DISCOURSES Volume II - Avatar Meher Baba Trust

THE TYPES OF MEDITATION: II 121but it is meant merely to pave the way for associative meditation.Associative meditation and dissociative meditation are bothnecessary in a way, but eventually associative meditation turns outto be far more fruitful and important than dissociative medita-Associative meditationmore fruitfulthan dissociativemeditationtion. If a person is surrounded by shadows, itdoes not help very much to be continuouslyupset about them. If he has no interestexcept that of being cross with the shadows,there will be no end to his worries. But if,instead of fretting and fuming about the engulfing shadows, he setshimself to the more important task of bringing himself under thefull blaze of the sun, he will discover that all the shadows havedisappeared. What really matters is not aimless discontent withexisting limitations but directive effort towards the establishedideal. As long as the person is turned towards the sun and he istrying to walk into the light, the shadows which encircle himcannot be a serious handicap to his emancipation. In the same waythe aspirant need not worry too much about his failings, as long ashis heart is firmly set upon uniting with his spiritual ideal. Hisfailings will all have vanished into nothingness when hispilgrimage ends.Associative meditation is to the spirit what the assimilationof food is to the body. The body can make up for its deficienciesby assimilating the right sort of food. Similarly the mind canAnalogy of foodsecure its health by the assimilation of spiritualtruths through meditation. It is necessary tostrike a balance between the different forms of associativemeditation even though in their own way they are all good, just asit is necessary to attend to balancing the diet even when one hassatisfied oneself