Meditation

Everyone should take some time off to meditate. We may never achieve the state of ‘awareness’ that monks and mystics reached, but still, meditation clears our mind, giving us inner peace and inner calm. Through meditation, we will have a clearer view of the whole picture, of life. This will help us deal better with the realities of life.

Although one can meditate in a group, meditation is still a very individual and private activity. When you close your eyes to meditate, you are on your own. In fact, it might be better to meditate on your own, as there would be less distractions. The other advantage of meditating on your own is that you can meditate as and when you want to, for however long you wish.

What does meditation involve? Simply put, you just sit silently and witness your mind-process, while keeping your attention on the breath.

Nothing needs to be done. However, there are a few essential things to be remembered: The first is a relaxed state - no fight, no control, no concentration. The second is watchfulness - witness whatever is going on inside of you. And the third is, don't have any judgment or evaluation about it. Just be a watcher, ‘looking’ at the traffic of the mind - thoughts passing by, desires, memories, dreams, and fantasies. Once you get the knack of it, it is the most simple thing in the world.

As we work – in meditation – we find ourselves more at home in the universe, more at ease with ourselves, more able to work effectively at our tasks and towards our goal, closer to our fellow man, less anxious and less hostile.

A person who has trained his body and is confident of it feels far less vulnerable and therefore behaves differently in many situations than a person with an untrained and uncoordinated body.