In the days of old, when there were many a sage in India, they always blessed peope,  greeted or took leave of one another uttering the words “sat-chit-ananda”...The word "Sat" means being. "Chit" means consciousness. "Ananda" means bliss or rapture or joy. .... simply speaking they were only saying follow your bliss. Finally that is all that there is.

People in those days were so much more wiser and learned than those of today. It is no wonder then people the world over today are going back to age old practises of meditation, yoga, self healing and others.

When I was a child, I always thought meditation and yoga was something the rishis and munis or sages did to please the Gods. Meditation was certainly not something for normal people to be doing. It was a strange belief I grew up with, and somehow it never got corrected till I’d lived in this body on earth for over three decades! I think this had to do with the pictures I saw and stories I heard. People doing meditation only ever wore saffron robes and lived in the jungles, in huts with only basic necessities, no electricity, no running water, no vehicles. I thought they lived in hardship. I also saw the grown ups in my family doing ‘japa’. They would do puja, and then take up their ‘japa mala’ (rosary beads) and sit there with their eyes shut and lips moving silently, counting beads for endless time. I used to think that if they were doing this all to please the Gods, they were rather idiotic because I did not think God needed to be pleased. Also the grown ups were so grumpy and serious, it made me think if that is what ‘japa’ does to you, I don't want to do it. What ever it was, it certainly was not a reflection of my thinking so I never learnt the importance of it, and I’m glad I did, better late than never.

To me, meditation is to relax and do something I enjoy. When I enjoy myself, I offer least resistance to the universe, who then conspires to give me more of what I enjoy!

Today, meditation is a word that is commonly used. It is part of everyday vocabulary. Even children are being introduced to this concept. I have come across workshops that offer to teach children meditation because they are under so much stress. It is true that as technology has progressed, stress levels have increased. Parents have great aspirations for their children. They rarely let the child relax. They enroll the child in as many classes as possible, the poor child has no time to play. As soon as he / she comes home from school, he / she is rushed off to a music class, a taikwando or karate session, a maths tuition, or for some sport that the parent thinks he/she should play. Even sports has become more of competition than pleasure. The child is under constant pressure to win.

Every time parents come up with – ‘but they are too young to know their mind’ or that the children need guidance and we will tell them what to do. Rarely is the child allowed to really enjoy himself/herself. The same thing holds true when it comes to choosing a vocation. The parents want the child to become doctors, engineers or soemthing big. So they are pushed to be high achievers. It is not very common to see a child who is encouraged to be an artist, or a musician, or a sculptor or something off beat. Those things, you see, do not fetch much money unless one is really gifted. To add to that is the common myth that all artists so far have been eccentric and become famous only after their death- (eg Van Gogh)

Thus somewhere we learn that work is something that MUST be done, it cannot be something you enjoy. What you enjoy doing is termed as a “hobby”, something you do in your spare time.

We are conditioned to ‘be responsible’ and do our duty. We are never encouraged to follow our bliss. It is only in following our bliss that we fulfill our sense of being. It is what we are meant to be doing.

The law of nature is stronger than any other. This is why today, books, movies, workshops based on the law of attraction are so popular. They teach you that in order to get what you want, you only need to follow your bliss!