EXERCISES IN MEDITATION

Exercises in Meditation 

Keep a picture of Lord Krishna with a flute in his hands. Sit in your meditative pose and gently concentrate on this picture until you shed tears. Think of his feet, adorned with anklets. Think of his yellow silken garment. Think of the ornaments around his neck. Think of the long garland of beautiful flowers of various colours. Think of his ear­rings and the crown set with precious jewels he wears on his head. Think of the long dark hair, the sparkling eyes and the tilaka (mark) on the forehead. Think of the magnetic aura around his head. Think of his arms and hands, adorned with armlets and bracelets. Think of the flute, ready in his hands, waiting for him to play it. Then close your eyes and visualise this picture mentally. Repeat this process again and again.

This is one kind of meditation and is suitable for beginners. Sit in padmasana in your meditation room. Close the eyes. Meditate on the effulgence in the sun, or the splendour in the moon, or the glory of the stars.

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There is a living universal power that underlies all these names and forms. Meditate on this power, which is formless. This will terminate in the realisation of the Absolute, nirguna (attributeless), nirakara (formless) consciousness eventually.

Sit in your meditative pose. Close your eyes. Imagine that there is a supreme, infinite effulgence hidden behind all these names and forms, tantamount to the effulgence of millions of suns put together. This is also a form of nirguna meditation.

Concentrate and meditate on the expansive blue sky. By the previous methods of concentration the mind will cease thinking of finite forms. It will slowly begin to melt in the ocean of peace as it is deprived of its contents. Thus the mind will become subtler and subtler.

Concentrate on the picture of Om in front of you. Do this with open eyes until the tears flow profusely. Associate the ideas of eternity, infinity, immortality, etc., with Om.

The humming of bees, the sweet notes of the nightingale and all other sounds emanate from Om only. Om is the essence of all the vedas (scriptures).

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