During my meditation practice, I just become aware of my breath, and its a beautiful process. I enjoy watching my breath going in and out. But afterwards during the day, I get small bombs of awareness that leads me to confusion. One question leads to another question, and list goes on. No answer helps me. I enjoy my meditation practice but not these questions. What should i do?
—Naman Kharbanda, India
Dear Naman,
I am very happy that you are having a beautiful experience with your meditation in watching the breath. Yogananda said that this technique (from ancient times) brings us to great peace of mind and heart.
It sounds like your mind is pestering you with doubts! Our teacher and founder of Ananda, Swami Kriyananda–a direct disciple trained by Yogananda–was told by Yogananda that he, Swamiji, had been plagued by doubts in past lives. But in his life as Kriyananda-ji, he found that in his love for Master (Yogananda), his guru, his doubts vanished. To work off past karma it was Swamiji’s divine duty to be a teacher. He said there isn’t any doubt that I haven’t had and hence I can be helpful to others.
To question with a sincere desire to know the truth is good. To question only to undermine a sincere desire is self-destructive. Pray to God and guru to help you feel devotion and to inspire you, in that devotion, to offer those doubts to them as a gift of love.
If you have questions (rather than doubts), there are many here happy to clarify the divine teachings of Sanatan Dharma. It is, however, the heart that knows; not the mind. The mind is easily paralyzed by endless what-if’s this or that. The intellect and conscious mind are enmeshed in duality and can never think their way out of this paradox. Only the heart which is the true divine Self can know the truth of its Oneness as the answer to all our doubts.
And what is that truth: that we are made in the image of God; we are children of the Light; we are eternal, changeless, ever loving, and our soul’s are made from the bliss of Satchidanandam. All else is the foam of ceaseless change in name and form.
Joy to you in the Light of Truth,
Nayaswami Hriman
