The English word ‘Meditation’ has been derived from two Latin words; meditari which means to think, ponder, dwell upon, exercise the mind, focus attention; and mederi which means to heal. 

In Sanskrit, meditation is called ‘Dhyana’, which comes from the root word ‘dhyati’ meaning to contemplate or meditate. That is why the contemporary usage of the word Meditation has been confused with ‘concentration, contemplation, mind control’ etc.

Meditation simply means a ‘no thought' or 'empty mind' state. A restless mind creates an ‘inner chatter’ and does not know how to remain in the present moment. Meditation cuts through this incessant thought flow to reach a tranquil state of mind. 

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No thought state

The mind is the sum total of all our thoughts. On an average a human being thinks more than 50,000 thoughts in a day. Most of these thoughts dwell in either the past or the future. Usually our body remains in one place while the mind wanders around in all directions.

 

Meditation is about dropping this mind and becoming absolutely still and silent. When there are no words in the mouth that is silence; when there are no thoughts in the mind that is meditation. Just as it requires a sincere effort to silence the mouth, silencing the mind too requires a sincere effort.

In meditation, a practitioner attempts to move beyond the ‘reflexive, thinking’ mind state to tap into ‘pure consciousness’, and expand the human mind into the divine mind. 

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Non-doing state

There is nothing to ‘do’ in Meditation. It is only about ‘be’ing. It is about remaining unoccupied. Once the mind becomes unoccupied, meditation happens spontaneously.