Sir/Madam, I am a Kriyaban (as per our Guruji Paramahansa Yoganandaji) and I have been meditating sincerely, for the past 2 years (though I have been following, without seriousness for more than 10 years). My question is how to go/dive deep into meditation? I still feel that I should make a serious effort in going deep, without which I shall be only a BONSAI TREE even if I meditate for a lifetime. Hence, please enlighten me about the practical tips for DEEP MEDITATION/DIVE DEEP INTO MEDITATION.
—m. thangaraj, India
Dear M. Thangaraj,
It is very inspiring to hear that you are a Kriyaban and that you want to go deeper in your meditation practices! You perhaps are wondering how long this process will take until you reach samadhi and merge into God? Yogananda answers your question in his poem, Samadhi. He says, “By deeper, longer, thirsty, Guru-given meditation, comes this celestial samadhi.”
When compared to the millions (or longer) of lifetimes you have lived and evolved spiritually to come to this place in this lifetime wherein you have a God-realized Guru to help you, and the most powerful of all techniques for achieving spiritual liberation – that is Kriya Yoga—two years or twelve years, or even the rest of your life, is really not very much!
Therefore, the first thing I would suggest to you is that you pray deeply to our Masters to help and guide you in your meditations and in every aspect of your life. Try to feel them all the time with you in your life and in your meditations!
Next, I would suggest that you practice devotion along with meditation – loving God and Gurus, chanting, praying, doing anything you can to increase a loving, devotional attitude in yourself. This is a very important part of the spiritual path.
Vow never to give up! Yogananda says, “You have to live anyway (there is no such thing as death—we simply leave one body for the next one, until we are free) so why not live rightly, right now? Master calls the path of Kriya Yoga, “the jet plane route to liberation.” Therefore, you already have all the tools you need to make it happen for yourself very quickly.
Another thing which will help you immensely, is to be with and meditate with others who have been meditating longer than you have and who also practice Kriya Yoga.
Review all your techniques carefully and often—there is always room for improvement. Are you doing everything recommended, including daily Energization Exercises, Hong-Sau technique, AUM technique, Kriya technique, including Maha Mudra and Jyoti Mudra? Have you had your Kriya practices checked by the Kriyacharya who initiated you into Kriya Yoga? If not, please do that as soon as possible!
Are you striving for longer meditations whenever you can set aside the time to do them?
Finally, do not let yourself be overly concerned about how long this process is going to take. With every day that goes by and with every effort, large and small that you make in meditation, you will see that everything in your life gets better and better! Even when you have tests and challenges, your Gurus are always there with you and will help you grow stronger in every way, but most especially in your meditations. Be very grateful for what you have and enjoy the journey!
