Meditation Is A Tool, Not The Goal.
Having read a myriad of ancient texts on this subject, as well as contemporary applications of the practice, I think there needs to be a little bit of clarification on the Practice of Meditation itself.
Pick up any new age or contemporary psychology book and you’ll see them constantly touting the benefits of Meditation. In truth, what most people ascribe as Meditation, isn’t the full or “true” Meditation; with the highest point of Meditation being “Samadhi” or “complete absorption”.
When you hear people say “I meditated on”, they’re actually talking about the 6th stage of Meditation, “Dharana", which is translated to a “Concentration of Mind”. Even at the 7th stage, “Dhyana”, people are only talking about a “Withdrawal of Mind”. However, the 8th and final stage, “Samadhi”, is rarely ever achieved; and, even if it has been, practitioners don’t really know if they’ve been there because they are quite literally “lost” (aka “fully absorbed”) in the moment.
Actually, the best way to know if you’ve been to Samadhi is to set a timer for your Meditation practice. If you find 20 minutes feeling like 5, you know that you’ve gone. Samadhi (scientifically known as a Flow State) is something that we’ve actually all achieved in our daily lives, but rarely practice. However, the benefit of practicing to get into this state (much like why driving home always feels faster than driving somewhere new) is familiarity. The more you are familiar with this state, the quicker and quicker you can get to achieving it.
You may also notice that I mentioned “stages”. This is because Meditation isn’t a “single act”, but a “series of steps”. It’s a process, not a product.
With that all being said, let’s now actually get into the intended purpose of meditation:
Meditation was first mentioned in Hinduism’s Mahabharata. More specifically, it was in the Bhagavad Gita section of the Mahabharata, where a warrior named Arjuna was required to complete a task that he did not want to complete. He was made to fend off his family for the sake of his kingdom. Obviously, no easy task to choose between family or kingdom, but he needed to perform his duty to protect his kingdom. Suddenly, Lord Krishna appeared to him and taught him the Tool of Meditation in order to quell his Mind and complete his task.
Post-Mahabharata, a man (or a series of people, history is actually unsure) known as Patanjali, both organized and codified this exercise into what is now known as Yoga; resulting in him being considered the “Father of Yoga”.
Hundreds of years later, a prince, Siddhartha Gautama, was being raised in complete hedonism in order to avoid any distress in his life. One day, he stumbled upon a sick and dying man and realized that this fate would befall everyone and his mind (essentially) snapped. He was suddenly filled with great despair and sought out any solution in order to escape this reality. After studying under many other buddhas at the time and enduring his own series of trials, he eventually formalized his own direct path towards Meditation (coined, the Eightfold Path), and was named the Buddha (the Awakened One).
During a Sangha (essentially, a meeting to share wisdom), the Buddha was staring at a lotus flower while everyone was expecting him to speak. Suddenly, someone from the crowd began laughing. The Buddha told him to come up and then he gave this person the lotus flower, saying that he “understood the lesson”. The receiver of this lotus flower became the founder of Zen. What is the connection between Zen and Meditation, you ask? Well, traditional Meditation Practice requires you to sit still. However, life is constantly moving. So, Zen practitioners learned how to exercise Meditation in seemingly monotonous, daily tasks.
This actually extends further into Taoism, but I’ll leave it here for now. If you’d like to read more about this “Spiritual Stepladder” click here.
So, what is the common thread between all of these disciplines? Learning to quell the mind. You see, the mind (though it has been demonized in new age spirituality) is actually both our greatest friend, while also being our greatest foe. We can use the mind to plan and build great things; however, when the mind gets out of hand, we can go into thought-spirals, inhibiting us from doing what we must do.
At the heart of the entire Practice of Meditation is Discipline. Discipline, broken down, is knowing what you must do in that moment (despite your thoughts and feelings) and doing it.
I need to go for a run. But I’ll be so tired after.
I need to eat better. But the desserts look more tasty.
I need to study for this exam. But this show is so tempting.
Discipline is the exercising of our Will in order to get sh!t done.
What, then, is the real goal if it isn’t Meditation? To build a better life—not to sit for hours on end in what we only “think” is an Enlightened state. Thinking of it in Martial Arts terms, it’s the difference between drilling an Armbar all day and actually hitting an Armbar during sparring. One is the more basic form of the other.
Incorrectly, new age spirituality will have you believing that Meditation is the goal; when, in fact, it is just a Tool for you to exercise your Discipline and build the life you truly want.
-get after it.