Meditation has always been a challenge for me; partly because I set unrealistic standards and forced myself to meet them and partly due to the nature of our everyday mind which is always busy and looks for the next experience to entertain itself. However, as years went by and I deepened my understanding of Advaita Vedanta by studying with Acharya Shunya, I realized that meditation has nothing to do with setting goals. Meditation is actually a process of letting go, replacing unbeneficial thoughts with beneficial ones and eventually turning your whole life into a fertile ground for meditation.
As our teacher reminded us on my occasions, in Advaita Vedanta, life becomes a meditation in itself. Transformation begins with eliminating the harmful habits, thought patterns in our lives and replacing them with mindful, sattvic practices. This can include practices as simple as taking a daily walk in nature, making healthy food choices or paying attention to self care.
I believe that one of the very first practices that we should cultivate is waking up early to greet the sun in brahma muhurta, which is that magical period of time roughly one and half hours before sunrise. Waking up early and witnessing the darkness turning into light is in itself a meditation. In these auspicious hours of the day, the consciousness is wide open to receive the wisdom of the self and contemplate on it.
The sky turning from dark to light is also symbolic of our consciousness transitioning from its constricted and dark state into a wide, illumined and limitless state. Many times in the teachings, there are reminders that the small self, the ego is not who we really are. We are much more than our thinking mind, desiring heart and that small ego which tries to hold things together by creating life stories for each one of us.
Despite these constant reminders, it is very hard to bypass that dense forest of the busy mind to reach the light and brightness of the day. Early morning practices in that sense aid us in so many ways. Instead of trying hard to concentrate, meditate and be in a state of contemplation; we make use of the early morning hours as a power house to do all these things. In brahma muhurta hours, the mind is naturally inclined to higher thoughts and the heart is open to feelings pertaining to Atman and Brahman. As we borrow power from the universe and our consciousness is infused with divine illumination in the early hours of the day, we do not struggle as much throughout the day. Meditation becomes the natural flow of life, almost like a side benefit of greeting the sun.
During brahma muhurta, our consciousness is washed with outer stillness which then balances out the turmoil inside us and brings it to a more silent, peaceful state. When we close our eyes and look within through that illumined consciousness, there is definitely less fear, more hope and an intuitive knowingness.
I have studied Ayurveda with Acharya Shunya six years ago in her year long Alchemy through Ayurveda program. During that one year and the ensuing ones, I diligently followed an Ayurvedic lifestyle and established a strong morning routine. However, in the past couple of years, some of the established practices in my routine fell away because of unexpected life circumstances.
I realized how beneficial and beautiful the morning practices were, when I lost contact with them. I had a deep yearning to go back to square one and start it all over but life kept pulling me from one place to another so I always had an excuse for not getting back to my beautiful routine.
A few days ago, I started listening to Gayathri Mantra Sadhana recordings again and it really inspired me to wake up early in the morning to do a gayathri japa. After so many months of laziness and dullness that I experienced in the early hours of the day, finally I made a decision to wake up at 5 am with no excuses and pick up my routine from where I have left.
This waking up to the rising sun was like reuniting with an old friend with whom I have lost connection. We immediately recognized each other’s company and sat in darkness with great comfort and ease to greet the light.
With my old friend, we lit candles, chanted gayathri mantra and explored the depths of the outer silence. With that potent, meaningful and symbolic darkness outside, my consciousness lit up again from within. This bright and illumined consciousness in the early morning hours is a sure first step to a day full of mindfulness, meditation, contemplation and deep insights. With that solid step, you are not on a slippery slope anymore. Each step, thought, behaviour, emotion rising throughout the day is met with more mindfulness.
I can see that life can be a meditation in itself only if we take the right step and set the tone of the day in brahma muhurta hours. After so long, I felt really supported by the universe which carries us from darkness to light each and every day, if we only wake up to witness it. Then our days on this earth become a gentle meditation practice and we leave softer footprints behind as we navigate this life.
I encourage everyone who has not started a morning routine yet or is struggling to go back to it for various reasons, to check Gayathri Sadhana teachings of Acharya Shunya for inspiration. Gayathri Sadhana is like a gem shining most brilliantly in darkness, waiting to train our mind, bring it to stillness and divine illumination.
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