WHY MEDITATION?

One fundamental question, being asked by many, about meditation, is - Why meditation? Their questions are formatted like – Why, should I meditate at all; Where, is the need for meditation; Is, there anything wrong, with my current state; What, the hell, if I don’t meditate; What, difference, does it make, if I do or I don’t, etc etc? Now, I don’t deny, many other benefits of meditation, on the sidelines, in terms of health etc but, I’m not interested, in those, worldly or material benefits and hence, not talking about them. I will, rather, answer, this question, from existential point of view and hence, my single reply, to all the above questions, is that, meditation is needed, for your awakening, meditation is needed for your waking up. 

So, the next question, which obviously, arises, is – Am, I asleep, right now? And, the answer, unfortunately is, YES. Yes, you are asleep. You are asleep, not in the literal sense but you are asleep, in metaphysical sense. You may think or assume, that you are awake right now, but the fact is, that you are asleep, because your current state is, nothing, but just a state of behoshi or unconsciousness only. Will explain, as how? 

We, are usually aware of three states, in which, we exist right now. These are deep sleep, ordinary sleep and the wakefulness. Now, let’s first look at ordinary sleep, which most of us are aware. Ordinary sleep, is the sleep, in which, we dream also and dreaming is nothing but a state of mind only. We dream, because mind is active, in ordinary sleep. Dreaming is nothing but an expression of our mind or of our individuality only. Because, the mind remains operative and hence, ordinary sleep, is nothing but just a state of mind or unconsciousness only. 

Coming to wakefulness. Now, simply, because your eyes are open and hence, if you think or imagine, that you are awake, then, it is not true because your waking, too, is nothing but another state of mind only. You know, it very well, that, the moment you wake up, your mind begins to function and the same thoughts, same emotions, same reactions, same tendencies, same memory etc takes charge and you, thus, end up doing the same things, again and again, though, you thought, it was a new day for you. 

In fact, if you just look at your life, so far, you will find, that you are not doing anything new but you are just living the same old life of patterns and of repeats only. So, what, you are doing today, is nothing but, the same, which you did yesterday and tomorrow, too, for sure, you will only repeat, what you are doing today. The same compulsiveness or unconsciousness, is happening, all the time, in your waking, because your waking, is nothing but just an expression of your mind only. What you know, as your waking, is not the real ‘you’ waking up but, it is your mind, which is actually coming awake, from sleep and becoming active again. Hence, your waking, too, is a state of the same mind only. 

Now, coming to the deep sleep. Deep sleep, which in yogic parlance, is known, as sushupti and is a state of unconsciousness only because, in deep sleep, you don’t know, if you exist or not. You don’t know, if, you are alive or not. Not only, but in deep sleep, nothing really exists, for you because the world, the others, the body, the mind and for that matter everything else, suddenly disappears in your experience. 

Thus, deep sleep, too, is a state of unconsciousness only, but the only thing about deep sleep, is that, in deep sleep, in sushupti, your mind merges temporarily into unconsciousness and that’s why, you exist, in total peace, total silence but the fact remains, that deep sleep, is nothing but a state of unconsciousness or mind only. Deep sleep, is nothing but mind, going to sleep, for the time being, though it remains alive. So, deep sleep, though, a state of peace and silence and hence, your natural state and yet this, too, is a state of unconsciousness or of behoshi only, similar, to the other two states, of dreaming or ordinary sleep and wakefulness. 

So, all the three states, in which we exist right now, are nothing but just the different states of the same mind only. Mind, is nothing but unconsciousness. Mind, is not consciousness and has no reality of its own and therefore, mind does not exist. The consciousness, is the only truth, only reality and therefore, consciousness, alone, does exist. Everything else, is just a play of mind only. 

Thus, real awakening or waking up is only, when you become an expression of your nature, that, you become an expression of your consciousness, which alone IS and does really exist. Since, ours is a state of unconsciousness or behoshi and hence, the need for meditation. Meditation is our natural and existential state and hence, a state, beyond all states, which transcends the physical, which transcends mind. So, if you really want to come awake, in the real or spiritual or metaphysical sense, then you must meditate because, meditation is a practice, which slowly n gradually, wakes you up. A day comes, when you are fully awake, which we know as enlightenment or atma-sakashatkar i.e. you are, face-to-face, with the reality. 

You, now, become total consciousness and nothing of what you know, as mind or unconsciousness, is left in you. You are, now, fully awake all the times, even, in your sleep. Your energy or consciousness, is no longer, tied to the body and when time comes, it merges back into its Source, which we commonly know, as moksha, mukti or nirvana. That is, truly, coming awake or coming full circle, meaning, you reclaim your natural n original state and you are now, what ‘you’ really and already are.(TO EXIST, IN YOUR NATURAL STATE, IS TO EXIST IN MEDITATION - Please, read in the next post).