It a common phenomenon that different kinds of meditation practices are observed throughout the world. Yoga, Buddhism, Taoism, Zen, and Sufism are some of the paths that lead to liberation. The kind of ‘liberation’ these spiritual traditions talk about is perhaps not an easy concept to grasp for people who are far removed from the influence of any of these paths that I have just mentioned.

Recently there has been growing number of practicing Buddhists in the West. Western scholars like Alan Watts, Aldous Huxley saw the underlying unity of all spiritual traditions and in the process informed the West about Eastern spiritual traditions and practices.

So the questions arise: what is meditation? Why practice it? The word has a Latin root (1175–1225)AD. It literally means “to think over”. But, as many of us may know, the Yoga that has been practiced in India, China, Japan predate the Western conception of meditation. In other words, we are very fortunate to have been born in a place where meditation has been a great gift to civilization, a guiding light in people’s hearts. It is the very breeding ground of meditation whose nature I will now try to describe.

In our waking consciousness, we are aware of only a very small portion of reality. We are not mindful enough of each little event that makes up a day for us. We are skilled enough to know how to do our da-to-day chores but if you notice carefully, you will see many of us are just going through the motions without any sense of awareness of who he/she really is. That is exactly why most our work becomes drudgery for us. We justify this insane, mundane, frenzied habit of professional work by telling ourselves that eventually all this hard work will pay off. We tell ourselves that one day we will achieve our goal.

But those who practice Yoga (and I don’t mean only Hatha Yoga which requires the practitioners to learn very difficult postures) know that its ultimate purpose is union with the Divine. They have a set of practices to achieve that goal, whether it be chanting, dancing, sitting silently and just being aware of reality as it is. This is mindfulness. In this context, mindfulness does not mean keeping a few important thoughts or feeling in mind. This mindfulness takes into account all that is happening at the present moment, in the ‘here-now’. All past experiences as memories, all expectations of a future exist now and here, in this present moment.

It is indeed impossible to live a peaceful life without meditation. When our mind is not spontaneous and subtle enough through the practice of meditation, a whole range of incoherent or fragmented thoughts assail it. We are then no longer mindful, watching ourselves from a spectator’s standpoint, but we rather get entangled in reality.

However, some critics opine that meditation is of no use in practical life. And this is exactly why they suffer although they may be quite unaware of the root of their suffering. They then try to look for short term fixes which will divert their attention from their problems and suffering.  As soon as the party time is over, they are again face-to-face with their problems. People seek diversion or distraction from their innermost self (which most of us are ashamed to express, except with one or two persons) in many forms: over eating, excessive consumption of the media, religious bigotry, excessive consumption of different products, overdosing on drugs, terrorist activities and the list goes on.

But meditation helps us acquire a certain state of being where all our worries, anxieties, pain gradually dissolve. Because meditation is a special kind of watchfulness and in that very watchfulness our problems and worries dissolve. It is only when we achieve this state we see reality, the world as it is, not as how we imagined it to be. It gives you a brand new perception of the world whereby all your false beliefs, illusions drop off.

What kind of illusions are we talking about? We are talking about the illusion that each one of us is a completely separate self, or just an ego. This illusion enables us to compete with each other fiercely; it alienates us from the mesmerizing beauty of nature; it creates divisions among human beings, and it leads to wars and blood baths on this beautiful planet.

On the other hand, people who meditate often stress the importance of ‘non-doing’. This should not be confused with escapism or becoming a vegetable in life. Meditation rather helps you stand back a little from your personal experiences and accepting reality as it is. This is the very first step of meditation. In this ‘non-doing’, you are actually being your true self. You have learnt to drop all the labels society puts on you or at least learnt not to take them too seriously. There is then a feeling of relief emanating from the core of your heart. You are no longer a slave to anybody, any group or any state. You realize your own divinity and find ultimate peace.

Let me give you a small example of the fact that we are not fully awakened beings. When we raise our children or interact with them, we hardly have the patience to let children have their way. We constantly barrage them with our do’s and don’ts, our sense of morality, our way of speaking. In other words we want to give them very little room for their uniqueness to emerge. More often than not they are denied the rights of the joys of self-discovery. We want to do everything for the child out of a loving concern. But our over-interference may impede the unfolding of their spontaneous selves like the blooming of different flowers.

But those who meditate know that the right kind of attention suffices when it comes to parenting. So it is the same kind of relationship between people who meditate and people who don’t. When after years of practicing mindfulness you come to see that every single change in society begins from you, you become wise, discreet. We no longer want to rush to fix the world; we are no longer worried sick about our children’s examination reports; we no longer regard others beneath us. This is true harmony.

The very power of your awareness can change the world without you having to do much.

To conclude, for those who meditate, every moment of life is a moment of meditation. Meditation then becomes a delight for them, not a ritual that one performs willy-nilly. For they have found the innermost core of their beings which defy all descriptions and thus have attained ‘liberation’ despite all the worldly limitations. Doesn’t the world need more of such non-doers than the frantic go-getters?

The writer is a contributor to

The Independent