(from audience) But Swamiji , if we don't control ourselves, what will happen?🔗

The question she has asked shows you exactly what I am saying! See, how fear resonates in the very question! We are all living in fear of the Pandora's Box inside us. That is why, the moment we hear the word meditation, we try to escape. So some people don't like the word because it makes them afraid, some people think it is too serious a thing, and somewhere along the way it has also got associated with religion. Actually meditation has nothing to do with religion. It has only to do with spirituality.

Swamiji, why should we do this meditation? To throw out the subconscious.

What happens if we fall asleep during meditation? Nothing wrong. Please, don't have any ideas about do's and don'ts! If you feel sleepy, sleep. When you finish sleeping, you can meditate, that's all.

Can we practise it along with any other meditation? Yes, it can be continued alongside any other meditation. There are no side-effects. Whichever technique you find helps you more, continue with that and drop the other. If both are helping you, continue both. But please don't keep comparing techniques, different techniques are designed for different types of people. So don't condemn any technique, each has its own value. Vivekananda goes so far as to say that even the sacrificial rites practised by tribals have their own value – so never condemn anything.

(elderly lady) But what about young people entering into all this?

Ha ha ha! Do you think meditation is only for people of your age?

We normally have this idea, that spirituality and meditation are only for those who have finished living their life. I say, meditation is the only way to survive in today's society. Meditate, or go insane! If you don't know how to look inward, the outer world will reduce you to madness, sooner or later. Meditation is today a basic need for everybody! At one time, meditation was considered a luxury. Now, we are so disturbed, so stressed out, that we need meditation the way we need oxygen.

Actually what does this technique do, Swamiji? This technique will help you unburden the suppressions. Awaken your body intelligence. Bring out the insanity inside. When the insanity is thrown out, spirituality will bloom naturally.

Swamiji, what do you mean by spirituality?

You can recognise spirituality by its qualities!

The prime quality of spirituality is nithyananda – being ever blissful, full of extraordinary energy, intelligence and love… when your whole being becomes an expression of love, when healing energy radiates from you... all this, plus something more, is spirituality. What that something more is, I cannot define. It cannot be defined, it cannot be expressed, only experienced. If you have just one deep experience in meditation, you will find that everything I say is true. Just one deep experience is enough to get you addicted to meditation.

Shall we enter into the meditation?

Instructions for Dukkha Harana Meditation

First, you will listen to music which will help you enter into the meditation.

This is a 30-minute meditation, with 3 parts of 10 minutes each.

For the first 10 minutes, we are going to work with breath. You are going to breathe deeply, chaotically.

During chaotic breathing, when the body intelligence is allowed to take over, the body will take in however much oxygen is needed. There is no need to control your breath - this is not pranayama.

Just breathe as deeply as you can – forget everything else, just breathe, breathe deeply - become the breathing! If anyone has a heart problem, do it as much as you can without discomfort. The rest of you, put your whole energy into it!

The heat generated in these 10 minutes will melt all your solidified negative energies. The subconscious will be thrown open.

(from audience) Any particular breathing exercises?

No, nothing. Let your body behave as it wants. You have to be standing, that's all. There are no specific exercises. Just breathe, that's all!

The next 10 minutes is called catharsis. Here you will open the seed body which is inside your being. Just make your body as tense as possible. Throw your limbs around. Clench your teeth. Rotate your head. Whatever the body wants to do, allow it to do. But keep every limb tense, taut. Just throw out all your dukkha. If you feel like crying, screaming, laughing – just do it. For these ten minutes, don't control your body. Just go crazy. Because we are all already mad! This technique is not going to make you act crazy – it is only going to bring out all the madness inside.

Do you realise how mad you actually are?

If you keep a record of your random thoughts, you will be shocked! Your thoughts are completely irrelevant, unrelated, sheer madness.

Vivekananda gives a beautiful description of the mind: he says that the mind is like a drunken monkey, stung by a scorpion and possessed by a ghost! Just imagine, what will be the state of that monkey? That is what is our mind!