Guided Meditations by Swami Tadatmananda

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Each guided meditation session has two parts: Introduction and Meditation. Be sure to listen to the Introduction first; it contains important instruction for the associated Meditation.

The guided meditations below are arranged in categories that correspond to each chapter in “Meditation: A Journey of Exploration”. However, they do not match up with the exercises in the book.

Many more guided meditations can be found in Swamiji’s “Course in Meditation,” available here.

Basic Techniques (Chapter 1-Building A Strong Foundation)

Training your Mind
Introduction: Like teaching a child, your mind can be trained to be focused during meditation.
Meditation: om narayani namo ‘stu te

Dealing with Drowsiness
Introduction: Performing pranayama while repeating mantra is a powerful aid
Meditation: om namah shivaya

Inner Peace (Chapter 2-Turning Within: Finding Inner Peace)

Shanti and Silence
Introduction: Find the true source of peace within yourself.
Meditation: om shanti shanti shantih

Guidance of the Gurus
Introduction: Spiritual guidance to lead us to find happiness and contentment at its true source – within.
Meditation: Dakshinamurti Mantra

Meditation and Renunciation
Introduction: Withdrawing your attention from the outside world and focusing it within yourself is a fundamental practice of renunciation.
Meditation: panduranga vitthala hari narayana

Ujjayi Pranayama
Introduction:Complete explanation of this breathing technique which has a profound calming effect on body and mind.
Meditation: Ujjayi Pranayama

Harmony between Mind, Speech and Action
Introduction:Creating a samskara (mental impression) to more deeply assimilate values.
Meditation: jaya sita rama, jaya raghu-rama

Concentration (Chapter 3-Concentration: Focusing Your Mind)

Being in the Present Moment
Introduction: Learn to keep your attention on the present moment by focusing on your breath.
Meditation: Prana Vikshana (breath awareness)

Stopping Verbal Chatter
Introduction: Learn to break the habitual train of verbal thinking in meditation.
Meditation: Gong / guided observation

Mantra Japa (Chapter 4-Mantra Japa)

Basics of Meditation
Introduction: Restrain your mind from wandering and train it to stay focused on a mantra
Meditation: sri ram jay ram jay jay ram

Inherent power of mantras
Introduction: Employ the inherent power of mantras – mantra shakti – to turn your attention towards the divinity within.
Meditation: om namo bhagavate vasudevaya

Gayatri Mantra
Introduction: Meaning and symbolism of God as sun representing source of spiritual wisdom.
Meditation: Gayatri Mantra

Om – Four Principles
Introduction: Chanting of om is based on four principles – name, sound, meaning & symbolism.
Meditation: om tad brahma, om tad vayu, om tad atma, om tat satyam

Sakshi Bhavana/Vipassana (Chapter 5-Witnessing Your Mind)

Sakshi Bhava – Witnessing your Mind
Introduction: Learn to become the passive, silent witness of your mind’s activities.
Meditation: Sakshi Bhava: witnessing body, breathing, and mind.

Mindfulness – Watching your Breath
Introduction: Become the observer of thoughts, rather than the thinker of thoughts.
Meditation: Prana Vikshana (breath awareness)

Spiritual Growth (Chapter 6-The Psychology of Meditation)

Letting Go of Attachment
Introduction: Learn how your contentment does not depend on external situations.
Meditation: Mahamritunjaya mantra

Freedom from Suffering
Introduction: Discover how the problem of suffering and its solution is in your mind.
Meditation: om sri ram jay ram jay jay ram

Releasing Accumulated Stress
Introduction: Learn how to use a breathing technique known as nadi shodhana pranayama to release accumulated stress
Meditation: nadi shodhana pranayama

Surrender-Letting Go
Introduction: Understanding Ishvara’s order in the laws of nature and in our lives.
Meditation: om namo vishnave prabhavishnave

Cleansing the Mirror-Mind
Introduction: All experiences are reflected by the mind. Mental impurities which distort those experiences must be removed.
Meditation: om namah shivaya

Dealing with Crisis
Introduction: Learn to detach yourself to find inner peace, even in times of crisis.
Meditation: om namah shivaya 3

Maintaining Enthusiasm on the Spiritual Path
Introduction: Recognizing the signs of spiritual growth on life’s journey.
Meditation: suddhosmi buddhosmi niranjanosmi

Emotional Growth (Chapter 7-Meditation for Emotional Growth)

Antahkarana Shuddhi – Purification of Mind
Introduction: Free your mind from hurt, anger, and frustration
Meditation: om namah shivaya

Meditation on Gratitude
Introduction: Cultivating gratitude by creating new samskaras (impressions) through a technique called pratipaksha bhavana.
Meditation: dhanyo ‘ham

End of Life Meditation
Introduction: Decision making and perspective on life become clear from the standpoint of life’s final days.
Meditation: Contemplation on each decade of life / om namo narayanaya

Dealing with undesirable traits in oneself and others
Introduction: Use of pratipaksha bhavana to remove undesirable traits.
Meditation: guided reflection, lokas samastas sukhino bhavantu

Healing Emotional Wounds
Introduction: Learn to use meditation to let go hurt, resentment, and blame.
Meditation: om harih om shri krishna sharanam mama

Maha Validation
Introduction: Using meditation to turn to Ishwara for understanding, validation, and healing.
Meditation: Embrace me dear Lord – Song by Rabindranath Tagore

Cultivating Acceptance of Karma
Introduction: Accepting reality on its own terms without demanding the universe to be different than it really is.
Meditation: sthane hrishikesha shri-krishnarpanam astu

Cultivating Forgiveness
Introduction: Discover the true basis for forgiveness so you can become free from hurt, resentment and regret.
Meditation: lokas samastas sukhino bhavantu

Devotional Meditation (Chapter 8-Devotional Meditation: Upasana)

Ganapati – Understanding Ishvara’s Will
Introduction: Mature prayer invokes Ishvara’s blessings without childish hope for miracles.
Meditation: gam ganapataye nama om

In the Presence of Bhagavan
Introduction: Find Bhagavan’s sacred presence within yourself.
Meditation: gopijana-vallabha-caranan sharanam prapadye

Darshan – You are not Alone
Introduction: Discover how you are never separate from Bhagavan.
Meditation: jay radhe jay radhe

The Temple Within
Introduction: Discover Bhagavan’s presence on the altar of your heart.
Meditation: sri rama rama ram

God as Mother
Introduction: Prayer to Durga invokes blessings of shakti (power) and assurance.
Meditation: om dum durgam devim sharanam aham prapadye

Who is Ishvara?
Introduction: Understanding Ishvara, God of the Cosmos.
Meditation: chandra-shekharaya nama om ganga-dharaya namah om

Power of Imagination
Introduction: Using imagination as a powerful aid in meditation.
Meditation: om namo narayanaya shankha-chakra-gadadharaya

Avatara: Incarnation of God
Introduction: Discovering your own true nature as an amsha avatara, a partial incarnation of God.
Meditation: om namo bhagavate vasudevaya

Nama: Using the name of Ishvara in meditation Introduction
Introduction: Ishvara’s names, together with their sounds and meanings, make excellent objects of concentration for meditation.
Meditation: hari bol hari bol hari hari bol, mukunda madhava govinda bol

Advanced Techniques (Chapter 9-Going Deeper: Advanced Techniques)

Moment of Silence
Introduction: Abide as pure consciousness in the absence of thoughts during the gap between mantras.
Meditation: om namah shivaya 2

Om chanting
Introduction: Om is understood as a + u + m + silence. These four elements are interpreted in two different ways for contemplation.
Meditation: om-kara recitation

Contemplation – Nididhyasana
Introduction: Vedantic contemplation for assimilation of spiritual wisdom.
Meditation: sat-cit-ananda svarupo `ham

Inner Divinity
Introduction: Three stages of practice – faith, knowledge, assimilation – for becoming established in one’s true nature.
Meditation: so’ham mantra

Nididhyasana – Being Yourself
Introduction: Remove habitual wrong thinking to abide in your true nature
Meditation: Guided Contemplation

Experiential Validation
Introduction: Learn how to use meditation to validate truths you have already understood.
Meditation: om namah shivaya 2

Obstacles to Knowing
Introduction: Learn how to remove vagueness, doubts, and habitual wrong thinking.
Meditation: om aim sarasvatyai namah