The mind of the present generation is in a chaotic state. People’s thoughts run wildly in all directions. Seeking material gain and sensual pleasure. Which causes the mind to be agitated. An agitated mind cannot concentrate, much less to do a meditation. The mind tends to get attracted to any object or a being either living or dead, tangible, or intangible. Thoughts start to flow in that direction. If the intellect does not exercise its control over the mind, the thought flow continues. The mind can have its way, then it cherishes the thought of that person. Similar to what young lovers do. It’s just emotional indulgence, a mere mental infatuation. This leads to attachment and passiveness.
Meditation is a scientific technique to exhaust your thoughts and expose the Divine energy within. The Intellect plays an all-important role in meditation. Intellect maintains its supervision of the mind during the entire process of meditation. To meditate doesn’t mean a mechanical repetition of a mantra or word symbol.
Meditation is defined as the art of maintaining the mind in focus upon a chosen thought to the exclusion of all other thoughts. In the process of meditation, the chant is gradually brought to mental whispers and finally leads to dynamic silence. The Intellect remains aware of the total process until the moment of silence is reached. The purpose of meditation is to converge the mind to a single thought and transcend it. This dynamic silence is the transcendence of thought flow which leads to the transcendence of the mind. The intellect which has been observing the chant also ceases as there is nothing for it to be aware of. What remains is the Divine energy, Pure consciousness.
To meditate requires a mind to be free from extroverted pursuits. A mind that remains calm, composed, and has turned introverted is a prerequisite for meditation. A spiritual seeker attains that state through sustained physical, mental, and intellectual disciplines. By practicing karma, bhakti, and jnana yoga which is the path of action, devotion, and knowledge. A mind thus turned introvert is made to chant a mantra, a word symbol representing the supreme Reality, Divine energy. The chant is known as japa. You could choose a mantra that inspires you the most. In this process, the mind repeats the mantra. The intellect observes, and witnesses the single thought flow. During the chant, the mind may slip into other thoughts. The mind tends to wander away. The intellect has the potential to pull the mind back to the chosen line of thought. Thus, by the repeated effort the mind is kept focused on the process of meditation.
Uncontrolled, indisciplined thought flow is mental indulgence. Whereas controlled, disciplined thought flow is concentration and meditation. Both are a flow of thoughts but in opposite directions. They produce conflicting results. Mental indulgence increases your desires while meditation reduces your desires. You cannot meditate until you have risen above attachment and desire. When your mind becomes free from worldly attractions and you become objective in life’s experiences, then you become meditative. The progress and success in meditation are directly proportional to the preparation of the mind. Your mind must be cleansed before you reach the seat of meditation. The purer the mind, the easier it is to meditate.
Text by S A Sreedharan
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