At every instance, life teaches you the art of letting go. The more you learn to let go, the happier and freer you will be. Otherwise, you carry the same thoughts with you - wherever you go.
For example, say your thoughts are on the guru. Then, you think, “Gurudev looked at me! He talked to me!” or “He didn’t talk to me. He ignored me!”
When the mind is occupied with this chatter, how can it meditate? How does it matter whether the Master looked at you or not? Let it go! When you learn to let go, you will be joyful. The more joyful you are, the more blessings will come your way. To those who already have, more will be given. That is meditation.
As long as some desires linger in your mind, it cannot let go and be at total rest. Every desire and ambition is like a sand particle in your eyes, as it doesn’t allow you to open or shut your eyes. Either way, it is uncomfortable.
So, how can you overcome your desires to be able to let go?
1) Learn to discriminate
First of all, take a good look at your desires. How important are they really? If you are focussing on a small desire, know that it is futile. When you realize this, it is the beginning of maturity. The knowledge that what you have is nothing great is called discrimination.
2) Expand your desires
Another way of overcoming your desires is to expand them - make them BIG! Big desires won’t bother you. After all, only tiny sand particles irritate the eye; a big stone cannot get into it.
3) Practice dispassion
Dispassion is removing the particle of sand or dust from your eye, so that you can open and shut your eyes freely. It allows you to enjoy the world freely; you can relax and get relief from it freely.
You cannot get into yoga (union with Self) unless you drop the desires and hankerings in you.
- Lord Krishna, Bhagavad Gita
As long as you hold on to doing or planning something, your mind cannot settle.
4) Know that the world is impermanent
Do you understand the mechanics? It is like when you want to go to sleep. If you plan a number of activities at sleep time, you cannot enjoy a good sleep. To sleep, you must simply let go of everything. Only then will you be able to rest.
The same thing is true of activity as well. And when you want to sit for meditation, let go of everything. The best way to do this is to think or feel, “The world is disappearing, dissolving, and dead. I am dead!” Unless you are dead, you cannot meditate! For many, the mind doesn’t settle even after death! Wise are those, whose minds can settle, when they are alive.
What is it that you can hold on to? You cannot hold on to your body forever! It will bid you goodbye one day. You will, forcefully, be evicted from this world, with no prior notice! There won’t be time to pack your bags! What is it that you are looking for? Happiness, joy? Recognize that you are joy!
5) Meditate to experience the joy within
Any joy you experience in life is from the depth of your Self. It’s when you are able to let go, and settle down, that you can be centred. This act is called meditation.
Actually, meditation is the art of doing nothing. The rest in meditation is deeper than the deepest sleep that you have! In fact, it is several times deeper, because in sleep, desires still linger. However, in meditation, you transcend all desires. This brings coolness to the brain! It is like overhauling or servicing the whole body-mind complex.
So, let go of anger and events from the past, as well as your plans for the future. Meditation will enable you to accept the present moment, and live it fully.
You can learn to meditate with Sahaj Samadhi Meditation (SSM).
Based on The Space Within: Talks on meditation by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. If you would like to read the book, you can purchase it here.
