Meditate to Be Happy
This afternoon, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj delivered his Sunday satsang at the SOS International Meditation Center in Lisle, Illinois. It was the first in-person Sunday discourse in two years. He spoke of our timeless search for happiness and explained what, in truth, can lead us to eternal joy.
Living at the level of our senses, we believe that it is, first and foremost, our physical comfort that defines our happiness. We assume that if our bodies are in pain, we cannot be happy. Second, if we are in mental agony or experience emotional pain, we think we cannot achieve happiness. Our physical and mental states of being are just part of the larger puzzle of our existence, said the spiritual Master. In truth, our spiritual well-being determines our ability to find lasting happiness. When we nourish the spirit through meditation, we can experience lasting joy, despite our physical and mental states. As we connect with the divine Light within, we bathe in an ocean of happiness.
For us to experience the inner worlds of love and bliss, we need first to still our body and mind so we can focus within. For this, we need to start to rid the body and mind of their toxins. There are many resources available today for us to remove disease-causing toxins from our bodies. But what about our mental toxins? When we entertain toxins such as fear, anxiety, anger, and envy, we allow them to bring turmoil into our being. These toxins manifest as thoughts that keep us from achieving the mental stillness we seek. As we withdraw our attention from the distractions of the outer world and focus on the peace within, we gradually succeed in stilling the mind and keeping thoughts at bay. When the soul connects with God’s love in meditation, it helps us detox the mind, and the toxins are slowly replaced. When we experience God’s presence in our lives, fear and anxiety vanish; when we experience our oneness with all of God’s creation, anger and envy fizzle away, and we learn to love one another as our very own. Thus, meditation helps us detox the mind, and a detoxed mind helps us concentrate better during our meditations, leading us to the lasting happiness we seek. It begins with making time daily for our meditation practice.
