Yogananda’s Seven Signs Of Progress In Meditation

The sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras lays out the framework by which one can measure progress in meditation. However the description is in Sanskrit and is couched in technical terms as it describes the various stages of the Samadhi state. These descriptions can be daunting for the lay reader. Instead we can look at what some modern sages have said in plain english.

In Journey to Self-Realization, a collection of talks by Paramhamsa Yogananda, at the end of the talk entitled “The True Signs of Progress in Meditation,” he gives the following list of seven indications of progress in meditation practice:

1. An increasing peacefulness during meditation
2. A conscious inner experience of calmness in meditation metamorphosing into increasing bliss.
3. A deepening of one’s understanding, and finding answers to one’s questions through the calm intuitive state of inner perception.
4. An increasing mental and physical efficiency in one’s daily life.
5. Love for meditation and the desire to hold on to the peace and joy of the meditative state in preference to attraction to anything in the world.
6. An expanding consciousness of loving all with the unconditional love that one feels toward his own dearest loved ones
7. Actual contact with God, and worshipping Him as ever new Bliss felt in meditation and in His omnipresent manifestations within and beyond all creation.

Related: Clearing Muddy Waters

Credits: This is from one the book by Paramahamsa Yogananda as explained in the post.