Meditation is the panacea for all life's challenges.
As a human being we are more challenged today when compared to any other generation who have lived on this earth. We have created so many comforts and created so many wants and desires just to keep ourselves busy and anticipating that we also need those comforts. Instead of being conservative we are on the exploration spree of resources and got into so much consumerism that we don't have any more spaces in our houses to live without all those so called essentials.
We are facing challenges from a family point of view, on the financial aspects (which in fact it appears-as if it never ends), many challenges with personal and business partners and the relationships with them. In addition to the above the vehicles that we have invented for our speed of commute and comfort have become a menace by overcrowding and creating pollution. The offices or the work places that we have joined mainly to earn a livelihood have turned into places where we wanted to create so many false identities and get involved in the rat race comparing ourselves every time with others and either feel false pleasure or false deprivation. Because of the boredom that is created in these work places and the so called false competition, to meet the demands of the unwanted wants, unrealistic and non-environmental friendly targets are planned and in achieving them human being are becoming more and more stressful and succumb to unethical practices. Even though well laid down policies and governance are in place, individuals find unique ways of performing activities that completely violate these policies and all policies have turned into mere dogmas which are subjected to abuse openly and no one talks about them knowingly that it is a Pandora's box. With all these things happening in the background and don't know what to do, management or the so called governing bodies want to come out with unique or innovative methods so that the problems can be solved and invest a lot on innovation and create many pompous shows while the solutions are very simple and they do not want to implement them. One simple reason is that they want complicated solutions for simple problems and want to have a false satisfaction that they have arrived at a most simple solution for a highly complicated problem which in reality the complicated problem has never existed and has been created to showcase that there is one and they need a solution. In understanding all these aspects the whole time of the individual is lost and he/she is neither able to fulfill his/her life nor able to spend some time to make an attempt to understand why and what his/her life has in store for him/her. Many attempts are made in gathering information from various communication channels that the individual can place their hands on and create some kind of an identity and by the time they realize that, it gets proven that it is only a false identity and do not satisfy him/her in long run.
With so many challenges around, the individual need to take out some time, sit alone and spend time in interiorization and understand the realities of life. The best method for this is Meditation.
Before going into Meditation, we need to understand our mind also and what are we feeding it. In Upanishads there is a methodology for this and it is very simple. Hear, see perceive all that is good or that provides beneficence. Pray to all those who can provide you that beneficence. The verses are provided below along with the meaning.
भद्रं पश्येमाक्षभिर्यजत्राः ।
स्थिरैरङ्गैस्तुष्टुवाग्ँसस्तनूभिः ।
व्यशेम देवहितं यदायूः ।
स्वस्ति न इन्द्रो वृद्धश्रवाः ।
स्वस्ति नः पूषा विश्ववेदाः ।
स्वस्ति नस्तार्क्ष्यो अरिष्टनेमिः ।
स्वस्ति नो बृहस्पतिर्दधातु ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
oṃ bhadraṃ karṇebhiḥ śṛṇuyāma devāḥ ।
bhadraṃ paśyemākṣabhiryajatrāḥ ।
sthirairaṅgaistuṣṭuvāgm̐sastanūbhiḥ ।
vyaśema devahitaṃ yadāyūḥ ।
svasti na indro vṛddhaśravāḥ ।
svasti naḥ pūṣā viśvavedāḥ ।
svasti nastārkṣyo ariṣṭanemiḥ ।
svasti no bṛhaspatirdadhātu ॥
oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥
Om, O Devas, May we Hear with our Ears what is Auspicious,
May we See with our Eyes what is Auspicious and Adorable,
May we be Prayerful (in Life) with Steadiness in our Bodies (and Minds),
May we Offer our Lifespan allotted by the Devas (for the Service of God),
May Indra of great Wisdom and Glory grant us Well-Being (by bestowing wisdom),
May Pushan (The Sun God, The Nourisher) of great Knowledge grant us Well-Being (by nourishing us and granting knowledge),
May Tarksya of great Protective Power grant us Well-Being,
(And) May Brihaspati grant us Well-Being,
Om, Peace, Peace, Peace.
Going further deeper on this aspect, the witness or the seer can witness the emotion or feeling as a seen and develop a discrimination that he/she is not the one that is being experienced, rather is being witness of that and is aware of that experience.
Having all noble thoughts and deeds the aspirant need to understand that he/she (the individual) is different from his/her emotions or feelings. One need to become aware of himself/herself on all the three aspects of Body, Mind (thought) and Emotion. Of course emotion could be a thought and it is releasing more chemicals from the brain based upon its intensity and the attachment that an individual is having towards that thought.
Whenever a feeling comes, we should be able to say that I am feeling so and so emotion. In this way we are not only becoming aware of the feeling, we are also separating the feeling from what we are in reality.
Whenever a feeling comes, we should be able to say that I am feeling so and so emotion. In this way we are not only becoming aware of the feeling, we are also separating the feeling from what we are in reality.
Going further deeper on this aspect, the witness or the seer can witness the emotion or feeling as a seen and develop a discrimination that he/she is not the one that is being experienced, rather is being witness of that and is aware of that experience.
Benefits of Meditation
As one keeps practicing meditation, there will be many changes on the peripheral and on the psychological level. Some benefits that one can one become aware of are:
It reduces stress, unhealthy behaviors, depression, anxiety, etc., and it increases focus, self-esteem, self actualization, autonomy, self-regulation, resilience, etc.
How to Meditate
Meditation is an aspect that which cannot be done as it is an undoing activity or a non-activity. One need to withdraw all the senses from external objects (pratyāhāra) and interiorize there by when there is no external information coming in, the mind tries to focus within and when further based upon the focus that one achieves on any of the breathing or pranayama techniques, the life force control can be achieved and further as the practitioner progresses and deepens his/her practice, then one can go beyond thought and that is the moment where meditation happens.
Remember the external world will keep on giving us information that will take us away from Truth and dictate our emotions. Hence, we have to go within to become one with Truth.
