Tips for Better Meditation

1. Prepare Your Body for Meditation

Your physical condition has a tremendous influence on your mind. This is true for your day to day activity, but even more so when it comes to meditation. You can prepare your body for meditation by eating the right food, and by coming to meditation with an empty stomach. And whatever your diet is, when you sit down to meditate, it should be on an empty stomach. That is why one of the best times to meditate is in the morning, before you have had your breakfast. Another good time is in the evening, before the evening meal.

2. Prepare Your Mind for Meditation

Just as your body must be prepared, so must your mind. Before you start meditation you must convince yourself, that this period of meditation is your time for personal growth, and that it is important, as important as anything else in your life. When you close your eyes to meditate, you should not jump up to answer the phone, or get ready to leave your meditation due to some slight disturbance. So, remember your periods of meditation are one of the most important parts of your daily routine, and treat them as such.

3. Sit in a Proper Position

Remember when you were in school and the teacher looked around and saw someone slumping in his or her seat, and she said "sit up straight!" She had a good point; when the back is straight the mind is alert. Sit in a position that will keep the back straight. Sit with cross legs in a simple position, or a half-lotus or a full lotus. In addition to making the mind more alert, these positions help you to rest the various motor organs, and provide a peaceful physical base for your meditation.

4. Follow the Meditation Instructions Exactly

Remember carefully what your meditation instructor taught you and do your best to carry it out, exactly according to the instructions. Don't experiment and make up your own method. Take advantage of the age-old knowledge of the past, and you will make rapid strides towards a bright future. If you have forgotten any part of your meditation method, go and see your instructor and get a review of your lesson.

5. Be Regular in Your Meditation Practice

This is one of the key factors to success. Meditation works, if you work. If you only do meditation once a month or on whim, when you feel like it, then it will be impossible to be successful and realize the benefits of meditation: mental clarity, inner peace, love for others and spiritual awareness. Make meditation a part of your daily routine. Just as surely as the sun comes up each day, do your meditation without fail. If you get into the habit of doing your practice regularly, then you have taken one of the single most important steps towards success in meditation, and indeed, in your life. 

Samadhi Dhyana & Panch Kosha Shuddhi

There are different ways of receiving Prana (Energy) in the world. The highest Prana comes from Akasha - emptiness. What happens when you meditate? You become the Akasha Tatva. When the Akasha Tatva i.e. emptiness enters you then the whole  system  is  rejuvenated. Samadhi Meditation is a direct access to Akasha. That's the highest and purest powered Prana. No amount of Yogasanas, can come close to half a minute of that Akasha tatva. That is why Samadhi is so much more  powerful than other methods of receiving Prana. 


If you go by the Pancha - Koshas, Anandmaya Kosha (feeling body) the Kosha of the Ego is the subtlest Kosha and Samadhi meditation keeps this Anandmaya Kosha clean  and  open. Prana can also enter through Vignyanmaya Kosha - Intellect body. When you realize that you cannot have an answer, as soon as you realize that you don't know and you admit that you don't know; when you reach a point where you cannot know, the Vignyanmaya Kosha opens and Prana enters to rejuvenate the system. This is Gynana Yoga. And then suddenly there is enlightenment, there is an opening which leaves you feeling very exhilarated. This, is called Vignyanmaya Kosha Bheda - opening. 


In the SSY class we do very well, we take you to a point where you realize  that  you  don't  know. In that state you are very happy, where you realize that there is no answer and that it is perfectly all right to be in that state of no  answer. But not too many people can remain in that state of instability, of  'not  knowingness'. Everybody tends to know, and as soon as they think they know, the Vignyanmaya Kosha closes and the Prana stops entering. The problem is, that the man becomes very firm that he knows that he cannot know, and this understanding becomes a state of knowing. These Gyana Yoga training's are very tricky, and they work as long as you are with a teacher, who goes on abandoning and dissecting your intellect. Left to yourself, you will close it very easily. This opening is certainly very beautiful. It dissolves all previous understanding and thus purifies the Vignyanmaya Kosha. It is a logical argument leading to nowhere. But higher than this is a direct access to the Anandmaya Kosha. 


The next Kosha is the Manomaya Kosha - mind body. Manas - mind is simply taking in things from the senses and from memory and displaying those images on the screen of the mind. In our normal state we attach ourselves by holding on to these thoughts - we give  it  a  state  of  reality. When we start noticing that everything is happening by itself and not because of out doing - this Sakshi Bhava - witness consciousness, becomes the Manomaya  Kosha Shuddhi. You witness the Manomaya Kosha instead of attaching yourself  to it. With Samadhi Meditation you understand this - point very easily. With this, the mind becomes clean and settled. It is not by focusing   on the mind or the content of the mind that you will get anywhere. Its by simply detaching yourself from the mind that you will get somewhere. Most of the Yoga training, of today has been turned upside down. Instead of letting go of the mind they hold on to the mind. Instead  of coming to a state where they don't understand they want to understand and they call it - Gynana Yoga. They teach the opposite of what it is and that is why  it  does  not  work  anymore. 


The Pranamaya Kosha - energy body is the next Kosha. Pranayama enhances the Pranamaya Kosha. Pranayama means prana-yama, which means to  expand  the  Prana. It is also misinterpreted as prana-yama i.e, to control breath. It is not by controlling breath, but by expanding the breath you become aware of how the Prana is working in you. As you remain with the Prana in different parts of the body, everything gets activated. Even with the smallest of attention, the Prana gets activated. Pranayama methods are evolved to be with the Prana, which becomes longer and more purified. 


Annamaya Kosha (Physical body) is the last Kosha. How does one purify the  Annamaya Kosha? There are many means. One is through food. If you put bad food into  body, the Annamaya Kosha will become very bad. If you put proper food, it becomes healthy. Doing asanas also help to keep  the Annamaya Kosha keep fit and light. Eating raw foods in plenty will make the immune system strong,  and  digestion  easy. With all the above processes the Pancha Koshas are purified. Prana enters the body at different levels. With Pancha Kosha Shuddhi all that was holding back in the system starts vanishing, enormous power begins to flow through  the  body.


                                                                          - By Guruji Shri Rishi Prabhakar

Guided Meditation

One way of guided meditation is practised by listening to a recording of someone talking you through some simple techniques to help you relax.

Then they take you on a journey to a place of healing and relaxation such as a forest, the ocean or anywhere you can think of. Some people find it helps them to relax easier, others find it a very easy way to learn to meditate.

There are many recordings of these, done by different people, it's just a matter of finding the voice or voices you like and try them out.It is very beneficial for your mind, body and soul if you can find someone's voice that you resonate with.

Another way to practice is to record your own meditation if you are able to listen to your own voice. You could also join a group where they have someone talking you through the meditation.

No matter how you practise it, this type of meditation has the same benefits for you and your life. You can still set and achieve goals, heal any situation in your life or improve your health.

If you are interested in trying it, simply go to a new age store to find a CD that suits you, ask to listen to some of the ones they have in stock, it's the best way to find the one for you.

 Different Types of Meditation Techniques

There are many, many different ways to meditate. Here are some basic categories of meditation techniques so you can understand some of the main options and how they differ from one another.

1. Basic Meditation Technique

This involves sitting in a comfortable position and just trying to quiet your mind by thinking of nothing. It's not always easy to do this if you don't have practice with it. But a good way to begin is to think of yourself as an 'observer of your thoughts', just noticing what the narrative voice in your head says, but not engaging it. As thoughts materialize in your mind, just let them go. That's the basic idea.

2. Visualization Meditation Technique

Visualization, or guided imagery, is a variation on traditional meditation that requires you to employ not only your visual sense, but also your sense of taste, touch, smell, and sound. When used as a relaxation technique, visualization involves imagining a scene in which you feel at peace, free to let go of all tension and anxiety. Choose whatever setting is most calming to you, whether it's a tropical beach, a favorite childhood spot, or a quiet wooded glen. You can do this visualization exercise on your own in silence, while listening to soothing music.

3. Spiritual Meditation Technique

Meditation can also be a spiritual practice (It does not have to be, and certainly isn't specific to any one religion, but can be used as a spiritual experience). Many people experience meditation as a form of prayer, the form where God 'speaks', rather than just listening. That's right, many people experience 'guidance' or inner wisdom once the mind is quiet, and meditate for this purpose. You can meditate on a singular question until an answer comes, or meditate to clear their mind and accept whatever comes that day.

4. Activity-Oriented Meditation Technique

With this type of meditation, you engage in a repetitive activity, or one where you can get 'in the zone' and experience 'flow'. Again, this quiets the mind, and allows your brain to shift. Activities like gardening, creating artwork, or practicing yoga can all be effective forms of meditation.

Samadhi - The End or The Beginning?

In Siddha Samadhi Yoga, our main focus is on teaching Samadhi. Everybody feels, that Samadhi is the last step in Astang Yoga, ‘How are you teaching it as the first step?’ There are eight limbs of Yoga and each limb refers to different aspects of our being. They are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi. The first limb, Yama is related to how you operate in the world? How you operate with others? Vyavahara i.e. behavior with reference to others is Yama e.g. being truthful, not to accumulate goods etc. are Yamas. Niyamas are your own personal habits like cleanliness, self-analysis etc. These are more to do with yourself rather than your interaction with others. 


It is basically, how am I to be with myself. Asanas is for the body. What is a Perfect Asana? Perfect Asana is not doing all kinds of acrobatics. Asana means - a steady and comfortable posture. To attain a steady and comfortable posture is the process of Asana. Pranayama is subtler than Asana. It is about your life energy or your prana shakti. Your body is vital, only as long as it has Prana. The body may have everything, but, if it doesn’t have Prana it is useless. Pranayama means to expand or extend the Prana. Pratyahara is for the senses. Pratya means different and ahara means food. Normally, objects are the food for eyes. Sound is the food for ears. Touch is the food for skin. Smell is the food for nose. Taste is the food for tongue. In this way, our five senses have got different aharas. When the senses instead of going outwards, go inwards they begin to have a different ahara. They begin to feed on something that is different from the external flow. All sensory organs are attuned to outer food or inputs. When in meditation the mind is turned inwards. The senses start getting different food i.e. Parabramha Stithi. 


So taking the sensory organs inwards is called Pratyahara. Dharana relates to the mind (Manas) i.e. what you hold in your mind. If you hold crazy things in your mind, then the body will be disturbed by that. If you hold a nice, wonderful picture in your mind, then the whole body will relax. The mind is like a TV screen, you can project anything on your mind. The projection on the mind comes from two places - either the external senses, which give you the stimulus or your past memory will give you the stimulus. In computer language you can draw the input from your memory or it is coming from the periphery. Whatever the mind holds that begins to happen to the body. Dharana has to do with what you hold in your mind. If you hold negative things, then negative things will begin to happen to your body. If you hold positive things, then positive things will happen in your body. What you hold in your mind shifts very rapidly with knowledge for e.g. if you hear the sound of a door opening in the dark, one person may say a ghost is making the sound and starts shivering. A person, who knows that there is wind, and because of that the door is  moving, will not get scared. 


So what you experience depends upon the knowledge you have. So knowledge - right discrimination is very important. Dhyana is concerned with the intellect (Buddhi) i.e. with what you understand. Dharana is concerned with the mind, Dhyana is concerned with the intellect. Now Samadhi is concerned with the Being i.e. the ego-state (Ahamkara). Ahamkara means the sense of identification - What you consider yourself to be. Your discrimination depends upon what you consider yourself to be.  The reason you hold certain things as right or wrong, good or bad, all depends on the sense of identity. The function of the intellect is to simply protect your identity (somebodiness), which you are bound to. 


So, Samadhi is to puncture that state of somebodiness and become a nobody. So, as you go on meditating, you start feeling more and more free. The more you let go, the more freedom  you  experience. So what is it that we must teach people? If we tell them you must be truthful, you must be straight to others, you must do good things. After you have attained these Yamas then we will go to Niyamas - your personal habits and refine them. After you have become perfectly pure and clean then we will think about sitting in a particular Asana, that is comfortable. First get yourself perfectly okay then decide to sit comfortably. Is this the way Yoga goes? It is the most foolish way to go about it. Do you think that from Yama, Niyama it is possible to go to Samadhi? So is it going to happen? It is impossible! That is why all of the Yoga is dead, because they have gone in  the  reverse  direction.  When a person begins to let go, by going inwards, he gains strength, gains inner happiness, he will automatically do things better than before. Then the Yamas and Niyamas happen naturally to him.  He will naturally live in freedom, strength and the beauty of life  will  naturally  open  up.


                                                                       - By Guruji Shri Rishi Prabhakar

Meditation to Relieve Stress

For many, many years, Easterners have used meditation as a tool for their spiritual practices, but also as a tool for relaxation. The truth is that meditation itself is not affiliated with any religious practice and therefore, anyone, anywhere can use and benefit from the incredibly calming and relaxing benefits received by practicing meditation.

1. Breathing Meditation

This is probably the easiest type of meditation but yet still very effective. Breathing meditation will relax your mind and body and slow down your heart rate to a more healthy level. You will be able to think more clearly and be more in balance.

2. Mindful Meditation

Mindfulness is also a great way to get your body relaxed. You will be working on feeling your body and becoming aware. Paying attention to the different sensations in your entire body starting from your feet and moving up through your body and ending with your head.

3. Imagery Meditation

This type of meditation is great for clearing your mind and retreating from a stressful day. It will get you in a total relaxed state and then let you go to a place that you find calming and peaceful. There will be no one else than you and your chosen scenery. And when you return to your day, it will be much more relaxed and with a much clearer mind that will help to make discussions and take action without feeling overwhelmed.

4. Deep Breathing Meditation

In this all you have to do to get deeply relaxed and forget the body is lie down comfortably on your back, listen to beautiful, flowing music, just let go, and let God. By concentrating on our breathing, deep breathing allows the rest of our body to relax itself. Deep breathing is a great way to relax the body and get everything into synchrony. 

Samadhi the base for all Discoveries

Classical physics falls in the paradigm of cause and effect where everything is predictable. According to the ancient Rishis this predictable zone is called the zone  of  Karma (cause and effect). Modern physics no longer talks  in terms of certainty. It has changed its language from certainty to probability. It has recognized the law of uncertainty which simply states ‘Nothing is certain.’ It no longer emphatically concludes   that ‘this is how this  or  that  will  be.’ Rather it says, ‘It is more probable this way than that.’ It has unknowingly stepped from the predictable zone to the unpredict-able zone, which according to the ancient Rishi's is the zone of Akarma  (Samadhi).  

Samadhi is a conscious shift from the classical mode to the quantum mechanical mode of operation, from the analog mode to the digital mode of operation, from the predictable zone to the unpredict-able zone of operation, from the fragmented zone to the unified  zone  of  operation. Scientists today are working to formulate a unified field theory which is based on the fundamental level of human consciousness, that of Turiya Avastha, the thoughtless   state  of  awareness. This is a great adventure and  this   is the right direction to proceed with. All great discoveries have happened in that very state of meditative awareness. Archimedes discovered the laws of specific gravity sitting in a bathtub, Newton realised the laws of motion staring at a blank white wall, Gandhiji realized his plans of action in the quietness of the prison. Vivekananda received   inspiration in solitude of the rock and  sea  at  Kanya Kumari. Every great scientist has intuited solutions to various puzzles in life.   All great discoveries are made when you are in thoughtless abandonment and  not by brooding over it again and again. 

You are simply retired from the world of activity. You are  in your ‘think tank room’ with all facilities for survival without any need to communicate with anybody. Only such an inwardly directed person  can  be  a  great  discoverer. I think that scientists need to meditate deeply enough and grasp this foundation of inner silence, which is the basis of the creative process itself. Only by going deep into oneself will one be able to discover  the  ‘Unified  Field Theory.’ All ancient Rishis were great scientists and have made phenomenal discoveries. According to Darwin the first evolutionary process of  life started with  the  fish, then other life forms  followed. This has been stated long ago in the Puranas, that the first avatar (incarnation) is  Matsya  Avatar.  Our Rishis spoke a symbolic language. But up to now our scriptures have not been properly explained. The reason is that the Puranas instead of being in the hands of scientists have fallen in to the hands of ignorant and illiterate  people. Also we have lost the key to decipher the code of our scriptures. 

Science says that man cannot exist on this planet for more than 5000 years. The sun will cool down, its rays will diminish and it will become cold. This too was stated  in  the  Puranas  a  long time ago. So what science is discovering now has already been discovered by the ancient Rishis. The basis for their discovery was the  inner silence of Samadhi. All the Vedas, the science of creation and mechanics of the universe have already been discovered by the great Rishis while  in  Samadhi. Even now all discoveries are happening by accidentally getting into the state of Samadhi. So all scientists need to know how to consciously get into this state.   They also need to refer to the works of our ancient scientists which will aid their investigations. Samadhi is the basis for all discoveries and understandings to dawn effortlessly. It is the Science  of  all Sciences. 

                                                                       - By Guruji Shri Rishi Prabhakar