For meditation you have to arrive at silence in yourself; for meditation you have to arrive at a quiet stop in yourself; a being centered in yourself, a being present in and to yourself – as opposed to being present in thought. Yes, that thought that would carry you to being stopped in yourself; yes, that feeling that would carry you into your heart of devotion.

Feel for yourself in silence; enter into your Being; feel for the Self-presence…

Again I repeat: the breath will always help you, so have no hesitation to use it whenever, wherever. It will bring you close to yourself; it will bring you to your self-awareness. There is much in you that needs to be understood, and you can do that when you have arrived at being present in yourself. From there the understanding begins; from there you can make your changes; from there you can transcend yourself to arrive at a greater being, a profounder Self.

So feel for the meditation in yourself; arrive at being present. I continue to repeat, be present in yourself, even while out there in your movements, in your actions, in your expressions.

Watch and observe: one moment to the next. Watch the previous moment from the next moment; watch the previous day from the next day. Watch the previous mood, space, feeling, from the next mood, space, feeling. Watch one state from another—you will start to understand yourself, increasingly so, the play of consciousness, the many-sided play of your Being, the play of your feelings, emotions—and the Awakening to a new life.

Rejoice in yourself, for you have taken to meditation. There is much awaiting you in your own-self  and meditation is the way; and to arrive at meditation the breath, breathing the way we do is the way.

Let your heart reach to prayer and let yourself arrive at meditation. Be playful while you yet reach to your heart of prayer, while you yet reach to the self of meditation. Be childlike, be free.

So use the breath whenever, wherever, to arrive at being present in yourself: through the breath you enter into yourself, the self-silence, the self-presence. God awaits you in your own heart as your own Being – as your very Being, as your very Self, as your very Consciousness.

There are many layers to your consciousness; you will see as you continue to understand yourself, observe. You have taken to the greatest study, the study of consciousness and its realms. The whole of consciousness is your Being: the consciousness of emotions, the consciousness of thought, the consciousness of feelings, passions, the consciousness of the body – and more.

Be conscious every moment – remind yourself, remember. Remind each other. We say so much to each other, we can also say, remind each other to be conscious as one does to oneself.

When you are speaking, be conscious of speaking; when you are listening, be conscious of listening. This is what is meant by being a witness. When you are in action, in activity, expressing, be conscious of that—remind yourself.  To be conscious is to be aware of that presence of yourself in all that which you do. It is always present. And meditation is the way to arrive and situate yourself concretely, substantially in that presence.

Prayer is the way. To keep reminding and remembering is the way. You will start to catch glimpses of it and increasingly it will become more of your consciousness, your being. And there will a  natural uprising of self-delight, a self-joy,  a self-rejoicing in spite of the difficult moments that may come your way.

Each time whenever you find yourself in those difficult moments remind yourself to be centered and to be objective with the moment. It will take you beyond; it will bring you to an objective space; it will give you poise and dignity. Then from there you can work upon the difficulty. You will gain in capacity, you will gain in power. It will set you free, it will increase you. So remember: this is being conscious; this is being actively conscious; this is what is meant by working consciously—you become more than the situation.

So prayer and meditation—and breathe your way to Eternity…

Breath represents life: where there is no breath there is no life. Therefore if you seek to continue to live, keep with the breathing: it will open the doors to Immortality. The breath can guide you to yourself, to the awareness of yourself. Through the awareness you enter into meditation. Through the meditation you awaken to the Reality.

When emotions come, feelings come, you can use them to turn into yourself even more, deeper into yourself; turn them to prayer, you will arrive at meditation.

In meditation and prayer you are alone with yourself—and yet the whole of the cosmos abides in your being.

Eternity is your breath—and life your playing-field…

When you sit with yourself, all by yourself, you are exploring yourself; you are watching over your emotions, your feelings; you are watching over your thoughts, while at the same time you are reaching beyond, deeper into your being, higher – to your Self.

The breath will help you, it is always with you. Listen to your breath—it will bring you to watching over the breath, it will bring the whole of your attention on the breath. And where your attention is there you are. Through the attention on the breath you will become aware of yourself and the attention will shift from breath to self.

Have faith in yourself. To have faith in yourself is to have trust—in life, in God.

Feel for the silence, feel for the presence. You could be forever with it—for  all of eternity…

When you become aware of the presence of yourself, you come to a stop in yourself. That stop is the door to your Awakening.

So bring your attention to the breath and breathe deep and breathe long, strong enough for you to be able to hear it. And in the hearing of the breath is the listening of the breath, and in the listening of the breath is the awareness of the Self, is the awareness of the presence of yourself. Offer yourself completely; be inspired unto yourself. This is consecration, this is commitment, this is faith, this is trust, this is strength.

So bring your attention to your breath and breathe long and deep and yet strong enough to be able to hear it, so that you may listen to your own self, so that you may become aware of the presence of yourself.

In that presence is your Awakening; in that presence is your freedom. All freedoms follow from there.

The more you are with yourself, the more you increase in power—a power that is with God, a power that is with Light; a power that is wise, a power that is kind and compassionate, a power that does not bind but sets free for it lives in Eternity.

When you are with yourself you are with God. When you are with God you are with yourself. God lives in your Being as your very  Self.

Through meditation and prayer you transform yourself in the light of God, in the light of your Self. So bring your attention to the breath and breathe long and deep and yet strong enough to keep you sharp and alert to yourself. Feel for the silence of your Self; it is just behind the breath. It will intoxicate you; it will nourish you.

So remember, whenever you feel down-and-out turn to reaching to yourself. Remember, remind yourself to be centered and arrive at being present. It will nourish you, lift you. It may not happen in the first instance. Have faith in yourself, continue: it will happen. It is your faith that will carry you to yourself. It is your faith that carries you anywhere and everywhere.

Faith is more than just a feeling; faith is your soul’s strength. Faith is your very being. Faith is immortality.

Meditation is to be at peace with yourself; to be at peace is to be in meditation. So be at peace with yourself, be at peace with the whole universe. When you are not in peace you cannot be in meditation. You have to work therefore, to arrive at peace with yourself and with all else around you. And yet, even if there be chaos around, you can be at peace.

And when you are at peace with yourself you see through the eyes of the Buddha, you smile the smile of Siva…

Arya Vihar

5 April 2001