The Forgotten Foundation of Meditation

Meditation begins with your state of mind.

Author’s note: This essay is a continuation of last week’s: What Nobody Tells You About Meditation.

In Vedic times, preparation for meditation began at school. Students were trained to steady their minds, sharpen their intellect, understand their true nature, and develop strong ethical values before even attempting meditation.

Today, the emphasis has reversed. Education is almost entirely focused on worldly success. Young people are under extraordinary pressure to perform, compete and achieve. Consequently, their little minds are racing in all directions. And when the strain becomes too much, we ask them to sit down, close their eyes, and meditate!

Yet without essential mental preparation, meditation becomes a sedative, not a source of strength. And in many cases, it can do more harm than good.

In today’s world, peace has become a rare commodity. That’s why the promise of “peace of mind” sells so well. The meditation industry is thriving, with countless forms to choose from: mindfulness, transcendental, Zen, Vipassana, sound baths, breath awareness, apps, and retreats.

But what’s often left unsaid is this: the peace you experience through modern meditation is only ever temporary.

No matter how pleasant the experience of meditation is, it doesn’t change how you meet life’s challenges. An innocuous comment or a delay is enough to throw you off balance, leaving you wanting and waiting for the next meditation session to put your shattered self back together.

But what if peace didn’t depend on the next meditation session? What if there were another way to gain lasting inner peace?

There is, but let me warn you, the techniques outlined below require effort.

Meditation is 99% preparation and 1% inspiration. — A. Parthasarathy

Philosopher A. Parthasarathy offers a compelling example to illustrate the difference between modern and traditional meditation. 

He says that meditation without preparation is like pushing a rusty piston inside a rusty cylinder. If you use force, either the piston will break, or the cylinder will crack, or both.

You must first knock off the scales of rust — the negativities like worry, anxiety, anger, fear, stress and depression. Use rough sandpaper on the inside of the cylinder and on the outside of the piston. Once that’s done, use fine sandpaper to remove the last traces of rust. Wipe it clean. Lubricate it inside and out. Then, finally, take the piston and place it at the top of the cylinder. Let it go, and it slides straight in.

That’s meditation.

The Buddha State

The aim of modern mediation is to gain peace of mind, not liberation. That’s fine. However, the peace gained is fleeting, passing, temporary. Traditional meditation requires us to prepare our mind by strengthening the hidden faculty that keeps it in place before we sit to meditate.

That faculty, in Sanskrit, is called Buddhi. I love this word. Let me try to explain why.

Each one of us has the capacity to realise the Buddha state within — a state of deep inner peace and contentment. Buddha means the enlightened one or the awakened one.

Buddhi is Buddha with an “i” on the end. Buddhi means to awaken, to be aware, to understand, and to know.

According to the philosophy of the Vedas, Buddhi is the way to the Buddha state.¹ Buddhi is the Sanskrit word for intellect. It is our awakened thinking. Not to be confused with academic intellect or intelligence.

This non-academic intellect is our superpower. It’s our ability to observe without judgment and to see things as they are, not as we would like them to be. It is our capacity to remain calm, focused and in control of our mind and our lives.

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The Three Yogas

The three yogas are not about standing on your head, breathing techniques, or physical postures. They are ancient spiritual disciplines designed to relieve us of mental baggage — and prepare our minds for meditation.

When the mind is prepared — when it is calm, composed, and content, meditation becomes natural, effortless, and profound.

The three disciplines or yogas are:

• Karma Yoga — selfless action, performed without attachment to results.

• Bhakti Yoga — selfless love and devotion, which reduces the ego and opens the heart.

• Gnana Yoga — self-inquiry and scriptural wisdom, which sharpens the intellect and reveals Truth.

When these three are lived rather than merely studied, you become reflective, contemplative, and meditative. Your life begins to feel like a continuous meditation.

Your actions become wiser. You become efficient and at the same time, peaceful — your mind becomes calm, clear, focused, and no longer disturbed by outside circumstances. You become a complete individual, full of love, wisdom, kindness and generosity.

There is a precise order to meditation, just as there is a method in any science. If you want to enjoy the fruits — lasting peace, clarity, energy and joy — the mind must be prepared through these disciplines. What follows is not a fleeting glimpse of peace, but a steady inner freedom.

When the foundation is laid, peace is no longer temporary. It becomes your natural state. And from this state of mind, you will slide into meditation effortlessly.

This was always intended as an introduction. Next week, I’ll go into greater depth.

Till then,
Be Well,

Meredith — The Elder Sage

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This publication is just getting started. It will grow slowly and deliberately — the same way the mind is trained.

If something in this essay unsettled you, challenged you, or resonated, I’d love to hear from you. Your thoughts help shape what this space becomes.

Thank you.

1. Vedanta is the philosophy of the Vedas. Veda, in Sanskrit, means knowledge, and Anta means end. Vedanta is found at the end of the Vedas. Otherwise known as the end of knowledge. The Upanishads (Vedanta) explain the ultimate Reality, Pure Consciousness, and liberation or Moksha.