Stress is nothing but an absence of the present moment
A mind which is not in the present moment is a stressed mind. Our mind is usually either in the past or in the future. We regret about our past and we feel anxious about our future. The expectations that we set, and the perceptions that we have, cause our mind to travel away from the present moment. There are different types of stress situations that we experience. Broadly speaking, however, we can consider two categories of stress: physical (for example: BP, diabetes, psycho-somatic diseases) and mental (such as insomnia, depression, anger).
The roots of this stress are in our expectations and intentions to achieve something. We put a lot of effort, and then we refuse to accept the results — but expectation and acceptance are the two faces of the same coin. Bhagavad Gita says: Do your job, and then don’t worry about the results. Your expectations and acceptance need to go like parallel tracks of the train, so that the train does not derail. When you don’t have the balance of the two, you create stressful moments for yourself.
Your ego is the image you have created of yourself. You self-glorify yourself. When the ego is hurt, there is stress. We need to dissolve this ego, and accept everyone as Gods or Masters. We have our own perception towards objects, persons, situations or events. But think of the story about the four blind men who were asked to give an opinion about elephant — each man had a limited perception, and perceived only one part of the whole. The lack of holistic approach leads to misunderstanding and confusion. Who is responsible for all this? There is no-one responsible for the stress we undergo, except for ourselves. Therefore, Self study (knowledge about the Self) is the most important study we have to undergo. The rest is very easy.
The State of the Mind Before and After Meditation
When you are on a Mumbai local train, it is the crowd that carries you in or out of the train. You are unable to realize who are the passengers, where & why they are going, what is their relationship with you, or what is their impact on you. This is exactly the state of our mind before meditation — an unconscious mind. To use the train metaphor, the number of people in the train station can be compared to the number of thoughts in the mind before meditation.
In just one session of meditation we can clear the mind, we can train it to observe the breath and to stop following the thoughts. After meditation, the mind can be compared to a bus station with fewer passengers, more visibility, understanding, and a possibility to interact. We gain awareness and understanding about our own feelings and our own thought process.
In meditation, you open up and see: It is my perception, my thought. No-one has to tell you that you are angry, because you are aware of it — you know it yourself. No-one has to teach you what is right or wrong. You undergo a process of self-realization. You arrive back home! There is a sense of awareness, self-awareness. Any thought will be accepted consciously and engaged with consciously. This is an evolution of consciousness.
The Benefits of Meditation
Meditation gives complete health. As per the definition of the WHO, a mere absence of physical disease is not health. We need to achieve five types of health: physical, mental, social, spiritual and financial health. In the absence of one or more of these, we cannot completely enjoy life.
When you start meditating, you start noticing an energy flow: the Soul and the Over-Soul (Paramatma) connect, and there is a direct download of energy. Your spiritual experience, energy levels, and aura expand, the mind cleanses and becomes calm. Cosmic energy enters your body and heals it. You start developing a very beautiful aura around you, which attracts people. As a result, your financial health is easily achieved. The formula is simple: BUY ONE (meditation) —> GET FIVE (benefits) FREE. Once you start meditating, you develop awareness of what is right or wrong. As you progress, you open the third eye, and develop intuition.
The Chakra System and the Chakra Activation Process
Kundalini awakening is a natural, normal process. There are seven chakras (beyond those, there are five more: one below the body, and four above our physical layer). We usually focus on the main seven chakras. Our body can be compared to a tank of water, with seven-layer taps. When we meditate, the Soul connects with the Super-Soul. A flow of energy occurs, starting from the bottom up (filling the body like a tank). The lowest tap that opens is the one of the Muladhara chakra.
There are three main ingredients of the human life: Body, Mind and the Soul, or the physical, mental and emotional body. Shushumna nadi is the energy flow on the backbone of the human body. The physical body and the mental body are energy depleting, leading to an imbalance. A chakra is a conjunction of the three bodies. Every chakra thus has three layers: mental, physical and cosmic layer. However, there is always some imbalance there. Every person is living life in one of these chakras. It is therefore important to understand what each chakra represents.
Muladhara chakra gets activated in meditation. This chakra is the foundational layer, related to your physical body and the blood system. It is associated with the fear factor — what makes you either aggressive (hyper-activation) or fearful (under-activation). Its imbalance is linked to immunity problems, including cancer. Muladhara is called the earth element.
Swadisthana chakra is the seat of emotions, of your relationships with society and family. It is a water element. It is related to the kidneys, spleen, liver, glands, sexual organs, hormones, emotional body. It can heal your emotional life, including your relationships with others (mood swings, and depressions can get healed after an activation of Swadishtana).
Manipura chakra is the seat of your ego, self-discipline. It is linked to your bones, skin, and muscles. Politicians and egoistic persons are living in this centre.
Anahata chakra — once this center opens, all the inner fighting, fears and chatter disappear. Noise comes to a standstill. You become naturally blissful and still.
Vishuddha chakra — throat (your communication layer). It is the barrier between space and yourself. Once this center opens, you become better orator, motivational or leadership speaker. Thyroid problem gets healed.
Agna chakra — this is the seat of your inner consciousness, the knowledge center. It is the knowledge eye. You start understanding where you are, where you are going in life. You develop intuition.
Sahasrara chakra — center of the Universal Consciousness — once you activate it, you no longer experience any difference between you and the World.
How to Meditate
Anyone can meditate anywhere and anytime. There is a golden formula: the number of minutes you spend daily in meditation should be equal to your age (a 30-year-old person should meditate 30 minutes per day in one sitting). When you are small child, you are always in the present moment, so you are like a God. You do not need to sit in meditation very long. Children neither carry forward the past, nor do they worry about the future. They are always in the present moment. With age, however, you build your own limitations. As you become an adult, your mind gets conditioned. You can lift a small sampling with your fingers, but you need a lot of energy to uproot a big banyan. Such is the nature of your belief system — with age, you need to meditate longer, in order to uproot your belief system.
Give time to yourself. Sit comfortably, and do not struggle. There is no asana required. Close your eyes. The eyes give away 80% of energy, your fingers 10%, and your legs another 10%. By crossing the fingers and legs, you preserve energy. Utilize the Full Moon energy, because our bodies contain 75% water. During a Full Moon night you are having a high tide. The hormones are the water element in our body. Meditate more on a Full Moon night, so that you get three times more benefits. Pyramid meditation and group meditation are also three times more powerful than a regular meditation.
Anyone and everyone can teach meditation. It is easy and quick. Close your eyes, cross your legs and fingers, and observe your natural breath. Meditation can happen anywhere. People who are looking for meditation, will naturally come to you. They say that, when the student is ready, the teacher is ready. The reverse is also true: When the teacher is ready, the student is ready. Teaching someone meditation will make meditation a 100 times more powerful for you. Before you die, you can enlighten 1000s of people. A lot of energy is channeled through you. The manifestation power increases tremendously.
About the Speaker: Mr. Suresh Kalburgi began his meditation journey a decade ago. He is an IT professional with experience in the Electrical, Mechanical and Computer Industry. He is co-founder of Digicomp. He has also served as a CEO of Regenersis.
You can now watch the two-part Masterclass series on Correlation of Body and Mind organized by Pyramid Valley International and delivered by Suresh Kalburgi here:
Part 1: http://y2u.be/6fZOC7JQ0ys
Part 2: http://y2u.be/Kjo-EXshWtw