Sat-chit-ananda: Sachidananda is an under current which is underneath suffering. Here the secret or rahasya of creating suffering is the equation of ego. Real sanyasa means dropping of EGO. Here you are not somebody and you are not nobody. Both are egoistic attitudes. Ego can even become (look like) humble. This comes from back door.
The moment when you are silent ( more and more still ). That is the beginning of meditation. This is totally a new vision of dharma that is not based on fear. This dharma is rooted in fearlessness. I do not teach any philosophy. I just gave you a tantra or technique of going inside to wake up the soul. Nobody can do this for you or on your behalf. You have to do this all by yourself. I can only show you the way. My intention is to stir your consciousness to trigger some process in you.
I know that the first step is very difficult. ie. the seed falling into the soil. The seed should be ready to die. This is the difficult step. The irony is that we are the creators of it. We create and suffer. But it is in our capacity not to create it too. The moment ego is not there suffering is not there.
Bliss: Do not look for or cultivate peace outside. In such a case you are peaceful only at the periphery, deep inside you are still very disturbed. Most religions teach you achievement through ego. This whole process is conducted on a very superficial plane. Achieve bliss through meditation.
Meditation is a connecting bridge between you and existence. True bliss is awareness of your senses. During the process of meditation the mind starts to disappear. The greater your capacity to watch your mind, the lesser there is to watch (as the mind starts to disappear). Meditation leads to the evaporation of ego. However, knowing what ego is, it tries to enter through the backdoor. Be very observant. You have to be a witness to the play of ego. You have to shut all doors and eliminate ego. This is the state of true liberation.
There is nothing more valuable in life than meditation. People who have not tasted meditation are the poorest people in the world. They have not experienced the treasure that cannot be destroyed even by death. Therefore, the question as to why man is not interested in meditation arises. The answer being that man is so engrossed and obsessed with the outside materialistic world. A man who does not meditate is useless. He is collecting dirt and filth from the outside world, thereby resulting in dullness of intellect.
A person who meditates is very sharp and alert in his response. Nothing should distract you from observing and absorbing. You are paying too much attention to these distractions (family, friends, commitments). In openness the mind starts disintegrating and disappearing. This evaporation of the mind is the greatest experience in your life.
“Meditation is flowering in deep relaxation,
Relaxation is the fertile soil for meditation”.
Concentration is very different from meditation. Concentration is stressful as all your energy is focused at one point. Concentration is useful in science but not in Dharma. Therefore meditation and concentration are opposites. In the process of concentration, the mind becomes strong and you become weak whereas in meditation you become strong and the mind becomes weak.
Every human being is born with a flame of Godliness, found beneath layers of darkness. When the process of meditation begins, you have to first travel through this jungle of darkness. This is when and why we need a GURU, to guide us through this darkness. This journey through darkness is nothing but the death of ego and the dawn of awakening.
Miracles can happen only in meditation. Give yourself enough time and space for meditation. Meditation is a state of emptiness, that means a state of mindlessness. Meditation is watching the mind from outside. In meditation you don’t identify, justify, appreciate or condemn your thoughts. You are only a silent observer. In meditation see life in all its glory and splendour.
Once your inner light is found as a result of your meditation, your life is nothing but pure bliss. Bliss is not limited only to you, it is contagious and starts influencing others. Those with the right receptivity around you can experience this bliss. The hearts of such people are synchronized with each other. One blissful person can trigger bliss in thousand other people. Each one of these thousand people can inturn trigger bliss in thousands of others. This is how bliss should multiply. This is Satsangh in its true sense.
Ignorance originating out of not meditating state is not only blindness by also deafness. The right path of listening is through love and sympathy. Keep in mind the difference between hearing and listening. The question is not what you listen to, but how you listen. The sound of birds chirping, raindrops, a baby laughing, can trigger the process of enlightenment when listened to with love. When you listen through love in silence, truth is not far away. This experience of silence is true religion. Religion is the art of dissolving yourself with the whole; whole meaning GOD. When wholeness is attained, you become pure and sacred. You are no more separate from existence. Like how an ice-cube melts in water, you become one with the whole. This dissolving into existence is the greatest moment of bliss.
“Misery is a by-product of resistance,
Bliss is a by-product of surrender”.
The fragrance of meditation is Prayer. What is prayer? Prayer is pure silence. Prayer is addressing your inner self and not any outer being. You should become an unchangeable background and observe all the changes in life. Observe the transient quality of life through your meditation.
The article has been taken from the book Touch Stone by Gurumatha Amma