DISCOURSES Volume II - Avatar Meher Baba Trust

Meditation onformless and infiniteaspect of GodTHE TYPES OF MEDITATION: VI 155from all the numerous forms of manifestedlife as well as from one's own bodies, and(b) to centre consciousness on the formlessand infinite aspect of God. In the initialphases, this form of impersonal meditation has to avail itself ofsome symbols of infinity. It is actually more helpful to start withsome image which suggests and signifies infinity than the abstractidea of infinity. The mind may be made steady on the image ofsky, ocean or vast emptiness, but when once a particular image ischosen, the aspirant should stick to it throughout the period ofmeditation, and not allow it to be replaced by another image. Outof these symbols of infinity, complete and unlimited emptiness isdifficult to imagine, but it turns out to be the best symbol if onecan successfully bring it before one's mind. Even when unlimitedemptiness is used to signify infinity, in this form of meditation theaspirant is not supposed to arrive at complete blankness of mind.Such blankness involves the cessation of all mental activity andhaving absolutely no thoughts or ideas; but in this form ofmeditation the mind tries to understand and realise the formlessand. infinite aspect of God by means of a significant symbol.There is an important variety of this impersonal form ofmeditation. In it the infinity which one imagines is not mentallyexternalised as if it were an unlimited stretch of something outsidePicturing the infiniteas being withinthe aspirant. It is more helpful to picturethe infinite as within the aspirant. Afterpicturing infinity within, the aspirantshould give himself the strong suggestion of his identity with theinfinite by mentally repeating, "I am as infinite as the sky within,"or "I am as infinite as the ocean within," or "I am as infinite as theemptiness