Meditation is a word with many meanings. To some, meditation is a science of the mind. To others, it is an art, indefinable and mystical. For almost all, it is difficult to understand. Meditation denotes quiet introspection or absorption in the divine. It means exploring and expanding consciousness. Meditation can be the awakening of inner energies or the discovery of self-understanding. It may be repeating the name of the Lord with love, or simply collecting oneself for the day ahead. To all, meditation is a means to concentrate within, to discover the inner wells springs of love and wisdom, of joy and peace.

Meditation of spiritual aspirants is a practice of inner contemplation. Its goal is the realization of oneness in the world and in ourselves. The practice transforms us and our perspective of the world. With time, meditation may grant us ultimate self-understanding. We come to see the creation and ourselves as manifestations of God’s will. The illusion of separateness disappears when all is experienced as One.

Real meditation is getting absorbed in God as the only thought, the only goal. God only, only God. Think God, breathe God, love God, live God.

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The basic method of meditation is to rise above thought to the source of thought. The destination is a state of being beyond the mental process. God cannot be understood by means of rational explanation or argument, but by experiential knowledge alone.

As long as one knows he is meditating, one is not meditating. In that absorption in God, one puts aside every form and merges in God. In that process the mind naturally stops.

Sathya Sai Speaks 7

Meditation enables us to transcend the intellect. There is nothing for us to "know" in a rational sense. Actually, what is accomplished is a state of equanimity in which our divine nature has an opportunity to manifest itself. For we already possess divinity within; we need only to become aware of it and to allow it to emerge and express itself. When that happens, an inner transformation is achieved. That transformation results in joy and peace beyond description.

Dhyana (meditation) is synonymous with the unitive knowledge of the Godhead. It is … a vision of and path to the divine. It leads to… the integral reality of existence-consciousness-bliss (sat-chit-ananda).

Summer Showers 1979

Meditation methods, techniques, and goals vary widely among aspirants and disciples. Some aspirants prefer an intense regimen; others enjoy a more leisurely practice. Some aspirants welcome a fixed time and place for meditation; for toners, an unexpected lull in the day may be more beneficial, even in a crowded or noisy place. There is no one way to meditate that precludes all others. Each person must find his or her own method.

Can anyone train another in meditation? Or claim to train? It may be possible to teach a person the posture, the pose, the position of the legs, feet, or hands, neck, head or back, the style of breathing or its speed. But meditation is a function of the inner man; it involves deep subjective quiet, the emptying of the mind and filling oneself with the light that emerges from the divine spark within. This is a discipline that no textbook can teach and no class can communicate.

Sathya Sai Speaks