“In meditation, healing can happen. When the mind is calm, alert and totally contented, then it is like a laser beam – it is very powerful and healing can happen.” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Only a healthy bud can blossom. In the same way, only a healthy being can succeed.

So,what is it to be healthy?

To attain a perfect state of health, one has to remain mentally calm, steady and emotionally stable. ‘Swasthya’ means health. It also means being in one’s self. Swasthya or health is not just confined to the body and the mind but it is also connected with the consciousness. The clearer the consciousness is, the more well-being is gained.

Meditation increases prana (life energy)

Prana (the vital life energy) is the very basis of health and well being, for both body and mind. You can gain prana through meditation. When your body is alive with more prana, you feel alert, energetic, and full of good humor. A lack of prana results in lethargy, dullness and poor enthusiasm.

Dealing with illness – through meditation

It is said that the root of an illness is in the mind/consciousness. So, by attending to the mind, clearing it of any disturbances, the recovery speeds up. Illnesses can develop from:

• Violation of natural law: such as over-eating
• Imposed by nature: such as common cold, an epidemic
• Release of past impressions or Karma

Nature itself provides a cure for these illnesses. Health and illness are a part of physical nature. By practicing meditation, the stresses, worries, anxieties drop off and gives rise to a positive state of mind, which has a positive impact on the physical body, brain and nervous system, then illnesses change.

Health and illness are a part of physical nature. You should not worry too much about it. When you worry about illness, you are giving more power to the illness. You are a combination of health and illness. When you keep that in mind and have a positive state of mind, then illnesses change.

• Heal the mind – through meditation
• Meditation prevents stresses from entering the body system and also releases accumulated stress. Health,happiness and a positive state of Being wells up
• The practice of meditation brings a coolness to the brain, it’s like servicing the whole body-mind complex

Clear emotional pollution – with meditation

A time may come in the future, when people will be fined for being depressed, because they are creating emotional pollution! The words that you hear from people around you, affect your state of mind. They either give you peace and joy, or create disturbance (such as jealously, anger, frustration or sadness). You’re affected because the mind is not in its Self; it is not centered. Meditation is the key to control ’emotional pollution’.

Blossom with meditation

Meditation can bring about a spiritual transformation. As you learn more about life, the mystery of the whole Creation unfolds. Then the questions that arise in the mind are – What is the meaning of Life? What is its purpose? What is this world, what is love, what is knowledge…?

Once these questions arise in you, know that you are very fortunate. These questions need to be understood; you cannot find the answers in books. You have to live through them and witness the transformation. That is perfect health; you are transformed from within. And the bud becomes a totally blossomed flower.

Heal the world through meditation

Meditation purifies the environment. Meditation and Sudarshan Kriya have transformed aggression and violence in people – to compassion, love and care. For example, notice how you feel when you enter a room where someone is really angry ? It leaves you feeling the same!

Similarly, when there is a harmonious or a happy activity, you feel good. You may wonder why. Feelings are not isolated in one’s body – they are all around. It is in the whole environment, because the mind is subtler than the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether). If there is a fire somewhere, the heat is not just in the fire, it is also radiating throughout the place.

Note: If you are unhappy or depressed, you are not the only one who is feeling it; you are spreading it to the whole environment.

In the current global situation of conflicts and disease, it’s important to meditate a little every day. Through meditation, you can nullify the negative vibrations in the environment, thereby creating a more harmonious environment.

The Healing Breath and Meditation

A jewel in The Art of Living is the healing breath, known as the Sudarshan Kriya.

This unique breathing practice is a potent energizer:

• Every cell becomes fully oxygenated and flooded with new life
• It flushes out negative emotions from the body
• It releases tensions, frustrations and anger
• It clears anxiety, depression and lethargy
• It gives relief to both the mind and body

After the practice, one is left calm and centered with a clearer mind. A sense of joy in the moment prevails, and you’re able to smile from your heart.

‘Do the Healing Breath and meditate. These practices completely transform you, and kindle the love deep inside.’