Before knowing what is meditation we should know what is not Meditation. Meditation is not attention, Meditation is not relaxation , Meditation is not attuning the body to energy, Meditation is not concentration, Meditation is not contemplation or reflection, Meditation is not intention or control or willpower exercises.

These are the five levels or states of mind we talked about. Somebody does a concentration exercise or a relaxation exercise and assumes it to be meditation. It is not true meditation. True meditation is what happens at the highest level – that of consciousness. Refer to the digram below representing the state of Mind.

Meditation is an attribute of the ‘Witness’. The Witness which is called differently by different people – God, Allah, Self, Self-Awareness, Consciousness, etc. Meditation is that source within us which is awake even in deep sleep; it is self-awareness which is present even in the state of unawareness. Meditation is best described as Self Meditation.

The techniques designed to begin meditation or to improve concentration have also been known as ‘meditation’. These so-called ‘meditations’ or concentration practices are a path to Self Meditation. Self Meditation means meditation of the ‘Self’. This is the real aim of meditation. Therefore the word ‘Self Meditation’ is more appropriate than the word ‘meditation.’ Just improving concentration is not the goal of meditation. Concentration is a ladder in the path of meditation. Concentration improves with meditation. But if someone is meditating with the aim of improving concentration, then he is taking the least benefit from meditation. He has mistaken the means to be the end. Many a time it so happens that one begins on the path of meditation to attain Self Realisation, but becomes contented with improved concentration or upon acquiring some mystical powers. As a result, one strays away from the real goal. What is true of concentration is true for other states of mind such as relaxation, contemplation, etc.

Thus understand that there are states of mind and these are at various levels. Terming an altered state of mind or a relaxed state of mind as meditation is incorrect. These higher states of mind are described in the figure below:

The common misconception is that exercises of tuning, reflection, focus, or will are termed as meditation. Many people practise meditation focussing on the breath. But that is just at the level of concentration. True meditation is at the level of ‘consciousness’. Termed as Self Meditation, this is when the mind falls. When the mind falls, the Self shines forth (Self or Witness or Consciousness as already mentioned earlier). Only when the mind falls and the Self returns back to the Self – it is true meditation. It is Self Meditation. When this happens, the Self is back on its true nature. That is why it is said that you are not supposed to do meditation. Just understand that you are meditation.

Other exercises such as focussing on the breath or focussing on a mantra can be termed as ‘meditation exercises’. But that it is not true meditation or ultimate meditation (Self Meditation) should be clear to us.