Mediation is a practice which has many hidden connotations. It is best to explore the concept as much as possible before, during and after the sessions. This does not mean that one needs to come to all conclusions to continue the process on a day to day basis. But it is really helpful to have some knowledge and sense of exploration. This does not really mean that a person should have all the knowledge in the world to initiate and continue the process, but it means that one should keep all the boundaries open so that path to learning and absorbing more and more is always open. In ancient yoga certain techniques are used to hone one’s expertise at meditation from time to time. These are:

Remembering the Examples of Detached Yogis:

It is said that a practitioner gets a lot of inspiration and expertise by recalling the experiences of yogis who have gone before him. This eases out the conflict, questions and other thoughts in the minds of the practitioners. This also eases out any discomfort that the person might be feeling. The yogis who have been successfully relieved from the cycle of birth and death have also undergone similar difficulties in their situations. It is very usual for any mortal human being to encounter all the difficulties whenever he is trying to discover himself. The mind of a student is a very fertile ground and whenever the seeds of wisdom are sowed in it, the emergence of doubt is natural. Remembering the examples of yogis who have achieved completeness through the process is very important and mandatory.

In Yoga Sutras of Patanjali such a yogi who has power to influence the younger generation of learners is referred to as Veetaraga. The word is derived from the root word Raga which means desire, aspirations and yearning. The complete word Veetaraga stands for someone who has taken complete control of all his desires. He is a person for whom the process of desire has seized to exist.

The science of yoga believes that although the physical self gets destroyed at the end of life the spiritual self continues to exist. The yogis may have lived at any point in time but they still remain existent because their spiritual self is immortal, illuminated, transcendental and infinite. They remain and those who call upon them get reciprocated appropriately. This is the reason why meditation has never been associated with any particular religion because like the physical self the religion also seizes to exist at the time of death. Veetaragas are not bound by any barriers and have the power to purify anyone who calls upon them for help.

Consulting the Dream Experiences:

There are times while dreaming when one experiences intense and beautiful things that may be visual or extremely emotional. These are happy experiences that deeply move a person. These serve as extremely important tools to control the thoughts while meditating. One can get down to recalling these for enhancement of the emotional experiences. These fabulous experiences are important because of their uniqueness as they are completely undiluted from any external stimuli that normally get into the mind through the sense organs. Thus recalling these experiences helps a practitioner of meditation to fasten him deeply into the process of meditation and to be able to considerably calm the mind.

Attaining Stability of Mind:

The mind is unstable in natural state. It has to be made stable with effort. This can be achieved only when the inclinations towards the objects of desire are reduced. A person is excessively attached with the objects he desires. He is constantly thinking about them and it becomes very difficult to get detached from them. In order to meditate one has to get detached from them mentally and this process is not easy for most of the people. Understanding that getting detached does not really mean physical detachment is important for the beginner. This can avoid excessive emotional involvement by experiencing pain from detachment. The mind will get automatically detached when even the process of detachment is not uncomfortable and this can be achieved only when a dispassionate attitude is developed for the process of detachment.

It is difficult to explain but still once a person gets an insight into his true self he can understand it in all its clarity. But then he too may be at a loss of words to explain it to others. It shall not be an exaggeration to say that too many people look for peace in all the wrong directions. Just directing the thought inwards is the key, rather than trying to begin the process by concentrating the thoughts on any object. The idea is to reach a state where the mind is not even trying to control the flow of thoughts. The thoughts are just coming and going and not remaining stagnant so that after a while the flow also stops. This is the state which would be better attained by stopping all effort, rather than putting in effort. This is the simple key to success in meditation. The longer one takes to realize it the longer one takes to reach the desired level because the desire to reach the level in itself is a desire. This point is the most important root key to the entire process.

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