Santosha Santosha Meditation –9-

Welcome to "Unconditional Love – Viveka and Vairagya: Yoga of Liberation, an Anapanasati audio-guided 39 meditations."

This guided meditation focuses on the practice of mindful breathing using anapanasati. It helps you explore inner freedom, contentment, and the impact of attachments on happiness. By concentrating on each breath, you'll connect with your inner self, reflect on key spiritual concepts, and cultivate a state of calm and self-awareness.

Transcript

Namaste,

Dear soul.

Welcome to this session where we will be practicing awareness of our breath using the technique of Anapanasati meditation.

Allow yourself to settle comfortably.

You can sit on any surface,

Preferably semi-hard or hard.

You can sit on a chair in a half lotus or in a lotus position,

Close your eyes and begin to be aware of your breath.

Feel how inhalations and exhalations naturally pass through your nose.

Stay with your breath a little longer.

Notice how you breathe.

Do you hear your breath?

Allow yourself to fully relax.

Calm down.

Notice how you breathe.

Do you hear your breath?

Try to breathe slowly,

Calmly.

Do you hear your breath?

During this audio meditation,

In addition to exploring what viveka and vairagya mean,

Try to remember your breath.

When you inhale,

Be aware,

Inhaling,

And when you exhale,

Be aware,

Exhaling.

Keep tracking your breath throughout the meditation.

Let's start by acknowledging that true freedom,

In the traditional sense,

Might not really exist.

Our lives are filled with duties,

Limitations,

And the impact of society,

Yet we can discover a sense of personal freedom,

Achievable through yoga and meditation.

Firstly,

We need to consider that both physical and mental health issues can stem from unresolved feelings and unmet desires.

It is often said that such health problems come from desires that remain unfulfilled,

Which are essentially unprocessed emotions and food.

This highlights the importance of being mindful of our feelings and our consumption.

Frequently,

We define ourselves by what we do,

Who we know,

And what we own.

This,

However,

Can lead to unhappiness.

Relying on external things for joy leads us down a path of superficial happiness.

It's crucial to realize that relying on things outside ourselves leaves a void within.

In meditation,

We come to understand karma as the principle of cause and effect.

This teaches us that our actions have repercussions and that freeing ourselves from our attachments can help us break free from cycles of karma.

Recognizing our attachments and addressing them is a fundamental part of spiritual growth.

So how do we escape this relentless cycle?

It's through awareness,

Letting go,

And finding contentment.

Not through reliance,

But through santosha,

Which is finding happiness in what we already have and who we are.

Being self-reliant,

Cultivating a sense of fulfillment and happiness with ourselves and our current circumstances is a focus of meditation.

Please bring back your attention to the breath and explore how are you breathing right now.

Santosha teaches us that genuine joy doesn't come from external sources,

But from a state of internal peace.

This helps us to accept ourselves and our lives just as they are.

Be true to yourself A major theme here is the concept of attachment.

Attachment leads to future difficulties.

The Bhagavad Gita states,

The pleasures that arise from contact with the senses are sources of suffering as they begin and end.

A wise person does not delight in these.

Life is inherently about change and transition.

From childhood to youth to old age and eventually death.

Being attached to something will only cause pain when it inevitably goes away,

Leading to grief and distress.

Grief turns into resentment and resentment back into love.

This all occurs because humans haven't learned to be at peace with themselves.

As highlighted in the Bhagavad Gita,

Genuine happiness isn't derived from external things or pleasures.

It comes from recognizing our inner strength and spiritual balance which remain unaffected by the material world's ups and downs.

Santosha is the understanding that true happiness does not depend on external conditions but arises from inner harmony.

One of the key concepts here is attachment.

Attachment breeds future problems.

In the Bhagavad Gita it's said,

Pleasures spawned by the contact of the senses lead only to pain,

For they have a beginning and an end.

Oh Arjuna,

The wise man does not rejoice in them at all.

As the Bhagavad Gita points out,

True happiness does not depend on external objects and enjoyments.

It arises from the awareness of one's inner potential and spiritual harmony which is not subject to the fluctuations of the material world.

The foundation of this life is movement and changing states.

Childhood,

Youth,

Old age,

Death.

Attachment to an object will be a source of suffering.

The object will disappear and sadness and sorrow will come.

Love will be replaced by hatred,

Hatred by love.

All this happens because man doesn't know how to live with himself.

Now let's return to our breath.

Try to breathe slowly and deeply but don't force it,

Being aware of each inhalation and exhalation as they occur.

Each moment of breathing reminds us of the movement of life,

Of its impermanence.

Remember that true happiness does not depend on external objects,

It arises from the awareness of our inner potential and harmony.

Let's maintain this mindful state,

Allowing the breath to be our reminder of our inner freedom and the true source of happiness.

Be yourself.

Try to breathe slowly and deeply but don't force it,

Being aware of each inhalation and exhalation as they occur.

Each moment of breathing reminds us of the movement of life,

Of its impermanence.

Remember that true happiness does not depend on external objects,

It arises from the awareness of our inner potential and harmony.

Let's maintain this mindful state,

Allowing the breath to be our reminder of our inner freedom and the true source of happiness.

Be yourself.

Our lives are filled with duties,

Limitations and the impact of society,

Yet we can discover a sense of personal freedom,

Achievable through yoga and meditation.

Firstly we need to consider that both physical and mental health issues can stem from unresolved feelings and unmet desires.

It is often said that such health problems come from desires that remain unfulfilled,

Which are essentially unprocessed emotions and food.

This highlights the importance of being mindful of our feelings and our consumption.

Frequently we define ourselves by what we do,

Who we know and what we own.

This however can lead to unhappiness.

Relying on external things for joy leads us down a path of superficial happiness.

It's crucial to realize that relying on things outside ourselves leaves a void within.

In meditation we come to understand karma as the principle of cause and effect.

This teaches us that our actions have repercussions and that freeing ourselves from our attachments can help us break free from cycles of karma.

Recognizing our attachments and addressing them is a fundamental part of spiritual growth.

So how do we escape this relentless cycle?

It's through awareness,

Letting go and finding contentment.

Not through reliance,

But through santosha,

Which is finding happiness in what we already have and who we are,

Being self-reliant.

Cultivating a sense of fulfillment and happiness with ourselves and our current circumstances is a focus of meditation.

Santosha teaches us that genuine joy doesn't come from external sources,

But from a state of internal peace.

This helps us to accept ourselves and our lives just as they are.

Be true to yourself.

A major theme here is the concept of attachment.

Attachment leads to future difficulties.

The Bhagavad Gita states,

The pleasures that arise from contact with the senses are sources of suffering as they begin and end.

A wise person does not delight in these.

Life is inherently about change and transition.

From childhood to youth to old age and eventually death.

Being attached to something will only cause pain when it inevitably goes away,

Leading to grief and distress.

Love turns into resentment and resentment back into love.

This all occurs because humans haven't learned to be at peace with themselves.

As highlighted in the Bhagavad Gita,

Genuine happiness isn't derived from external things or pleasures.

It comes from recognizing our inner strength and spiritual balance,

Which remain unaffected by the material world's ups and downs.

Each moment of breathing reminds us of the movement of life,

Of its impermanence.

Remember that true happiness does not depend on external objects.

It arises from the awareness of our inner potential and harmony.

Let's maintain this mindful state,

Allowing the breath to be our reminder of our inner freedom and the true source of happiness.

Be yourself.