Meditation has the ability to elicit the joy and love embedded deep within you.
"Love is not an emotion; it is your very existence."~ Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
If love is our very existence, if that is what we are made up of, then why do we keep searching for love outside? Why do we base our happiness on being loved by someone else? And if we are full of love, what is it that we still lack? Ultimately, how to radiate love?
To unlock the answers to these questions, one needs to practice meditation. A simple yet a very profound practice. Meditation is said to be one of the easiest ways to experience love as something beyond an emotion. Meditation is akin to loving yourself. The struggle and question on ‘how to radiate love?’ will not exist - as love radiates in the presence of that individual.
Are meditation and love related? If yes, then how? Well, here is what Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has said, “Love is seeing God in the person next to us and meditation is seeing God within us.”
What happens during meditation
What actually happens during meditation? One attains a deep state of rest and at the same time is alert and conscious. Meditation leads one to that inner silence which is the source of the enormous energy that we possess. One can experience the ultimate joy, peace and love which is our true nature.
What happens ‘inside’ meditation? How to radiate love? Such questions change from a perplexed state of mind to a wonder - as an entirely new spectrum of living opens up.
Meditation can be mastered with proper guidance, it is an art that anybody can learn. When one can attain a deep state of meditation, it gives access to energy and long lasting bliss. When one is able to relate to the self, relating to everybody becomes instinctive and the negative emotions like sadness, depression and loneliness disappear. Love can be expressed far easily. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar often says: “If you are loving, then you are welcome everywhere in the world. If you feel and be one with people anywhere you go, then people are ready to do anything for you.”
Some more tips to go deeper within
- Make meditation a part of your everyday life – it is a daily bath for your mind; keep your mind clean and happy by bathing it twice a day for at least 20 minutes.
- Spend some time with nature – it is your best friend, really.
- Don’t waste time brooding over the past – the present moment is a gift to you. That is why, it’s called the ‘present’.
- Be 100% satisfied with the work you have done and then quit worrying over the results.
- Take time out to do something creative – play music, dance or paint.
- Before you go to bed, remember the good things you have done for somebody today – it makes you feel good.
- Wake up every morning, look at your hands and say, “These hands will do good work today.”
- When you are upset with someone, tell them. Communication is the best solution to every problem.
Inspired by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's wisdom talks