Shankar Ramani

February 18, 2024

The most catchy advertisements for meditation try to make it look simple so you can learn it in a few minutes and achieve Nirvana shortly after. And likely solve all the problems in your life within the next hour after that. And those who are out to make money by selling spirituality and meditation say they’re both very easily achievable. Yet you must pay them for many sessions and classes for a very long time to get the benefits. They also say that meditation can only be achieved with one of their teachers. The irony is more than evident.

Here at Sahaja Online, we like to be straight with you. Meditation is challenging to master. Spirituality is even more complex, and it takes a lifetime to immerse yourself in it. 

Let’s explore why and see what it takes to get the most out of meditation and spirituality.

Truths and misconceptions about meditation and spirituality

The first truth is that learning about spirituality is different from being spiritual. Most people spend their lifetime doing the former. The latter is much harder and the real goal and test of our lives.

Likewise, meditation is a state. Perhaps the first reason people find it so hard is because they try to “do” or “practice” meditation. We can’t. We can only fall into that precious state of higher consciousness and try to be there as long as we can.

Neither meditation nor spirituality can be achieved cognitively. This means that no matter how much you read, learn, and then try to practice them mentally, you can never experience their essence. 

Spiritual and meditative states are founded on a higher plane of consciousness; our attention needs to rise, touch, and be in those states for as long as possible.

This higher state is entirely spiritual, where thoughts, analysis, and any cognitive activity cannot exist. However, we still have our full cognition powers in that higher state. We are completely aware of ourselves and are as alert as we can ever be when in that state.

Being religious is not the same as being spiritual. Religion is a path and journey leading to the ultimate destination, spirituality. The inability to understand this nuance is another reason many people lose their way. They’re intensely religious and assume or try to mentally imbibe good behavior that resonates with spirituality. But that still isn’t being spiritual.

Our spirit is always seeking the divine and wants to unite with it. So, that power of seeking drives us to look for ways to achieve a higher purpose throughout our lifetimes. 

That higher state cannot be cognitively learned, understood, or imagined. It can only be experienced. Here again, we can fall into the trap of assuming an exhilarating experience as a spiritual experience. 

The best ways to understand if we have achieved a genuine state of meditation in the form of higher consciousness are –

• It has to impact our behavior positively and automatically, almost effortlessly.
• The feeling of peace and calm is unlike anything else.
• The need and tendency to react is drastically reduced, and we enjoy witnessing more than reacting.
• The relativity of truth gives way to the realization of the absolute truth in life; there is no dichotomy anymore. Everything feels completely integrated.

Ways to achieve the state of meditation

The first step is to find the trigger to turn our attention to that state. This happens through the awakening of the Kundalini energy. This awakening and the sustenance of meditation on the higher plane of consciousness is the core focus of Sahaja meditation.

A few other important aspects enable the state of meditation to be achieved with relative ease.

Humility and surrender

We enable the Kundalini energy to rise faster when completely surrendering to the divine. True meditation, thus, is easier when we do much less and instead surrender.

Remove the obstacles to achieving that state.

Rather than try hard to achieve that state of meditation, a better way is to keep our chakras clear and make it easier for the Kundalini energy to rise without encountering obstacles. This helps us reach that higher state faster and sustains it much longer.

Allow it to manifest and be the witness.

Every other meditation involves some concerted effort like concentration, focus, or typically doing something or performing some step. Rarely do people say that you have to allow it to manifest naturally and be a mere witness. With Sahaja, this is key. We pave the way for the Kundalini energy to rise, lift us into that higher state, and do nothing but observe. Whatever we do at that point may cause our attention to drop down to the lower level of consciousness and away from the state of meditation; it’s that subtle.

Ways to become spiritual

Being spiritual means that we innately start exhibiting the characteristics of our inner spiritual being or spirit. We can understand this better by knowing the qualities of our spirit.

Our spirit is always joyous and detached.

It is full of love, compassion, and forgiveness.

It is infinitely innocent, creative, and contented.

It always wants to unite with the divine.

Therefore, spirituality and spiritual life only happen if we begin to spontaneously and effortlessly behave like our spirit. And that, in turn, begins to happen more and more as we touch and be in that higher state of true meditation as a pure witness.

At Sahaja Online, we aim to illuminate every truth that can help you achieve meditation and spirituality. All these truths have existed for thousands of years, just that the sophistication of human civilization has clouded our attention and led us away from them. At their core, they are very profound yet straightforward. 

As you attend our sessions, you will be able to make progress gradually in achieving the state of meditation and making your life richer spiritually. Meditation and spirituality are hard, but we can help you get there.