Why Meditation is the Crown Jewel of Yoga and How You can Benefit

Around 300 million people are said to practice yoga worldwide. It may seem a huge number but it’s less than 4% of the global population of 8 billion. The folks doing meditation — which is an integral part of yoga — would be far fewer.

For me, these statistics matter a lot. Because I’m a strong advocate of yoga, especially meditation. And as a fairly long-time practitioner (10+ years of meditation every day), I want to say a few things about what meditation involves, and why I think it’s the best gift of yoga and why every human being on the planet should do it — regardless of country, belief, or social status.

According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, meditation or dhyana is the stage between dharana and samadhi in what the sage called Ashtanga or eight limbs of yoga. So one begins to focus on a single object in dharana and when that focus becomes smooth and uninterrupted, it becomes dhyana. Drawing upon my own experience, I can say that meditation makes you feel full of peace, joy, and contentment: after a “successful” session, your physical pains and mental anguish melt away, and a supreme sense of calm and blessedness takes root. (With more practice and sticking to it regularly, success comes more frequently and naturally.)

Most people largely relate to yoga and are more familiar with its third limb, asana — the numerous body postures that bring balance and health to the practitioners. Unfortunately, only a few know about or practice meditation.

Here I would like to highlight dhyana or meditation as something that is very simple and accessible (simpler and easier to follow than asanas for most people, I’d say). And if practiced regularly by a sufficiently large number of people, meditation can bring about a profound change not only in their own mental and spiritual wellbeing but also in the overall health and sustainability of our planet.

What has meditation got to do with the Earth’s sustainability, one might wonder?

Let me briefly recount how our mind works and how meditation can help.

The human mind is a constant cauldron of thoughts good and bad. It is a fantastic, majestic contraption, no doubt — one that has left every other species behind in controlling and dominating the space and resources of the planet. From using tools to innovating in industrial technologies to the current boom in artificial intelligence, humans have used their minds to an absolutely complex and remarkable degree. They have created innumerable products to make life more comfortable and devised countless ways to “spend time” for pleasure.

Alongside the good parts, however, a lot of “badness” has gone unfiltered to create all sorts of havoc: pollution, inequality, hunger, war, and disease. So much so that we are at a precipice, looking at disastrous possibilities for the human “race” (pun intended).

This chaos and impending disaster is reflected not only at a global level but also at multiple levels — regions, countries, cities, societies, and families are struggling to deal with it. Ultimately, it boils down to the individual level.

So, when an individual — you, me, everybody — sits down to meditate for a few minutes each day, it helps them deal with this internal chaos. Closing our eyes to the external world for a few moments and looking inward with peace and calm can help nurture our thoughts in the right direction. Meditation helps us reset our intent for being in this world and heals our relationship with fellow humans and creatures. It allows us to question our inner selves as to what is it that gives us real joy, real happiness? What is it that makes our life worth it? What is the meaning of it all? Why do we do what we do?

With our breathing calm, our body at rest, and our mind attuned to the inner voice that otherwise gets drowned in the daily noise of external exigencies, meditation opens up great possibilities for peaceful, better answers to our turmoil.

[Those new to the “process of meditation” my find this post I wrote a few years back useful: How to sit down in meditation.]

Imagine the change that millions of meditating souls can bring about! Change that is peaceful, positive, and “progressive” in the truly meaningful sense of the word.

You don’t have to listen to me — but please do listen to your inner voice. Do spend some quality time each day with your own self: meditate.

Namaskar and happy meditating :)

Thinking about Meditation on Yoga Day

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

In the vast expanse that is yoga, there’s a mountain I believe shines above everything else. Like the Himalayas, for instance, which rise above the surrounding plains and valleys in a way that has been beckoning explorers for ages.

That majestic mountain I’m pointing to is meditation.

For the past seven years that I’ve been meditating (in my modest room or the local park, not in a cave), it has steadily grown as a rock-solid anchor in my life. And while I’ve written a few posts on meditation before, it’s a topic I can return to, again and again.

In my conversations with friends and strangers alike, one question that often pops up is what meditation really is, how to define it, or what all it involves. If you sit still cross-legged, close your eyes and try not to think, are you meditating? How long can you stay in a meditative state? What meditation app would I recommend? And so on.

Just out of curiosity, when I checked the Google Play Store, I was surprised to find that there is a bewildering array of apps one can download for meditation. Maybe there’s a huge market for that and people are willing to make money on one side and pay for learning the ropes of meditation on the other. But thus far, I haven’t felt compelled to try any of these apps out, staying content instead with my own practice, method and quirks.

After seven years, I’m only beginning to feel confident about what meditation is and what it is not. And I continue to grapple with how to capture this wonderful phenomenon beautifully and succinctly in words.

I wouldn’t call them textbook or dictionary definitions but let me share a few thoughts I have had on meditation. Some of these I may have shared before in other posts or tweets, so please pardon me in case it sounds repetitive.

I like to call them meditations on meditation.

Like most good things in life, I believe that meditation is a journey, a process, something that goes on—and not an achievement or destination you can think of in terms of going from A to B. (Except perhaps when you consider attaining Samadhi, the final stage of meditation under Ashtanga Yoga. And that is something only the rarest of yogis are said to be capable of. You can read about about the eight limbs of yoga and some interesting anecdotes in my blog post, “Beyond Asana: Yoga, its Ancient Roots…”)

Hope you’ll enjoy reading and reflecting on these “meditations” as much as I did putting them into words:

~ Meditation is the process of setting yourself free from the prison of your own desires.

~ Meditation is neither slumber nor a sprint; it’s a walk in the garden of spiritual delights.

~ The essence of meditation is to be with yourself for as long as you wish in an inner atmosphere of freedom, trust and tranquility.

~ Meditation takes you away from the torrent of oppressive thoughts into the inexplicable joy of stillness.

~ Meditation is the crucible of the soul.

~ Meditation is the process of churning your soul to receive the milk of divine consciousness.

~ Meditation allows you to dispassionately engage with the whole universe.

~ Meditation is the silent wellspring of wisdom.

~ Meditation is the key to transforming your monkey mind into a monk.

And last but not the least, a favorite of mine:

~ Meditation is an uplifting journey from Trishna to Krishna.

(Trishna means covetous longing or craving. Krishna is one of Hindu God Vishnu’s avatars on earth in some distant past that some call Itihaas or history and others term mythology. For me, the idea of “Trishna to Krishna” implies living a life of longing, and then moving on to join our individual soul with the supreme soul. This notion is embedded into the very word yoga, which is derived from the Sanskrit root “yuj” that means “to join”.)

So, happy meditating! I look forward to your views and comments.

Namaskar :)


Disclaimer: While I often refer to and personally like the Hindu philosophy because I find it the most diverse, deep and liberal among all worldviews, I constantly seek to learn from the best of all other belief systems with an open mind.