Review: where to go from here

In Auckland I have the opportunity to share my love of meditation with many people who come to our free meditation classes year-long. I'm grateful for this opportunity – I meet so many nice people seeking a deeper meaning and purpose in their lives, who have open minds and hearts and a willingness to explore a new and inner world. We share the same impulse to search for happiness, enlightment, God, through the inner journey and consciously or unconsciously the growing understanding that worldly pursuits and achievements will not finally fulfill us – they can be enjoyed, yes, but these fruits alone can not fully satisfy our hunger.

Because the growth of our spiritual life is not always as rapid as we might wish – the fruit grows only slowly and steadily on the tree, no matter how often we water the roots – we become discouraged by our progress and sometimes allow our practice to lapse. Many spiritual philosophies embrace the notion of reincarnation – the immortal soul slowly matures to it's fullest potential over many lifetimes, like a central character reappearing in the many chapters of a book. In this context of the soul's long evolution through time, the few months of patiently developing a strong foundation in our meditation practice are like a second in a day and represent not slow but very fast progress.

One description of the great spans of time experienced by the soul is found in one of the old classics from India. Imagine, it says, a large lake to which every 5,000 years a white bird flys and takes away a single drop of water in it's beak. The length of time it takes the bird to empty the lake is an illustration of how long it takes the soul to cover the distance from its very beginnings to journeys end in self-realisation! Fortunately this is not meant to be taken literally! The text reassuringly goes on to say that for those who are beginning to meditate, who have an interest in spirituality, the lake is almost empty and the long journey through time is almost over.

Whether you believe in reincarnation or not does not matter – but these ideas and beliefs stretch the mind a little and prepare us for bigger truths and realities that lie beyond the horizon of todays comprehension. And they encourage us to persevere – we are closer to our goals than we know! They imbue us with a warrior spirit, the courage to confront our blemishes and shortcomings and to conquer them, and never to give up. 'The soul is not won by the weakling' proclaims the same Indian text that describes the bird in the lake.

Sri Chinmoy is always hugely encouraging – "Please do not be disturbed if you cannot meditate well in the beginning. Even in the ordinary life, God alone knows how many years one must practice in order to become very good at something."

"Today you may eat delicious food, and then for three or four days you may eat very simple food. But as long as you are eating, you know that you are sustaining your body. Similarly, if you have a good meditation one day, and the following day you find that you are not able to meditate well, do not become frustrated, do not feel miserable even for a moment. If one day you cannot meditate well, feel that some other day the Supreme will again give you the blessing, inspiration and aspiration to meditate extremely well. Then definitely you will continue to make progress in your meditation and in your inner life."

"At the beginning you have to make a personal effort; later it becomes spontaneous. Unless and until it becomes spontaneous, you have to make the personal effort. It is like sailing a boat. Before you start you move this thing and adjust that thing. You have to do all kinds of things at the beginning. While you are getting ready, you are very dynamic. But that is only your preparation. It is only when you are actually well on your way that the boat can sail without your constant personal effort. In your meditation this spontaneous movement is an act of Grace from above."

"When a child is learning to walk, in the beginning he stumbles and falls again and again. But after a while he learns to walk properly, and finally to run. Someday you will be able to walk, then run, and finally run the fastest without falling."

"Gradually your capacity will increase. Yet, right from the very first day, you will feel the benefits of meditation. When we drink even a drop of water from the earthly sea, it tastes salty. In the same way, during our meditation, if we can drink even a tiny drop from the sea of peace, we shall definitely experience inner peace in our lives."

We do hope that you have gained some inspiration from this online meditation course - and that you have taken the step of adding the daily practice of meditation to your lifestyle. As they are a work in progress, these pages will be expanded over time - we warmly encourage you to visit them as often as you wish. As time passes, we often need to refresh our inspiration in order to move forward on our journey of inner progress. As such, the subsequent pages will be developed to advance your meditation practice step by step.

Included below are some links to various pages that we feel will inspire and assist you as well. We do hope that your meditation practice flourishes and becomes the foundation of your life-experience.

Do Not Give Up! Do not give up! He who gives up Never reaches the Satisfaction-Shore. Who knows? Each attempt of yours may bring you Many exceptionally heart-enlightening Heaven-prosperities. - Sri Chinmoy.

Some Helpful Meditation Links:

On This Site

• Free Meditation Classes – For those who wish to attend free meditation courses offered at any of the Sri Chinmoy Centres in New Zealand, these pages offer a basic outline of the course content and contact details.
• Articles on Meditation - written by our New Zealand members.
• Books by Sri Chinmoy and Music by Sri Chinmoy offers a small selection of Sri Chinmoy's books (complete with excerpts) and music CDs.

Sri Chinmoy's Homepage

• Sri Chinmoy: the complete official source. Information about Sri Chinmoy and a comprehensive section dealing with meditation, spirituality and other related topics.

Other Sites

• Sri Chinmoy TV offers Meditation-Silence - simple meditation exercises with video clips of Sri Chinmoy meditating. You will also find Music Videos of Sri Chinmoy in concert and performing on a variety of instruments.
• Radio Sri Chinmoy offers a collection of Sri Chinmoy's music recordings which includes meditative flute music: The Life River, performances on a variety of instruments, singing his own songs and reciting his own poetry.
• Sri Chinmoy Library – A great number of Sri Chinmoy's books are available to read online. May we suggest that you try searching for keywords such as 'meditation' and other related topics in the library's search tool.
• Sri Chinmoy Books – Sri Chinmoy's books and music CDs may also be purchased through Sri Chinmoy Books – a directory of the titles and distributors around the world.