The Satsang Journal
Teachings, field notes and stories of service from across The Satsang Foundation.
When you understand and become aware of your breathing, aware under all circumstances, not just when you sit down, you will notice then that your mind becomes settled and goes deeper and deeper int...
The breath is so important, yet we are never aware of it. We think that it is quite natural, the way it is going on. The breath started before birth, in the womb, and it goes on until it stops, and...
In meditation you first start with being aware of your breath. The breath is a very important link to that which is beyond. If you want to move from mindfulness to that which is beyond, the breath ...
In Vedantic meditation, it helps to have a preliminary calming of the mind by pranayama, by watching the breath or by japa. After you have calmed your mind, then the intellect becomes very sharp an...
In bhakti yoga, when japa is to be done, one conceives of a lotus or a flower, or a light in the centre of one’s chest or heart, and then, one invites that form of God that one has selected, to com...
Meditating on the third eye leads you deeper and deeper if you do it properly. However, for those who are more spiritual through an emotional connection, the heart centre, the hridaya, is a good pl...
Traditionally, according to the yoga shastras, the cross-legged position is very good for meditation. It’s related to the energy channels in our system, which are called the ida, pingala and sushum...
Mindfulness is outside, and mindfulness is also inside, and if both these can be integrated, then it’s a stepping stone to go beyond, beyond the ordinary mind.
A person who is mindful is usually a gentle person, because the mind has settled down. You cannot even goad such a mind to get angry with somebody, it’s not possible, because the person sees that t...
Words can cause a great deal of problems. Sometimes you can hit somebody, you can slap somebody, and it may be forgotten in a day or two, but if you use words which hurt the person, he or she might...
Samadhi is when you are so absorbed in whatever you are looking at, that you totally forgetyourself. There is no you. There is only that.
Dhyana comes from the root dhi, which means ‘to meditate’. When dharana becomes continuous, like when you pour oil from a vessel, then that dhara, dharana, becomes dhyana. If you are seriously inte...