Astrall
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Meditation is a state of no-mind. Meditation is a state of pure consciousness without content.
Usually, our consciousness is too cluttered with nonsense, much like a mirror covered in dust. The mind is a constant hustle and bustle; thoughts move, desires move, memories move, ambitions move — it is a constant turmoil! Day comes, day goes. Even when you sleep, the mind functions; it dreams. This is still thinking, still anxieties and sorrows. It prepares for the next day, a subtle preparation continues. Such a state is not meditation. Quite the opposite is meditation.
When there is no hustle, and thinking has ceased, not a single thought moves, not a single desire is held, you are completely silent — such silence is meditation. And in this silence, Truth is known, and never otherwise. Meditation is a state of no-mind. And you cannot find meditation through the mind, for the mind will eternally find only itself. You can find meditation only by setting the mind aside, remaining cool, indifferent, unidentified with the mind, watching the mind pass by but not identifying with it, not thinking that I am it. Meditation is the realization that I am not the mind. As the awareness goes deeper and deeper, moments gradually appear — moments of silence, stillness, moments of pure space, moments of transparency, moments of the moment, when nothing in you is held, everything is constant. In these moments of constancy, of silence, you will know who you are, and you will know the mystery of the being of this life, of this existence.
The day will come, a day of great bliss, when meditation becomes your natural state. The mind is something unnatural; it will never stop, it will never become your natural state. But meditation is the natural state that we have lost. It is a lost paradise, but paradise can be returned. Look into a child's eyes, look — and you will see a wonderful, immense silence, innocence. Every child comes in a meditative state, but they must be guided on the path of society — they must be taught how to think, how to calculate, how to reflect, how to argue; they must be taught words, language, concepts.
And little by little, the child loses contact with their innocence. They become corrupted, contaminated by society. They become an efficient mechanism; they are no longer a human being. All that is needed is to bring back this space. You already knew it, so when you first experience meditation, you will be surprised — because a great feeling arises within you, as if you already knew it before — a great feeling will arise within you, as if you knew it before. And this feeling does not deceive you, it is true: you already knew it. You forgot. The diamond was lost in mountains of garbage, but if you can clear them away, you will find this diamond again — it is yours. In reality, it cannot be lost; it can only be forgotten.
We are born as meditators, and then we study the ways of the mind. But our true nature remains hidden somewhere deep inside, like an underground current. One day, by delving a bit deeper, you will find that the spring is still flowing — a spring of pure water; and the greatest joy in life is to find it. Meditation is not concentration. If there is concentration, there is one who concentrates and an object upon which one concentrates. Duality is present. In meditation, there is no one inside and no one outside. This is not concentration. There is no separation between "inside" and "outside." The "inside" flows into the "outside," the "outside" flows into the "inside." The demarcation line, the boundary, no longer exists. "Outside" is "inside," this is non-dual consciousness. Concentration is dual consciousness: therefore, concentration creates fatigue; therefore, when you concentrate, you feel exhaustion. And you cannot concentrate twenty-four hours a day; you will need time to rest.
Concentration can never become your essence. Meditation does not tire you; it does not exhaust you. Meditation can become twenty-four hours a day, day after day, year after year. It can become eternity. This is self-relaxation. Concentration is an action. Meditation is a state of non-will, a state of non-doing. This is relaxation. One simply needs to immerse oneself in one's own being, and that is existence... In concentration, the mind acts based on conclusions; you are doing something. Concentration stems from the past. In meditation, there are no conclusions outside of it. You do nothing special; you simply are. In it, there is no past; it is not contaminated by the past. In it, there is no future; it is clean of the future.
This is what Lao Tzu called wei-wu-wei, action through non-action. This is what the Zen Masters spoke of: "Sitting silently, doing nothing, spring comes and grass grows by itself." Remember, "by itself" — nothing is being done. You do not pull the grass up; spring comes and the grass grows by itself. This state — when you let life take its course, when you do not wish to direct it, when you do not wish to control it in any way, when you do not manipulate, when you do not impose any discipline upon it — this state of pure, undisciplined spontaneity is meditation. Meditation is in the present, in the pure present. Meditation is immediacy. You cannot meditate; you can be in meditation. You cannot be concentration, but you can concentrate. Concentration is human; meditation is divine.
Osho
Usually, our consciousness is too cluttered with nonsense, much like a mirror covered in dust. The mind is a constant hustle and bustle; thoughts move, desires move, memories move, ambitions move — it is a constant turmoil! Day comes, day goes. Even when you sleep, the mind functions; it dreams. This is still thinking, still anxieties and sorrows. It prepares for the next day, a subtle preparation continues. Such a state is not meditation. Quite the opposite is meditation.
When there is no hustle, and thinking has ceased, not a single thought moves, not a single desire is held, you are completely silent — such silence is meditation. And in this silence, Truth is known, and never otherwise. Meditation is a state of no-mind. And you cannot find meditation through the mind, for the mind will eternally find only itself. You can find meditation only by setting the mind aside, remaining cool, indifferent, unidentified with the mind, watching the mind pass by but not identifying with it, not thinking that I am it. Meditation is the realization that I am not the mind. As the awareness goes deeper and deeper, moments gradually appear — moments of silence, stillness, moments of pure space, moments of transparency, moments of the moment, when nothing in you is held, everything is constant. In these moments of constancy, of silence, you will know who you are, and you will know the mystery of the being of this life, of this existence.
The day will come, a day of great bliss, when meditation becomes your natural state. The mind is something unnatural; it will never stop, it will never become your natural state. But meditation is the natural state that we have lost. It is a lost paradise, but paradise can be returned. Look into a child's eyes, look — and you will see a wonderful, immense silence, innocence. Every child comes in a meditative state, but they must be guided on the path of society — they must be taught how to think, how to calculate, how to reflect, how to argue; they must be taught words, language, concepts.
And little by little, the child loses contact with their innocence. They become corrupted, contaminated by society. They become an efficient mechanism; they are no longer a human being. All that is needed is to bring back this space. You already knew it, so when you first experience meditation, you will be surprised — because a great feeling arises within you, as if you already knew it before — a great feeling will arise within you, as if you knew it before. And this feeling does not deceive you, it is true: you already knew it. You forgot. The diamond was lost in mountains of garbage, but if you can clear them away, you will find this diamond again — it is yours. In reality, it cannot be lost; it can only be forgotten.
We are born as meditators, and then we study the ways of the mind. But our true nature remains hidden somewhere deep inside, like an underground current. One day, by delving a bit deeper, you will find that the spring is still flowing — a spring of pure water; and the greatest joy in life is to find it. Meditation is not concentration. If there is concentration, there is one who concentrates and an object upon which one concentrates. Duality is present. In meditation, there is no one inside and no one outside. This is not concentration. There is no separation between "inside" and "outside." The "inside" flows into the "outside," the "outside" flows into the "inside." The demarcation line, the boundary, no longer exists. "Outside" is "inside," this is non-dual consciousness. Concentration is dual consciousness: therefore, concentration creates fatigue; therefore, when you concentrate, you feel exhaustion. And you cannot concentrate twenty-four hours a day; you will need time to rest.
Concentration can never become your essence. Meditation does not tire you; it does not exhaust you. Meditation can become twenty-four hours a day, day after day, year after year. It can become eternity. This is self-relaxation. Concentration is an action. Meditation is a state of non-will, a state of non-doing. This is relaxation. One simply needs to immerse oneself in one's own being, and that is existence... In concentration, the mind acts based on conclusions; you are doing something. Concentration stems from the past. In meditation, there are no conclusions outside of it. You do nothing special; you simply are. In it, there is no past; it is not contaminated by the past. In it, there is no future; it is clean of the future.
This is what Lao Tzu called wei-wu-wei, action through non-action. This is what the Zen Masters spoke of: "Sitting silently, doing nothing, spring comes and grass grows by itself." Remember, "by itself" — nothing is being done. You do not pull the grass up; spring comes and the grass grows by itself. This state — when you let life take its course, when you do not wish to direct it, when you do not wish to control it in any way, when you do not manipulate, when you do not impose any discipline upon it — this state of pure, undisciplined spontaneity is meditation. Meditation is in the present, in the pure present. Meditation is immediacy. You cannot meditate; you can be in meditation. You cannot be concentration, but you can concentrate. Concentration is human; meditation is divine.
Osho