10 things that I’ve learnt about meditation | Freemeditation.com

10 things that I’ve learnt about meditation

10 things that I’ve learnt about meditation

December 20, 2009 | 25,685 views | Articles | 16 comments


Author

Author: Karthik Yoganathan
Karthik is a Software Engineer working in Infosys, based in Chennai, India. Has been practicing Sahaja Yoga and enjoying the many blessings of the divine connection since 2002. Loves writing stories, meditation and playing flute.



  1. Meditation is not about doing:

    It is easy to be in meditation, but it is extremely difficult to do meditation.
    Imagine how difficult it would have been if we had to do breathing. Like all natural processes, meditation is spontaneous and effortless.

  2. Meditation is a state:

    It has a very great advantage of being a fact and not a fiction
    - Socrates

    Meditation is the state of silence where we can introspect without either guilt or pride. In the state of deep meditation, we can correct even the fundamental flaws of our personality effortlessly.

    Meditation is a state that extends much beyond mere relaxation. It is the experience of a state called as ‘thoughtless awareness’ where we are not hindered by the thoughts arising from the worries of the past or the anxieties about the future and being in the present where we experience our true nature.

  3. Meditation is not an exercise:

    Breathing exercises or stretching exercises do not constitute meditation. They are merely techniques that can be used to enter into meditation.

  4. Not all who talk, know:

    Stop thinking and talking about it and there is nothing you will not be able to know
    - Zen Koan

    People who talk about meditation sometimes have never actually experienced it. And even if someone has experienced it, it is of little value to us unless we can experience it ourselves too

  5. Meditation has no prerequisites:

    It is not mandatory to have a silent room or peaceful settings to meditate. If there is noise outside, meditation will make you silent inside. It is possible to meditate even in a crowded train or during a crisis.

  6. Meditation is not giving up on life:

    We don’t need to renounce our day-to-day activities in order to meditate. Instead, meditation helps us to do things better. Proper meditation does not make us passive; instead it makes us dynamic and energetic.

  7. Meditation is not for sale:

    Look and you will find it – what is unsought will go undetected
    - Sophocles

    You cannot buy meditation. You cannot sell meditation. You cannot do meditation. You cannot force meditation. Like all natural processes – like flowers blooming and seeds sprouting – meditation is spontaneous, effortless and always born out of the individual’s desire.

    While it is easy to believe that more you pay, better the product/service you get, it is often untrue with meditation. People who spend millions usually learn nothing of value. Nowadays, a lot of ‘commercial yoga’ techniques are available in the market that promises extraordinary things but usually is observed to deliver nothing of much significance.

  8. Knowing is not the same as being:

    The story is about you
    - Horace

    Listening to lectures on meditation is not the same as the actual meditation itself. No amount of books can teach you swim unless you jump into the water.

    A second’s experience is worth more than years of study. Direct perception is worth more than hours of listening to second-hand knowledge. To be is much greater than to know.

  9. Abnormal behavior is not meditation:

    It is no proof of a man’s understanding to be able to confirm whatever he pleases; but to be able to discern that which is true is true and that which is false is false, that is a mark of character and intelligence.
    - Emanuel Swedenborg

    Mind going blank, losing consciousness, doing weird things are things that are neither spiritual nor meditative. Many believe that anything that is paranormal is spiritual. However, from my experience, I have come to understand that true meditation is not something abnormal. It is a profound state of inner silence that helps us understand ourselves better. It is natural and uncomplicated. And has no price tag associated with it.

  10. Meditation, a fashion statement?

    The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved
    - Victor Hugo

    The ability to love oneself and other human beings equally is the most beautiful and attractive quality a human being can have. Meditation has the capacity to trigger this beautiful quality and thus is an eternal fashion statement. Meditation can never go out of fashion as long as humans desire for love and compassion.


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15 comment(s) so far, want to say something now?


  • Nancy
    Dec 20, 2009
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    Awesome!!!

    Reply

    1

  • Ankur
    Dec 20, 2009
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    I used to follow a guru, who seemed to offer great meditation techniques, but he charged a lot of money for it. After some inner turmoil, I decided that enlightenment should be free and accessible to all.

    Thank you for this website. I have not yet felt the cool breeze, but one day…

    Reply

    Nabada More
    May 15th, 2012

    Ankur, what you are waiting for ? Go to any Sahajayoga Meditation centre nearby (check “worldwide contacts section on http://www.sahajayoga.org) and get your Self-Realization. You can have it online as well. However, you should prefer it at the Meditation centre. Best wishes and Nirmal love, Regrads, Nabada

    Reply

    2

  • nilufer
    Dec 20, 2009
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    Great article!
    Luckily….at the onset of my sahaja journey, I saw myself in mediation, ‘why i am in meditation’
    Meditation reminded me the feeling of innocence again which used to guide me.
    Self realization, getting our ‘wholeness’ like a light enlightened in us enabling to acknowledge ourselves and our powers while connecting with the whole

    The pure knowledge, the brains to grasp it, the talents, the beauty, whatever that’s truly precious, comes from one ultimate source, and there it has got to return, set free by the free will, the only thing that we can dare to call our own
    No intellectual argumentation can substitute this journey. Its a living experience, the origin of which resides within us….not an unobtainable dream of a distant goal, right?

    Reply

    3

  • Vikas Yadav
    Dec 21, 2009
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    Extremely….true and from bottom of your hearth!!!! Thank you brother you did a Awesome Job of giving tons of information in simple words. I dont have words to discribe the happiness and Joy i felt while reading and going through it…Its All MATAJI’S KRUPA on all of us SAHAJA YOGI

    Reply

    4

  • dilia ozawa
    Jan 25, 2010
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    Sublime! Thank you.

    Reply

    5

  • Zac Tianne
    Jan 25, 2010
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    You’re right on target on many of the things you say–more so that most of the commercial teachers and providers of training in meditation. The one point we see differently though is that to me, meditation has to be a physical activity. A mental activity makes the mind busy. A busy mind is not conducive to thoughtless awareness. Let the physical lead and emptiness will follow.
    Emptiness, not holiness, always.
    Zac.

    Reply

    6

  • susan
    Apr 16, 2010
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    VERY GREAT INFORMATIONS YOU HAVE PUT SOOOO SIMPLE, THANK YOU!!!

    Reply

    7

  • Helena
    Jul 21, 2010
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    Help people with your advice how to trully relax and start meditating.

    Reply

    8

  • ashwini
    Aug 17, 2010
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    nice web site………………….

    Reply

    9

  • Silvana Donato
    May 9, 2012
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    That is absolutely true

    Reply

    10

  • Meditation Center Hicksville
    May 23, 2012
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    You have defin the meditation very truely.

    Reply

    11

  • James
    Jun 16, 2012
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    Helpful tips and hints!! Thank you. I look forward to the journey!

    Reply

    12

  • Hemlata @ indiamarks.com
    Aug 2, 2012
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    All above giving listing is very very good and fantastic and wonder full as well as informative, thanks for providing such a nice listing..

    Reply

    13

  • Vinay
    Aug 13, 2012
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    But who is meditating in side us ? Doing meditation is affirming ego, Even my writing is my ego too.
    Just a choicelessness awareness, just happening not even being.. I may be wrong too !!!

    Reply

    14

  • abhijit bose
    Oct 8, 2012
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    very beautifully expressed and conveyed. enjoyed reading it.

    Reply

    15

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