Our thoughts are related to our overall mental well being as they are the ones that determine our state of happiness or sadness!

Thoughts are mere projection of the mind, which acts like a radar, presenting various kinds of information based on what it feels is going to happen. This information can be negative, resulting in negative thoughts, or it could be positive, leading to positive thoughts.

Meditation has been emphasized as a retreat from the constant bombardment of these thoughts in our mind in order to seek peace and poise of mind, body and Soul. It’s a process wherein one retires from the outside world and goes on a journey within, to see and realize, based on one’s own experience, the nature of our thoughts and the kind of impact they have on our body and Soul. Here, we come to know the fact that we can’t control the incessant thoughts erupting in our mind.

However, we already knew that we can’t control the incessant thoughts. Then what is that we do meditation for? What solace or satisfaction does meditation give?
The answer is: It is not merely a feeling, it is a hard-core experience that meditation gives! Moreover, it’s a lot more than solace and satisfaction, what we experience through meditation is eternal bliss.

However, it should be real meditation, attained from the Gnani Purush!!!
Attaining the Soul is Atmadhyan i.e. meditation as the Self. Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says, “Meditation can only be done when one becomes the Self.”

Aatma means the Self. The Self is the Soul. This Soul cannot be found in books or in the scriptures, there we can find only the ‘word' Aatma. The real or true Aatma is to be found only through the Living Gnani, the Enlightened One.

In Akram Vignan, with the grace of the Living Gnani, one directly attains the Soul (Self-Realization), after which real meditation becomes possible.

In Akram Vignan, one attains from Gnani the awareness of 'I am the Soul' and following his words, tries to remain the knower and observer (gnata-drashta) of all the components of the worldly self, including the incessant thoughts. To know and see is the nature of the Soul. And therefore, one experiences eternal bliss (parmanand), during this meditation. This blissful state is called Samadhi!

Samadhi means that the bliss prevails despite adhi (mental suffering), vyadhi (physical suffering) and upadhi (problems induced by external circumstances) in life. Meditation that results in natural Samadhi is the real meditation. Such Samadhi is experienced in sleep, while standing, sitting, eating, drinking, all the time. Dadashri says, “We are constantly in Samadhi. We never lose it even when someone insults us.”

In real meditation, eyes are not required to be kept closed. Dadashri says, “The eyes are for seeing God wherever He is, if one knows how to.” In real meditation, one sees everything exactly as it is, hears exactly as it is, and walks exactly as it is, and despite doing all of this, samadhi prevails; such is the samadhi of Dada. There is complete awareness of the body as well as the Self.

To conclude:
Real meditation starts after Self-Realization. Even while meditation, we continue to encounter thoughts. We cannot control the incessant thoughts, but we are able to keep them separate from our Pure Self. By verily being the Knower and Observer of our thoughts, we are the Self! And that is when we experience sheer bliss!

To know more: https://www.dadabhagwan.org/path-to-happiness/spiritual-science/know-the...

Author's Bio: 

Ambalal M. Patel was a civil contractor by profession. In June 1958, spontaneous Self-Realization occurred within Ambalal M. Patel. From this point on, Ambalal became a Gnani Purush, and the Lord that manifest within him became known as Dada Bhagwan. A Gnani Purush is One who has realized the Self and is able help others do the same. Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan used to go from town to town and country-to-country to give satsang (spiritual discourse) and impart the knowledge of the Self, as well as knowledge of harmonious worldly interactions to everyone who came to meet him. This spiritual science, known as Akram Vignan, is the step-less path to Self-realization