Meditation can become an addiction

From young you are craving for so many things. Some things you get, and some you may not. In childhood, when you crave for something, you don’t put much effort, since you are dependent. But as you grow, you will put effort into trying to get what you crave. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don’t. For example, A boy applies for a job in a company he really likes, but he doesn’t get it despite several attempts. He will think about it a lot. “I didn’t get it, I didn’t get it.” This affects his psychology. Another example is A man loves a woman a lot, but he is unable to get her. Even though he gets so many other things that he likes, this inability to get the woman he loves will have a strong impact on his psyche. Like this, throughout our lives it becomes a habit: Longing for something and if you don’t get it, you become affected.

Now the person enters the so-called ‘spiritual path’. If you are not careful, Meditation or Enlightenment will become a substitute for those longings. In worldly life, the things you long for are external. So your effort is only 50% and if you don’t get it, you can at least console yourself that other factors were responsible. Even then there is so much impact on the psyche. In meditation, what you are searching for is internal. There is zero dependency outside. So your effort is 100%. Imagine the tremendous impact when you don’t get what you are longing for in Meditation. You will almost become a psycho. Because you will hold on to it. You will think it is your lifesaver, because you now believe that Meditation is a substitute for all those things which you have rejected or which you have not received in the world. This risk is very high. If you are unalert you won’t know when you are becoming trapped by your psychology.

Meditation should not be a substitute for those things. Meditation is not something you should try for, because Meditation is our natural state. Whether you are trying or not it is happening. It is in no way connected with your effort. Trying itself is wrong. It is like this: If you are thirsty, you need not create water in this world. First you have to find water and second you have to drink it. That’s all. And while putting the effort, you should be very clear that the effort is in finding water, not creating. And as soon as you find it, you should drink. That’s all. This kind of awareness you should have, the understanding that Mediation is a natural state, a happening that is continuous. It will happen. It is happening. It happened. All without your effort.

If you don’t have this understanding, it will become a habit and you will get attached to it, to the point where you will sit regularly in Meditation and feel good. “I have meditated today”. Or there will be continuous anxiety. “I need to meditate today.” or “I need to meditate more”. This is like saying “I need to spend more time with my children, I need to spend more time with my children” but not actually doing it. A substitute for that is “Today I need to spend more time in Meditation.”

Where is the effort needed?

Your effort is needed only to bring the Awareness not to identify yourself as a person, as a body. There you have to put tremendous effort. Not in Meditation. Mahaprabu then imitated a serious-looking seeker: “I should feel silence. I want to feel silent.” NO. Because, while showing interest in Meditation and becoming a doer of Meditation, you remain as a person. And you are telling yourself (and others) that you have done Meditation. (Laughing a lot). How can “you” a person Meditate? Totally wrong. Losing your personhood, not getting attached to your personhood is a basic requirement to recognize the Meditation that is happening always. So the effort is in bringing awareness so that we don’t identify as an individual. This effort will not become a substitute for all other efforts. Here you cannot long for it. If you long for it, you will understand the foolishness of it. It would be like longing “I really don’t want to think myself as a person.” You will become mad. When you start feeling the ridiculousness of this, you will stop. Maybe you will get bored by it, but you won’t be longing for it. You might even think “Mahaprabu keeps on telling me not to identify with a person. I am not able to avoid it. Instead let me avoid Mahaprabu!” (Laughing a lot).

So, when the effort is in bringing the Awareness not to identify yourself as a person, here there are no chances for you to get trapped by your psychology. This is where you actually are coming out of your psyche. Because as an individual you can long for anything, but you can’t long for dropping individuality. Who is going to long, crave, if you are not identified with the individual!

So this is the big danger in Meditation. Getting addicted to it as a substitute for all other longings. Put up a big fluorescent sign that says “DANGER”. So always try to be in Surrender. And be honest continuously. Am I identifying with a person? Yes? Then avoid it. This is what you should practice. Don’t practice meditation. If you practice meditation you will start longing for it. You will go to solitary places, sit and create another small jail around you. You will hate the world. You will hate people. Instead of developing love, you will develop hatred. So be careful and be cheerful.