"What have you gained from meditation?” someone asked Mahavira, founder of Jainism, a contemporary of Buddha and equally enlightened.
What I mean to say is that the bliss promised from meditation cannot come from just meditation alone. It is not a substitute for love, compassion, humility, empathy and other virtues. Meditation is simply one of the methods to mould yourself into the person you wish to be, a process that can help you discover your primal state of peace and bliss. Meditation is a way of life.
What meditation will do to you is give you the grace and mindfulness to ease through life.
Meditation is your personal journey, an intimate one. It is only about you. It does not change anything directly in others. Meditation remodels you so that you become a catalyst of positive change, not in your own life but in the lives of most of those who are connected with you. This is the only way meditation affects the lives of those around you. Gradually, the light in you starts to transform you. The way you think, act or react changes and that change, often (not always) brings a change in those around you.
These worthy rewards from meditation come from doing correct meditation and correct meditation alone.
“I have gained nothing actually,” the sage said smilingly. “But, I’ve lost much including my anger, pride, lust and misconceptions.”
Start with the premise that meditation is not about gaining anything. The notion of gaining or losing is a rather material (and not spiritual) way of thinking. Spirituality is not bothered with losing or acquiring. The right action for the greater good of our universe is its only concern.
What I mean to say is that the bliss promised from meditation cannot come from just meditation alone. It is not a substitute for love, compassion, humility, empathy and other virtues. Meditation is simply one of the methods to mould yourself into the person you wish to be, a process that can help you discover your primal state of peace and bliss. Meditation is a way of life.
What meditation will do to you is give you the grace and mindfulness to ease through life.
Meditation is your personal journey, an intimate one. It is only about you. It does not change anything directly in others. Meditation remodels you so that you become a catalyst of positive change, not in your own life but in the lives of most of those who are connected with you. This is the only way meditation affects the lives of those around you. Gradually, the light in you starts to transform you. The way you think, act or react changes and that change, often (not always) brings a change in those around you.
These worthy rewards from meditation come from doing correct meditation and correct meditation alone.
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