TAME mediation (prescribed by Bhagwad Gita)1 appears to work much better than other meditation techniques. That is because it activates three essential elements of meditation: detachment, transformation, and stillness. Effective meditation needs all three.
The TAME meditation appears to be far more powerful than other meditation techniques.2 It is able make the mind very peaceful, not just during the time of meditation but also beyond it. This is because TAME activates three things within the mind: detachment, transformation, and stillness. I will explain each of these below and how they help.
Detachment
Meditation will not be very effective if thoughts of things we desire (or dislike) continue to nag the mind, with the mind putting up little active defence. Indeed, meditation brings us to a peaceful state exactly because we are able to temporarily numb attachments and aversions. The presence of nagging thoughts clouds the mind and prevents it from reaching a peaceful state. This is why detachment is an essential part of a meditation technique. The meditating mind should be able to actively detach itself from troubling thoughts rather than hope that thought patterns will become favourable.
Meditation techniques often try to reach detachment passively. As a person sits for some time and tries to calm the mind, he may stumble into a state of detachment rather than purposefully move into it. The TAME technique, by design, picks the thoughts and emotions that are clouding the mind and casts them away with exhaling breath. This is active detachment. And it is a powerful technique for calming the mind. If a stubborn mind brings back some of the thoughts into focus, the TAME technique simply pushes them out again with the next breath. With each exhaled breath, a person gets the opportunity to clear the mind. And soon enough, he is able to bring his mind to a peaceful state.
Importantly, this process of active detachment can also be used outside of meditation time. This enables a person to bring her mind to peace regardless of what is happening around her. It thus becomes an invaluable tool to keep her at peace and as engaged as she wishes to be.
Transformation
The human body is capable to transforming things from one state to another. In Indian spiritual literature, this power to transform is likened to fire. For example, fire can burn wood and change its state into ashes and gas. Human body uses this “fire element” in multiple places. For instance, the digestive system changes food into life-giving energy. The ability of the body to transform states from one to another is nothing short of miraculous. And such transformations operate at multiple levels, including in the mind.3
The TAME meditation invokes the transformative power in the mind. All thoughts, including disturbing thoughts and negative emotions can be cast into the fire that is conceived in the “mind’s eye” with the exhaled breath.4 With that push, these thoughts vanish, at least for some time. This is then repeated with the next breath. This technique clears the mind of thoughts. The mind thus cleared of thoughts and emotions undergoes a transformation. It becomes peaceful and happy. For a brief period of time, this meditating mind does not hold any thoughts. As a result, it becomes unconditionally happy. Any thoughts that then come up into the mind are then exhaled again into the mind’s eye with the next breath.
This unconditional state of happiness is the reason meditation is so popular. The meditating person can be at peace and in a state of happiness regardless of what is happening in the world around him. This is true happiness. Once a person masters the ability to consciously discard disturbing thoughts from the mind, his happiness becomes unconditional and within his control.
Stillness
Start with physical stillness: the physical posture while meditating needs to be able to support a still body during the period of meditation. Any way of seating that holds the back and neck erect and keeps the body steady may be used. In this physical stillness, using the earlier two aspects of detachment and transformation, a meditating mind can start casting away thoughts that may arise in it in forms of disturbances. Do this as recommended in TAME technique and the mind also becomes still. This mental stillness is golden. And one should both enjoy it and actively try to maintain it. Inevitably, the mind will keep coming up with thoughts that may disturb this stillness and the TAME process can keep casting them away to bring it back to stillness. With practice, this stillness becomes easy to achieve both during and after meditation. It becomes an anchor which holds the mind at peace – a bit like a rock, with the waves of events in the world and different thoughts in the mind crashing against it and receding.
Closing Notes
Each breath smoothly blends the three
With practice, in each TAME meditation breath, all the three get done smoothly: detachment, transformation, and stillness. Thoughts and emotions are “placed on the breath” for disposal (detachment), the exhaled breath is cast into the fire in the mind’s eye to clear the mind (transformation), and the person experiences the resulting stillness of mind.
It may sound complicated but it is a bit like learning to walk. Just as a child relentlessly keeps trying till she is able to walk, a person needs to keep perfecting the TAME breathing with each exhaled breath and after a few days / weeks of practice, it becomes as easy as walking.
Training the mind
The magic of TAME is not just in its ability to bring peace to the mind during meditation. Once the mind practices TAME, it can repeat this process of self-calming outside of the meditation time as well. During meditation, the mind casts away thoughts that disturb it. After meditation, the mind casts away such thoughts as well as impulses that push it into acting in a manner it should not. So, rather than actionable negative thoughts being vented out through negative actions, the thoughts are vented out harmlessly through the mind’s eye.
This is an invaluable skill that we all should develop. It has the potential to keep our minds at peace even when we face stiff difficulties. It doesn’t directly solve the problems that one sees, but it can keep the mind calm. Just because one is facing challenges, his mind does not need to get agitated. The TAME technique can thus break this connection between perceived problems and the state of the mind.
What about Mindful Meditation?
In my experience, mindful meditation techniques do not offer a process to actively counter the waves of disturbances in the mind. TAME offers a way to cast them away. And without having a mechanism to address these waves, a meditation technique may struggle to reach its potential.
Once the TAME process achieves mental stillness, the one thing that we would like to focus on can then be allowed to occupy the mind. TAME can thus actively enable mindful engagement with this one thing we allow into the mind to the exclusion of all else. In doing so, this variation of TAME can be a powerful mindful meditation.
Combining Yogasutra and Bhagwad Gita
TAME meditation technique brings together key elements of “Yogasutra“, the original book on Yoga, and the primary Yoga paths from Bhagwad Gita, the highest tome of Indian spiritual heritage. It does so in two ways. Firstly, it combines the three paths of yoga, as defined in Bhagwad Gita: detachment or sacrifice represents the action path (Karma-Yoga). The transformation (or surrender) element represents devotion (Bhakti Yoga). And, stillness represents knowledge (Gyan-Yoga) because a lot of what is taught in Patanjali and Gita becomes self-evident when the mind is made still.5 Secondly, the stillness outcome is that the primary objective of yoga, as stated by Patanjali in Yogasutra (see article).
Recommended Readings
The Advanced Meditation Exercise (TAME): This meditation technique is an incredibly powerful way to keep the mind peaceful. It is prescribed in Bhagwad Gita, the primary book of Indian spiritual heritage. It derives its power by activating three key things in us: detachment, stillness, and transformation.
There is no happiness without mental peace: We all are searching for happiness that is unconditional – wherein the mind does not set conditions for itself to be happy and is happy regardless of what is going on. And, unconditional happiness can only come from keeping the mind peaceful. Effective techniques of meditation can help.
Use Meditation to counter depression and stress: Modern approaches towards depression and stress are not working as they do not understand the mind that creates them. It’s time to rethink our approach.
TAME Meditation can block out pain: In my personal experience, TAME meditation technique can reduce and even block out pain. This works best for pain that is constant and predictable. And, Medical Science needs to pay attention.
See the section on meditation articles.
Footnotes
1: Gita references to TAME Meditation may be found here: 4.29, 5.27-5.28, 6.12-6.15, and 6.19.
2: This is based on my experimentation with a wide variety of meditation techniques. Some of these have been taught by trainers (these have included mindful meditation, Vipasana-based meditation, and meditations with various other breathing techniques) and others available on websites and apps.
3: The same fire element can also create problems, if not used optimally. For example, over-eating can create all sorts of heath problems.
4: The mind’s eye is the space between the eyebrows.
5: This speaks to the importance of being able to validate teachings of meditation and yoga and not take them at face value. See this section on the importance of having a scientific approach to spirituality.
