What exactly is
Meditation ?
OK ! What is Meditation
?
I hope by now you know 'what is not meditation'.
(If not read What is not
meditation )
Let us see
what is meditation.
Meditation is a process to know who we really are.
If I ask you, " Who are you?" what will you say ?
You may say - Well I am 25, male, American , white, Roman catholic,
Masters in Computer Science, doing a job in HP, planning to marry this
year.
Does the above answer describe you completely?
Probably
you would like to add this : OK I am 5'11'', strongly built, curly hair, clean
shaved, love ice-cream and Coke, my hobbies include surfing the
internet, gardening and watching movies ..
Again I shall
ask, " Does that describe you completely?"
Tell
me If you were not born in America, of white parents and instead had born in an African village, of black parents, inherited a tribal religion and never got a chance to read or write, what would be your answer to the question:" Who are you"
Think
over it
All the identities that we call ours - our
name, our nationality, religion, education, physical appearance and
thoughts - all of them are the sum total of circumstance under which we born
and grow.
You are a white American catholic,
it's because of the family you are born in.
If you are long/ short, thin/ thick, strong/weak, it's because of the genes
you've inherited from your parents.
If you have a masters degree from Harvard, it's because you get the opportunity (which is the sum total of your hard work and
your luck) to study there.
Think it over.
What if you had born of different parents, with a different name, a different nationality, religion, education, physical appearance and thoughts- in short under a different set of circumstances ?
Well the attributes which we use to describe ourselves are just the result of being born in a particular set of circumstances. Had we gotten a different set of circumstance then we would be a different person.
Well why I am discussing this?
Just to tell you who you really are.
The attributes which you use to describe yourself - like your name, nationality, religion, height, physical appearance- no matter how exactly they describe you with reference to your place in this world, they can not describe the real you. They can not describe the fundamental unchanged aspect of your being which remains intact in all circumstances.
No matter where you born in, no matter of which religion you follow, of which nationality you belong to or what is your educational or financial status, you have an identity which is independent of all these external attributes. The identity which is the fundamental core of your very existence in this world. Meditation is a mean to recognize that identity - yours true identity.
What is this identity? Who you really are?
In reality you are just consciousness.
You are not body, you are not mind, you are not thoughts, you are just consciousness which feels and witness everything as you play your part in
life. This consciousness by its very nature is peaceful, calm and
rejuvenating.
and Meditation is a process to know this consciousness within you.
Now two question arises in mind...
(1) How one can know this for sure that in actuality he/she is the consciousness which feels and witness everything that
his/her body and mind perform?
(2) Secondly, even if someone believe that he/she is the consciousness, what is the big deal in that ? Can it help
him/her in easing his/her complex and demanding daily life and what is the role of meditation in it?
I will answer both questions.
Click below for an
interesting experiment to know the consciousness within
Self : know the
soul of meditation
