What Meditation is and What It is Not
By Richard Pettinger
What is Meditation ? Is it sitting around doing Nothing?
During the past couple of decades there has been increased interest in meditation in the West. Meditation was brought into the public eye through people such as George Harrison. George Harrison for many years practiced transcendental meditation techniques. He was a real seeker who gained musical inspiration from Eastern spiritual traditions and his practise of meditation. Although meditation has been practiced by some Christian monks. Meditation is primarily associated with Eastern spiritual traditions and many people in the West still wonder what meditation is.
There is a new age joke which runs along the lines of:
"My son used to sit around doing nothing, but now he has taken up meditation."
I think this joke is funny. Well at least its better than the joke about the meditator who told his dentist that he didn't want any painkillers because he wished to transcend dental medication. Real meditation though is quite different from just sitting quietly for 5-10 minutes. Outwardly nothing seems to happen in meditation. But although it is hard to explain, meditation is actually a very dynamic experience. We feel very awake with a heightened sense of our true nature. We see the world through a new more illumining perspective.
In meditation we make our mind completely calm and quiet. With the greatest vigilance we stop any distracting thoughts from entering the mind. By emptying. The mind of its usual restlessness, thoughts and emotions then we can allow the inner peace and joy of meditation to enter into our mind and heart. As Sri Chinmoy says:
"When the mind is vacant and tranquil and our inner being can invoke infinite peace, light, and bliss to enter into the vessel and fill it. This is meditation"
Another curious thing about meditation is that when we meditate very powerfully it does not feel like we are making any conscious effort. This seems counter-intuitive because to achieve anything we are used to striving hard. Meditation however is quite a different exercise. In meditation we are not using the power of the mind at all. We are seeking to bring the fore our own inner self or soul.
"What happens is that when we go deep within, we see that it is not our effort that is allowing us to enter into meditation. It is the Supreme who is meditating in and through us with our conscious awareness and consent."
- Sri Chinmoy
However that does not mean we need to make no effort at all. In the beginning we do have to follow sincerely certain disciplines. Our main job is to "unlearn" certain habits of the mind. Our main task is to stop the mind from interfering. If we can make our mind calm and still then our inner being will spontaneously begin to meditate. It is in this quite and silent mind that we are able to experience the fruits of meditation and discover for ourselves the real essence of meditation.
To practice meditation it is not necessary to follow a particular belief system. Meditation is a spiritual practice that transcends religious and philosophy. At the same time there are many different ways that people can meditate. What is the right way to meditate for one person is not necessarily the right thing for somebody else. However the different forms of meditation are all leading in the same direction. In essence, meditation involves raising a person's consciousness. When one masters the art of meditation you can feel a more illumining and fulfilling state of mind. The ultimate aim of meditation is to experience union with God. This is described in different way such as enlightenment, Nirvana or self realization. But ultimately it is state far beyond thoughts and therefore cannot be described by a mere word.
In the hoary past, sincere aspirants would often cut themselves off from the world and meditate in caves, free from the distractions of the world. However meditation should not be seen as an escape from the world. In meditation we aspire to reach a state where we are not distracted by the world, but this is quite different to cutting ourselves off from the world. We can travel to the most remote cave in the Himalayas. On an outer level there may be absolute silence, but wherever we travel we cannot escape our own thoughts and mind. Meditation is at heart a practical subject. We should practise meditation where we are and whatever our circumstances. If we wait for outer circumstances to be advantageous we may never make a start in meditation.
Richard is a member of the Sri Chinmoy Centre Richard writes various articles on meditation and spirituality and updates a blog which includes comedy videos.
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