Basic course from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The main thing in practice

Sri Yantra

Sri Yantra is the most famous of all tantric yantras. Representing a mystical device of the cosmos, Sri Yantra is formed by the mutual intersection of triangles in two directions. Four - tops up, symbolizing the masculine principle, and five - tops down, symbolizing the feminine principle. This Yantra was created in order to give an image of the fullness and integrity of existence, so that the adept can place this image inside himself for the final comprehension of his unity with the universe.

Meditation with Sri Yantra
First of all, you need to settle down in a calm environment, devoid of both external and internal stimuli. It is very important to have (especially in the learning process) a quiet room, fenced off from those who are in this moment does not meditate. Do whatever you can to reduce ambient noise. If you cannot completely get rid of the noise, as is usually the case in a crowded house, dormitory, use earplugs. Play quiet instrumental music, a recording that simulates natural sounds, or whatever melody you like. Even the smooth hum of a fan or air conditioner can effectively muffle or mask outside noise. You can also reduce the lighting in the room.

Now that you are done external environment more calm, let's take care of providing calmness to your internal environment. One way is to reduce muscle tension, which is one of the biggest obstacles to successful meditation. Take some time to relax your muscles. One way to reduce muscle tension is to sit comfortably. It is possible that you do not really feel like meditating if you do not sit in the eastern lotus position (cross-legged); this posture, however, requires considerable flexibility and a certain amount of training. Therefore, sit comfortably on the floor or better in comfortable armchair with a straight back, feet on the floor, legs not crossed, hands rest on hips, palms half open, fingers not interlocked. You must sit still; but remember that meditation is not a trance. If you are uncomfortable or too stressed somewhere, move around. If you feel mild itching, you can scratch the area. You should not take a rigid, motionless posture. Relax. In order not to fall asleep, it is better not to take a lying position and do not give support to your head. Keep your head, neck, and back in one vertical line. To maintain this posture, a slight muscle tension is required, sufficient at the same time to stay awake, and creating an optimal posture for teaching meditation.

The image of Sri Yantra is placed vertically on the table, or fixed on the wall at eye level. The image should be well and evenly lit so that there is no glare or glare. If you use a computer monitor for these purposes, then these problems disappear by themselves.

Sounds accompanying Sri Sri Ravi Shankar meditation, for example, a meditation called "Blossom in your smile", you can listen to in mp3 online on music and meditation sites. Here, on numerous music resources, you can easily find all the music on the Internet! Listen for free and have fun online, or save music to your computer!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar meditation - turn life into endless celebration

Live happy life Is a true art. The art of living fully can be defined as a program for personal growth. This unique interior platform is a must for a mix of old and modern. meditation techniques that will help you get stronger day by day, happy, self-confident. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar meditation is wonderful spiritual experience, a moment of truth, a moment of self-healing and balance of body, mind and spirit.

The first step in simple meditation Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is considered to be the study of the Sudarshan Kriya, a breathing technique that cleanses and balances physical body, mind and spirit. This powerful technique will allow you to release yourself from stress. naturally and very effective. Human nature is infinite, and you can allow yourself to rest in yourself, in your nature.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Strong Meditation - Silence Practice

The practice of silence, as a method of consciously transferring attention from external objects and distractions inside oneself, has been used since antiquity in many traditions as a way to physical renewal, mental and spiritual reconstruction. During strong meditation Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, you relax your mind, which is constantly in an active state, and you will experience an extraordinary sense of peace that will remain with you after the meditation is completed.

Explore the depths of your being. Do it slowly, systematically, wondering who you really are. To experience depth and sensuality in home meditation Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, one must receive a mantra from a qualified teacher. Sahaj Samadhi uses a simple sound, the mental reproduction of which helps the mind to calm down and relax.

When your restless mind and nervous system get the opportunity to rest in deep silence, then the blocks and all kinds of clamps that slow down your spiritual progress gradually dissolve. And someday they will disappear altogether. Regular practice self meditation Sri Sri Ravi Shankar completely, its quality and richness by maintaining your nervous system at rest, and maintaining a positive state of mind throughout the day.

In the fall of 2007, one of the most famous Indian teachers of the twentieth century passed away Chinmoy Kumar Ghosh better known as Sri Chinmoy- musician, poet, athlete, meditation teacher, author of many books on Eastern philosophy. IN last years In his life, Chinmoy taught meditation classes at the UN, led the humanitarian project "World Harmony Run", which covered dozens of countries and hundreds of cities.

Sri Chinmoy was born on August 27, 1931. Detailed information we will not consider his life path here, we will highlight only some facts. Chinmoy was left an orphan and from a young age practiced meditation in the ashram Sri Aurobindo... It is believed that already at the age of 13 he achieved realization. In 1964, at the invitation of practitioners, Chinmoy moved to the United States, where he first taught meditation courses, and then created his own spiritual organization, the Sri Chinmoy Center, and organized global projects to promote sports, tolerance, and spiritual knowledge.

During his life, the Guru composed thousands of songs in Bengali and English, wrote thousands of aphoristic poems, wrote hundreds of paintings in the genre he created "Jarna Kala" (Beng. "Fountain of art"). His element was complete improvisation. He meditated at the beginning of his concerts, and then played several dozen instruments, changing them at the call of his heart. He meditated every day, and then, with a few strokes of a brush or pencil, he created amazing pictures, in which there is no familiar clarity, consistency, but there is tremendous warmth.

Since Sri Chinmoy realized himself in many areas of life, he had many followers among musicians, writers and athletes. Chinmoy taught meditation to renowned guitarists John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana, Olympic champion in athletics Carl Lewis, Guinness Book of Records record holder Ashrit Furman, Russian rock musician Boris Grebenshchikov and others.

The basis of his teaching is "Almighty"(English Supreme), which everyone should find. For communication with the Divine Chinma, he suggested using meditation and yoga. Sri Chinmoy's meditations have their own characteristics and differences from the usual methods of meditation. One of the objects of meditation should be Heart-Unity of the World. Such practices should open the emotional channels of a person, make him more receptive to external events, learn to feel compassion for living beings.

The way of comprehending the Supreme is Love. Just as a child feels his oneness with his parents through mutual love, so a person can feel his oneness with the Divine through such love. Chinmoy believed that man is a tool used by the Almighty to transform and improve the world. Love is the basis of life, the comprehension of which is equal to the comprehension of the Divine.

Sri Chinmoy offered to study various meditations to work with consciousness. So he was one of the practices meditation on images(deities, geometric shapes, point), up to the practice of connecting consciousness with an object. The practice of meditation on a point was structured in such a way that at the end of the exercise the student had to try to see himself from the outside, to look at himself from the point on which the mind concentrates. The practice of meditation on the teacher's images, meditation on the sound of his voice was also offered. Many view these practices as typical "guruism" (a teaching based on unquestioning obedience and respect for its founder). But it is worth noting that any practice can bring harm to one person, and benefit to another. It all depends on the fitness of the mind, patience, understanding, personal psychological qualities. Therefore, it is not worth giving hasty assessments. Chinmoy's practices have helped to reveal the talents and abilities of tens of thousands of people, which means they are needed and must be practiced.

One of important elements Sri Chinmoy's philosophy is the concept "aspiration". It is believed that in order to achieve good states, a person must have a desire, intention and will to follow the chosen path. In the heart of every person is an aspiration to the Spirit, to the Divine. You don't need to look for it on purpose, but you need to find it in yourself and reveal it. To do this, you need to engage in meditation, yoga, contemplate the processes and phenomena that surround us and, of course, cultivate true and sincere love in yourself. The striving of the Heart is the cause of a person's spiritual growth, a force that he can use on the Path.

Chinmoy says: “Aspiration is a supplication in the heart. The heart cries out and strives like a burning flame rushing upward. " This is the peculiarity of his approach: meditation, like any practice, requires a huge inner work and even more enormous sincere desire. Another thing follows from this judgment: any action can become a spiritual practice if it is connected with the striving of the heart.

Sri Chinmoy's meditation is not paying attention to the mind, but to the heart, but not the physical heart of a person, but his spiritual principle, his spiritual center. Such a center is not only for people, but for the whole World. Mental meditation, according to Chinmoy, is a constant struggle with the mind like a naughty child who wants to run away somewhere. Pure consciousness cannot be main goal because it is not eternal, but the soul that lives in the Heart is eternal. Therefore, meditation in the Heart is contact with the Soul, whose light can give true pleasure and a truly happy life.

How to meditate on the Heart of the World? First you need to find a clean and quiet place, calm your mind. Then we should feel that we are in a boundless ocean, at its bottom, where peace reigns. We can identify ourselves with this serene space, dissolve in it completely. Then we close our eyes and imagine the endless sky in front of us. First, we meditate on the sky in front of us, then we imagine that we ourselves are the endless sky. After that, we should try to feel that the sky is in our heart. The whole boundless and boundless world is in ourselves. We feel that there is a Universal Heart in us, into which both the ocean and the sky can easily fit. This is how we become one with the world, open ourselves to full perception. Light permeates our consciousness, our heart.

Sri Chinmoy describes this kind of meditation as follows:

Beyond speech and mind
Into the stream of eternally radiant Light
My heart is sinking.
Thousands of doors today
Closed for centuries
Opened wide.

Sri Chinmoy also suggested a simpler breathing meditation. We must breathe as slowly as possible, so that the thread does not move if it was held near our nose. With each breath we feel how we receive pure cosmic energy that fills our thoughts and our body, purifying and harmonizing them. as you exhale, imagine that you are not exhaling air, but filth, all your impurities, dark ideas and impure deeds.

Thus, meditation on the Heart of the World is a noble practice to help clear the mind. For this practice, you need to have aspiration - the will to achieve good results. Meditation is based on working with breathing and deep visualizations, during which a person identifies his spiritual heart, his soul with the entire universe, seeking harmony, tranquility and health.

Current page: 1 (total of the book has 6 pages)

Sri Chinmoy
Meditation

Chapter 1

Meditation: the language of God

Meditation tells us only one thing: God exists.

Meditation reveals only one truth to us: our dreams are about God.

Why do we meditate?

Why do we meditate? We meditate because our world cannot satisfy us. The so-called peace that we experience in our Everyday life It is a five-minute rest after ten hours of worry, worry, and disappointment. We are constantly at the mercy of the hostile forces around us - envy, fear, doubt, excitement, anxiety and despair. These forces are like monkeys. When they let us go for their short rest, we say we are enjoying the peace. But this is not real peace at all, and the next moment they attack us again.

Only through meditation can we find lasting peace, divine peace. If we meditate in the morning, putting our whole soul into it, and experience peace for only one minute, this one minute of peace will extend to the whole day. When we meditate on the very high level, then we really get constant peace, light and delight. We need meditation because we want to grow in the light and manifest ourselves in the light. If this is our aspiration, if this is our thirst, then meditation is the only way.

If we feel that we are satisfied with what we have and with what we are, then there is no need for us to enter the field of meditation. The reason we turn to meditation is our inner hunger. We feel that within us there is something light, something boundless, something divine. We feel that we really need it, but only now we do not have access to it. Our inner hunger comes from our spiritual need.

Meditation is not a departure from life

If we take the path of meditation in order to get away from the world and forget our suffering, then we are doing it for a false reason. If we enter spiritual life out of frustration or dissatisfaction, then we may not stay in spiritual life. Today I have not been able to satisfy my desires, so I am not satisfied with the world. But tomorrow I'll say, "Let's try again. Maybe this time I'll be satisfied." But ultimately we will feel that desire-life will never satisfy us. We will feel the need to turn to inner life... This is aspiration.

What is meditation? Meditation is the self-awakening of man and the self-giving of God. When the self-awakening of man and the self-giving of God meet, man becomes immortal in the inner world and God becomes manifested in the outer world.

In an aspiring life, we need only God. If we truly need God, then naturally He will give Himself to us. But He will do it in his own way and at a time set by himself. If we pray and meditate with a sincere aspiration to acquire certain qualities, then even if God does not bestow them on us, we will still be satisfied. We will simply say to ourselves: "He knows best. Now I am not ready for this yet. But He will definitely give them to me on the day when I am ready." In an aspiring life, it is not our achievements that bring us satisfaction, but our aspiration. Aspiration itself is our satisfaction.

Conscious striving and effort

For gaining spirituality, the "push and press" method is not suitable. We cannot attract spiritual light by force. When it descends by itself, only thanks to our striving will we be able to perceive it. If we try to attract more light than we are able to perceive it, our inner vessel will collapse. How do we perceive this light coming from above? How do we expand our consciousness to increase our receptivity? The answer is meditation.

Meditating is not just sitting quietly for five or ten minutes. Meditation requires a conscious effort. The mind must be brought into a state of calm and silence. At the same time, he must be vigilant not to allow any distracting thoughts or desires to enter him. When we can bring the mind into a state of calm and silence, we will feel that a new creation is dawning within us. When our mind becomes free and calm, and our entire existence becomes an empty vessel, our inner being can invoke infinite peace, light and bliss to enter this vessel and fill it. This is meditation.

Meditation is the language of God. If we want to know what the Will of God means in our life, if we want God to guide us, shape us and manifest Himself in us and through us, then meditation is the language we should use.

When we think that it is we who are trying to meditate, then meditation seems difficult. but real meditation is not done by us. It is performed by our Inner Pilot, the Supreme, who constantly meditates in us and through us. We are just a vessel, and we allow Him to fill us with all of His Consciousness. We start with our own personal effort, but as soon as we go deep within ourselves, we realize that it is not our effort that allows us to immerse ourselves in meditation. It is the Almighty who meditates in us and through us with our knowledge and conscious consent.

Each person's soul has its own way of meditation. My method of meditation will not suit you, and your method of meditation will not suit me. There are many seekers whose meditation is not fruitful because they are doing meditation that is not suitable for them. If you do not have a spiritual Teacher who can guide you, then you need to go deep within yourself so that meditation comes from the innermost depths of your heart.

It is very difficult for a beginner. You have to go deep, deep within yourself and see if you are hearing a voice, a thought, or an idea. Then you need to plunge deeply into this voice or thought and understand whether it gives you a feeling of inner joy or peace, where there are no questions, no problems, no doubts. Only when you have this feeling can you be sure that the voice you have heard is a true inner voice that will help you in your spiritual life.

But if you have a Teacher who is a realized soul, his silent gaze will teach you how to meditate. The teacher does not have to verbally explain how to meditate, or give a special meditation technique. He will simply meditate on you and teach you meditation internally. Your soul will enter his soul and learn from his soul. All true spiritual Masters teach meditation in silence.

The ultimate goal of meditation is to establish a conscious union with God. We are all children of God, but at the moment we have no conscious oneness with God. Someone can believe in God, in this belief is not a reality in his life. He simply believes in God because some saint or yogi or spiritual Master said that God exists, or because he read about God in spiritual books. But if we practice meditation, the day comes when we establish conscious oneness with God. And then God gives us His endless peace, endless light and endless bliss, and we turn into this endless peace, light and bliss.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

IN How to meditate?

O There are two ways to meditate. One of them is to calm the mind. The ordinary person feels that if he silences his mind, he will become a fool. He feels that if the mind does not think, then the mind has lost everything. But this is not true in the spiritual life. In the spiritual life, when we silence the mind, we see that a new creation is born in the mind, a new promise to God. At the moment, we have not fulfilled our promise to God, we have not fully dedicated our entire existence to God. When we can silence the mind, we will be able to satisfy and manifest God.

Another way to meditate is to free the heart. At the present moment, the heart is full of emotional turmoil and problems caused by the impure vital that has enveloped it. The heart is a vessel. At the moment, this vessel is full of undivine, which limits and binds us. If we can free this heart-vessel, then there will be someone who will fill it with divine peace, light and bliss that will set us free. When we free our heart from ignorance, the Wisdom-Light of God will come and fill it.

IN If a person does not believe in God, can he practice meditation?

O If a person does not believe in God, he can practice meditation, however, he may not achieve anything. Meditation is the path that leads to God. If you do not believe in God, then naturally you will not follow this path.

IN Is meditation the highest reality?

O We can say that for a beginner, meditation is the highest reality. But when the seeker reaches a higher level, he knows that meditation only leads to a higher reality. If someone has lived for many years in ignorance, never prayed or meditated in his life even for a minute, for him meditation is naturally the highest reality that his consciousness can reach. But when he has been practicing meditation for several years now, he knows that meditation itself is not the ultimate reality. The ultimate reality is something that he achieves or becomes by walking the path of meditation.

IN Does the object of meditation change as a person develops spiritually and attains realization?

O Once realization has been achieved, there is no need to meditate in the same way as the seeker meditates. When one has attained realization, which means oneness with the Supreme, his meditation becomes permanent. When a seeker has realized God, he does not meditate to achieve anything or go beyond anything. He meditates in order to bring peace, light and bliss to humanity or to awaken the consciousness of others.

Chapter 2

Most important first: how to get started

From a spiritual point of view, every seeker is a beginner. The moment you want to constantly and continuously improve, it is at this moment that you become an eternal beginner.

Where do I begin?

From a spiritual point of view, every seeker is a beginner. A beginner is one who has an inner urge to grow into something more and more divine, more and more illuminating, more and more manifest. The moment you want to constantly and continuously improve, the moment you want to transcend yourself and step into the eternally transcendent Beyond, at that moment you become an eternal beginner.

If you are taking your very first steps, then you can start by reading a few spiritual books or sacred books. They will give you inspiration. You should read the books of spiritual Teachers, whom you have infinite faith in. There are Teachers who have attained the highest consciousness, and by reading their books you will surely receive inspiration. It is best not to read books written by professors, scholars and followers who are still on the road and have not attained enlightenment. Only those who have realized Truth will have the ability to offer Truth. Otherwise, we become like a blind man led by a blind man.

It is also good to associate with people who have been meditating for a while. They may not be able to teach you, but they can inspire you. Even if you just sit next to them when they meditate, without realizing it, your inner being will receive some of the meditative power from them. You are not stealing anything; it is just that your inner being receives help from them without your outer knowledge.

In the beginning, you shouldn't even think about meditation. Just try to set aside a certain time during which you try to remain calm and silent, and feel that these five minutes belong to your inner being and to nobody else. Regularity is especially important. All you need is regular practice at the same time.

There is only one thing to learn every day: how to be truly happy.

Some basic tricks

For a beginner, it is best to start with concentration. Otherwise, the moment you try to calm and free your mind, millions of vain thoughts will penetrate into you, and you will not be able to meditate even for a second. If you are concentrating, then at this time you put a barrier to those unnecessary thoughts that are trying to penetrate into you. Therefore, in the beginning, just practice concentration for a few minutes. Then, after a few weeks or months, you can try meditation.

When you start meditating, always try to feel like a child. IN childhood man's mind is not yet developed. At the age of twelve or thirteen, the mind begins to function at the level of the intellect. But before that, the child is the very heart. The child feels that he does not know anything. He has no preconceived notions about meditation and spiritual life. He wants to study everything directly.

First, feel that you are a child, and then try to feel that you are in a blooming garden. This blooming garden- your heart. A child can play in the garden for hours. He goes from flower to flower, but does not leave the garden, because he rejoices in the beauty and aroma of each flower. Feel that there is a garden inside you, and you can stay in it as long as you want. In this way, one can learn to meditate in the heart.

If you can stay in your heart, you will begin to feel an inner pleading. This inner prayer, which is striving, is the secret of meditation. When an adult prays, the plea is usually insincere. But when a child asks, even if he only asks for candy, he is very sincere. At this time, candy is a whole world for him. If you give him a hundred dollar bill, he will not be satisfied; all he needs is candy. When a child calls out, immediately his father or mother comes to him. If you can ask deep within yourself for peace, light and truth, and if this is the only thing that will satisfy you, then God, your eternal Father and eternal Mother, will definitely come and help you.

You should always try to feel that you are as helpless as a child. As soon as you feel helpless, someone will come to help you. If a child gets lost on the street and starts crying, some kind-hearted person will show him where his home is. Feel that you are lost on the street and the storm is raging around. Doubt, fear, anxiety, worry, insecurity, and other undivine forces come crashing down on you. But if you cry out sincerely, someone will come to rescue you and show you the way to the home that is your heart. And who is he? This is God, your Inner Pilot.

In the early morning, invite God, your Friend, your real Friend, your only Friend, to accompany you throughout the day.

Internal Pilot

God may or may not have a form. But during meditation, it is better to think of the Supreme as a human being. A beginner should always meditate on God as a person. Otherwise, if you try to imagine God in his impersonal aspect, you will be confused by his immensity. So start with a personal God, and then you can move on to an impersonal God.

Today you may be a beginner in the spiritual life, but do not feel that you will always be a beginner. Once upon a time, everyone was beginners. If you practice concentration and meditation regularly, if you are truly sincere in your spiritual quest, then you will definitely make progress. The main thing is not to lose heart. Divine realization does not come suddenly. If you meditate regularly and with devotion, if you can cry out to God as a child calls his mother in tears, then you will not have to run towards the goal. No, the goal itself will come and stand right in front of you and call you its own, completely its own.

EXERCISES

1. Simplicity, sincerity, purity.

For the seeker who wants to start a spiritual life, simplicity, sincerity, purity, and confidence are of paramount importance. It is simplicity that gives you peace of mind. It is sincerity that makes you feel that you are from God and God is always for you. It is your pure heart that makes you feel that in every moment of your life God is growing, sparkling and manifesting Himself within you. It is confidence that will make you feel that meditation is definitely what you need. There are several meditation exercises that a beginner can turn to.

Without straining, repeat the word simplicity in your mind seven times and focus on the top of your head. Then repeat the word "sincerity" seven times within your heart, silently and with your soul, and concentrate on your heart. Then, without straining, say the word "purity" to yourself seven times, directing your inner gaze to the navel or the area around the navel and concentrate on it. Please do it silently and with all your heart. Then focus your attention on the third eye, which is between and slightly above the brows, and silently repeat the word "confidence" seven times. Then place your hand on the crown of your head and say three times, "I am simple-hearted, I am simple-hearted, I am simple-hearted." Then put your hand on your heart and say three times, "I am sincere, I am sincere, I am sincere." Then place your hand on your navel, repeating, "I am clean," and on the third eye, saying, "I am sure."

2. Favorite quality.

If you like a certain aspect of God - love, for example - please repeat the word "love" with all your heart to yourself several times. Saying the word "love" with all your heart, try to feel how it is given in the innermost depths of your heart: "Love, love, love." If you are more interested in divine peace, then please chant to yourself or repeat the word “peace” to yourself. At the same time, try to hear the cosmic sound contained in this word, which is reflected in the innermost depths of your heart. If you want light, then please repeat "Light, light, light", investing as much soul as possible and feel that you have actually become light. From your fingertips to the top of your head, try to feel that you have become the word you are repeating. Feel like your physical body, subtle body, all your nerves and your entire being are overflowing with a stream of love, peace or light.

3. Invite your friends.

Feel that you are standing at the door of your heart and that you have invited Love, Peace, Light, Delight and all your other divine friends to you. But if complexity, insincerity, impurity and other negative forces appear, please do not let them enter. Try to feel that both the divine qualities and the undivine qualities have taken form human beings and you can see them with your own eyes.

Try to invite one friend every day to enter your heart's door. This will be the beginning of divine friendship. Today you will allow only your friend of Love to enter; tomorrow you will allow your friend to Joy to enter. After a while, you will be able to invite more than one friend at a time. You may not be able to attend to more than one friend at first, but over time you will be able to invite all of your divine friends at once.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

IN I seek more joy in life, but I do not feel confident that I will receive it by striving into meditation.

O When life does not give you joy, but you feel that you want joy, it means that you are spiritually hungry. When you have spiritual hunger, you will eat spiritual food. When you are not hungry, you will not eat. For fifteen or twenty years you have been insincere or insensitive about the spiritual life. Since you have not meditated for many years, if you jump straight into the sea of spirituality, you cannot swim. You cannot change your nature right away. This should be done slowly, constantly, gradually. First move in the water and gradually you will learn to swim. Eventually, the time will come when you can swim well. But since you have an inner hunger, then you are ready to start swimming.

Chapter 3

Mastering the Essential

You cannot try without preparation. There is no progress without trying. There is no perfection without progress. There is no satisfaction without perfection

Preparing for meditation

To meditate at home, you must have a corner in your room - absolutely clean, and consecrated - a sacred place that you only use for meditation. There you can remove the altar, where you will have a portrait of your spiritual Master or Christ or some other beloved clergyman whom you consider to be your Teacher.

It is helpful if you shower or bathe before starting your meditation. Purity of the body is very beneficial for cleansing the mind. If you cannot take a bath or shower before sitting down to meditate, you should at least wash your face. In addition, it is recommended to wear clean and light colored clothing.

It will also help you if you light incense sticks and place on your altar fresh flowers... When you. if you inhale the smell of incense sticks, then you may receive only one iota of inspiration and purification, but this iota can be added to your inner treasure. There are people who say that it is not necessary to have flowers in front of you during meditation. They say: "The flower is within, the thousand-petalled lotus is within us." But the living flower on the altar will remind you of your inner flower. Its color, its aroma and its pure consciousness will inspire you. From inspiration you will receive aspiration.

The same can be said for the use of candles during meditation. The flame of a candle by itself will not give you aspiration. But when you see the outer flame, immediately you will feel that the flame of aspiration in your inner being rises high, higher, still higher. For one who is on the eve of the realization of God, or for one who has already realized God, these external attributes will not matter. But if you know that the realization of God is still far ahead for you, then they will definitely strengthen your aspiration.

When you do daily individual meditation, try to meditate alone. This does not apply to spouses if they have the same spiritual Master. It is natural for them to meditate together. Otherwise, it is not advisable to meditate with others during your daily individual meditations. Collective meditation is also important, but in daily individual meditation, it is best to meditate in solitude at your own altar.

Meditation is a divine gift. Meditation simplifies our outer life and energizes our inner life. Meditation gives us a natural and free life, a life that becomes so natural and free that with every breath we are aware of our own divinity.

Posture is important

When meditating, it is important to keep the spine in a straight and upright position, while the body should be relaxed. If the body is tense, then the divine and fulfilling qualities that enter and flow through it during meditation will not be perceived. The posture should also not cause discomfort to the body. When you meditate, your inner being will spontaneously give you a comfortable position, and all you have to do is maintain it. The main advantage of the lotus position is that it helps to keep the spine straight and upright. But this position is uncomfortable for most people. So the lotus position is not at all necessary for correct meditation... Many people meditate very well while sitting on a chair.

Some people do exercise and posture. These exercises, called Hatha Yoga, relax the body and calm the mind for a short period. If someone is physically very restless and cannot remain calm even for one second, then these exercises will definitely help. But Hatha Yoga is not necessary at all. There are many aspirants who can just sit down and calm their minds without doing Hatha Yoga.

Under no circumstances is it advisable to meditate lying down, even for those who have been meditating for several years. Those who try to meditate while lying down will enter the world of sleep, either inner passivity or drowsiness. In addition, when you are lying down, your breathing is not as good as when you are sitting, as it is not conscious and uncontrollable. Correct breathing very important in meditation.

The heart of the soul has discovered the highest truth: to meditate on God is a privilege, not a duty.

Are your eyes open or are your eyes closed?

I am often asked if I should meditate with my eyes closed. Ninety times out of a hundred, meditators with closed eyes fall asleep during meditation. They meditate for five minutes and then spend fifteen minutes in the world of sleep. There is no dynamic energy in it, only apathy, complacency, something like a pleasant feeling of relaxation. By meditating with closed eyes and plunging into the world of sleep, you can enjoy any illusion. Your rich imagination can make you feel like you are entering the higher worlds. There are many ways in which you can convince yourself that you are doing great meditation. Therefore, it is best to meditate with your eyes half-open and half-closed. In this case, you are the root of the tree, and at the same time, you are the topmost branch. The part of you that corresponds to half-open eyes is the root symbolizing Mother Earth. The part corresponding to half-closed eyes is the uppermost branch, the world of visions, or, say, Heaven. Your consciousness is at the highest level, and at the same time it is here on earth, where it is trying to change the world.

When you meditate with your eyes half-open and half-closed, you are doing what is called "lion meditation."

Even as you go deep within, you focus your conscious attention on both the physical plane and the subconscious plane. How physical world with its noise and other disturbances, so the subconscious world, the world of sleep, both call you, but you cope with them. You say, "Look, I'm on the lookout. You can't get hold of me." Since your eyes are partially open, you will not fall asleep. This is how you challenge the subconscious world. At the same time, you maintain your dominance over the physical plane because you can see what is happening around you.

Breathing exercises

1. Inhale directed to the heart center.

Please breathe in, hold your breath for a few seconds, and feel that you are holding the breath, which is life-energy itself, in heart center... It will help you develop intrinsic ability to meditation.

2. Awareness of breathing.

When you sit down to meditate, try to breathe in as slowly and calmly as possible, so that the thinnest thread, if someone placed it in front of your nose, would not vibrate at all. And when you exhale, try to exhale even more slowly than you inhaled. If possible, take a short pause between the end of your exhalation and the beginning of your inhalation. If you can, hold your breath for a few seconds. But if it's difficult, don't do it. Never do anything that will make you physically uncomfortable while meditating.

3. Breathing in peace and joy.

The first thing you should think about when doing breathing technique- purity. If by inhaling you can feel that the breath is coming directly from God, from Purity itself, then your breath can be easily purified. Then, each time you breathe in, try to feel that you are breathing infinite peace into your body. The opposite of peace is worry. As you exhale, try to feel that you are removing the anxiety that is within you and that you see around you. When you breathe in this way, you see the anxiety leaving you. After doing this a few times, please try to feel that you are breathing in the energy of the universe, and when you breathe out, feel that all fear is leaving your body. After doing this a few times, try to feel like you are breathing in endless joy and breathing out sadness, suffering and melancholy.

4. Cosmic energy.

Feel that you are not inhaling air, but cosmic energy. Feel that an immense cosmic energy is entering you with every breath and that you are about to use it to purify your body, vital, mind and heart. Feel that there is not a single place in your being that is not filled with the flow of cosmic energy. It flows like a river within you, washing and purifying your entire being.

Then, when you exhale, feel that you are exhaling all the rubbish that has accumulated in you - all your base thoughts, dark ideas and impure actions. Everything within you that you call base, everything that you do not want to acknowledge as yours, feel that you are expelling all this from yourself.

This is not the traditional yoga pranayama, which is more complex and systematic, it is the most effective spiritual way of breathing. If you practice this breathing method, you will soon see the results. At the very beginning, you will have to use your imagination, but after a while you will see and feel that this is not imagination at all, this is reality. You consciously breathe in energy, the flows of which are all around you, purifying yourself and getting rid of everything undivine. If you breathe like this for five minutes every day, you can improve very quickly. But this must be done very deliberately and not mechanically.

5. Perfect breathing.

As you become more prepared, you can try to feel that you are breathing in and out with every part of your body - heart, eyes, nose, and even pores. Now you can only breathe through your nose or mouth, but the time will come when you will be able to breathe with every part of your body. Spiritual Teachers can breathe even with closed nose and mouth. When you master this spiritual breath, all your impurity and ignorance will be replaced with divine light, peace and energy.

6. Breathing to a count of one, four, two.

As you breathe in, repeat once the name of God, Christ, or anyone else you worship. Or, if your spiritual Master has given you a mantra, you can chant it. This breathing should not be long or deep. Then hold your breath and repeat the same name four times. And when you exhale, repeat twice the name or mantra you have chosen. You breathe in one count, hold your breath for four counts, and breathe out in two counts, silently repeating the sacred word. If you just count the numbers one-four-two, you will not get any vibration or inner sensation. But when you utter the name of God, immediately divine superior qualities enter you. Then, when you hold your breath, these divine qualities circulate in you, penetrating all your darkness, imperfection, limitation and impurity. And when you breathe out, the same divine qualities carry away all your undivine, negative and destructive qualities.

Meditation: the language of God

Meditation tells us only one thing: God exists.

Meditation reveals only one truth to us: our dreams are about God.

Why do we meditate?

Why do we meditate? We meditate because our world cannot satisfy us. The so-called peace we experience in our daily life is five minutes of peace after ten hours of worry, worry, and disappointment. We are constantly at the mercy of the hostile forces around us - envy, fear, doubt, worry, anxiety, and despair. These forces are like monkeys. When they let us go for their short rest, we say we are enjoying the peace. But this is not real peace at all, and the next moment they attack us again.

Only through meditation can we find lasting peace, divine peace. If we meditate in the morning, putting our whole soul into it, and experience peace for only one minute, this one minute of peace will extend to the whole day. When we meditate at the highest level, then we really get constant peace, light and delight. We need meditation because we want to grow in the light and manifest ourselves in the light. If this is our aspiration, if this is our thirst, then meditation is the only way.

Meditation is not a departure from life

Conscious striving and effort

When we think that it is we who are trying to meditate, then meditation seems difficult. However, real meditation is not done by us. It is performed by our Inner Pilot, the Supreme, who constantly meditates in us and through us. We are just a vessel, and we allow Him to fill us with all of His Consciousness. We start with our own personal effort, but as soon as we go deep within ourselves, we realize that it is not our effort that allows us to immerse ourselves in meditation. It is the Almighty who meditates in us and through us with our knowledge and conscious consent.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

IN How to meditate?

Basic course from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The main thing in practice

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar meditation - turn life into endless celebration

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Strong Meditation - Silence Practice

Sri Chinmoy Meditation

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Sri Chinmoy
Meditation