In the olden days, people churned yogurt to get butter. Butter is present in every drop of milk but you cannot see it unless it is extracted. We have to first heat the milk for the cream to come up. The cream is then made into yogurt by culturing it and keeping it undisturbed for sometime. It is then churned to separate the butter. Once the butter is separated, it will float in milk, buttermilk or water, and does not mix with them again. The butter is heated to get ghee and this ghee can burn in fire.
To obtain the precious butter or ghee within, the body has to be heated by the inner fire of meditation which is done by concentrating in the region between the soul center and the fontanel. First heat the milk of life by practicing deep, relaxed breathing. Then the cream will emerge. Maintain your inner silence for a period in order to convert the cream into yogurt. Continue your meditation to get the butter. Even deeper concentration will clarify the butter and make it pure enough to burn completely in fire.
Where to Meditate: Forest, House or Mind?
Many people wonder about the perfect place for spiritual practice. Once we decide to meditate, what is the best place to do so? The scriptures dictate that we must meditate either in the forest, a corner of the house or within the mind.
Let us talk about the forest. In ancient times, the sages retreated into the forest to meditate. But forests are full of wild animals and other dangers. In modern times, when most people live in urban areas, this is no longer a viable option. What is required instead is that we live in the shelter and solitude of the internal forest. This forest too contains the wild animals of emotion, anger, pride and this needs to be subdued with the power of meditation.
A corner in one's own home is more practical for many. We need to choose a room or even a corner of our own that is undisturbed, uncluttered and silent. We need to sit each day for at least 20 minutes in that special corner and meditate.
The forest and the house are physical locations. To go to the forest and house we need time. But to meditate internally, there is no right time or place needed. It can be done wherever and whatever we are doing. Meditating within the mind requires the cessation of thought. We need to go inward, keeping the mind peaceful and tranquil. Whatever the surroundings, we can keep the mind always anchored in God and not in anything else. The mind is the best place for meditation.
The Proper Posture
There is a lot of confusion over the proper posture to be used in meditation. Some swear by the lotus posture, others advocate sitting cross-legged or lying down. The fact is any posture is fine as long as the body is comfortable and we are able to forget its presence. Unduly painful positions make us more aware of the body and keep it in our consciousness, hindering our ability to go beyond. The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali recommends a posture, which keeps the body still, steady, and comfortable as the right posture for meditation.
In the sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita there are very specific instructions for how and where to sit for meditation. We are asked to sit in a clean place, pure and holy. Where is it? If our minds are not calm and quiet, wherever we sit is not serene. In this body temple there is one place that is serene. From the eyebrows to the top of the head is the place of serenity. If we concentrate there we can meditate.
The Proper Seat We are instructed to sit on a grass mat over which we must spread an animal skin, preferably that of a deer or tiger, and on top of that a silk or cotton cloth. Some insist on following these instructions to the letter. But many don't understand the underlying metaphorical meaning of these instructions.
Let's look at them carefully. Kusha, the Sanskrit word for grass, also means earth. In our body, the muladhara chakra represents the earth. Wherever we sit, be it on the charpet, a blanket or a grass mat we are sitting on our muladhara chakra or the earth. The asana or seat should be a nonconductor because when one meditates energy is produced in the body. Since earth is a conductor of electricity, we should try not to sit directly on the ground. A blanket would be sufficient.
If the animal skin (ajina) were really necessary then we would be encouraging the killing of animalsThere is another explanation for the skin. The Sanskrit word for dead skin a-jina also means difficult to conquer. Within our body one of the most difficult places to conquer is the sexual center. So we are being instructed to go above that center during meditation.
Finally, we have the silk or cotton cloth or chela. The word chela in Sanskrit also means fire. The center in the body whose element is fire is the navel center. Again we are being told to rise above the first three chakras, muladhara, swadhishthana and manipura, in order to meditate. We need to come up to the cranium, sit there and meditate. Where to concentrate? In yoga, we are taught to concentrate on the different chakras and to fix our attention mostly on the top of the head.
How to Meditate
There are many different techniques of meditation in the world today. Each has a unique method and tradition behind it. The important thing to realize is that all these methods have the same goal in mind. Meditation should open up the inner channels, calm and relax the mind and body, and develop the immense potential of human beings to be divine. Material prosperity, physical and mental health, creative inspiration, intellectual prowess, increased youth and vigor, are all benefits which come along the way to those who meditate regularly. The goal, however, should be the search for self-knowledge and the realization of one’s own self and its essentially divine nature.
The Basic Method The basic method for any type of meditation is to sit for a minimum of 20 minutes a day, in complete silence, to breathe slowly and deeply from each chakra, concentrating intensely on that chakra, and to energize the entire body using the techniques taught by the teacher. After relaxing the mind and body through simple breathing and concentration exercises, we merge silently with the universe, allowing the inner voice to be heard. In that silence, we gain tremendous peace, strength and even practical answers to the questions, which may be haunting us, whether they have to do with our families, our careers or our spiritual growth.
In order to learn the technique, we need to be initiated by a teacher who is qualified to purify the chakras, teach the technique and guide the spiritual aspirant on their path.