As the famous philosopher Socrates once said, "Know thyself". You may ask what does it mean to know yourself? Is there some process and steps that help us to do that? Why do we even need to do that? Well, my teacher once gave a lecture on similar thoughts. He said one wise sentence and it had deep meaning. He said when we are young we want to grow old fast to earn, get a good job and succeed in life. When we have the job we want to get a better job, get settled and be successful. When we have been successful in our life, we want to devote our time to god. Do something for the society, pay back to nature in whichever way possible by an individual and feel happy, obliged and content about it. But, if our main aim is to be happy then why don't we do something about it at the first step? Why wait this long?
This made me wonder so, I went back to root down to the history of vipassana. Vipassana actually is one of the ancient Indian techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gautam Buddha 2500 years back, who defined Vipassana as the universal remedy for universal ills. Over time, due to Buddha’s teachings, this technique spread to the neighboring countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and others. 500 years after Buddha, this ancient practice of Vipassana disappeared only to be brought by the current teacher, Mr. S. N. Goenka, who learnt this technique from Sayagyi U Ba Khin in Myanmar back then, Goenka trained for 14 years under the guidance of Sayagyi before coming back to India in 1969 and teaching tens of thousands of people from all over the world.
The objective of this meditation technique- The main objective of Vipassana meditation is to teach individuals how to live in the present, take life as it is and don’t sweat the small stuff. It is an art of living your life free of mental impurities to gain the sense of liberation and happiness.
The principle of Vipassana, how it works- In simple words, it could be said as it is a way of transforming yourself via self-observation. You observe yourself, explore yourself, accept yourself and it brings you closer to the common root that connects your mind and body dissolving the mental impurities.
What is the process involved? Where to start?
The basic course includes a 10 day trainingcourse. The course is available free of cost at the meditation centers. There are three steps:-
1. The first step involves abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual activity, speaking falsely and intoxicants in any form. What this abstinence does is- it calms the mind, else the mind would be too disturbed and agitated to focus and pay attention for the task of self-observation.
2. The second step includes the learning process that teaches how to fixate your attention on the flow of your breathing. Practicing this makes the mind calmer and focused. By the fourth day, the mind is calmer and more focused. What happens during this period is that you observe sensations throughout the body, understand their nature, and develop a feeling of equanimity by learning not to react to them.
3. The third step is the final part. It celebrates the end of the learning process and the participants share their individual experiences with each other, sharing what they learned, sharing what they gained knowledge about, and indicating goodwill towards all.
4. The advanced courses could also be taken which are for 20, 30 days or more. Depending on the learner’s interest, an individual can join in the advanced courses after having the knowledge of the basic meditation process taught as the 10-day course.
What changes could happen in 10 days?
Obviously, all your problems won’t get solved in 10 days but you will learn the technique to gain freedom from misery and attain full liberation. You can feel the change in your thought process in 10 days only and if you practice daily you will get vivid results.
What would be the Result at the end of all this?
See, the results come gradually through continuous practice. We need physical exercise for our health, in the same way; Vipassana is the mental exercise for your mind. Meditation helps in dissolving your mental impurities, causing a balanced mind full of love and compassion for others. All the sincere individuals who really want to learn and see for themselves how this works could join any of the courses and reap their endless benefits. Even though, you can explore any meditation techniques and practice what you like. I would suggest you start with this technique first.
The course for beginners is just for 10 days and is free of cost, including the cost of food and accommodation. All expenses are met by donations from people who attended and got benefited from the course. Happy meditating!
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