What is Meditation
Meditation makes life meaningful. It sustains that sense of wonderment in life. If prayer is asking God for something, then meditation is telling God that I am here to listen to you, what do you have to say?
There is a lot of misconception about meditation. Some say it has to do with focus on the mind, some say it has to do with religious chants or praying to God. Meditation is not concentration; for us, meditation is the opposite. To do any work we need to put in effort, for meditation, you don’t need any effort. Meditation is an effortless way of relaxation.
Meditation brings the much needed balance between being sensible and sensitive, between the heart and the mind. If this balance is there, it results in happiness, which is what we all want, and what we all are running for!
There are three golden rules for meditation that you need to keep in the back of your mind. You don’t have to remember them all the time, just keep them out there; they come up when you really need them. When you are going to meditate, can you say these three things.
1. I want nothing. (Even if you say, "I am thirsty, I want a glass of water", meditation is not going to happen. You better finish drinking that glass of water. This is the first golden rule. Just for those 20 minutes, say, "I want nothing". You may think, "I don’t want to be a monk, I have many things to do!" Yes, agreed, you want many things, but just for 20 minutes, can you take off that feeling, sit still and want nothing?)2. I need to do nothing.3. I am nothing. (If you think you are a very intelligent person, or the worst person, or a fool, then also there is no chance for meditation).
We need to put aside all the labels that we put on our self for a while, and say, ‘I am nothing, I want nothing and I need to do nothing’. These are the three golden rules for meditation to happen. From movement to stillness, and from sound to silence, is the journey of meditation.