To find out what this feeling of Love is, die to your past, to all emotions, the good and bad. And live each moment anew. Just observe without thought. Without giving names to your feelings, then you will find that you are one with what you see. There is then no observer, no thinker, and no centre from which you are looking out.

The mind is actually eternally pure and true. All the mystical tradition of the world have promised you this and it has been fulfilled and is being fulfilled in thousands of human lives.

And this truth is not something terribly complicated, it is in fact only common sense and When you realise the actual nature of the mind, you stop being deluded. And there is no drama in being introduced to the nature of your mind, in the end to delusions there are no extraordinary visions that you see. It simply happens. Do not get obsessed with theories and logic and extraordinary experiences. Simply look in.


3. And to do the above you must relax and let go Sitting quietly, the body still, the speech silent, let thoughts and emotion rise and subside without reacting to any. A vast majority of us find it very difficult to do this, our minds are so distracted we need a skillful method to still our minds.

Therefore calm conditions have to be created to begin the practice of meditation. A quiet, peaceful environment and then the correct posture. The most essential part of the posture is to keep the back straight. The spine should be relaxed but upright perhaps in the beginning you could use a backrest. The legs may be crossed or you may stretch your legs before you. In the beginning close your eyes, once your mind is calm, you could meditate with your eyes open looking along the line of your nose. There are many ways to then still the mind, we have chosen here three, watching the breath, focussing on an object or symbol, and reciting a mantra.

Breath, the spirit of God, the prana, the chi is the most basic expression of life. In watching the breath we turn all our awareness on breathing in and breathing out. Each time you breathe out you release, before breathing in you will notice there is a gap between the two breaths. Rest in this gap and continuing resting in this gap even when you breathe in. From watching your breath, to resting your mind in the gap on to the stage when the breath, the breather and the breathing become one.

5. Visualisation

In this second method the mind rest lightly on an object. This could a flower, a crystal and image of god, your master's photo. The personal connection to the object is what inspires meditation. If you do have such an object that you cherish and revere then fix your gaze on it. This shall take you into a state of awareness and meditation and still the mind.

6. Reciting a Mantra

The definition of a mantra is "that which protects the mind" all mantras have a power and produce a reaction. However if we are to experience its power we have to repeat it with full awareness of its meaning. If you identify yourself with the mantra you would experience its effects at once. When you chant a mantra you are charging your whole body with the energy of the mantra. So ham or Hamsa is the mantra of the self since it coordinates with our breathing it is common to all. The breath goes out with So and comes in with Ham. The meaning of soham is "I am that"

You can repeat this mantra with the method of watching the breath. Between so and ham is the gap. As you practice this technique, the gap/space will gradually increase.

There are over 70 million mantras and you can obtain one for yourself from books or from your teacher/master/guru. A mantra imbued with energy, when chanted will guide that person with a renewed energy. A 'live' mantra is received from a guru who has himself/herself realized its power and given it a special energy.

In meditation the mind is to be left simply as it is. And there must be a delicate balance between relaxation and alertness-neither follow thoughts nor indulge in them.

Whatever method you use, drop it, when you find you have arrived naturally at a state of peace. The method has already achieved its purpose. However if you become distracted then revert to whichever technique is most appropriate in order to return to a peace and stillness of mind and emotions.

Very often people ask as to how long they should meditate for. Any amount of time from a few minutes to hours is all right, as long as you manage to reach a state of mindfulness i.e. a state when your mind is free from agitated thoughts. This does not means an unconscious state or a state of drowsiness or sleep. The goal is a still mind in a state of alertness/awareness.

The spiritual practice of meditation must not be treated as a separate structured activity. The meditative attitude must be brought to bear upon our daily lives.

The experience of expansiveness, space, peace, and joy that meditation brings is to pervade our day to day activities. The state of mind during meditation should continue through everything we do. To reach to this we must practice meditation and put all our efforts into it as we have put into our work/ study etc. Just as you must study for x number of years to get a degree so you must practice for x number of days, months or years to get into a permanently calm/ serene state of mind.

There are no sudden miracles in meditation the approach to adopting it is the same as the approach towards achieving any other life goal for yourself. Become creative in making a space for yourself for meditation, a room, right music, paintings, flowers, incense, an image, you can change the most ordinary of spaces into your sacred space. If you prefer to be out into nature, sit by the sea, a waterfall, look into the moonlight and find yourself relaxing and letting go. And slowly you shall become the master of your own bliss.

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