The different types of Meditation – Part 1

I have already covered a post on Mediation for the beginners. It gives a simple tip to the beginners to start their  practice.

If you are truly enjoying this new practice, you can learn little bit more about this practice.

Broadly speaking, once can classify Mediation under two different categories.

• Meditation based on the concentrative techniques known as Concentrative Meditation: The objective of this technique is to build a single mind concentration directed on an object or a phrase, or using beads. The objects can be a candle, an image. It can also be the phrase or the mantra or a simple word like Om.
  • The main purpose of this is to achieve stillness of the body and mind.
    

    Concentrative Practice

 

• The second type of mediation is Non-concentrative meditation. It includes focusing on internal body state or your breath. Some people say it as one which should be practiced after one has attained the ease of mind from the practice of Concentrative meditation.
  • Once you can focus on the external object from however long you want, without distraction, you are ready for this meditation.
    

    Focusing on internal self

This is simple way to classify Meditation. If we really dig deeper there are different ways to classify and most popular one is Mindfulness Practice.

 

What is Mindfulness Meditation?

Mindfulness meditation comprises of many meditation technique such as Mantra , Vipassana , Zen, Chakra, Kundali Meditation. I will covering some of them, in future blog posts.

To be honest, I have only tried some form of Meditation. I will research and understand more about others and will write a post on the same.

Meanwhile, I am at present focusing on Mantra Practice.

Which Mantra to use?

In my view, one can use any Mantra or word to meditate. It can be as simple as ..Give me strength, Praise the lord, Bring peace to the world. Each sentence has a power in its own.

I use Mahamrityunjay Mantra whenever I try Mantra Practice. It is one of the verse of Rig Veda address to Shiva.

The verse is as follows:

Om tryambakam yajāmahe sugandhim puṣti-vardhanam ǀ

urvārukam-iva bandhanā mṛtyormukṣīya māmṛitāat ǁ

 

Meaning of this Mantra :

1. We worship the Three-eyed Lord(Shiva) who is fragrant and who nourishes and nurtures all beings. As the ripened cucumber (with the intervention of the gardener) is freed from its bondage (to the creeper), may he liberate us from death for the sake of immortality.

It can be complicated to people without knowledge of Sanskrit to use it. Hence people should generally adhere to simple words or mantra.

The other simple Mantra can be:

• OM
• Om Namah Shivaya  which means I bow to Shiva.
• Om Ganeshaya Namah which means I bow to Ganesha (son of Shiva)

 Hope these simple Mantras make sense to people and easy enough to recite.

 Happy Meditating.