Meditation is, both, a process and a state of mind.
It is the process of going inwards. It can happen at any point in time – while you sit cross-legged with your eyes closed, while you are staring at a distance while driving, observing a natural scenery or even staring blankly at a wall while waiting in a long queue – any time!
This brings us to the second part – state of mind. What we call ‘meditation’ is a state of mind in which we withdraw from any conscious activity and just observe our thoughts and emotions – from a distance.
We all have, knowingly or unknowingly, experienced meditation at some point in time. This comes naturally to us as human beings. However, to ensure the best results it is advisable to be regular in our practice and follow certain guidelines. These have been tried, tested, and perfected by our ancient sages over thousands of years. In many ways, they are our heritage.
Let’s have a look at them:
1. Setting the mood
- Place: Choose a clean, quiet, and cool place.
- Posture: Sit cross-legged on a mattress or a yoga mat on the floor with your back straight. Ensure that the floor is flat and firm. (If you are not comfortable sitting cross-legged or have knee problems, you could sit on a chair or bed.)
- Process: Close your eyes and gently bring your attention to your breath. Observe the sound it makes, observe the flow of air entering and leaving your system, notice its temperature. Observe all the thoughts and emotions that run through you.
The technique here is to use the breath as an anchor to keep our mind in the present moment. We practice meditation, again and again, to train our minds to get into the habit of staying in the present moment.
Peace, happiness, focus, alertness, emotional stability, relaxation, etc are all by-products that blossom on their own with meditation.
What, then, is the main goal of meditation? Nothing.
2. There are three golden rules of meditation:
- I want nothing: For the 15-20 minutes of meditation, let go of all desires – including the desire to let go of all desires! After 15-20 minutes, you can have all that you want, be it that red velvet cheesecake, your favorite series on Netflix, dipping into your social media accounts or meet-ups. Just park it for 15-20 minutes.
- I will do nothing: In the realm of the mind, efforts are inversely proportional to results. The less effort you put, the more results you produce…. Voila! Hence, do not get entangled with thoughts and emotions that run through you, just observe… as if you are sitting on a park bench and watching the children play.
- I am nothing: If you think you’re somebody great, a fool, rich, or poor - you can’t meditate. If you think you are somebody great or somebody hopeless, there is no way you can settle down to the deepest core of the being. To settle into the consciousness, of which all of us are made up, this must be our initial step. It is the journey from sound to silence.
3. Which type of meditation to do?
As a beginner, one can easily get confused or even overwhelmed by the plethora of meditation types and techniques that are available.
However, unless you learn a specific technique from a teacher in person, the best alternative is to take the help of guided meditations. Guided meditations are a set of instructions from a trained teacher. You have to simply plug in your earphones and follow the instructions. You could explore this guided meditation and commit to a daily practice. Just 20 minutes and you will see the difference!
Join live meditation sessions with Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar or meditate with the recorded videos on srisri.org/live
