Tuesday 16 August 2011

Meditation


We were physically drawn to the Brahma Kumari centre near us by a large hoarding bearing the proclamation that Rajyoga was taught there. Both my husband and I were keen to learn yoga, and this seemed a bonafide place to go to. On actually visiting the centre, however, we were met by an elderly lady who said that the yoga referred to was mental yoga, or meditation. Yoga, she said, meant ‘connection’, and Raj referred to the supreme force or Parmahatma – the highest soul in the Universe.
The centre, she added, conducted a free seven day course on the art and act of meditation beginning every Monday. The duration was for an hour, between 5.30 and 6.30pm every day, for the week. A smart young lady clad in jeans and tee shirt explained to us the concept of the Universe in a simple and lay manner, and she looked so pleased with life and the act of being alive, that we feel compelled to join the course in the near future.
Meditation is indeed an art. Most of us, yours truly included, have a tendency to balk at such cerebral talk. Thoughts are so random that the idea of collecting and collating them even for short spells sends us into spasms of agony. Our minds jump on to their own rails and steer off on auto pilot at breakneck speed, catapulting simultaneously into different directions, carrying their proprietors away with them!
At other times, when the outer eyes close to begin meditating, all other senses join in the shutdown and we find ourselves blissfully asleep! This happened recently to a friend of my student from Japan. Keen to learn all aspects and forms of yoga while in India, she began to meditate in her guru’s classroom only to find herself rudely awakened by her own snores!
However, we do want to delve into the realm of the unknown, and sooner rather than later we will join the course to explore our inner selves, our souls, the core of our being. Child has agreed to come with us too, surprisingly without duress. I hope we find ourselves in the metaphysical world and learn to shape ourselves into better human beings, thus enriching ourselves and our karmas, and the lives of those around us.

1 comment:

  1. Well, I've started yoga, and in the last pose, the shravasan (corpse pose, meant to relax you completely), I frequently fall asleep.

    Apparently, this is not a bad thing. Shows that the shravasan works. I don't mind. My favourite asans are all called "Release. Relax."

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