Swami Purnachaitanya - Looking Inward

The world as we know it is rapidly changing. Global warming, a pandemic, information spreading like wildfires, fake news, riots, and changing social structures and lifestyles. The magnitude and impact of these and so many other challenges we face affect our health, productivity, and finally, our happiness and inner peace. It is in times like these that most people could feel stressed, acutely anxious and in some cases, even depressed. And it is now more than ever that we need to look inward for strength, focus and peace of mind.

In this practical guide, I will help you on your personal journey towards finding the source of your anxiety, stress and restlessness, as well as give you the tools to address and overcome them, using meditation to soothe distracted thoughts and refocus your energy to being present in the moment while also building resilience.

The idea is to acknowledge the changing outside world while strengthening your inner energy reserves to better cope with it. It does not involve you running away or pretending all the bad stuff never happened, nor does it involve you trying to feel better by just imagining everything is actually okay. It is about finally learning how our mind works, and how to manage it, so that you can transcend it and access the one source of peace, happiness and support that remains unaffected and unchanged.

For years I have been teaching meditation to people from all backgrounds, ranging from indigenous people in the most interior parts of the North Eastern region in India, to top executives and CEOs of leading international corporates, from college students and homemakers to successful artists and politicians; and all have greatly benefitted from the practice in various aspects of their lives. Realizing the increasing need for this valuable knowledge to reach the many people looking for an effective way to deal with life and come out on top, I decided to write this book.

The book you are holding in your hands right now contains many of the most valuable insights and techniques that I have learned and realized over the last twenty years of my meditation practice under the guidance of a realized meditation master. I am offering my learning and experience to anyone who is sincerely interested in finally looking a little closer at life and trying a new approach, or rather a very ancient one, to deal with many of lifes challenges and how they affect our health, happiness and peace of mind. Sharing this knowledge and the techniques with you in an easy-to-understand-and-apply language and methodology, I provide you with the practical tools to manage your mind, and finally master it.

There are many misconceptions and wrong notions when it comes to meditation nowadays, as in the last few decades it has found itself transitioning from what was, by many, perceived as a strange occult practice, that was associated with scarcely-clad yogis in the Himalayas, to the latest trend of mental fitness for the hip and successful, with an increasing number of mobile apps that promise you peace of mind in as little as three minute instant meditations. On top of that, many embraced the term mindfulness as the new and much more secular word for meditation, making it easier to market to both the masses and corporate honchos, not realizing that meditation and mindfulness are really not the same, and in some ways even exactly opposite to each other.

I felt it was high time, therefore, to write a book that clears many of these misconceptions and wrong notions. One that allows anyone with an interest to start exploring meditation in a proper manner, and without getting caught up in either too much incense, or too little substance.

Meditation is an ancient, time-tested and very effective art of managing our mind and transcending it. It has countless benefits, ranging from how it impacts your social and professional life, to your personal health, happiness and sense of freedom and fulfilment. Trying to strip it from its context and tradition will not only be an injustice to the very masters who have preserved this knowledge till today but would also deprive the practice of some of its most effective and essential aspects.

At the same time, our modern world and lifestyle requires us to make this ancient wisdom and techniques available in a way that they can be easily understood, related to, and practiced by anyone who wishes to explore the manifold benefits it offers. This book will be your personal guide to understanding this profound practice for a healthier, happier and well-adjusted life.

This book is structured in a way that each chapter will give you some of the tools, to progress on the journey, and impart you the knowledge and know-how of principles that will finally come together in your personal meditation practice. Many of the principles that you will learn in these pages will also make you more effective, efficient, and empathic in your day-to-day activities and help you to deal more skilfully with this abstract thing called the mind and all its tantrums. It will make your life easier, more enjoyable, and more fulfilling, but it will require you to read, understand, and practice what has been shared.