ह
Shop Now
mobile-logo
understanding our relationship
> Guest contributors > Relevance of ancient Indian scriptures: What is meditation?

Relevance of ancient Indian scriptures: What is meditation?

"The whole search should start with understanding our relationship with nature and how we relate with other human beings, or even other animals and living beings." - Sri M

Now, since the supreme Brahman cannot be known through the senses or the mind, there has to be some other instrument. That can come about only when the mind has settled down and stopped all its acrobatics; trying to reach here and there like a monkey on a tree. Going within and without, everything has to stop.

Sadhana is merely a preparation for that. If it were going to be always unknown, there would be no point in studying Upanishads. But to be in a position to read and understand the subtle truths in the Upanishads, the mind must first get still and stop its wandering. Sadhana only helps us to try and stay quiet. The Brahman is like a flash of lightning, all in the winking of an eye, for which one must prepare oneself to be ready when it comes.

Now, we come to an important part of the discussion—where does meditation come into all this? How is meditation connected to this? What is meditation? Is meditation about sitting down in one place and closing your eyes and thinking about it? Or does meditation mean to shut out all thoughts? So, when all thoughts are shut out, what happens next? Is this possible at all? Am I not still there, trying to shut out all the thoughts? So, one has to see how this works. For this, the only tool that we have is meditation.

Is it really possible for someone, who is caught up all the time in the activity of daily life, to meditate at all? Or are we so caught up in our activity that we cannot meditate?

Now, the question is: Is it really possible for someone, who is caught up all the time in the activity of daily life, to meditate at all? Or are we so caught up in our activity that we cannot meditate? And, if I say, “I can meditate,” what does it actually mean? And, if the supreme being I am looking for is really immeasurable, is it possible to measure it with my mind? Is there some kind of meditation to do that?

One day, I remember, I was sitting under a peepul tree in a faraway village, listening to the river flow by and the night bird chirping away. Then, somebody walked up to me. He said he had been searching for the truth for many, many years. He had renounced the world, was wearing a saffron robe, had been to many ashrams but wasn’t satisfied with all that he was doing. Then, he said that he could hear voices sometimes and the voices guided him towards the truth. He said he had no will of his own, but he followed the inner voice that spoke.

Now, the question is, can that—which is immeasurable, infinite—be found by me, or by you? Can we search it out at all? Is it possible to find that immeasurable by meditating with closed eyes for five minutes a day? I think the whole search should start with understanding our relationship with nature and how we relate with other human beings, or even other animals and living beings. For it is all one big programme, it’s not something isolated. We cannot isolate ourselves like that. We are part of one big whole.

X

Your wellbeing is a few clicks away.

Subscribe to your weekly dose of positivity, wellness, and motivation and get a free printable
Soulveda Gratitude journal