In his intriguing book, Arunachalam breaks down the main components of meditation and ties them to classic Indian texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and the Atharva Veda as well as to interpretations by C.G. Jung, Chogyam Trungpa, Thomas Merton, James Haughton Woods, David W. Orr, and others. The writer, a retired Sri Lankan general medical practitioner now living in Australia, speaks with authority as past president of the Brisbane Theosophical Society, long-time theosophy and religion teacher, and author of five books on yoga and meditation. This book was published when he was 97 years old.

Arunachalam explains how relaxation is the prerequisite to meditation. Once relaxed (through posture, breathing, eye positioning, silence, etc.), a person should become motionless in whatever posture fits one’s body. It is important not to contort the body to the posture. Next, one must look within through the use of mantras or by staring at a physical object and then observing one’s thoughts with no judgment. This is now the start of a journey to raise awareness to the highest level of consciousness through the tool of meditation, which can then lead to self-realization.

Along with the methods and reasons for meditation, Arunachalam shares some thought-provoking suggestions—the effects of meditation are cumulative; “Money, in its pure form, is truly an instrument of love”; tension creates vibrations within the protein factions of DNA, and these vibrations cause illness. Thoughtful, well-researched, and based on experience, this book explains how to meditate and why in as clear a fashion as possible and is backed by the gold standards of Indian thought and interpretations. This guide could spark a desire to start meditating now.

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