One can just sit silently at Dhyanalinga, a dome-shaped yogic temple believed to be a powerful energy centre, for meditation. Or join a meditation programme like Shoonya, which claims to rejuvenate your body by allowing you to be in a state of hibernation.
You can even listen to a talk by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, the founder of Isha Foundation. Sadhguru defines meditation as the art of “creating a little space between you and the mind”. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, he speaks about how to free your mind from the fear of suffering and enjoy a state of bliss. Excerpts:
How can one get rid of random thoughts and stay focused during meditation?
When you meditate do you want your kidney to stop functioning? Your liver is working. Your heart beats noisily. You have no problem. You want to stop only the functioning of your brain.
Why? Why are you prejudiced against the brain? Everything else is working in your body. You have no issues.
The functioning of the brain is just a psychological drama. But, you have got so used to this drama that you think without stopping it there is no meditation. The more you say stop, the more speed it will gather. Because in brain, all the three pedals are throttle. There is no clutch or break.
If you create a distance with the activity of the mind, it will not bother you. Meditation means you create a little space between you and the body. Between you and the mind. That is the end of suffering. This being will blossom only when there is no fear of suffering.
What is your Inner Engineering programme?
Inner Engineering is our entry-level programme. It changes the fundamental chemistry of who you are. Without changing the chemistry of your existence, most people cannot settle into anything. So, the most fundamental programme is about changing the basic chemistry. Suddenly, you find you are joyful for no particular reason.
People go to caves and forests for meditation. How does it help?
When you are meditating, it doesn't matter whether you are in a Himalayan cave or a metro city like Bengaluru. Because you turn inward. If you like the ambiance of a cave, you can go there. But, there will be no toilet or running water in a cave. There won't be heating or cooling there. So, why go to a cave? Bengaluru is a damn good place to meditate.
If you want, I'll arrange for you to live in a jungle for three days. First day, you'll enjoy. Then you'll realise how hard it is to live there. That's the reason why we have built the city. Now, we are saying cities are difficult places to live in.
People are always trying to make their lives difficult. You build big cities thinking our lives will be better organised. If you don't like the city, move out. At least the city will be free of you.
Do the energy levels vary when you meditate in a group?
If everybody is uttering a certain sound, with a certain oneness, it can. But meditation per se no, because it is an inward process. If you seek external help for meditation, any kind of other support, then you will never go very far. Because you'll always seek that support.
There is a fundamental difference between seeking and believing. When you believe, you need people around you. Otherwise you'll feel like a fool. You need thousand people who believe the same thing to feel that it is good. But when you seek, you want to be alone. Seeking happens in a certain way. Every human being seeks in his own way. For that you don't need company.
There is increasing evidence suggesting that meditation can cause structural and functional changes in the brain. Has anyone ever studied your brain?
I don't have one. (Laughs). That's why I'm never burdened by it. It just reverberates with everything because it is empty.
