When goal of meditation/ mindfulness
is clear in the mind, every step can help reach, every condition is an
opportunity to work for it, anytime can become a part of journey and every act
become a step towards awakening. But when goal is not clear, departure point is
unknown, and mind still is working on us, then years of practice fails us.
The reality
behind body, mind, life is only one. It is our true nature or essential nature.
The acquired nature works in the world of change i.e. people, place, objects,
events and time. We are present in time, but time may change. We are present in
the presence or absence of people, place and possession. It is this presence or real-self or consciousness.
When mind is not clear about the goal, covered
by veil of ignorance (incomplete knowledge about our real nature, world,
existence), it identifies with millions of things and events. The
identification causes desire to exist, the desire causes agitation. The
agitation may become aspiration to know our own nature. In the case of mental
impurity and clarity, many steps have been discovered and perfected by masters.
Awareness of breath, sensation, thoughts, feelings, non-self, mantra, asana,
pranayama, mudra, are few of the practices incorporated as step towards
awakening. It is important to remember that these practices or steps are like
means not the end like car is a mean to reach home. At some time, we must leave
the car behind. We need not to remain attached to the car, otherwise, we will
reach inside the home.
Every master for 6000 years followed the same
principles of eastern wisdom but gave different practices to their
contemporary’s people. It is because of the temperament of people. We are
living in an age of reason, the principles of eastern wisdom are much more
relevant in today’s world because we can intellectually understand before
starting the practice. This approach is common in all our activities in daily
life.
The external
factors like choosing the position of body (lying, sitting or any other depending
on the condition of the body), place (private place or studio or office),
fragrance, sound, etc. are secondary,
and may be important in the beginning but not essential.
The internal
factors like level of awareness of the body, breath, thinking, sensations are
much more important, still are left behind in mindfulness state because
emptiness or objectless state is more important than these experiences.
The objectless state is the state where experience and
experiencer meets together and separate from each other. The mindfulness is
knowing the experiencer. That is why Buddha said, know-thyself, he did not say-
know thy experiences.
