What is Dosa Meditation

Is there a dosa meditation really? Let's see what Sri Ramana Maharishi taught a little boy, when he asked "What is meditation?"

A small boy asked this question to Sri Ramana Maharishi: “What is meditation?”

The parents of the boy tried to explain to him what meditation was but could never fully explain in a convincing and simple way, by which the boy could comprehend. Once the family went for a darshan to (see) Sri Ramana Maharishi. The boy put forward his question to Ramana Maharishi.

Sri Ramana laughed to himself. Then with a smiling face, he asked his devotee to serve the boy dosa from the kitchen. So on a plain leaf, a dosa was served. Sri Ramana looked at the boy and said, 'When I say "Hmm", then you should start eating the dosa. By the next time when again I say "Hmm", no piece of dosa should be left on your plate.' The boy agreed. He was so excited. Others were watching expectantly. Now the boy was eagerly waiting for the signal by looking at Ramana's face. When he gave the signal "Hmm" the boy started eating. Now his attention was on Sri Ramana. He wanted to finish the dosa before the next signal. The boy was eating the dosa in a hurry, tearing big chunks of dosa at a time, but all the time keeping his attention on Ramana. The dosa was reducing in size gradually. There was a small piece left. The boy was looking anxiously at Sri Ramana for the second signal. The moment he gave the signal, the boy immediately put the last small piece of dosa in his mouth.

Now Ramana asked him, 'Where was your attention till now? Was it on me or on the dosa?' The boy replied, "On both". Sri Ramana said, 'Yes, you were actively involved in finishing the dosa, with your attention on me. You were not distracted at all. Like this, when you do your daily activities, with your attention or thoughts on God in the background, it is known as meditation.'

The two signals of "Hmm" are birth & death. Within these two events, one can engage in meditation, as demonstrated by Sri Ramana Maharishi. But to understand this, we all need divine grace to mellow down and mature. We all differ from each other and hence take different times to comprehend this great truth.