When asked how to keep out extraneous thoughts during meditation, Sri Chinmoy answered:
“There are two kinds of thoughts: good thoughts and bad thoughts. One kind is healthy and one kind is unhealthy. Unhealthy thoughts, undivine thoughts, are our enemies, whereas good thoughts, divine thoughts, are our friends. We are standing at the door to our house and somebody is knocking at the door. If it is a friend, then we will allow him to enter. If it is an enemy, we will not allow him in. But the difficulty is that we don’t know who are our friends and who are our enemies. If we open the door just a little to see who is there, immediately the enemies may force their way in. So what should we do? We shouldn’t open the door at all. We should keep the door bolted from the inside. Our real friends will not go away. They will think, ‘There must be some special reason why he is not opening the door. Since we need him and he needs us, we will wait indefinitely for him.’ They have sympathetic oneness, so they will wait indefinitely.
“But our enemies want only to bother us, to torture and destroy us. They will wait just for a few minutes, and then they will lose all patience. These enemies have not conquered pride. They will say, ‘It is beneath our dignity to waste our time here. Who needs him? Let us go and attack somebody else.’ If we pay no attention to a monkey, the monkey will eventually go away and bite somebody else. Similarly, after a few minutes our enemies will go away. Then we can open the door and welcome our dearest friends, who will be there waiting for us.”
– Sri Chinmoy
When Sri Chinmoy was asked how to still the mind in meditation, he answered:
“Imagine something very vast, and calm and quiet. When you start meditating, feel that inside you is a vast ocean and that you have dived deep within. There at the bottom it is all tranquillity, tranquillity’s flood.
“The most important thing is practice. Today your mind acts like a monkey. This restless mind is knocking all the time at your heart’s door and disturbing the poise of the heart. In this world everybody has pride, vanity and self-esteem. So if you keep your heart’s door closed each time the mind comes, if you do not pay any attention to the mind, then after some time the mind will find it beneath its dignity to bother you. The heart will open its door wide only to the soul’s Light, and listen only to the dictates of the soul.
“Thought is from the mental world. But you also have the heart, the identification-world. When you remain in the heart, that means that you are identifying yourself with the soul. The soul is beyond ideas, beyond thought. Instead of concentrating on the mind proper, if you can focus all your concentration on the heart, then the reality that looms large inside the heart automatically gives you an access to the soul. If you concentrate and meditate on the reality that is inside the heart, this reality comes forward.
“If you concentrate in the mind, naturally thought will come and bother you. But if you concentrate on the heart, then the problem is solved. So always try to meditate on the heart and try to bring the soul to the fore. The soul, which is a direct representative of God, is the eternal reality in us.”
– Sri Chinmoy
After some time, start chanting “I am the heart, I am the heart” and eventually “I am the soul, I am the soul.”
When we can identify with our heart and soul, when we are swimming in the sea of peace, love and light, we see and feel our identity is much vaster than our mind with its ant-thought parade. When we are detached from our mind, it is much easier to control the mind and its contents.
Our busy mind acts as dense fog obscuring the landscape of our self. Just as sunlight reveals a landscape once the fog is cleared, so to see our inner reality in our soul’s light, we must clear our minds’ fog.
To clear the mind requires concentration. Concentrate exclusively on one thing, such as a black dot on the wall, a candle flame or a flower, or a chanted mantra. The goal is to keep thoughts at bay, by focusing all the mind’s energy elsewhere. Then when thoughts arise, simply keep the mind’s focus away from those thoughts – starve them of attention – remaining fixed in your concentration.
You can focus your imagination on anything which is completely still, blank or silent.
Focus on a white screen. Any thought which comes is a smudge on that screen and must immediately be removed. Imagine a still pond. Any thought is a pebble tossed into the pond, sending ripples through your mind and emotions. Adamantly and calmly return the pond to its stillness. Behold the vast empty blue sky. Any thought is a cloud or a bird intruding into your clear sky – let that bird fly right past; let each cloud evaporate into thin air so you are left always with only the embrace of the sky’s blue vastness.
“There can be
No world of beauty,
No world of perfection,
No world of satisfaction,
Unless we go beyond the mind-horizons.”
– Sri Chinmoy
Our mind is the greatest obstacle in meditation. Every meditator faces this challenge: how to deal with the wandering, doubting, fearful, confused, resentful, outraged, insecure, arrogant mind with its parade of useless, destructive thoughts, worries, conspiracies, delusions, desires and distractions?
To claim and identify with our deeper self, our infinite heart and soul, we must learn to transcend the boundaries of our limited, finite self, in particular the limiting thoughts, beliefs and prejudices that constitute our perception of our mind.
Our biggest challenge in transcending the mind, is that our mind has captured our sense of identity. We think and act as though we are the mind, rather than we have the mind. So often when we say “I”, we are really referring not to our deeper, spiritual self but to our little, finite mind. We say, “I think this” and “I believe that” when really it is our mind which thinks and believes these things – and there’s a good chance it will think and believe something different tomorrow.
When we identify as our mind, we are attaching ourselves to a temporary unreality and pretending to be something we are not – something much weaker, smaller, fleeting, far less significant, beautiful and powerful than our real self.
We cannot hope to control the thoughts of our mind until we overcome the notion that we are our mind, for we cannot detach ourselves from our own identity.
Before launching into any method or means of controlling our thoughts, we must first
learn to detach our conscious awareness from our mind. Repeat the mantra: “I am not the mind, I am not the mind.”
Especially when we are new to meditation, this question constantly arises. Here is Sri Chinmoy’s answer:
“We can easily know whether we are meditating well or not just by the way we feel and see and think. Right after our meditation, if we have a good feeling for the world, then we know our meditation was good. If we see the world in a loving way in spite of its imperfections, if we can love the world even while seeing its teeming imperfections, then we know that our meditation was good. And if we have a dynamic feeling right after meditation, if we feel that we came into the world to do something, to become something, this indicates that we have done a good meditation.
“But the easiest way to know if we have had a good meditation is to feel whether Peace, Light, Love and Delight are coming to the fore from within. Each time Light comes forward, or Love comes forward, or Peace or Delight comes forward, the whole body will be surcharged with that divine quality. When we have this experience, we know that we have done a very good meditation. Each time they come to the fore, we are bound to feel that we are remembering a forgotten story. It is only through meditation that we can remember our forgotten story. This story was written by the seeker himself, by the seeker in us. The story was not written by somebody else. It is our own creation, but we have forgotten it, and it is meditation that brings it back. When we remember this story we are overjoyed that we have created such a beautiful story and that this is our life story.”
– Sri Chinmoy
We know that early morning is the best time to meditate. We also know that when we do NOT meditate in the morning, our day never flows as smoothly or happily.
Never mind the obstacles and challenges of meditation itself – battling with the mind’s fears, doubts, distractions – for some, the greatest difficulty is just making it to the starting line. Sleep is a gargantuan force of nature and the delicious comfort of a warm bed can easily mesmerise our will.
Getting out of bed in the morning starts the previous night. Before you go to bed, at the close of your evening meditation, consciously visualise and eagerly anticipate your next morning’s blissful meditation. Keep this thought in mind as you go to sleep, that you are only pausing your meditation journey and will resume soon.
Keep a loud alarm on the other side of the room from your bed, so you are forced to get up when it sounds. Shake off sleep, or toss it aside. Water awakens our consciousness – take a shower or wash your face with cold water. Change your clothes before meditating, as your nightwear carries a strong vibration of sleep. Keep moving with some walking, stretching or simple calisthenics. Physical movement is like a spark plug to ignite our dynamic will. Recite aloud or sing some simple aphorism or song which gives you joy. Never meditate in, on or facing your bed.
Sri Chinmoy suggests imagining that you have already slept for 24 hours, to convince the mind that more sleep is completely unnecessary.
Imagine that the being you love more than anyone in the world is calling you urgently to be with them, and you must hurry there. This being is your soul and to heed this call, your only necessity.
In ancient times, Spiritual Masters encouraged their disciples to meditate in the early hours of the morning, at 3am, 4am or even 2am. From Vedic times, this early hour was called “Brahma Muhurta” – the Hour of God, as it was believed to be the most propitious hour to silence the mind and enter into the deepest meditation.
Most people nowadays find it impractical or impossible to meditate at what ironically, is referred to as an “ungodly hour”. Just because we do not routinely meditate at the Brahma Muhurta does not disqualify us from leading a spiritual life: whatever time we are able to get up in the morning, that is the time to meditate. Nevertheless, it is well worth experiencing the palpable benefits of a very early morning meditation whenever the opportunity arises.
Sri Chinmoy explained the practical reason why early morning is the most effective time to meditate:
“Once the day dawns, Mother Earth becomes divinely energetic or undivinely restless. Especially in the West, because of its present dynamic nature, there is some feeling of irritation in the cosmos, or in the outer nature. These restless qualities of the world do not have to enter into you, but usually they do. When people move around, immediately their vibration enters into you, no matter where you are. The air, the light, has already been corrupted by human toil, human anxieties. The world is standing in front of you like a roaring lion. How can you enter into your highest meditation in front of a roaring lion? But, if you can meditate before nature starts functioning, when the cosmos is still and the entire universe is taking rest, then you will be able to get a more powerful concentration and a deeper meditation.”
– Sri Chinmoy
Some people feel they should wait until they have less fear, doubt or impurity before entering into the spiritual life. Sri Chinmoy responds:
“It is better to make mistakes millions of times while seeking the light than to remain idle.
“You have to start your journey, no matter how imperfect you are. Even if you cannot walk properly and are only able to crawl, do not delay. You will say, ‘Let me wait until I can sprint; in fact, let me wait until I can become the world’s greatest sprinter.’ But that day will never come. You have to go the fastest, but only according to your receptivity. And your receptivity will increase only if you start. Right now you can only crawl. But if you start crawling, then God will give you the capacity to stand. You may stumble many times and fall. But, like a small child, if you keep getting up and trying to walk, eventually you will learn to walk. And then, if you aspire to go still faster — to run towards your goal — God will also give you that capacity. But if you only sit and wait until you become the world’s greatest runner, then you will never even start your journey.
“It is better to start at this very moment. Do not even think of your receptivity. Do not think of the condition of your body, mind and vital. Think only of your readiness, willingness and eagerness. Your readiness, willingness and eagerness will create receptivity. God will give you receptivity according to your readiness, willingness and eagerness.
“Each day you wait is a day of failure. But if you start your journey, then each hour and each moment adds to the success and progress of your spiritual life.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“My soul-smiles
Come from
Far beyond the horizon.”
– Sri Chinmoy
A smile is a spiritual entity manifesting in the physical realm, an ambassador from the higher worlds. With free access to our inner and outer worlds, a smile can magically transform the conditions of both at once. A smile brings forth our best inner qualities when we most need them, then reveals, spreads and shares these qualities with the world at large.
The following poems speak of the effects of a smile on our own inner consciousness:
“Soulfully give yourself
A shining smile.
Quickly your haunting nightmare
Will breathe its last.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“We can disarm
All our fears
Just by challenging them
With a smile.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“A gratitude-heart
Can smilingly illumine
A doubting mind.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“Just a smile
Makes our mind clear,
Our heart pure
And our world new.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“To smile sincerely
Is to have a heart
Of peace and bliss.”
– Sri Chinmoy
Once we have established peace, light, love and joy in our hearts, our soulful consciousness is inevitably expressed through our smile, as these poems depict:
“Man’s soulful smile
Is indeed a perfect expression
Of his inner peace.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“A blooming heart
Carries with it
A radiance-smile.”
– Sri Chinmoy
Every spiritual seeker plays two roles: both as a seeker and as a distributer of peace, light and bliss. While our smile brings us the qualities we seek inwardly, inevitably our smile also expresses and conveys these qualities to the world around us, as the following poems describe:
“There is no magical power
As beautiful, powerful and inspiring
As our smiling eyes.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“To smile
Is to offer happiness
To the world.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“Just one smile
From my gratitude-heart
Immensely increases
The beauty of the universe.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“Today
I must smile and smile
To unburden the sorrowful life
Of this world.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“If you want to smile
At the world,
Then you must smile
From deep within
And not from anywhere else.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“You will find the smile of silence
Inside your heart’s sleepless cry.
Cry is the night.
Inside the night is the day.
As the night holds the day,
So the cry holds the smile.”
– Sri Chinmoy
Our genuine smile is the most precious gift we can offer to the world. We do not need to give anything, do anything, create anything or sacrifice anything. We do not need to be a hero, a genius, martyr, saviour or saint. We need only to smile – sincerely, beautifully and wholeheartedly.
Where to find this soulful smile? From our inner cry for our own illumination, purification and perfection. As we cry from deep within, our cry uplifts us from mental confusion and vital chaos into the light, peace and poise of our silence-heart, wherein our soulful smile abides.
Our soulful smile is the beauty and fragrance of our meditation, our blossomed heart-flower. A flower does not announce itself: it simply is. Appreciating its beauty and fragrance, the world values and adores the flower. Even so our heart needs no other advertisement or interpreter: our smile is its perfect ambassador and embodiment.
Everything the world needs, is wrapped in our soulful smile: love, happiness, peace, purity, security, beauty, sweetness, encouragement, confidence, energy, enthusiasm, certainty, satisfaction. As the sun does not consciously offer its light, warmth and power, you do not have to consciously offer these qualities – your radiant smile will awaken these qualities within all who come into your orbit.
To elongate, elevate, authenticate and perpetuate your smile – meditate!
“You want to be happy? That is very easy.
Simply feel a glowing smile on your face.
Feel the glow of your smiling face.
See. You are happy.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“Every life
Is beautiful
When it smiles.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“Who is God? God is our own highest reality. If you can give a most soulful smile that will immediately illumine you and the whole world, that smile is nothing other than God.”
– Sri Chinmoy
Meditation is the most effective and lasting means to raise, illumine and transform our consciousness. But a good and deep meditation is not always guaranteed, and is sometimes seemingly elusive or unattainable.
Even without meditating, here is an extremely effective way to bring our heart to the fore and transform our consciousness.
Whatever your mood, take a moment to look in the mirror and smile. Your smile will either be spontaneous or forced. If it is spontaneous, you will see how beautiful, how luminous you are and you will appreciate and adore yourself for it; you will be energised, inspired and uplifted. If your smile is forced, you will see how ridiculous you look, you will laugh at yourself and immediately your smile becomes genuine. Your negative thoughts and feelings have been expelled, and meditation will now come more easily and readily.
The face you see in the mirror is the face you will show the world when you go outside. Surely you want the world to have the best impression of you, even if you are not trying to offer anything of particular value to the world.
Our smile is the emblem and ambassador of our better self. If you want the world to see your better self, then do only one thing – smile, smile and then again, smile.
“God’s greatest treasure is man’s smile.”
– Sri Chinmoy
“Smile, always smile!
You will be able to disarm
Even your worst foe.”
– Sri Chinmoy
A smile is pure magic. How is it that a rearrangement of our facial muscles can have such an instant and miraculous effect on our consciousness and on the world around us? As the contours on both sides of our mouth arch upwards, so our mood, our energy, our prospects, our outlook on life rises in parallel.
Our smile is the unfailing indicator of our happiness, and projector of our happiness to the world. A frown or furrowed brow is the opposite.
A smile is contagious, spreading from one heart to another faster than thought itself. When we are walking along the street and see someone coming towards us wearing a huge smile, immediately we smile in return, even though this person may be a complete stranger. Smiles are a secret code whereby our hearts communicate with each other despite our minds’ barriers and indifference, a network of deeper knowing and understanding that is independent of our minds’ awareness or control, an underground society of joy.
The smile is a language of the heart, conveying and sharing so many of our heart’s qualities – joy, light, optimism, conviction, enthusiasm, courage, power – instantly and wordlessly.
A smile radiates: it lightens us in every way. Smiles remove heaviness, hesitation, gloom and doom from our minds, hearts and lives. They lift us from hell to heaven in an instant. Doubt, fear, anxiety, anger, frustration and depression all shrivel and die in the presence of a smile.
Like sunlight, air and water, a smile belongs to everybody. No matter if it is worn on my face or your face, a smile brings Heaven to earth for all.
One of the challenges of the spiritual life is maintaining the peace, love and joy we experience during meditation, throughout our daily life. All around us we see and feel confusion, commotion, suspicion, greed and aggression. We are part of the world and live in the world: how can we not be affected by the condition of the world?
These forces are especially confronting when they are aimed at us. When we are verbally abused, how are we supposed to remain calm? When we are deceived or betrayed, how are we to retain our heart of love and joy?
It is one thing to have to deal with our own inner weaknesses, which are clearly our responsibility – what of these hostile forces which attack us from outside?
Once while the Buddha was meditating, a person came and started insulting him vehemently. This abuse went on while the Buddha continued meditating. Eventually the person became fed up and turned to leave.
Then the Buddha spoke: “Just wait, please. I have something to ask you. Tell me, when you offer gifts to a person, if he does not accept your gifts, what do you do?”
“I just take them back.”
The Buddha said, “Well, you have been trying to offer me the gifts that you brought with you. Since I have not accepted your gifts, you are taking them back with you.”
It is up to us, whether to accept any ‘gift’ which is offered to us. The moment we accept a gift, it becomes ours. When we react to anger directed at us, that same anger flows through and consumes us, as also with doubt, fear, jealousy, suspicion. Our consciousness plummets, our day is destroyed.
To maintain your poise, be very careful which gifts you accept.
