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How meditation works Relaxation and bodily detachment are the prerequisites of meditation. Meditation is the process by which one searches for the cause of misery and suffering; the gross body is the medium for the perception of suffering and its manifestation, but it is not itself the root cause. The root cause is the subtle karmic body that deludes, so that the spiritual 'self remains unaware of its own existence. The karmic body produces vibrations, shock waves in the form of primal drives, urges and impulses, and influences the activities of the gross body, mind and speech. When all bodily activities are halted through bodily detachment, mental equilibrium is arrived at through meditation, and the vibrations, primal drives, urges and impulses become ineffective, thus meditation calms the waves produced by primal drives.
The karmic body continues transmitting vibrations and sheds karmic particles, and the true characteristics of the soul, bliss, energy, faith and knowledge appear. Thus meditation aids the soul in shedding the karmic body and achieving self-conquest. This is shown in figure 4.16
Diagram 4.16... Meditation and its effects
THE LIVING BEING
Soul (psyche) + karmic body + luminous body
Psychic radiation
(passions)
SUBTLE BODY
(primal drives)
(conscious mind)
knowledge
aura (lesya)
urges & impulses
emotional flow
endocrine system
PHYSICAL BODY
nervous system
field of action
thoughts, speech & bodily activities
AURA
Worldly and Environmental Pressures
