Vemedo J Kezo
Asst. Professor, Department of Education St. Joseph’s College Jakhama
“Un reflected life is not worth living,” says Socrates. This maxim was uttered thousand years ago from the great spiritual masters and yet still the maxim is very relevant, in fact more relevant perhaps. It is self reflection that brings a deep awareness and self knowledge to oneself. This self knowledge is the key to ordering one’s life for maximum living and fulfilled life.
No wonder Jesus said many times to his close associates and people of this time that the key to experience God’s grace is not to be found elsewhere, but within. “The Kingdom of God is within you,” (Luke 17:21). This is the programmatic manifesto of Jesus in his earthly mission and ministry. No where do we find Jesus telling that God’s Kingdom is a place to be journeyed upon, but a process of self realisation. This process is within, which, ushers abundant grace and peace.
Thus meditation leads our soul to this state of peaceful living and qualitative life. We know only one way seeking peace and grace that is the noisy approach. Our churches are full of singing and shouting except the self introspection. Since time immemorial both the East and West have realized the importance of this process of looking within. Through meditation we achieve a high degree of self knowledge which is the key to good human relationship.
The problem of life is not outside, but within, therefore, solution has to be found within. Meditation thus helps a person to look within and become deeply aware of oneself. It is this self knowledge that brings inner transformation. In the sense, only those who have pinpointed their weaknesses can conquer them. The more we are ignorant about our own shadows, and fears, the more we will be projecting our fears on others. Or to put positively, the more we become aware of ourselves, the more we become sensitive to the surrounding and our dealing with others. We become less judgemental but more or compassionate and kind to others.
So how does the process of meditation work? It is plainly becoming sensitive of every breath that we take every sound of the surrounding that hits our eardrum and every sense of our body that is encountering with the external objects. Or to put it simply, our focus is not disintegrated but rather fix on one thing only. We become mindful of one thing at a time, whether it is an object or sound. Nothing can become an obstacle in inner journey when we become aware and see it objectively as a thing outside and inside us. It is a disinterested engagement of those sounds and sights coming to us.
When we are true to our inner self we can make appropriate choice for our own meaningful living. This right choice emerges from within when we are becoming more aware of our own strengths and weakness. Every individual comes with a message to write and create life of his or her own. Therefore, this basic knowledge of self comes to help a person to make an appropriate choice a choice that will define and recreate his or her self. It is through the process of creating and recreating ourselves, that we discover life more accomplishing and meaningful-nay fruitful.
What is the quality of life that we are seeking? A qualitative life is nothing but a wilful choice that affects the quality of our living. This qualitative life is a purposeful life filled with a deep sense of fulfilment and achievement. So meditation leads to self knowledge and balanced living and ordering one’s life. It is through, ordering one’s life that we are able to make certain positive choice accompanied by self reflection. It does not only affect the quality of our life, but also affects the quality of our relationship, quality of work, time management, etc. As self knowledge always brings certain amendment to our life, and thereby, helping us to prioritise our choices. We are always confronted with so many choices of life, but every choice does not require equal attention. It is here that we make a decisive choice in making our life more meaningful and purposeful.
In today’s world, we spend junk of hours looking on the world on the social media, we spend many hours on gossips, we spend more time in projecting our own images and self importance, we spend more time on pointing others shortcomings, but seldom we have time to look within ourselves and introspect where do we stand and how do we want to go from there. The ability to discipline and live a certain degree of order in life can be achieved only when pay more attention to our inner world. Meditation therefore, is the key to a life with a higher consciousness and qualitative living.
