{"id":9006,"date":"2024-10-08T18:40:48","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T22:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/whats-the-best-method-of-meditation\/"},"modified":"2024-10-08T18:40:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T22:40:48","slug":"whats-the-best-method-of-meditation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/whats-the-best-method-of-meditation\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the best method of meditation?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Profit<\/a>
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When your mind and heart are truly open abundance will flow to you effortlessly and easily.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Question:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThree years ago, when I finished college in Dublin, Ireland,\u00a0I went to Nepal and trekked to Mt Everest Base Camp.<\/span><\/p>\n

On this wonderful adventure, I met a person who was to change the course of my life.<\/span><\/p>\n

She taught me about Eastern philosophy and meditation.<\/span><\/p>\n

It really struck a chord with me, because I was searching for happiness and didn\u2019t know how to find it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since then I have been searching for \u201cthe best path\u201d to enlightenment.<\/span><\/p>\n

I took a ten-day Vipassana retreat in Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n

I found a book by Swami Muktananda in an old second-hand book sale shortly afterward.<\/span><\/p>\n

I read it and set out to learn \u201cSiddha Yoga\u201d meditation.<\/span><\/p>\n

I did this for a while but became disillusioned with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The technique was nothing like the esoteric methods I had read about\u00a0in\u00a0Muktananda\u2019s books.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I began researching meditation and learned a popular form of meditation four months ago and have been meditating religiously, twice a day since then \u2013 determined this time, to persist and get past the initial phase that had always trapped me before.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, I don\u2019t see any tangible benefit from my efforts and I\u2019m beginning to wonder why I\u2019m bothering.<\/span><\/p>\n

I never seem to fully transcend \u2013 fulfillment always seems elusive, both in meditation and outside in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

An Indian man in my yoga class told me about Kriya Yoga, which I had read about in Paramahansa Yogananda\u2019s \u2018Autobiography of a Yogi\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

My friend\u00a0told me about a lineage of Indian Kriya Masters that can teach this to anyone who sincerely wants to learn for no charge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It seems to be history repeating itself, but I feel I \u201cmust\u201d go and do this.<\/span><\/p>\n

I feel that the universe has given me signs that it\u2019s the next step on my path!<\/span><\/p>\n

And from what\u00a0Yogananda\u2019s book says about it, Kriya seems to be\u00a0a \u201cshortcut\u201d to enlightenment\u2026 a way to get \u201cone year\u2019s worth of evolution in 30 seconds\u201d\u00a0by using the techniques of chakra meditation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Or can Vipassana, mantra meditation, or Primordial Sound meditation do exactly the same thing?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why does cosmic consciousness seem like such an unattainable goal for the normal man living in the world and is there a \u201d best way\u201d or one method of meditation that is vastly more effective than all others?<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not interested in trivial benefits\u00a0\u2013 I want\u00a0to attain enlightenment\u00a0IN THIS LIFE.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Any meditation teacher I ask always has some reason why, although this is a possibility, it\u2019s not likely.<\/span><\/p>\n

It may take thousands of lives to get to the ultimate goal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But I only know that I\u2019m alive now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s all there is to work with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A set amount of time.<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know what happens after the end that we all face, so putting the purpose of\u00a0human life off for \u201d\u00a0the next life\u201d makes no sense to me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Response:<\/strong><\/p>\n

All of those techniques are effective and have helped individuals attain self-awareness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And while a burning desire for enlightenment is a powerful motivation for spiritual practice, it\u2019s important to understand that self-realization is not a dramatic experience, it\u2019s just awareness knowing itself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The mind and body may generate dramatic temporary experiences we associate with that awakening, but the real spiritual experience is recognizing the presence of your awareness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no real shortcut technique to self-realization, there is only your path and what that unfoldment constitutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s fine to use Muktananda\u2019s and Yogananda\u2019s books as inspiration, but it should not lead you to compare your personal experiences with theirs to gauge whether you are making progress or not.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most spiritual growth feels very mundane and unremarkable. Reading about experiences of celestial visitations with lights, colors, voices, and whatnot, is fun, but it can lead you to devalue your own subtle but real experience of self-awareness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Regarding how long it will take for your awakening, I can\u2019t tell you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It depends on how much mental and physical conditioning there is left for you to release.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wanting to complete it in this lifetime is commendable, as a way of saying you don\u2019t want to waste any time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But as with the previous consideration, comparing your present progress to an imaginary ideal is a recipe to take you out of the present where your growth really happens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You think that the spiritual practices you\u2019ve got right now are not fast enough or powerful enough to get you to enlightenment in this lifetime.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So instead of fully engaging in the complete transformative power of your present reality, you are casting about looking for the \u201cperfect\u201d technique.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you switch your approach to trusting that everything you need is right here in front of you now, then you will step out of the time-bound consideration of enlightenment and start to live the unlimited, eternal potential that is your true essence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Love,<\/p>\n

Deepak<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n