Have a separate meditation room under lock and key. This is a sine qua non. Convert a room into a forest. Do not allow anybody to enter the room. Keep it holy. If you cannot afford to have a separate room, convert a small corner of the room as the meditation room with screens or curtains. Burn incense or scented sticks and camphor in the morning and evening. Keep a photo of Lord Krishna, Siva, Rama, Devi, Gayatri, Guru, Lord Jesus or Lord Buddha. Place your seat in front of the picture. Keep some books such as the Gita, the Ramayana, the Bhagavata, the Upanishads, the Vivekachudamani, the Yogavasishtha, the Brahma-Sutras, the Bible, the Zend-Avesta, the Koran, etc., in the room.
Decorate the room with inspiring pictures of great saints, sages, prophets and world-teachers. Take a bath before you enter the room. Or wash your face, hands and legs before you enter the room. Sit on the Asana in front of the deity. Sing devotional hymns or repeat Guru Stotras. Then take to the practice of Japa, concentration and meditation.
The room should be regarded as a temple of God. You should enter the room with a pious and reverent mind. Thoughts of jealousy, lust, greed and anger should not be entertained within the four walls of the room. No worldly talks should be indulged in there. For every word that is uttered, every thought that is cherished and every deed that is done is not lost. They are reflected on the subtle layers of ether encircling the room where they are done and hence affect the mind invariably.
When you repeat the Mantra or the name of the Lord, the powerful vibrations are lodged in the ether of the room. In six months' time you will feel peace and purity in the atmosphere of the room. Whenever your mind is much disturbed by worldly influence, sit in the room and repeat the name of the Lord for half an hour. Then you will find entire change in the mind immediately. Practise and feel the soothing, spiritual influences yourself. You will find a local Mussoorie, Darjeeling, Simla, Ooty in your own house. You need not go to a hill-station for change. Nothing is like Spiritual Sadhana or Yoga practice.
