By steadying of the mind, we break through the mind barriers and come to experience the liberating truth of our identity with reality (That Art Thou). The process that leads to the ultimate That (Tat) is meditation.
Due to constant contact with external world, sensation and feeling provoked by such contact give rise to such thoughts only. By such thoughts in many of us, remain involved in world of external objects and is largely limited in its functioning by our past experiences. The traditional system of meditation includes psychology far more comprehensive than any as yet analyzed by modem psychologists in the west. The mind according to the yogic (Traditional) system has another mode of functioning besides that provoked from without by sensory experiences. If the mind’s habitual tendency to react to external stimuli can be controlled, so that it is quieted, it will take upon itself the likeness of interior Reality (Sat). With the cessation of outwardly activity, the still mind becomes as clear mirror reflecting the unearthly self beyond.
The person to practice meditation should also simultaneously follow Poorvanga of Ashtanga yoga. In the initial stage, the area of mental activity is reduced to minimum and the mind is to be held in longer period of time with in that restricted area. This is achieved by practice of concentration (Dharana).
In the next stage, a thorough exploration of the area of attention is made, the mind is allowed to move, but its movement is under strict control. The term meditation is applied to this stage and total process. One can adopt a Nama (subject) and Roopa (Object) and stick to it. That means take a subject and its object – the thinker and the object of his thought have remained as distinct elements in the meditative experience.