Before embarking on any new exercise we must know its benefits. So before meditating, we must know why we should meditate. The purpose of meditation is to be firmly established in one’s true nature. This is different from the practice of meditation which helps purify the mind by eliminating past tendencies and removing habitual errors.
What is the true nature of the self? Ramana Maharshi in his Upadesa Saram declared: “Pure consciousness is the true nature of the self.” But this is not how we see ourselves. We take ourselves to be the body, mind and intellect along with their functions and modifications. This to us is reality. It is these wrong notions about the self that need elimination. Lord Krishna points out that meditation practised with a purified mind and intellect reveals the true nature of the self, as pure consciousness. Purification of mind: Vasanas or inherent tendencies that we carry with us are reflected as impurities of the mind and manifest in the form of likes and dislikes in the world of senses objects. These impurities can be removed by karma yoga and the practice of meditation.
In karma yoga, the seeker performs action without any selfish motives and dedicates them to the Lord. This attitude of surrender removes the impurities of the mind. Ignorance, doubt and habitual error regarding the nature of the self are the three different impurities of the intellect.
Ignorance is removed by exposing the mind and intellect to the study of the scriptures, under a competent teacher. Through shravanam (listening to the teaching of the scriptures), the seeker learns that his swaroopa is satchitananda atma. This swaroop is different from the body, mind and intellect. But even after gaining this knowledge, doubts are prone to creep in. We are not convinced that the self is ananda swaroopa. The scriptures declare that the self is unborn, imperishable and of the nature of bliss. But our experience tells us that we are born and are subject to disease and death. The erroneous notion that “I am this body; this world is real; and my joy lies in the world outside,” is known as a habitual error and remains deeply embedded in the mind. The elimination of this habitual error is accomplished through meditation or nidhidhyasana. Thus, when the impurities of the mind and intellect are removed by the practice of meditation, the ever-existing pure consciousness is revealed as the self. This kowledge of the self once gained is never lost.
