What are the Essentials for Meditation?

For meditation, you want a properly trained instrument (mind). You must have a calm, clear, pure, subtle, sharp, steady and one-pointed Buddhi (Intellect) to understand the Soul-Principle or Soul-Energy. Then and then only is realization possible. Soul is pure and subtle and you need a pure and subtle mind to approach Soul.

Only a trained mind which utterly controls the body can inquire and meditate endlessly so long as life remains, never for a moment losing sight of the object of its search and contemplation (the Soul), never for a moment letting it to be obscured by any terrestrial temptation. All physical activities should be completely suspended; all attachments should be ruthlessly cut asunder completely for five or six years, if you want to practice Dhyana Yoga, if you want to realize God through concentration of mind. Newspaper-reading and correspondence with friends and relatives should be completely stopped, as they cause distraction of mind and strengthen the world-idea. Seclusion for a period of five or six years is indispensable.

For purposes of meditation, everything must be rendered Sattvic (Pure). The place of meditation must be Sattvic. The food must be Sattvic. The wearing apparel must be Sattvic. The company must be Sattvic. Talking must be Sattvic. The sound that you hear must be Sattvic. Thinking must be Sattvic. Study must be Sattvic. Everything must be Sattvic. Then only good progress in Spiritual practice is possible, particularly with the beginners (neophytes).

A solitary place with spiritual vibratory conditions, a cool, Sattvic place with temperate climate as at any hill station is indispensably requisite for concentration of mind and meditation, because the brain gets hot during meditation. The banks of the Ganga or Narmada, Himalayan scenery, lovely flower-gardens, sacred temples, these are the places which elevate the mind in concentration and mediation. Have recourse to them. Of course, the ideal condition cannot always be obtained as this is a relative plane. All places combine advantages and some disadvantages also side by side. You must select a place which has the maximum of advantages and minimum of disadvantages. You must do the best you can. You must try to put up with some difficulties. You must overcome them. You should be alone with yourself. You should be able to abstract yourself from the distracting causes.

There must be good, Sattvic, substantial light, nutritious food. Meditation is possible only when the mind is full of Sattva-Guna(Pure by Nature). The stomach should not be loaded. There is an intimate connection between the mind and the food. A heavy meal is harmful. Take a full meal at 11 a.m. and half a seer of milk at night. The night meal should be light for those who meditate. There must be capacity for Spiritual practice. Then only meditation will go on steadily with happiness. Asana (posture) steadies the body. Bandhas and Mudras make the body firm. Pranayama makes the body light. Nadi-Suddhi (Purification of nerves) effects balance of the mind. Having acquired these qualifications, you will have to fix the mind on Soul. When Sushumna Nadi is working, i.e., when the breath flows through both the nostrils, meditation goes on with ease and joy. The mind then is calm. There is an increase of Sattva Guna when Sushumna is operating. Sit for meditation the moment Sushumna begins to flow.

You can meditate only when the mind is beyond all anxieties. Retire to a quiet room or place where you do not fear interruption so that your mind may feel secure and at rest. Sit in a comfortable posture and be, so far as possible, free from external disturbing influences. Drive off negative thoughts. Become positive always. Positive overpowers negative. You can do nice meditation when you are positive.

There must be firm Vairagya (Dispassion), burning Mumukshutva (intense yearning) and strong Viveka (discrimination) in you. There must be a good, spiritual teacher (Experienced Guru) to guide you. You must have an intellectual grasp, intellectual conviction and comprehensive understanding of Brahman first through the purified mind. Many do not get the above favorable conditions for spiritual practice. That is the reason why they do not make any spiritual progress.

Reference

Mind – Its Mysteries and Control by Sri Swami Sivananda