Swamiji guides in meditation

It is said that meditation is a process that is helpful in focussing the mind and ultimately becoming one with God. Me and meditation are very far from each other since i am basically restless and cannot sit in one place for more than 20 minutes. A funny story i recall is worth sharing with you. I had signed up for a meditation and yoga class in Chennai since it was nominally priced and recommended by a colleague. The class commenced in the evenings from 5-7 and the first hour went in yoga and the second in meditation. Within one week the class was introduced to techniques of meditating on the different chakras or energy centres. First day we meditated on the point between the eyebrows, then the top of the head, second day on the heart and third day at the base of the spinal cord. I was hoping that at the end of the week i would be experiencing the flow of the kundalini from bottom of the back to top of my head as described in many books. But actually nothing happened at all due to two reasons. 

Meditation requires years of practice to experience even a small change. This is due to the fact that we become so set in our ways of thinking that to change our basic qualities takes a long time. The second reason which i thought was the real problem were -the mosquitoes. Our class was located right next to the Buckingham Canal which was once a happy gurgling  river but today a sewage discharge outflow ( similar to other rivers in India). By 6  the mosquitoes moved from their home, the canal to seek fresh sources of food namely my class members. As i sat with my eyes closed in meditation whether i felt energy rising or not i felt a hundred stings on my exposed hands and feet. The more i tried to focus on nothingness the more my mind started complaining about the pinpricks.  Maybe the teachers thought it would be a true test of concentration. However i failed miserably. Meditation came to be associated with mosquito bites. I would close my eyes and start counting the number of bites from head to toe. The Kundalini was working in a very different way. At one point i could not take it any more and requested that the organization use mosquito repellants. I had definitely not signed up for this component of the program and this was not disclosed either at the beginning. Thanks to my recommendation which required little thinking, the administrators started using repellants and the program quality improved. My faith in this process was shaken. I did not continue these techniques any further. Swamiji has also issued a clear warning to students against practicing Kundalini Yoga. This was a very important reason for discontinuation.

Once i came to USA i went through a difficult period of being alone at home, an unsuccessful job search process over a year and experienced great restlessnes. At this point meditation became a necessity. I sat on the floor and closed my eyes. Then i prayed to Swamiji as follows: ' Swamiji, i dont know how to meditate. Can you please guide me in meditation?' I kept praying for a while and closed my eyes repeating my prayer. As i did this i saw Swamiji appear in my mental frame sitting next to me. My mind could have generated this image too. He was sitting to my left and asked me to stretch out my hand. As i did this Swamiji held my hand in his and made me repeat Sai naam after him. My otherwise restless mind was instantly drawn into the chanting and after a while all thoughts ceased and i experienced great peace. When i came out of meditation i felt immensely refreshed. I went on to pray to Swamiji to bless me with even more of such peace. To my surprise a wave of peace swept over me and for one whole week i did not feel any restlessness at all. My mind was calm, uncomplaining, relaxed and enjoying the simple pleasures of life. I felt joy when the birds sang, flowers bloomed and relished food. It was simply unbelievable. 

Isnt it amazing? I am new to all this and as i described initially , am incapable of doing anything like meditation, yoga etc. But due to my Guru, his kindness, his grace the impossible becomes possible