Why do you put meditation down?

GC: First, do you ask this question because I have challenged something within you that you feel so strongly about? Secondly, am I really putting it “down” or am I sharing something about meditation which contradicts what millions of people, gurus, experts, book are telling you it is? That in itself, is worth asking (when the masses follow the same patterns). And since I am nobody, perhaps it bothered you that there is someone out there who knows nothing of meditation and is commenting on it. Perhaps you’ve spent lots of money to become certified and are defending your investment. Perhaps you’ve learned various practices, and through those practices you have had a better life. Therefore you make a belief out of it, and spread it to others. That’s okay - there’s nothing new in what you are doing. This kind of “systemization” has been happening for centuries by the various traditions out there. But can you honestly say that a meditation practice has changed the consciousness of humanity? Or are you only concerned about yourself, your own practice, your own peaceful life? Because if it hasn’t by now, then it’s either going to take another thousand years, or, you are not fundamentally understanding it.

Questioner: But meditation has helped many people?

GC I wonder in what way? Perhaps we could question what is meditation? Because it seems to the writer rather absurd to spend years on a practice if the world we live in is still ugly, and constantly on fire. Or perhaps you are still are basically looking at the world through the eyes of others. You may say it’s not, you may tell me I am being judgmental, you may call me negative and all of that further waste of energy. And if you are, then obviously meditation hasn’t worked for you, sorry.

Questioner: You see you are very negative about it. This is something the ancients practiced that could work again for a lot of people. There are many great people promoting it and sharing many things about it. Why aren’t you?

GC: That’s the point. Sir, if I may, first of all, how can we question what meditation is if we can’t look at it objectively? If you bring in your beliefs and ideas about it, no matter who it came from, and I come in from my side with my own beliefs about it, we are wasting our time.

Questioner: No, I’m just saying you sound very negative about it and I want to know why.

GC: You see, how , how can we ever answer the question of what is meditation, if we ourselves are judging it, defending it, justifying it with our own understanding of it, or calling it something sacred and delivered by someone who is enlightened or consciously higher than others. Do you even think to challenge the truth of what others tell you, or just accept it as it is which is what we have been doing for thousands of years - accepting systems of beliefs, philosophies, traditions, education systems - without even questioning their validity.

Whether we have learned from a great teacher, or a book, that wonderful word of meditation, much like many other words, has been destroyed by propaganda, coaches, and others that introduce systems to help us be more empathetic, or help us to manage our wellness. I have met and been involved in many different communities that practiced so-called “meditation” in the past. I am no longer part of any of them of course but I’ve learned from great teachers in Zen and Tibetan methods.

Meditation aside for the moment, during the pandemic, I saw many such well-practiced meditation masters as they put it and their students, as well as self-proclaimed gurus use very violent words when people refused to take the vaccine. I saw many such well-practiced mediators speak words of fury against certain people of certain countries involved in wars. And in the workplace, many such “great” practitioners were so judgmental of their colleagues when it came to blaming them for mistakes. I wonder how long one needs to meditate in order to see that there is no compassion in any of this? The moment you accept a “way of life” according to a system, the words of any guru, coach, author, famous spiritual leader, you are lost. And you turn to meditation, or some other drug, to relieve you of the fact that the world is on fire for just a few minutes a day. Did you know the praying mantis sits in a prayer stance right before he/she kills their prey.

Questioner: You sound a lot like Krishnamurti.

GC: I don’t know him. I reject all of those teachings from others. I’m not saying they are good or bad, right or wrong. If those others found a form of truth, then it’s their truth. Sir, we are going off the point. We started to touch on a different question which is far more important than a meditation practice. And that is, I wonder if such so-called meditation practices are just periods of escape, somewhere we take our mind like a stroll in the park, and then we go back to creating havoc in the world.

Questioner: You said if you practice meditation, then you don’t understand it. What are you talking about?

GC: The more important question is, why do you meditate? Not what I said or what I am talking about. When we ask the question why, we are not waiting for others to tell us the answer. We begin a concourse with our own mind. If I give you answers, then I carry that flashlight for you, but what will you do with yours?

~ ~ ~

From the upcoming book, “The Healing Power of Silence”