Meditation is a state of no-mind; it is neither at the center of the mind, nor at the circumference. It is simply not of the mind, it is watching the mind from the outside. That is exactly the meaning of the English word, ecstasy – to stand outside. To stand outside of the mind is ecstasy.
That’s what meditation is. Just be a watcher from the outside, no longer a participant, no longer identified with the mind just as one watches the traffic on the road, sitting silently by the side under a tree: who passes is not the concern. One simply watches whatsoever is happening, with no like, no dislike, no justification, no condemnation, with no prejudice at all. When one can watch the mind without condemning it, without appreciating it, without saying “This is good” and “That is bad,” when one can watch it in deep silence, that is meditation.
A miracle happens with meditation – and it happens only with meditation: the mind disappears. Slowly, slowly, it goes farther and farther away. Slowly, slowly, you hear only the sounds coming from a distance. And suddenly a moment comes when there is no mind. It has faded out, it has withered away.
When the mind is not there and you are left alone without it, a fragrance is released. You have come home, you are fulfilled. The one-thousand petaled lotus of your being has opened. You have offered your fragrance to existence; that is prayer. That is the only gift we can give to existence, and that is the only gift which can be accepted by existence.
