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The true purpose of meditation is purification. Meditation as defined by Patanjali’s Yoga sutras is to empty the mind of all thoughts. The mind is like a lake and is filled with thoughts. There is a freshwater lake near Tibet up in the highest mountains of the world, the Himalayas. The lake water that is up there is untouched by the pollutants of the world. It is pure and serene, unruffled by the external environment. Many people embark on the hazardous and arduous pilgrimage of climbing up to the top of the mountain to witness that panaromic view of the lake and feel sanctified. They then bring the stones and pebbles and water from the lake, which they consider as holy,to share them with their kith and kin and friends.

SYMBOLIC LAKE MANASAROVAR

What is this symbolic Lake Mana Sarovar? Can it be experienced as sure and definitely as the highest freshwater lake found in Tibet? The answer is a definite yes. Look at all the great saints of the world and you will know they have been to the symbolic lake manasarovar, the pure mind in themselves. What do they come back with? They come back to us ordinary folk and share the gems of wisdom they pick up from that lake. This lake is nothing but pure consciousnes or awareness that reflects the gems of pure thoughts that can be collected and viewed with crystal clarity in all its radiance. However, just like treading the arduous journey in the physical world, only the brave and determined souls can embark on this journey preparing themselves with the right attitude of courage, determination and perseverance in the face of all odds that is a pre-requisite. In as much as there is physical effort involved in this process on the mental level it requires no effort. The ground below the water of the lake is symbolic of the supreme consciousness that is untouched by the water whether it is pure or dirty. However, when the water is pure you can see the ground right through the water. This water is the thought entertained by the mind. When the consciousness observes everything going on in the mind like a witness it does not get involved in the drama of the different thoughts and feelings. However, when the consciousness starts judging, it gets involved as the player in that drama. The many thoughts that are entertained indiscriminately cause chaos and confusion. But when they are discriminated, they bring out order and peace to the mind. A mind that entertains pure and good thoughts is like a garden with beautiful flowers, pleasing to the beholder and yields beneficial fruits. Just like a good gardener tends and cultivates a beautiful garden, so also the awakened conscience tends and cultivates the beautiful garden of the mind. As mentioned in the book, “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen, “Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires,so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless and impure thoughts, and cultivate toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful and pure thoughts.By pursuing this process, a man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.” Just as when a stone is thrown into the lake, waves of ripples are formed in the water, a thought in the lake of the mind causes ripples in one’s life affecting not only one self but all the people around as well. Similar is the effect in the symbolic manasarovar, the lake of the mind when the thought causes a ripple effect sending out concentric waves that come right back to the point of origination. When the thoughts are pure and good, the ripples are gentle and soothing but when the thoughts are negative and full of hatred, the ripples are strong and disturbing. A mind that is calm and soothing is like the cool moonlight that is pleasant and joyful. A mind that is vibrant and brilliant is like the powerful sun giving out enlightening radiance. A mind with impure thoughts is like a lake with muddy water which blurs the vision of the sturdy ground at the bottom – the unshakable rock that is unchanged and unaffected by all that goes on around it. Taking that journey to the symbolic manasarovar within puts us in touch with that solid rock of supreme consciousness that is untouched by the stresses of daily life. And along the way we can pick up the gold and diamonds of truth connected with our true being.

TRUTH IS REALLY SIMPLE

They say, there is no effort involved in Self Realization. Today I was so awed when I listened to Mooji explain in his video clip “Don’t call it meditation”. Truth is really simple and requires no effort to experience it. Go ahead and watch the video and enjoy what he explains in the state of so called “meditation”. By labeling things we tend to limit and condition our minds. By not labelling it as meditation, you gain a liberating feeling, perceiving things as they are and going with the flow of the moment. I loved it so much I have written the script of what he said in the video so I could go back and read it over and over for myself because it is so beautiful.

“There is no self, just involuntary perception There is no I, no me,just a sort of subtle flow of perception that is just feeding on the alphabet of conditioning. There is such silence but no ownership of silence. Presence and Being and Absolute are ONE. So that is the ground of being and the manifest world and personality is the most superficial movement of consciousness but that is not a negative. It is just seeing things the way they are. What is there when there is no effort is most exquisite because even if you sat now without any techniques or intentions to meditate not following any thought streams, was just in a state of ‘self awareness’, just no image, not pursuing the senses, no interpreting, such an intense focus comes without any effort, it is just a natural process, just like if you leave some chickpeas or piece of bread on the table for a few days, some other things start happening on it like some mold, some life comes in it. In the same way if you keep quiet and don’t stir any thought or intention, then life comes in it, just happens in it on its own with no human agency. Just with that focused auspicious conscious flow almost a deepening, almost like tying a stone to a string and throwing it in the water, consciousness takes the mind all the way to the bottom of the ocean. It is beautiful. You just start where you are just try to acknowledge the different elements that perception is moving around and stay only in the space of the noticing. Keep quiet, don’t calculate, don’t raise any intention. Just be self aware. Then by itself out of nowhere wisdom comes pfff….insights come…pff..

If you sit down and just keep quiet- you are in the state of Self-awareness. Keeping quiet means being without any techniques, effort or intention to meditate, not following the thought stream, not pursuing the senses, no imagination. Such an intense Self-focusing comes without any effort. Then, by itself, out of nowhere, wisdom and insights come.”