Cat Cartoon & The Power of Meditation

How we realize our true self….

We all identify with something. While walking down the street we may think that we are tall, or spry, or rich, or insignificant, or so many things. And that characterization changes from situation to situation. A person may be an expert at work but a fish out of water when traveling to a new land where he does not know the language. So we all have a way of viewing ourselves. Just like the charming kitty in the below cartoon.

And that is where yogic meditation comes in…(scroll down)

In yogic meditation, the basis is: “As you think, so you become.” We never identify with anything petty. In the above cartoon, the kitty does not view itself as a mere cat, but as the greatest thing it can conceive of – a valiant, stoic tiger. Similarly, in yogic meditation, we do not think that we are small human beings. Through a special process of channelization and the use of mantra, the meditator ideates upon the Cosmic. Whereby the little “I” of the meditator becomes transformed into the great Cosmic “I”. This grand transformation is the very essence of yogic sadhana (meditation).

According to the yogis, how we view ourselves then is incredibly important. Whatever you think is what you become. If you think scary thoughts you will become fearful. If you think everyone is better than you then you will develop an inferiority complex. If you think in an optimistic manner you will be positive. And if you ideate on the Supreme, you will shed yourself of your petty ego and become one with that Supreme Cosmic Self.

So the above kitty is right on the mark. Think great and become great. And at the same time never give an ounce of value to naysayers along the way.

More About the Cartoon: Marcus Annaeus Seneca, known as Seneca the Elder and Seneca the Rhetorician (54 BC – c. 39 AD), was a Roman rhetorician and writer, born of a wealthy equestrian family of Cordoba, Hispania. Seneca lived through the reigns of three significant emperors; Augustus (ruled 27 BC – 14 AD), Tiberius (ruled 14 AD – 37 AD) and Caligula (ruled 37 AD – 41 AD). He was the father of the stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger (Lucius) who was tutor of Nero.