Meditative Walking

© Puneet Srivastava, January 2015


You may walk fast.

You may walk slow.

You may walk long.

You may walk short.


But you don’t let

the thought of Almighty

slip from your mind.


Or, you pour extra effort;

you brisk walk.

As the mind goes into

physical action,

The alien thoughts are

pushed out.


When fatigue takes you,

you get slow.

Now the body rests in

the thought of the

Lord.

Yet you let not the

thought of almighty

slip.




An easy retention method would be ‘chanting’.

Though, it could also be an imagery (image/scenery) OR

A sound (song/poem).


In some cases it could be touch as well (stone/form).

This choice shall depend on the natural orientation of the meditator.



The Sanskrit word

for this facility is

Swadharma.

Swadharma is law

of our being.

FURTHER,

The principles applied to the mechanism of ‘Meditative Walking’ are of –

Shreya* & Preya*

• Shreya – what we must do

• Preya – what we may like to do

Meditation is a conscious choice we make to perform an action.


*Sanskrit

SO,

Even when, our subconscious may push us away &

Our natural cycle of Karma may try to pull us out,

Yet, we take the decision to stay put and retain the thought of almighty,

the supreme, in our mind.


I meditate on the

thought of

RamKrishna and

I walk.



It has brought me

on the path to

peace.


FINALLY:

In the words of Swami Vivekananda from his commentary on

Mahabharata:

‘This was a peculiar form of Sanyasa… All the time thinking of God, he

just marched on till the body gave way.’


To my revered teacher & the

message of SDM

• Satsang

• Disciplined Life

• Meditation


TECHNICALLY SPEAKING:

Meditative Walking is based on principles of BhaktiYoga and derives

positive & supportive influences from RajaYoga, GyanYoga and

KarmaYoga.

Further, it has been developed following the teachings of two separate

schools of Vedanta, simultaneously. At present, I am conducting

some further experiments and assimilating observations. So, more

information on this differentiation may be expected in the future

rounds of publications.


AUTHOR’S NOTE:

Meditative Walking is a technique for modern people.

This is a base level technique that helps in aligning mind for meditation.

This is for beginners & for people facing problems in attaining continuity

in meditation.

These problems are mostly due to modern lifestyle and are listed in the

document titled “10 difficulties in pursuing meditation” by the same

author.

This is NOT ‘Walking Meditation’ as was practiced by Gautama Buddha.


REFERENCES:


Principles of SDM as learned directly from Swami

Amartyananda.

‘Watching Thought Flow’ Technique as learned

directly from Swami Amartyananda.

Class Notes/Communications of Swami

Amartyananda. (2001-till date)

Bhagwad Gita verse 6.33 – 6.36 & 6.47

Bhagwad Gita 8.8

Bhagwad Gita 9.32-33

Bhagwad Gita 18.66

9 techniques as defined in Shrimad Bhagwatam

verse 7.5.23

Nirvanashatakam by Jagatguru Adi

Shankaracharya

Message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Krishna

Mantra)

Shree Hanuman Chalisa & ShreeRamStuti by

Goswami Tulsidas

Poetry of Kabir (various verses)

Story of a Young Sanyasi – Swami Vivekananda

(CW, 1:68-70)

Story of Mahabharata – Swami Vivekananda (CW,

4:78 – 101)

Story of Minister’s escape from tower – Swami

Vivekananda (CW, 1:143-144)

Commentary of Sri AC Bhaktivedantaswami

Prabhupada in Bhagwad Gita - As it is.

Commentary of Swami Rangnathananda on

Bhagwad Gita.

YouTube Lectures of Swami Sarvapriyananda.

RajaYoga by Swami Vivekananda, including

commentary on Patanjali YogSutra

The Upanashids – An Introduction by Swami

Harshananda

5 practices of life by Coach Heinz Meloth,

Germany

Storytelling Stone concept by BJ McCabe,

Storyteller, Canada

10 difficulties in pursuing meditation by Puneet

Srivastava.


SPECIAL THANKS:

Team Paidal Vikings

& our 100 KM Trailwalkers

Spiritual

Meditative Walking