Night Meditation Christian and yogic inspirations
(2:67) As a boat moving on water may be swept off its course by a gale, so discrimination may be swept from its path by the vagaries of sensory influence..
Bhagavad Gita (2:69)
What the Christian saints say about night meditation
Isaac the Syrian: « Prayer offered during the night is very powerful, more so than prayer offered during the day. This is why all the righteous prayed during the night, struggling against the heaviness of their bodies and the sweetness of sleep. For this reason, Satan fears the toil of the vigil and uses every means to prevent ascetics, as was the case with Antony the Great »
About John of the Cross and Anthony of Jesus: « They remained in prayer from the end of Matins until Prime, instead of going to rest, they remained there, in such great prayer that sometimes they went to Prime with their habit covered with snow ».
Saint Anthony: « A heavenly joy seizes you night and day, and while still in the body, you will be as if you were already in the Kingdom. »
Saint Teresa of Avila: « One night, when I was so ill that I did not want to pray, I took a rosary to occupy myself vocally and to avoid mental recollection, even though I was outwardly recollected in an oratory. These efforts would have been more or less in vain if the Lord had decided otherwise. I had only been there for a moment when a rapture came over me so violently that it was impossible for me to resist it. I thought I was in heaven. »
« Night prayer contributes greatly to progressing towards a state of continuous prayer. In truth, love cannot be confined to privileged hours, but involves the whole of existence. The effort of night vigil, supported by day prayer, eventually leads to continuous prayer. » La prière de nuit
The physiological aspect – mostly excerpts from the book La prière de nuit
“When you plan to meditate at night, eat less, fast if you can and go to bed early.”
Is there a better and safer way to get up at night, given the real limits of our bodies, than to ask the Lord Himself?
“If you want to get up at midnight, ask God when you go to bed, and you will wake up; and when you wake up, don’t go back to sleep, but pray,” says Arsène.
But we can also call on our guardian angel, who is there to look after our body and soul. He knows the limits of our body and the needs of our soul. He is there to watch over our balance and ensure the harmony of our physical being as well as our spiritual being.
For John Climacus, the preparation for the night vigil is done with the holy angels: “’When we emerge from sleep in a well-disposed state, with our souls at peace, it is the effect of a secret consolation that we receive from the holy angels…. But sometimes we wake up in a bad mood, and this is the result of dreams and bad imaginations ».
« Half an hour of prayer is equivalent to three hours of sleep. Prayer calms and reassures people. From this point of view too, it is a very invigorating remedy for the organism ». – Hiérothée Vlachos, Entretiens avec un ermite de la Sainte Montagne sur la prière du cœur.
An important aspect of the supernatural is that when we give ourselves to God, He gives Himself to us. If we offer Him or respond to His call to adoration at night, He will be able to establish a regime of physiological equilibrium in us. This is provided that we also respect our bodies, that is, that we do not lock ourselves into an obstinacy to exceed our limits or, on the contrary, to listen to the tyranny of bodily needs.
Want to join ?
To join our night meditation group or to learn the meditation technique taught by Paramhansa Yogananda, contact us at ananda.provence(at)gmail.com.