As we approach end of 2019, I complete my 6 years of meditation practice.
To be honest, it hasn’t been the most consistent habit in terms of duration of meditation window or quality of my efforts but definitely has been a key feature of my lifestyle. Over the course, I have experienced immense improvement in quality of life especially during the early phase of adoption when lot of things were going wrong namely unhealthy lifestyle and state of mind and that ripe situation allowed for some quick yet big wins.
To begin the practice of meditation, when it wasn’t such a buzz, was an outcome of a keen desire and pressing need for better control over self.
I was 28 years old and on the surface appeared, to most, an intelligent person educated at some of the best institutions in India and abroad, with a very interesting and exciting professional and personal life. However during my moments of self reflection, I had realized that I was just another unanchored youth drifting away in waves of impulsive acts for the last decade and my consciousness, intelligence was dimming with each such act of indulgence. I was setting myself up for a disaster with all my actions directed to immediate pleasure & amusement and each indulgence only fanning the desire for more. This vicious and thoughtless exercise drove me to the point where, in my ignorance, I was very playfully challenging the moral and ethical threads of my microcosm. Yet, in spite of stretching the boundaries there was no lasting satisfaction or joy, just fleeting moments of laughter at times followed by repentance and a strong yearning for fulfillment, contentment. On a lucky day, i realised that my youthful and idealistic ambitions to make the world a better place couldn’t be realised if I continued the same way and failed to better myself. To bring change outside, i had to start from within.
Thus, i sought a realignment in my world-view and life philosophy. In this search, i was fortunate to be helped by a college friend who guided me towards the vast, invaluable yet unexplored wisdom of our Vedic scriptures. I was sceptical initially but I approached the subject matter with openness and found it to suggest better questions that I must be asking myself and to my surprise, it also had very intelligent answers to those questions. A serendipitous sequence of events during that very brief period of self-exploration also led me to a revered monk, an engineer himself, whom i see as my Spiritual Guru. His association and discourses based on Bhagavad Gita on topics such as the meaning, purpose of life; what is true lasting joy; how can one achieve or fulfill the purpose gave a firm foundation to start my meditation practice. I will be eternally grateful to my Guru who inspite of all my shortcomings saw me worthy of receiving this knowledge and benefit from his association.
With this background, i started my practice of meditation. I humbly confess to be not the most disciplined and distinguished disciple of the practice but can still afford to make a bold claim that it has the power to transform one’s thoughts and actions as it cleanses our consciousness and elevates our being by bringing clarity about our true identity, by reinforcing self-discipline and inducing bliss in our life. Thus, i have been continuing with the practice for last 6 years and strive to get better with time.
In my next post, i shall elaborate upon the specific meditation practice and what makes it powerful and effective.
Gudakesa 