Understanding Meditation

The higher goals in life can only be realized through a few minutes of meditation and introspection.

What is meditation?
Mind without agitation is meditation.
Mind in the present moment is meditation.
Mind that has no hesitation, no anticipation is meditation.
Mind that has come back to the source is meditation.
Mind that becomes ''No Mind'' is meditation.

The deeper you are able to rest, the more dynamic you will be in activity. Even though deep rest and dynamic activity are opposite values, they are complementary. Before the body leaves you, you learn to leave everything. That is freedom. What are you looking for?
Are you looking for some great joy? YOU ARE JOY!

I will give you an example. Have you seen dogs biting bones?
You know why they bite bones?

Biting creates wounds in their mouth. Their own blood comes out and the dogs feel that the bone is very tasty! Poor dogs spend the whole time chewing the bone but getting nothing out of it! Any joy you experience in life is from the depth of yourself, when you let go all that you hold on to and settle down being centered in that space. That is called meditation. Actually, meditation is not an act, it is the art of doing nothing! The rest in meditation is deeper than the deepest sleep that you can ever have, because in meditation you transcend all desires.

Meditation is letting go of anger from the past and all the planning for the future.

Meditation is accepting this moment and living every moment totally with depth. Just this understanding, and a few days of continuous practice of meditation can change the quality of our life. The best comparison of the three states of consciousness-waking, sleeping and dreaming is with nature. Nature sleeps, awakens and dreams! It happens in a magnificent scale in existence, and it is happening in a different scale in the human body. Wakefulness and sleep are like sunrise and darkness. Dream is like the twilight in between.
And meditation is like the flight to the outer space, where there is no sunset, no sunrise, nothing!

I am sure that deep within, every one of you feel that you have not grown, meaning you have not changed, not grown old. This indicates the soul in you, the depth in you, the spirit in you doesn't change, doesn't grow old, it's not aging. The body is aging but something in you is not aging. Getting in touch with that something that doesn't age, brings beauty in life. That is mediation.

First published in 25 Ways To Improve Your Life

 
Founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,The Art of Living is an educational and humanitarian movement engaged in stress-management and service initiatives.Read More