Steps for Meditation
Spirituality in practice is identifying myself with my Inner Higher Self. Everything else we do is good so far as it leads to this one grand idea. That realisation is to be attained by meditation – the transcending the limitations of all the senses, cutting the knots of the mind and heart, that bind us to matter.
How is it to be attained? Get hold of the mind. The mind is like a lake and every stone that drops into it raises waves. These waves do not let us see what we are. The full moon is reflected in the water of the lake, but the surface is so disturbed that we do not see the reflection clearly. Let it be calm. Do not let nature raise the wave. Keep quiet and then after a little while she will give you up. Then we know what we are. Our Divine Inner Self is ever-present but because the mind is so agitated, always running after the senses, we struggle to see/feel it. These waves are stopped by the power of meditation.
Other than our infinite spirit, everything else is changing. We live in a whirl of change where permanence is nowhere except within yourself. Only within is unchanging infinite joy. Meditation is the gate that opens that to us. The power of meditation separates ourselves from the body allowing the Divine Inner Self (our eternal Being) to prevail. Beyond misery and pain, we experience perfect freedom.
There are very fine laws that lie behind the physical laws, as we know. That is to say, there are no such realities as a physical world, a mental world, a spiritual world. Whatever is, is one. Let us say, it is a sort of tapering existence; the thickest part is here, it tapers and becomes finer and finer. The finest is what we call spirit; the grossest, the body. And just as it is here in microcosm, it is exactly the same in the macrocosm. The universe of ours is exactly like that; it is the gross external thickness, and it tapers into something finer and finer until it becomes a Pure Consciousness of the nature of Infinite Existence, Knowledge and Bliss within us.
Practise Meditation
The following are general notes and guidelines on meditation. The principles of meditation are universal, being based on the essential nature of all beings. However, in practice the process of meditation is customised to suit the culture and spirituality and mental makeup of the individual. Hence the use of “Om” and Koru in the presentation below is for illustration only; the practice allows for flexibility for personal choices.
The goal is to empower the individual to access the infinite powers within us all so that we have greater inner poise and balance and be connected with others at a deeper level of Oneness which then manifests in sharing, caring, love, empathy, compassion etc. The method is to practise mind management techniques and skills to harness the power within us.
The highest ideal of every man is the realisation of the Divine Inner Self. Ignorant or wise, good or bad, man or woman, educated or uneducated, cultivated or uncultivated, to every human being the highest ideal is their Divine Inner Self. The synthesis of all the highest ideals of beauty, of sublimity, and of power gives us the most complete conception of the loving and lovable Inner Self.
01 Best time to practice Meditation
The best is to practise at least twice every day and the optimum times being towards the morning and the evening. When night passes into day and day into night, a state of relative calmness ensues. The early morning and the early evening are the two periods of calmness. Your body will have a like tendency to become calm at those times and the mind remains highly imbued with pure ideas. We should take advantage of that natural condition and begin then to practise.
02 Importance of a special place for meditation
It is deal is to have a room/space dedicated for meditation practice. Best too is to enter the space bathed and are perfectly clean in body and mind. Place flowers and pleasing pictures there. Maybe burn incense there morning and evening. Nurture a calm atmosphere in that space/room making it a serene haven for when you are miserable, sorrowful, doubtful or your mind is disturbed. Those who cannot afford to have a room set apart can practise anywhere they like. Try to always feel the living presence of the Divinity in that space.
03 Pray the welfare of all
Sit in a straight posture and the first thing to do is to send a current of holy thought to all creation. Mentally repeat, "Let all beings be happy; let all beings be peaceful; let all beings be blissful." Send out your thoughts to the east, south, north and west for the wellbeing of all. The more you do that the better you will feel yourself. You will find at last that the easiest way to make ourselves healthy is to see that others are healthy and the easiest way to make ourselves happy is to see that others are happy.
04 Seat and posture
Choose a regular seat for your meditation on which you can sit comfortably for at least half an hour, preferably one hour. If you cannot sit cross legged, then you may sit on a chair without leaning back. Comfortably keep the chest, neck and head in a straight line but do not strain yourself.
05 Visualise health and strength
Then the next thing to do is to think of your own body and see that it is strong and healthy; it is the best instrument you have. Think of it as being as strong and that with the help of this body you will attain freedom. Freedom is never to be reached by the weak. Throw away all weakness. Tell your body that it is strong, tell your mind that it is strong and have unbounded faith and hope in yourself.
06 Rhythmic breathing exercise
Breathe deeply in a rhythmic manner. Imagine that you inhale the light of purity, knowledge, divine virtues, illumination and peace that removes anxiety, ignorance, stress, negative emotions etc. The word Om contains in itself all the words that can possibly be uttered by anyone. It is the most universal sound energy. It neutralises all mental disturbances and tunes the mind to the inner Consciousness. When the mind resonates with the inner Consciousness through concentrated and silent repetition of Om, the Divine Energy begins to flow from within and this nourishes and heals the mind and body. The duration of each phase of breathing is to be regulated. Instead of counting one, two, three etc. it is better to repeat "Om" which means the Divine Spirit and Energy within us. Breathe in for four counts of Om, then again throw it out slowly in four counts of Om.
All knowledge depends upon calmness of mind. Within us lies the strength of a lion – the eternally pure, illumined and ever-free Self and each of us can directly realise ‘It’ through meditation and concentration at which point, this world of relativity vanishes.
07 Visualisation of the Divine within
Imagine that your soul as a pure subtle body, a pure mental body and a pure physical body. Visualise a koru or fresh fully bloomed lotus within you in the region of the heart. Think of a space in your heart and in the midst of that space think of a calm and soothing light spreading its radiance in all directions. Think of that light as your own Inner Self and inside the light is another effulgent light and that is the Soul of your soul - the very embodiment of all love, grace, compassion, knowledge, bliss, peace, strength.
This could simply be pure light, or if you want, any Divine form of your choice - an all-knowing eternal companion whose power and consciousness you align to. If you love a any Divine Being, then visualise their luminous presence within your heart.
Harmonise your breathing. Visualise that:
a. The Light of knowledge dispels the darkness of ignorance.
b. The Light of peace removes all inner disturbances and fills your whole being with serenity and tranquillity.
c. The Light of Purity removes all imperfections and fills your whole being with sacred serenity.
d. The Light of Bliss fills your whole being with joy and happiness.
e. The Light of strength removes all weaknesses and fills your whole being with infinite strength.
f. You are full of light, knowledge, strength, purity, peace, joy and all excellence.
08 Focus ... Meditate
There is the infinite joy within us. Meditation is the gate that opens that to us. Prayers, ceremonials, and all the other forms of worship are simply the beginnings of meditation. Meditation brings us nearer to truth than anything else. The concentrated mind is a lamp that shows us every corner of the Inner Self. Meditation is the focusing of the mind on our inner Self. If the mind acquires concentration on one object, it can be so concentrated on any object whatsoever. The greatest help to life is meditation. In meditation we dive deep within ourselves and connect to the infinite ocean of knowledge and bliss.
With devotion, alertness and concentration of mind repeat the Om or a Divine mantra and if you identify with the divine, then visualise their divine presence in your heart. Otherwise maybe visualise pure light like an unflickering flame. Do this for as long as comfortably possible. Why mantra? There’s great power in repeated sacred words. It quells the busy mind. Whenever the mind drifts away to other thoughts, bring it back to the name (Om) and form of the deity within. As you persevere in your practice in a disciplined and devoted manner, concentration of mind will develop and you will begin to feel inner peace and joy and strength.
09 Communicate with the Divine Spirit within
At the end of the meditation offer the results of your meditation as well as yourself to your Divine Inner Self. Feel that as a living and loving presence within you who will be your protector and inner guide to all your activities.
10 Practise, practise, practise
One ounce of practice is worth twenty thousand tons of big talk. To succeed, you must have tremendous perseverance, tremendous will. "I will drink the ocean," says the persevering soul "at my will mountains will crumble." Have that sort of energy, that sort of will, work hard and you will reach the goal.
If one perseveres with great earnestness and sincerity, spiritual growth will come to you. Have faith in your Divine compassionate Inner Self and do not despair
How are we to know that the mind has become concentrated? The idea of time will vanish. The more time passes unnoticed the more concentrated we are. For instance, when we are interested in a book we do not note the time at all; and when we leave the book, we are often surprised to find how many hours have passed. Such is the experience of a concentrated mind. .