Mind And Meditation !

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A former editor of The Vedanta Kesari, the author is presently the Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Chandigarh.

Question: Some say that meditation is a process of getting rid of thoughts. If so, then what is that which brings thoughts in to our mind? How to minimize these thoughts?

Answer: Mind means thoughts, a stream of thoughts. Mind cannot remain silent even for a moment. It is only in the highest samadhi that mind becomes free from all thoughts, which means mind becomes non-extent, as it were. But one begins one's meditation by maintaining a single type of thought in the mind.

From where do thoughts come? They arise either from external stimuli created by our five senses such as sight, sound and touch or from the subconscious mind where our past impressions are stored. When we sit for meditation with closed eyes in a solitary place, external stimuli are cut down to the minimum, but thoughts continue to arise from the subconscious mind. These must be controlled by steady, patient and devoted practice for a long time.

Question: Even after practice to calm the mind, there is always a voice behind that is still speaking and disturbing. How to stop this voice?

Answer: The disturbing and speaking voice of which you are talking is nothing but the restless mind. This mental noise indicates that the mind has not yet been fully concentrated. In perfect concentration, only the object of concentration fully occupies the mind. Then there is no mental noise or voice speaking inside. Constant practice with zeal and determination is the only solution to calm that disturbance.

Question: What is the minimum time required by any ordinary man to control the mind? Answer: There is no set time for controlling the mind. Much depends upon the intensity of practice. According to Sri Ramakrishna, one can achieve the goal within three days, or in three years or it may take three lives or even more!

Question: Isn't the end of desires the end of life? So why should we consider it as a 'drunk' state of mind as the mystics call it? Doing meditation is also, after all, a desire for something.

Answer: End of desire is not the end of life. A desireless person does not die. As a matter of fact, to be desireless is the highest goal of human life. Desirelessness brings a sense of deep fulfillment and inner bliss. It is not a 'drunk' state of mind in the ordinary sense of the term but a desireless person, in a sense, becomes totally drunk with divine bliss.

True, meditation is also a means to fulfil some desire—the state of desirelessness. But once this state is achieved, meditation is no more required; it falls off on its own. For a man of perfect desirelessness, life itself becomes one continuous meditation.

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About the author

Swami Brahmeshananda

A former editor of The Vedanta Kesari, the author is presently the Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Chandigarh.