Question: How does one meditate?

Sri Chinmoy: There are two ways to meditate. One way is to silence the mind. An ordinary man feels that if he silences the mind he becomes a tool. He feels that if the mind does not think, the mind has lost everything. But this is not true in the spiritual life. In the spiritual life when we silence the mind we see that a new creation, a new promise to God, dawns in the mind. Right now we have not fulfilled our promise to God; we have not totally dedicated our existence to God. When we can silence the mind, we are in a position to please and fulfil God.

Right now we do not hear God’s Voice. There may be something we hear from within that we feel is God’s Voice, but it may be only a voice coming from our subtle physical or subtle vital or from somewhere else. But when we silence the mind, we can hear a silent voice inside the very depth of our heart or above our head, and that is the Voice of God. Once we hear the Voice of God we cannot make any mistake in our life. If we listen to its dictates all the time, we will go forward, upward and inward constantly.

Another way to meditate is to empty the heart. Right now the heart is full of emotional turmoil and problems caused by the impure vital which has enveloped it. The heart is a vessel. Right now this vessel is full of undivine things, things that limit and bind us. If we can empty the heart vessel, there is someone who will fill it with divine Peace, Light and Bliss, which will liberate us. When we empty our heart of ignorance, God’s Wisdom-Light will come and fill it.

A seeker can make a choice, or he can do both forms of meditation. In the morning he can try to silence his mind and in the evening he can try to empty his heart. Our meditation is our inner food. We have to eat if we want to be inwardly strong. If the food is nourishing and delicious, then we can eat the same food in the morning and in the evening. But if we enjoy two types of food and feel that both types have the same sweet taste and the same nourishment, then we can eat both. But if we find that one form of meditation is more difficult than the other, we should do the one that is easier. If both are equally easy, then we are very fortunate; we can have a variety of food.