Who am I – Where did I come from – What is my life’s purpose - Where am I going.
We spend almost every waking moment seeking the answers from outside of ourselves. The cacophony of answers from outside can confuse and may even at times overwhelm us.
Meditation allows us to go within ourselves, within our mind and find the answers within – the eternal truths.
Do we have a tool that helps us to understand (the state of) the mind? We do – It is the breath. And what a wonderful tool it is indeed – our breath - one that we are all equipped with.
A 2500-year-old meditation technique (Vipassana or Insight) allows one to develop insight into our mind by first developing concentration and continuous awareness of the breath.
One may be tempted to spend hours, days and even years studying the theory of any subject before beginning its actual practice in the correct way.
The simplicity, power and proof of the Vipassana technique can be appreciated by actually participating in a 10 day course at a centre near you. There is no quick and easy way to understand the technique. It does require 10 days of practice to calm the restless and unsettled habit pattern of the mind. The guidance of a teacher is immensely beneficial to clarify any doubts that may arise during the practice. We require the guidance of a teacher or master when learning to swim, drive or fly. Why do we imagine we can learn to meditate by ourselves?
So spend 10 days to clearly understand the practice. You may (or may not) then decide to read more to understand the theory. Avoid the temptation to go into details of the theory of a particular kind of food before you have tasted it and found it to be to your taste. I liken my personal experience of Vipassana to a birth blind man trying to understand a beautiful scene being described theoretically by someone who can see. The blind man needs to be equipped with the gift of sight before he can appreciate the true reality and beauty of the world around. In the same way we need to be equipped with the practical tools of Insight through our own personal internal experience of reality, of truth.
Vipassana Teachers in the tradition of Mr SN Goenka do not receive any remuneration whatsoever. They do it because they themselves benefited greatly and are therefor highly motivated to share their learning by an overpowering feeling of sympathetic joy.
Be Still & Know. Still the unsettled mind and realise the bliss that arises as you uncover the answers to those Big questions.
Sri Tulasi is a professional astrologer and motivational speaker having more than 15 years of experience.