Thought for the Day

Wednesday 5 February

All spiritual disciplines are done with a view to still the mind. The perfectly still mind is universal spirit.

— Swami Ramdas

Eknath Easwaran's Commentary

Meditation is the regular, systematic training of attention to turn inward and dwell continuously on a single focus within consciousness. With practice, we can become so absorbed in the object of our contemplation that while we are meditating, we forget ourselves completely. In that moment, when we may be said to be empty of ourselves, we are utterly full of what we are dwelling on. This is the central principle of meditation: we become what we meditate on.

Eventually, meditation will make our mind calm, clear, and as concentrated as a laser which we can focus at will. This capacity of one-pointed attention is the essence of genius. When we have this mastery over attention in everything we do, we have a genius for life itself: unshakable security, clear judgment, and deep personal relationships.

The Thought for the Day is today's entry from Eknath Easwaran's Words to Live By.