Meditation can be on divine forms as well as on OM. As one goes on meditating, the mind gets absorbed in OM. As one goes on repeating OM and reflecting on its meaning, the mind becomes steady, that is to say, it does not give it up.
Through surrender to God all the obstructions to the concentration of the mind are destroyed and one realizes one’s Self.
What the Bhagavad Gita Teaches About Controlling the Mind
“The mind, O Arjuna, is controlled by practice and non-attachment. One should slowly withdraw one’s mind from sense-objects through patient discrimination. Fixing the mind on the self, one must no more think of anything else.”
This teaching on concentration — along with the reflection below — draws on Swami Vivekananda’s Raja Yoga, where he unpacks the Gita’s and Patanjali’s teachings on steady practice.
The author of the Yoga-Sutras says, “By carefully persisting in practice, for long and without intermission, the concentration becomes steady.”
We must attain to a steady concentration. The young plant needs to be hedged round, but when the tree is big, it requires protection no more. We must have steadfastness to the ideal. As soon as we decide that a certain course is right, we must resolve to give up our life for it. We must have decision in our character.
Arjuna — the decisive judgment here is one, but people of unsettled minds have innumerable varying ideas.
Committing to a Single Path
We must decide on a particular course and devote our whole life to it.
Practicing This Kind of Meditation in Rishikesh
Reading about steady concentration is one thing - sitting with it, on the banks of the Ganga, in the tradition these teachings come from, is another. At Rishikesh Yoga Valley, meditation is part of daily life, guided by teachers who live these same principles.
Explore our Meditation Retreat in Rishikesh
