The first stage of meditation is the stage of difficulty. All the activities of the mind are directed towards the citta, the crudest layer of the mind. The meditator has many difficulties, both inside and outside. The meditator feels internal difficulties because his or her uncontrolled thoughts are racing about like wild animals. One gets a few seconds of control over one’s thoughts, and then they go rushing off again, dashing about like untrained horses. There are many external obstacles also, because the beginner’s friends and relatives may oppose his or her meditation. They are afraid the person will become detached from the world and his or her family and friends and leave them and become a monk or nun. So these internal distractions and external pressures test the patience and determination of the person beginning spiritual practice.

The second stage is the beginning of success. All the mental activities are now directed towards the aham, the next higher layer of the mind. This is a much less difficult stage, and sometimes it is very pleasant. The thoughts which were like wild horses before have been trained to some extent. Occasionally, and for brief periods of time, the mind is controlled. During this time the meditator enjoys a taste of spiritual ecstasy and bliss, and tears of happiness may roll down his or her cheeks. In this stage also, the external pressures are reduced, since the person’s friends and relatives realize they cannot discourage the person from meditating, and finally accept his or her spiritual practices.

The third stage is the stage where some mental and spiritual powers develop. [All the mental activities are now directed toward the mahat, the highest layer of the mind.] In this stage the meditator gets control over his or her mind and some of his or her sense or motor organs, and this control gives the person some mental or supernatural power. This is a sign of great progress, a great step forward, but it is a very dangerous stage also. The meditator may become intoxicated by the new power of his or her mind, and may be tempted to abuse it (use it wrongly). Someone may anger the person and provoke that person into using his or her power wrongly, and this will bring about the person’s spiritual downfall. The misuse of any kind of power is bad; even misuse of physical, worldly, power brings about one’s downfall and degradation. Power corrupts its owner, and absolute power corrupts a person absolutely, unless there is also some strength to control the power.

The meditator should pray for Supreme Consciousness Himself and nothing else. Meditators should not ask for worldly power, even if by their meditation they develop the strength to control that power. If Supreme Consciousness is so powerful that He can grant worldly power and the spiritual strength to control that power, why not pray for Supreme Consciousness Himself? Spiritual powers may be pleasing to some people, but actually they are just what the meditator is due to receive, coming in another form.

There is an interesting story to illustrate this. Once a magical dried hand of a monkey was given to a spiritual aspirant, as a boon (spiritual gift) for his good deeds. This hand would fulfil three wishes. For his first wish, the man asked for a fortune of fifty thousand dollars – and suddenly there was a knock on the door. A man appeared with the money! The man and his wife were overjoyed! But then they found out that the money was the insurance payment on their only son who had suddenly died in an accident. The man was very clever, and so with his second wish he asked that his son be [brought back to him]. There was a clattering sound at the door. The man opened the door, and there stood the skeleton of his son, tapping at the door! The man was terrified, and grabbed the monkey’s paw and shouted at it to drive the skeleton away. The skeleton disappeared – but the third and last wish was finished and the power of the hand was exhausted. The man had received fifty thousand dollars, but he had lost his son.

The fourth and last stage of meditation is when all the mental activities are directed from the mahat, the highest, purest and most subtle layer of mind, to the Supreme Consciousness within. In this stage the meditator realizes his or her true self, and merges his or her individual mind into the infinite ocean of bliss, Brahma.