Wisdom Vault — onlinknow.co.za

highest heights of genius, but he cannot scale the heavenly heights of Truth: to ac- complish this, he must meditate. By concentration a man may acquire the wonderful comprehension and vast power of a Caesar; by meditation he may reach the divine wisdom and perfect peace of a Buddha.

The perfection of concen- tration is power ; the perfection of medi- tation is wisdom. By concentration, men acquire skill in the doing of the 98 Zbe flhaeteiy of Weetiny things of life — in science, art, trade, etc., — but by meditation, they acquire skill in life itself; in right living, enlight- enment, wisdom, etc.

Saints, sages, sa- viours— wise men and divine teachers — are the finished products of holy medi- tation. The four stages in concentration are brought into play in meditation; the difference between the two powers being one of direction, and not of nature.

Med- itation is therefore spiritual concentra- tion; the bringing of the mind to a focus in its search for the divine knowledge, the divine life; the intense dwelling, in thought, on Truth. Thus a man aspires to know and realise, above all things else, the Truth; he then gives attention to conduct, to life, to self- purification: giving attention to these things, he passes into serious content- practice of flfceDitatton 99 plation of the facts, problems, and mys- tery of life: thus contemplating, he comes to love Truth so fully and in- tensely as to become wholly absorbed in it, the mind is drawn away from its wan- derings in a multitude of desires, and, solving one by one the problems of life, realises that profound union with Truth which is the state of abstraction; and thus absorbed in Truth, there is that balance and poise of character, that divine action in repose, which is the abiding calm and peace of an emancipated and enlightened mind.

Meditation is more difficult to practise than concentration because it involves a much more severe self-discipline than that which obtains in concentration. A man can practise concentration without purifying his heart and life, whereas the process of purification is inseparable ioo Gbe /toasters of Besting from meditation.

The object of medi- tation is divine enlightenment, the at- tainment of Truth, and is therefore interwoven with practical purity and righteousness. Thus while, at first, the time spent in actual meditation is short — perhaps only half an hour in the early morning — the knowledge gained in that half-hour of vivid aspiration and concentrated thought is embodied in practice during the whole day.

In meditation, therefore, the entire life of a man is involved; and as he advances in its practice he becomes more and more fitted to perform the duties of life in the circumstances in which he may be placed, for he becomes stronger, holier, calmer, and wiser.

The principle of meditation is two- fold, namely — practice of /BbeDftatfon 101 i. Purification of the heart by repetitive thought on pure things. 2- Attainment of divine knowledge by em- bodying such purity in practical life. Man is a thought-being, and his life and character are determined by the thoughts in which he habitually dwells.

By practice, association, and habit, thoughts tend to repeat themselves with greater and greater ease and fre- quency, and so "fix" the character in a given direction by producing that automatic action which is called "habit." By daily dwelling upon pure thoughts, the man of meditation forms the habit of pure and enlightened thinking which leads to pure and en- lightened actions and well-performed duties.

By the ceaseless repetition of pure thoughts, he at last becomes one with those thoughts, and is a purified 102 Gbe .Mastery of Beating being, manifesting his attainment in pure actions, in a serene and wise life. The majority of men live in a series of conflicting desires, passions, emotions, and speculations, and there are restless- ness, uncertainty, and sorrow; but when a man begins to train his mind in medi- tation, he gradually gains control over this inward conflict by bringing his thoughts to a focus upon a central principle.