Sadhana
It is commonly believed that concentration is meditation. This notion has created lot of misunderstanding about meditation, that it cannot be done at home, that one has to renounce the world and go to the mountains or a lonely place. Actually these circumstances are needed for concentration for it is disturbed by any small distraction. The mind gets irritated because you are trying to focus it in one direction which creates tension in the mind.
It is Osho, who for the first time has stressed that concentration is not meditation. If you are doing some intellectual work you need to channelize your mind and concentrate on one point. But meditation is relaxed awareness and therefore it is all inclusive. All the noises and distractions fall into the space of meditation and dissolve into it. Meditation is simply watchfulness and acceptance of everything.
Meditation is all-inclusive. The car passes... the mind in meditation is fully aware of the horn. The birds start singing... the mind is fully aware of their singing. Everything is simply watched. You are only aware that there is a horn, a car is passing by -- but it is not a distraction.
Distraction comes only when you are trying to concentrate, then a small ant crawling up your leg will be enough to distract you. But when you are in meditation, you simply know that the ant is crawling up your leg. If you like it, you allow it; if you don't like it, you throw it away. But there is no distraction -- your silence remains unscratched.
Osho explains: “How can the noises on the street distract you? You simply listen to them -- they don't make any impact on you. They come and go, and you remain just a witness. Meditation is possible in the hubbub of a marketplace.
Concentration is a faculty of the mind. Meditation is the absence of mind. Mind simply does not know meditation, and there is no intrinsic possibility for the mind to come in contact with meditation. Just as darkness cannot come in contact with light because darkness is only an absence, so is the mind.”
Courtesy Osho International Foundation/www.osho.com
3 comments:
How sad we always miss out on such richness of love! The moment we are attracted to each other we instantly propose marriage.
Hi,
You've got an extremely good weblog. To grow to be a prosperous man or woman the fundamental thing is always to have positive thinking.
no acyually maharishi mahesh yogi was the first in western knowledge made the distinction that concentration is not mditation, he says " TM creates Bliss, Concentration creates headaches" do ur research
Post a Comment