A journalist asks what is the difference between Yoga and Meditation?
Originalstimme
02.01.2006 (01:28 - 46:30 Datei 1)
Maheshji says, nice question.
Most of the people who listen your lecture are Christians. So there must be something what they know. So they will like it and they will follow.
I am giving a simple example.
When you meet someone from your area in another country and you will say, I belong to your country, so you have suddenly a connection to him and your attitude becomes different. It is the same when the Christian world wants to know about meditation.
Meditation is nothing new. This is all given in the Bible. And Christ has given the highest emphasis upon this.
This is:
“Be still and know thyself.” (This is from the secret revelation of Johannes.)
But in that holy book this thought has not been elaborated, purified and simplified. How one can follow this, how one can make himself be still.
In this context I am explaining meditation.
By this one can achieve stillness.
I tell Maheshji: At the end of the class there was a short meditation and she had the feeling of peace.
Maheshji says, yes. Why?
Because in this way one can achieve silence. The frequency of your mind, the speed of your mind, your thoughts become less, become silent. And this silence increases this peace.
I ask Maheshji, can you say this little bit clearer?
Maheshji says:
You see, I am giving a very simple example which anybody can understand.
When you get deep sleep and you get up in the morning anybody who got proper sleep he feels much fresh. That is a fine feeling. He feels a new life, much more energetic.
The masters used to say:
Meditation is sleepless sleep.
Meditation is a higher state of mind, Samadhi is much higher.
I ask Maheshji, would you please explain little bit more meditation.
Maheshji says:
You see, in meditation as I have told, when you sleep is the frequency of thoughts almost less, paralysed, but is not totally. It is as much as sleep is deeper, you will get peace accordingly.
In normal sleep you used to see dreams, but in deep sleep there are less dreams. You see when you throughout whole night see dreams so this is almost failed. But in deep sleep there are no dreams, less dreams or minimum dreams. That is normally for an ordinary person not possible, which is called Shushupti. This is a very high state below meditation; mind gets rest.
You see, when you will see more dreams, so how mind will get rest. But when you will see less dreams mind will become rest.
You see, when you see more dreams, how mind will get rest? But when you will see less dreams mind will get rest. If you watch: In the waking state mind is continuously active. Your mind, you are reading, you are walking, you are talking, but even then your mind is doing something, is thinking something. The toughtline is going on.
In sleep this is something else, that’s why sleep is a most important part. This punishment, to reduce sleep, is a lot allowed to the whole world. If anybody will not be given sleep, he will die. Body become poisonous and mind will become mad, he will die.
So when you get sleep, better sleep, still better sleep, accordingly your mind gets pleasure and peace. And anybody can see that when he gets up the morning. Meditation is better, a higher state of mind in comparison to sleep.
Nobody can do meditation, meditation comes. The same as you cannot sleep, sleep comes. Sleep may come, sleep may not come. Nobody has command about it.
The same way with meditation; inner peace helps you so that the meditation state of mind may come. When your meditation becomes fine, deeper, your mental peace, your spiritual power, your behaviour, total become changed.
Even a criminal if he achieved that state, he will be totally changed. His mental state will be totally become full of compassion, love and forgiveness. Definitively his cruelty will become finished.
You see Saint Paul: Why and how he changed by only telling I am Christian. He put only his hands on his chest. He did only this. He did not enchant any mantra, no. Nobody can deny it. In Christianity mantras are called loks and that is meditation. He became Saint.
In my country one of the great murderer Valmiki, he became Maharishi Valmiki. He was a killer. And by his meditation he became a Saint. He became a very high spiritual accomplished Saint of India.
So it requires faith and practice.
Yes question than I can explain more.
She has no further question.
Maheshji asks: She can explain meditation?
No, she cannot.
I asked, would you please explain Maheshji?
I am just giving the definition which Maharishi Patanjali has given. Meditation is the very big subject, very small and very big, both.
Meditation is to check thoughts, this is meditation.
Slowly you can minimise, you can stop coming thoughts, and how this is meditation.
There are 112 ways to stop these thoughts, to check them.
I am giving a remote that means stop, a condensed use for avoiding birth (citta vrtti nirodhah). This is “Nirodhah” check; stop the continuity of thoughts in mind.
The Indian Saints have given definitions in a very short way. There is a very simple formula for Asanas, finished, it is in one capsule. They are called Yoga Sutras. They are very simple, but if you explain them there is no end.
As in Bible:
“Be still and know thyself.”
“Be still”, if you explain, this is not a joke, it requires days after days, hours after hours. How one can become still physically, mentally, from noise and from pollution. Because by all pollution mind becomes hesitated and body suffers. The mental capacity becomes disturbed.
So if you go deeper and deeper there is no end. But those who know, they used to say in this manner.
Christ has given this way.
Maharishi Patanjali has given in another way to stop your thoughts. This is meditation.
How?
There are several ways.
The benefit of meditation is to achieve the real object of life. One can be able to understand, know and to see the real truth.
What you are looking and seen that is not truth.
If you see bones are in your body but you cannot see your bones. But an X- ray machine can see your bones.
So one can see the truth, the reality, it requires mental preparation, mental peace, mental concentration, one pointed concentration. When you get that, you can enter in the arena, or you may say meditation comes and then meditation persists.
You see all Saints of the world to whatever religion they belong, they will get
- forgiveness,
- covertness,
- compassion,
- no hate.
- They always think for all
- not for themselves.
- They totally become spiritual because the boundaries of these materialistic false world, though they live in here. But mentally and their attitude becomes so different.
Yes question? I have given:
1. Concentration.
2. Meditation.
3. And I have also given the definition of meditation.
4. And also I have given the benefit of meditation.
5. There are so many other benefits, but because in Christianity you don't believe upon rebirth so I am not taking that. You will become confused and they will become confused.
So I have given only you those things which will not create any controversy in listeners mind.
Her question is: How often you have to meditate to get good results?
Maheshji says, and at least three times the day, if possible, at least once, twice. As much as you put sugar in the milk, the milk becomes sweeter. That means you are moving towards God's house.
She asks: How long you have to sit for meditation?
Maheshji says: The time of meditation should not be forceful prolonged. At first you decide to sit without giving stress to your body. And after some training this time will automatically increase, then do not reduce it. At first you start 15 minutes, half an hour, one hour; for beginners minimum 15 minutes.
How should I do exercises, how should I do Yoga?
Maheshji says:
Yes you can do Yoga, postures and breathing. And you can also do separate postures, but before meditation some breathing is most important, that will give better and quicker results. But when you want you can do.
How do you know if you are doing Yoga or if you are doing meditation? When it is a point when meditation starts?
Maheshji says:
You see the leather of the Yoga has eight steps:
- Yamas and Niyamas
- Asanas
- Pranayama
- Pratyahara
- Dharana (concentration)
- Dhyana (contemplation)
- Meditation
- Samadhi
Yoga is to join.
I am giving a very simple illustration.
You have purchased so many things, so you want to know how much you have expended. So you have to put all expenses and make a final sum. So you collect, you count. So Yoga is to join. For that, means to whom you join, because you have become two, God and you. But this is wrong:This dualism is being conquered, vanished and finished.
The science which conquers this, finishes this, destroys this, that is Yoga science.
Yoga makes dualism to oneness.
So this explains the method of Yoga. So don't confuse yourself.
This is one of the ingredients of Yoga, meditation, posters, Yamas and Niyamas, Pratyahara, Samadhi.
Once you are going to explain, you have to give lecture only upon meditation. If you will try to cover all steps, you will become confused. You see she is still under confusion by this word Yoga.
You see as physics, chemistry and biology. But physics covers so many things.
As I toldYoga means to finish this dualism.
As you say physics, in physics you don’t read biology neither chemistry, neither music.
This Yoga covers so many steps to achieve that goal of Yoga. And then you are able to become one, oneness.
The final object of Yoga is to conquer this dualistic outlook. In one Sutra this is given, in the Sanatan – Philosophy.
It is the definition Yoga to stop your thoughts to zero.
In the Bhagavad-Gita Lord Krishna told:
All living beings have the same soul as you.
You should feel this, there is no difference.
Whatever it is, all living - and all non living beings; what you are looking and what you are not looking, means absolute creation.
If you see your Atman your soul, this is Yoga.
This is the object of Yoga:
- To achieve the reality.
- To see the reality.
- To become reality.
Yes you can ask any other question. So you can speak English, if you have any question you can talk to me.
