Journey to Enlightenment Part 02

Author(s): Chitrabhanu, Nirmala Hanke
Publisher: Create Space

Page 53

Four Steps to Reach the State
Fall 2008
Adapted by Sharat K. Jain, Ph.D and Rohan K. Jain
In order to reach the peaceful state of mind you need meditation, and to meditate you need relaxation. The meditation is like a brook that flows, grows, and ultimately merges in the ocean of love. In a flowing brook, there are many obstacles, hurdles, and rocks, and they try to hinder progress, yet the energy of the brook is flexible. It flows, grows, and overcomes all hurdles. The tensions that you create in you become hurdles. The memory of all the hurdles turns into pressure, and a person under pressure is not able to flow and grow. To flow and grow, one needs to be relaxed by learning the art of relaxation.
All mental, physical, psychological and social diseases arise from tension : constriction and suppression. Under pressure, people make wrong decisions. In order to make right decisions, you need to learn how to relax, and meditation helps you to do just that. In the Western world, even the famous institutions of learning offer classes on how to meditate. In the world over, meditation has become an important part of treatment of various mental, physical and social problems. In Jainism, meditation is essential to personal and spiritual growth. You can even achieve Kavalgnan Nirvana or total knowledge - by practicing meditation. This is the highest miracle of knowledge you experience with the energy of meditation: Dhyana.
In order to attain Dhyana, you need to free your mind from hate and attachment - clinging and aversion - as they work against each other, thus causing pressure and tension. When you are attached to some 'thing,' your mind becomes sticky and loses the rhythm of flow. When you have hate, it is burning inside and your mind becomes like popcorn. When you put grain on fire, it becomes popcorn and starts jumping around. Similarly, when we have hate, energy is burning inside and we continue our obsession with attachment and hate. Those who are very dear we want them very close; and the ones we do not like, we push them away. Pull and push goes on during our whole life.
A religious place is supposed to give you peace and harmony; however, even when you are in peace and harmony, you form a group with people you like and you stay away from people you do not like. Those who join a new group may not want to go to their old temple and so create a new temple and press
52 - Journey to Enlightenment - Volume Two