Why I meditate.

As I ponder upon why I meditate. It dawns upon me that did not read about meditation or even seek it. It found me! I was seeking it without knowing what it was, except it was the balm for my pain and unhappiness. The loss of my father in 2005 was the epiphany to find more meaning and direction in life.

Through a lot of soul searching and discoveries, I eventually settled with Kundalini Yoga and did my training in 2011. It was like coming home to me as a lot of the meditations in this tradition serves to cultivate the Buddhi (wisdom) or Neutral Mind. It helped me be more grounded and more present to the experiences around me and to not run away and escape; as I had done in the past.

Cultivating a Neutral Mind is done through a Sadhana or daily practice that includes yoga, chanting, and pranayama (breathwork).

“We meditate so our minds can be sharp and alert. We chant mantras so our souls can be ignited like candles. We walk in the light of this beauty.”– Yogi Bhajan the founder of Kundalini Yoga

Imagine walking around with an empty cup when you don’t go within. And when you meditate, you fill this cup so it is overflowing. People notice it, they cannot put their finger on it but they sure would like some of it too!

Before I started meditating, I would get comments like “Smile Lady” as I walked about my day on the streets of Manhattan. Although I found the comment to be very irritating and invasive, I saw some truth to it. Now I’m happy to report, that I walk around with a lightness in my step observant and aware of things around me. It has helped me be more cognizant to life, to smile at a complete stranger and see them light up from inside as a result.

Taking on a meditation practice for me was no bed of roses. I have had to face my darkest fears; in order to get to the other side, to that place of appreciation and grace. It was like peeling the layers of an onion, the more layers that were shed the more I moved closer to my heart center, and to that ‘Divine Connection’, that place of ‘Self Love’.

This practice has helped me and my family immensely. My sister in law was in the ICU, post-delivery of her second baby in India. My brother asked for my help, so all I could do was sit on my mat and chant a mantra from this tradition, called Ra Ma Da Sa (healing mantra) and send her distance healing. She recovered thereafter and was moved out of the ICU. Many would say it was medical science that helped her, and I’m ok with that notion.

Another experience that I can recount was me, running home one evening as there was a storm coming. As I took shelter outside the awning of a bank, I mentally chanted Triple Mantra (mantra for protection). The main door of the bank kept opening and closing. Something in me said I should go inside, so I did. As I waited inside the bank, the main door kept flapping open in the wind. All I could see outside was a white cloud and tiny leaves swirling around. The storm lasted for about 15 minutes. When I emerged outside after the storm, the trees in the park across the street had been uprooted, the windshields of the cars on the street had been shattered. There was chaos all around, I walked home feeling very grateful for having left unscathed. Later that evening I learned a hurricane had hit my town and left a lot of destruction in its wake.

An experience from another person’s perspective would be Joe, a Yoga Therapy client who sent me a message after a  session. This describes how if we all meditate the world would be a better place. I asked his permission to share his experience in this post.

Joe had gone for a car wash near his home where he is a regular customer. He had maneuvered behind what he clearly and honestly believed was the last car in the line.  A few seconds after he did this, a car drove up alongside him. The driver was insanely screaming at Joe, and honking his horn. Joe thought that maybe he was blocking this driver’s ability to make a turn, so he hugged the curb more closely. The other driver continued screaming and gesturing.  Apparently, Joe had cut the line and didn’t even realize it. One of the workers explained what had happened. Joe apologized to the other driver that his actions were completely unintentional. The car wash owner came out in the midst of all the commotion. The owner pacified the other driver, let him go first, and then had Joe go next. Ahead of four other cars!

The owner said that when he saw it was Joe, he knew that it was just an honest mistake. What was remarkable to Joe was that despite the commotion, his insides were still as a pond, not a ripple of emotion one way or another. He likened it to being out of his body. The angrier the other driver became the more non-engaged Joe got. Coming right after a Yoga Therapy session. Joe concluded that he was carrying some very powerful and peaceful energy. He was non-reactive in the face of agitation.

A practice of meditation is easily accessible anywhere, anytime and anyplace. All you have to do is sit in stillness, focus your eye gaze and breath or chant a mantra from any tradition. The idea is to get to that space of Neutrality, Shuniya (inner silence) or present moment awareness.

In Japji Sahib (sacred text for Sikhism), it says; “Man Jetee Jag Jeet”. Translates as, ‘Conquer the mind, to conquer the world’. As I conquer my monkey mind and reactive tendencies through meditation, I get to marvel at the contrast and the shadow that keep coming up to the light to be transformed.

For me meditation has brought me more presence and mindfulness, where I get to extract the fullness of life with gratitude and appreciation!

Sharan Bir Kaur Gill is an IKYTA-certified Kundalini Yoga teacher and Yoga Therapist. Originally from India, she now resides and practices in New York City.
Her journey with yoga began in 1997 but it was not until 2009 that the practice went from her mat to her life. She brings a sense of calmness, ease, and joy in her teaching as a way to leave her clients feeling lighter and brighter. You can connect with her on Instagram.

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