Modern age philosopher Osho maintain "No meditation, No life.
Know meditation, Know
life." This quote holds a cent percent relevance in today's time. In this modern
day and age, the negative effects of stress are unavoidable. People have literally
forgotten the way to live their life. They are extremely busy running after
materialistic goals thereby fueling stress every day. To cope with this stress,
they have tried everything from exercise and diet to alternative methods like
medicines. However, the most effective method to deal with stress is not one of
these modern methods but rather thousand years old idea of meditation. Meditation
finds its root in many religions, primarily in Hinduism and Buddhism. Hindu
mythology is full of examples wherein normal human beings and sages meditated for
years to gain higher spiritual powers. Through meditation, they have risen above
the botherations and tensions of worldly life. They have aligned their souls with
the almighty in their meditation. Buddhist mythology explains 'Nirvana' through
meditation. According to it, Lord Buddha reached enlightenment at the age of 35,
awakening to the true nature of reality, which is 'Nirvana', the 'Absolute Truth'.
The word Nirvana comes from the root meaning 'to blow out' and refers to the
extinguishing of the fires of greed, hatred and delusion. When these emotions are
destroyed by wisdom, the mind becomes free, radiant and joyful, and at death, one
is no longer subject to rebirth. Nirvana is the ultimate happiness, which can be
achieved through meditation. The basic principles and practices of meditation are
rooted in Hinduism, which believes that the soul is eternal and maintains an
eternal relationship with God. The aim of meditation is to quieten the-thought
waves of the mind. Quietness can lead to more peace inside the mind. Meditation
leads to tranquility and purification from negative state of our mind. Infact,
Buddha religiously believes: "Meditation brings wisdom, lack of meditation leaves
ignorance". Meditation is very difficult to describe and can only truly be
explained once experienced. It is the practice of mental concentration leading
ultimately through a sequence of stages to the final goal of spiritual freedom
called nirvana. Meditation can be compared with any sport, for example to
basketball game. Everyone can try to play this sport but only a few know the rules
and the central dogma of the game. And the others just play the game as they assume
it is like. So, it would be right to say that not everyone is able to practise
meditation correctly. Learning to meditate properly, however, is very difficult and
must be done under the supervision of teachers. A person who has not practised
meditation before, finds it difficult to understand the nature of his mind and may
think he is meditating while his mindVuns disorderly. Just a mere 10-15 minutes
practice of meditation each day can bring many positive results in the lives of the
people. It can be practised anywhere and anytime. The first stage of meditation is
to stop distractions and make the mind clearer and more lucid. This can be
accomplished by practising a simple breathing meditation. A quiet place is chosen
to meditate and to sit in a comfortable position with closed eyes. Sitting in
traditional cross-legged manner is preferable. The most important thing is to keep
the back straight to prevent mind from becoming sluggish or sleepy. The main motto
is to concentrate on breathing. Breathing, during meditation is done naturally,
preferably through nostrils, without j attempting to control it, thereby trying to
become aware of the sensation of the breath's movement. This sensation is the
object of meditation. Additionally, meditation should be practised with great
discipline and awareness to obtain positive results, otherwise it can cause
problems in psychological and spiritual well-being.
