Hello everyone,
My name is Saqib and I welcome you all to this short talk which is called Meditate in the Crowd.
I live in a city near the Indian Himalayas and quite often I have observed and compared the lives of people who live in the mountains versus those who live in the cities on the plains.
There is a clear distinction on the faces of these people living in two different landscapes.
Quite obviously,
The faces of the people in the Himalayas are usually much more serene and calm as compared to their counterparts in the cities.
Not only the faces,
But there is a stark difference in their overall demeanor.
A few years back,
One of my friends whose name is Jatin moved from Kasol,
A small hamlet in the Himalayas,
To New Delhi,
Which is a few hundred miles away.
Jatin is a Buddhist who has practiced meditation throughout his life as meditation is a part of his family culture.
Within a few months of his arrival in Delhi,
I started noticing some drastic changes on his face and his demeanor.
I could sense a hint of frustration in the way he spoke.
So one day I asked him that what's affecting him?
He said that the city life has taken a toll on him.
That night I contemplated on what he said and wondered that what is the use of all those years of meditation in the mountains when just a few months in the city had such an adverse effect on him.
We all have heard about the beautiful experiences of meditating in the Himalayas at various monasteries,
Ashrams,
Temples or at various yoga and meditation retreats.
I myself have experienced that and can vouch for the divine experience.
But it is not the meditation in the Himalayas that will help me cultivate a calm demeanor and a meditative mind.
The effect of these retreats doesn't last that long if you move to a city after that.
It is the meditation in the city,
In the crowd that makes me tranquil even when I am walking through a busy street in old Delhi.
In fact,
The more I meditate in a chaotic environment,
The more unaffected I am by the chaos.
This my friend is the art of meditation.
Meditating in this serene environment of the Himalayas is easy.
Staying calm in the Himalayas is easy.
But the one who is calm in a chaotic environment of the city life has truly cultivated a meditative mind.
So I invite you to practice meditation in the busiest areas of your vicinity and experience the change yourself.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening to this talk.
I wish a peaceful and happy life for you.
Namaste.
