Recently I finished reading an awesome book on meditation and its technique. The book “Meditation and Its Methods” by Swami Vivekananda. The book is written specially for beginners in meditation. The book is written in two sections, first section talks about what is meditation, why it is important and how it is performed. First part covers the very basic techniques of meditation. Second part is devoted to spirituality and how meditation is the best way to connect with God.
As I have a habit of collecting good notes, thoughts and quotes from every book which I read so here is highlights of my favourite notes from the book.
- The mind is like a lake, and every stone that drops into it raises waves. These waves do not let us see what we are. The full moon is reflected in the water of the lake, but the surface is so disturbed that we do not see the reflection clearly. Let it be calm. Do not let nature raise the wave. Keep quiet, and then after a little while she will give you up. Then we know what we are. God is there already, but the mind is so agitated, always running after the senses.
- What right has a man to say he has a soul if he does not feel it, or that there is a God if he does not see Him? If there is a God we must see Him, if there is a soul we must perceive it; otherwise it is better not to believe. It is better to be an outspoken atheist than a hypocrite.
- According to the Yogis, there are three principal nerve currents: one they call the Ida, the other the Pingala, and the middle one the Sushumna, and all these are inside the spinal column.
- Make it a rule not to eat until you have practised; if you do this, the sheer force of hunger will break your laziness.
- Tell your body that it is strong, tell your mind that it is strong, and have unbounded faith and hope in yourself.
- First hear, then understand, and then, leaving all distractions, shut your minds to outside influences, and devote yourselves to developing the truth within you.
- To control the mind you must go deep down into the subconscious mind, classify and arrange in order all the different impressions, thoughts, etc., stored up there, and control them. This is the first step. By the control of the subconscious mind you get control over the conscious.
- The living God is within you, and yet you are building churches and temples and believing all sorts of imaginary nonsense. The only God to worship is the human soul in the human body.
- Do you feel for others? If you do, you are growing in oneness. If you do not feel for others, you may be the most intellectual giant ever born, but you will be nothing;
- Feel like Christ and you will be a Christ; feel like Buddha and you will be a Buddha. It is feeling that is the life, the strength, the vitality, without which no amount of intellectual activity can reach God. It is through the heart that the Lord is seen, and not through the intellect.
- The cause of all miseries from which we suffer is desire. You desire something, and the desire is not fulfilled; and the result is distress. If there is no desire, there is no suffering.
