Meditation literally means, "thinking process with present moment awareness". Meditation is the process or technique which takes you from a disturbed level of consciousness to an undisturbed level of consciousness. Dr. Deepak Chopra describes this level is non-local, spaceless, timeless and a zone of pure silence (Atma Darshan – Thuria, which ultimately leads to cosmic consciousness, divine consciousness or unified consciousness).
This zone of pure silence is a field of pure potentiality, infinite possibilities, creativity, eternity, divinity, self-realization, fulfillment and salvation. It takes us from finite to infinite.
What is meditation?
Meditation is a technique to rediscover the quietness within us and not forcing our mind to be quiet. It can unfold a vision of a higher state of consciousness. Meditation is spiritual journey that takes our awareness from the physical to the subtle and ultimately leading to the soul and spirit.
Meditation allows us to enter the space between two thoughts which filled with silence. This is called Aham Brahmasmi. It allows us to discover who we really are, what is our purpose in coming to this universe and how can we achieve divinity, eternity, happiness and bliss.
It helps us in restoring the memory of wholeness.
WHO defines optimum health as not merely the absence of diseases but a state of complete physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. Meditation integrates all component of health.
Health is an expression of our own thoughts, perceptions, interpretations, experiences and choices. Thus by practicing meditation one can trust oneself to make the right choices.
There are many types of meditations, some of which are, Transcendental Meditation, Raj Yoga Meditation, Japa Meditation, Primordial Sound Meditation, Mindfulness Meditation, Breathing Meditation, Gregorian Chanting, and Tibetan Chanting, etc. The end objective of all these forms of mediations are the same, only the method is different. In this article however, we''ll concentrate on the Primodial Sound form of meditation.
What is the Primodial Sound Meditation?
Primordial Sound Meditation or PSM is a part of the yogic tradition of India. Yoga derived its name from the word yoke which means union between the body, mind, soul, spirit and environment. This union is possible by yoga sutra as described by sage Patanjali. The sutras are as follows:-
"Now the teaching of Yoga begins."
"Yoga is progressive settling down of the mind, into the field of pure silence."
"When the mind is silent, we are in our essential state, which is pure unbounded consciousness."
"Our essential state is overshadowed by the activity of the mind."
Our expression or existence has three levels – The physical body, the subtle body and the causal body. The physical body as per quantum physics is space and time event. The physical body is born, lives and dies.
The physical body has two components – The first is the material component, which is made up of food, bones, tissues, organs, skin, hair, etc. The second is the energy component, which we call ''Prana'' in our scriptures. In English it is known as the ''vital force'' or ''Anti-entropy Force''
If we derive adequate energy from our sensory inputs such as vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste, then we will be energetic. Visualizing beautiful scenes such as those of flowers, plants, trees, fruits and vegetables, forests, stars, moon, sky, etc. can energize us. However, watching horror films or violent scenes may de-energize us.
The term "primordial sound meditation" was first coined by Dr. Deepak Chopra & Dr. David Simon. They explained that if we listened to primordial sound, which are the basic vibrations in nature and are soothing to our nervous system, they may energize us. These primordial souuced by rustling leaves, ocean waves, waterfalls, chirping of birds, laughter of a baby etc. The instruments used by gods, eg. Krishna''s flute, Shiva''s dumroo, Sarasvati''s veena and Ganesha''s conch (shanq), are all said to produce primordial sounds.