Suppose you read about a pill that you could take once or twice a day to reduce stress and other mental ailments and increase your wellbeing? Would you take it? Suppose this pill has a variety of side effects, all of them good: increased optimism and self esteem, calmness, empathy and more. Suppose, also, that this medication is all natural and costs nothing but time. Now, would you take it? This tablet does exist. It is called meditation or dhyaan yoga.
Dhyaan yoga is one of the pathways that lead to attaining oneness with Divinity. This route is one of eight methods referred to as Ashtang Yoga. This yoga was enunciated by Shakti Ma in the scriptural text, Devi Bhagavatam. Devi outlined to Shri Himalayaji this recipe in response to his request for enlightenment on the preparations required in welcoming Devi into one’s life. This practice has found a place not only among Hindus, but worldwide.
In ancient India, meditation was practised as a means of achieving a state of enlightenment. With today’s stressful and busy lifestyles, meditation is often viewed as a coping mechanism for dealing with the various external and internal pressures. Meditation can be a powerful, innate remedy and there are many meditation techniques and disciplines available. Usually, meditation involves sitting still in an upright position (in most techniques) and placing your awareness on your breathing, or a sacred word or image. When other words, ideas or images arise in your consciousness, you gently bring your attention back to your meditation.
Meditation may seem difficult at first as you try to tame the restless mind. Developing a personal meditation habit takes time but over the long term, it may result in changes to the automatic thought processes. This practice of mind-control teaches us humility, patience and detachment. From a spiritual perspective, it is a journey of the mind through the world in the quest for the Divine. This involves the mind’s movement through five states, as stated in the Patanjali yoga sutras: the restless mind (kshipta), the forgetful mind (mudha), the oscillating mind (vikshipta), the one-pointed mind (ekagra) and the restrained mind (nirodhah). In meditation, one turns the concentrated mind toward the Divine. The Bhagavad Gita places importance on controlling the mind in elevating oneself: “He who meditates on Me, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me, he is sure to reach Me” (Ch. 8, v. 8). Shree Krishna instructs that “one should meditate upon Me within the heart and make me the ultimate goal of life” (Ch. 6, v. 13-14).
Meditation practised every day for several months may considerably decrease fearful, negative and avaricious thoughts and increase a sense of wellbeing and connectedness. In recent years scientific research has focused on the effects of meditation on physical, mental and emotional health and suggests that meditation even changes the brain’s structure. There have also been anecdotal instances worldwide of the epiphanies experienced by meditators.
Meditation can be a medicine for mental negativities, and diving regularly into the pure essence of being can bring tremendous physical, emotional and spiritual gains.
