State of Meditation

Abstract

To come in touch with reality is the purpose of the art of meditation. Most of religious practice is verbal: verbal prayers, sermons, and lectures. On the other hand, meditation is contemplative and experiential: inner silence, listening, and observing the inner and outer real- ity. In this context, meditation is not what is usually called religious prayers. Bahá'u'lláh, quoting from Rumi, said of this practice: "In thy soul of love build thou a fire. And burn all thoughts and words entire." [Seven Valleys, P. 28] Further, Bahá'u'lláh said: "... every man hath been, and will continue to be, able of himself, to appreciate the Beauty of God the Glorified ...," [Gleanings, P143] The great Eastern mystic, Mowlana Jalāl ad-Dīn Rumi, said: "To the spiritual man the 'inner voice' is its own evidence, and needs no proof." [The Masnavi I Manavi of Rumi Complete 6 book page 71] Also, Beloved Guardian emphasizes the need and necessity of medi- tation and has given us a vision and guidance regarding a Bahá'í way of meditating. We will discuss meditation and some of its misunderstandings. We will show that this is a very straightforward and reproducible cognitive process.