How does one meditate?

After going through some turbulence in my life lately and starting the new year with bad news, I have decided, enough is enough and it's time to go deeper.

I found that sometimes meditation is not really meditation and sometimes the not meditating times can be really meditative.  Interesting huh?

I remember Shri Mataji said 'Meditation is effortless.'  

Advice for Effortless Meditation, London 1980

Advice for Effortless Meditation. London (UK), 1 January 1980. - Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

In the same way vibrations are coming, they are radiated. What you have to do is to expose yourself to it. The best way is not to put in any effort. Don’t worry at what point you have a problem. Say, many people during meditation, I have seen, if they catch somewhere they go on looking after it. You just don’t have to worry. You just let it go and it will work by itself. So you don’t have to put in any effort. This is what meditation is. Meditation means exposing yourself to God’s grace.

Now the grace itself knows how to cure you. It knows how to mend you, how to settle down itself to your own being, how to keep your Spirit kindled. It knows everything. So you don’t have to worry as to what you have to do or what name you have to take what mantra you have to do. In meditation you have to do absolutely effortless, expose yourself fully and you have to be absolutely thoughtless at that time.

Supposing, possibly, you might not be thoughtless. At that time you have to just watch your thoughts, but do not get involved into them. You will find gradually as the sun rises, darkness goes away and the sun’s rays go into every part and makes the whole place enlightened. In the same way your being will be completely enlightened but if you put in an effort at that time or try to stop something within you or try to give it a bandhan it will not.

Effortlessness is the only way into meditation, but you should not be lethargic about it – should be alert and watch it. The other side could be that people just doze off. No, you have to be alert. If you doze off, nothing will work out. That’s another side of it. If you are lazy about it, nothing will work out. You have to be alert and open, absolutely aware, completely effortless, absolutely effortless. If you are absolutely effortless, meditation will work the best.

Don’t think about your problem at all, whatever chakras you have, anything, just expose yourself to the vibration. See when the sun shines all the nature exposes itself to the sun and receives the sun – the sun’s rays start acting. In the same way the all-pervading power starts working. You are not to manoeuvre it, you are not to do anything about it. Just be effortless, absolutely effortless. Do not take any names (mantras). Do not bother if your Agnya is catching, this is catching, that is catching. It is working out.

It will go on working as long as it can and it will do the miracle that it has to do. You don’t have to worry about it. It knows its job. But when you put an effort you actually create a barrier for it. So no effort is needed, be absolutely effortless and say ‘let it go, let it go’ – that’s all.

No mantras are to be chanted. In case you find it’s impossible then you can take my name, but there is no need even. When you put your hands toward me that is the mantra, it is sufficient, this gesture itself is mantra. You see there is no need to say it more, but the thought in the mind the emotion, is what we spread our hands to that and it should work.

When this emotion is absolutely complete, there is no need to say any mantra – you go beyond it. So one has to be absolutely effortless, absolutely effortless.

Meditation is for your own ascent, is for your own capital gains that you have to have. But once you got it, you also achieve your powers. Like if you become the governor, you get the powers of the governor. At this time you don’t have to think about anybody else. You are not put your attention towards anybody else but just receive, just receive it. Do not think about any other problem, but that you have to be absolutely effortless. It would work the best on the people who are just receiving it.

You have problems, that’s why you are here, but you cannot solve them, they are to be solved by divine power. This must be understood fully, that we cannot solve our problems. So leave it in the hands of divine power and expose yourself effortlessly, absolutely effortlessly. “

Beautiful speech.  So it happened to me yesterday.  I was alone and watching TV.  My eyes were wide open but I wasn't following what was happening on the TV.  My mind went blank but was very much aware of the surroundings.  And all of a sudden, there was a gush of vibrations on top of my Sahasrara and it was very cool.  Then I realised, I was in meditation, despite not really in the correct place and time.

Sometimes, I think I took too much effort trying to create a meditative environment, trying to get into meditation, when meditation can be so easy and effortless.  And sometimes, I feel I am doing too much, clearing this and that and reading lots of mantras, and yet could not reach that state of meditation.

It's hard to explain how to get into that state.  Although I have experienced it before, it is not easy to experience it again.  But now I know, meditation can be anywhere.  It can even be at a noisy place too as long as you are not distracted by the noise.  But best if you can do it when you are alone as you don't want others to come and talk to you or disturb you.

Some people said, watching a baby sleeping is very meditative.  I have to agree.  When you watch them, you will see how calm and comforting a baby can be.  Your mind goes blank and again you can go into that state.  As long as you are not thinking, 'I need more money for this baby's care', 'I need to find a baby-sitter soon.'

So to sum up, to me, meditation can be anywhere, any place, anytime, as long as you can be thoughtless but still aware of your surroundings, can even be in meditation with your eyes open, as long as you are not thinking of what has happened or what is going to happen.  Best to be alone in order to achieve best state.  

Meditation is to be thoughtlessly aware.