Meditation

Meditation: focus, Rediscover and Reflect your inner self
Meditation is both art and science. Meditation is inner journey towards integration and reintegration. According to Patanjali contemplation is to keep the mind solely at one object. Contemplation is that state in which the tendencies of the focused mind begin to flow around on single idea like an uninterrupted stream of light and the mental faculties remain without any outward object. Meditation is the pinnacle of Yoga. But the term meditation is often confused or misinterpreted. It is not a kind of work or activity of the mind. People try to know the secrets of meditation on account of dissatisfaction with the normal activities of life. When we begin to probe into meditation as a spiritual exercise, we come face to face with certain vital truths about Nature and life as a whole. Divine energy flows freely to the adept during meditation and exerts a benign influence on the mind, nerves, sense organs and body.

Meditation opens the door to intuitive knowledge and realms of eternal bliss. The mind becomes calm and steady, you discover a greater sense of purpose and strength of will and your thinking becomes clearer and more concentrated, affecting all you do. By regular practice of meditation, the mind can be brought under perfect control. If you meditate for half an hour daily, you will be able to face life with peace and spiritual strength.
Patanjali’s eight-limbed path takes us on a journey of discovery, which begins by examining our external world. The first two limbs, yama and niyama, set down guidelines on how-to live-in society; the third, asana, on how to maintain the physical body; the fourth, pranayama, on how to regulate the breath; and the fifth, pratyahara, on how to subjugate our external senses so that we can begin to explore our inner world. What many people regard as meditation begins as concentration or dharana- the sixth limp of the eight-fold path. It is at this stage the journey that the internalization process really begins and we can examine the practice of meditation, dhyana. By connecting to an object, we learn to eliminate any fluctuating thought waves. This leads eventually to the experimental state of meditation.

In order to achieve a state of lasting happiness and absolute peace, we must first learn to calm the mind, to concentrate and ultimately to transcend the mind. By turning our focus inwards, upon the self, we can deepen that experience of perfect concentration. This is meditation. When we turn our attention inwards, we find that source of joy and wisdom already inside us.

In meditation, we go deep inside the mind; time and space have no meaning. Body consciousness is transcended, leading to the feeling of lightness. The mind is fixed. The flow of cognition towards the object of focus is smooth and constant. This conscious awareness, which begins as one-pointed focus, leads to a state that has no tangible description. The eight is samadhi, the superconscious state that transcends time, space, body and mind, when the union of individual consciousness with supreme consciousness occurs. With practice, commitment and patience, samadhi, the superconscious state, is reached. In samadhi one rests in the state of bliss in which the knower, the knowledge and the known become one. This is Yoga.