Many times we are asked to meditate on a particular part of a scripture, or topic, or meditate whether to go ahead in a relationship. Paramhansa Yogananda defined meditation as concentration on God or on one of His eight aspects which as I understand is beyond the realms of mind.
So how does one Meditate on a particular topic?
—Abhishek, India
Dear Abhishek,
Your question is a good one. In meditation we try to go beyond the mind and get absorbed in the divine. From that higher realm of consciousness we can find solutions to all our problems. Intuition, Yogananda said, is the soul power of knowing God. So when we are able to access the divine realm, beyond the mind, we can offer up our questions and find answers.
Our meditation is also meant to help us find solutions to our daily challenges.
In meditation we first need to concentrate on God or one of his divine attributes, and after we have lifted our consciousness and are absorb in the divine, we can offer a question, hold it in the light, and try to feel in our heart, what the solution is.
Here is a suggested sequence that might help you understand what it means to meditate on something:
1. In the beginning of your meditation, pray to God, offer up your question and set it aside. Do the techniques and then absorb yourself in one of the divine qualities of God.
2. After you feel calm, toward the close of your meditation, offer the question again, broadcast it through your spiritual eye, and then try to receive the answer in your heart.
3. Always be very humble about any guidance you receive. True inner guidance from God feels very pure, sweet, calm, and free of egoic desires.
4. Never trust inner guidance when there is a lot of boisterous, personal feeling involved. With much practice at meditation, you get a feel for true intuitional guidance. Nothing takes the place of years of effort and experience.
I hope this will help,
Nayaswami Diksha
