Meditation

 

Which is the best time of the day for meditation, Swami?

The best time is from 4.30 a.m. or 5 a.m.  You are refreshed by sleep; all will be quiet, around you.  These will be no tension, in the body and the mind.  Or you can select 7 p.m.  Your day's work will then be over; you will not have a heavy stomach, for you have not had your dinner.  If the day's work is not exhaustive or if it is of a more or less routine nature, you can start meditation about 7 p.m.

Can a person having high blood pressure take up meditation?

Oh, yes.  He can.  In fact, meditation will cure him; it is soothing and calming.  One must continue Dhyana or meditation until one realises that all is suffused with Divinity.  In the beginning, during meditation, a person might naturally experience some visions and sounds, which spur him on to greater intensity.  Later, they become not so prominent and so enthusiasm should not be allowed to flag.  But why this insistence on a definite time?  Wherever you are, whenever you get the chance, you can recite the Name of God.  When you walk to office and walk back again, have the Name on the tongue, and the glory in the mind.

How then are we to use the rosary, Swami?

No rosary is needed.  Counting the number of times you utter the Name may be a source of encouragement in the beginning; but after a time, it is unnecessary; it is a needless distraction; it may even cause pride or dejection.

(From Swami's Discourse at the gathering of Sadhaks and spiritual aspirants, Kampala, 9.7.1968, as published in the book "The Light of Love" by N. Kasturi)