Just as brushing teeth and bathing are essential for physical hygiene, external cleanliness and robust health; cleansing of mind is essential for good mental health and hygiene. Mantra japa and meditation are one of the means by which we cleanse our mind and loosen its hold over us. When we do mantra japa, we chant the mantra silently within ourselves and allow the vibration of the mantra to work through the physical, mental and emotional bodies and heal us. When we meditate, we watch our minds passively and see the onrush of thoughts in our mind. We do not judge ourselves by our thoughts. We merely watch them without reacting with the understanding that we are not our thoughts or mind. By not identifying with our mind, we learn to control the direction of our thoughts and actions and do the right thing even if the mind screams at us to do otherwise. Meditation is an extremely essential part of our life and must be done daily with sincerity.
It is important to create a special place where we sit for mantra japa and meditation. It can be a corner of a room or a worship room where we sit daily for meditation. It is highly recommended for beginners to sit for meditation in the same place and at the same time. By doing so, they condition their body and mind to automatically go into the meditative state without much effort. This training is very much like drinking tea at 4 noon daily and we know when it is four o’clock and our body demands tea without looking at the watch.
When we meditate in the same place daily, the place gets charged with the meditative energy. Each time, we sit for meditation in the same place, the place gets charged more and more. These energies can be easily felt when we enter this place from other areas of our home. So we create our own sacred place for meditation. When we enter this sacred space and sit for meditation, our mind calms down easily and we have a good meditation. Over a period of time, the vibrating energies of this place help us to go deeper into meditation effortlessly.
Once we decide on a spot or room for meditation, it becomes a permanent spot. We should use this spot only for meditation and not for any other activity unless there is an emergency. When we do other activities in the sacred spot, we change the energy of the place. Every place has its own energy. The energies of a play ground are very different from that of a kitchen. The energies of a meditation room are different from that of the living room. Almost all of us have experienced the calming and peaceful energies of a temple or a place of worship.
The energy of the meditation room must be maintained and increased by regular meditation. With each meditation session that we have in our sacred space, the energy build- up increases. We can also enhance the energy of the meditation spot or room by other means:
Placing pictures of Gods, Gurus and Saints which inspire us to meditate better
We can play soft meditation music, mantra, classical music or chants by the Guru
Burn incense or fragrances or camphor
Keep an oil lamp or ghee lamp or candle lighted
Placing crystals
Keeping fresh flowers
Keeping the place clear of all clutter
Have like minded friends gathered in for silent meditation once a week or month
Through meditation we experience that we are not the mind or thoughts but the soul. This great secret which is known to all is rarely experienced by anyone. This can be easily experienced when we meditate regularly. Let us create our sacred space and do our SitaRam mantra japa and meditation regularly. Let us receive Grace and know that we are the Atman.
