Meditation – Preparing for Meditation

A guide to Bhagawan’s teachings on Meditation

Offering the flower of love to the Lord

Meditation is a process that takes place beyond the senses. Between the concentration at the sensory level and meditation that is above the senses, there is a borderline where chintana (contemplation) takes place. Contemplation is the second half of chit (intellect), whose other function is discrimination between right and wrong.

An illustration will make this clear. There is a rose plant, with branches, leaves, flowers, and thorns. Locating the place where there is a flower calls for concentration. At this stage, we are concerned only with locating the flower. But the flower has to be plucked without touching the thorns. Love is the flower. Lust is the thorn. There is no rose without a thorn. How to get at the flower of Love without touching the thorn of lust is the problem. This is where contemplation is needed. Having plucked the flower, how shall we use it? By offering it to the Divine.

Meditation means offering the flower of love to the Divine. In the rose plant of our body, there is the rose of pure and sacred Love emitting the fragrance of good qualities. Below the rose, however, there are thorns in the form of sensual desires. The purpose of meditation is to separate the rose of selfless love from the senses and offer it to the Lord.

Concentration, contemplation, and meditation

Concentration is below senses; meditation is beyond senses. We must travel from below senses to beyond senses. So, when we set out from what is below senses through concentration, we reach the stage of contemplation. And when we cross the boundaries of contemplation, we reach the area of meditation. So there are three stages, concentration, contemplation, and meditation. Concentration can be compared to the state of “One you think you are”. “One others think you are” is contemplation. Meditation enables us to recognize the state of “One you really are”.

Forgetting the feeling of body identification

Supposing you sit for meditation, closing your eyes. However, the mind goes on wandering everywhere. You try to bring it back to the starting point. It is all a practice. It is only when the wavering mind is stilled that meditation is possible. This process of making the mind steady is called concentration. Meditation is possible only after concentration. The proper order is concentration, contemplation and meditation. If someone claims that he is meditating the moment he sits, it should not be believed. That is an artificial exercise, not meditation. Real meditation is forgetting oneself totally. It is forgetting dehātma bhāva (the feeling of identification with the body) completely. One has to totally give up attachment to the senses. Then only the mind will be steady.

Experience of Oneness with God

In meditation, there are three aspects: the one who is doing the meditation (i.e. the subject), the object of meditation (i.e. God), and the act or process (i.e. the rapport that the subject is trying to establish with the object). Proper meditation or the culmination of meditation occurs when the three factors —meditator, object of meditation, and act of meditation– coalesce and merge into one. In the state of meditation, the meditator, the object of his meditation and the process of meditation have fallen away and there is only One, and that One is God. All that may change has fallen away, and That Thou Art (“Tat Twaṃ Asi”) is the state that exists. It is an experience of unity (without the meditator being conscious of himself). [Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba: by Dr.John Hislop]

Sathya Sai Baba’s Words on the Importance of Meditation

Teaching Meditation

Can anyone teach meditation?

Can anyone train another in meditation? Or claim to train? It may be possible to teach a person the posture, the pose, the position of the legs, feet, or hands, neck, head or back, the style of breathing, or its speed. But meditation is a function of the inner man; it involves deep subjective quiet, the emptying of the mind and filling oneself with the Light that emerges from the divine Spark within. This is a discipline that no textbook can teach and no class can communicate.

Pray for guidance from within

You need not rely on another for success in mediation and soft repetition of the name (dhyāna and japa) and await contact with some sage in order to get from him a mantra for recitation. Pray to the God within, and you will receive guidance.

Schedule for Meditation

Regular, sincere and steady practice

Train yourself to waken when Brāhma-muhūrta begins—that is to say, at 3.00 a.m. You may require an alarm clock at first for the job; but soon, the urge for meditation (dhyāna) will rouse you. Do not take a bath before you sit for meditation, for the ritual of the bath will arouse the senses and you will be too full of pulls in different directions for the process of meditation to succeed. Regularity, sincerity, steadiness–these will reward you with success.

Half an hour in the morning, and half an hour in the evening

Brāhma-muhūrta means early morning, between 3 – 6 a.m. It means that the senses are quiet, not yet agitated by the day and the mind is quiet from sleep. But the hour should not be taken and changed around, taking one time today and another time tomorrow. A half-hour in the morning and a half-hour in the evening is enough for sitting meditation. [Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba –by Dr.John Hislop]

[Editor: However, it is not something that one does by sitting for a couple of minutes or hours. Contemplation of the Lord should be always at all places. Sri Ramana Maharshi was once asked, “How long should one practice meditation? 15 or 30 or 45 minutes or an hour?’ His reply was, ‘You should continue doing it till you forget that you are meditating. As long as you are conscious (physically aware) that you are meditating, it is no meditation at all.” The consciousness of body and mind and the thought of yourself should become totally extinct. The experience of only the object of your meditation should subsist, i.e. nothing else but the presence of divinity. The state of meditation is experiencing but without the consciousness that you are experiencing.]

Posture for Meditation

Sitting straight is important

Sitting straight is important. Between the 9th and 12th vertebrae is the life-force. If the spine is injured at this point, paralysis occurs. If the body is in a straight position, as if it were wound around a straight pole, the life force may rise up through the straight body and give the quality of intense concentration to the mind. Moreover, just as a lightning rod attached to the roof of a building attracts lightning, in like fashion, a perfectly straight body provides a conductor, so to speak, for divine power to enter the temple of your body and give you the strength to accomplish your task and reach your goal. As another example, the divine power is always here, just as radio signals are here. But to hear the radio music there must be an antenna. Further, if the tuning device is not properly adjusted, there will just be some sound but no music. In like fashion, the divine power, which is always present, may flow into you if the meditation is correct and the body straight. [Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba –by Dr.John Hislop]

One should not sit on a bare floor

You should not sit on bare ground. You should sit on either a wooden plank or on a mat or something like that. Not only that, but you also should not sit on a bare wooden plank. You should spread a piece of cloth over it. In the beginning, you should attempt to make a start with a wooden plank that is above the ground at least by half an inch. There are some reasons for taking a wooden plank. The reasons are that the earth has got the power of conduction and diffusion. When you sit in meditation, because through you is passing the current of divine strength on account of your Dhyana, on account of the attraction which the earth has, you should not get disturbed. Therefore you have got to have a plank. When we lay an electric wire inside a house, we also have a specially constructed wire which is called the earth wire and which is put into the earth. Likewise, we should regard our bodies as our house. While thus in the house of our body we are in the process of giving rise to and establishing the divine current, we should take all precautions that are necessary by insulating ourselves from the earth and by preventing the power or the strength in you from flowing away or dissipating into the earth. That is why our ancients have taught us that we should sit on a plank.

16. Meditation

Devotee: Swami, I have a few doubts concerning the subject of meditation (dhyana), which You are now writing about. Can I ask You?

Swami: Of course, you can ask and have your doubts removed. It is good for you and it gives Me joy.

Devotee: Some people practise meditation, but they are unable to know whether the mediation has progressed or not. What do You say about that?

Swami: Progress in meditation means attainment of concentration (ekagratha). Each one can judge for oneself, without doubt, how far one has been able to succeed in concentration, right?

Devotee: Some say that they see all sorts of things during meditation, and some hear all types of sounds. Do these indicate progress?

Swami: They are delusions. They handicap progress. They implant conceit and disperse concentration. The distraction of sights and sounds is no sign of meditation.

Devotee: Then what is to be done when such are seen?

Swami: Don’t allow the mind to wander on to them; never lose sight of the divine form that you have pictured for yourself. Be convinced that these are but obstacles designed to scatter your attention from the divine form. If you permit these sights and sounds to creep in, the original form will be dimmed, your ego (ahamkara) will increase, and you will lose your way.

Devotee: But Swami, some people do say that these things are signs of progress in meditation!

Swami: That means only that they themselves are not practising meditation properly! Besides, not knowing what meditation is, they delude their disciples by talking like this, to please them. That is the only profit earned.

Devotee: Well, does it mean then that, by means of meditation, we cannot see the Lord?

Swami: Why not? Certainly, it is possible. If you fix your attention on the sublimely beautiful form of the Lord and concentrate on That alone, you will receive His grace in that form Itself in various ways. While doing so, many a disturbance might intervene. You should not be deluded; be on your guard, never forget the auspicious form. Picture to yourself that all creation is immersed in it.

Devotee: But really, can we not know at anytime what stage we have reached in meditation (dhyana)?

Swami: You can identify the progress or decline of meditation only when you know this is stage number so and so, this stage is such and such etc., right? The form of meditation (dhyana-rupa) is beginning-less and endless, so its fruition also cannot be declared complete and finished.

Devotee: Then, do You say that meditation is endless?

Swami: What is generally called the end is the end of the I and the merging of all in the one form. Meditation has no end.

Devotee: How are we to understand its stages?

Swami: You can have an idea of the stage if you examine daily how you are able to concentrate, how far you have subdued the wandering nature of the mind, and how deeply you taste the divine form; that is all. The stage reached cannot be cognised. What you receive, and at what time, depends on His grace. The spiritual aspirant’s mission is to practise meditation, without deviating from the path. The rest is all His grace. It doesn’t depend upon the number of days or the length of time. Some may require many births; others may realise the goal in a few days even. It depends on each one’s faith (sraddha), devotion (bhakthi), and spiritual exercise (sadhana). It cannot be calculated and reasoned out.

Devotee: So we shouldn’t worry about our spiritual exercise – its progress, stage, and possible decline, etc.

Swami: Exactly. Worry about the discipline needed for the spiritual exercise, but not about its fruition. The reality and the realisation of the reality have no steps or limits. Don’t yield to all sorts of delusions or desires for this stage and that. Stick to the goal and the journey. Never give up the discipline of the spiritual exercise. Don’t change the time of meditation. With one aim and unchanging attitude, strive to attain it. That will vouchsafe the fruit. That will bless you with the bliss. Don’t be led away by what others speak about their imaginary experiences. For you, nothing can be as genuine as your own experience. Therefore, first attempt to gain undeviating concentration (ekagratha); let that be your one aim.

Devotee: Meditation (dhyana) means vision of the form of the Lord, doesn’t it, Swami? When such a form is actually seen, they say it is not real and genuine! What do they mean by this?

Swami: Seeing the form of the Lord is the goal of meditation. To achieve that is the aim. But before that goal is reached, there are some obstacles in the way. These are to be guarded against.

Devotee: What kind of obstacles? How are we to guard ourselves?

Swami: You have boarded a train to reach a village. You have heard that the particular village has a station. Many stations of the same type come during the journey and the train halts at each of them. But just because the train halts, you don’t get down at any of them with your luggage, do you? If you get down, you won’t reach the place where you have to go, will you? It is no good, alighting at intermediate stations, for you miss your goal and suffer many hardships, not to speak of delay. The wiser course is to note, even before starting on the journey, the names of the intermediate stations etc., by approaching people who have traveled that route before.

Devotee: Everyone appears as a seasoned traveler on the route! How are we to distinguish between those who pretend and those who know?

Swami: Of course, this has to be pondered. Each one might have traveled by a route of their own. Some might tell you the details of the route, the stations, etc., with only the aid of maps. If that is so, you should not follow their directions on that basis. Consider wherefrom they started and wherefrom you are starting; consider the route they traversed and the route you have to take. Moreover, it is impossible to consult those who have traveled as far as the goal, for they won’t come back; they won’t be available for consultation at the stage where you are.

So, you need not take the trouble to search and secure people who can tell you their own experience of the route. It is best to take the help and the advice given by the veterans in the Gita, the spiritual texts (Sastras), the Vedas, and the Upanishads. Rely on the words of the Lord and follow the teaching (upadesa) of the Avatars of the Supreme Spirit (Avatara Purushas). Besides, there are countless great men who can guide you as far as they themselves have traveled – but not beyond. For how can they tell you things they themselves haven’t experienced?

Devotee: Well then, how can we get the opportunity to reach that path and attain that goal?

Swami: If one is destined for it, it won’t be difficult at all; the chance will come seeking you. You must have heard the saying, “The person who went in search of a creeper tripped over it on the way.” You need not doubt it; this will happen.

Devotee: Swami, some people say that if we do not get some visions and sounds and lights during meditation, we can take it that our meditation has not progressed! Do You say that they are wrong?

Swami: It is the image of their own idea. Perhaps they do meditation in order to get such sights and sounds!

Therefore, they experience them. They are things by which each one of them is deluded; they don’t analyse the truth underlying the visions! Really speaking, they should not seek these impermanent delusions.

Devotee: Then what are we to seek, Swami?

Swami: Seek and desire the Principle of everything: that which, if known, everything is known; that which, if seen, all is seen and understood. Don’t seek drops in your attempt to know the flood. When you have attained the Ocean (the basis of all the drops), you won’t have the delusion of the drop.

Devotee: Some spiritual aspirants picture the guru to themselves during meditation. Is that correct?

Swami: The guru shows the path and teaches what is beneficial. So the guru has to be shown respect and gratitude.

But the guru should not be taken to be all-powerful and all-inclusive. Of course, the Lord is in everyone, as the Atma; give each the status that is their due and no more.

Devotee: But some great men declare that the guru is both father and mother; that the guru is Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheswara all in one.

Swami: Based on the Atma, that is correct. But such gurus are rare. You can speak of such a guru as father, mother, God etc., on account of love and regard, that is all. How can the guru be so in fact? As loving as the mother, as protective as the father, you can say. But then, what do you say of those who gave you this body and brought you up even before you got the guru?

First and most important, be grateful to your mother and father. Serve them; make them happy; respect them.

Respect the guru as the person who shows you the path, who looks after your progress and is interested in your welfare. Worship the Lord as the witness of everything everywhere, as the master of creation, preservation, and dissolution, and as the All-Powerful One. Remember, you can consider only the Lord as the universal form and as the universal friend and protector. All others have to be treated for just their individual status – mother as mother, father as father, guru as guru. In truth, these cannot be one.

Ponder this. If you seek direct experience of the Lord Atma, (Atma-sakshatkara), you have to install in your meditation the form of the Lord (the universal Atma) that you like most, and not the picture of your guru. It is not proper. The Lord is of a status higher than the guru, right? Of course, have His words as the foundation and try to attain the origin of all things; that will give the fruition of all efforts.

You are asked to treat the pebble as a gem and the gem as a pebble! Of course, through compulsion and bound by order, people may obey and accept, but can that feeling be genuine? It is no sign of meditation to have one idea outside and another inside. Unless this conflict is resolved and the same idea is outside as well as inside, there won’t be any stability or success in meditation.

Devotee: Very good, Swami. Without knowing matters fully, many spiritual aspirants waste years in what they call meditation. They observe no law or limit. For all such, Your advice shows the Reality. It will establish them in the eternal. Today I am indeed blessed, Swami.

Soham Meditation

The joy we get from singing bhajans and by performing worship is temporary. But by experiencing the essence of “soham” mantra, you will get eternal joy. This soham is also known by the name “Hamsa Gayatri”. “So” means “that”; “ham” means “I am”. “I am that” is the meaning of soham. You should chant soham with every breath. When you breathe, you are inhaling “so” and you are exhaling “ham”. If we repeat soham mantra with every inhalation and exhalation of breath, it will do a lot of good to you. Repeat “soham” with every breath and watch your breath carefully.

Guided Light Meditation

As regards the technique of dhyana (meditation), different teachers and trainers give different forms of advice. But I shall give you now the most universal and the most effective form. This is the very first step in spiritual discipline. Set aside for this at first a few minutes everyday and later go on extending the time as and when you feel the bliss that you shall get. Let it be in the hours before dawn. This is preferable, because the body is refreshed after sleep and the peregrinations of daytime will not yet have impinged on you. Have a lamp or a candle with an open flame, steady and straight, before you. Sit in the padhmasana (lotus posture) or any other comfortable posture in front of the candle. Look on the flame steadily for some time and, closing your eyes, try to feel the flame inside you, between your eyebrows. Let it slide down into the lotus of your heart, illumining the path. When it enters the heart, imagine that the petals of the lotus open out one by one, bathing every thought, feeling and emotion in the Light, and so removing darkness from them. There is no space for darkness to hide. The light of the flame becomes wider and brighter. Let it pervade your limbs. Now those limbs can never more deal in dark, suspicious and wicked activities; they have become instruments of light and love. As the light reaches up to the tongue, falsehood vanishes from it. Let it rise up to the eyes and the ears and destroy all the dark desires that infest them, leading you to perverse sights and puerile conversation.