For this experiment you will need a piano and a trumpet. In our previous episode we explored the mechanics of a piano, and how its strings produce various notes according to the frequency to which they are tuned.
Now to our experiment: first press down the far right hand pedal on the piano with your foot, so that all of the strings of your piano are now free to vibrate. Bring your trumpet so it is pointing right inside the piano, close to the strings, and play a loud “C” on your trumpet.
Something amazing happens. The piano, without any of its strings being touched, “sings” the same note of “C” back to you, as though echoing the trumpet.
This is due to the principle of “sympathetic resonance.” The “C” string, without being touched, is enveloped by the vibration of the trumpet’s “C” and recognises that vibration as its own. Thrilled, it vibrates and resonates in sympathy, emitting a sound much subtler and sweeter than its usual sound produced when it is struck.
This same principle is seen in operation with Indian stringed instruments, for example the sitar. Sitting above the bridge and frets of the sitar, are 6 or 7 main strings which are plucked and produce the melodic line. Meanwhile, underneath the bridge and frets is a whole series of “sympathetic strings” which are not touched by the player. These are tuned to each note of the scale, and resonate when their corresponding note is played on the main, plucked strings, thus setting up this wonderful background resonance which is such a feature of classical Indian music, as though representing the cosmic ground of being, or omnipresent God, behind the “melody” of our world and life.
Recently I was driving along the freeway, my mind a tangled knot of problems, anxieties and stresses of the day. Suddenly, with the distant mountain range for its stage, was an unutterably glorious sunset. Spontaneously I let out an “Ah!”, my mind’s petty preoccupations arrested and banished in a panoply of glory, beauty and serenity.
Let’s pause now for an experiment. You will need a piano and a trumpet.
A piano has many strings. Each note of the scale vibrates at its own particular frequency; the higher the frequency, the higher the note. Likewise, each string of the piano is tuned to its own frequency, corresponding to the various notes. The longer, thicker strings are tuned to lower notes, while the shorter, thinner, more tightly wound strings are higher notes. The “A” string above middle “C” on the piano, for example, vibrates at 440 times per second, so when it is struck, its vibration produces the sound of “A”, which then carries through the air and reaches our ear as the note “A”.
The piano’s strings are prevented from sounding by a series of felt “dampers” which press against the strings so they cannot vibrate. When the piano’s key is pressed, the damper of the corresponding note is released from its string, so it is now free to vibrate and produce sound. Then, almost simultaneously, a felt hammer strikes the string, setting it into vibration and releasing its note to the world. This note continues until the finger is taken off the key, returning the damper to once again mute the string.
The piano has three pedals. When the right hand pedal is depressed, all of the dampers are released, leaving all the strings free to vibrate until the dampers are returned.
In ancient times, there was a most rare and precious jewel, renowned throughout all the lands. It had many owners over the years: it was traded for great riches; bestowed as a highest reward; even battles were fought over its possession. In time, this jewel came universally to be regarded as the most precious object in all existence.
The jewel was captured by a particular king, who fancied himself as ruler over all. He kept the jewel under guard in his palace.
Other kings now feared for their own domains, and conspired to obtain the jewel for themselves. Two faraway kingdoms dispatched their best secret service agents to capture the jewel by any means necessary.
The king’s secret police uncovered both conspiracies. Both special agents were arrested and locked in a cell inside the palace.
It happened that the jewel was being kept in the very next room to the spies’ cell. One of the spies was aware of the jewel’s whereabouts, and knew it was next door: the other had no idea.
That night one of the spies slept soundly, while the other lay wide awake.
Which one slept well, and which had no sleep?
The one who knew not the jewel’s whereabouts slept well; he who knew it was next door could not sleep, obsessed with gaining the treasure.
We humans are as these two thieves. Those who are oblivious to the soul within them, are content to sleep soundly in ignorance, enjoying the attachment of earthly pleasures: those who have become aware that the most precious treasure of the universe – our soul – is tantalisingly closer than our own breath, yet veiled – these spiritually awakened seekers are consumed with a unique torment, and cannot rest until the soul is won.
Aspiration is the inner cry, inner yearning for something truer, higher, vaster, deeper, freer, ever more perfect and divine.
Aspiration is a burning flame within us, a flame rising upwards and heavenwards higher and ever higher. It is beginingless and endless. Aspiration is the cry of the infinite for the infinite. It arises from the heart, from the infinite within us, and consumes our outer being until our outer finite self merges with and grows into its source, the infinite soul within.
Aspiration is a rocket within us. Just as the force of gravity pulls everything down to earth and prevents it from escaping the earth’s atmosphere; so the force of the finite, of ego and attachment ensures that our consciousness remains fixed in the earthbound, finite realm.
To transcend the earth’s gravity requires the stupendous impulse, power and thrust of a rocket engine. The rocket is aimed at the heavens and speeds only upwards, never deviating, hesitating or looking down or back, to fulfil its mission to conquer gravity.
Aspiration is that rocket engine in the spiritual realm. To liberate our consciousness from the ruthless gravitational pull of the finite, from the prison-cell of the earth-bound body, vital and mind, requires a sustained act of limitless will, a one-pointed aspiration that will be satisfied only when all thought and desire is subdued, and our identity subsumed in the Infinite, Eternal and Immortal.
Aspiration reveals to us that we not only have the soul: we ARE the soul, and nothing else.
Aspiration compels us to meditate and to practise our spiritual discipline. As long as aspiration is alive and intense in our hearts, our spiritual progress is assured. Therefore, to keep our aspiration-flame safe and burning brightly is our life’s primary obligation.
We all feel there is something missing in our lives; something subtle, indefinable, somehow always beyond our reach.
This sense of missing something makes us feel incomplete. This sense of incompleteness drives us, motivates us to fill this void, either temporarily, or once and for all…
There are two primary engines that drive human activity: desire and aspiration. Which of these two engines we employ to “fill the void” depends on our consciousness.
When we identify ourselves as being primarily the body, vital and mind, we see ourselves as a finite being in a finite world. It seems we might therefore be fulfilled by acquiring more of the finite. This is the promise of desire: that happiness and fulfilment will surely come from getting more, possessing more, learning more; having more things, status, wealth and power.
Yet desire does not work.
Desire is a dog chasing its tail. No sooner do we fulfil one desire, than another takes its place. As soon as the void is filled, it reopens elsewhere.
Desire can never be a permanent cure to our incompleteness, for we are not finite beings – we are spiritual beings. We are infinite, as is that for which we yearn. Only the infinite can know the infinite, and only the infinite can fulfil the infinite.
All we most yearn for – peace, love, joy, wisdom, poise, fulfilment – are spiritual qualities. They are infinite. Only by deepening and expanding our experience of these qualities can the void within us be filled, can we feel ourselves complete.
The yearning for these spiritual qualities is aspiration. Aspiration comes from our heart, and leads to our soul.
Languishing ever in the finite, desire brings us suffering and invites us ultimately to death. Aspiration nourishes with ever-expanding satisfaction and leads us ultimately to immortality.
“We need a resolute determination To silence the pride Of thought-flood.”
– Sri Chinmoy
Imagine thoughts during meditation are birds in the sky.
You are not the birds. You are the sky.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle we encounter in meditation, is the very first hurdle: the stream of thoughts flowing through our minds.
What to do with these thoughts?
Never be discouraged. Everyone faces the same challenge and for everyone, it is difficult. If you give up, you will never reach the goal.
Patience and persistence always win. If your mind is as stubborn as a rock, then bring forth a determination as persistent as water. Water will eventually wear down even the toughest rock.
Imagine your mind is the vast sky, and thoughts are birds flying through your sky. Your task is to remain focused on the sky, not on the birds. There will always be birds somewhere in the sky: accept them as something natural and inevitable, and let them fly right by.
The moment you focus on a particular bird, then that thought-bird becomes a distraction, and your meditation is disturbed. The bird is not to blame; it’s just doing its thing. Your focus on the bird is the culprit.
Let’s focus on what is within our power, and not what is beyond our control. You may not be able to stop the birds from flying, but you can ignore them.
Another version of this approach is to imagine that you are the lead bird flying in formation. You are seeing only sky ahead of you. When a thought comes, that is another bird trying to take the lead. So speed up – redouble your enthusiasm and application – to take the lead again and be immersed once more in infinite sky. Never surrender your lead!
We know that the goal of meditation is to enter into a completely vacant, still and silent mind.
Yet even after years of practise, I am still being bothered by thoughts and distractions. Does this mean I am a useless meditator, wasting my time?
Not at all! To be able to silence the mind at will is a monumental achievement requiring an enormous effort of will, practise and persistence.
From an early age we have deliberately loaded our minds up with facts and falsehoods, details and data, theories, philosophies, beliefs and an ever-mounting mountain of useless information. If our mind is a monster, it is a monster of our own making.
Consider how much effort has been poured into making our mind so active and complex. Now we are telling that same mind: “Please be silent.” Impossible and absurd!
It is like standing in front of a train going at 200 kph and asking it to stop on the spot. It cannot be done. Slowly and gradually the train has to slow down and eventually be brought to a standstill. Similarly, we cannot hope for the mind to cease its activity all at once. Instead, like the train, we need first to slow the mind down. We do this by focusing the mind on one thing: a mantra, our breath, slow counting, a flower or a candle flame. Only once we can effectively focus the mind on ONE thing, can we hope to then empty the mind of all thoughts.
Meditation is not just about quieting our mind: it is more about entering and opening our spiritual heart.
Don’t worry about thoughts and distractions. Focus more on your heart. Your heart will gladly, lovingly take care of your mind.
We are so used to our mind’s constant clutter, that we become inured to its incessant activity. The only time we notice so many thoughts is when we sit down and try to meditate. It’s as though all of a sudden there are all these thoughts at the precise moment we don’t want any! Of course the thoughts have been there the whole time…
If you come from a quiet village to live on a busy street in the city, at first you won’t be able to sleep at night due to all the noise of traffic and activity outside. Yet after a while you get used to the noise. It becomes part of your background. So is it with our thoughts. We just don’t notice them any more – until we try to turn them off.
Yet even though we may not be 100% successful in silencing the mind, there is always tremendous benefit just from the effort to do so. Let’s say the usual level of activity in our mind is around 100 TPM (thoughts per minute). Now when we sit to meditate, while focusing on our chosen object perhaps we are able to bring the rate down to 50 TPM. Because our goal is to have 0 TPM we are disheartened by this: we say “I’m a failure at meditation because I have still have so many thoughts!”
Yet we should be proud of this achievement: 50 TPM is a huge improvement on 100 TPM! What is most important is progress. Little by little by little we bring the mind under our control.
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Don’t be tempted to judge the quality of your meditation experience. The only essential thing is to practise with sincerity every day.
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” – The Gospel of Matthew, 5:16
If we are inspired to feed the hungry, we must first grow and harvest some crops. If we are inspired to give money to the poor, we must first earn the money.
The same applies to inner wealth: peace, love, happiness and satisfaction. We must first find and cultivate these qualities before we can offer and share them with the world at large.
Many feel a calling to save the world. There is so much suffering, unhappiness, ignorance, anger, fear, stress and despair.
To save the world, we have only to serve the world.
To serve the world, we must first access our inner wealth. When we meditate, the peace, light and bliss within comes to the fore and radiates the way that fragrance emanates from a flower. We do not have to announce, demonstrate or prove anything: it is self-evident.
Just as many candles can be lit from a single flame, so spiritual qualities are communicated directly from one heart to another. When you see someone with a huge smile, immediately your own face lights up in a smile. This is the heart’s inner communication: one heart instantly recognises and claims the joy of another as its own. Among receptive hearts, all spiritual qualities are contagious.
When we have meditated in the morning, we exude a deeper peace and more authentic joy than when we have not meditated.
Therefore to feed the world’s most urgent needs, whatever outer activities we may be engaged in, our first and foremost task is to meditate.
Our morning meditation is the single most precious service we can offer the world.
All of us have a sense that there is something or someone superior in wisdom and capacity – whether part of our own being or beyond us – to which or to whom we would ideally turn for guidance, instruction and inspiration. Be it a family member, friend or counsellor, a scripture, our spiritual heart, soul, God or some other deity, we all feel the need to turn to some source greater, deeper and more illumined than our own minds and emotions.
Those who meditate have come to realise that our most direct access to the source of infinite Truth, Light and Wisdom is to dive deep into our own spiritual heart, where the light of our soul can best be perceived.
Those who imagine God or the Supreme as an external entity have also come to realise, that to receive guidance and instruction from Above clearly, we must first calm and clear our thoughts and feelings.
Either way: to be open and receptive to our superior Source, whether within or without, it is essential to meditate.
At work, we start a task only after it has been assigned by our boss. Similarly, we should not contemplate embarking on our daily activities until we have checked in with whichever superior whose guidance we wish to abide by: heart, soul or God. This guidance pertains not so much to what we shall DO during the day, as to who we shall BE.
Just as we shower, do our hair and dress appropriately, so we need to “look good” inwardly before heading out into the world. Otherwise we will be letting ourselves down, as well as disappointing the world.
Check in with the mother ship; recalibrate your settings before any significant endeavour. Meditate prior to starting every day.
There is a widely held view that we are all either “morning people” or “NOT morning people”. Those who regard themselves as NOT morning people tend to find it more difficult to meditate successfully in the morning, and report better quality meditations in the evening.
Some are tempted therefore to forego their morning meditation, and meditate only in the evenings. This is a mistake.
Regardless of whether one finds it easier or experiences a better quality of meditation in the evening, as a cornerstone of spiritual discipline and lasting progress, morning meditation is indispensable. Meditation at any time is of course wonderful and always beneficial; however, as a transforming agent of our consciousness, there can be no substitute for meditation first thing in the morning.
Gliders are towed by a powered plane to a height and then released, to glide gracefully on air currents and gradually descend to earth. The sensation is free and weightless, the perspective clear and certain, the view all-encompassing.
Meditating in the morning is like being brought to a great height and then released to glide through your day, effortlessly and blissfully, until our life-glider eventually returns to earth. The higher we can start our day’s journey, the longer we remain airborne, the less chance of becoming snared in earthly entanglements. Our goal, with practise, is to start at a sufficient height to enable our consciousness to stay aloft throughout the entire day.
If we do not meditate early in the morning, we start our day at ground level, where we are far more susceptible to the roaming, devouring monsters of stress and ever-mounting problems.
Meditate in the evenings for a delightful experience by all means – but meditate in the morning for a smoother, clearer, happier glide through your day.
Next time you are angry, stressed, confused or depressed, look at yourself in the mirror. What do you feel from this face? Do you find it attractive – or otherwise?
One time after you have had a good meditation, do the same: look at yourself in the mirror. What do you feel from this face?
Which of these two faces would you rather spend time with? Which would you rather represent you to the world? Which is your truer self?
Our face is our identity card, which cannot be faked. A smile or a frown can be false, but the satisfied glow of meditation cannot be faked.
Most of us do not present our true selves to the world most of the time, simply because we are not in touch with our true selves to start with.
If we are presenting a false self to the world, then naturally the world will relate to this false self, leading to a spiral of confusion, misunderstanding and disharmony. Our relations with the world and with ourselves will be disconnected, dysfunctional.
To meditate is to find our true selves in our inner peace, light and bliss.
Because most of our relations with the world take place during the day, it is essential that we meditate first thing in the morning, so we can present our authentic identity card to the world.
A valid ID is required to pass through certain check-points and to enter restricted areas. So it is in life. We are frequently detained at the stress check-point, and we just can’t access the restricted area of lasting happiness without the authentic ID of our inner glow.
Morning meditation offers an “Access All Areas” card to sail through the day’s obstacles and to sumptuously enjoy life’s first-class lounge.
Every day is a new game, a new song, a new journey, a new examination.
Our instrument is our consciousness. Just as an athlete prepares with stretching and warm-up exercises, a musician carefully tunes their instrument, a traveller packs their bags and a student studies for an exam, so our morning meditation prepares our consciousness so we are in shape for our daily game, song, journey and examination.
There are many reasons to meditate: all are good and valid. The important thing is that we do meditate – at least daily.
Meditation itself is a deeply enjoyable experience. Yet very few of us start meditation simply to enjoy the experience of meditation itself. Most embark on meditation in the hope that its practise will transform our consciousness, help us to overcome life’ s challenges and become a better, happier person.
The workshop of our consciousness is our daily life, our interface with the outer world. Our daily life challenges us with stress, tension and confusion; it presents as the problem which meditation must solve.
If we want to enjoy most delicious fruits, we must first pluck the fruits. If we want our day to be full of the fruits of meditation, it is essential that the first thing we do after waking in the morning is to meditate – before anything else.
If an athlete does not warm up, a musician doesn’t tune, a traveller neglects to pack or a student fails to study, the results can be disastrous. So can our day be, if we do not meditate first thing.
Morning meditation insulates us from life’s rough weather, while flooding us with peace, light and inspiration. We are tuned to play, enjoy and become the ever-new, soulful, sweet, thrilling and uplifting song of each new day.
