Meditation is the method of actualizing what is always potential in our nature. Its aim is to achieve an integral consciousness. Meditation is essentially the cultivation of awareness. It is a joy of contemplation which gives the person the joy of self-discovery. Without the help of meditation, we cannot attain Knowledge of the SELF. Without its aid, we cannot grow into the divine state. Without it, we cannot even liberate ourselves from the trammels of the mind and attain immortality.
Meditation is an experience that cannot be described just as colours cannot be described to a blind man. All ordinary experiences are limited by the forces of the universe- (Life & Death, Fate & Chance, Space & Time), the law of cause and effect. Normal awareness and understanding do not transcend these bounds. Finite experiences cannot be transcendental, for it is measured in terms of past, present and future. These concepts of time are illusory, for they have no permanence. Immeasurably small and fleeting, the present cannot be grasped. |
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Both past and future are non-existent in the present, and therefore are unreal. We all live in illusion. The meditative state transcends all such limitations. In it there is neither past nor future, but only the consciousness of I am in the eternal NOW. The closest analogous state is deep meditation, in which there is neither space, time nor causation
Meditation is the only royal path to the attainment of freedom. It is therefore a very mysterious ladder which reaches from earth to heaven, from error to truth, from darkness to light, from pain to bliss, from restlessness to abiding peace and from ignorance to knowledge. Meditation is the practice by which there is constant observation of the mind. It involves setting aside a regular time and place for the specific purpose of discovering that infinite well of wisdom which lies within us.
Scientists estimate that the average person has conscious control of about ten percent of his mental power, while the rest lies hidden like the bulk of an iceberg floating beneath the surface. There are vast resources lying untapped below the surface of the conscious mind. The practice of meditation opens the gates of these latent resources and releases them for use. |
A proper foundation must be laid before the practice of meditation can be taken up in earnest, for the powers of the mind are elusive and unpredictable. Only if it is firm will the meditation be successful. It is difficult for us to establish a control over our mind. For gaining mastery over our mind, we have to know what the mind is, how it works, how it deceives us at every turn and by which methods it can be subdued. As long as the mind restlessly wanders about amidst objects, ever fluctuating, excited, agitated and uncontrolled, the true joy of the Self cannot be realized and enjoyed. If one can meditate by subjugating the mind, he can be the King of Kings.
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