The Rewards of Meditation

Imagine you are riding a strong,well built 'ratha' or  a chariot driven by five horses,each having a mind of it's own.You might be anxious to reach a certain destination but the horses do not cooperate with you.Depending upon which one has the strongest heft,you are carried to that particular region.There are diversions and distractions galore.Plus the dissipation of time,energy and resources.You are not driving the ratha,the horses are driving it.When will you reach your utopia?When you can control the horses.

Meditation-for peace and well-being

This in a nut-shell,is what meditation can facilitate for you.It will empower you to control your five sense organs,prime your faculties,enable you to focus on what you want to achieve,make you strong-willed enough to channelize your energies in your chosen direction and thereby improve your performance.Peace,equanimity and success shall follow.

Meditation has been defined as the practice of spending time in quiet thought, focusing upon your breath or a single object like the third eye (the spot between your eyebrows), or the core of your heart, for a given length of time.It has been a part of the spiritual practice in India since millenia and perhaps because of this,we often set it aside as a religious ritual fit,only for the yogis.

But Recent scientific research on meditation found that meditation brings about positive physiological changes in the brain of the practitioner.The research showed increased activity in parts of the brain associated with happiness and a decreased activity in the portions related to negative emotions like depression,fear and anger.An unusual increase in empathy and compassion was also seen.

Going into the benefits of meditation:--

Meditation calms the mind.Various thoughts will flicker through your mind when you sit down to meditate but as you concentrate on your breath these thoughts will subside.By and by,you will learn to control your thoughts,they will cease to disturb you and you will be free of anxiety--meditation is very good for curing General Anxiety Disorder.

It improves the power of memory and concentration.Research at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston found that regular meditation increases blood flow to the cerebral cortex which is responsible for mental functions like attention,learning,concentration and memory.

It promotes self-awareness. Strange though it may sound,we bumble through life committing the same mistakes,throwing off unseemly reactions,misinterpreting reality and deriving wrong conclusions.When we begin to meditate the thoughts which pop up,aside from the insignificant ones like--it is too hot,my legs are stiff,how long will I have to sit like this--point to the issues which are troubling us.

These are moments of realization,we become aware of the quirks in our personality,the deep-seated complexes,irrational prejudices,unfounded fears and unreasonable expectations.All this becomes crystal clear.It now depends upon us to  make corrective changes in our thinking and behavior by discarding the negativity which had stalled our evolution till now.This is the first step towards a more organised and fulfilling life.

It promotes understanding of others.When we become aware of our own fault-lines we feel more attuned to those with whom we had been at cross purpose till now.Meditation confers a largeness of heart--an ability to overlook others' foibles and transgressions,to relate to them on an equal footing.It has many spiritual benefits.

It cures sleep disorders.Meditate before going to bed and you will enjoy sound sleep.If like me,you too are plagued by countless dreams about unknown persons and places,you will see a decrease in them.I can vouch for this.Now even if I dream at night,the next day during meditation,I suddenly remember snatches of that dream.It just shows that meditation helps us to penetrate to the unconscious mind.

It helps us to get rid of intrusive thoughts.Only those who suffer from intrusive thoughts can understand how injurious they are.These thoughts cause shame,guilt and frustration because they are inappropriate and hard to banish.They could be a facade for a severe emotional problem probably relating to an abusive past,hatred for a blood relation or an iniquity on our own part;which we are not ready to acknowledge.Meditation lays open the labyrinths of our unconscious mind and enables us to apprehend the emotional turmoil which lies at the root of our anxiety.We can nix those thoughts by sorting out the real problem.

It augments our confidence and will-power.Meditation has a miraculous effect upon our self esteem.The sharpening of our mental faculties results in greater confidence and will power.We feel in control of our lives.

It promotes physical fitness.It is a well known fact that many diseases arise from stress.When meditation soothes our state of mind this automatically results in better physical health.Meditation brings down hypertension and in this way saves us from strokes and cardiovascular diseases.It can also ease suffering caused by chronic pain like migraine or colitis.This study found that 72 percent of patients suffering from chronic pain experienced a decrease in the level of their pain after being trained for meditation.It also strengthens the immune system and curtails frequent bouts of illness.Probably that is why yogis living in forests did not need doctors to keep them fit.

Indeed the benefits of meditation are all over the media these days but the flip side is, that initially it is difficult to make it a part of your regular routine.Other,pressing matters take precedence over what a beginner may regard as--just sitting down and doing nothing.Another fact which may reinforce this belief is,that the fruits of meditation take time to emerge.It is akin to sowing a seed.You have to keep watering and nurturing it and wait patiently for the fruits to appear;but appear,they will.Once you have mastered it you will notice greater mental,emotional , physical and spiritual well-being;which is a reward worth working and waiting for. 

Do you practice meditation?Have you found it beneficial?Please share your experiences here.

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To My Grown Up Son

My hands were busy through the day,

I didn't have much time to play

The little games you asked me to

I didn't have much time for you.

I'd wash your clothes;I'd sew and cook

But when you'd bring your picture book

And ask me please,to share your fun,

I'd say,"A little later,son."

I'd tuck you in all safe at night,

And hear your prayers,turn out the light,

Then tiptoe softly to the door,

I wish I'd stayed a minute more.

For life is short,and years rush past,

A little boy grows up so fast,

No longer is he at your side,

His precious secrets to confide.

The picture books are put away,

There are no children's games to play,

No goodnight kiss,no prayers to hear,

That all belongs to yesteryear.

My hands once busy,now lie still,

The days are long and hard to fill,

I wish I might go back and do,

The little things you asked me to.

By Alice E.Chase.

A Dreary Life-All Facts no Fiction.

Why are some people forced to lead wretched lives?Is it destiny?Or is it because of some wrong choices made by them?Is it because of a skewed up upbringing or is it because of defective genes?When we see a grown up man frittering away his youth we tend to put the onus on him but life is not so clear cut.Many factors join together to make a person what he is.

The life of Narayan,a young man of 41 years planted these thoughts in my mind.He was the eldest of three sons.His grandfather had been an SP.His father's elder brother had shot his own brother.His maternal uncle was a schizophrenic,as was Narayan's younger brother.The latter had been very sick and violent for 10 years after which he was given Electroconvulsive therapy.He improved after this and had been well since the last three years.

His father,a government employee,was an alcoholic.He mostly lived at his postings-away from the family and giving subsistence money to the family was for him,the end of his familial obligations.He dominated everybody,had no social life,and was fond of hunting.Once when Narayan was not even ten years old,his father handed him a gun and asked him to shoot.The gun exploded and the father was hurt.

These are some of the facts which Narayan disclosed to me on his very first sitting.I guess he wanted to ease the burden on his heart.To cut a long story short,this was the environment in which Narayan grew up.

At the age of eighteen years he went to join Indian Navy but he could not adjust to the tough regime and returned home.Moreover he aspired for a better occupation than that.He tried many options after this.First he did a two year degree course in MSW but could not get a job.Then he joined a private firm.He was happy there but that firm closed down.After this he worked for a relative but left this job because it demoralized him.Next,he opened a shop in his ancestral home.This too proved to be a flop.

It is no wonder that his main complaint upon coming to me was his sense of failure.He was depressed.He had a wife and son but could not support his family.There was no motivation.He always hankered for something which was out of his grasp.His biggest regret was that he left Indian Navy.

The one silver lining in this somber life-scape was his wife.She earned a meager income as a teacher but her unwavering support saw him through all his tribulations.

I gave him the necessary advice and asked him to come after fifteen days.He did not come.

After four months i followed up.His wife took the call.She told me that he was well now.He did not take any medicine.His wife's encouragement and his talk with me had helped him stabilize.

Now that you have all the facts,i leave it up to you to judge which factors were responsible for screwing up his life so terribly.Do post your answers.