Every year Sri Chinmoy goes on a Christmas Trip and from all over the world, several hundred people join the trip. In the Christmas/New Year of 1993/1994 the trip went to some of the Pacific Islands, and in early January 1994 the contingent was to be found in Suva, Fiji.

It was during this section that a swimming relay race was organised by the Germans, the girls of whom were mostly super swimmers. There were four to a team – their team comprising English Channel swimmers and triathletes such as Vasanti Niemz and Praphulla Nocker. The Australia and New Zealand girls team featured Sushmitam Rouse (from Melbourne), Subarata Cunningham, Nishima Knowsley (both from Auckland) – who were all really good swimmers – and myself (from Hamilton), who was the weak link!

In order to train for the event we went to the Municipal Pool in Suva (where the event was to be held the very next day!) and I found that I couldn’t swim a length without stopping for breath. The rest of the team effortlessly cleaved through the water and encouraged me to keep going. By the end of the session I was exhausted and my arms ached badly.

I was determined to do my very best for the team, nonetheless, and tried not to be too intimidated the next day as Sri Chinmoy and the entire contingent of Sri Chinmoy Centre members trooped in to spectate, and – as all the teams lined up – just how fit and superb the German girls team looked in their professional Olympic-standard racing togs, bathing caps and – to my sincere dread – goggles.

Anyway as the rather serious-looking timekeeping crew organised themselves (timekeepers – yikes!!) I was fervently praying that I wouldn’t bore them and the crowd too much with my performance – and then the race began! Sushmitam took off to a mighty start – cleanly and evenly matching the equally clean and even German rival team member – and together they set a clear lead early in the length, leaving all of the other teams floundering in their wake.

Glumly I mounted the diving steps – Gee it was a long way down! (I was second swimmer as the rest of my team wanted to get me over with quickly, then do their best to make up whatever I lost. That, at least, was the Plan.) As the heroic Sushmitam – neck and neck with the German swimmer – neared the wall, I was praying that I wouldn’t let the team down by too much, and I looked down. To my utter horror there was the world’s most HUGE CRAB at the bottom of the pool. I don’t mean just big – I mean HUGE! But then I was diving! Into the water! Where The Crab Was!

It is a known fact that in moments of sheer terror in humans, an automatic panic phenomenon kicks in called the ‘fight or flight’ response. Adrenalin floods your system giving you abnormal powers of reflex, enabling a rapid reaction to horrific stimuli. On the way down to the water, as the adrenalin flooded my system, my mind filled with unspeakable visions of The Crab chasing me down the pool. I hit the water already swimming, raced down the entire length and out the other end without even touching the bottom of the pool. On the way out I nearly hit Nishima who was diving in. My heart was pounding and what’s more, nothing except a direct command from God Himself would ever induce me to get into that pool again!

It served its purpose. I had totally blitzed the field and the remaining two strong members of the team (Nishima and Subarata) swam us to an easy victory. (Subarata said, “What came over you? You were like a madwoman!”)

That was the fastest length by far that I have ever or will ever swim but sadly the splits were not taken. It is the story of my life – the fastest 100 metres I have ever run was when a ram was chasing me – a hazard of taking a shortcut across his paddock – but no one was there to time that either! C’est la vie!

Jayasalini is an accomplished ultra-marathon runner, triathlete and book and article author on running, she ran numerous times the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 6 and 10 day races and an ironman triathlon. She now gives meditation classes in former Soviet Union, as well as has come to Slovenia and Brazil as an invited lecturer.

The very first time I heard the word “Meditation”, it caught my attention, but at that time I did not know its meaning.   Later I found out that it relates to some spiritual practices.  I was always under impression that these things were meant only for some special people and, by far, not everybody could practice it. 

My name is Smarana and I work together with students of Sri Chinmoy in a gift store in Vienna, called Sewa. It is rather a big gift store in Vienna’s busiest shopping street, the Mariahilfer Strasse, with up to a few thousand customers per day.

Truth to tell, I never had anything to do with business life and now here I am the manager, right in the hustle and bustle of a store in Vienna. We sell dignified gifts, crystals, spiritual books, household goods, sweets - in a spiritual atmosphere with spiritual music.

The idea of working together with people who meditate, and are consciously working on transforming their lives for a more peaceful and harmonious coexistence on earth thrilled me.
Where else would I get such an opportunity, to join forces with spiritual adepts that are living in the world, right in the whirlpool of Vienna, accepting the challenge of life and consciously striving for a higher goal.

Once Sri Chinmoy was asked to describe his way of living in one sentence, and the first part was, “The Acceptance of life for the Transformation of life…”. Gone are the days of retreat in a cave and the chill of peace in a secluded area. Take life by its horns, deal with the obstacles ahead, transcend them and blow the conch in the earthly battlefield.

Once a worker - a student of Sri Chinmoy's - asked Sri Chinmoy in the store, “What is the  best way to offer something to a customer from our spiritual life?” Sri Chinmoy replied,” Give him a sincere smile.”

Everything that we are doing can be a part of our sadhana, can be a prayer to God,  the inner attitude always makes the difference. Just remember the last time a child gave you a heartfelt smile, how immediately you felt your own heart respond and widen.

I did not want to create the impression that all the workers are already saints. We all have our rough edges and we will have to rub against each other to smoothen our corners, but there is always an underlying understanding, that is helping us to overcome issues and progress one step further. If we see it from the psychological point of few, then we can say that others are like mirrors for us. If we have a problem with him or her, we can rest assured, that there is something for us to have a closer look at. Whatever happens to us in the outer world, we always have to be grateful to others, for they help us to understand ourselves better. It is in our hands to consider a glass half empty or half full.

 Gratitude carries the message of Immortality
 
And enters into God's Heart
 To see God's universal Satisfaction-Smile.

Sri Chinmoy 

While meeting with Sri Chinmoy's students from around the world in nearby Nepal, Ambarish took a side trip to little-visited country of Bhutan....

Introduction

Our appetite was whetted with spectacular views of the Himalayas and most of the world’s highest peak, including Mount Everest. Bhutan is mostly a mountainous country with the two main cities being over 2,200m above sea level. During the 40 minute flight, the captain reminded us to keep our safety belts fastened particularly coming into land as the plane descended through the valleys where we experienced a lot of turbulence. The flight is not for the faint hearted as the pilot made several dramatic manoeuvres’ through the valleys before a fairly sudden landing. Bhutanese are proud to claim that their pilots receive special training and can get piloting jobs with any airlines in the world. It is worth noting that no other airlines are permitted to fly into Paro Airport.

Tourism is third on the list of national industries in Bhutan, behind exporting electricity and farming. The tourism industry is highly regulated where one can only visit through an official tourist agency. All aspects of your travel arrangements are set out and paid for in advance such as itinerary, hotels, meals and excursions within the country. Visa costs are very expensive from $250 upwards the final cost depending on the length of you stay in Bhutan. A group of 8 British climbers paid $24,000 for their visas. Basically, the visa is an entry charge into the country. During your stay in Bhutan, you are required to take a tour guide and a driver who take you on a detailed journey through Bhutan. Bhutan’s policy on tourism is one of ‘Low impact but high value to Bhutan’    

A brief history.

In the 17th century, a Tibetan monk arrived in the area, in search of metals and managed to bring together villages and communities. As such, Bhutanese are mostly Tibetan in origin with their 11 dialects of language being a derivation of Tibetan.

Bhutan is 70% Buddhist, the signs of which are very visible from the country’s emblem, artwork, ornamentation, iconography and temples throughout. The harmony between religion & state is very evident – The Fortress complex in the capital, Thimphu houses both government buildings, crown jewels and a Buddhists monastery.

In 1907, a monarchy was established which still exists today. In the early 70’s the 4th King introduced the concept of ‘Gross National Happiness’, GNH. This is perhaps why Bhutan is best known.

The King, commissioned a Canadian sociologist to formalise the tenets of this philosophy, namely an index to measure the happiness of people and to set out measures to create harmony between spiritual and material well being.

In 2008, the 5th King, then aged 28 amended the constitution and paved the way for the first modern democratically elected government in Bhutan with the main focus being the implementation of GNH.

Eight general contributors to happiness:

1. physical, mental and spiritual health
2. time-balance
3. social and community vitality
4. cultural vitality
5. education
6. living standards
7. good governance
8. ecological vitality

 

Some statistics (2008):

• Similar in size, area & shape to Switzerland
• Population – 700,000
• 70% Buddhist & 20% Hindu
• Main source of income - exporting hydro electrical power, mainly to India.
• Bhutanese speak 11 dialects / developed forms of Tibetan.
• National Sport – Archery
• National Flower – Blue Poppy
• National Animal – Takin (looks like a cross between goat & cow)
• Smoking has been banned
• Only 5% of population have internet access
• Only 10% of population have telephones
• 70% live on subsistence farms
• There are no traffic lights in Bhutan

Bhutan also claims to be the only ‘Carbon Sink’ country in the world, i.e. Bhutan produces more energy than it uses. The amount of electricity generated from hydro electrical stations far exceeds that of the energy value of oil and gas imports.

Trade / neighbouring countries

Bhutan’s biggest trading partner is India. India imports Bhutanese electricity and in return Bhutan imports cars, food and the like from India. Bhutan relies on India for the construction of infrastructural projects such as roads, bridges and dams. Higher education in the areas of  the humanities and life sciences takes place in Bhutan but for higher degrees in engineering, Bhutanese travel to India.

Influences and traditions

Aside from the Buddhist tradition which is deeply rooted in every day life, most Bhutanese speak Hindi and watch Indian TV, Bollywood movies, Indian soap opera, etc. There are no American fastfood outlets such as MacDonalds, Kentucky, Fried Chicken of cafes such as Starbucks.

It is against their beliefs to kill any animals – all living creatures are sacred. However, that those not mean that they are vegetarian – Bhutan imports meat, fish and poultry from India.

Mountaineering is not permitted. The last expedition took place in the mid 80’s when a British team climbed their peaks – out of respect the climber stopped shot of the peak by a few yards. In Bhutan, they believe it is inappropriate for man to stand on top of a mountain as this invokes negative spirits to descend to earth and claim the souls of their deceased.

Polygamy is permitted in Bhutan, but in practice is very rare as the man, in order to support more than one wife needs to be very wealthy. Divorce is also permitted. Once divorced, a woman with a child / children is very unlikely to re-marry as Bhutanese men will not accept her child / children from her previous marriage.

Impressions / conclusions

First impressions usually establish your level of expectations for your entire experience - the very clean, relaxed environment in the airport was impressive. And this was a reflection of Bhutanese people generally. People are very polite and courteous and see you as a guest in their country, to which they are there to serve. GNH is a reality – Bhutanese people appear genuinely content. They display a broad cultural and educational diversity with dignity, sweetness and generosity of spirit.

 

Two gracious smiling Bhutanese kids speaking good English serving coffee to a visitor can more than articulate the objective of this commentary.

 

 

 

This article originally was written for the BBC website

Meditation is silence, energising and fulfilling

The nice thing about being up early in the morning is the stillness, the silence. The hustle of the day hasn't really started, and it's a good time to just sit, quiet and meditate.

My spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy – a man I've known for over 30 years – expresses it beautifully:

Meditation is silence, energising and fulfilling. Silence is the eloquent expression of the inexpressible.

The key word here is energising. That quiet place inside us is a source of tremendous strength.

When we meditate what we actually do is enter into the deeper part of our being. Meditation is like going to the bottom of the sea, where everything is calm and tranquil. On the surface, there may be a multitude of waves, but the sea is not affected below. In its deepest depths it is all silence.

To enter into that place, now, first thing, is to tap that strength inside us, let it sustain us through the day.

When the waves come from the outside world, we are not affected. Fear, doubt, worry and all the earthly turmoils will just wash away.

Just take a moment, to breathe. Breathe slowly and evenly. Use your imagination, feel you're breathing out all the rubbish you want to let go of. Feel you are breathing in pure energy.

Meditation is silence, energising and fulfilling.

Silence liberates!

Sri Chinmoy tells a story about a pious man who studies the scriptures devotedly, and likes to discuss philosophy with a scholar who comes to visit him. They earnestly discuss the path to spiritual liberation, but deep in his heart, the man knows this endless talk is not bringing him any closer to attaining his goal. Now, it happens that the man has a little caged bird in his room, and he likes to hear it sing. But one morning he notices the bird is not singing at all, it has fallen completely silent. He speaks to the bird, tries to coax it, but it makes not a sound. Eventually the man opens the cage door and the bird, in an instant, escapes, flies out of the cage, through the open window of the room, and soars into the infinite freedom of the sky.

The bird taught his master an important spiritual lesson. Silence liberates!

We can talk endlessly, argue, discuss, debate. But the real truth of things, we discover in silence. Eventually we have to hush the mind and its chatter, discover that vastness in our hearts and soar into it.

That image of the bird in flight, going beyond the mundane, is at the heart of one of Sri Chinmoy's devotional songs:

Bird of my heart,
Fly on, fly on.
Look not behind.
What the world offers
Is meaningless, useless
And utterly false.
Bird of my heart,
Fly on.

And it recurs in one of his simple, beautiful, mantric poems:

My Lord, a tiny bird
Claims the vast sky.
Similarly the finite in me
Longs to claim
Your Infinite Absolute.

Silence liberates. Meditation speaks

Some years ago I edited a little collection of writings on meditation by my teacher, Sri Chinmoy. I called it The Silent Teaching. I wrote in the introduction that the title might seem strange, even paradoxical. To the mind accustomed to regard teaching as instruction, or practical demonstration, the notion that such a process can be silent, wordless, might be difficult.

But in discussing meditation, we are moving in a realm where, traditionally, truth is communicated directly, in silence, by a look, a gesture, a touch.

One of the best-known examples is Buddha's Flower Sermon. The Buddha came to address a large gathering and his lecture consisted of holding up a flower! One of his followers, Maha Kashapa, responded by smiling, and Buddha said in that moment the disciple had received everything. The teaching is not conveyed in words, he said, but in silence.

Sri Chinmoy expresses the same truth: All real spiritual teachers teach in silence.

But beyond that again, he realises our own 'real teacher' is deep within.

Your mind has a flood of questions. There is but one teacher who can answer them. Who is the teacher? Your silence-loving heart.

This 'silence-loving heart' is receptivity itself. It is our capacity to be still, be open, and simply listen. The mind has all the questions. The heart has, and is, the answer.

Meditation speaks. It speaks in silence. It reveals that our life is Eternity itself.

The blossoming of our indomitable inner will

I've been talking a lot about silence. (And that's a typical paradox in itself – talking about silence!) But clearly there are different levels and qualities of silence.

There is an Indian story about four monks who decide, as a form of spiritual discipline, to maintain a day of silence. That way they can be more focussed and concentrated, not waste their energy on smalltalk or get into useless arguments.

Well, everything goes well throughout the day. They go about their tasks feeling very virtuous and showing each other great respect. Then towards evening, it starts to get dark, and one of the monks, who is busy preparing food, says "Somebody should light the lamp". The second monk turns to him and says, "You spoke!" The third monk says, "Will you two shut up!" And the fourth monk says, "Now I'm the only one who hasn't broken the vow of silence!"

Maintaining even an outer silence – keeping our mouths shut – is more difficult than we might imagine. Much more difficult is maintaining an inner silence – the absence of thought. (Just try not thinking about anything for a minute!)

Yet, as my teacher Sri Chinmoy says, there are deeper levels again. He talks about the outer silence and the inner silence, then about the inmost silence.

He writes:

This silence is not just the absence of sound. It is not even the absence of thought. It is the blossoming of our indomitable inner will.

It is that dynamic quality which characterises true meditation:

Beyond speech and mind,
Into the river of ever-effulgent Light
My heart dives.
Today thousands of doors
Closed for millennia
Are opened wide.

Meditation is not an escape exercise

Recently I went to a performance by American artist Laurie Anderson. In the middle of the show she made a point about silence. She stood quite still, centre-stage, held total silence for a couple of minutes. The silence was fairly comfortable – this was a sophisticated audience, we knew our minimalism, our John Cage – this was one of those silences, right? Then she made the point that when that happened on radio, or even worse, on TV, it was cause for panic. Dead air! The void had to be filled!

Socially too – round a dinner table say – if a silence falls there's a nervousness, a clearing of throats, before someone kicks in with 'Say... I, uh... saw this show on TV...' In such situations, there's a fear of silence, an embarrassment, a sense of feeling exposed.

And it's true, I think, at a deeper level, that silence is something we fear. Dead air. Fill the space. Switch on the TV. Plug in the headphones. Shout down the mobile phone. Anything rather than face the emptiness, for that would mean facing ourselves.

Meditation is that very act of facing ourselves, accepting the silence.

Sri Chinmoy writes:

Meditation is not an escape exercise... The seeker who meditates is a divine warrior who faces suffering, ignorance and darkness and tries to establish the kingdom of wisdom-light.

And with perseverance, we reach the depths of our being, our true self.

When we meditate, what we actually do is enter into a vacant, calm, still, silent mind. We go deep within and approach our true existence, which is our soul.

The eternal Now is the only reality

At the start, I quoted from my teacher Sri Chinmoy, talking about meditation as a diving deep within. Here is another passage where he expands on that idea:

How do we meditate silently? Just by not talking, just by not using words, we are not doing silent meditation. Silent meditation is totally different. When we start meditating in silence, we feel the bottom of a sea within us and without. The life of activity, movement and restlessness is on the surface, but deep below, underneath our human life, there is poise and silence. We imagine this sea of silence within us, or we feel that we are nothing but a sea of poise itself.

And the ideal is to carry this poise into everyday life. The spiritual life is one of balance – silence at the heart of action, but also dynamism at the heart of silent meditation.

Sri Chinmoy once described the difference between prayer and meditation as follows: 'When I pray, I talk and God listens. When I meditate, God talks and I listen'.

Meditation is that listening, attentively and in silence, to the voice of the Absolute within us.

There is a special way to listen to the Voice of God, and that is to meditate in silence. Then there is no tomorrow, there is no such thing even as today. It is all now. The eternal Now is the only reality.

 

In this April in New York on a cold wet day, Sri Chinmoy invited his seven hundred or so visiting disciples to a walk-by meditation and prasad in front of his house.

A steady downpour had led to the cancellation of our function at Aspiration Ground; instead we would receive this walking meditation blessing. A long line stretched for over three blocks, and we inched forward under umbrellas and a bright assortment of raincoats while light rain fell.

Sri Chinmoy sat before the window in the porch of his home in Queens and for over an hour concentrated on the slow procession of disciples as they came before him, a passing parade of souls from all over the world, braving this winter cold for these precious moments.

In the first year of my PhD I became Sri Chinmoy's student. Prior to that I had completed a BSc, an MSc and had worked for a little over a year at MAF Technology (Ruakura) as a senior research associate.

It was at that time that I met and became closely involved in the study of what was to become my PhD research topic, which was looking at endocrine systems to ascertain aspects of the physiology of bone development in growing mammals. Thus I found myself armed with a new and exciting research topic and enrolled at the University of Waikato, with a prestigious scholarship from MAF Technology, in whose modern-ish laboratories I was to perform the research, and where I had allocated office space and access to a well-equipped scientific research library. Brilliant!

However my family circumstances were in the throes of upheaval. All four of my grandparents, as well as my Nana's mother (my great-grandmother) had just up and died and my uncle – a very wise and kind man to whom we all looked for guidance at this time – was stricken with leukaemia. Several months before he died he advised us to learn how to meditate. He said that, "Meditation brings you close to God!" So my mother and I both attended free meditation classes that were being offered as a community service by the Sri Chinmoy Centre. And we enjoyed them so much, we joined the Centre ourselves!

When my uncle died he left us to the guidance of the wise, kind and universal philosophy of Sri Chinmoy, with which we have been happy and safe for many years now. But I digress... this is really a story about my studies and how meditation augmented and ultimately completed my research.

Every Sunday afternoon for more than three years I would drive to Auckland from Hamilton (which took 1 hour and 47 minutes), attend meditation night at the Centre, and drive back late at night. Over these three years I also went to New York several times to attend Sri Chinmoy's special celebrations, which were most funfilled and fulfilling events.

At this point I had better mention that these trips were much against my main PhD supervisor's advice and wishes! He felt that they were fruitless exercises and were distractions from the main focus of my life, which he felt was my budding scientific career. At one stage he called me into his office to rant at me about it! I calmly pointed out that these trips had not slowed my studies down, and I had also always met my work deadlines – and he had to agree! This was a small victory. I had noticed changes, though, with the passing of time. My focus shifting off my direct studies had side effects that I could never have imagined had I been outside of the situation. I found my perspective clarified and I became more liberal in my technical discussions and in decisions regarding my research directions – and I started coming across as a flexible and (in some instances) clever thinker! In short, my meditation life made me more philosophical, and as I was studying for a Doctorate of Philosophy degree, this was very useful.

However the full meditation-derived benefits to my study came as the end of my research drew near early in 1994 when thesis writing (sketchily begun as research was carried out) began in earnest. For any research project (or degree involving one) there is not really any clear end, what with new avenues of research developing and suggesting themselves, as the main line of research grows and evolves. The project itself is usually not clearly set out at the beginning as, with progress, results determine further directions, in which way the study takes form. The end of a fruitful project - like the one I was working on - was when enough data had accumulated for a sizeable thesis.

However I had reached the end of the time for the research grant under the terms of the MAF scholarship, and I was also scheduled to go to New York for 12 days in April, which was one week away. I had worked hard to complete the comprehensive requirements for laboratory work so as to be at leisure to write the thesis intensively when I got back – freshly inspired – from overseas. How wrong could I be? My supervisor called me into his office (uh oh) and Laid Down The Law! He told me that if I went away at this point (when he felt I needed to focus for a few months on intensive thesis writing) my grant (already near the end) would be terminated and there would no longer be office space for me when I returned!! (Talk about a Drama King!) His intention was to pressurise me to cancel my trip to New York so that I would not lose my "Focus" on the project, in which MAF had a vested interest.

I was silent in that meeting, knowing that my whole career was on the line. On the line also was a post-doctoral fellow position at the University of West Virginia that I was negotiating for and which would be secured should I successfully finish my PhD within the next couple of months. Unknown to my supervisor I was also extremely reluctant to cancel my trip to New York – in fact, that was not an option. My sense of values had changed regarding what was important to me, and this trip to New York was. I viewed the trip as beneficial to myself personally, as well as to my work, in a way that I was not ready to impart to my supervisor, whose values were not the same. So I went home and prayed. Actually, I prayed really hard – a fervent and sincere prayer – asking for guidance and strength as I was about to forfeit everything I had ever worked for. If it was indeed God's Will then the whole PhD thesis would have to be written in less than a week (which is impossible!) or I would have to walk away from everything, here and now. (I was praying for the surrender and peace of mind to do this very thing, for the thesis writing task was actually impossible.)

HOWEVER – and very suddenly – a Fire (for want of a better word) lit inside of me – very intense, very concentrated. I was drawn up as if by an unseen Hand and started to type frantically. I was focused and absolutely clear, fast and accurate, and the thesis started to form beneath my flying fingers. I filled up disks with information, correctly typed and formatted, and discussions and theories – as well as stored information from my brain – were lucidly and effortlessly discussed and retrieved. New concepts (that would never normally have occurred to me) were thrown about with ease and a comprehensive and complicated scientific document formed. Do not be deceived – this did not happen in a couple of hours – it happened over five days and five nights. Data and information were collated from MAF and the University and diagrams and photographic illustrations were also assembled from different places. All the time, at every second, my whole being was filled with the same, unabated level of intensity and purpose that guided me – and in that short time, my thesis became ready to submit! The Impossible had occurred. What should, by rights, have taken months instead took days. What is more, during this time (since the Fire took over) there was no sleep. I worked the whole time and there was no tiredness, even though I never lay down or rested for over 120 hours. Indeed, I felt refreshed! But it was as if I was just watching the whole procedure, fascinated. And here comes the icing on the cake – my supervisor was impressed by it and said that it was the best PhD thesis to have come out of his department to date! And some of the discussion points – he said also – were brilliant!

When I read the thesis myself a couple of months later (before my oral exams) I marvelled at the well-rounded and clever conclusions that had been drawn, the extrapolations from the information garnered during research were extraordinary and left me breathless. I know that I was not responsible for producing that superb piece of work. I just observed whilst it was being assembled. I am not being humble or modest when I say that I personally was not up to that standard scientifically – I am merely stating the truth. For some reason this work was meant to be done and – for want of a better description of proceedings – my being was just an instrument.

After my oral exams were successfully behind me and the PhD degree conferred, I then walked away from that particular career and embarked upon another. People ask how on earth I could become a café worker after doing top-level scientific research and that I must miss it... but no! I have never had a pang or looked back. The café I work in, The Blue Bird, is no ordinary place – it is a place that tries to offer a tiny bit of Sri Chinmoy's world to everyone who enters it. His music, philosophy and meditation can be heard, seen and felt in the ambience of spirituality that we try to create there.

The sudden loss of my close-knit and loving family no doubt changed my perspective on life, and my mother and I found comfort in the all-embracing philosophy of Sri Chinmoy. Everyone in the world is your brother or sister and there is a universal thread of unity and oneness in everyone and everything that is none other than God. This is God's Playground and He is always there, but unobserved. However, in your direst moments of absolute need, He may reveal Himself, and moments like that leave you changed forever. That there is disharmony amongst the people of the world means that there is much work to do. However small or menial my current work is, it does in a small part address the disharmony of the world, and this has been a more rewarding and fulfilling turn to my career than I can express.

What is meditation?

Most of us have had meditative moments at some time in our lives often without realising what they are – moments when all the usual preoccupations and thoughts of the mind fall away, leaving us with an experience of calm, clarity, delight. Perhaps you were walking along the seashore and in that moment of nothing to do, nowhere to go, surrounded by the vastness of ocean and sky you experienced the silence of pure consciousness, the stillness of the self within.

Such moments offer glimpses, as though through a small clear window, into a deeper part of our being. Meditation is the attempt to uncover all of these qualities within us, to penetrate beyond the mind to gain an awareness of who we really are.

"Meditation is absolutely necessary for those who want to have a better and more fulfilling life. If you feel that you are satisfied with what you have and what you are then you need not enter into the field of meditation. But if you feel that there is a barren desert deep inside your heart, then meditation is the answer. Meditation will give you inner joy and peace of mind."

Sri Chinmoy

Most of us think of ourselves in terms of personality, profession, body and mind, large or small, but these aspects mask a deeper reality – for we are not just a human being having a spiritual experience but a spiritual being having a human experience.

Most forms of meditation have this belief in our divine potential as a starting point, and then follow a method to reveal and develop it.

There are often misconceptions about meditation, and topics like kundalini, astral travel, ESP, occult and psychic powers, clairvoyance and levitation have become associated with meditation in a misleading way. For these pursuits are like kindergarten toys when compared to the benefits and joys of pure meditation, which has as its primary motive the discovery of our higher nature, our soul's vastness and joy, the divine within us.

When the soul's will power is expressed, it is like a huge wave in the sea. Immediately it inundates the entire consciousness. Once the soul's will is expressed, you are bound to feel that your inner consciousness is inundated with divine energy, inner joy, inner delight, inner power and confidence. Everything negative is swept away by the surge of the soul's force.

Sri Chinmoy

We begin meditation with a variety of different motives – to relax more, to sleep better, to overcome stress or personal difficulties, to explore more of our inner life – but along the way find that we have embarked upon an immense journey. For meditation is the expansion of our consciousness and there is no end to the progress we can make.

Many other seekers have passed this way before us, some journeying to the farthest frontiers of self-awareness. These inner travellers are the spiritual masters, the mystics and pathfinders who appear in every age to guide and inspire humanity. Like expert climbers who have reached the highest peaks, they come back down to guide us quickly and safely to our own highest heights. Sri Chinmoy is such a guide, a spiritual master who has explored the furthest realms of consciousness. His teachings on meditation offer a profound wisdom and a guiding light to truth seekers everywhere who seek a higher and more fulfilling life.

When you begin learning meditation, don't simply meditate to have nice experiences. Meditate to make progress in your life journey, to nourish and foster your spiritual growth, no matter how long it takes, and to deepen your soul’s conscious oneness with realise God. Like a fruit slowly ripening on a tree, the benefits of your practise will mature and ripen and one day manifest themselves in all aspect of your life. Have patience, determination, discipline.

When learning how to meditate, you must learn first how to concentrate, to bring the energies of the mind to focus on a single point like a magnifying glass harnessing the sun. Simply to still the mind for a few minutes is difficult. Try it! More than ever before you will become aware of how busy the mind is – like a river flowing by, a river of thoughts, daydreams, fantasies, desires, memories. There are breathing techniques, mantras, visualisations and other techniques to help in this process. Meditation follows quietly in the wake of these skills, which lay the foundations. We tend to look for spectacular results, to evaluate our progress, but each attempt at meditation is itself progress – rather like running a marathon, each step we take is bringing us closer to our final goal. Resistance and difficulties are a natural part of our struggle to make progress – they are the limitations of our consciousness which we are trying to transcend.

Self mastery and God discovery are the only two things that each human being on earth must take seriously.
Everything else can be taken lightly.

Sri Chinmoy

If you learn to meditate, there are many benefits. You will have more dynamism and energy, more joy in your life, more capacity to cope with this world. You may suddenly need less sleep, and yet sleep better; have more awareness and compassion for others; lose your anger, aggression and frustration or your insecurity and fear. You will slowly gain access to your soul's qualities, which are all perfection, and feel yourself guided from within. Your whole life will begin to change. Your practise of meditation is also the highest thing you can do for others.

People often ask about the merits of following a spiritual path, or whether it is necessary to have an advanced teacher or guru. There are many paths to the top of the mountain and you need to feel with your heart which particular path is meant for you. Certainly if you wish to move quickly in your spiritual journey the support of a group and a living meditation master is an immense advantage. If you wish to fly a plane, learn to use a computer, become a doctor or physicist, you accept a teacher till your own proficiency is established – how long would it take you to master these skills without one?

Realising your highest potential is far more difficult than any of these and a spiritual master will dramatically accelerate your progress; his or her role is to inspire, awaken your aspiration and hunger, remind you of your real purpose and undertake the responsibility of leading you to your highest potential. "Our goal," my own teacher Sri Chinmoy writes, "is always to go Beyond, Beyond, Beyond. There are no limits to our capacity because we each have the infinite divine within us." Once you enter into your teacher's boat, then it is the problem of the boatman to take you to the golden shore.

If you have not meditated before try this simple exercise: find a quiet place in your house where you will be undisturbed for the next ten minutes, remove your shoes and sit with your spine reasonably straight. Simply notice your breathing for a few minutes and when your mind is calmer breathe in peace, a feeling of serenity and calm and imagine all your restlessness and negative qualities leaving you. Don't be disturbed by external sounds – these will always be there – just dive within. Cultivate an absolute stillness in your body, mind and breath. Let your mind be like a calm clear sky; if thoughts come don't attach any significance to them. If you can empty your mind even for a short while you will feel more peaceful and meditative. With practice all your life can be your meditation.

But you have to make a start!