AJIT KUMAR BISHNOI believes controlling bad emotions is fundamental for dhyan
Meditation has enormous benefits as is well known, but have you wondered why very few can do it successfullyIJ Just sitting down in a posture is not enough; meditation is much more than that. If it was that simple, Patanjali — the famous expotent of ashtanga yoga would not have placed dhyan or meditation seventh on the list of eight processes.
Prior to doing meditation successfully, there are six processes/requirements. These are yama, niyama, asans, pranayam, pratayahara and dharana. Explaining these technical terms, yama is what must be done; niyama is what should be done as far as possible; asans are what is confused as yoga; pranayam is breathing exercises; pratayahar is control over the senses and dharana is the initial stage of meditation. Then comes dhyan.
Each of these processes are quite comprehensive. I will not go into the details, but just let you know some basics about them. This will explain why not many are able to do meditation successfully, ie sit in meditation for any length of time, while its benefits are so heavy touted.
The first requirement is to control one’s desires. Here I mean material desires. These could be earning a lot of money, gaining power, becoming famous, etc. These are powerful magnets which keep the mind busy. When one sits in meditation, they take away the mind forcefully and one is left meditating about them rather than focusing on God, which is the real meditation. Next is control over the senses. These are 10, out of which a few give more trouble than others. They are: Tongue, sex organ, speech, eyes, nose and ears. The order given here is random and is person-specific, ie who puts emphasis on what. The third requirement is control over harmful emotions like lust, greed and anger. The list of bad emotions is long but the three mentioned above are the worst ones. They drag the mind from whatever we want to use it for. The last is control over the mind, ie we make it do what we want, whereas the mind usually has its own way.
The above may appear highly discouraging, but it does not have to be. All we need to do is to get started on them. Beginning with material desires, we can try to restrict them, ie set some kind of a limit on them. When we allow our minds/hearts complete freedom, then sky is the limit for them. Control over the senses can be done in stages. We can gradually bring them under control by choosing to eat simple food, see what does not pollute the consciousness, speak what is beneficial, use sense organs within the limit of dharma, hear what benefits either materially or spiritually, etc. Controlling bad emotions is fundamental for successful meditation. And the mind is the vehicle which is used for meditation. Obviously, it must be healthy and controlled.
The following will generally help in cleaning up our interiors, which is required for a fruitful meditation. Strong faith in God has enormous force, which can counter many of our bad qualities. There must be a very compelling desire to meditate successfully. Only then it becomes possible to overcome all obstacles, some of which have been mentioned in this article. lastly, good physical health helps greatly. Bad health is a distraction in itself.
So what is the conclusionIJ Doing meditation is a highly beneficial act. But to do it successfully, we have to pay attention to many factors. Yes, all of them together may appear quite daunting but all we have to do in the beginning is to get started on them. If we do that, we will begin to succeed. Yes, the progress will be slow but benefits will begin to accrue in the same proportion. This will be highly encouraging, motivating us to attempt to do better. The best part of doing all these is that we become better persons — a achievement, nay boon. I welcome your comments.
Bishnoi is a spiritual writer and can be reached at spiritual@ajitbishnoi.com