THE SPEAKING TREE
What Is Meditation?
Anandmurti Gurumaa
Meditation is not contemplation. Meditation is not concentration. Meditation is not about doing something; rather it is about doing nothing. Meditation being in the state of awareness and unconditional witnessing. Now awareness is a tricky matter. People think they know what awareness is, but it is a misconception.
Meditation is experiencing and enjoying the inner void – though one may say that this enjoying is a mind-oriented experience. Both joy and sorrow are experienced by the mind – and anything that is experienced by the mind is not meditation. Meditation is witnessing the various conditions of the mind and releasing oneself from the clutches of the mind through awareness.
Sharpen your observation
To meditate we need to understand two factors: be an unconditional witness and observe the intricate functioning of the mind. Once we observe how a thought is formulated, what are the conditions in which mind is prone to generate thoughts, only then can we take a leap beyond the cobweb of thoughts and experience the ever-flowing inner bliss. To understand meditation, we need to cultivate our alertness and have a sharp inner vision – as the Buddha said, “Sharpen your observation like a bowman sharpens his arrow”.
Understand your mind
Mind functions on different levels; thoughts are propelled by the mind due to certain conditions. We expect certain responses from people, situations and when they are anticipated, the mind gets agitated. Such agitations of the mind result in great turmoils and commotions that generate several and varied thoughts. We pay great attention to material matters like the clothes we wear, the fashion we follow, the place to hang out, membership of a particular club, and so on. But what we don’t pay heed to is an important thing: how does our mind function? How just a thought can bring pain, anguish, jealousy, mistrust, doubt, joy? We are least bothered about our cluttered mind but we ensure that our house is clean. It is futile to clean the outside when your inside is blemished with numerous negativities. So, there is a need to connect to your inner self, which is possible only through meditation.
Don’t react – act
One who is obsessed with worldly pursuits, one who is body-oriented, cannot really go into this. We need to develop a distance from our mind and not give into its impulsiveness. So, in a way, we can say that living mindfully is being in meditation.
Many a time seekers try to meditate on their own or take guidance from holy books or refer to the meditation techniques taught by great masters in their times, but are absolutely oblivious of the intricacies involved. But because of lack of guidance when a leap beyond mind seems light years away, they just despair. In reality, there is no need to despair but to learn meditation from a living enlightened master.
Luminous presence of an enlightened master creates a highly charged field of consciousness paving the way for seekers to travel far more easily and faster. Retreat with the master revitalises and nourishes the soul, heals the wounds of mind, afflicted for ages… dissolving into the ocean of pure bliss!
