There is a firmament within, in which the sun, the moon, and the stars are seen. meditation is a voyage, an incessant exploration of the Universal Truth, which lies in the vast skies of the inner world. We must bathe in its glory. We must pursue diligently every aspect of that Truth, the ignorance of which keeps our unlimited heart in an eternal prison. Freedom from mental albatross and better health are natural concomitants of this true form of meditation.
However, instead of being “inquisitive”, we have become “acquisitive”. In the materialistic world, we seek to acquire more and more. And when material means fail us, we seek the metaphysical in order to fulfil our desires. The mind, however, remains bound to the mundane. The inner reality continues to elude us.
Scriptures proclaim – You may torment your body with extremes of self-discipline, practice intensive meditation and hang upside-down, but your ego will not be eliminated from within (Gurubani). The ego is the biggest impediment to the attainment of Truth. It is the source of all sickness, stress, and sorrow. When we attach ourselves to the body, we are in ego. When we attach ourselves to emotions, we are in ego. When we attach ourselves to our personality, we are in ego. And until the ego is rooted out, we are still very much distanced from true health and freedom.
The inner light, which is observed through the ‘single eye’ during true meditation, is the axe that cuts the roots of the mental vices and physical illnesses. All other forms of meditation just cater to the branches and fruits, not the roots. For example, if there is a tree that continuously bears some rotten fruit, simply pulling the putrid fruit off the tree or chopping off its branches will not act as a remedy to the overall problem. The tree must be uprooted and another tree with stronger, healthier roots should be planted in its place. Likewise ‘so- called and believed’ meditation techniques, we may receive some benefits, but they are nowhere near the benefit we can receive from genuine art of concentration (Eternal Meditation) – which uproots the cause of maladies, both physical and emotional.
The ancient meditation, taught by the genuine spiritual Guide, also serves the purpose of “Prevention before cure.” Illness, injury, emotional harm, etc. befall us due to our past latent tendencies because of which we are bound to suffer. During meditation, an incessant flow of potent vibrations emanate from the student (the one practising the real art of meditation). We know that external diseases, for example, first attack our aura; thus these emanated vibrations dilute, and can also annihilate, them there and then. Hence, the aspirant escapes from the sufferings even before he realises it. Secondly, in the fire of Divine Knowledge blazing within, all our karmas are incinerated; the very seeds are burnt before they can fructify to torment our physical and mental self.
Lord Krishna says in Bhagvat Gita: As the blistering fire converts firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all reactions to material activities (Ch. 4, Verse 37). All reactions and effects brought about through actions are annihilated in the fore of Self-Knowledge, in the fire of self-exploration, self-examination. That is why, Plato has said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” It is contemplation upon inner light that allows one to penetrate deeper and deeper into his Self. And the resultant freedom liberated him from much mental and physical bondage of pain, suffering, and misery. The bliss experienced from within serves as the antidote to a multitude of problems and problematic situations.
Finally, it must be understood that eventually, the body is going to return to dust. Irrespective of how much we try to heal it, it will perish one day. However, the utmost benefit of the eternal technique of meditation lies in the fact that the ego, which separates us from our true identity, is gradually removed. We become the pure beings we were before our birth, when we were meditating in womb of our mothers. When the Perfect Master, taking on the role of mother, renews us a second birth, we can again begin that eternal technique through which we can delve into the inner glories and consequently emanate virtues of harmony, concord, universal love, and purity. Yogananda writes in his biography, Autobiography of a Yogi: The numerous bodies which were spectacularly healed through Lahiri Mahasaya eventually had to feed the flames of cremation. But the silent spiritual awakenings he effected, the Christ-like disciples he fashioned, are his imperishable miracles.
Thus, to be In Meditation is to be In Truth, to exude Truth, to breathe Truth. When one is in such meditation, he not only has repaired his inner vision but also can become a motivation for mankind as a whole to come forward and learn about the eternal technique through which the inner divine worlds can be beheld and divine virtues be manifested forth in daily living – thus creating heaven on Earth. Spiritual blindness, being a condition that all of mankind is a patient of, shall be cured by the divine surgeon (Sadguru: Perfect Master) who sits in the cosmic seat of eternity, ever ready to restore divine vision to mankind, through the finesse of His divine hands.
