Meditation and Its Methods

by Vivekananda

a live teacher is vastly preferable to his dead book.

Therefore the practice of religion is a denial of separateness and a renunciation of its objectives; fame, wealth, power over others.

By all means make a start — even if it’s for the wrong reason.

In trying to practice religion, eighty percent of people turn cheats and about fifteen percent go mad; only the remaining five percent attain the immediate knowledge of the infinite Truth.

We must only try to realize that they are not really ours; to love them as dwelling-places of Brahman, not as mere individuals.

Specific instructions in the practice of meditation cannot be gathered from any book; rather, they must be learned from a qualified teacher and taught according to the temperament and spiritual advancement of the disciple.

Without meditation, where is peace? Without peace, where is happiness?

Prayers, ceremonials, and all the other forms of worship are simply kindergartens of meditation.

If there is a God we must see Him, if there is a soul we must perceive it; otherwise it is better not to believe. It is better to be an outspoken atheist than a hypocrite.

Make it a rule not to eat until you have practised; if you do this, the sheer force of hunger will break your laziness. In India they teach children never to eat until they have practised or worshipped, and it becomes natural to them after a time; a boy will not feel hungry until he has bathed and practised.

the easiest way to make ourselves happy is to see that others are happy.

pray — not for money, not for health, nor for heaven; pray for knowledge and light; every other prayer is selfish.

Until you know what the mind is doing you cannot control it.

Freedom is never to be reached by the weak. Throw away all weakness. Tell your body that it is strong, tell your mind that it is strong, and have unbounded faith and hope in yourself.

Think of a space in your heart, and in the midst of that space think that a flame is burning. Think of that flame as your own soul and inside the flame is another effulgent light, and that is the Soul of your soul, God. Meditate upon that in the heart.

Therefore do not hate anybody, because that hatred which comes out from you, must, in the long run, come back to you. If you love, that love will come back to you, completing the circle.

The first sign that you are becoming religious is that you are becoming cheerful. When a man is gloomy, that may be dyspepsia, but it is not religion.

First hear, then understand, and then, leaving all distractions, shut your minds to outside influences, and devote yourselves to developing the truth within you.

That is the secret: To think that I am the spirit and not the body, and that the whole of this universe with all its relations, with all its good and all its evil, is but a series of paintings — scenes on a canvas — of which I am the witness.

Almost all our suffering is caused by our not having the power of detachment. So along with the development of concentration we must develop the power of detachment.

To me the very essence of education is concentration of the mind, not the collecting of facts.

If I had to do my education over again, and had any voice in the matter, I would not study facts at all. I would develop the power of concentration and detachment, and then with a perfect instrument I could collect facts at will.

To control the mind, to place it just where we want it, requires special training.

The mind uncontrolled and unguided will drag us down, down, for ever — rend us, kill us; and the mind controlled and guided will save us, free us.

The mind is analysed by itself. The greatest science, therefore, is the science of the mind, the science of psychology.

One man may speak beautiful language and beautiful thoughts, but they do not impress people; another man speaks neither beautiful language nor beautiful thoughts, yet his words charm. Every movement of his is powerful. That is the power of Ojas.

Do you see, simply by the observance of strict continence all learning can be mastered in a very short time — one has an unfailing memory of what one hears or knows but once.

The world is ready to give up its secrets if we only know how to knock, how to give it the necessary blow. The strength and force of the blow come through concentration.

There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The more concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point; that is the secret.

He who fasts, he who keeps awake, he who sleeps much, he who works too much, he who does no work, none of these can be a Yogi.

I could preach you thousands of sermons, but they would not make you religious, until you practised the method.

You must keep the mind fixed on one object, like an unbroken stream of oil.

Do you think the scriptures contain all the secrets of spiritual practice? These are being handed down secretly through a succession of Gurus and disciples. Don’t leave out a single day. If you have too much pressing work, go through the spiritual exercises for at least a quarter of an hour. Can you reach the goal without a steadfast devotion, my son?

Refuse to hear, to see, to smell, to taste; take away the mental power from the external organs. You continually do it unconsciously as when your mind is absorbed; so you can learn to do it consciously.

Books are useless to us until our own book opens; then all other books are good so far as they confirm our book.

He who seeks to come to God through Raja-Yoga must be strong mentally, physically, morally, and spiritually. Take every step in that light.

“Imagination is the door to inspiration and the basis of all thought.”

The explanation of nature is in us; the stone falls outside, but gravitation is in us, not outside.

Perseverance; persevere through thick and thin, through health and sickness, never miss a day in practice.

Yoga is the science by which we stop Chitta from assuming, or becoming transformed into, several faculties.

Only when the sea is stilled to mirror-like calmness, can the reflection of the moon be seen, and only when the “mind-stuff,” the Chitta is controlled to absolute calmness, is the Self to be recognised.

It is impossible to find God outside of ourselves.

We are the greatest temple.

Concentration of the powers of the mind is our only instrument to help us see God.

Truth cannot be partial; it is for the good of all.

Do not spend your energy in talking, but meditate in silence; and do not let the rush of the outside world disturb you.

Accumulate power in silence, and become a dynamo of spirituality.

I have been asked many times, “Why do you use that old word, God?” Because it is the best word for our purpose;

Use the old word, only use it in the true spirit, cleanse it of superstition, and realise fully what this great ancient word means.

Come out and go and wash off. Wash yourself again and again until you are cleansed of all the superstitions that have clung to you through the ages.