Medi(s)t tion

( You dont
have to change
your religion )

50 Tathaastu
W h e n I c a m e to this country as 1. Meditation
an exchange professor in 1959, I was on a Passage
The heart of this program is
invited to speak to many groups of meditation: half an hour every
people on the source of Indias ancient morning, as early as is convenient. Do
not increase this period; if you want to
civilization. At the end of every talk a few meditate more, have half an hour in the
thoughtful men and women would come evening also, preferably at the very end
of the day.
up and ask me, How can we bring these
Set aside a room in your home to be
changeless values into our own daily life? used only for meditation and spiritual
reading. After a while, that room will
You dont have to change your religion, become associated with meditation in
your mind, so that simply entering it
I assured them, to do what I have done. The will have a calming effect. If you cannot
method of meditation I learned is universal. spare a room, have a particular corner.
Whichever you choose, keep your
meditation place clean, well-ventilated,
and reasonably austere.

Passage
Sit in a straight-backed chair or on the
floor and gently close your eyes. If you
sit on the floor, you may need to
support your back lightly against a wall.

Meditation
You should be comfortable enough to
forget your body, but not so
comfortable that you become drowsy.
Whatever position you choose, be sure
EKNATH EASWARAN to keep your head, neck, and spinal
column erect in a straight line. As
concentration deepens, the nervous
It can be practiced within the mainstream of system relaxes and you may begin to
fall asleep. It is important to resist this
any religious tradition, and outside all of tendency right from the beginning, by
them as well. drawing yourself up and away from
your back support until the wave of
I began by teaching simply what I myself sleep has passed.

had been practicing for over a decade, Once you have closed your eyes, begin
to go slowly, in your mind, through
illustrating from the scriptures and one of the passages from the scriptures
mystics of the worlds great religions. or the great mystics which I
recommend for use in meditation. I
Very quickly this became systematized usually suggest learning first the Prayer
of Saint Francis of Assisi:
into eight points, the first and most
Lord, make me an instrument of thy
important of which is meditation. peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Tathaastu 51
 Medi(s)t tion
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
A mantram, or holy name, is
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
a powerful spiritual formula
Where there is sadness, joy. which has the capacity to
O divine Master, grant that I may not
so much seek transform consciousness when it is
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand, repeated silently in the mind. There
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive; is nothing magical about this. It is
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to simply a matter of practice, as you can
eternal life.
verify for yourself.
In memorizing the prayer, it may be
helpful to remind yourself that you are
not addressing some extraterrestrial
being outside you. The kingdom of
heaven is within us, and the Lord is
enshrined in the depths of our own
consciousness. In this prayer we are
calling deep into ourselves, appealing to
the spark of the divine that is our real
nature.
While you are meditating, do not
follow any association of ideas or try to
think about the passage. If you are
giving your attention to each word, the
meaning cannot help sinking in. When
distractions come, do not resist them,
but give more attention to the words of
the passage. If your mind strays from
the passage entirely, bring it back gently
to the beginning and start again.
Whenever you are angry or afraid,
When you reach the end of the passage,
you may use it again as necessary to nervous or worried or resentful, repeat
complete your period of meditation
until you have memorized others. It is the mantram until the agitation
helpful to have a wide variety of
passages for meditation, drawn from subsides. The mantram works to
the worlds major traditions. Each
passage should be positive and
steady the mind, and all these
practical, drawn from a major scripture
or from a mystic of the highest stature.
emotions are power running
The secret of meditation is simple: we against you which the mantram
become what we meditate on. When
you use the Prayer of Saint Francis can harness and put to work.
52 Tathaastu
every day in meditation, you are driving the words deep into 3. Slowing Down
your consciousness. Eventually they become an integral part
Hurry makes for tension, insecurity, inefficiency, and
of your personality, which means they will find constant
superficial living. I believe that it also makes for illness, not
expression in what you do, what you say, and what you think.
least because it puts us under increased stress. To guard
against hurrying through the day, start the day early and
2. Repetition of a Mantram simplify your life so that you do not try to fill your time with
A mantram, or holy name, is a powerful spiritual formula more than you can do. When you find yourself beginning to
which has the capacity to transform consciousness when it is speed up, repeat your mantram to help you slow down.
repeated silently in the mind. There is nothing magical about
It is important here not to confuse slowness with sloth, which
this. It is simply a matter of practice, as you can verify for
breeds carelessness, procrastination, and general inefficiency.
yourself.

Every religious tradition has a mantram, often more than one.

For Christians, the name of Jesus itself is a powerful
mantram. Catholics also use Hail Mary or Ave Maria. Jews
may use Barukh attah Adonai, Blessed art thou, O Lord, or
the Hasidic formula Ribono shel olam, Lord of the universe.
Muslims repeat the name of Allah or Allahu akbar, God is
great. Probably the oldest Buddhist mantram is Om mani
padme hum, referring to the jewel in the lotus of the heart.
In Hinduism, among many choices, I recommend Rama,
Rama, Rama, which was Mahatma Gandhis mantram, or the
longer mantram I received from my own spiritual teacher, my
grandmother:

Har Krishna, Har Krishna,

Krishna Krishna, Har Har,
Har Rama, Har Rama,
Rama Rama, Har Har.
Select a mantram that appeals to you deeply. In many
traditions it is customary to take the mantram used by your
spiritual teacher. Then, once you have chosen, do not change
your mantram. Otherwise you will be like a person digging
shallow holes in many places; you will never go deep enough
to find water.

Repeat your mantram silently whenever you get the chance:

while walking, while waiting, while doing mechanical chores
like washing dishes, and especially when you are falling asleep. In slowing down we should attend meticulously to details,
You will find for yourself that this is not mindless repetition. giving our very best even to the smallest undertaking.
The mantram will help to keep you relaxed and alert during
the day, and when you can fall asleep in it, the mantram will 4. One-Pointed Attention
go on working for you throughout the night as well. Doing more than one thing at a time divides attention and
Whenever you are angry or afraid, nervous or worried or fragments consciousness. When we read and eat at the same
resentful, repeat the mantram until the agitation subsides. time, for example, part of our mind is on what we are reading
The mantram works to steady the mind, and all these and part on what we are eating; we are not getting the most
emotions are power running against you which the mantram from either activity. Similarly, when you are talking with
can harness and put to work. someone, give that person your full attention. These are little

Tathaastu 53
 Medi(s)t tion
things, but together they help to unify consciousness and
deepen concentration.
Everything we do should be worthy of our full attention.
When the mind is one-pointed it will be secure, free from
tension, and capable of the concentration that is the mark of
genius in any field.

5. Training the Senses

In the food we eat, the books and magazines we read, the
movies we see, all of us are subject to the conditioning of rigid
likes and dislikes. To free ourselves from this conditioning, we
need to learn to change our likes and dislikes freely when it is
in the best interests of those around us or ourselves. We
should choose what we eat by what our body needs, for
example, rather than by what the taste buds demand.
Similarly, the mind eats too, through the senses. In this age of
mass media, we need to be particularly discriminating in what
we read and what we go to see for entertainment, for we
become in part what our senses take in.

6. Putting Others First

Dwelling on ourselves builds a wall between ourselves and 8. Spiritual Reading
others. Those who keep thinking about their needs, their We are so surrounded today by a low concept of what the
wants, their plans, their ideas cannot help becoming lonely human being is that it is essential to give ourselves a higher
and insecure. The simple but effective technique I image. For this reason I recommend devoting half an hour or
recommend is to learn to put other people first, beginning so each day to reading the scriptures and the writings of the
within the circle of your family and friends, where there is great mystics of all religions. Just before bedtime, after
already a basis of love on which to build. When husband and evening meditation, is a particularly good time, because the
wife try to put each other first, for example, they are not only
thoughts you fall asleep in will be with you throughout the
moving closer to each other. They are also removing the
night.
barriers of their ego-prison, which deepens their relationships
with everyone else as well. There is a helpful distinction between works of inspiration
and works of spiritual instruction. Inspiration may be drawn
7. Spiritual Fellowship from every tradition or religion. Instructions in meditation
The Sanskrit word for this is satsang, association with those and other spiritual disciplines, however, can differ and even
who are spiritually oriented. When we are trying to change seem to contradict each other. For this reason, it is wise to
our life, we need the support of others with the same goal. If confine instructional reading to the works of one teacher or
you have friends who are meditating along the lines suggested path. Choose your teacher carefully. A good teacher lives what
here, it is a great help to meditate together regularly. Share he or she teaches, and it is the students responsibility to
your times of entertainment too; relaxation is an important exercise sound judgment. Then, once you have chosen, give
part of spiritual living. your teacher your full loyalty.

54 Tathaastu
In the food we eat, the books This eight-point program, if it is
followed sincerely and systematically,
and magazines we read, the begins to transform personality almost
immediately, leading to profoundly
movies we see, all of us are beneficial changes which spread to
those around us.
subject to the conditioning of rigid Adapted from Conquest of Mind, 1988, 2001;
reprinted by permission of Nilgiri Press, CA.
likes and dislikes. To free ourselves
from this conditioning, we need to
learn to change our likes and dislikes
freely when it is in the best interests of Eknath
Easwaran
those around us or ourselves. (1910-1999) is
respected around
the world as the
originator of
passage
meditation and an authentic guide
to timeless wisdom. His method is a
practical approach that fits naturally
into any faith, philosophy, or lifestyle,
enabling us to bring universal ideals
into daily life. Easwaran was a
professor of English literature and
well-known in India as a writer and
speaker before coming to the U.S. in
1959 on the Fulbright exchange
program. In 1960, he began giving
regular classes on meditation in the
For this reason I recommend devoting San Francisco Bay Area, including a
course at the University of California.
half an hour or so each day to reading In 1961, he founded the Blue
Mountain Center of Meditation,
the scriptures and the writings of the which carries on his work today

great mystics of all religions. Just through publications and retreats.

Although known primarily through
before bedtime, after evening his books, Easwaran has also personally
touched the lives of thousands of people
meditation, is a particularly good who have heard him speak. Easwaran
is also well-known for his translations
time, because the thoughts you of the classics of Indian Spirituality
The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads
fall asleep in will be with you and The Dhammapada, all bestsellers
in their field. www.easwaran.org
throughout the night.
Tathaastu 55