1.

Not even the deepest sleep will give you such a rest as
meditation can. The mind goes on jumping even in deepest
sleep. Just those few moments in meditation your brain has
almost stopped. … You forget the body. … You feel such
pleasure in it. You become so light. This perfect rest we will get
in meditation.

2. Whose meditation is real and effective? Who can really

surrender to the will of God? Only the person whose mind has
been purified by selfless work.

3. Study, and then meditate on what you have studied.

4. Do not spend your energy in talking, but meditate in silence;

and do not let the rush of the outside world disturb you. WHEN
YOUR MIND IS IN THE HIGHEST STATE, YOU ARE
UNCONSCIOUS OF IT. Accumulate power in silence and
become a dynamo of spirituality.

5. "I do not want to get material life, do not want the sense-life,
but something higher." That is renunciation. Then, by the power
of meditation, undo the mischief that has been done.
6. What is meditation? Meditation is the power which enables us
to resist all this. Nature may call us, "Look there is a beautiful
thing!" I do not look. Now she says, "There is a beautiful smell;
smell it!” I say to my nose, "Do not smell it", and the nose
doesn't. "Eyes, do not see!" Nature does such an awful thing -
kills one of my children, and says, "Now, rascal, sit down and
weep! Go to the depths!" I say, "I don't have to." I jump up. I
must be free. Try it sometimes. ... [In meditation], for a
moment, you can change this nature. Now, if you had that
power in yourself, would not that be heaven, freedom? That is
the power of meditation.

7. The greatest help to spiritual life is meditation

(Dhyâna). In meditation we divest ourselves of all
material conditions and feel our divine nature. We
do not depend upon any external help in
meditation. The touch of the soul can paint
the brightest colour even in the dingiest
places; it can cast a fragrance over the vilest
thing; it can make the wicked divine — and
all enmity, all selfishness is effaced. The less
the thought of the body, the better. For it is
the body that drags us down. It is attachment,
identification, which makes us miserable. That is
the secret: To think that I am the spirit and not the
body, and that the whole of this universe with all
its relations, with all its good and all its evil, is but
as a series of paintings — scenes on a canvas — of
which I am the witness.
8. Meditation has been laid stress upon by all
religions. The meditative state of mind is declared
by the Yogis to be the highest state in which the
mind exists. When the mind is studying the
external object, it gets identified with it, loses
itself. To use the simile of the old Indian
philosopher: the soul of man is like a piece of
crystal, but it takes the colour of whatever is near
it. Whatever the soul touches ... it has to take its
colour. That is the difficulty. That constitutes the
bondage. The colour is so strong, the crystal
forgets itself and identifies itself with the colour.
Suppose a red flower is near the crystal and the
crystal takes the colour and forgets itself, thinks it
is red. We have taken the colour of the body
and have forgotten what we are. All the
difficulties that follow come from that one
dead body. All our fears, all worries,
anxieties, troubles, mistakes, weakness, evil,
are from that one great blunder — that we
are bodies. This is the ordinary person. It is
the person taking the colour of the flower near to
it. We are no more bodies than the crystal is
the red flower.
The practice of meditation is pursued. The crystal
knows what it is, takes its own colour. It is meditation
that brings us nearer to truth tha n a nyt hi ng els e...................

9. Work a little harder at meditation and it comes. You do

not feel the body or anything else. When you come out of
it after the hour, you have had the most beautiful rest you
ever had in your life. That is the only way you ever
give rest to your system.
10.Meditation means the mind is turned back upon itself.

11.In real meditation you forget the body. You may be cut to
pieces and not feel it at all. You feel such pleasure in it. You
become so light. This perfect rest we will get in meditation.

12.Wait and meditate till I call you.

13. In order to reach the superconscious state in a scientific manner it is

necessary to pass through the various steps of Raja-Yoga I have been
teaching. After Pratyâhâra and Dhâranâ, we come to Dhyâna,
meditation. When the mind has been trained to remain fixed on a
certain internal or external location, there comes to it the power of
flowing in an unbroken current, as it were, towards that point. This
state is called Dhyana. When one has so intensified the power of
Dhyana as to be able to reject the external part of perception and
remain meditating only on the internal part, the meaning, that state is
called Samadhi. The three — Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi —
together, are called Samyama. That is, if the mind can first
concentrate upon an object, and then is able to continue in that
concentration for a length of time, and then, by continued
concentration, to dwell only on the internal part of the perception of
which the object was the effect, everything comes under the
control of such a mind.
 14. So long as enjoyment is sought, bondage remains. Only imperfection
can enjoy, because enjoyment is the fulfilling of desire. The human
soul enjoys nature. The underlying reality of nature, soul, and God is
Brahman; but It (Brahman) is unseen, until we bring It out. It may be
brought out by Pramantha or friction, just as we can produce fire by
friction. The body is the lower piece of wood, Om is the pointed
piece and Dhyâna (meditation) is the friction. When this is used, that
light which is the knowledge of Brahman will burst forth in the soul.
Seek it through Tapas. Holding the body upright, sacrifice the organs
of sense in the mind. The sense-centres are within, and their organs
without; drive them into the mind and through Dhârâna (concentration) fix the
mind in Dhyana. Brahman is omnipresent in the universe as is butter in milk,
but friction makes It manifest in one place. As churning brings out the butter in
the milk, so Dhyana brings the realisation of Brahman in the soul. All Hindu
philosophy declares that there is a sixth sense, the superconscious, and through it
comes inspiration.

15. Divine wisdom is to be got by devotion, meditation, and chastity.

"Truth alone triumphs, and not untruth. Through truth alone the way
is spread to Brahman" — where alone love and truth are.

16. First, meditation should be of a negative nature. Think away

everything. Analyse everything that comes in the mind by the sheer
action of the will.
Next, assert what we really are — existence, knowledge and bliss
— being, knowing, and loving.
Meditation is the means of unification of the subject and object.
Meditate:
Above, it is full of me; below, it is full of me; in the middle, it is full
of me. I am in all beings, and all beings are in me. Om Tat Sat, I am
It. I am existence above mind. I am the one Spirit of the universe. I
am neither pleasure nor pain.
 The body drinks, eats, and so on. I am not the body. I am not mind. I
am He.
I am the witness. I look on. When health comes I am the witness
When disease comes I am the witness.
I am Existence, Knowledge, Bliss.
I am the essence and nectar of knowledge. Through eternity I
change not. I am calm, resplendent, and unchanging.

17. And then along with it, there must be meditation. Meditation is the
one thing. Meditate! The greatest thing is meditation. It is the nearest
approach to spiritual life — the mind meditating. It is the one
moment in our daily life that we are not at all material — the Soul
thinking of Itself, free from all matter — this marvellous touch of the
Soul!

18. Then comes meditation. That is the highest state. ... When [the mind]
is doubtful that is not its great state. Its great state is meditation. It
looks upon things and sees things, not identifying itself with
anything else. As long as I feel pain, I have identified myself with
the body. When I feel joy or pleasure, I have identified myself with
the body. But the high state will look with the same pleasure or
blissfulness upon pleasure or upon pain. ... Every meditation is direct
superconsciousness. In perfect concentration the soul becomes
actually free from the bonds of the gross body and knows itself as it
is. Whatever one wants, that comes to him. Power and knowledge
are already there. The soul identifies itself with that which is
powerless matter and thus weeps. It identifies itself with mortal
shapes. ... But if that free soul wants to exercise any power, it will
have it. If it does not, it does not come. He who has known God has
become God. There is nothing impossible to such a free soul. No
more birth and death for him. He is free for ever.
 19. The power of meditation gets us everything. If you want to get
power over nature, [you can have it through meditation]. It is
through the power of meditation all scientific facts are discovered
today. They study the subject and forget everything, their own
identity and everything, and then the great fact comes like a flash.
Some people think that is inspiration. There is no more inspiration
than there is expiration; and never was anything got for nothing.

20. Therein also you see the power of meditation — intensity of thought.
These men churn up their own souls. Great truths come to the
surface and become manifest. Therefore the practice of meditation is
the great scientific method of knowledge. There is no knowledge
without the power of meditation. From ignorance, superstition, etc.
we can get cured by meditation for the time being and no more.
[Suppose] a man has told me that if you drink such a poison you will
be killed, and another man comes in the night and says, "Go drink
the poison!" and I am not killed, [what happens is this: ] my mind
cut out from the meditation the identity between the poison and
myself just for the time being. In another case of [drinking] the
poison, I will be killed.
If I know the reason and scientifically raise myself up to that [state of
meditation], I can save anyone. That is what the books say; but how far it is
correct you must appraise.

21. In order to reach the superconscious state in a scientific manner it is

necessary to pass through the various steps of Raja-Yoga I have been
teaching. After Pratyâhâra and Dhâranâ, we come to Dhyâna,
meditation. When the mind has been trained to remain fixed on a
certain internal or external location, there comes to it the power of
flowing in an unbroken current, as it were, towards that point. This
state is called Dhyana. When one has so intensified the power of
 Dhyana as to be able to reject the external part of perception and
remain meditating only on the internal part, the meaning, that state is
called Samadhi. The three — Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi —
together, are called Samyama. That is, if the mind can first
concentrate upon an object, and then is able to continue in that
concentration for a length of time, and then, by continued
concentration, to dwell only on the internal part of the perception of
which the object was the effect, everything comes under the
control of such a mind.
This meditative state is the highest state of existence. So long as
there is desire, no real happiness can come. It is only the
contemplative, witness-like study of objects that brings to us real
enjoyment and happiness. The animal has its happiness in the senses,
the man in his intellect, and the god in spiritual contemplation. It is
only to the soul that has attained to this contemplative state that the
world really becomes beautiful. To him who desires nothing, and
does not mix himself up with them, the manifold changes of nature
are one panorama of beauty and sublimity.

22. When, by the previous preparations, it becomes strong and

controlled, and has the power of finer perception, the mind should be
employed in meditation. This meditation must begin with gross
objects and slowly rise to finer and finer, until it becomes objectless.
The mind should first be employed in perceiving the external causes
of sensations, then the internal motions, and then its own reaction.
When it has succeeded in perceiving the external causes of
sensations by themselves, the mind will acquire the power of
perceiving all fine material existences, all fine bodies and forms.
When it can succeed in perceiving the motions inside by themselves,
it will gain the control of all mental waves, hi itself or in others, even
before they have translated themselves into physical energy; and
when he will be able to perceive the mental reaction by itself, the
Yogi will acquire the knowledge of everything, as every sensible
object, and every thought is the result of this reaction. Then will he
have seen the very foundations of his mind, and it will be under his
perfect control. Different powers will come to the Yogi, and if he
yields to the temptations of any one of these, the road to his further
progress will be barred. Such is the evil of running after enjoyments.
But if he is strong enough to reject even these miraculous powers, he
 will attain to the goal of Yoga, the complete suppression of the
waves in the ocean of the mind. Then the glory of the soul,
undisturbed by the distractions of the mind, or motions of the body,
will shine in its full effulgence; and the Yogi will find himself as he
is and as he always was, the essence of knowledge, the immortal, the
all-pervading.

23. "This Âtman is first to be heard of." Hear day and night that you are
that Soul. Repeat it to yourselves day and night till it enters into your
very veins, till it tingles in every drop of blood, till it is in your flesh
and bone. Let the whole body be full of that one ideal, "I am the
birthless, the deathless, the blissful, the omniscient, the omnipotent,
ever-glorious Soul." Think on it day and night; think on it till it
becomes part and parcel of your life. Meditate upon it, and out of
that will come work. "Out of the fullness of the heart the mouth
speaketh," and out of the fullness of the heart the hand worketh also.
Action will come. Fill yourselves with the ideal; whatever you do,
think well on it. All your actions will be magnified, transformed,
deified, by the very power of the thought. If matter is powerful,
thought is omnipotent. Bring this thought to bear upon your life, fill
yourselves with the thought of your almightiness, your majesty, and
your glory. Would to God no superstitions had been put into your
head! Would to God we had not been surrounded from our birth by
all these superstitious influences and paralysing ideas of our
weakness and vileness! Would to God that mankind had had an
easier path through which to attain to the noblest and highest truths!
But man had to pass through all this; do not make the path more
difficult for those who are coming after you.

24. The meditative state is called always the highest state by the Yogi,
when it is neither a passive nor an active state; in it you approach
nearest to the Purusha. The soul has neither pleasure nor pain; it is
the witness of everything, the eternal witness of all work, but it takes
no fruits from any work. As the sun is the cause of sight of every
eye, but is not itself affected by any defects in the eye or as when a
crystal has red or blue flowers placed before it, the crystal looks red
 or blue, and yet it is neither; so, the soul is neither passive nor active,
it is beyond both. The nearest way of expressing this state of the soul
is that it is meditation. This is Sankhya philosophy.

25. When the consciousness rises still higher, when this little puny
consciousness is gone for ever, that which is the Reality behind
shines, and we see it as the One Existence-Knowledge-Bliss, the one
Atman, the Universal. "One that is only Knowledge itself, One that
is Bliss itself, beyond all compare, beyond all limit, ever free, never
bound, infinite as the sky, unchangeable as the sky. Such a One will
manifest Himself in your heart in meditation.”

26. "Meditation again is a constant remembrance (of the thing meditated

upon) flowing like an unbroken stream of oil poured out from one
vessel to another. When this kind of remembering has been attained
(in relation to God) all bandages break. Thus it is spoken of in the
scriptures regarding constant remembering as a means to liberation.
This remembering again is of the same form as seeing, because it is
of the same meaning as in the passage, 'When He who is far and near
is seen, the bonds of the heart are broken, all doubts vanish, and all
effects of work disappear' He who is near can be seen, but he who is
far can only be remembered. Nevertheless the scripture says that he
have to see Him who is near as well as Him who, is far, thereby
indicating to us that the above kind of remembering is as good as
seeing. This remembrance when exalted assumes the same form as
seeing. . . . Worship is constant remembering as may be seen from
the essential texts of scriptures. Knowing, which is the same as
repeated worship, has been described as constant remembering. . . .
Thus the memory, which has attained to the height of what is as
good as direct perception, is spoken of in the Shruti as a means of
liberation. 'This Atman is not to be reached through various sciences,
nor by intellect, nor by much study of the Vedas. Whomsoever this
Atman desires, by him is the Atman attained, unto him this Atman
discovers Himself.' Here, after saying that mere hearing, thinking
and meditating are not the means of attaining this Atman, it is said,
'Whom this Atman desires, by him the Atman is attained.' The
 extremely beloved is desired; by whomsoever this Atman is
extremely beloved, he becomes the most beloved of the Atman. So
that this beloved may attain the Atman, the Lord Himself helps. For
it has been said by the Lord: 'Those who are constantly attached to
Me and worship Me with love — I give that direction to their will by
which they come to Me.' Therefore it is said that, to whomsoever
this remembering, which is of the same form as direct perception, is
very dear, because it is dear to the Object of such memory
perception, he is desired by the Supreme Atman, by him the
Supreme Atman is attained. This constant remembrance is denoted
by the word Bhakti." So says Bhagavân Râmânuja in his
commentary on the Sutra Athâto Brahma-jijnâsâ (Hence follows a
dissertation on Brahman.).

27. Why am I saying all this just now? Until you fix the location, you
cannot talk. You fix it up in heaven and all the world ever except in
the right place. I am spirit, and therefore the spirit of all spirits must
be in my soul. Those who think it anywhere else are ignorant.
Therefore it is to be sought here in this heaven; all the heaven that
ever existed [is within myself]. There are some sages who, knowing
this, turn their eyes inward and find the spirit of all spirits in their
own spirit. That is the scope of meditation. Find out the truth about
God and about your own soul and thus attain to liberation. ...

28. In the preliminary state, the form of the Guru is to be meditated upon
by the disciple. Gradually it is to be merged in the Ishta. By Ishta is
meant the object of love and devotion. . . . It is very difficult to
superimpose divinity on man, but one is sure to succeed by repeated
efforts. God is in every man, whether man knows it or not; your
loving devotion is bound to call up the divinity in him.
 29.Swami Shuddhananda asked, "What is the real nature of
meditation, sir?"
Swamiji: Meditation is the focusing of the mind on some object. If the mind
acquires concentration on one object, it can be so concentrated on any object
whatsoever.
Disciple: Mention is made in the scriptures of two kinds of meditation —
one having some object and the other objectless. What is meant by all that,
and which of the two is the higher one?
Swamiji: First, the practice of meditation has to proceed with some one
object before the mind. Once I used to concentrate my mind on some black
point. Ultimately, during those days, I could not see the point any more, nor
notice that the point was before me at all — the mind used to be no more —
no wave of functioning would rise, as if it were all an ocean without any
breath of air. In that state I used to experience glimpses of supersensuous
truth. So I think, the practice of meditation even with some trifling external
object leads to mental concentration. But it is true that the mind very easily
attains calmness when one practices meditation with anything on which
one's mind is most apt to settle down. This is the reason why we have in this
country so much worship of the images of gods and goddesses. And what
wonderful art developed from such worship! But no more of that now. The
fact, however, is that the objects of meditation can never be the same in the
case of all men. People have proclaimed and preached to others only those
external objects to which they held on to become perfected in meditation.
Oblivious of the fact, later on, that these objects are aids to the attainment of
perfect mental calmness, men have extolled them beyond everything else.
They have wholly concerned themselves with the means, getting
comparatively unmindful of the end. The real aim is to make the mind
functionless, but this cannot be got at unless one becomes absorbed in some
object.

30. Progression in Maya is a circle that brings you back to the starting
point; but you start ignorant and come to the end with all knowledge.
Worship of God, worship of the holy ones, concentration and
meditation, and unselfish work, these are the ways of breaking away
from Maya's net; but we must first have the strong desire to get free.
 The flash of light that will illuminate the darkness for us is in us; it is
the knowledge that is our nature — there is no "birthright", we were
never born. All that we have to do is to drive away the clouds that
cover it.

31. Meditation is a sort of prayer and prayer is meditation. The highest

meditation is to think of nothing. If you can remain one moment
without thought, great power will come. The whole secret of
knowledge is concentration. Soul best develops itself by loving God
with all the heart. Soul is the thinking principle in man, of which
mind is a function. Soul is only the conduit from Spirit to mind.

32.Meditation means the mind is turned back upon

itself. The mind stops all the thought-waves and
the world stops. Your consciousness expands.
Every time you meditate, you will keep your
growth.

33.THE PRACTICE OF RELIGION

34. First, to sit in the posture In which you can sit still for a long time.
All the nerve currents which are working pass along the spine. The
spine is not intended to support the weight of the body. Therefore the
posture must be such that the weight of the body is not on the spine.
Let it be free from all pressure.