If you want to start your own meditation practise, I heartily recommend that you read A Twenty-First Century Seeker: maintaining spiritual principles in a very hectic world, by Dr. Pradhan Balter.  Dr. Balter is the Centre leader of the Chicago Sri Chinmoy Centre, so if you like the book, you’ll have the opportunity to meet the author by attending the free, open-to-all, introductory classes on meditation, offered on the first Thursday of every month by the Chicago Sri Chinmoy Centre.

But coming back to the book, it covers just about every topic of interest to the would-be meditator, from “the basics of meditation” and “a meditative lifestyle” through “The ABCs”  and “Consciousness” all he way to “Spiritual Transformation” and “Life Progressions.” Dr. Balter has been a student of spiritual Teacher, Sri Chinmoy, for over 40 years, and so he speaks on the authority not only of his own meditation experience but also the wisdom and teachings of Sri Chinmoy.

Dr. Balter has a good sense of humor, which comes through in the pages of the book, and an easy-to-follow writing style which make it a joy to learn from the book. Here is a sample from the first section:

“Imagine that you are standing at the ocean shore and you want to experience the water. There are many techniques to get into the ocean. For example, some people may fearlessly run or dive into the water. Some may walk in steadily, unerringly. If you’re like me, you go in up to your ankles and then run out as soon as any threatening wave comes your way! The ocean slowly draws me into it.

Clearly, there are different ‘techniques’ to get into the water, but the technique itself is not the thing you seek. What you seek is to experience the ocean itself. In exactly the same fashion, there are many different techniques to lead you into meditation, but the technique itself is not the goal…” (p. 20)

You can get the book on Amazon for about $20. Happy reading and experiencing!

Bhadra