How To Meditate? Part-1 By Sri Swami Venkatesananda

[Guest guest]

Radhe Krishna To All,

 

Happy Independence Day Wishes To All,

 

 

So many textbooks are available on meditation nowadays that everyone has some

idea of what it is all about. In brief, meditation is the most wonderful

adventure: ‘Discovery of self’. Meditation enables us to enjoy consciously

the peace, happiness and revitalisation that we unconsciously have in sleep.

Meditation lifts us above the cares and anxieties of our daily life, it enables

us to overcome our moral weaknesses and evil habits and thus transform our very

life. By dispelling ignorance, meditation removes all our morbid and childish

fears and leads us to the hall of divine light, where we perceive our self as

the immortal essence of all existence, where we realize that we are at once

linked in a bond of eternal love with all creation. By enabling us to get in

tune with this cosmic substratum and so with others, meditation gives us

supernatural powers. Unless these powers (of whose existence we are not

conscious and which we shall not deliberately

use) become natural to us, they should be shunned as distractions.

 

‘An ounce of practice is better than tons of theory’. The following simple

procedure will in due course enable you to enjoy deep meditation

1. Select a calm, quiet, clean and secluded spot or a room or corner of a room

in your house reserved for this purpose. Sit there (preferably facing east—the

sun rises in the east—or north—there is a great power in the north pole),

with a symbol of God or a lighted lamp or candle, placed at eye-level. The best

posture is, of course, the lotus posture; if you cannot do this, sit in any

comfortable posture with your body erect. The yogi wants you to keep the back

straight. All sorts of interesting reasons have been given, and one might be of

interest to you. If the small of the back is held in, your back is naturally

straighter than before. It seems to promote alertness of the mind. The moment

you slouch and the small of the back shoots backwards and the spine curves

forward your alertness is gone. The best time to meditate is from 4 to 6 a.m.,

but if this is not possible do this as soon as you wake up. It is good to have a

quick bath; if this is not

possible (without loss of the good morning hour), have a quick wash of hands,

feet and face.

 

2. Chant a few hymns or offer your own prayer (audibly) to the lord: this is

like switching the radio on and tuning it. Raise the mind to a higher level.

Imagine you are in the presence of god. This may appear to be self-hypnotism,

but the results are astounding.

 

3. Become aware that you are seated in your room or wherever it is. You are now

aware of even your body’s contact with the seat. The knowledge ‘I am sitting

here’ ensures that the mind is also here and does not wander away. If the

attention tends to wander, gently but firmly bring it back: ‘I am sitting

here.’ Become aware of the sensation of the hands resting on your knees or in

your lap. Immediately the attention is brought within the body and once the

attention is narrowed down, the whole inside seems to be illuminated. You

realise that just one thing is happening—breathing. You are breathing.

 

4. Chant ‘om’ deeply, concentrating on the solar plexus, feeling that the

sound vibrations arise from there. Feel that these sound vibrations travel

upwards towards the crown of the head, through the vagus nerve. They actually

will. When they reach the throat-region close your lips and continue ommmmmmm

and let the sound fade out at the crown of the head. Do this three or six times.

 

5. It is one of those ironies of life that we seem to be interested in so many

wonderful things in this world without paying the least attention to the

greatest wonder which is breathing. It is because we are breathing that we are

alive, that we are able to enjoy life. It is a supreme wonder. Ask yourself:

" What makes you breathe out and having exhaled—what makes you inhale again? "

What makes one take the next breath, or in other words, how does the breathing

go on? When you pay attention to this you have forgotten where you are sitting.

That is, the attention has gone still deeper within yourself and is now ready to

go even deeper down. Breathe normally, effortlessly. At the same time, close the

glottis a little bit, so that the breath itself produces some sound. (It is not

the vocal cords but the glottis that helps to produce this sound.) Let this

sound also fade away and not stop abruptly. You will find that your mind follows

this sound and " goes

inwards. " You may do ujjayi or bhramari pranayama.

 

 

Regards & Chant

 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

 

------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------

If you have any questions or doubts concerning Spirituality, Mental peace or

problems in life or about dharma, please write to us by clicking here:

 

http://www.namadwaar.org/answers/askquestion.php

 

His Holiness Sri Sri Swamiji personally answers these questions for you and

suggests prayers.

----------- --------- --------- --------- ---------