In the present age, happiness has become synonymous with material success. It has become so encompassing that people spend most of their time as well as expend a considerable amount of their physical and mental energy in trying to achieve it.
Sadly, not many people realize that this is not just a phenomenon of modern day living, but a major degenerative disease in their lives. In an effort to achieve our goals, we forget that the mind and body are not completely suited to cope with such stress and strain.
Happiness is not synonymous with material fulfillments of worldly desires but actually is the complete freedom from this. The mind is at peace only when it is free from the carving for material and personal gains. The concept of stress is born out of this dilemma. In pursuit of attaining happiness along with materialistic goals, one is confronted with a situation that needs harmony. It is the discrepancy between the desires and their fulfillment that throws one out of harmony with the environment.
The feeling of frustration, fear and anxiety born out of this situation is recognized as stress. To achieve that elusive harmony man has renewed his interest in the philosophy of meditation.
Meditation, worldwide, is recognized as a means to free one from fear and frustrations. It gives an inner strength which gradually leads to a harmonious existence. What we need to know and learn is how to use this mind to improve our lives. Meditation is the key which help us to and awaken the sleeping mind and bring it into a state of consciousness.
The philosophy of meditation is entrenched in the belief: “One should not search for harmony in the environment or the external world. This search should instead, be concentrated within the self”.
One must turn inwards and not outwards to understand the chaos that surround us. This kind of introspective thinking will reveal fears, anxieties, priorities, and goals and in retrospect help one to look at them in their true prospective.
Meditation’s first step is concentration or contemplation. The concentration helps the mind to develop a state of receptivity.
To do this one can sit in a natural, relaxed position and close one’s eyes and concentrate on something, for instance, the rising sun. When one first starts to practice concentration, one will find that the mind begins to wander within a minute or two. Gradually, the mind will get trained to concentrate for longer periods of time. It is at this stage that mind becomes a void allowing the spiritual mind to enter and allowing it to flow freely.
Concentration will help to discipline the mind allowing it to rid itself of unimportant, trivial, thoughts and train it to focus and dwell on the important ones. The most valuable aspect of concentration is that it helps the mind to free itself from distractions, improves memory, decreases tensions and leads to self-knowledge. It tends to illuminate the ‘self’ revealing our inner selves and consequently know our fears.
When we know our fears, we can discard them. This is the most harmonizing experience. At this point, the mind has ability to keep out all external distractions and influences. You will discover that it has helped change your entire life making it much richer and certainly infused with meaning. This is the experience of “fulfillment” which no material achievement can ever bring.
Author: Ranbir Singh (New Delhi)
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