Deciphering Meditation and Mindfulness

MEDITATION

The English word ‘Meditation’ is derived from two Latin words:

1)    Meditari which means to think, ponder, dwell upon, exercise the mind or focus attention

2)    Mederi which means to heal. In this case, healing the afflictions of the mind.

Meditation is interpreted differently by different groups of people.

Those who practice Bhakti Yoga equate meditation to visualization of the image of a chosen deity, together with mental repetition of a relevant mantra.

For the Vedantin, meditation means to contemplate on the meaning of selected verses from the Upanishads or similar scriptures.

For the Catholics, it is contemplative prayer, saying the rosary, based on mantras like “Our Father which art in Heaven,”

Buddhists consider meditation to consist of chants and repetition of mantras.

For Muslims, meditation is called Dhikr, a remembrance of God through the repetition of selected names of God from the Quran.

According to Zen, meditation is an awareness of inner silence.

Meditation for philosophers is a process of perfecting a thought.

True Meaning of Meditation

Meditation, according to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, “chitta vritti nirodhah” means cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. “Chitta” in Sanskrit refers to the entire mind-stuff whose “vritti” or tendency is to keep jumping from one thought to the next and “nirodhah” refers to cessation or quieting of.

Universally, it is accepted that Meditation refers to a ‘no thought state’ of mind. A restless mind characterizes a never-ending flow of thoughts thus creating an inner chatter.

In meditation, the mind is cultivated to gradually cease the never-ending thought flow to reach a still and tranquil state.

We do NOT ‘do Meditation’

It has become commonplace to say that one is doing meditation. Thinking is doing, concentration is doing, contemplation is also doing. However, meditation is not an activity that you do.

Meditation is non-doing, when all activity of the body and mind has ceased. We arrive at this state by first starting with the practice of sitting for meditation.

Sitting for Meditation

This is a formal practice to sit in meditative posture at the same time and same place every day. By focusing one’s attention on a single object such as one’s natural breath, it prepares one to be in the non-doing state, having the mind and body settle into stillness.

Sitting in Meditation

After sufficient practice of sitting for meditation, one begins to sit in Meditation. The mind is now cultivated to reach a no-thought state. With more and more practice, one maintains the meditative or no-thought state for longer periods of time.

In this process, we perfect the art of watching. As the Buddha says “Watch, watch day and night….slowly, slowly you will see that you are consciousness and mind is just an instrument available to you.”

As you become better at watching, slowly the mind becomes empty of thoughts.

In Meditation one also receives abundant cosmic energy from the Universe which allows one to gain insight into the true nature of the Self – to know that one is deathless, one is beyond the body, beyond the mind, ….one is just pure consciousness.

MINDFULNESS

While the goal of Meditation is to reach a no-thought state of mind, the practice of Mindfulness does not share the same goal of emptying the mind of thoughts.

Instead, the goal of Mindfulness is to bring our attention to what is happening right now. This is done intentionally in the present moment in a non-judgemental manner.

Mindfulness is practiced as ‘notice what you are doing while you brush your teeth, walk in the park or eat your food.’ Many people struggle to sustain such a practice and find it dull and boring.

Mindfulness and Breathing

Rose Elliot, author of I Met a Monk researched mindfulness and discovered that the breath is an intrinsic part of mindfulness. According to Elliot, mindfulness and breathing go together so when you practice mindfulness with the breath, what might have been a dull, boring and mechanical practice suddenly comes alive.

Elliot shares that once you have successfully practiced mindful breathing, you can do it anywhere, anytime and anyplace. Simply combining your breathing with whatever you are doing will help you transition into a mindful state of being.

Jon Kabat-Zinn author of Wherever you go shares that using our breath to bring us back to the present moment takes no time at all, only a shift in attention.

A regular practitioner of breath meditation or Ananpanasati meditation will find it easy to be in a state of mindfulness in daily life because once you have learned how to stop your mind when your body is still, then you will be able to stop your mind even when your body is moving.  

When Mindfulness becomes part of daily life then our cosmic energies or prana is used optimally. Otherwise, the useless inner chatter arising from an uncultivated mind makes us not fully present in any activity, resulting in wasteful dissipation of one’s cosmic energies.

As we let go of the past and stop worrying about the future, we learn that everything is exactly as it should be in this moment. So in a way, practicing mindfulness also increases our trust in the Universe.

Written by Navneet

Navneet is a Meditation Practitioner and Teacher and the founder of Truthful Living. For more information, please visit: www.truthfulliving.org