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One thing each and every one of us needs to do is to spend some time with ourselves, and one way of doing this is in practicing meditation.

So what is Meditation?

The word meditation simply means to think or to heal. A lot of people believe that to meditate is to stop thinking but this is not the aim although it is true that when a person has had a lot of practice at meditating thinking often stops and there is the experience of just ‘being’. Meditation also heals the hurt in the soul, hurt which has been inflicted by life on this world. Even if we only spend a few moments in silence each day this will remind us of who we are, spiritual beings, and that our true state is peace.

I have been practicing and teaching with the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University for 26 years now, and as a result of this, my life has completely changed for the better. My first experience gained from meditation was one of peace and a feeling of being uplifted. People often say to me that after meditating for the first time that they didn’t have an experience but when I ask them if they felt peaceful whilst meditating they reply that they did. I then point ouT that to feel peaceful is a good experience in itself!

There are many different ways of meditating and the one practiced by the Brahma Kumaris is somewhat different to the others. Firstly we meditate with our eyes open. The reasons for this are very practical. Keeping the eyes open helps to prevent one from falling asleep – sleep is not the intention – rather we want to be balanced on a thin line of awareness. Secondly we meditate whilst walking along and carrying out simple tasks which don’t require much concentration, and especially whilst cooking our food. So you see, it makes sense to have our eyes open because otherwise we would walk into something or trip over some obstacle.

When someone first comes to the Brahma Kumaris to learn to meditate they take the foundation course in meditation which is free. The course includes the method and experience of meditation and how to make meditation and spirituality a part of daily life. Also students gain a grounding in spiritual knowledge, an understanding of the nature of the self and God and the philosophy of karma and the cycle of time.

The student learns that they are not really this physical body but a spiritual being, an eternal soul, a tiny point of energy and this spiritual being just happens to be in this body at this time but it is not the body. The body is entrusted to the soul for the period of a lifetime and the soul gives life to the body. They also have the opportunity to sit and meditate with an experienced Raja Yogi and it is in this way this easy but uplifting method of meditation is learned.

When beginning to meditate, we turn our thoughts inward to a point behind the forehead where the spiritual being, the soul, sits and begin to realise the wonderful innate qualities of the soul which have become hidden during life on this world. These qualities are peace, love, light, happiness, contentment and many more. The practice of meditation brings out these qualities so that we can use them as values in our lives.

We go on to make contact with the higher source of power – the Supreme Soul, God, and to create a link with that one. This is something too beautiful to describe in mere words. This experience is known as yoga and it is the power of this yoga, which enables us to bring about transformation in ourselves eliminating weaknesses, building on strengths and reclaiming the soul’s original state of total peace. We cannot change others or the world, but when we change then this will bring about change in the world.

Raja Yoga isn’t only a method of meditation; for those of us who take up the practice, and want to bring about change in our lives, it is a total way of life. Of course, we still live in the world, have jobs, families, friends but our spiritual life is very important, and we carry with us the awareness of who and what we are.

The basic foundation course is just the beginning and we have an opportunity to go on to study further, being encouraged to study ourselves and we soon see how we can create a new and beautiful way of being.

The Brahma Kumaris also offer free courses in Positive Thinking, Self Esteem, Anger Management and Stress Free Living, as well as offering self-development talks, workshops and seminars. We also have a very beautiful Retreat Centre – Global Retreat Centre, at Nuneham Courtenay, Oxford where there is the opportunity to experience day and weekend retreats.

The benefits of Raja Yoga meditation include inner peace, relaxation of body, mind and spirit, new attitudes and responses to life, positive relationships, a deep sense of self worth, a sense of purpose, contentment and better concentration.

By Sheila Hammond

To find out where your nearest Brahma Kumaris representative is located please telephone 0191 284 7681 so that I can pass this information on to you or go to our website www.bkwsu.org.uk and www.bkpublications.com
Sheila Hammond