I have not seen God. Contrarily, nor can I prove definitively that there is no God. So, you can call me an agnostic. On being asked what religion I am, I will say I was born a Hindu, but I will much rather put myself in the ever expanding category of ‘spiritual, not religious’. And, there teaching meditation came to me from that expansive state.
But yes, I have had frequent experiences of what can only be called pure consciousness, the transcendent state, or samadhi as referred to in the Indian tradition. What is it and how do I know I have experienced it? At a young age of 23, I learnt Transcendental Meditation (TM), which burst on the scene when in late 1960s the Beatles stayed with the TM guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Rishikesh, in the foothills of the Himalayas. TM defines meditation as gradual, natural reduction of mental activity, leading to a no-thought state. Now, in sleep too we reach no-thought state, but we are not aware or awake then. In the thoughtless state in meditation, awareness is maintained even heightened as an EEG scan will show. Consciousness is there but not of anything outside, rather of itself (self-collapsing!). So, it is called pure consciousness.
After a few weeks of meditation, I could easily slip into that no-thought stage. Over the years it has become easier to get into, and lasts longer. The beauty of it is that anybody and everybody can experience that with some guidance. TM is just one of the growing number of meditation practices (almost all from religious/spiritual traditions of the world) available these days. Numerous scientific studies on such techniques and systems have proved beyond doubt the benefits to be reaped from a regular practice of meditation. They include: deep relaxation, peace of mind, better health, and improved productivity.
That brings me to my experience of teaching meditation. I must have taught a few thousand people, mostly when I was doing it full time back in India in my younger days. On the positive side, I noted that everybody could pick up the technique and be able to meditate. Almost everybody reported deep relaxation in the very first sittings after learning, even slipping into the no-thought state for a split second. On the negative side, I gathered over the years that a majority of my initiates stopped meditating after a few months. One can justify that this high drop-out rate is not any different from the drop-out rate among those starting on any new self-development program or a fitness regime. For myself, I confess I was paying every month for my Planet Fitness membership, but rarely stepped into my neighborhood facility. Covid came as godsent to cancel my membership. We also know that most people make New Year resolutions, and promptly forget them within days.
The other thing I learnt from teaching meditation and interacting with people from all strata of life is that even the highly religious, the very educated and accomplished people do not have a good understanding of what spirituality is or what can lie beyond ritualistic worship or reading about yoga and meditation. To my students I used to point out that almost each religion has spirituality at its core – the mysticism part. In recent times, with meditation going mainstream (far behind yoga classes though) many gurus belonging to diverse traditions have made an effort to include some modicum of meditation in their teaching mix.
Let me add that in modern times we need meditation more than before, because we have moved so far away from that state. Have you noticed that we almost never close our eyes except when going to sleep. Young people particularly stay glued to their mobile phones till just before going to bed.
So, take some time out. Try closing the eyes, not doing anything, not thinking of anything. Not trying hard not to think of anything. Not trying to achieve any particular state. Just watch the thoughts come and go. Try to remain aware. Lo! I have just let you on the simplest meditation.
Another technique which does not need too much instruction is from Vipassana (the system said to have been taught by Lord Buddha himself). Called anapana or anapana-sati (Pali for mindfulness of breathing), it involves watching your breath with closed eyes. Just become aware – of each inhalation and exhalation. Breath going in and going out, in and out. Your attention will move away from watching the breath. Not to worry. Bring it back to the breath. In a 10-day Vipassana course, they take you to higher practices, but watching the breath is the beginning. In a similar secular technique, you lie down on your back with closed eyes, and put one hand on the stomach. Now feel and pay attention to the stomach rise while we inhale, and contract as we exhale. In and out, up and down, on and on for a few minutes and sense the calm.
Alternatively, you can introduce a mantra (or any holy name or word) mentally while sitting comfortably with closed eyes. Gently keep repeating the mantra. Your mind will wander away. Never mind. Bring it back to the mantra. No need to drive away thoughts. There can be many variations of mantra meditation, TM is one of them.
In terms of popularity and number of research projects, mindfulness meditation has overtaken TM. In time, we will get experts of that system to guide us. So, regularly visit ALotusInTheMud.com.
