TRANQUILITY
TAILOR-MADE PRACTICES
Our system of meditation is based on the principle that there are no two people, no two individuals that are alike, even identical twins have different characteristics, and each one is emitting a different sound. If a person has to be given a practice, if that practice is given on the analysis of that sound, the evaluation of that sound, then the practice could be tailor-made for the person because the sound a person emits is used as a stethoscope to find where the imbalances are between the body, mind and the spiritual Self. That is why thousands of people throughout the world now are experiencing great benefit because our practices are personally prescribed.
In our movement, we do not have one system that applies to all. We know that that is not at all workable. Every person is a unique being. Every person has within himself Divinity, and that Divinity does not require development, it requires unfoldment. We are veiling a deep source of energy- call it energy if you wish to – call it divine energy – call it God as these are all labels.
We have to remove the veils and unfold ourselves so that these energies can shine through and add value to our lives. Because man is born to be happy, man is born to enjoy. We must enjoy the joy that is inherent within us.
Meditational practices are simple practices. Everything in life is simple – It is we that make it complicated. The very favourite saying of mine is, “It is so simple to be happy but so difficult to be simple.”
The essential truth of all religion is but one. The fundamental truth is the same. So, if a person is a Christian, we encourage the person to become a better Christian. If a person is a Judaist, we encourage him to become a better Judaist. If he is a Buddhist, we encourage him to become a better Buddhist. The whole idea is to activate the divine principle that is within himself.
All religions, all theologies say this, and to quote from the Bible, they say, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven within and all else shall be added onto thee.” That is echoed in every religion in different ways. For example, in Hinduism, it is expressed in the same manner. So essentially, all religions are one. The whole idea is to find the essential, basic truth, and by understanding the essential basic truth, one understands everything that is really to be understood.
When we dive deep within ourselves, we do not come back empty-handed. We never come back empty-handed. It is like spending half an hour in a perfume factory. If we spend half an hour in a perfume factory, when we come out, we will be smelling like perfume. It is quite natural.
When we sit down to mediate, some of you would go through all kinds of experiences. Experience a hum or various sounds if the auditory sense is developed to a certain extent, or visually one might experience all sorts of things. But this is no criteria. It just means that we have dived a bit deeper than what the conscious mind is capable of.
TRANQUILITY
But to reach the state of the Absolute is, of course, a different thing. If you experience the Absolute even for a moment in meditation, it energizes you. It regenerates you. It rejuvenates you even if the experience is just momentary. So, you sit for thirty minutes and the experience, that particular experience might just be for a second or two. But it is so powerful. If there is a set of open electric wires, you do not need to hold it for an hour to get a shock. You just touch it.
That is the process of meditation, and that is what happens. We do not attach importance to the experiences in meditation, but we attach importance to what happens in our waking state of life and how the quality of life is improved. Meditation gives you the strength and the energy, and then it makes you face yourself in the mirror to find your faults because we tend to sweep most of our faults under the carpet, as the saying would go.
It makes us face our faults, and as the saying goes again, proper diagnosis is half the cure. When we have that, through the wakened state of life, we very consciously make some effort to better the areas or strengthen the areas in which we are weak.
In our system, it is the meditation you do that helps. The principle of the Law of Grace comes into play. It gives you the energy for self-help and things like that that leads to a balanced personality, and a balanced personality is a joyous personality.
For example, to hear someone laughing is like a brook bubbling over. It is so beautiful. That is such an expression of joy and these things people can experience and live every day throughout their lives. Because if Divinity is omnipresent, He is present within us, He is present everywhere.
But it is only in the realization of that and through these techniques, where we bring out these latent powers and allow Divinity to manifest itself in such a beautiful way, that there are no problems. Life is a blessing. It is a blessing.
… Gururaj Ananda Yogi: Satsang US 1977 – 37