For many people raised in the modern world there is this belief that yoga is primarily about stretching, relaxing, and keeping the body healthy. Practitioners enjoy the physical benefits, of course—greater strength, improved posture, a calmer nervous system—but for some , maybe many, they are left with a feeling of incompleteness. Is that all?
It wasn’t until meditation became a consistent part of my own life that everything began to fall into its rightful place.
What I was shown is that yoga, in its deepest sense, is about union ( that is the actual meaning of the word) . Not flexibility. Not fitness. But union of the individual self and the Divine. And meditation became the bridge that made that connection for me whilst simultaneously dispelling my false sense of self and revealing to me who I truly am.
This is the story of how that transformation unfolded.
When Nothing in Life “Should” Be Wrong… and Yet Something Is Missing
Quite a few years ago a friend and mentor brought to my attention a piece of writing that touched my heart. A woman shared openly that she had everything—good job, an attractive appearance, loving partner, comfortable life—and yet she felt hollow, numb, suffocated by an inner loneliness no one else could see.
Her honesty impressed me because, in a quieter way, I recognised my younger self in her words.
As a young, ambitious 21 year old my life projected success. I was “doing well.” But inwardly there was a subtle emptiness I could never quite explain. Even in peaceful moments, I felt a restlessness—an anxiety that nothing external seemed capable of soothing. I began to develop bad habits around drugs and overeating . My life was turning into a mess.
My First Realisation: Happiness Isn’t Out There
One of the earliest—and initially confusing —lessons I learned through meditation is that sensual pleasure is not the same as happiness.
Ice cream tastes wonderful for the first scoop… but try eating it for three days straight.
Excitement feels great, but it never lasts.
Stimulation lifts you briefly, then drops you back into reality.
Before meditation, I had been unconsciously chasing small hits of pleasure— meaningless relationships ,things ,food, entertainment, novelty, even “being busy”—hoping they would fill the inner space I didn’t want to admit was empty.
Through meditation, I began to recognise this pattern clearly for the first time.
Real happiness, I learned, is not an external achievement but a spiritual condition—something already inside me, waiting to be uncovered.
Meditation Taught Me I Am Not the Body — And That Changed Everything
One of the most transformative insights of my journey came slowly, almost imperceptibly:
I am not the body, and I am not the mind.
It sounds simple, even philosophical—but feeling it is life-changing.
I remember looking at an old photo of myself as a teenager and feeling a surprising shift. My face, body, and personality were so different back then—yet the observer inside , that is actually me , felt unchanged.
Through genuine spiritual guidance it dawned on me that my true identity is that unchanging presence, that constant factor behind all of my life’s changing moments.
This was not an idea I adopted; it was an experience that grew naturally through meditation.
Once this became real to me, so many fears began to soften:
• Fear of aging
• Fear of the body’s decline
• Fear of death
• Fear of loss
When you realise deeply that you are the resident of the body, not the body itself, life becomes less frightening and far more meaningful.
The Mind Used to Control Me — Meditation Changed That
Before I developed a regular practice, my mind was relentless.
Restless. Overactive. Loud.
Often it felt like the mind dragged me through the day, not the other way around.
Meditation didn’t “fix” my mind overnight, but it gradually taught me a life-altering skill:
I can step back and watch my mind instead of obeying it.
I started to notice the difference between me and my thoughts. I began to give my mind the “back room” treatment—like a noisy child having a tantrum in the corner while I continued with what mattered.
This was the most empowering shift of my adult life:
I learned I have a choice.
I don’t have to follow every impulse.
I don’t have to drown in every wave of emotion.
I don’t have to be controlled by old habits or mental chaos.
Meditation gave me inner space, inner strength and bold confidence. Ultimately it gave me a form of liberation .
But it takes practice!
The Moment Everything Shifted: The Power of Spiritual Sound
Although breath work and yoga asanas helped me find temporary calm, my life truly transformed when I embraced mantra meditation—meditation using sacred spiritual sound.
I didn’t expect it to affect me the way it did.
The first time I heard the chanting , I felt as though something heavy inside me loosened. It wasn’t dramatic; it was gentle .But unmistakable. A subtle softening in the heart. A sense that I was being held, supported, and nourished from within. A feeling that I was onto something.
Each time I rested my awareness in the mantra, I felt a little more whole.
A little more peaceful.
A little more myself .
The inner emptiness I had carried for so long began, slowly but surely, to fill.
This wasn’t positive thinking.
This wasn’t imagination.
This was something real.
Spiritual sound became the cooling water my scorched heart had been yearning for.
Discovering My Spiritual Identity Changed How I See Everything
As my meditation deepened, my perspective on life shifted dramatically.
I began to see other people differently — not as bodies or personalities to be exploited for my own purposes but as spiritual beings on their own journey.
I also became more patient, more tolerant, more able to face life’s difficulties without collapsing inside. Problems didn’t disappear, but I no longer felt swallowed by them. Something in me felt steadier, more anchored.
The greatest change was discovering a new source of happiness — not the “high” of excitement, but a warm, steady contentment that arises from within and stays.
I finally understood that:
Happiness is not something I acquire.
It is something I uncover.
A Crisis of Unhappiness — And Why Meditation Saved Me
Looking around at the world today, I see a crisis of unhappiness everywhere — anxiety, depression, meaninglessness. I used to be part of that crisis without even realising it.
Meditation did not solve all my problems.
It did something much more important:
It changed the way I responded to them.
It taught me how to live from the soul , the soul that is me , rather than the mind.
It purified and quietened my thoughts whilst nourishing parts of me that had been craving for years.
It filled the quiet spaces of my life with peace instead of fear.
And most of all, it reconnected me with my spiritual nature, my spiritual roots and the source of all love, purpose, and joy- my Eternal Lord.
My Simple Daily Practice
The practice that changed my life the most is chanting. There are many mantras and many recordings of these mantras even on this website. Here’s a sublimely simple one for you to experiment with.
Haribol NitaiGaur NitaiGaur Haribol
If you’re curious where to begin with your own meditation practice start here. Sing it softly, allowing the sound to wash over the mind and settle in the heart. Some days the effect is subtle; other days it feels profound. Over time, its influence is unmistakable.
Let the mantra hold you the way it held me.
In the End: Meditation Didn’t Change Me — It Changed My False Sense of Me
And because of this change everything in my life changed.
This is the true purpose of yoga and meditation—not escape, not self-improvement, but awakening. A return to who we really are. A journey back to the happiness that has always lived within us.
When I used to look in the mirror, I honestly thought that the face staring back at me was me. Male, female, young, old, Aussie, whatever label happened to fit that day—I wore it like it was my identity. But living like that is like trying to see the world through fogged-up glasses. You chase stimulation, distractions, little spikes of pleasure that hit hard and fade fast. And when the buzz wears off, you’re dumped right back into that same familiar emptiness. It’s a treadmill of “almost-satisfaction” that never quite reaches the soul.
But everything shifted when I started absorbing real wisdom and diving into mantra meditation. Slowly—almost quietly at first—I began waking up to who I actually am beneath all the labels and roles. A spiritual being. An eternal individual. Someone who doesn’t just flicker in and out with the rise and fall of circumstances.
With that awareness, life feels different. There’s a steady confidence that grows from the inside out—a sense of satisfaction that doesn’t depend on the body behaving a certain way or the mind staying in line. You stop buying into the world’s false promises. You stop letting the mind bully you into emotional chaos. Instead, it becomes what it was always meant to be: a tool, not a tyrant.
And the changes ripple outward. You become calmer, kinder, more tolerant—of your own messy mind and the flaws of others. You become a better friend, a better partner, a better parent… honestly, a better human being. People can feel the shift. They warm to it. They respond to it.
If my experience shows anything, it’s this:
Anyone can begin.
Anyone can transform.
No one is disqualified.
And it all starts with a single sound… a single mantra …a single moment of openness and the humility… that perhaps my track record so far, in terms of lasting happiness has been less than perfect and that maybe I could benefit from another perspective?
Namaste
Jayadharma das 🙏❤️