhi and often prayed to his

Divine Mother not to draw him frequently into Her Bosom so that he

can converse with his disciple, particularly his darling Naren later

known to the world as Swami Vivekananda so that he could prepare a

band of workers to spread his message, the holy message of India.

Swami Ramatirtha was often seen in a state of ecstasy during last

seven years of life in India and United States. Swami Sivananda was

another who would often sing and dance or be just be quiet in divine

ecstasy. There have been more in India and quite a few messengers of

God in other parts of the world.

 

Meditation and concentration are often treated as synonymous.

However, I have drawn earlier a distinct line between concentration

and meditation. In further explanation when one brings to bear all

his thought waves on a single point or spot like a laser beam where

the scattered rays of light are concentrated, it is concentration.

Every body needs concentration to understand, assimilate and apply

any information, any knowledge. When the concentration is prolonged

for 144 seconds, it is called meditation and when extended to 144

multiplied by 144 i.e. 20736 seconds = 345.6 minutes, it is said to

reach the state of Samadhi. According to Ashtanga Yoga comprising two

main parts of Hatha Yoga—Yama, Niyama, Asana and Pranayama covers the

first one, whereas Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi, is the

second part. There is no equivalent word in English language for

Samadhi. Concentration is the sixth, Meditation the seventh and

Samadhi the eighth and last stage of Yoga when the Sadhaka is united

with the Supreme Being. It shows that concentration leads to

Meditation, similarly prolonged constant meditation leads to Samadhi.

In other Yogas Manana, Nididhyasana, Upasana, Chintana, Dhyana—these

terms are used in different Yogas with subtle differences in their

techniques. Manana is a sort of reflection. It is just to chew the

cud slowly and nicely. It is done through into intense practice of

Manana. Chintana is also a sort of reflection and meditation to

assimilate the thoughts in consciousness for proper and significant

impression with profound understanding. Intense meditation on the

Self or Brahman or ANY SPIRITUAL ILLUMINED PERSONALITY is termed as

`Nididhyasana'. As Saint Francis of Assisi did. `Upasana' stands for

devout meditation which is being used in both i.e., Jnana Yoga

Sadhana and Bhakti Yoga. Upasana means `sitting near by'. In Jnana

Yoga Sadhana the seeker has to sit near the Self or Brahman; whereas

in Bhakti Yoga a devotee has to sit by the side of God.

 

A keen and true regular practitioner (Sadhaka) will attain quick and

sure results, when he proceeds properly stage by stage under the

guidance of his GURU or master. The first four parts are meant to

purify the mind and keep the body strong and fit to receive and

retain the power of the DIVINE. Many moderns, however, equate Yoga

with the practice of few asanas and pranayamas. This is not

sufficient for spiritual uplift. Yet, it is better to practise asanas

and pranayamas for health's sake than not to do anything at all. But

Yoga is really first to withdraw one's mind from the objects of

senses (pratyahara), practice concentration, prolong the period of

concentration under proper guidance to reach the stage of meditation

and finally become one, unite (Yoga to join to unite) with the

Supreme Reality, the TRUTH.

 

Thus meditation is not meant merely for the recluse, the ascetic, the

renouncer. It is of utmost important in man's day-to-day life. It is

of immense help to a student, a youth, an old man. A man who can

meditate will become a better manager, a better businessman, a better

executive and, above all, a better man. Conversely, if a person

cannot meditate, he will lack composition, courage and confidence to

achieve his goal. Nowadays, several medical doctors and psychologists

advise to their patients suffering from nervousness, unusual

irritation, disordered mind, fear and inferiority complex and lack of

self-confidence to meditate in a specific manner along with the

medical treatment. So, the meditation is very necessary these days

when man leads a life of tension and complexity.

 

Every morning and evening, preferably at dawn and dusk, sit down in a

comfortable posture with your backbone straight, relax each and every

limb of your body, and then your mind, and sit unmoved, in the same

pose, as long as you can. It is always better to invoke your Guru

(master) and Ishta Devata first, when you sit for meditation for

their blessings and guidance and gratefully thank them again when you

finish the meditation. Gradually, increase the time of your

meditation. It is easier to relax your limbs of the body but not so

easy to relax your mind. This process of relaxation, stillness and

body awareness will automatically reduce the speed of your breathing,

which, in turn, will help in meditation. So many thoughts will cross

your mind now and then. They may even disturb you. Do not be afraid.

Try to remain calm and watch them with equanimity. Let them come, let

them go. Do not fight to free your mind from thought waves. Try to be

indifferent to them. But do not observe these thoughts with

equanimous mind. Gradually, automatically the flitting of thoughts

across the canvas of your mind will diminish. After sometime—sooner

than later—you will be absorbed in your Ishta-Devata if your

meditation is objective, or in your Being, if your meditation is

subjective. Once, you get the taste of it, believe me, you will like

to taste it more and more and more.

 

May God Almighty and All-merciful and the Most Revered Gurudev, help

you, THEY WILL.