10 things that I’ve learnt about meditation

By Karthik Yoganathan | December 20, 2009 | 1,573 views | Articles

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1. Meditation is not about doing:

   It is easy to be in meditation, but it is extremely difficult to do meditation.
   Imagine how difficult it would have been if we had to do breathing. Like all natural processes, meditation is spontaneous and effortless.

2. Meditation is a state:

   It has a very great advantage of being a fact and not a fiction
   - Socrates

   Meditation is the state of silence where we can introspect without either guilt or pride. In the state of deep meditation, we can correct even the fundamental flaws of our personality effortlessly.

   Meditation is a state that extends much beyond mere relaxation. It is the experience of a state called as ‘thoughtless awareness’ where we are not hindered by the thoughts arising from the worries of the past or the anxieties about the future and being in the present where we experience our true nature.

3. Meditation is not an exercise:

   Breathing exercises or stretching exercises do not constitute meditation. They are merely techniques that can be used to enter into meditation.

4. Not all who talk, know:

   Stop thinking and talking about it and there is nothing you will not be able to know
   - Zen Koan

   People who talk about meditation sometimes have never actually experienced it. And even if someone has experienced it, it is of little value to us unless we can experience it ourselves too

5. Meditation has no prerequisites:

   It is not mandatory to have a silent room or peaceful settings to meditate. If there is noise outside, meditation will make you silent inside. It is possible to meditate even in a crowded train or during a crisis.

6. Meditation is not giving up on life:

   We don’t need to renounce our day-to-day activities in order to meditate. Instead, meditation helps us to do things better. Proper meditation does not make us passive; instead it makes us dynamic and energetic.

7. Meditation is not for sale:

   Look and you will find it – what is unsought will go undetected
   - Sophocles

   You cannot buy meditation. You cannot sell meditation. You cannot do meditation. You cannot force meditation. Like all natural processes – like flowers blooming and seeds sprouting – meditation is spontaneous, effortless and always born out of the individual’s desire.

   While it is easy to believe that more you pay, better the product/service you get, it is often untrue with meditation. People who spend millions usually learn nothing of value. Nowadays, a lot of ‘commercial yoga’ techniques are available in the market that promises extraordinary things but usually is observed to deliver nothing of much significance.

8. Knowing is not the same as being:

   The story is about you
   - Horace

   Listening to lectures on meditation is not the same as the actual meditation itself. No amount of books can teach you swim unless you jump into the water.

   A second’s experience is worth more than years of study. Direct perception is worth more than hours of listening to second-hand knowledge. To be is much greater than to know.

9. Abnormal behavior is not meditation:

   It is no proof of a man’s understanding to be able to confirm whatever he pleases; but to be able to discern that which is true is true and that which is false is false, that is a mark of character and intelligence.
   - Emanuel Swedenborg

   Mind going blank, losing consciousness, doing weird things are things that are neither spiritual nor meditative. Many believe that anything that is paranormal is spiritual. However, from my experience, I have come to understand that true meditation is not something abnormal. It is a profound state of inner silence that helps us understand ourselves better. It is natural and uncomplicated. And has no price tag associated with it.

10. Meditation, a fashion statement?

    The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved
    - Victor Hugo

    The ability to love oneself and other human beings equally is the most beautiful and attractive quality a human being can have. Meditation has the capacity to trigger this beautiful quality and thus is an eternal fashion statement. Meditation can never go out of fashion as long as humans desire for love and compassion.