Even Indra, the Lord of the Devas, who is rolling in abundant wealth, cannot enjoy that bliss which comes to a sage who has a Self-centred mind free from desires, who is resting in his own Svarupa and who has equal vision for all.
Learn the science of self-control. Possess a steady mind by constant practice of meditation. Fix your mind upon God. You will have divine life. Light will shine. There will be inflooding of all divine qualities. All negative tendencies will vanish. All conflicting forces will be reconciled. You will enjoy perfect harmony, undisturbed happiness, abiding peace.
Meditation is the only real, royal road to the attainment of salvation. Meditation kills all pains, sufferings and sorrows. Meditation destroys all causes of sorrow. Meditation gives vision of unity. Meditation induces sense of oneness. Meditation is a balloon or the aeroplane that helps the aspirant to soar high into the realms of eternal bliss, everlasting peace and undying joy.
Meditation is the royal road to attain Godhead. It is the grand trunk road which takes the aspirant direct to the destination of divine consciousness. It is the mystic ladder which takes the Yogic student from earth to heaven. It is the divine ladder of Yogis which pushes them to the heights of Asamprajnata Samadhi. It is the step in the staircase of Chidakasa to take the aspirant to the highest storey of Advaita Nishtha and Kaivalya Mukti of Vedantins. Without it, no spiritual progress is possible. It is the aerial ropeway that allows the devotee to glide easily to the other shore of Bhava Samadhi and drink the honey of Prema and the nectar of immorality.
Regular meditation opens the avenues of intuition knowledge, makes the mind calm and steady, awakens an ecstatic feeling and brings the Yogic student in contact with the source of the Supreme Purusha. If there are doubts, they are all cleared by themselves when you march on the path of Dhyana Yoga steadily. You will yourself feel the way to place your footsteps on the next rung of the spiritual ladder. A mysterious inner voice will guide you. Hear this attentively, O Yogindra!
If you wind the watch at night, it will run smoothly for twenty-four hours. Even so, if you meditate for one or two hours in the Brahmamuhurta, you can work very peacefully throughout the day. Nothing can disturb your mind. The whole system will be charged with the spiritual vibrations or divine wave.
Many of your doubts will be cleared by themselves during meditation. Some will have to wait for some time for the clearance of some doubts. However much the teacher explains to you, you cannot understand certain things at a certain time. You will have to evolve a little more. When you have evolved, those doubts, which tormented you three years ago will become clear now.
You may have an acute pain, when you get an appendicular colic or when you develop a big abscess. In sleep, you experience no pain at all. When you are under chloroform, there is no pain also. Only when the mind is connected with the body, pain manifests. If you can detach or disconnect the mind from the body, there will be no pain. Atman is a mass of bliss (Anandaghana). If you withdraw the mind from the body and objects and fix it on Atman through constant meditation, all pains will come to an end. Meditation is the only way which can destroy all human miseries. There is no other way.
Real rest can be had during meditation when the mind rests in Atman. Change of work can give rest. Remaining idle without work and allowing the mind to wander about wildly like a rutting furious elephant and building castles in the air cannot bring rest.
The man who cannot fix his mind in meditation cannot have knowledge of the Self. The unsteady man cannot practise any meditation. He cannot have any intense devotion to knowledge of the Self or any burning longing for liberation or Moksha. He who does not practise any meditation cannot possess peace of mind. How can there be happiness for the unpeaceful?
In dream also you will begin to exercise control gradually. You will check the mind when it does an evil act. The force of your Sadhana done in the wakeful state will come to your aid in the dream. This is a sign of your spiritual growth. Watch the dream carefully.
This world is full of miseries and sufferings. If you want to get rid of the pains and afflictions of this Samsara, you must practise meditation. Meditation is the pathway to Divinity. It is the royal road to the kingdom of Brahman. It is a mysterious ladder which reaches from earth to Heaven (Vaikuntha or Kailasa or Brahmaloka), from error to Truth, from darkness to Light, from pain to Bliss, from restlessness to abiding Peace, from ignorance to Knowledge, from mortality to Immortality. Meditation leads to knowledge of the Self which brings about Eternal Peace and Supreme Bliss. Meditation prepares you for the integral experiences or direct intuitive knowledge.
Truth is Brahman. Truth is Atman. Truth is quite pure and simple. You cannot realise the Truth without reflection and meditation. Be silent. Know thyself. Know That. Melt the mind in That.
Without the help of meditation you cannot attain knowledge of the Self. Without its aid you cannot grow into the Divine state. Without it you cannot liberate yourself from the trammels of the mind and attain Immortality. If you do not practise meditation, the supreme splendour and fadeless glories of Atman will remain hidden from you. Tear the veils that cover the soul by practising regular meditation. Rend asunder the five sheaths that screen the Atman by constant meditation and then attain the final beatitude of life.
The fire of meditation annihilates all foulness due to vice. Then suddenly comes Knowledge or Divine Wisdom which directly leads to Mukti or final emancipation.
There are many valuable types of training of the mind, which are essential to mental culture, for instance, the training of memory, cultivation of reflection, discrimination, Vichara or enquiry of 'Who am I.' The practice of meditation itself is a potent clarifier of the memory. The practice of memory-culture powerfully helps the attainment of meditation.
Meditation is a powerful tonic. It is a mental and nervine tonic as well. The holy vibrations penetrate all the cells of the body and cure the diseases of the body. Those who meditate save doctor's bills. The powerful, soothing waves that arise during meditation exercise a benign influence on the mind, nerves, organs and cells of the body. The Divine energy freely flows like a Taila-Dhara (flow of oil from one vessel to another) from the feet of the Lord to the different systems of the Sadhaka (aspirant).
If you can meditate for half an hour you will be able to engage yourself with peace and spiritual strength in the battle of life for one week through the force of this meditation. Such is the beneficial result of meditation. As you have to move with different minds of peculiar nature in your daily life, get the strength and peace from meditation and you will have no trouble and worry then.
A Yogi who meditates regularly has a magnetic and charming personality. Those who come in contact with him are much influenced by his sweet voice, powerful speech, lustrous eyes, brilliant complexion, strong, healthy body, good behaviour, virtuous quality and Divine nature. Just as a grain of salt dropped in a basin of water dissolves and becomes distributed throughout the whole water, just as the sweet fragrance of jasmine pervades the air, so also, his spiritual aura becomes infiltrated into the minds of others. People draw joy, peace and strength from him. They are inspired by his speech and get elevation of mind by mere contact with him.
Meditation opens the door of the mind to intuitive knowledge and many powers.
Meditate. Meditate. Do not lose even a single minute. Meditation will remove all the miseries of life. That is the only way. Meditation is the enemy of the mind. It brings about Mano-Nasha or the death of the mind.
The Mahatma who meditates in a solitary cave in the Himalayas helps the world more through his spiritual vibrations than the Sadhu who preaches at the platform. Just as sound-vibrations travel in the ethereal space, so also the spiritual vibrations of a meditator travel a long distance and bring peace and strength to thousands.
When the meditator becomes mindless, he pervades and permeates the whole world. Ignorant people bring a false charge that the Sadhus who meditate in caves are selfish.
Build through regular meditation a strong spiritual fortress and magnetic aura around you, which cannot be penetrated even by the messengers of Maya or Satan.
Concentration of the mind on God after purification can give you real happiness and knowledge. You are carried away to external objects through Raga and Moha. Concentrate upon God in the heart. Dive deep. Merge within.
During meditation, when your mind is more Sattvic, you will be inspired. The mind will be composing fine poems and solving intricate problems of life. Stamp out these Sattvic Vrittis also. This is all dissipation of mental energy. Soar higher and higher in Atman only.
You will get the full Ananda of the Divine glory only when you dive deep, when you merge deep into silent meditation. When you are on the borderland of divinity of God, when you are at the gate or threshold of God, when you are on the outer skirts, you will not get the maximum peace and bliss.
During meditation some of the visions that you see are your own materialised thoughts, while some others are real objective visions.
Real Peace and Ananda manifest only when the Vasanas are thinned out and Sankalpas extinguished. When you fix the mind either on Sri Krishna, Siva or Atman even for five minutes, Sattva Guna is infused into the mind. Vasanas are thinned out. You feel peace and bliss during the five minutes. You can, with the subtle Buddhi, compare this Ananda from meditation with the transitory sensual pleasures. You will find that this Ananda from meditation is million times superior to sensual pleasures. Meditate and feel this Ananda. Then you will know the real value.
If an aspirant in Kashmir meditates upon his Guru or spiritual guide at Uttarkasi, Himalayas, a definite connection is established between him and the teacher. The Guru radiates power, peace, joy and bliss to the student in response to his thoughts. He is bathed in the powerful current of magnetism. The stream of spiritual electricity flows steadily from the preceptor to his disciple, just as oil flows from one vessel to another. The student can imbibe or draw from his teacher in proportion to his degree of faith. Whenever the student sincerely meditates upon his teacher, the teacher also actually feels that a current of prayer or sublime thoughts proceeds from his student and touches his heart. He who has the inner astral sight can clearly visualise a thin line of bright light between the disciple and the teacher, which is caused by the movement of the vibrations of Sattvic thoughts, in the ocean of Chitta.
A sudden stroke of mystic illumination puts an end of all the empirical existence altogether and the very idea or remembrance of such a thing as this world or the narrow individuality of the spirit in this world absolutely leaves.
When the Yogi has reached the last stage of meditation and Samadhi, all the residues of his actions are burnt completely. He gets liberation in this very life. Then he is a Jivanmukta.
Meditation gives a lot of spiritual strength, peace, new vigour and vitality. It is the best mental tonic. If a meditator gets irritated very often, it shows he is not doing good uninterrupted meditation. There is something wrong in his Sadhana.
Meditation develops strong and pure thoughts. Mental images are clear-cut and well-defined. Good thoughts are well-grounded. Through clarification of ideas, confusion vanishes.
Just as sweet perfume continuously emanates from an incense stick, so also the sweet perfume and divine effulgence (Brahmavarchasa, magnetic Brahmic aura or Tejas) emanate continuously from the face of an aspirant who does regular constant meditation. Those who do meditation will have a calm, serene, charming face, sweet voice and lustrous bright eyes.
Just as cultivation in a barren land or saltish earth becomes absolutely fruitless, so also meditation done without Vairagya becomes fruitless.
If you can meditate for half an hour, you will be able to engage yourself with peace and spiritual energy in the daily battle of life for one week through the power and vigour of meditation. The fire of meditation annihilates all foulness due to vice. Then suddenly comes knowledge or divine wisdom which directly leads to Mukti or final emancipation.
In contemplation you are in spiritual contact with the unchanging Light. You are cleansed of all the impurities. This Light cleanses the soul which touches it. The sun-glass is exposed to the light of the sun and the straws underneath catch fire. So within yourself, if you have an open heart devoutly lifted up to God, the Light of His purity and love, illuminating this open soul, will consume all your shortcomings in the fire of Divine love. The Light brings enhanced energy and great comfort.
All the visible things are Maya. Maya will vanish through Jnana or meditation on Atman. One should exert himself to get rid of Maya. Maya havocs through the mind. Destruction of the mind means the annihilation of the Maya. Nididhyasana (meditation on Atman) is the way for conquering Maya. Lord Buddha, Raja Bhartrihari, Dattatreya, Akhow of Gujarat, all had conquered Maya and mind through deep meditation only. Enter the silence. Meditate. Meditate.
Those who practise meditation will find that they are more sensitive than the people who do not meditate, and because of that the strain on the physical body is enormous. Sometimes even the advanced aspirants begin to think: "How will be the state of God-realisation? How will God appear to me? How will He look to my vision?" God-realisation is beyond description. There are no means to describe it. There is perfect peace. There is ineffable bliss. There is profound silence. Spiritual knowledge dawns. The mind, the intellect and the senses cease functioning. There is intuitional experience. This much only can be said. You will have to experience this yourself in Samadhi or superconscious state.
The mind-wandering will gradually cease through regular meditation. Meditation will remove irritability and will also augment the peace of mind considerably.
