By Srimati Karuna
When our desires are many, they overwhelm us. We don’t know which one to fulfill, when, or how. Yet, out of this maze of infinite desires, we find the soul’s one true desire: the perfection of absolute oneness.
A yearning develops within us to experience our true self. With this desire, we genuinely long for meditation. At this point, meditation is much more than a habit or a discipline. When we seek the life of meditation with an all-consuming desire, it is like longing for a breath of air while immersed deep in the water. All we desire is that breath.
This single desire becomes like the thread that passes through the eye of a needle. Everything we do becomes stitched with that thread. It transforms every aspect of our life with a single current of thought. In this current of thought, feeling, inspiration, vibration—we are completely absorbed—body, mind, heart and soul. It is a sublime surrender into the depth of our being.
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“Since the beginning of creation, every soul has been endowed with the desire to regain its original state of absolute perfection. This desire inspires the spiritual aspirant to manifest his divinity in its fullest glory.
“Self-illumination is the ideal of meditation. Therefore, do thou practice Kriya with the sole desire for spiritual perfection so that thy physical, mental and spiritual nature may be directed to the realization of the highest good.
“Make thy meditation incessant. Desire not phenomenal powers. Be not misguided nor do thou falter in meditation. The Absolute is within. Keeping thy mind firmly directed to thy highest Self, continue in thy meditation. Let no discouragement overcome thee in thy joy and determination. Meditation always leads to self-realization.”
—Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita: The Revelation of the Self by Swami Premananda