Acharya Shree, What are the misconceptions of meditation?
First you have to understand how the word, meditation came to existence.
In India, it is called DHYANA. Dhyana means meditation.
It traveled to China because of the Buddhist.
From India to China. In China, dhyana becomes Chhana
From China, to Japan, to Korea to Vietnam.
When the Buddhist, traveled to Thailand and Japan,
it became Zen.
Z. E. N., Zen
Dhyana, chhana, Zen. Zen meditation. Zen teacher.
People have a misconception.
You are right.
They think that controlling the mind is Dhyana or meditation.
Controlling the thoughts is meditation.
Not to have anger is meditation.
Expressing your feelings,
your senses is meditation.
Concentration on one point, that is considered meditation.
None of these are meditation.
Meditation is not a thing you can do with something.
Or play with it.
You can't have it or possess it.
It is not a verb. It is not a verb that you can do.
Meditation is not a doing.
That's where people have a misconception.
It is not ... close your eyes and go to the third eye
what these teachers or western people
The western spiritual students or spiritual people
the new age group, including Deepak Chopra
or other teachers, et al.
Whatever they think that meditation means
to just go inside and concentrate on your third eye.
The third eye is in the forehead the center part of the forehead
and you will see there a lot of lights
a lot of stars, a lot of colors.
That is what they teach.
That this is meditation.
And you will see it.
You sit in certain postures you cross your legs
you put your hands in a certain way you make a special mudra.
That is what they teach.
There is no technique for meditation.
That is why people have a misconception about meditation.
Because they are willing to learn the techniques.
And there are no techniques.
Yes there are many teachers that are making millions of dollars from it.
You go to their Ashram and they will charge just to enter $350.
Just to go and to feel.
What will you think if you paid $350 already, will you not sit quiet there?
When you feel quietness.
When you are sitting silently.
You are bound to feel something.
Because your pocket is empty! $350 less!
And this Guru Maayai in the United States called Swami Chidvilasananda
Go to New York, hop on a plane to her Ashram
$350 Dollars
you stay, just for the Ashram even.
How people can manipulate!
And how can people be manipulated by those people.
I can not understand.
Her teacher Swami Muktananda was the best teacher!
He never asked for money
He was a simple teacher.
He was simply considered an enlightened teacher among the Westerners.
What about his successor now?
They are living in big hotels and they are well known teachers for meditation.
Deepak Chopra who is an M.D. who already has millions of dollars
made millions of dollars will teach you real meditation?
But, Westerners, they are mesmerized by these people.
Because they think there are techniques.
You have to understand first, there is no technique for meditation.
Meditation. Yes, I will suggest that you can stand quietly.
Sit quietly or be in silence, even if you are laying down.
There is no technique for meditation.
You can sit against the wall,
against a tree, in the jungle, or in your room.
It doesn't make any difference.
As soon as you close your eyes or you don't close your eyes
there are many ways that you can enter into deep meditation.
Even if your eyes are open. That is very hard to do.
Meditation means, a state of being where all your thoughts disappear.
And the mind, kind of dissolves.
All the feelings, sensations, all the emotions dissolve.
And you are feeling emptiness and that emptiness is wonderful,
It is incredible. It is as if you are full of it.
When you feel that. When it dissolves by itself.
But it happens, you cannot do it.
When you try to do it, you are far away from meditation.
As soon as you try it means that you are far away.
Where there is trying, there is no meditation.
Meditation is an effortlessness state of being.
An effortlessness state of the thoughts or the mind.
Where there is effort, there is no dhyana no meditation.
Just be effortless.
I would suggest another word,
where there is doing, there is no meditation,
where there is non doing that is meditation.
Non doing is meditation,
Because where you create that situation, then meditation can happen.
Meditation will happen if you create that situation. Nobody else can create it for you.
No church, no temple, no Deepak Chopra,
and no Swami Chidvilasananda or any other so called swamis.
You become a swami yourself. You are your own master.
Follow the Buddhist teachings,
This is what Buddha said.
"Appa divo bhav" Be - Your - Own - Light.
If you can be your own light,
I can guarantee that you will enter into meditation.
Meditation will happen. No technique.
It is technique-less, it is effortless, it is thoughtless, it is mindless,
it is a body-less state of being.
That is meditation.