How to meditate effectively?
Around 2500 years ago, Lord Buddha in search of truth came to a quiet place in Northern India and sat under a tree. He vowed not to get up from his place till he seeks the truth. At dusk, Buddha was rewarded for his life-long discipline, concentration and commitment to truth by achieving the final goal of human existence, Enlightenment.
Through meditation, he attained ‘Enlightenment.’
In the modern world, these three techniques to meditate that can be practiced and benefitted by anyone regardless of their religion or beliefs. Out of 84,000 different ways taught by Buddha to meditate, these three are the most effective in context to the modern world.
1) Master Visualisation through a picture: For the first method to meditate, you will need a quiet room, picture of your master and focus. Master can be anyone who you consider as a guru or even god, like Jesus Christ, Lord Buddha, Lord Shiva or any god who you consider as your master. Your master is your link to the absolute truth of existence. In a quiet and clean room, sit with your back straight and legs folded. Relax your body, soul and mind. Take deep breaths and slowly go into a calm state of mind.
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Then, hold your thoughts and doubts. Hold the picture of your master at your eye level. Lightly gaze and set your attention to his face. Hold the gaze and let your master take you to the state of awareness which can be achieved with practice and focus. Then leave your mind quietly, at peace, with your master.
2) Mantra Reciting Meditation: The second method is the mantra reciting meditation which can also be explained as uniting the mind with the mantra. Mantra can be defined as ‘ which protects the mind.’ To practice this meditation, sit in a quiet room with your back straight and hand joined together. Relax your body, mind and soul. Take deep breaths and slowly close your eyes. Now, visualize your Master in front of you and recite any mantra that you like. Recite the mantra quietly, with deep attention. I personally recommend ‘Gayatri mantra’ or Padmasambhava mantra’ that reads as ‘Om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum’. This Mantra has the power to transform the atmosphere around us and it is the most pure form of meditation in my view.
3) Focus on breath meditation: The third and last method dates back to the ancient time. This method involves lightly and mindfully resting your attention on your breath. Breath in judaism is called ruah which means the spirit of god that infuses all creation. In buddhism, the breath or ‘prana’ in sanskrit is considered to be the vehicle of mind. This method is most effective on our minds.
In this method, sit in the posture of meditation with your backs straight and legs folded. Relax your hands on your lap or join them together. Calm your mind, body and soul. Now breathe naturally, just as you usually do. Rest your focus on the breath. While breathing in imagine the positive and good vibes going inside of you through your mouth and while breathing out, imagine yourself letting go and releasing all the negativity like doubts, fear, anger, ego etc. Rather than watching the breath gradually let yourself unite with it, as if you were becoming one.
4)The Supreme Meditation trio: Each of these three methods can be joined together in the same chronology to form one complete meditation. Simply perform each of these methods for 10-15 minutes and then switch to the next one. You can increase the time according to you. When all these methods are joined together as one, the effects increases astonishingly.
Meditation is a practice that cannot be forced on anyone. It takes time, patience, concentration, discipline, awareness, focus, clarity and in the end dedication to attain enlightenment through meditation but it is not impossible. If you keep practising and be true to yourself, then you can master this art in no time. There have been countless cases where people have benefitted from meditation in various ways and so can you.
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