DISCOURSES Volume II - Avatar Meher Baba Trust

THE TYPES OF MEDITATION : VI 159stirrings of sanskaras are faced, understood and taken for whatthey are worth, the mind is freed from all obsessions andcompulsions in relation to them.A way is thus prepared for the meditation which attemptsto make the mind blank 8 , which is one of the most difficultthings to achieve. The mind is without any ideas during sleep, butMaking the mindblankconsciousness is then in abeyance. If duringwakefulness the mind has the idea ofbecoming blank, it is thinking about that ideaand is far from being blank. But this difficult trick of making themind blank becomes possible by an alternation between twoincompatible forms of meditation so that the mind is caughtbetween concentration and distraction.Thus the aspirant can concentrate on the Master for fiveminutes and then, as the mind is getting settled on the form of theMaster, he can steady his mind for the next five minutes in the im-Alternation betweenconcentration anddistractionpersonal meditation in which the thought is"I am Infinite." The disparity between thetwo forms of meditation can be emphasisedby keeping the eyes open during meditationon the form of the Master, and closing the eyes during impersonalmeditation. Such alternation helps towards making the mind blank,but to be successful, both forms of meditation have to be seriouslypursued. Though after five minutes there is to be a change-over toanother type of meditation, there should be no thought of it whilethe first type is going on. There is no distraction unless there isconcentration. But when a change-over is effected, there shouldbe no thought of the first type of meditation. The distraction hasto be as complete as the previous concentration. When thereis a quick alternation8 Meditation No. 12, Table of Enumerative Classification (Part V).