Chapter 4 Meditation: questions that arise   How does one begin to meditate?   Is a special posture and breathing exercises required?   Is it necessary to use a mantra?   What about the need for a guru?   What is the role of emotion and prayer in meditation?   Is it escapism? Is it selfish and antisocial?   Should it be done "effortlessly"?   Can it be misused?   Is meditation for everyone?   Useful books   Introduction How did meditation come to be recognized in the West as a practice vital to our well-being, like deep breathing, proper diet and exercise? It was not so, fifty years ago. Today you can find even M.D.s who are advocating and teaching methods of meditation. It was made popular in the mass media where the benefits and virtues of meditation were often expounded. A kind of revolution, too, took place in religion itself, revealing that the profound and exalted experiences of the saints and mystics are not the property of monks or nuns alone, but of women and men of every faith -- or no faith -- in the ordinary walks of life. Meditation means knocking on the door, so to speak, the door which leads into the experience of highest Truth. Countless aspirants have sat at that door over centuries, and we know that it has opened for many of them and they have gone through it into That for which there are many names: nirvana, samadhi, God-realization, Self-realization, etc. Let us look at some questions often asked by those who may be attracted by the idea of meditating but hesitating, perhaps, to start the process.   How does one begin to meditate? It is best to follow a structured method, using the same place and time of day if possible, and to look for a teacher. There are many methods, traditional and otherwise. A good teacher suits the method to the seeker. The important thing for all to realize is: you are not the mind. Our mind behaves very much like a naughty child; it has to learn obedience and become our instrument; it must cease to tyrannize over us. We want our thought to be steady "like a candle flame in a place where there is no breeze."   Is a special posture and breathing exercises required? It is true that there are exercises in both posture and breathing, practiced in the meditation traditions. Their purpose is to free you eventually from body-consciousness. But a sitting posture which can be held comfortably for some time and a deep, regular breathing can be recommended for all. Regularity is more important than anything else. To be serious about the art of meditation means to bring enough pattern into ones life so that it can be done at the same time every day and in the same place or places. Early morning is best. Dusk is also good. At those hours nature herself offers help. Have an attractive nook or corner or room where you can keep an appointment with your mind every day.   Is it necessary to use a mantra? No, but japa (repetition) of a mantra (special word or formula) is very helpful. It serves as an anteroom to meditation itself and can, like prayer, be resorted to when meditation seems difficult. Such mantras are given by a qualified teacher, but you need not wait for your own special one. "Om", for instance, is in the "public domain". A mantra is like a seed, small but having invisible potency. As Meister Eckhart said, "Nut seed grows into nut-trees; God-seed grows into God."   What about the need for a guru? Normally the search for a structure or system leads us to find formal instruction in it. Often there is the beginning of a relationship (called initiation) between the instructor and the student. This can be very fruitful if the teacher is well-advanced and the inquirer persistent. We should always remember that the true guru never binds us, but leads us to our true Self. This subject requires more ample treatment elsewhere.   What is the role of emotion and prayer in meditation? Those who believe in God as Personal (not necessarily having form, but endowed with beneficent qualities, responding and given to grace) should meditate on nothing less, and will want to cultivate a devotional attitude which will foster His/Her presence at the time of meditation. Prayer, in which can be included reading, repeating and dwelling upon hymns and scriptures, helps very much to prepare the mind for japa and meditation. As we grow spiritually, a prayerful attitude often develops naturally, even if our outlook is basically monistic. And Brother Lawrence, that popular spiritual counselor of generations of meditators, has said that the way to be close to God in our prayer time is not to get far away from him at other times.   Is it escapism? Is it selfish and antisocial? It is anything but that. There are some who ought to escape -- from this sinking ship they call their "existence"! As one of our Swamis has well said: "Be selfish -- to realize the Self!" But as anyone can see in the lives of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother, Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, and all the great meditators, one's social conscience and one's empathy with all creation are enhanced a thousand fold with the help of meditation. "Who burns with the bliss and suffers the sorrow of every creature within his own heart, making his own each bliss and each sorrow -- him I call highest among the yogis," says the Bhagavad Gita.   Should it be done "effortlessly"? In our opinion, it is neither so easy as some advocates proclaim, nor is it so difficult as many in the West seem to fear. The Vedanta teachers do not hold the TM view that meditation is a purely psychological technique, compatible with virtually any life-style. Success in the true purpose of meditation is closely related to peaceful living. If we take care of the context of meditation, the means, the end will follow. Says an Upanishad, "The Self, being hidden in all beings, is not manifest; but it can be seen by those whose discernment is sharp-pointed and subtle." At first we meditate on something outside, or an image of it in our heart. Then a time comes when we do not have to do so; an inner feeling comes, and we lose ourselves in that. The proof that we are going deeply into meditation is that we lose the consciousness of the outer world. Sometimes we feel too that we are separated from this body, that the real Being is within us and in everyone else as well. We feel that Being permeating the universe. Then you may feel that you are one with the whole universe, no longer separate from anything, and in that experience everything changes as you change too. Hindus are fond of using a variety of forms in achieving this state. Rama, Krishna, Kali, Shiva, Buddha, Christ and other divine forms to them are useful. Each is an expression of a tremendous state of being. The teacher will help you to find your Chosen Ideal.   Can it be misused? Meditation is a kind of concentration, so can it not be misused to strengthen the power for evil as much as for good? It can, and because there have always been such instances in history, as is sometimes said of Hitler, raja yoga prescribes meditation as suitable only for those who have followed and are following, basic moral principles and ethical codes. As the rich young man said to Jesus, "These things I have followed from my childhood."   Is meditation for everyone? As one great teacher observed, the pity about it is that those who could do it often don't want to, and those who want to often cannot. Like the rich young man, there are many, both religious and non-religious, who are prime candidates for this practice, but who do not understand the need for it nor the benefits it brings. But it is of no use to a person whose mind is a whirlwind and whose life habits are wild, to urge meditation. Such persons probably should not meditate. Here we are not being negative about meditation: we are only pointing out how it is part of a larger picture. Unlimited vistas lie ahead! All this can be done without risk and expensive and dangerous drugs. In fact, ultimately the latter work against high levels of spiritual experience. Some people worry: Will the wave (my individuality, my personal identity) be lost in this unfathomable Ocean through meditation? The concern, while understandable, is groundless. Wave and Ocean, both are water, after all and it is the water -- pure Spirit -- which is the Truth we are; both wave and Ocean are its products, so to say. Can you ever lose anything that you really are? "The more fully you become united with God, the more you become your own distinctive, unique self." This is the human-divine paradox.   Useful books: Meditation, by Monks of the Ramakrishna Order Yoga for Beginners, by Swami Gnaneswarananda Meditation and Spiritual Life, by Swami Yatiswarananda Toward the Goal Supreme, by Swami Virajananda The Eternal Companion, by Swami Prabhavananda   Aum | About | Calendar | Articles | Stories | On-line books Bulletin board | Books & tapes | Links | Search | Contact