Crying as a form of meditation!

330. Om kadambari-priyayai namah: I bow down to Amma who is fond of mead

I found something truly beautiful on the ammakolkata.org site. It came upon me at a most opportune time - just when my own mother has advised me to start meditating in order to still my restless mind. But what I found even more absorbing was Amma's observation about crying as a form of meditation to the Gods:

Children, crying has the power to make the mind completely one-pointed. Why do we meditate? To get concentration, isn’t that why? Yes. So, the best way to get concentration is by crying to the Lord. That is a very powerful way of remembering God, and that, in fact, is meditation.

That is what great devotees like the gopis and Mirabai did. See how selflessly Mirabai prayed, ‘O Mira’s Giridhari (Krishna), it does not matter if You don’t love me. But, O Lord, please do not take away my right to love You.’ They prayed and cried until their whole being was transformed into a state of constant prayer. They kept on worshiping the Lord until they were totally consumed by the flames of divine love. They themselves became the offering. Once you become the offering, once your whole being is in a state of constant prayer, then what is left is not you but Him. What is left is love. Prayer can perform this miracle. Crying can accomplish this feat. What is the purpose of meditation? It is to become love. It is to attain oneness. Thus there is no better meditation technique than praying and crying to the Lord.

Let the heart melt in prayer. Unfortunate indeed are those who think that crying to God is a weakness. As the wax melts, the flame of a candle only burns brighter. Through crying to God, one gains strength. These tears wash away the impurities of the mind. If one cries for God for five minutes, it is equal to one hour of meditation. Such crying makes the mind easily absorbed in the remembrance of God.

Those who meditate only according to a timetable, as if it were a duty, will never see God. You have to cry for God, day and night, with no thought of food or sleep. You have to develop that kind of detachment. If someone smeared chili paste all over your body, think of how you would struggle to escape the burning! You should pine to see God with the same intensity. You should cry for that vision, without wasting even an instant. Only then, will all other thoughts disappear, as in deep sleep, and you will reach the plane of divine experience.

Om Amriteswariye namah!