Still body active mind

Peace and meditation are supposed to go hand in hand. And their intricate lifelong linkage almost seems like they are interlinked. If one meditates, one is at peace. Or if one is at peace - they are in a meditative state.

But the truth is far apart. The two definitely seem close together but they are like 2 parallel tracks that your eyes get deceived to think they join at the end. Well, eventually perhaps, at a spiritual level they do but by then you get to see that the two aren't co-dependent anyway.

Coming back, how often have we seen people in a meditative state. What we assume is meditative is a quiet body. Shut-off from restlessness, from movement. Steady, at ease - but not at peace.

You see, while the body is absolutely immobile - the mind is on a never-ending journey. We are told that a meditative state is when one shuts of all ideas and thinks of 'nothing', harder said than done as always. 

It's tough to switch off one's mind. Peaceful body - check. Peaceful mind - as relentless as an atheist being convinced to believe in God. 

Kung-fu Panda was seeking inner peace. And he was the complete opposite of a meditative body. And try shutting down his mind. But he did eventually find his inner peace - albeit by gobbling some of his favorite momos.

Both meditation and peace are extremely difficult. Keeping the body quiet is as difficult as asking to straightening a dog's tail. For most, making the mind quiet is another ball game altogether.

I go to the Ashram and can see the former very often. People in complete silence, motionless. But what their minds are up to is a cool mystery. I have seen a lot of people swaying away like a grass in the wind. Reaching a sweet tipping point before their primal sense prevents them from falling over. This constant bobbing makes me wonder if they are asleep, in which case, are they meditating? At peace? Is their mind quiet or actively dreaming away? 

There are a few methods that people recommend to try to get to a meditative state. One is the journey inwards - compressing the whole world inside oneself. The other is the journey outwards - where one starts to imagine one growing bigger and bigger and literally imagining an out-of-body experience.

Neither quite work for me. I start by praying, and then using that to reach a level of trance before i get lost. And in that sweet moment between letting oneself go and being aware of one's loss of control is where I find peace.

Sometimes I even imagine peace. Visualize a quiet stream, early morning, with slight bird chatter. Not the noisy ones that happen when the sun comes around and the chicks are amok. It helps me calm down, or at least, get my body to slow down.

And that I feel is the first step to meditation. The ability to first quieten the body. I could barely sit 10 minutes quietly. But over time, i can now easily perhaps sit 30 minutes without movement. Perhaps I need to listen to Mother's music, or even continually chanting something. Maybe first 15 minutes just to get into the groove and then, i either am lost in the ocean of my thoughts, drifting away in my mind quite aimlessly. And that is what I try to avoid. Consciously. To not let any thoughts come in that led me astray. Which is why chanting a mantra helps me stay focus but also, helps me get into that sweet spot.

Over the years, i have come to realize that  peace, calm, quiet and silence may sound similar but mean something totally different things.

All are indispensable to reach the meditative state. All are indispensable to progress in life. Because once you have these things, you are more receptable to change. 

There  was a beautiful passage where the Mother explains the difference. 

"The words “peace, calm, quiet, silence” have each their own shade of meaning, but it is not easy to define them.

Peace—śānti.

Calm—sthiratā.

Quiet—acañcalatā.

Silence—niścala-nīravatā.

Quiet is a condition in which there is no restlessness or disturbance.

Calm is a still, unmoved condition which no disturbance can affect—it is a less negative condition than quiet.

Peace is a still more positive condition; it carries with it a sense of settled and harmonious rest and deliverance.

Silence is a state in which either there is no movement of the mind or vital or else a great stillness which no surface movement can pierce or alter."

Meditation needs stillness - absence of movement both physically and ideally, in the mental plane too. 

Calmness and peace are required for us to go through life as they help us deal with difficulties and face our problems and deal with them. They are the positive charge that allows our atomic core to reach a neutral state when it's in a state of negative charge. 

It's important to understand the nuances between each as each has a role to play. Subtle but necessary. For the layman, it may seem all the same and it's not a bad place to start.

Thing is, peaceful mind doesn't have to have a peaceful body. Neither is a peaceful body lead to a peaceful mind. But a combination of the two are essential for our progress for the next evolution of man. That's what I believe in. Even if not progress of the entire race - it definitely makes you a better person, more in touch with oneself and that itself isn't a bad place to begin with.