When we've been in school all day with unaspiring people and we're in an undivine mood, how can we get rid of this mood in order to meditate well?

Try to think that there are two rooms before you. During the day, when you were with unaspiring people, you were in the unlit room. While you were there, feel that you were caught by some hooligans who were trying to strangle you. They were trying to take away your life-your life of aspiration.

Then, when you sit down to meditate, feel that you have now escaped from that world of destruction. You could have been killed by those forces, but you have escaped into the room of peace, light and delight, which is your true home. When you have that kind of feeling, great relief and gratitude enters into you, and your existence is automatically separated from the world of unreality.

If you do not separate yourself from this world of destruction when you come to meditate, these unaspiring forces will also come. You will carry the vibration, atmosphere and thoughts from that world in your mind. It is as though somebody has thrown a heavy load onto you. You don't know who has thrown it; you are just carrying the load. So as soon as you enter into the other room, just throw the heavy bags away.

Some people take meditation as part of their schedule. They feel that one thing follows another in a continuous series: at eight o'clock they go to the office; at five o'clock they come back; at six o'clock they meditate. But it is wrong to take meditation as just another obligation. Do not unite the uninspiring incidents in your life with the fulfilling incidents. Just separate them and give importance where it is due. When you enter into the meditation room, feel that now you are entering into | the real life, whereas previously you were living the unreal life. The moment you do this, you will see that the real life is welcoming you with all its inner wealth.

Sometimes when I am meditating, I feel peace and light all around me. Then someone calls me from the kitchen or some other place, and I have to stop my meditation. Then I feel frustrated.

First of all, for your serious meditation you should choose a time when your family is not likely to require your attention. But if somebody calls you during your meditation, do not be upset. Feel that the experience that you had during your meditation was most sublime. Now you have to bring this peace, love or light to the person who has called you or distracted you. If you can do this, instead of frustration you will see the extension of the light that you have received. Then you will feel more joy, because your achievement has expanded. What you are doing is separating your life of meditation from the world of reality. Instead, try to feel that you are bringing the divinity of your meditation into the situation which is the cause of the disturbance. By extending your meditation in this way, you will see it inside your daily activities. Meditation is not only in silence but also in the hustle and bustle of the world. You will find that you can maintain a high consciousness there also.

Wherever you go, go with inspiration and aspiration. Whatever you do, do with love and concern.

Is there a certain hour in the morning that is most conducive to meditation?

The very best time to meditate is between three and four o'clock in the morning. This is the Brahma Muhurta, the Hour of God. No matter what your standard is, even if you are a complete beginner, you will encounter very little resistance if you meditate at this time.

The Westerner who goes to bed at twelve o'clock or one o'clock cannot expect to be able to meditate at three or four o'clock. If you want to meditate at four o'clock, you should go to bed by nine or ten the previous evening. For someone who has just entered into the spiritual life, seven or eight hours of sleep is essential. If you start sleeping only three or four hours just so that you can get up at four o'clock, it will tell upon your health. Spiritually you will derive no benefit, because you will not be able to meditate properly when you are exhausted, and the body will stand as an obstacle to your inner progress. After you make some progress in the spiritual life, then gradually you can reduce your hours of sleep. When your physical consciousness starts receiving light from above, its need for sleep diminishes.

For most people in the West, the best time to meditate is as soon as possible after you get up, before you start your daily activities. If possible you should try to meditate before seven o'clock. Before the outer world attacks you or demands anything from you, you should enter into the inner world with the idea of nourishing yourself. In this way, you are performing your inner duty before you become involved in outer activities. If you put God first in your life, then everything else will gain a more spiritual perspective. If you can please the dearest in you, who is God, before you enter into your earthly activities, then naturally you are doing the right thing.