Some of us have inculcated meditation as our routine ritual, while few of us know the actual bliss it can bring to our existence. Many scripts talk about meditation, but there is one quote in particular which is apt and a personal favourite. This quote is by Ma Jaya Sati Bhagvati, which reads as “Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak”. This quote perfectly explains why you need to master your mind to know your true self.
The Power of Meditation
Meditation is channelising and silencing our wavering mind while delving deep inside ourselves to know our true nature and to understand the purpose behind our birth. It helps us to find solutions for all our queries and problems and allows us to rise above them. Our mind is like a monkey which jumps from one thought to the other without any focus and leads us into confusion. Thus, we need to meditate. The process of meditation is not as easy as it seems. It is a process where one must sit and concentrate, be willing to cleanse and take control of the wavering thoughts and surrender. Meditation is the path that brings us closer to spirituality and helps us in finding who we are. It helps us to find our true nature. But do you know how can we meditate and what exactly can lead us to connect to our true self? We need to understand that the following four consciousnesses make us.
- Body
- Mind
- Senses
- Identity
We must train these four consciousnesses and achieve a union with them by learning several life lessons. We need first to achieve a union with the body. Allow me to simplify this for you by asking a few questions.
- Have you ever been in a situation where you want to concentrate on your work, but your body is too lazy to do so?
- Have you in your mind thought of giving up on junk food but as soon as you see junk food your body craves for it, and you end up eating junk?
- Has it ever happened that you want to do something, but your body wants to do something else?
- You go hiking, and you are optimistic about it, but your body is concerned about survival?
- Has it ever happened that you want to adopt good habits, but your body does not want to leave its comfort zone?
If you answered yes to the above question, then you must first learn the lessons of the body so that it surrenders to the mind and works in union with it.
Lessons of the Body- Muladhara Chakra Meditation
In Muladhara Chakra Sadhna, we learn that the body is just a vehicle for our soul. We have not come to serve the body, but the body has come to serve us. When we learn the lessons of the body, we release the bodily fears one by one, and we then train the body to achieve a union with it. Chant or listen to the audio of this mantra, and channelise your focus on the Muladhara Chakra. Once you are successful in doing so, your body will act as your faithful servant, and then we learn the lessons of the mind.
Lessons of the Mind- Manipura Chakra Meditation
Here, we learn to honour our own opinions and those of others settling in our consciousness. There are numerous lessons of the mind which involve seeing the futility of making personal definitions, and only when we attune to them, we can surrender the mind to the soul. We can start learning the lessons by meditating over the Manipura Chakra. Listen to the mantras and worship the deity of the chakra to channelise your focus. Once we learn the lessons of the mind, we have to learn the lessons of the senses.
Lessons of the Senses
Today, our senses are not in our control. For instance, you want to diet, but your feelings are greedy for food. You do not want to consume alcohol, but your senses tempt you and drive you to drink it. Thus, there are so many lessons you need to learn to train your senses. Once we understand this, we move further to the identity consciousness.
Lessons of the Identity – Throat Chakra and Swadhisthan Chakra Meditation
Here we need to understand that we are not an identity, but we are playing the role of the divine. We are not here to be associated with the part, but we are here to learn the lessons of the role by playing it well. Once you have achieved this, you will understand that you need to ultimately surrender the body, mind, senses and identity to the soul. Hence we need to achieve union with our soul first.
Most of the people are fragmented within themselves. Their senses crave for something, but their body does something else, and their mind thinks something while their identity reflects a different story altogether. This is why many of them lead a chaotic life. Understand that we can rectify and align our four consciousnesses with the soul through meditation. Understand that we are here to know and learn. You don’t need to look everywhere or get confused to obtain answers; the universe will bring you across instances, books or people through various mediums. These could be friends and guides who will impart the knowledge and help you realise who you are. For example, whenever you are confused, you will find someone or the other who will come to you with the solution. It is because consciousness wants you to learn and have a clear picture. When you plant a seed in the earth, the earth does its job of giving the required nutrients to it. As a result, the seed becomes conscious, the roots grow deep in the ground and the seed buds into a sapling, and gradually it becomes a blossoming tree. Now did the seed want to become a plant? The answer is ‘No’. Understand that it became a plant because it was the consciousness seeking to realise itself.
Similarly, understand that it is not your desire to realise your full potential or yourself. You are being realised. It is a natural process. Don’t try to control this process by hindering it with unnecessary doubts, concern and expectations like ‘I want to grow fast, and I want to seek fulfillment, or I want the desired results’, etc. Surrender this process to Life. It protects you, nurtures you and it is there to make you realise your full potential. For this attune yourself to the laws of the Chakras.
Laws of Chakras
The Root Chakra supports you.
In the Sacral Chakra, you play many identities; You could be a sister, daughter, wife, friend, employee, employer and in your professional life be a healer, a politician, a scientist, or parent, or an artist etc.
In the Manipura Chakra, you have the power to handle situations.
In the Heart Chakra, you have to realise that you have to give; you do not have anything to take as your nature is that of a giver.
One needs to understand his/her true nature and settle in it. Till you don’t, you will be oscillating between pleasure and pain. When you settle in your true nature, ‘You Just Are’, and that is the goal of spiritual evolution.
In the Vishuddha Chakra, we realise our nature as light, as the one who transforms.
In the Third Eye Chakra, we start seeing the truth.
Life is wonderful, but we are not able to connect to it as we are bound to so many definitions. Today we see the world through the lens of the mind, and this is the biggest hurdle in seeing reality. It keeps you engrossed in illusion, perception and definitions, which is why you cannot see the truth.
Meditation helps you to dissolve all the distractions that you have in your mind and helps you realise your true nature. Hence, we meditate to become calm, settle the mind and see beyond reason to connect to the consciousness. There are three steps of meditation
3 Stages to meditation
1st stage- Concentration
Develop concentration by doing pranayama, which is a breathing exercise, or yoga which are physical exercises. Concentration is not an easy task, and it takes time. It would help if you practised, and gradually you will learn to calm your thoughts. Focusing on a point, mental imagery, object, flame or breathing is pivotal in this.
2nd stage – Transformation
Once you have developed sufficient concentration and you know that your mind will obey you, you get to the second stage of transformation. You can do mantra japa or chant mantras as they have the power to transform you. Understand, we do so because mantras comstitute of sound vibrations that help us resonate with the deity of the mantras. For instance, if you chant Lord Ganesha mantras, they give you the properties of Lord Ganesha through resonance. Do mantra chanting until you complete 108 beads of the rosary at least thrice. Then build it up to complete 11 rounds of the rosary.
3rd stage of Meditation – Contemplative Meditation
Here is where you realise that you can direct your mind to your beliefs and fears to transform them. You can train your mind to come out of the hindrances that pull you back.
- When you do the Muladhara Chakra meditation, you release the fears of Survival
- When you do the Swadhisthana Chakra meditation, you release the fears of Low Self Esteem
- When you do the Manipura Chakra meditation, you release the fears of Powerlessness
- When you do the Anahata Chakra meditation, you release the fears of mistrust
- When you do the Vishuddha Chakra meditation, you release the fears of expression
- When you do the Agya Chakra meditation, you release the fears of non-acceptance
- When you do the Crown Chakra Chakra meditation, you release the fears of discontentment
When you meditate, you evolve through these three stages, namely, concentration, transformation and contemplation. Meditation is the only way one can find their true selves. It is an art which gradually makes an individual calm, more focused and offers the ability to see between the thoughts. It helps one to find solutions and look at situations more clearly. Once you start meditating, you start unveiling the truth, the reality. All the illusions slowly fade away, and you are in a better position to advise people as you connect to your inner power. Meditation is such an excellent activity when done with dedication and patience; it makes you know yourself. You can see the things for what they are. Thus, meditation is an ultimate medicine for good health and peace.
To get a grip on the monkey mind which keeps on hopping from one thought to another, you need to meditate. Meditation plays a vital role to harness the wavering mind by getting a grip on your thoughts by settling the emotions. It helps you to clear the cloud of illusions and see the reality and train the mind, body, senses and identity to come in the present. Only when you connect to your true consciousness, you create a perfect reflection of you in this world.
Tips for Meditation
- Mornings are the best times to meditate as your mind is fresh and ready to absorb as many positive vibrations as it can.
- Please make sure you switch to lighter meals, as they make you feel light and fresh. Avoid oily, spicy and non-vegetarian meal as they make you feel fuller and lazier.
- Make sure you have your supper before seven and have wholesome grains and fresh food. You must have Sattvik food.
- Also, have a Satvik lifestyle which means do not watch a lot of television, mobile phones and too much of external stimulation because next day those thoughts will occupy your mind and it won’t be easy to concentrate.
- People who are habitual of listening to music continuously by plugging earphones can find it challenging to meditate
- You have to give up the sensory pleasures of the tongue, sight, ears, touch and smell. It is a practice you have to undertake daily as these things prepare you for meditation.
- Also, Mantra chanting takes time, and you must invest sufficient time to establish resonance. Even if you take a rosary of 108 beads and chant the mantras 108 times, progress will happen gradually.
- Chant Gayatri Mantra as it is a cleansing mantra. There are Gayatri mantras of all the deities that help cleanse the consciousness.
These are the Gayatri Mantras of all the Gods
Gayatri Mantra of Lord Ganesha for Muladhara Chakra
Gayatri Mantra of Krishna for Swadhisthana Chakra
Gayatri Mantra of Lord Ram for Manipura Chakra
Gayatri Mantra of Lord Vishnu for Anahata Chakra
Gayatri Mantra of Goddess Saraswati for Vissudhha Chakra
Gayatri Mantra of Goddess Durga for Agya Chakra
Gayatri Mantra of Lord Shiva for Crown Chakra
If you see the cover of the Bhagavad Gita, there is a picture of Lord Krishna riding the chariot with four horses and Arjun seated behind. It is an excellent depiction of your life. Here, Lord Krishna symbolises our consciousness. Arjun depicts us who need to copy Lord Krishna. You have to obey and surrender to Lord Krishna (consciousness). The chariot represents our body, and the horses represent our wavering mind. Remember, if the consciousness is not in alignment with the body, the mind which is represented by the horses will become unbridled and can harm the body and passenger. Thus, meditation is the key to maintain the balance of the body, mind, senses and identity to find your true self.
