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When somebody decided to start meditation, first question that baffles him is how to begin on his path. The first step in meditation is extremely important to maintain the enthusiasm in coming days. If in the beginning you get some success in meditating, the same will inspire you to continue meditation for long. It will result in some real progress and benefits in meditation.

If you are planning to give meditation a try, I would advise you to first of all start with the simplest form of meditation instead of some advanced techniques. The basic thing you should do in the beginning is to start spending some time in silence. Yes, just spend some time in silence ! Start by spending 10-15 minutes daily in silence. Don’t do anything during this duration. Just be silent. This is enough. Don’t try any complex thing in the beginning. Go to a park or garden in morning alone and sit silently there. If possible, go to a sea beach and sit silently there. If spending quiet time with nature is not possible then go to any nearby place of worship like Church, Temple or mosque and sit there in silence.

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I came across a very interesting discussion between a seeker and his master. It has some very important lessons for all of us . Here it it is for you :

Seeker :  When I think of doing meditation, one thing that come to my mind again and again is the fear  of losing who I am. Actually I am a very fun loving guy and the only real life role models I have encoutered in the meditation community are a bit to serious, somber and methodically sobering. I guess what I am saying is that I don’t want to end up like a monk and I have no reference for what a fun loving family guy would look like after going through the meditation.

I hope you understand and I would greatly appreciate any guidance.

Master : 

“I am afraid of losing who I am.”

A drop falling in the ocean is concerned about loosing itself. The ignorant drop does not know that when she falls into the ocean, she becomes the ocean itself. She becomes a part of the ocean. Nobody can tell that this is the drop and this is the ocean.

When you say : I am afraid of losing who I am.

You actually mean: I am afraid of losing my ego.

Hi I am the fun loving guy, the perfect party man. People love to spend time with me. They love my company, my sense of humor , my energy, enthusiasm. They talk about me when I am not there. How important I am for my family and friend! It is really frightening to think that if I continue with my spiritual practice this fun loving personality of mine will vanish and I’ll become a sober, serious guy like a monk. What my friends and relatives will think of me then? I can’t see any role model in Buddhism who is fun loving while still being a spiritually developed man. Shall I become a serious guy?

The real fear is in loosing your ego. Loosing your great reputation as a fun loving guy.

I feel if you are not ready to let go of your ego, you should forget the spiritual path and choose something different. Buddhisms (or for that matter any spiritual path) will not make you a serious or funny person. It will give you a fresh perspective towards life and make you calm and most importantly it’ll melt your ego. It will make you realize how ephemeral our existence is. We all are tiny puppets in the hands of a cosmic string. Just like waves in ocean, we took birth, spend sometime on this earth and then again merge with the existence. In a time frame of billions of years, our life period is just a very small point. So where is the place for ego.

Let me assure you : If you are a fun loving man by your intrinsic nature, spirituality will make you funnier. Because you will realize the stupidity of so many things we all consider so important now. You’ll realize the stupidity of how people argue, fight, and kill in the name of religion. You’ll realize that taking life seriously is itself a stupidity.

So don’t afraid and dive in. you’ll only loose your ego not your funnier nature.
 

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It cannot be more ironic. Just a few days after I posted the news about TM founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s retreat into complete silence, came the news of his death in Holland.

Maharishi Yogi, he founder and spiritual leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement, died in his sleep at his Netherland home in Vlodrop. He was 91.

Maharishi, known for his flowing beard and long graying hair, is credited for Transcendental Meditation or TM, whose main characteristic is the chanting of the mantra “Om” in a lotus seated position.

He described TM as “the unified field of all the laws of nature”, and through the years the practice gained medical respectability.

He was “guru” to leading celebrities such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Shirley MacLaine, Mia Farrow, Clint Eastwood, Director David Lynch, and Deepak Chopra, another New Age icon.

The roots of Maharishi’s life remain unknown. He was born Mahesh Srivastava in central India sometime 1911 to 1918.

A son of a civil servant, he studied physics at Allahabad University before becoming the right hand of a well known Hindu holy man, Jagadguru Shankaracharya, who taught him TM. After Jagadguru’s death, he continued the TM tradition.

Maharishi went into a two-year retreat in the foothills of the Himalayas before introducing TM to the West in the 1950s. In January 2008, he announced his retirement from active life, and devoted his remaining days studying ancient Indian texts.

My tribute to this great man who made India proud.

Suggested reading : My views on Transcendental Meditation

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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement, has decided to take break from the hectic schedule of managing his huge organization based in the Netherlands. He has decided to spend his remaining life in silence contemplating and preparing a commentary on the Vedas, a vast Sanskrit canon compiled 3,500 years ago.

It appears that the age is taking its toll on the Yogi who is now 91 and up to now was working 20 hours a day for years. He has handed over the daily management of his global networks to aides.

Source : Chron.com

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Are you really busy these days and not getting any time to meditate?

If yes, then I have a suggestion for you. Don’t try to allocate any separate time for meditation. Make it a part of your busy work schedule. There are so many techniques which you can try even while working.

For example try to be just more aware of whatever you are doing in the moment. Start from little steps. In office, whenever you have some passive time, try to be more aware of yourself. Feel the consciousness within you. Feel the breathing pattern.

Just doing some deep breathing session during your work hour will help you to a great extent.

A very annoying stumbling block for meditation is that we try to allocate a separate time for it which we never find.  If you have tried meditation for sometime, you must be aware of what I mean. So instead of meditating at a specific time which you’ll never get; just make meditation a part of your busy life. Doing so is really very easy. Read some meditation techniques explained in the Meditation Corner and try them.

Though it is always better to meditate regularly in a separate room for a specified duration, if you don’t get any chance for this the next best thing is to meditate as and when we get time. Even if it is in our workplace.

Remember: even a small step is better than not walking at all.

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Wishing you a very happy and prosperous new year !!

New Year is the time to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the coming year. It is the time to forget and get past memories that are no longer useful or worth pondering upon. It is the time for new beginnings and new starts in life. New Year has a message for each one of us. One should let go of the past that has bad memories and accept what has happened, has happened for some reason. Instead of clinging onto your past and things that have gone, it is better to let go.

New Year is a time for celebration of love, of life, of Friendship.
It’s the time to thank God for wonderful friends, and to bring to their
lives as much magic as they bring to ours…So here’s celebrating our
Friendship and praying that its magic continues forever. Happy New Year
May this new year adorn your life with many beautiful things and sweet
memories to cherish forever. And care of those whom the heart holds
close, along with abundant joys and happiness, for you and your family.
Wishing you life’s best this New Year

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