Mind and Meditation

To stay noisy, turbulent is the nature of the mind. By no means can it be quietened. However, there surely is a way to become free from the mind, transcend the mind, and be in the state of no-mind. Therefore, the only meaning of a quiet mind is the absence of mind.

There is no relationship between silence and mind. As long as there is mind, there cannot be quietude and where there is silence, there is no mind. The basic purpose of all spiritual practices is to dissolve the mind, to be free from the mind, to transcend the mind.

Just as, to cure a disease, you must understand it well. Treatment without right diagnosis can aggravate the disease or even invite other diseases. In the same way, understand the mind well, or you may end up either suppressing it or making it numb.

Erroneous Ways of Quietening the Mind

You know how to suppress emotions. Anger comes and you repress it thinking it is not wise to show anger right now. You also know how to suppress passions and desires because every time it is not possible to fulfil them.

The more you suppress, the more hideous the mind becomes. You create a volcano within. Whenever it erupts, it will create a disaster. Hence, though it seems that suppression makes the mind quiet, it actually becomes the creator of terrible unrest. Suppression can save you from committing a sin at that moment but it may make you sin in future. Energy suppressed could blast and shatter you one day. Therefore, the path of suppression is not the path of freedom from the mind.

Similarly, benumbing the mind is not the way to peace. Making the mind unconscious of the pain may temporarily make you forget your suffering, but pills, alcohol etc. cannot cure it. The moment the mind comes back to consciousness, the suffering will rise again to harass. It can create physical illness too.

Thus, suppression makes the mind restless and benumbing makes the mind insensitive but they cannot make you free from the mind. Mind is a constant flow of thoughts. As long as it exists, you cannot be at peace. Each thought is capable of disturbing you.

Is Witnessing an Act of the Mind?

Witnessing is not the act of the mind. In meditation, in witnessing, the Self acts in accordance with its nature and so it is not an effort, rather, it is effortlessness. Meditation or witnessing happens without the help of mind, speech or body and so it is non-action. This needs to be understood well.

Due to the limitations of language, many non-actions are considered as actions. Like, taking birth is an activity, yet there is no effort of the child in it. In the same way, dying, sleeping, are not activities, even though in language, they are referred to as activities.

You say, ‘I slept at night’. But when asked, ‘How did you go to sleep? What was the process of sleep?’ it will be difficult for you to answer. You may have slept for a long time and yet you cannot describe the process of sleep. You may be able to describe in detail what you did before going to sleep, like making the bed, turning the lights off, switching on the fan. They may help in going to sleep but they are not sleep, nor do they ensure that you will get sleep because of them.

You cannot bring sleep, so sleep is not an action. You may prepare for a good sleep but can’t make it happen. It is easy to sleep in darkness and difficult in a bright room. Yet sleep comes without any doing.

A child takes his thumb in his mouth and goes to sleep. When the thumb is pulled out, it is difficult for him to sleep. An association is built that the moment his thumb goes in his mouth, he is ready for sleep. It is a mere signal that soon he will be asleep. Likewise, bed, darkness, fan etc. are only signals.

Meditation or witnessing when said to be effortless, it means that whatever is done for meditation is all external. It facilitates meditation. The efforts are mere superficial endeavours, not meditation. Meditation is a relaxed state of being, a state of effortlessness, just a happening and not doing. And so like sleep, it has no definite technique.

Remove the Obstacles

Understanding three basic principles regarding sleep should help remove all confusion about meditation. Sleep cannot be created, sleep comes and efforts are also made for sleep. There are preparations made for sleep but they are not the direct cause of sleep. One has to silently wait for sleep to come! Sleep when it comes, comes on its own and cannot be brought. All preparations like making bed etc. are only to facilitate sleep, to remove obstacles to sleep and nothing more than that.

The same applies for meditation or witnessing. The techniques of meditation and all its preparations are taught or made to practice so that the mind does not become a hindrance. Hence, to meditate is to remove all that hinders meditation and then silently wait for meditation to happen. Meditation is a natural activity of the Self. Doership is the obstacle to it. Meditation occurs when doership dissolves.

The sun dawns in the morning and you are sitting in the room with doors closed. Now, you ask, what should be done to get the sun inside the room? Can you bring the sunshine in a basket? Can you pull it in by the elephants? Or may be with someone’s help? The Wise Ones say that you need not do anything to bring the sunlight inside the room. All you have to do is remove the obstacle to it. Open the doors. This is the only method. The sunlight will enter on its own. Even though you may say you brought the sunlight inside the room, it would be a lie. All you did was open the doors. It’s the sun that brings in the sunlight and not you.

Meditation Happens on its Own

This means that you cannot do meditation but can surely stop it happening! To do meditation is to give up all efforts that obstruct meditation. Meditation does not require efforts. It happens naturally when you become choiceless and effortless. To meditate is like opening the doors, and the sunlight naturally floods. And so, when meditation happens, you shall not claim its doership.

You prepare a room conducive to get a good sleep. However, sleep may occur without any preparation too. Like, a person can go off to sleep on a sunny, noisy, hot day; laying his head on a stone. But the condition is he must be exhausted. In the same way, when you are completely tired of the play of mind, you let go of the mind and meditation occurs. Then you do not need a conducive environment or technique. However, without being tired, you will need both, a correct setting and a right method as preparation, yet they are not meditation. For meditation cannot be done, it occurs on its own.