An ancient practice, so ancient, it is recorded in the oldest of Hindu scriptures the Upanishads. The Chandogya Upanishad, the first verse reads; “Let us meditate on OM the imperishable, the beginning of prayer.” This is profound, and speaks to the inner quest, the desire to know and to interact with something deeper. The art of meditation was practiced daily and with reverence by the wise sages of long ago.
The subject of meditation is not a new one. At some point in time everyone experiments with meditating. Meditations for the modern mind in the twenty first century is no different from what it was in ancient times. This is a series of posts on a subject based on personal experiences. For many years my daily meditation and reflection has brought me to come to know myself. The practice of regular meditation is much needed if we would progress and change is desired. Reaching out into the world to find harmony and balance in life’s chaos is something we are all seeking.
An Initial Approach
At first an initial, simple approach is needed. Meditation is an exploration of the self but then leads to a much higher aspiration eventually. The practice of meditation brings you to know yourself in-depth.This new perspective of self creates a clearer insight that develops and grows.
There are many styles of meditation. Some are extreme. In my experience even just sitting and thinking or brooding is meditation, without having to sit in the lotus position. Whenever you begin to try to organize your thoughts you begin the process of meditation.
Finding the inner perfected bliss and harmony is an example to follow. What does it take to have this experience, to discover the perfected bliss and harmony spoken of by those Teachers who know? If you are like me you want to know the same perfected bliss and harmony as they do. The caveat; have patience.
Of course our busy lives don’t really permit us to spend a whole lot of time in meditation. But some time is better than no time. A good practice is to find a Meditation Class and begin learning about the practice with others who are interested in the exploration. Discussion and regular practice of simple exercises opens the way to new avenues of thinking. At first it is not as easy to do as it is to understand. How soon we forget we crawled before we were able to stand upright and then took small, halting steps as we learned how to walk, then fell down only to get up and try again.
Recommended reading:
The Upanishads, introduced and translated by Eknath Easwaran.
