Q: What is meditation?

Q: What is meditation?

Kiran: See, the meditation is the most misunderstood concept.

When we ask this question, “What is meditation?” the question itself, when somebody asks, is coming from some answers that they already have.

Because they have heard about many kinds of meditations, like so many masters are asking people to do different kinds of meditations, different kinds of meditation’s techniques, like Maharashi Mahesh Yogi, teaches Transcendental Meditation ( T M ), Osho taught Dynamic Meditation, Kundalini Meditation, Nadabrahma Meditation and there are lots of meditations, in our ancient practices of meditation, they have 108 techniques of meditation.

So, people are asking from that understanding or, misunderstanding, the word meditation as a technique, as something to do.

And also the masters are also telling people to do something as a meditation.

So, that is why I am saying that this is the most misunderstood word or concept.

Doing meditation as a technique, is one thing and, meditation as a real sense, is another thing.

They have a different understanding.

When we use this word meditation, meditation in a real meaning is a meditative state, which is our nature state.

That, which is our natural state cannot be brought through any technique or any effort, or anything that you do.

It is there already, but it has been hidden, or it has been suppressed because of something, and that something is the mind.

When there is a mind, we loose this meditative state, that natural state that we have. What is this natural state inside?

It is the harmony of the life force, which is flowing through us.

When it is in harmony with the life force, which is also flowing around us, when there is a harmony between the inside and the outside of the same life force, when it becomes one, when the tuning happens, that oneness state, when it happens, not through any doing, when it happens, when you are not doing to bring it about, but when you are relaxed, it happens.

When it happens, you are already into the meditative state, the state of oneness, within and without.

So, that state of oneness is a meditative state, which is our natural state.

What we understand as a meditation, or what we misunderstand as a meditation, is something that we can bring this oneness or this natural state, through some technique or through some effort.

And all the masters in the past and in the present, have tried to find out some technique or some method, where they think that, by doing these techniques, we will come to that state, which is our natural state, which is our meditative state.

Now, the problem is when we are doing something, the doer is the mind, and the oneness state happens when there is no mind, when there is no doer, when there is no effort, when there is no doing.

So, the state of non-doing – and I am not referring to any lazy state – the state of non-doing means the state without a doer, a state without a mind.

When it happens, then this natural state awakens by itself, it happens by itself.

That is why in Zen there is a saying that, sit silently, doing nothing, the spring comes and the grass grows by itself.

By itself means, without any effort and without doing anything, what means that there is no doer.

So, they say sit silently and do nothing.

Now this also is misunderstood as if you are trying to do nothing.

So, even when you are trying to do nothing, you are doing something.

How does we become free from doing?

You have to really understand what creates the doing, what creates the mind.

If you understand this what creates the doing, or what creates the doer, which is the mind, then you will understand how you can make this state, this meditative state, this state of oneness, this state of non-mind, happen.

Why do you do something? You tell me.

If you really look into this question, why do we do something?

Somewhere you are doing it with a purpose.

You create a purpose.