Introduction to meditation

chakras

“It is as if the earth meditated, the atmosphere meditated
It is as if the sky meditated, the water meditated
It is as if the mountains meditated”
Chandogya Upanishad

Of all the forms of yoga, meditation is the most direct and efficient means of achieving inner transformation and renewal. Of course, renewal and transformation can be experienced without meditation. For example, childhood and adolescence offer moments when reality appears to be free of any concept and we are only conscious of being conscious. But these moments are fleeting, and do not depend on our will.

Meditation seeks to nurture those moments where reality, bliss and knowledge meld together. Meditation is, first, an exercise, meaning a practice whose efficacy increases with repetition. More specifically, meditation is a mental exercise, whose main purpose is to develop one’s capacity to let go of the first thoughts that come to mind, and to concentrate instead what is essential: pure reality, pure bliss and pure knowledge.

The universe is a network of particles that are constantly moving, and it is in fact this very motion that sustains the coherence of the universe. Each of us is both an element in this universe and also a universe within himself/herself. Meditation allows us to return to a state of harmony with the universe and, in doing so, to develop an understanding of our self, of others, and of the universe.

For this reason, these exercises are inherently safe: they awaken our motivation for creativity and love while extinguishing any fear and lethargy within us.