We are currently staying in an apartment in Delhi that we share with our dear friend Nayaswami Dhyana. She has recently taken up playing the esraj, a bowed Indian instrument. A person of great enthusiasm and energy, she personifies these three qualities. She has a strong desire to learn to play the esraj, partly for the sheer joy of playing music, but also so she can play the chants and songs of Paramhansa Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda as an aid to her attunement. Next, she practices two hours a day without fail. And, finally, she takes regular lessons from a teacher, Kashif, a master musician who himself started playing Indian classical music at age five and has practiced for hours each day for over forty years.

As a lifelong meditator, I love to hear people’s experiences of how meditation has helped them. Here are a few such stories which, taken together, show a broad spectrum of benefits that meditation can bring.

The spiritual path can sometimes seem like an endless struggle up a steep cliff, with little to show for our efforts along the way. But the ability to find the strength to keep going is what separates the dilettante devotee from the true seeker. Deep commitment is the secret to drawing God’s presence into our life.