by Sri Bmal Mohanty
VOL No. 12
July 2001

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - ON MEDITATION - Part 1

The Object of meditation.

"Based on lectures by Sri Bimal Mohanty"

  But mere concentration on any subject is not the spiritual definition of meditation. A mother may concentrate on thoughts of her child's welfare, a lover may concentrate on tryst with the beloved, an evil man may concentrate on avaricious ways of acquiring things from another. These can not be in the category of meditation. Why?. Because they do not contribute to our evolutionary process, our upliftment towards a higher being.

Therefore, spiritual meditation has to be related to pursuit of a higher goal - our only goal, which is Satchidananda. The truth, its realization and the permanent bliss that results after realization.

What is that source of permanent bliss? The Sanatana philosophy recognizes Paramatman or Bramhan as this source and is of the view that this object of meditation is nothing but the Self, the Atma, beginning from Jivatma, the individual self and culminating on Paramatma or the Supreme Self , or The Bramhan.

Many people give many interpretations of what is meditation. This english word meditation really has no one-to-one translation in Sanatana philosophy. That is because the Sanatana philosophy looks at things from a very different standpoint, questioning everything from its root before accepting. Some say meditation is simply thinking of God, some say thinking of your own physical entity, some say simply imagining a source of light and removing all other thoughts. Some even say that making yourself totally mentally blank is meditation, some talk of introspection of one's own acts etc. etc. However one of the appropriate definitions which covers all is what we can call "Bramha chintan"- contemplating on Bramhan the consciousness. Meditation is Bramha chintan, meaning thereby "fixing one's mind on Bramhan".

Bramha Jnana or Bramhan Knowledge is described as Adhyatma. Adhyatma is the true knowledge.

Why go for Adhyatma ? Because, the very purpose of our existence is to evolve to the highest state of supramental consciousness, which is Satchidananda. The truth, its realization and the resulting bliss. Satchidananda sums up the highest aspirations of every kind.

To be able to reach Satchidananda it is imperative to understand and have the knowledge of the truth which happens to be the essential constituent of this highest state of evolution. This knowledge or the true Jnana or the Jnana of the ultimate truth, or the Adhyatma jnana is what we must acquire and what we seek. Nothing else but the Adhyatma Jnana which we must be after.