Can One Meditate Full Time? - Part II

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Taking up the last question first let us see if whole-time meditation is possible. If one is ripe, ready to jump straightaway into a single thought stream, then, and only then, the mind would naturally slip into its source. Generally speaking when the mind is still weak and dissipated by innumerable thoughts, meditative sessions might become slumber sessions; 'tamsa' and laziness may be mistaken for calmness and equipoise of the sattvic state.

A devotee once asked Ramana why one should not meditate incessantly. 'Try and see' was his reply. Ramana told the questioner that the inherent tendencies would not let one do it. The mind would be repeatedly pushed out and one would be forced to engage himself in some action, physical or mental. It is only later, as meditation gradually erases his vasanas, that withdrawal from work would be possible. One might say that the idea of meditating ceaselessly is impractical.

What about the opposite? Why not engage oneself all the time in work? This too is equally impossible in practice. First of all, to many the work itself is not absorbing enough to have such a compulsion. To them the job or the profession is only to keep the pot boiling. Also, work is not always to be had even if one were to hanker after it. To work or renounce is not really in one's hands as it depends on the individual's karma which is unfolding.

Since it is impractical generally either to be at work or be absorbed in meditation all the time, what is one to do? Here we have the guidance of Ramana. He would reiterate time and again the need for meditation and work going hand in hand, step in step.

In course of time the distinction between meditation and work would be obliterated. One would only be meditating, no matter what one is engaged in. For this, one has to remember constantly that self-enquiry is possible at all times and in all situations. It would do its work of purifying and strengthening the mind.

Read more on work and meditation on the Next Page