Yoga and Meditation

The Enlightened Way of Living could have been the title of Eknath Easwaran’s book Meditation. I wondered what all of those chapters could have to do with meditation. However, it is explained beautifully throughout the entire book.

Honestly, I have never had the desire to meditate. Possibly because I didn’t really know what purpose it would serve. I thought I was already accomplishing stress relief, and learning to live in the now through yoga. It had been suggested in my yoga classes and I thought I should try it. Emphasis on the word should because I still didn’t WANT to do it. Easwaran’s book opened my mind and heart to the idea. One paragraph grabbed me. It was about taming your inner demons or quieting the ego mind. I had been on that journey for about 2 years, and felt stuck for the past two. I thought “maybe this is the answer”.

Easwaran does such an amazing job of explaining things in a very down to earth and yet moving manner. I felt comfortable with the whole idea for the first time. His examples, symbolism and way of teaching new concepts in a way that I could understand were incredible. I was actually moved to tears a few times. I related to his stories of his grandmother. And, excepting the one comment about organized religion being a way for us to feed our egos and relate to people who seem like us, the ideas were familiar and rang of truth to me. I think he was making the case for studying ALL great mystics.

Chalk it up to my ignorance on the subject, but I was surprised when he suggested meditating on a mantra or prayer. I thought that the whole point of meditation was to clear you mind of all thought. I was actually relieved when he said that is virtually impossible, as I have never been able to do it.

This book inspired me to learn more about the great spiritual leaders of the world, and study their works. I have always believed that truth is truth. It never changes, and it is revealed to those who sincerely seek it, wherever or however they may be. It is still however, very interesting to me that great enlightened minds throughout the ages and in all parts of the world come to nearly the same conclusions. They usually just phrase it differently or have a slightly different twist on their teachings due to culture, circumstance, or time in history.

As far as meditation and mantras are concerned, my religious upbringing had me believe htis might fall into the worshiping idols category. That being said, I have always had an open mind as someone who was taught a lot of great truths from a non-religious parent who was alcoholic and at times abusive. My point in stating this is that when the author suggested:

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

as one of the most beautiful mantrams he has experienced. Initially, I didn’t think it would work for me because I am Christian and it has Jewish connotations. However, after the author broke it down syllabically, i too thought it was probably one of the most meaningful phrases I had heard. As with a lot of feelings, the English language doesn’t do them justice. Those three words basically mean: Oh Lord, who has stolen my heart, I cannot rest until I find Him. He ceaselessly, ceaselessly draws me unto Him, and is the only source of true joy.

There are so many truths that I knew but gained a better clarity on through this book. Some of which are: Our bodies are only a type of clothing; we “shed” our bodies at death; when you recognize illusion, it evaporates; lose yourself, and you shall find yourself; slow down in order to speed up; depth, not breadth; the senses can be trained and therefore magnified;discipline is freedom.

So, to sum it all up, I will buy this book and refer to it often. It is now out of print. Thank goodness for Amazon! I have also started my meditation practice. No great “ah-hah’s” yet, but definitely a few minutes of peace in a time when I have needed it greatly, and some time to just listen. In fact, when explaining meditation to my friends who are a bit skeptical of the mystic, I will say that meditation is a very effective way of actually taking the time to listen for answers to your prayers.