PREPARATIONS FOR MEDITATION
For success in meditation, specific preparations are imperative. The earlier stages in most yoga disciplines are meant to quieten the mind in preparation for meditation leading ultimately to awakening of the kundalini. To get control over body and mind requires physical help. When the body is sufficiently disciplined, control of the mind will become less difficult. By disciplining the mind we shall be able to bring it under our control, make it exert as required and compel it to concentrate its powers as we choose.
The path to God realisation is through the mind. A peaceful mind is man’s greatest friend. A restless mind is his greatest foe. To a peaceful mind the Lord reveals Himself spontaneously. A calm mind gives good concentration which will help reveal to man his pure self. For the mind to be calm one has to have a peaceful life which is achieved through self discipline and moderation. This will decrease all tendencies to sense objects. Additionally, mantra repetition will help, by preventing the mind to flit from one thought to another.
Apart from mental peace and concentration, progress and success in meditation closely depends upon experiencing divine awareness-a constant prayerful attitude. Let there be no place for anything else in the mind. Make God the goal of life and live up to that idea. This is man’s true destiny, and his highest duty. This is renunciation!
Self-discipline and moderation have many positive offshoots. One becomes more tolerant and considerate and less selfish. Striving to better oneself, one does not squander anything, be it energy, time or money. One shows more self-control, never running after the unnecessary necessities of life. Craving for style and comfort while wishing to realise the Self is probably as hard as wishing to change an ass into a horse!
The body, being the temple of God, should be well cared for. One must ensure that it is physically healthy to start the practice.  Unless the body is strong enough it will not respond. Some yogic breathing exercises will strengthen the physical state. Yogic breathing is the easiest way of gaining control of ‘prana’, the cosmic energy in the body.
Food, a vital element for health should be selected with particular care. We are what we eat! Food habits may have to be altered. All forces that are operational in the body have been formed out of the food we consume. If one has a poor unbalanced diet the body gets weak, the physical forces suffer, memory fails. For meditation to succeed a balanced diet is an absolute must. Alcohol and highly spiced food, hot and pungent should be avoided.  Food should be taken at regular intervals. Over eating or too much fasting disturb a steady mental effort.   Too rich foods leave the mind restless with impure thoughts. Wholesome vegetarian food help keep the mind pure and calm.
As far as possible, one should meditate at a same place.  That spot will gradually become charged with spiritual vibrations and this will aid meditation. It is also best to keep relatively fixed times for meditation. The most auspicious times are at sunrise, noon, sunset and midnight.
The sun appears to travel east to north from sunrise to noon. Noon to sunset it appears to travel north to west. Sunset to midnight it appears to travels west to south and midnight to sunrise, south to east. Dawn, dusk, midday and midnight are the transit times from one apparent course to another, a peak time in nature and most auspicious. They coincide with the sun’s cardinal positions. These auspicious times last for 45 minutes each, the peak time being the actual transition times. It starts 22 ½ minutes before and end 22 ½ minutes after. One may start 15-30 minutes before and finish 15-30 minutes after.
The best of all hours for meditation and worship are between 3 and 6 in the morning, and around midnight. Nature is at rest and absolutely calm and quiet. Almost at a standstill. Everything comes to a hush. Control of the mind is easier. The mind becomes more receptive where calmness and quietude reign. Concentration comes more easily and naturally. People of different religions, yogis and laymen alike, pray at these times. The atmosphere is spontaneously charged with divine presence. The mind becomes filled with the feeling of purity and divine consciousness.
The science of meditation has as its basis the science of yoga. Yoga is a way of life. All spiritual and religious knowledge are revealed through yoga. Yoga consists of different methods of spiritual practice to enable man realise his true divine nature and merge with his creator. All the different yogas are but stages in preparation for meditation. The various practices help the vital process of purification and gaining perfect control of body and mind. Thus, a yogic way of life should be adopted.
Only a highly moral life makes of meditation a success; purity of mind, purity of action and purity of speech alone will reveal God to man. A little morality is as good as no morality. There is always risk of temptation and downfall. The moral values should be strictly adhered to.  One has to live a life of self discipline and moderation based on the highest moral values. Trying to satisfy one’s greed or lust by any means leads to degradation. Satisfying one’s animal instincts leads to moral degeneration. Morality is the means to religion. Religion is the impetus to morality. The one does not exist without the other.
God is the highest ideal. God will reveal himself to the pure mind alone. No one can be religious without the highest morality. No one can be truly moral without being religious. Morality is the means to spirituality. It is not spirituality. Spirituality is the culmination of the highest morality – Perfection. This is true religion.