Today meditation is a household word. It is no more the privilege of a select few. However, over the centuries meditation has come to lose its spiritual aura. As it gradually fell into the hands of laymen and charlatans alike it has sprouted into dozens of spurious ‘spiritual’ practices, each special brand being graded as the premium class product. More and more relaxation techniques have mushroomed as meditation systems.
There are as many ‘gurus’ as followers. For any sincere seeker worthy of the name it is virtually impossible to avoid despair and deceit. Some may pick up courage and keep renewing their search. While others give up halfway, dismayed. Doubts creep in their mind as they rack their brains for an answer: what is meditation?
Meditation, an intense form of thought upon God, reveals to us our true nature, the spirit. Spirit is our true nature, the immortal, eternal being within. Body and mind are of lesser importance. Every effort should be made to realise our true self. It is not enough to convince oneself of the reality of spiritual truths by means of reasoning, speculation or intellectual debate. Direct experience alone will prove these truths.
It is only through meditation that God will reveal Himself to man. Unless the human surrenders completely to God, to the Absolute, he will not be able to go beyond his limited awareness and reach to a higher level of consciousness. This complete surrender to the Divine Absolute is known as meditation.
Each must worship according to his spiritual temperament, but sooner or later as he evolves spiritually, man has to learn how to surrender completely to God, to offer his thoughts, emotions and actions to His Service. The more he does so, the closer he will be to Him.
In all religious paths basically there is the need to converge the mind on God, the only Reality. Constant thinking of God will fill our mind with God’s presence. When we meditate everything else is forgotten and God alone fills the heart.
Every function of body and mind must somehow be directed towards God. Offering the fruits of any effort to Him, whether doing any work or activity, everything in life can be converted into spiritual activity.
Books and shrines, rites and rituals, chapels, churches or temples only serve to psychologically condition man to his spiritual nature. Lost in the endless rites and rituals, futile courtship of specious spirituality, man does not realise that if flowers, fragrance, fruits, festivals, temples, books could attract God there would have been millions of saints around.
No one is destined to remain confined to these external forms of worship. Sooner or later, slowly and surely man will have to assume his spiritual responsibility and shake off the shackles of ignorance. As he gradually discovers the inner temple within his body and mind, he should by all means choose this fine, unique living temple and place it on the altar of his Almighty God. Nothing will please the Lord more than this finest offering. Man’s Higher Self is the holiest of the holy and it is this spirit that is chiselled in God’s image.
The deeper we delve, the more love of God will enter our heart, mind and soul, until we are capable of identifying with Him and feel ourselves part of Him. At first there may be a mere feeling of closeness. Gradually we feel God is in us and we are in God. The deeper our love, coupled with our purity, the greater our chance to reach the final state of communion with God and to be merged in Pure Being.