Meditation
“What have you gained from meditation?”
“What have you gained from meditation?” someone asked Mahavira, also known as Vardhamāna, was the twenty-fourth Tirthankara of Jainism which was revived and re-established by him. “I have gained nothing actually”, Mahavira said smilingly. “But, I have lost much including my anger, pride, lust and misconceptions”.
It is vital to know before starting that meditation is not about gaining anything. Meditation is not a panacea, a solution to all your problems. Meditation won’t set anything right in your life. Meditation does not change anything directly in others.
What meditation will do is give you the grace and mindfulness to ease through life. It remodels you so that you become a catalyst of positive change, not in your own life but in the lives of most of those who are connected with you. Meditation starts with an act of sitting down and training your mind to behave in a certain way. Gradually your meditation becomes effortless and it increasingly becomes a part of you. You no longer do meditation, you are in meditation. Gradually you get liberated from false beliefs, negativity, undesirable thoughts, guilt, resentment, jealousy, hatred and pride.
Meditation can simply be defined as silence and presence of mind. When your mind is at once silent and present, you are dep in meditation. The goal of meditation is to focus and understand your mind—eventually reaching a higher level of awareness and inner calm.
Meditation is an ancient practice, but scientists are still discovering all of its benefits. Neurologists have found that regular meditation actually changes your brain in ways that can help you to control emotions, enhance concentration, decrease stress, and even become more connected to those around you. With practice, you’ll be able to achieve a sense of tranquillity and peace no matter what’s going on around you. There are many different ways to meditate, so if one practice doesn’t seem to work for you, before you give up consider trying a different type that works better for you.
