[ context: … Baba gathered all the Prem Ashram boys and asked whether they were having any problems meditating at night and early in the morning. Many replied that they were not, but Bhiwa began shedding tears and did not answer. Baba questioned him. After hesitating, Bhiwa answered, “While meditating, I don’t see your physical form. Many thoughts assail me.”… continued from the last post.]
You need not worry or cry that you cannot love when you cannot meditate due to other thoughts disturbing you. For don’t you get up from your sweet sound sleep at midnight with the idea of doing meditation? That is half the work done – sacrificing your sweet sleep for meditation of your own accord without any compulsion. Do you not try to sit down for hours until morning to meditate on me when others are in sound sleep? This is three-fourths of the work done. Now, only one-fourth is left; that is, thinking of only one thing. And try to do that. If you are successful, all right; if not, don’t worry. Three-fourths of the work has been done by your waking up and trying to sit for hours in meditation. It is no fault of yours if you do not get the image before your eyes. Persevere and persist in your efforts. Do not be discouraged and give up the effort. Do not try to throw away the sitar because it is hard to tune. Try to adjust and tune each string persistently, with the firm intent of making the instrument work. Similarly, try to catch outside thoughts by the ear and throw them out.
Suppose there are innumerable mosquitoes swarming around and some start biting you at night. What would you do to get rid of this annoyance? Would you just sit there and cry? No! You would at once get a mosquito net. You would resort to a remedy and it eventually would have the desired effect. Even though the mosquitoes would come in hordes at first, you would not feel disturbed, for they would almost all be outside the curtain, though a few might have come inside the net. Likewise, deal with all these thoughts. They, like mosquitoes, are sure to come and annoy you, but you have to put up a curtain of thoughts about me, by letting my divine image be present before your mind’s eye. Meditate on me so that the other thoughts automatically stop pestering your mind. Let the mosquito net of meditation on me save you from being bitten by your thoughts.
–www.lordmeher.org,p1081