WHY MEDITATION?
If our mind were free of desires, attachments and passions, meditation would be our natural state.
That is, our mind would naturally and spontaneously rest into its source Atman (Consciousness) and we would spontaneously experience the peace and bliss of our spiritual nature and our actions would be in harmony with life and all beings.
But because of desires and attachments to sensory pleasures and experiences the mind becomes extroverted, identified and attached to sense objects.
Thus, because of this extroversion, on the one hand the mind does not experience spiritual bliss and peace and, on the other hand, it develops the egoic qualities (anger, hatred, pride, fear, jealousy, envy, conceit, impatience, resentment, fondness, etc.) which cause pain and suffering.
It is impossible to experience peace, freedom and bliss, when our mind is agitated, distracted and constantly moving outwards, except some rare moments that our mind calms down by itself due to certain circumstances. In deep sleep our mind also rests peacfully in pure Consciousness, however, in deep sleep we are not conscious, so we cannot be conscioulsy aware of the bliss of our true nature.
So the sages through their experience have given us various ways to withdraw the mind from the senses and their objects and direct it into the center of our existencce where the peacful and blissful light of Consciousness shines continually without being affected by the mental and emotional programming.
Meditation is, therefore, the conscious effort (which ends up being effortless) to turn the mind away from objects, quiet it from emotions and thoughts, and keep it focused on its center or source, the silent peace of Consciousness. By staying centered in the inner silence we become more and more immersed in the silence until we become one with it...