Today, the word meditation has become familiar to almost any common person, and various teachers offer a range of practices – sometimes for a costly reward. Yet, there are still many misconceptions about what meditation truly means. To embark on this wondrous journey of inner evolution, it is essential to understand the fundamentals: How do we define meditation, and why should we meditate?
Let us begin by clarifying what meditation is not. Closing your eyes and sitting in Padmāsana (lotus posture) for long hours, chanting mantras, or practising prānāyāma are not meditation. People around the world spend money to learn what is often called "meditation," yet in many cases, they are simply learning breathing techniques. However, meditation is not a technique you can learn or practice. So, if these are not meditation, what is?
Meditation Is Like a Fruit
Meditation is the natural outcome of a process that you have followed. Have you ever experienced the fragrance that fills the air when semolina is being roasted for halwa? It is so strong that even if someone in your neighbourhood is making halwa, you cannot help but smell it. But try to pack that fragrance and sell it, it will be impossible. Nor can you order it on the phone from a restaurant, “Please send me two packs of halwa fragrance”. It does not work like that. The fragrance is born only once the semolina is roasted in ghee.
Meditation is like the fragrance that arises from doing certain sādhanās (spiritual practices). These practices include prānāyāma, mantra japa, āsanās, prayer, kirtan, or just being in love with your Guru and the Divine. There are countless ways that ultimately lead to a state we can call meditation. Prānāyāma or mantra japa on their own are not meditation, but they can lead you toward it. Similarly, sitting quietly and observing your breath is not meditation in itself, but if practised sincerely, it will lead you to that state. There is a book called Vigyān Bhairav Tantra, in which Devi Parvati asks her husband Shiva to explain the path of meditation. Recorded by one of Shiva’s disciples, Bhairav, the book contains 112 techniques, and virtually any meditative practice ever devised has its roots in that book.
Incessant Thinking
To understand meditation, we must first examine the current state of your mind. Right now, it is constantly oscillating – thinking about the past, anticipating the future, or distracted by circumstances and bodily sensitivities. And this mental activity happens at such a high speed that one moment it may be in Ahmedabad, and the next, it could be in the USA worrying about a politician’s foreign policy.
This constant stream of thinking is fed by the inputs you receive from media and advertising, which sell you dreams about a golden future. On-screen, you see a handsome man falling in love with a beautiful girl in scenic Switzerland, and you soon fantasise about living such a love story yourself. Advertisements tell you: Wear this brand of watch, and Miss Universe will fall for you; Use this shampoo, and you will look like a Casanova! Your mind absorbs these ideas unnoticed. And as you accumulate your own experiences, the mental stockpile grows. Can you imagine how much fodder your mind has to think about?
The mind constantly desires – wealth, pleasure, a beautiful partner, the best food, and thrilling experiences. Essentially, your mind is a machine that is always in motion, looking for entertainment through the senses. And once you sleep, it will dream and live out whatever you could not be while awake. The mind will simulate and experience a private world within itself. The only time your mind rests is in deep sleep, but then, you are not aware that it is not thinking! In Sanskrit, this state is called sushupti, meaning “hidden”, where the mind is veiled in the darkness of unconsciousness.
Thoughtless, Yet Wide Awake
Simply put, meditation is the state where all thought ceases. But here, the mind is not veiled by darkness; the consciousness is sharp and alert. In this state, your mind is free of thoughts, memories and emotions. It becomes as tranquil as a lake when there is no wind and the surface is absolutely still. So still, as if it has turned into a mirror, which reflects the mountains and trees crystal clear.
Real Joy Is Within
Your mind finds happiness in hearing good music, seeing beauty, wearing fine clothes, smelling pleasant fragrances, and tasting delicious food. Now, take away hearing, seeing, touching, smelling and eating – but take the goodness of all. Sensory interaction with the world has ceased, yet you experience happiness.
The right term for this pure happiness would be paramānanda. Param means absolute, and ānanda refers to unconditional happiness, independent of anything external. When you experience pure happiness from within, that is meditation. There is nothing over there – if we divide the English word nothing into two parts, then it will be no thing. So meditation is no thing! Nothing but paramānanda.
See, all the joys you ordinarily experience come from something, never from nothing. Of course, there will be sparks of happiness when you get what you want – getting married, winning the lottery, having children, or receiving a raise – but these joys are fleeting. You only settle for these impermanent joys because you do not yet know where the permanent joy lies. But meditation gives you this access. That is why every human mind needs to learn this art of accessing unconditional, permanent joy.
Turning Inwards
However, this can be experienced only when you train your senses properly and employ your wisdom. Instead, we usually live by urges, the most dominant being three: food, sex and sleep. Bereft of wisdom, you are no different from animals. In this regard, animals are smarter than humans because they eat and sleep on time and have a good family life. Birds, for example, stop chirping promptly at night, rest in their nests, and are up before sunrise without an alarm clock. And no animal has high blood pressure, heart disease, brain stroke or diabetes! So, who is wiser – the animal kingdom or the present human race?
Your senses are constantly drawn outward, to the objective world. And when you cannot get the desired things, your mind begins fantasising about them. This outward orientation of the senses robs you of your wisdom. Your intellect and wisdom are compromised by your desires (vāsanās) and hunger for sense objects. Because of this, you lose the opportunity to turn inward, as your wisdom has already been diverted. Your senses have become the Guru, and your mind is merely the disciple! When the mind follows the demands of the senses, how can it ever be quiet and still?
You may practice various techniques, but if your mind still craves external joys, meditation will not happen. Without the right knowledge and wisdom, whatever you may do will not lead you to this totally joyful state. Some people repeat their mantra from dawn to dusk, because someone has told them to do it, and yet remain ignorant.
The Nectar of the Self
God, or Parabrahman, is not somewhere external to you. Although religious priests would like you to believe that God resides in a certain place – Kailash, Vrindavan, Kashi, or the Harmandir. Every religion has picked a spot to be the holiest of all. But let me tell you, the Lord is not outside of you. This cosmic consciousness is the very foundation of your mind. In other words, the eternal, conscious, omniscient, and omnipresent reality that is infinite and absolute – this is Parabrahman. Your mind is in the lap of Parabrahman, whose temperament is to be blissful!
What a strange paradox: the mind is in the lap of paramānanda – absolute bliss – yet it still seeks small specs of joy in the world. And it is subject to so many disturbances, emotional insecurities and fears, where you could have lived blissfully, with abundance and liberty. That is what moksha (emancipation) is. I am not giving you anything which you do not already possess; you have just forgotten. If you want to drink a cup of tea, but you do not have sugar in your home and stores are closed, then the only way is to knock at the neighbour’s door and ask for it. But if you have sugar at home, would you still knock at the neighbour’s door? No, certainly you would not.
Meditation implies now you know where the real joy is and stop hankering for the objective world. Meditation is getting the joy out of no thing, in your divine being alone. A mind that is tasting the nectar of the Self, this mind can be called to be in the state of meditation. The whole path of sādhanā is just for claiming this treasure of pure joy, which is your birthright.
