What is meditation?

Updated

Meditation is a stilling of the incessant chatter of our busy minds. Meditation is expansion. When we meditate we enter into the silence and vastness of our inner being. It is there that we possess and have access to all the positive qualities: peace, joy, patience, wisdom and love. From that vast inner space we can bring to the fore the qualities and hear the inner messages that guide us to be the best we are meant to be.

Why do we Meditate ?

In the words of Sri Chinmoy:

“If we feel that we are satisfied with what we have and what we are, then there is no need for us to enter into the field of meditation. The reason we enter into meditation is because we have an inner hunger. We feel that within us there is something luminous, something vast, something divine. We feel that we need this thing very badly; only right now we do not have access to it. Our inner hunger comes from our spiritual need.”

—Sri Chinmoy, Meditation: Man-Perfection in God-Satisfaction,p.3

What are the effects of meditation?

Medical research tells us that meditation lowers blood pressure and leads to measurably greater relaxation. Brain scans, MRIs and blood pressure readings all confirm the physical benefits that lead to better health. But, perhaps more important, there are the inner psychic, spiritual benefits. If you practise meditation regularly, for even a few minutes every day, you may begin to see that your day goes a little more smoothly, that you feel less stress from everyday challenges, that there is more joy in your life. People in our classes often have reported that those around them start to comment on subtle changes in their attitude. They are being seen, perhaps, as happier, less uptight, easier to deal with (sometimes even before they have felt any changes in themselves !) A few minutes daily in the divine peace and quiet of our inner silence have a subtle but profound impact. It can be a life-long adventure.