Jan 31, 20216 min read

Meditation - The exciting journey to nowhere

Updated: Feb 25, 2021

In an earlier article when we were going through the "Journey of the Secular" we looked at how to focus our mind to enhance our concentration and efficiency. In this article, we take this further by diving deeper into the practice of meditation. Meditation is an ancient practice that is described extensively in the Vedic texts as well as Bhagavad Gita. Gita devotes an entire chapter on when to meditate, how to meditate, where to meditate etc. The Buddhist tradition has taken the original practices and further refined and elaborated the different types of meditation. From a more practical perspective we will also look at how we can cultivate and nurture the habit of meditation.

Meditation helps us not only to focus our attention, but ironically also to do the opposite - in expanding our identity beyond ourselves to encompass the infinite. Truly practicing meditation will make you not just a lover of this planet, but of the entire cosmos. These two perspectives are captured well by these two quotes.

“Eventually, meditation will make our mind calm, clear, and as concentrated as a laser which we can focus at will. This capacity of one-pointed attention is the essence of genius. When we have this mastery over attention in everything we do, we have a genius for life” by Eknath Easwaran.

“Meditation means the mind is turned back upon itself. The mind stops all the thought-waves and the world stops. Your consciousness expands. Every time you meditate you will keep your growth.” By Swami Vivekananda

Meditation - Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 5, Verses 27-28

स्पर्शान्कृत्वा बहिर्बाह्यांश्चक्षुश्चैवान्तरे भ्रुवो: |

प्राणापानौ समौ कृत्वा नासाभ्यन्तरचारिणौ || 27||

यतेन्द्रियमनोबुद्धिर्मुनिर्मोक्षपरायण: |

विगतेच्छाभयक्रोधो य: सदा मुक्त एव स: || 28||

sparśhān kṛitvā bahir bāhyānśh chakṣhuśh chaivāntare bhruvoḥ

prāṇāpānau samau kṛitvā nāsābhyantara-chāriṇau

yatendriya-mano-buddhir munir mokṣha-parāyaṇaḥ

vigatechchhā-bhaya-krodho yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ

Shutting out all thoughts of external enjoyment, with the gaze fixed on the space between the eye-brows, equalizing the flow of the incoming and outgoing breath in the nostrils, and thus controlling the senses, mind, and intellect, the sage who becomes free from desire and fear, always lives in freedom.

These two verses clearly articulate how to meditate and also the benefits of meditation. But the challenge of practicing meditation, even if it is for just a few minutes, to shut out all thoughts is a significant one. The following story captures the challenges.

Story of the four monks

One day four monks were discussing their practice of meditation. During their discussion, one of the monks suggested that they should meditate together to create the right positive vibrations that could benefit all four of them. They decided to meditate for one full day and one full night in a cave. They took a candle with them, lighted the candle and started meditating. After nearly four hours the candle flickers and dies out. The first monk, gets up from his meditation and says “The candle is out. We need to bring a new one.” Hearing this the second monk declares “I thought we were not supposed to talk?”. The third monk on hearing the other two monks gets angry and shouts at them “why are you breaking the silence when we have come here to meditate”. Suddenly, the fourth monk laughs and says “I won. I am the only one who did not speak”.

This old Zen story brings out the challenges in our meditation practice. The first monk was disturbed by external factors. Our senses turned outward, is always looking for perceptual stimuli. Even a small external stimuli can easily disturb the focus of the mind. The second monk started arguing about the rules of meditation. Often, when we start practicing meditation we get bogged down in the process of meditation - should we chant “Om” when we inhale our breath or when we exhale, how do we count the beads in a rosary bead necklace (or japa mala). The third monk is disturbed by his own emotions - the anger of being disturbed. This is often the case during the early days of meditation. We feel that being ‘thought-less’ sounds so easy that we should be able to do it without any problem. When we are unable to do it we are angry at our own inability. The fourth monk is calm compared to the other three monks, but then his ego raises its ugly head and he is keen on proclaiming to the world how great he is at meditation. When we have some early success in meditation we like boasting on ‘how well we have conquered our mind’. Unfortunately, all of these barriers to meditation can prevent us from moving forward.

Meditation: How to go nowhere?

“Going nowhere isn’t about turning your back on the world; it’s abut stepping away now and then so that you can see the world more clearly and love it more deeply. And it’s only by going nowhere - by sitting still or letting my mind relax - that I find that the thoughts that come to me unbidden are far fresher and more imaginative than the ones I consciously seek out” by Pico Iyer.

While the story of the monks capture the challenges of meditation, the quote from Pico Iyer, an acclaimed travel writer, captures the beauty of meditation as going ‘nowhere’. In his TED talk Pico Iyer talks about the “art of stillness” and how meditation helps his creative side.

Bhagavad Gita goes into elaborate detail on how to meditate. It urges us to designate a specific place and a seat (or āsan) that is neither too high nor too low, place ‘kuśh’ grass, deer skin, and a cloth, one over the other (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 11). The sitting posture is also prescribed in the yogic practice - one is meant to sit on the ground, cross-legged with the left foot over the right thigh and the right foot over the left thigh, called the padmasana or lotus position. However, modern practice, like the one below, provides for alternative postures if you are not used to sitting down.

Figure 1: How to meditate?

The sitting meditation is just one type of meditation. The following figure highlights six types of meditation - visualizations, sound healing, guided meditation, mantra meditation, movement meditation, and mindfulness meditation. This is by no means an exhaustive list - in the section on addition links we provide a couple of references that capture over twenty different types of meditations.

Figure 2: Types of meditation

The benefits of meditation are at multiple levels. At the most basic level, a few minutes of meditation, every day can help you relax, and reduce your anxiety and stress levels. It can also provide one increased energy and make one happy. It can also increase our creativity and sharper our intuition and bring clarity to our thinking. Ultimately it is the path towards eternal bliss or moksha. The following chart concisely captures the benefits of meditation.

Figure 3: Benefits of Meditation

Meditation not only changes the psychological and spiritual state of a person, it can also fundamentally alter the brain. The neuroscience of meditation is an active area of research. A recent article by Peter Malinowski in Frontiers in Neuroscience, draws the relationships between the different stages of meditation - focus on meditation, mind wandering, recognizing mind wandering, letting go, and returning to object with the corresponding cognitive functions of the brain, which in turn corresponds to different brain networks - alerting, default mode, salience, executive and orienting. The following figure captures this correspondence.

Figure 4: The Science of Mindfulness Meditation

Given all the different meditation methods, if you are wondering which method to choose, you are not alone. Over the years I have experimented with a number of different techniques. The key is regular practice. The one method I have found useful is Passage Meditation by Eknath Easwaran. His eight point program, coupled with his coaching on what to expect during one’s journey of meditation practice helped me in making meditation a part of my daily routine.

Figure 5: The Eight-Point Program

Irrespective of the method you choose, the key is to practice it on a regular basis and increase the time allotted towards (sitting) meditation and mindfulness. While the challenges towards meditation are daunting, the benefits are immense.