For a jnani, meditation is the natural state. Having realised the nature of the Self to be pure consciousness, the Self of all beings and things, he is ever in that state of awareness. He is naturally and effortlessly established in the Self like an effortless awareness of being a human being. We do not have to reiterate every morning the feeling “I am the body. This is my natural state and i am aware of it’’.
Similarly, the jnani has the awareness that “I am Satchidananda, pure consciousness, the infinite reality”. He abides in the awareness of His True Nature through all times of the day and night, in and through all phases of his life. As a waker, dreamer or sleeper the jnani blissfully, naturally and effortlessly abides in the awareness of the Self.
For the jnani, meditation is not a process. He does not have to put forth any effort for he now has nothing further to gain. He has experienced the Vedic declaration that everything is Brahmn, the infinite.
For a seeker who perceives duality and considers it to be real, meditation is a process. Such a seeker feels he has to constantly and diligently be aware of the Self. The seeker has gained the objective knowledge of the Self. Even after such an intellectual appreciation of the Truth, the mind tends to revel in the world of sense objects.
As a first step towards this establishment in the Self, the attention of the mind is turned away from sense objects towards the Self, culminating in the pure consciousness being the nature of the Self. Krishna says that when a perfectly quiet mind, free from the longing for the objects of the world, is turned towards the Self, it abides in the Self.
This practice of bringing the wandering mind again and again in the Self is to be done slowly and steadily. By such practices the impressions in the mind in the form of likes and dislikes get discarded and sattva guna becomes a predominant quality of the quietened mind. The sattvic mind is fully and firmly established in the Self, there will not be any perception of differences. The limitation hold no more sway over him.
Meditation can be done in five steps:
1. Seek solitude: Through karma yoga, prayer and solitude develop a mind which loves solitude. A mind that wants nothing from the world and possesses nothing. Know the nature of the Self to be bliss and desire to experience it.
2. Relax: Select a clean and solitary place for meditation. Place a thin and soft cushion, sit erect in a comfortable posture. Close your eyes and relax.
3. Have the right attitude. Mentally prostrate to your teacher with reverence. Sincerely pray to God to seek His blessings. Be cheerful. Be a sincere seeker of truth. Drop all other identities.
4. Withdraw the mind. First withdraw the mind from the world of objects by not contemplating on the sense stimuli you receive from the world. Through discrimination, drop all wanderings of the mind in the past and future. Bring the mind to the present moment. Chant OM.
5. Fix the Mind in the Self; witness the quietude. Take the help of the scriptural pointers like “I am unattached”, “I am pure consciousness”. If the mind wanders, bring it back to the Self, Just be.