|
Do's
and Don'ts in Meditation:
Instructions for timing, place and
postures in Meditation. |
In this
chapter, I want to tell some important do's and don't in meditation.
These are basic guidelines which an absolute beginner should follow if
he/she wants to be proficient in the art of meditation. Here we go..
(1)
The ideal environment for Meditation:
What
I am going to tell you is the ideal environment for meditation.
I have used the word ideal environment - an environment
under which anybody can make tremendous progress in meditation.
However, it is the ideal one -the best one and let me tell you that
'best' things are not easily accessible to everybody. Therefore, I
think that not everybody has the privilege to meditate under these
ideal conditions. However for all those who can afford to meditate in
such environment, here is the description of an 'ideal environment for
meditation.
The
ideal room : It is better to have a separate
room for practice of meditation alone. Do not sleep in that room, it
must be kept holy. You must not enter the room until you have bathed,
and are perfectly clean in body and mind. Place flowers in that room.
Put pleasing pictures in that room. Burn incense morning and
evening in that room. Have no quarrelling , nor anger, nor unholy
thoughts in that room. Only allow those persons to enter it who are of
the same thought as you. Then gradually there will be an atmosphere of
holiness in the room so that when you are miserable, sorrowful,
doubtful or your mind is disturbed, the very fact of entering that
room will make you calm.
Did I explain something impossible above ? If you are living in a
small flat in a urban, highly congested city then the mention
of a separate room of meditation must have bewildered you. When
there is not enough place for living, how can we devote a separate
room just for meditation ?
Well I agree that there is space problem in our homes. But as I
have already clarified that what I described above is an ideal condition.
It's not a mandatory
condition . Soon I'll
tell you how you can meditate even if you don't have a separate room.
Do you know where you can find such perfect rooms in your city ? You
will find such rooms in the temples, churches and other religious
places of your cities. In fact the whole idea behind temples and
churches was to create ideal rooms for meditation.
Just notice how much emphasis is given to cleanliness in religious
places, how much attention is given to having pious thoughts in such
places. Even now a majority of all religious places (of all religions)
contain a field of positive holy vibrations. That's why when you enter
into them, you feel inner peace and calm. If possible, try to meditate
in the temple or church of your locality.
If
you can't find a separate room for meditation at home or if the
religious places in your cities are heavily crowded, then you can
meditate at any convenient place of your choice. It may be a corner in
your room, your bed, a place in the park, your car, bus, the local
library or any other place of your choice. No
matter which place you choose for meditation, the important
thing is that you should be able to meditate there regularly and
nobody should disturb you during meditation in that place.
Now just
like the ideal room for meditation, here is an ideal condition for
meditation.
You should meditate daily at the same place, at the same time and
nobody should disturb you during meditation. The best time for
meditation are towards the morning and the evening. When night passes
into day, and day into night, a state of relative calmness ensues.
The
above is an ideal condition for meditation. If you can follow it, well
and good, if you can't don't despair. We are living in an extremely
busy and complicated era. Life in 21st century has become complex and
demanding. It is natural for us to be hard pressed for time.
Nevertheless, as the saying goes - something is better than nothing.
Start meditation with whatever little time and place you have. Try be
as regular as you can. You will start gaining benefits of meditation,
if you keep trying despite all odds.
Even
if you can't find time for meditation and are unable to meditate
regularly, it is strongly recommended that whenever you mediate,
meditate at the same place. If you are an absolute beginner in
meditation, you must follow this advise. The reason for my emphasis
on 'meditation at the same
place' is that every
action (be it good or bad) creates its vibration. So when you
meditate on a particular place everyday, that place gets filled with
the positive vibrations of meditation. So the next time you sit for
meditation, these positive vibrations will help you attain the
meditative state quickly and deeply. A beginner of meditation is just
like a tiny sapling. It's root are not very deep and
strong. It can not stand the forces of rain, storms and thunders.
However, when it grows, it become a tree with strong roots and
branches that can withstand any difficulty. Similarly as a
beginner of meditation meditates regularly at the same place,
his/her ability to meditate improves and he/she becomes apt in
meditating deeply. When he/she attains such expertise in meditation
then he/she can meditate anywhere, anytime. But in the beginning it is
important that we meditate at the same place and if possible at the
same time too.
(2)
Make sure that nobody disturb you while meditating:
Now
this is something which also very important in meditation. You simply
can't meditate if people keeps disturbing you. You should make sure
that nobody disturb you while meditation. First of all without
hesitation, tell everybody in your family and friend circle that
during such and such time in the day you meditate and you don't want
to be disturbed by them at that time. Make it very clear-
politely and firmly - that you want to meditate and you DON'T WANT TO
BE DISTURBED during meditation. (Of course tell them that they can
disturb you when there is an emergency ) Further, when you meditate
switch off your mobile phone. Remove the telephone plug if it is there
in your meditation room. Advise your family to keep the volume
of Radio & TV low when you meditate.
Further, if you have a
separate room for meditation, close it during meditation and place a
board of
'DON'T DISTURB ! I
AM MEDITATING' on it.
In the highly complicated and busy life of today there are very
few moments of silence and stillness. We are surrounded by all sorts
of chaos in most part of the day. Therefore, it is very important that
we meditate and attain inner calm and right perspective for life.
For this it is essential that we at least get an undisturbed
30-minute session of meditation and that is possible only when nobody
disturbs us during meditation.
(3)
Posture in Meditation :
There
is only rule for posture in meditation :
"Sit so comfortably that you forget your body. "
Meditation
is related with spiritual planes of body. You can't touch those planes
unless you are comfortable with your physical bodies It really
doesn't matter that in which posture you sit for meditation.
Moreover, it doesn't matter whether you sit on a floor, on a chair, on
bed, in Car, bus, sofa or on table ! The only thing is that you should
be comfortable while sitting. It is very important that you sit in a
physically comfortable position before you meditate You can sit in
lotus pose (cross legged ), you can sit on a chair, a sofa or on
a bed. Just keep in mind that in whichever pose you sit, it should be
comfortable for your body.
(4)
For all extremely busy people:
Adopt the
three yogic aids of
Deep breathing,
Deep Relaxation
and
Deep
Contraction
in your life .
Needless to say this again . I have already devoted an entire chapter
on these three aids. They are very important especially if you are
living a very busy life. Adopt these three aids in your life and
you will be able to meditate with effortless ease.
(4)
Have patience :
Meditation acts as a cleansing
process. It will take its own time to produce its effect on you. Be
patient and don't meditate with an aim of getting a time-bound
benefit. Meditate without expecting anything. Soon you will find that
the joy of mediation is enough.
(5)
Be Playful :
Meditation
is not a serious religious process. Don't try too hard in meditation.
It is like a Homeopathy Medicine which works slowly but treat
completely. Always be playful with the meditation techniques. To be
cheerful and playful during meditation is the sure recipe for success.
In fact the reality is that we all have been assigned a role by the
cosmic choreographer. We all are playing a role in our life. When you
realize your true self in meditation, you will know about your true
identity. After this realization you will be more playful towards
life. We all are waves of the ocean. Waves come, arise. fall and again
merge into the ocean. Be playful to this game.
(5)
Always identify the witness within you
Remember
this fact : In whichever meditation technique you are, you aim should
be to identify your true self : the witness within you.
In fact all meditation techniques helps you to identify that
witness within you. This
is the real key factor of all techniques. No
matter what you do, where you do it or how you do it,
there is always someone in you who watches the doer as
well as the deed. You can experience this in many ways. While watching
a movie try to see if it is only you who is watching the movie or is
there someone in you who is watching that you are watching the movie.
( I have already explained this in What is
meditation )To know that knower is the real meditation. That
knower, that particular watcher - the witness is your true self. This
self is your eternal essence. If there is any part of you which was
present before your birth and which will be there after your death, it
is this self - your true identity. Always meditate with an aim to know this
self.
Let us
summarize all do's and don'ts in meditation.
Do's
-
Meditate
regularly.
-
Meditate
at the same place and same time everyday.
-
Make
sure that nobody disturb you while meditating:
-
Sit
so comfortably that you forget your body
-
Adopt
Deep breathing, Deep Relaxation and Deep Contraction.
-
Have
patience
-
Be
Playful
-
Identify
the witness within you.
Don'ts
in Meditation
Let us see
some don'ts in meditation:
Do
not meditate: where
there there are wild animals, or danger like fire or flood water,
where there is too much noise and where there are wicked persons.
Do
not meditate: when
the body feels very lazy or ill or when the mind is very miserable and
sorrowful.
Do
not meditate at a
dirty place.
After
having learned about these essential instructions regarding
meditation, let us learn about the central point of all meditation
techniques.
Click
Central
point of every meditation technique
