Practicing meditation can certainly be challenging. It’s not easy to practice it in the right way. And that’s why seekers take guidance from a Guru who makes them understand the right way to practice it. However, it is also true that sometimes meditation- the way it is- could be as easy as ‘thinking’. This is because Meditation is not about pushing the mind to be absolutely calm. But, it’s a letting go of resistance to whatever seems unpleasant; this act of letting go can be learned. And sometimes you can do the same effortlessly under the right guidance. Here’s an interesting story showing the same. The Monk and the confused King Once an enlightened monk visited a famous kingdom and earned a great name for him among seekers. His fame made the emperor curious about him and he visited him. When the king met him, the monk asked why he came to visit him leaving his luxurious palace. The king replied, “I feel very disturbed these days; I am unable to sleep and eat properly. Due to my inner disturbance, I feel as if I am the poorest man in this world. I feel depressed all the time. Nothing interests me anymore. I possess all the comforts and power of the world, yet everything seems useless to me. I am easily irritable and I don’t like happy people around me. It seems I will collapse anytime. I heard that you are an enlightened soul helping others achieve inner peace and happiness. Let me achieve that as well anyhow; kindly solve my problem.” The monk heard him calmly and said, “It’s alright, I will help you. Visit my place tomorrow morning before sunrise. But there is a condition.” “What?” The King Asked. “Do not forget to bring your ‘disturbed mind’ with you because I will see it and rectify it. So, don’t come empty-handed,” said the monk. Now the emperor thought the monk is joking because it’s natural wherever he will go his mind will follow. The next morning, the king came to the monk, but still confused over the monk’s instruction on carrying the disturbed mind. A New Dawn in the King’s Life When he arrived, he saw the monk sitting in a meditative pose with a stick in his hand. Shri Sudhanshuji Maharaj
