Meditation is doing nothing but...

We, the human beings stand out supreme amongst the creation and all the living beings as we possess the power of intellect. Though all living beings possess certain amount of intellect; which is just a gross intellect but they are mostly governed by their basic instincts. However, the humans possess the wisdom, the power of discrimination which makes them supreme as compared to animals and other living creatures. The human intellect is the faculty of thinking, reasoning, judging and deciding which operates through the mind. The mind and thoughts are interrelated but are separate entities. The mind is merely a continuous flow of thoughts. If thoughts are stopped, the mind still remains but it is in a inactive state. When we fall in deep sleep, the thought patterns cease but mind continues to experience a state of deep rest and only the pure consciousness remains. In the awakened state, the world is experienced though the mind. When there is no mind, the world disappears.  

PIC: artofliving.org

The habit of our mind is very peculiar. It cannot stop wandering from one thought to the other continuously. It usually remains totally in chaotic state. The thoughts wildly run in all directions, jumping from one thought to the other constantly like a wild monkey. It is like a whirlpool. The thoughts consume energy. Greater the whirlpool of thoughts, the greater the energy consumed. This creates an agitated state for the mind resulting in lots of energy waste in unproductive thought patterns. As a result, such person feels always tired and drained. This agitated state of mind can be stilled by constant practice and the waste of unproductive energy can be saved which then can be deployed in achieving certain greater goals in life.

How, to still the mind?  The process of stilling the mind is called the concentration. Concentration is directing the mind to do nothing and focusing on an object. Doing nothing but directing it to a focused object of choice is called the meditation. Thus meditation can be defined as doing nothing but focusing it on certain object of choice which can be the Supreme Lord. The meditation is the art of maintaining the mind in focus upon a chosen thought and excluding all other thoughts. There are many ways to focus the mind. The focusing of mind is the process of paying attention or concentrating the thought on certain object. One can focus on the breathing, keenly paying attention to the inhaling and exhaling process. Gradually, one would notice that the breathing gets rhythmic and slows down and down. After certain amount of practice, it is experienced that the attentions is automatically settles on the breathing without much efforts and a sense of deep relaxation sets in. One can also focus the mind on particular chanting like the sound of ‘Om’ by whispering it mentally. While doing such chanting mentally, it is again experienced that the chanting finally ends in silence and a sense of deep relaxation sets in. The silence, the sense of deep relaxation is the pure experience where the thoughts are ceased. And the cessation of thought flow results in a state of being-ness, a state of self awareness where the mind is extinct.  This is the state of pure consciousness and unalloyed joy. This is the state of realization of the pure self which is also called the Brahman.

Here we should notice that the flow of uncontrolled thoughts and focused controlled thoughts, both are nothing but the thoughts themselves. Uncontrolled thoughts are undisciplined mental indulgence while the focused and disciplined thoughts lead to mental concentration and meditation. Though both are the thoughts but the uncontrolled thoughts produce chaotic conditions while the focused thought, the process of meditation produces deep joy and self awareness. Chaotic thoughts lead to increase in desires and mental instability while the meditation leads to control and ceases the desires.

Meditation is a scientific technique invented by the great Indian sages over thousands of years of practice which leads one to exhaustion of the thoughts, a thoughtless state and ultimately uncovering the supreme self within. The beginners find it very hard to focus the thought on any particular object as the mind frequently and without any warning slips into different directions. Let it happens but be aware that the mind has slipped and just with full awareness bring it back to the desired track. After a prolonged practice the mind would be able to settle on the object with less frequent diversions. One has to use the intellect to bring the mind back to the meditation. This is a disciplined approach to practice meditation and after sufficient practice one would find that the meditation is just happening as soon as one sits for the meditation. It will result in the state of doing nothing mentally and joy of meditation will increase day by day.

The meditation is a process of purification of the clustered or wounded mind. It is also called the process of healing of the mind and the self. However, one cannot start the process of healing just by jumping in meditation and without altering and purifying the activities during the rest of the time while you are engaged in your daily chores. You cannot tell in meditation that speaking the truth is good for you while practicing the falsehood rest of the time. By practicing such hypocrisy, you will neither be able to heal the mind and the self, rather will incur harmful results. Purity of the body and mind is essential before the start of meditation if one really wants to gain the benefits of the meditation.

There are all-round benefits of practicing meditation. It increased overall mental and physical wellness. The person practicing it is always filled with joy and happiness. It leads to increased focus on the work one undertakes, greater efficiency in the work, happy family life and greater success. It also helps in lowering blood pressure and curing many physical and mental ailments. It helps in establishing the true relationship with the self and the world. Moreover, all these benefits come free, the only investment required is time, mental preparedness and purity of mind.