Not Again!

We sleep through our meditation more than we care to admit. Much to our frustration and stress, it resigns us to a day of worry as we try to find the time to make up and fulfil our two-and-a-half-hour promise.

Sleep is indeed a great obstacle in every devotee’s path. It over-comes us during meditation and prevents us from complying with our full commitment. Furthermore, it makes us feel lethargic, lazy, distracted and indifferent towards our spiritual goal.

The path to the eye centre is not easy; the struggling soul sits in the darkness, day after day, trying to still the mind. This is the point where the disciple is most vulnerable - for in this very darkness is where sleep lays out its enticing pleasure.

Mira, in an unusual poem, compares sleep with a commodity for sale, illustrates her desire to give up this weakness:

‘Sleep, oh sleep for sale!’
Loudly I’ll shout and yell,
Begging the buyers to come.
If a customer approaches
With little money in his purse,
I’ll dispose of thee on credit,
For payment at some distant date.
I will sell thee, my foe,
Below the market rate.
_{Mira, The Divine Lover}

Indeed, it would be a good thing if we could consider sleep a commodity we could sell, even at a loss, just to rid ourselves of this weakness. Unfortunately, this is not the case and those who suffer from it must explore its causes to find a realistic solution. In a question and answer session, Maharaj Charan Singh says:

If you get proper rest, you generally don’t sleep during meditation; but the difficulty is, we don’t take proper rest. We always try to sit in meditation at the cost of sleep. We don’t give the proper time or rest to the body. When the body gets proper sleep, then of course you won’t easily fall asleep. It also depends upon your diet. If the diet is wholesome and healthy and light, then you won’t feel sleepy at all. If you tire yourself and eat too much and sleep too little, then naturally you’ll always be sleepy.
_{Thus Saith the Master}

Proper rest and a good diet as prescribed by the Master is the most obvious solution. How often have we done what we should not do - overeat, and sleep very little? And yet, despite our best efforts at applying the solutions, we continue to fail - and fail quite often.

Ultimately, the best solution is something that will hold our attention when we sit staring into the darkness; something that will keep us absorbed and wide awake, able to fight the strong allure of sleep. The ultimate remedy beyond rest and a proper diet are the Shabd - the Sound and Light experienced within. For once experienced, they captivate the disciple beyond all else.

However, until we reach that point where the Sound and Light keep us awake and absorbed in the bliss, what options do we have for overcoming sleepiness and lethargy?

The first key to success is discipline, followed by the proper application of rest and diet. Building good habits will create regularity and punctuality in our daily meditation. Even if at times we falter, we must never miss a day of meditation. The more disciplined we become, the less vulnerable we will be to sleep attacks.

We can also keep ourselves in high spirits by attending satsang, doing seva and reading Sant Mat literature - activities that keep us saturated in the remembrance of our Master. During satsang, we are given a review of the Sant Mat philosophy. Seva in turn keeps both our mind and body in the service of the Master. Lastly, reading about Sant Mat, even a little each day, gives us a fair dose of wisdom directly from the Masters.

Staying awake during meditation will always be a challenge, but we can make things a lot easier for ourselves if we keep in mind that the Master is our dearest friend, and that meditation is our daily time together. Would we fall asleep in the presence of our dearest friend?

There is seclusion at night.
Our Beloved is within us,
 What a gracious time it is!
The Sound Currents of Nam are reverberating on all sides
 And are easily audible in the silence of the night.
If you have an intense longing to meet your Lord,
 You should know that the darkness of the night
Is like the long black tresses of the Beloved spread everywhere.
And if you continue to sleep at night,
 Then you should be ashamed.
_{Shams-i Tabriz, as quoted in Philosophy of the Masters, Vol. I}