Simon G

‘The constant cravings of the mind are the basic reason for unhappiness’.

A couple of thousand years after Buddha said these words, still mankind is afflicted with these cravings of the mind that prevent us from achieving peace and happiness.

The mind does not seem to want to accept or stop on one thing. We have to constantly move from one thing to the other, seldom remaining satisfied or contented. Our mind becomes like a restless monkey.

In Meditation we focus the mind into a single-pointed attention. Gradually, instead of being diluted into millions of imaginations, the mind recedes and becomes quiet. Then we experience that real peace, settled in ourselves.

The great masters proved that this is possible to achieve once and for all. Meditation master Babaji says, ‘as the mind abandons all its cravings, going introverted, peacefully, composed, it settles into the Self and remains there totally contented. That’s what a Yogi achieves.’

Through regular practice, we can calm the mind down and become more focused. Babaji says that through the proper practice of meditation ‘the opponent, the bundle of cravings, becomes weak and your consciousness becomes strong’. We gain the upper hand of our own mind.

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The mind is our conscious energy. Whatever object we apply the mind on we become aware of that.

When we lose attention, we lose that awareness. For example, when we read a book, our eyes may be following the words, but if our mind is elsewhere, thinking about dinner later or roaming the streets outside then nothing of the meaning of the words will be entering our mind. So the mind’s attention also has to be there – then our awareness is there.

In meditation we practice applying our attention. But we don’t bring the attention to our thoughts. The attention goes within, to our mind itself.

Normally we are so preoccupied with our thoughts. One thought after another comes and we become sucked into a whirlpool of thoughts. These constant imaginations lead to worries and stress and our mind becomes out of our control. Even if we think of a good thought, it can easily slip into a negative thought.

As we keep focusing our attention in meditation by just watching what comes up and not getting involved, our attention goes from the thoughts to our mind itself. We become aware of this mind itself. As Meditation Master Babaji says, ‘If you become aware of yourself, then you will discover you are always at peace, you are that source of peace.’

With a regular practice there are so many benefits we can gain; better concentration, less stress and more peace and contentment in the mind. We would be able to maintain that peace even with the challenges of daily life. The new year is always a great opportunity to start afresh and pick up the practice of meditation to achieve peace for yourself. Our online courses and sessions are every week, all free of charge.

We all know that feeling when there is something unknown we have to face. Even though it may not be such a big problem, we magnify the fear into something much bigger. In so doing it makes us feel unsettled and even terrified. The mind gets absorbed into its own imagination forgetting that it created the imagination to start with.

Meditation Master Babaji says it is the cravings of the mind and its habit to cling on to an object which is the basic reason for stress, tension and fear. We have lost control of the mind and it is making us dance to its tunes.

When we sit down for meditation we first concentrate the mind. As it becomes more concentrated it starts to let go of any negative thinking. In so doing it strengthens the mind and also purifies it of its habitual thinking. The mind starts to become more and more quiet. We start to gain back control.

When the mind becomes more concentrated an inner confidence also comes; We can think, ‘If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. I shouldn’t lose my peace in any case’. Eventually as we gain more understanding of ourselves, we will have more composure and less fear of the unknown. As we make meditation a regular practice, instead of fear, tension and stress plaguing our minds, peace and composure can be with us throughout the day.

Our mind often tries to define happiness in a certain way – ‘Only if I obtain this object will I be happy, only if achieve this will I be happy’. If we don’t achieve or obtain that thing we are likely to feel disappointed.

Even if we do get what we want, that happiness will not stay there permanently. In due course of time it disappears since the object on which it is based is impermanent. Then again we feel insecurity, anxiety, unhappiness and look for something that can give us happiness again.

Instead of defining what can give us happiness, if the mind can be quiet and composed, then that is the best happiness we can obtain.

As Babaji says, ‘Even for a moment if you have experienced the silence of the mind, then you realise that is when the mind enjoys the real happiness. When the mind is quiet, at peace, then you have peace.’

So the mind is that source of the peace which we are looking for, beyond any definition that we can give –  it is there naturally. That is what we can achieve in meditation as the mind becomes more and more purified of its habits and becomes quiet.

After all, everything we do is for happiness. Whether we realise or not, we want to do something if it makes us feel good, if it leads to some sort of comfort or security. Babaji mentions, ‘If we cannot enjoy anything, we would not like to do that. We need to enjoy. We are looking for that enjoyment, that happiness, that peace. When peace is there, peace is the highest, supreme, then there is a serene quietness. And in that quietness a real enjoyment happens. Enjoyment need not be by extrovert excitement only. A real enjoyment is when we don’t lose it, we are composed, at peace. That is what is real, true enjoyment. So that is how we have to proceed in meditation.’

Many of us when we feel stress or mental suffering may feel like accusing the world around us.

What happens in the world is not in our control – it is not guaranteed that everything will happen according to our wishes. What we can control, however is how we react to a situation. If we can look at our own minds and remedy any problem that is there, we can avoid jumping into a reaction and judging something as stressful. We will be able to achieve that real peace for ourselves, irrespective of what is happening in the outside world.

This amazing achievement is what the Self-Realised masters of meditation realised and achieved for themselves. As Swamiji said, ‘Great people are those who can look at their own problems and remedy them’.

It may be easy to point out others’ faults rather than look at any fault that we may have caused ourselves and see how we can put it right. But if we can put in efforts to do this through the practice of meditation, then we won’t be making the same mistakes over and over again – we can improve and progress as human beings.

If we criticize and blame others all the time we will be wasting that precious time which could be used to better ourselves.

So meditation is taking responsibility for our own mistakes. It is that highest practice taught since ancient times to go within ourselves and remedy any problem that is in the mind. Through this simple technique our mind learns to let go of negative habits and thus becomes concentrated and purified.

Once we start putting in efforts to purify the mind, we will start experiencing that peace within ourselves. Then we can also be in a position to help anyone else, give counsel or at least not bother anyone. As Babaji says, ‘Only if you have peace yourself can you give that peace to others.’

This world is made of dualities; good and bad, right and wrong, pleasant and unpleasant, happiness and unhappiness. One is there because of the other. In a movie, a hero is there because of a villain and vice-versa. If we get involved in one, then eventually that leads to the other.

Just like if we wake up and feel refreshed, we would only like to think good, positive thoughts. But it cannot stay like that all the time. As the day progresses other negative thoughts and worries will also start to come into our mind.

The Masters of meditation realised that the true nature of the mind itself is to be quiet and at peace. Then it is under our control. When it is quiet, it has in fact gone beyond all dualities. It has gone beyond all imaginations, it is simply aware of the consciousness of existence. So when we meditate, we don’t analyse and make a judgement whether something is good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. Once we start to think of either of the two, we get involved, and one after another we keep generating thoughts and get sucked into that whirlpool of thoughts. Instead of this, if we apply the technique to just watch and not think, then our mind starts to recede and become quiet. We get the taste of that elusive peace.

Meditation Master Shiva Rudra Balayogi (Babaji) says, ‘Just become quiet. When a real experience of the Self occurs, there is tranquilised quietness. No definitions are there because mind has been absorbed into the Self.’