Understanding meditation
Many of us don’t understand meditation let alone experience it; in many instances practitioners are usually asked – what is meditation? Being a subjective experience it is very difficult to put into words. One has to experience the practice for oneself, rather than try to find texts or words describing the experience which being second hand, becomes non-experience itself.
Three states of existence
Modern psychology states we have three factors of mind:
- conscious (body activity, sense stimulation, urges, complexes, phobias, fears, obsessions)
- subconscious (analyzing, comparing, concluding, rational & intellectual thinking)
- unconscious (intuition, inspiration, creativity, bliss, deeper knowledge)
What is meditation & the experiencer of the three states?
During meditation we withdraw the senses from their sense objects & begin to transcend the conscious mind (pratyahara). By confronting & eliminating deep rooted complexes, we learn to concentrate the mind & manage the compulsive tendency to dwell on the lower mind’s activities (dharana).
As we enquire further, many latent subconscious & unconscious impressions rise to the surface for analysis. Once present we learn to witness these with awareness as real meditation begins; here both the object / subject become one as the sound of ‘silence’ prevails (dhyana).
Moving deeper towards the unconscious mind into the region of superconsciousness, we surpass rational thinking & begin to perceive things as they really are. One automatically becomes in tune with nature & everything else around us (samadhi).
So finally, what is meditation? Become the experiencer of the experience, come & see…
“On the mental & emotional levels, tensions & preconceived notions drop away, due to the heightened level of prana & the resulting harmony of the energy systems. During the practise of meditation, one is often disturbed by the ‘goings-on’ in the subconscious mind which might come up to the surface.” – Swami Satsangi