To be in meditation you need to be centered.  And breathing keeps you centered.  Meditation is like horse riding, you need to train for it.  And the breathing technique helps you in training for it.  So use the breathing and you will notice that when you stay with the breathing while doing the technique the breathing keeps you centered.

 

Even if the mind, the thoughts carry you away, it keeps you aware.  So whenever thoughts carry you away be aware of that and come back to the breathing.  Breathing is the reference point to which you return whenever your mind carries you away – whenever your thoughts carry you away.  You need it.  And that is what keeps you centered again and again.  Ultimately it is easy to stay continuously centred. You have then won the greatest victory of your life. In this way you go beyond your mind and open yourself to awakening of the process – the process of enlightenment.   Therefore I say, meditation is like horse riding; you need to train for it.

 

So breathing is something you need to come back to each time.  Really you need to stay with the breathing throughout.  And through the breathing – the rhythmic breathing, you will see that it will center you, if you remain with it.  That is because of the nature of this type of breathing.  It will center you, it will draw you in, bring you to a stillness, harmonize.  Even so your thoughts will stop.  So use of the breathing is important, very important.  It keeps you conscious, consciously centered in yourself.  It will bring you to a quiet awareness, a quiet space, a quiet stillness. Then to remain with that space and to remain with the stillness in yourself.  It will bring you to a stop.  You will find everything stopped in yourself. Then to remain with the stop.  And that is the door to meditation.

 

So breathing is required – very much required to start you of in meditation.

Vigourous breathing – to bring you to a lightness.

Rhythmic breathing – to harmonize.

Vigorous breathing – to energize, keep you up and light.

And Rhythmic breathing – to center you and harmonize.

 

Meditation begins when you have found the stillness in yourself, when you have found the center in yourself, when you have come to a stop in yourself.  Until such time, you are preparing for it, and the breathing technique is very much required for that to be.

 

The breathing will help you to keep you centered in yourself, while your thoughts, your mind will carry you here and there.  So the breathing is a great help.  It is a reference, to which you return again and again when your thoughts keep you wandering elsewhere.  It will also keep you energized, so let it be strong enough for you to be able to hear it.  It will keep you awake, it will keep you alert, it will keep you sharp.

 

So meditation is like horse riding, you need to train for it; then it becomes easy.  And the breathing technique helps you to train for it.

 

The longer the breath in the rhythmic breathing, the better it is.  Long breath, deep breath and yet strong enough to be able to hear it.  And when you stay with it, you stay with yourself.  While the thoughts and your mind may carry you away, the breathing will keep you in and with yourself.  Whenever thoughts come up, stand behind, allow them to pass; let them go, while you remain with yourself through the breathing.

 

First to stay with the breathing, then through the breathing you will arrive at yourself; you will arrive at being centered in yourself.  And that is meditation – beginning of meditation.  Of course meditation is all about and all of your life.  Be aware of the thoughts as they pass.  And if they carry you away, be aware of that too, that they have carried you away.  It is all part of the meditation.  And when they carry you away, if you are watchful, observant, aware, you can return back to the breathing.  This may get repeated time and time again.

 

But breathing is a great help; it helps you to quieten the thoughts, it helps you to make space in yourself from your thoughts.

 

As I said earlier meditation is like horse riding.  And as in horse riding you have to keep yourself in training.  So also with meditation, you have to keep in training.  And the breathing helps you to do that.  And each time it becomes easier and easier just like with horse riding.  The breathing helps you to enter into yourself.  The mind, your thoughts will prevent you to do that.  Therefore breathing is your friend.  The breath is your friend.  So use the breathing, use the breath as we have suggested, the type of breathing which helps you to center yourself, keep you energized; which will keep you harmonized, bring you to a stillness in yourself and a stop in yourself.  Through the stop you enter into yourself, you enter into meditation.

 

Again to help to be centered, we will have ten minutes of chanting.  We will chant a prayer.  All this is to help you to arrive at being centered, to keep you being centered in yourself, to keep you in meditation.  We will chant the Gayatri.  So each time before you chant you take a deep breath.  A long and deep breath.  It will help you to stay centered.

 

So you can see how we continue to use the breathing all the time for it keeps you centered, it keeps you conscious.  It keeps you in awareness with what you are doing.  We will chant; take a deep breath each time before you chant.

 

Chanting the Gayatri mantra.

 

Now use the breathing and go back to yourself, the longer the breath the better it is.  Long breath, deep breath and yet strong enough to be able to hear it; and this keeps you energized, it keeps you centered.

 

If thoughts carry you away, be aware of that; come back to yourself through the breathing.  Stand behind the thoughts and allow them to pass.  Keep letting them go.  Through the breathing stay in yourself, with yourself.

 

When you sit for meditation many things come up besides your thoughts.  Memories will arise, feelings, emotions, even inertia, sleepiness and that is why we keep repeating to take the help of the breathing; for the breathing will keep you awake, will help you to go beyond the inertia, the sleepiness, the thoughts and all that which comes up.  So breathing keeps you awake, alert and sharp.

 

So whenever anything comes up observe it, watch over it, stand behind it, allow it to pass, make room in yourself through the breathing.  The breathing helps you to do that.

Staying with the breathing, through the breathing you remain with yourself, centered and stopped.

 

It is natural for things to arise when you sit for meditation.  How to deal with them, is part of meditation.  This is what is important.  To be able to observe them, to allow them to pass, to keep letting them go; with the help of the breathing to make room in yourself, space in yourself and therefore to remain centered in yourself.  This is the objective.  This is the training for meditation.  And to be able to do it with ease.  For that you need your breathing exercise, breathing technique.  For that you need to continue to use the breathing and stay with the breathing, long and deep breathing.

 

It is easy to lose yourself to thoughts, lose yourself to memories, feelings, emotions, whatever that may arise.  It is easy to lose yourself to sleep.  It is the breathing technique that will keep you above, beyond, behind and free of all that which comes up, which rises in you.

 

Without the breathing it will not be easy to stay awake even though you may have had a good enough rest the night before.  For sleep is as natural as thoughts are, as emotions are, as feelings are.  So just as thoughts may arise so also sleep may try to overcome you.  The breathing helps you to not be overwhelmed by your thoughts, by your inertia, by sleepiness.  And the breathing helps you to stay relaxed; it helps you to stay awake, alert.

 

Therefore we say: long breath, deep breath and strong breath.  It should be strong enough to be able to hear it.  This way your attention will stay with the breathing.  And it will keep you awake, it will keep you energized, it will keep you sharp.

 

Also it is helpful if you raise the seat in the back, then the back is straight.

 

Observe all that, which rises in you, comes up in you.  And remember to keep letting them go using the help of the breathing.  The breathing will keep you centered and help you to make space in yourself from all that which comes up – thoughts, feelings, emotions, memories, even sleep.

 

You are an observer; you are the witness to all that which comes up in you.

 

Meditation is all about letting go – letting go of your thoughts and whatever that comes up – and to arrive at a quiet centering in yourself.

 

Arya Vihar  

14 July 2002