“Meditation is not wasting time, unfortunately that is what some people think. Meditation is investing time, without which we cannot attain our full potential.”
.. Tejguru Sirshree Tejparkhiji
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In Koan Meditation a person is given a koan (i.e. a puzzle or a question) and he is told to keep thinking about what can be the right answer to it. Some examples of koan are:
1) How can you clap with one hand?
2) An egg of a bird was kept inside a bottle. The mouth or opening of the bottle measures exactly the size of the egg. The egg hatched inside the bottle and the little bird was fed and raised inside the bottle. Gradually the bird began to grow. Then a time came when the bird had fully grown up and had become equal to the size of the bottle. Then, without breaking the bottle and without killing the bird, how can this bird be freed? This puzzle has to be solved.
3) How can the eye see itself without a mirror (instrument)? How can the Experience (of Being) experience the Experience (of Being)?
4) Which are the questions whose answer is right if you say ‘Yes’, but is right even if you say ‘No’?
5) Who is the ear of the ear? How can the tongue taste itself?
6) How was your face before you were conceived?
7) In dreams, why don’t we see ourselves at the place where we actually are?
8) If we have attained this birth due to our karma (deeds) in our previous births, then how did we get our first birth?
9) How can effortless effort be done?
10) What is definite in deep sleep?
(Sirshree’s article in Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle on 1st April. Click here to read this article on the Speaking Tree website)
April 1 is celebrated as All Fools’ Day all over the world. On this day, people try to play pranks on others and laugh at the jokes situations create. But what if the joke is on you? April 1 can be taken to represent the day of the cosmic joke. The biggest cosmic joke is maya… the illusory nature of reality. So, the joke is on humanity and what better day to celebrate this joke than on April 1. Let us first understand what this cosmic joke is all about.
The world is nothing but Self in Action (Shakti) brought forth by Self at Rest (Shiva). The very purpose of the creation of the body and mind is for consciousness to experience itself. But, the beauty of creation is such that the mind has also been made self-aware. Hence, the mind forgets its very purpose and becomes externally focused and mired in the world. This is the cosmic joke… the mind assumes itself and the world to be real and wants to control and experience the world. True spirituality is about allowing the mind to drop so that consciousness can experience itself.
Look who's fooling you (Photo by sravenk)
However, the joke is so real that the mind forgets its very purpose. If you break a mirror in front of a particular mirror every day, that particular mirror forgets that it too is a mirror and is brittle. It forgets that it shall break too. One can say that the mirror has been April fooled. Because, every night the mind dreams, it assumes itself to be real. The illusion created for expression of consciousness assumes itself to be reality. The mind forgets that it too is a part of a dream and is a mere visualisation of consciousness. The mind (humanity) has been April fooled. This is the biggest joke of all.
A merchant once invited a jeweller to assess the value of his wealth all converted into diamonds. The jeweller informed him that alas all his diamonds were fake. The merchant began to lament his fate. The jeweller proposed a solution, “I know it is a fake. But others don’t. So, why don’t you organise a bumper sale for the world where you offer the diamonds at one-third their value?” The wily merchant jumped at the idea thinking he would at least make something. He organised this sale and every time someone would buy a diamond, the merchant would wring his hands in glee. “Oh look. Another one has been fooled. I am making a fortune even by selling them at one-third their value.” What the merchant did not realise is that all along he was the one who was being fooled. The jeweller had lied about the diamonds being fake. All those men who had, one by one, bought out the entire stock from the merchant were all the jeweller’s men buying on behalf of him.
Thus, this April Fools’ day, do not laugh at the expense of others. Instead ponder on how you are being fooled by the cosmic joke. Here are three special ways to celebrate April 1 to make it the most spiritual day of the year:
One may ask why celebrate? The answer is why not? Celebrate because April 1 signifies creation… when the cosmic joke was put in motion. Celebrate so that you are upbeat and happy.
In Hindi, April is pronounced as “uprail”. The world is a journey where the rails of life progress upwards, not downwards. Instead of being downrailed, depressed or dejected by the illusion of this creation, contemplate, meditate and investigate. Then, this April 1, you can laugh with the creator by being the creator.
- Sirshree is the founder of Tej Gyan Foundation and an author
Thought Numbering Meditation
Neutral meditation means you are neutral for every thought. If you are in sorrow, you are neutral; if you are in joy yet you are neutral. When you are practicing this meditation, then:
1) If you are sad, don’t say, “I am sad.” At such time, say, “Thoughts of sorrow are passing through my mind.”
2) If you are happy, yet you should remain neutral. At such time also, say, “Thoughts of happiness are passing through my mind.” At such time, don’t say, “I am happy” or “I am sad”, instead your thoughts should be neutral in both instances. That is why it has been called as ‘Neutral Meditation.’
Neutral meditation means you are neutral for every thought
You can practice this meditation any time of the day. When you get thoughts of boredom, make them neutral. When you get thoughts of hatred, then too look at them with a neutral feeling and say, “At this time, thoughts of boredom or thoughts of hatred are passing by.” Never say, “I am bored… angry… depressed… anxious… ” etc. This will help you to remain balanced and steady in every situation.
Giving attention is not meditation. Meditation is not concentration. Meditation is not contemplation. The word ‘meditation’ originated from spirituality. In India, spiritual seekers understood the deeper aspects of ‘meditation’. But today the word ‘meditation’ has become commonplace and is being used without its deeper meaning. It has therefore lost its importance. ‘Giving attention’ is being understood as ‘meditation’ by most people.
Meditation is an attribute.. attribute of the witness
Meditation is an attribute. It is an attribute of the witness. The witness which is called differently by different people… God, Allah, Self, Self-awareness, Consciousness, etc. Meditation is that source which is present even in deep sleep – self-awareness – even in the state of unawareness.
Meditation simply means ‘doing nothing.’ For some people ‘doing nothing’ is very difficult. How can we do ‘nothing’? If someone asks, ‘What should I do to get sleep? What can be done to get sleep faster?’ Then he will be told , ‘You have to do nothing to get sleep. Just go and lie down. If you try to get sleep, it will run away. You can get sleep very easily without making any effort.’ In the same way, meditation is also a process in which there is no need to do anything. You simply have to be present.
The techniques which have been designed to kick start meditation or to improve concentration, have also been called ‘meditation’. This ‘meditation’ is a path to self-meditation. Self-Meditation means meditation of ‘Self’ which is the real aim of meditation. Just improving concentration is not the goal of meditation. The word ‘Self-Meditation’ is more appropriate than the word ‘meditation’. But due to the greater prevalence of the word ‘meditation’, people have forgotten the real meaning of meditation. Concentration is a ladder in the path of meditation. Concentration improves with meditation. But if someone is meditating with the aim of improving concentration, then he is taking only minimal benefit from meditation. Many a times it so happens that someone begins on the path of meditation to attain ‘Self–Realization’, but he becomes very happy with improved concentration having gotten some powers and strays away from his real goal.
Meditation has also been taken as a Yogic Practice. Meditation (awareness) is necessary in every field of life. No work can be done without meditation. Meditation is essential for all activities of life. All our senses affect our body. Whenever our senses are directed externally and are involved in external things, then all the energy of our mind gets exhausted in the external objects. Therefore it is necessary that we have some control over our senses, which is possible through meditation. Through meditation it is possible to utilize for ourself a part of the energy which is getting consumed in the external world. To shift the mind from external objects and stabilize it inside is the beginning of meditation.
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Complete Meditation - 222 Question and Answers
The above article has been taken from ‘Meditation’, a book written by Sirshree. Although it was targeted primarily for beginners, it can be useful for everybody – even for those who practice meditation regularly. Just as you can’t learn swimming by just reading a book on swimming, similarly you can’t get the benefits of meditation, you don’t get absorbed in meditation just by reading a book on meditation. Practicing regularly with the right understanding is necessary to make progress.
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