Essay about meditation

Jaya Gurudeva! Jaya Nitai-Gauranga!

Date: 3-22-08

Essay

We live in a world full of anxieties, fear, and confusion. So, people nowadays look for relief and shelter from such problems in Yoga Meditation. Yet, many don’t really know and understand what real Yoga Meditation is all about.

Real Yoga is about first realizing our true identity. So, this self-realization is the foundation by which we can engage in real Yoga.

The science or truth of our identity is better explained if we divided it into three parts, our essence, position, and our function.

So, in the first part, we are in essence spirit and not made of matter. We are not our body. Our body is made-up of matter which is composed of different combinations of chemicals. Without us, the spirit or life force inside the body, this material body would simply decompose and rot away. We are the ones who make our body valuable. Without the living entity inside the body, the body would become worthless and unsightly. If you experience someone you love die or even just watching people in the mortuary crying over their loved ones body saying “Why have you left me!” You can see that the body is right there in the coffin yet you know that the person who you are relating to is now gone. If someone claims that they are their body, then how come when someone they love dies they know that the one they love is no longer present? We must understand that we are the life force inside this material body. The body is like a car that we the driver, use and maintain. Even by using scientific reasoning it can be proven that we are not our bodies. Actually, through the process of metabolism, every cell and molecule in our body is totally replaced after 5 years. Even the cells in our brain are replaced. So, in fact every 5 years we a have a new body. We don’t realize this because the changeover of cells is gradual, so we don’t notice it. Just like a waterfall, we only see it as a plain falling body of water. Yet, if we observe closely, we can see that every water molecule of the waterfall is actually constantly changing. For example, if you have a picture when your body is still a baby, and you compare it to your picture when you are 12 years old, you can see that you have a totally different body. Your body may look similar mainly because when your body changes cells it stills follows a certain pattern. So, you may even still have the same scar you had when you were 3 years old. Even the cells of the scar that you had 5 years ago is replaced accordingly, nothing in your body is exempted from this change.

Many people nowadays say that we are the mind.

We must understand that the mind is also material, although subtle in nature. The mind is not us. It’s like a movie screen that is constantly bombarded with images and clips of our desires and past activities. We the spirit inside this body is the one viewing this non-stop movie show. To further elaborate that we are not our mind, we can actually change what we want to see in it. For example, if you’re studying for a quiz, your mind may wonder off to some guy or girl that you like, therefore you try to bring your mind back to your studies. Or one more example, if you stare at an object for a few minutes then you close your eyes, you can still see the same object in your mind. The fact that you can still see the object even without the use of your physical eyes proves that your mind is separate from you. You are the viewer of this movie screen called the mind

By actually understanding that we made of spirit and are not our body. We can conclude that simply trying to find happiness and relief from stress and depression through material means is not the solution. Being spirit in essence we need a spiritual solution.

Since we now know we are spirit in essence, we must come to understand our real position which is we are in fact the dominated part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit. We are not God. We are the same in essence as God because we are also made of spirit, yet not the same in quantity. We can experience this dominated condition of ours in our daily lives. We are dominated by the forces of nature, diseases, social laws etc. The Supreme Spirit (God) is the dominator of everything. He is like the Sun and we are like the sun rays. Without the sun the sunrays cannot exist. We are dependent on the Supreme Spirit.

So, by understanding that we are spirit in essence and that we are dominated part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit. We can now discuss the actual meaning of Yoga. Yoga actually means union with the Supreme Spirit. This union is not us merging with the Supreme Spirit and losing our individuality. This union is all about oneness in will and love. Just like a married couple is united in love and are still two distinct individuals. So, our real function in life is to actually be in Yoga or union with the Supreme in will and love. By nature, we the living entity need to serve and love and also to be loved. If you come to think of it everybody is serving somebody, whether he is the president of the world, he is still serving his wife, son, daughter, etc. We cannot avoid serving. By nature we are servants. The only difference is the nature of our service. We can either serve out of love which is unconditional or we serve for some material compensation.

Serving out of love is actually very fulfilling and joyful mainly because this is our true nature. The problem is we direct this loving service toward material relationships and thus causing us great pain and suffering. We are spirit, we need to link-up and be in union with the Supreme Spirit for us to become truly happy. This union is real Yoga.

For a person to come to this state of Yoga, we need to engage our body and mind in yoga meditation. Real meditation or yoga is actually engaging our mind and body on that which is transcendental. Since we are spiritual by nature, we need to link-up with the Supreme Spirit in order for us to achieve actual happiness and peace. The process of meditation makes it so that we are linked with God.

Now, how can a person meditate?

In this age of quarrel chaos and confusion, great saintly persons recommend the process of hearing and chanting Yoga Sound or Mantras. These sound vibrations if chanted sincerely have the power to actually cleanse our heart and mind of all our sinfulness, and most important of all, these mantras can awaken our dormant love for God and thus we achieve real happiness.

Mantras are actually Names of God. The word “man” means mind and “tra” means to draw away. So, the word mantra means to draw away the mind from that which is material. So, the Names of God has the power to draw away the mind from this material dimension and place it in that which is transcendental. There are different ways we can practice meditation, one by using beads or “mala”. This type of meditation is very personal mainly because when you engage in it, you chant quietly and usually only you can hear the mantras. The second type is called group meditation or “kirtana”, this type of meditation is done by chanting and hearing the mantras with other people. This type of meditation requires group interaction where there is a kirtana leader and the others reciprocate by repeating the mantras the kirtana leader sang.

By engaging in these processes of meditation one is actually engaging his senses in transcendental activities without even noticing it. For example, by chanting on beads one is using the sense of touch, the sense of hearing, and also by doing kirtana, one is engaging his body in dancing and singing thus, almost all his 5 sense are preoccupied in spiritual activities.

The fact is, what we do with our senses greatly affect our consciousness. For example, if we expose our senses in animalistic activities, our consciousness becomes also animalistic. So, meditation is a process by which we engage our senses in spiritual activities so that our consciousness is also in that realm. Any activity which is done in the service of God is meditation because it makes it so that our mind and body is engaged in spiritual activities. These spiritual activities actually nourish us because we are spirit. In this material world, we are like a fish out of the water. No matter how much money, gold, or even a female fish you give him, he cannot be happy mainly because he is not in his natural home, which is in water. So, without this spiritual food, we cannot be truly happy in this world. So, by hearing and chanting God’s names and engaging in loving service towards Him, we can become truly happy.

Haribol!!! (Chant the Holy Names)

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