I am unable to meditate, even for five minutes. Suggest some easy methods to meditate daily?
— C P Jayaram
■ How do we get past our own mind? The spirit is willing but the real hurdle is the mind. Restless, peopled by low vibrational thought, it is a chaotic space. That’s why the first requisite of the spiritual calling is to ‘master your mind’.
Why one person is sorted while another struggles to keep it together, may have everything to do with the nature of the mind.
Three gunas, qualities, influence our mind. These are sattva, rajas and tamas. Sattva is a state of harmony and balance. Rajas is driven by action, change and attachment. Tamas breeds inactivity, materiality and darkness. We are a combination of one or the other guna. If rajas is predominant, you may find it hard to meditate. Thus, eminent yoga master Patanjali suggests the practice of asanas and pranayama before dhyana, meditation. There are various methods of meditation. The simplest, most effective being: Focus on the breath and mantra chanting. Practise either technique.
Method: Take 10-12 deep breaths. Return to normal breathing. Now follow your breath. Inhale-follow, exhale-follow; till the mind is focussed solely on your breath. For mantra chanting, meditate on the power mantra Aum or any other suggested by your guru. Start by chanting slowly. Keep at it. Now recite only in your mind; till mind and mantra merge. Practise these exercises daily at a fixed time before asanas and pranayama. Practise asanas and pranayama for 20-25 minutes. ■
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