Meditation Works: Guidelines from the Bhagavad Gita
By Glen Kezwer, Ph.D.
Author, Teacher and Speaker
To be made one self with God above and God in man and God in the world is the sense of liberation and the secret of perfection. - Sri Aurobindo
Peace of mind is a pale reflection of true stillness. - Swami Amar Jyoti
Scientists study it. Doctors recommend it. Millions of people practice it every day. Why? Because meditation works. - Time Magazine, August 4, 2003
Meditation works. So says Time Magazine. These days there is a wealth of research on the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual benefits of meditation. Its practice can improve blood pressure, lower the heart rate and slow down the ageing process. It has also been shown to reduce stress, lengthen one’s attention span, and lead to greater happiness, vitality and emotional stability. There is even evidence that meditation increases the amount of gray matter in the area of the brain associated with learning and memory, and decreases it in the region responsible for anxiety. Considering these newfound reasons for why people should meditate, it is instructive to take a look at the classical text of Indian philosophy, the Bhagavad Gita, to see how meditation was developed in ancient times, and what its practice and purpose were considered to be.
The message of the Gita is that all human beings have within themselves the power to live life and perform actions in the light of the highest knowledge. Simply put, this knowledge is that the source or underlying reality of every being on this planet is one and the same Self, which is beyond birth and death and cannot be destroyed. A person who lives in a manner which is consistent with this wisdom is able to live happily, and have a peaceful mind, free from worry and tension. The Gita’s teachings are not restricted to one period of time, a particular culture or group of people, or to a certain geographical location. They are for everyone, everywhere, at all times. At first glance it may sound easy to live a life of happiness, but in actual fact it is not. As human beings, we are subject to the whims and fancies of our minds, which can—and usually do—take us on a roller coaster ride from morning to night. We live each day in an environment of constant action, endlessly doing things which involve us throughout our waking hours. Of course, this is simply called life. But to pursue life to its fullest, with a sense of joy, satisfaction and balance, as well as compassion for those around us takes a certain effort and a special type of understanding. The Gita provides just that.
To reflect the fact that all persons must act throughout the day, the story of the Gita takes place upon a stage of the most extreme action: a battlefield during a time of approaching war. The two characters involved are Krishna and Arjun. Arjun is the commander-in-chief of one of the two opposing armies, and as he is about to lead his troops into combat he takes one last look at the enemy ranks. To his utter dismay, he discovers that he is about to engage an army filled with many of his nearest and dearest friends, companions, relatives and mentors. Many of his kith and kin and highly respected teachers have taken up arms against him, and Arjun realizes that in order to win the war, he will have to personally slay or be responsible for the deaths of countless men who are central to his life. The idea of killing them is abhorrent to him. But at the same time, the cause for which he is fighting is entirely justified in every moral and ethical sense, and it is his sworn duty as a soldier and leader of men to pursue the fight until victory is achieved.
Caught on the horns of this dilemma, Arjun is distraught. He has no ability within himself to find a way out of his predicament, and instead of wielding his mighty bow and leading the charge, he collapses weakly in the back of his chariot. Uttering the words, “I will not fight,” he turns to his charioteer Krishna and begs for guidance. Now, Krishna is more than just a part-time charioteer. He is also a fully enlightened being whose wisdom and consciousness are supreme and all-encompassing. Clearly, Arjun has turned to the right person for help. Up to this point, the Gita has taken 56 verses to set the stage and pose Arjun’s question to Krishna. The remaining 644 verses comprise Krishna’s answer.
We all have to perform action throughout our lives. It is unavoidable, and how we approach and carry out this action leads us to success or failure, joy or suffering, peace or stress, health or disease. Most of us seldom, if ever, are required to act in such severe circumstances as those encountered in a war. The fact that the Gita is set on a battlefield indicates that the teachings it gives are of the utmost importance. If Arjun had been planting a garden in his back yard, the consequences of his actions would not have seemed so crucial, but in the midst of a war they can mean life or death. So Krishna’s teachings to Arjun can be taken as applicable to the full spectrum of life’s situations from the mundane to the extreme.
The kernel of Krishna’s message is that, first and foremost, Arjun must act:
Every human being is helplessly driven by the force of nature to perform some kind of action, for without acting man cannot live for even a moment. (III: 5)In order to act decisively and effectively, Arjun needs to understand the fundamental nature of existence. Here Krishna starts with the most profound wisdom: The essence of each and every human being is the Self—aatmaa in Sanskrit—which is not subject to birth and death.
Arjun, the Self, which pervades all beings in the universe, is an indestructible substance. No one has the power to destroy it. (II: 17)It is infinite, unchanging, eternal, unfathomable, and self-illuminating. It cannot be destroyed by even the mightiest of weapons, nor can it be burned by fire, made wet by water or dried by the wind. It is not touched by the multitude of events that transpire in the world, but is rather like the space of the sky which is vast and encompasses all, yet remains free. The Self is the inner essence of, and one and the same in all human beings, including the soldiers on both sides of the line of battle. Although I have just used several words and expressions to describe the Self, ultimately it is ineffable. Words can only point our thinking in the direction of a true understanding of the Self, but can never take us fully there. If we accept that knowledge of the Self is the key to living the life we are seeking, then we must find some means to attain it, some technique which goes beyond words and the mind. The Gita gives us this key in the form of meditation.
The mind is the vehicle that blocks our access to higher knowledge, yet at the same time it can be transformed to bring us to that knowledge. If we give the mind and its thoughts too much importance, then we are subject to the ups and downs, happiness and suffering, worry and easiness that they produce. But if we can change our perspective and observe the mind, or somehow step back from it, then we can better understand its functioning. This allows us to ultimately become the master of the mind rather than remaining a victim to its whims.
Chapter VI of the Gita is devoted to the practice of meditation. Alternatively entitled “The Yoga of Meditation” or “The Yoga of Self-Control,” it deals with the technique of closing one’s eyes in order to get in touch with the core of one’s existence—the Self itself.
Arjun realizes that he needs a still, tranquil, even mind in order to think clearly and see the way out of his current dilemma, but he also knows that the mind is “turbulent, powerful and obstinate” and “as difficult to control as the wind.” What chance does a person with such a mind have of attaining success in meditation? In answer to this, Krishna reassures Arjun, telling him that, despite the mind’s tenacity, it can be made as steady as a candle flame in a windless place that does not flicker even slightly.
Krishna advises Arjun, and thereby all of humanity, to achieve stillness of mind by practicing the proper technique of meditation: Sit in a clean, comfortable place, close your eyes and begin to perceive what happens. You will notice, he tells Arjun, that thoughts will come and go in the mind. There is nothing wrong with this. Meditation does not mean stopping the thoughts or forcibly controlling the mind. It means observing the thoughts without becoming involved in them, just as you would listen to children playing in a nearby schoolyard, hearing them but not being disturbed by their chatter. You should put your attention on the Knower or Seer of the thoughts which is at all times free and uninvolved. Stillness or tranquility means identifying with this Knower who is observing these thoughts. Then, whether they appear or not, you are free and uninvolved. The Knower is the indestructible Self, your inner being. By fixing your attention on the source, your consciousness becomes infinitely vast, encompassing all that there is.
As you meditate, you will perceive an inner space behind your closed eyelids. This space is the source from which the waves of the mind emanate. Watch the Knower-space and remain alert throughout your meditation. Sometimes the mind will wander and your concentration will wane. Because of this, it is helpful to use a mantra to focus the mind. I personally have found the phrase amaram hum madhuram hum1 to be useful. If you find that at some point you have lost focus of the mantra, that is not a problem. Simply return your attention to the mantra and continue watching the inner space, knowing at all times that that space is you, your own true nature.
What happens to the yogi in meditation is poetically and beautifully described by Swami Shyam in his interpretation of verse VI:25 of the Gita:
The yogi should remain aware throughout his practice and should keep watching as tranquility gradually manifests in his consciousness. He should always make use of his power of reasoning to help him fix his attention on the field of Pure Consciousness from which all powers emanate. The field of Pure Consciousness is immortal and blissful, amaram madhuram. These words are a mantra which the yogi can use in his meditation. Focussing his attention on their sound, identifying with the Knower as himself, the utterance as his own creation, and the attention as his own faculty of perception, he realizes that it is He Himself who alone exists as the one Lord of Pure Consciousness, Existence and Bliss. If this realization of his own true Self takes place, he grasps the meaning of my words, which is that the body is simply an instrument which will perish and is not the Lord, the Seer or the Knower. This is the practice one is advised to adopt while meditation on Me, the immortal, blissful Supreme Being. During meditation, all the experiences taking place should be treated as manifest waves of the absolute Pure Existence, which is God.With a peaceful mind, you can solve problems more efficiently. Your vision is not clouded. You can watch your thoughts more dispassionately. The practice of meditation leads to the highest bliss, the state of endless happiness. Your mind attains a state of serenity, stillness and oneness which rests content in the Self, knowing that the Self is perceiving itself by its own power. Even the deepest of sorrows do not touch you. Enjoying this state of inner stillness, you able to act skillfully and effectively in the world, knowing all the time that the Self is present in all beings and all beings exist in the Self.
To learn about Glen Kezwer’s course, The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, and to order his book, Meditation, Oneness and Physics, from Transformation Meditation Online Institute, please go to Transformedu.com.
View Glen’s nine-minute video on the Gita, or listen to his thirty-minute podcast on by clicking here, and then clicking on “Listen to His Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita.” Glen can be contacted by email.
Glen Kezwer, Ph.D., is the author of Meditation, Oneness and Physics and The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita Home-Study Course. He holds a doctorate in physics. In 1982 he joined a meditation institute in northern India. Since that time he has studied and practiced the science of meditation, published articles and taught meditation and its concomitant philosophy. He has lectured extensively in India, the United States, Canada, and Europe, and has been an invited speaker at various conferences.
He has personally practiced meditation and the principles of Indian philosophy, applying them in his own life. He has found the truth of the vision of Oneness espoused in the Gita, where all of creation is seen as one unique, undivided existence. The results of such practice are happiness, clear thinking, peace of mind, self-sufficiency and fearlessness.
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