What is meditation?

So, where were your thoughts? Where are your thoughts? Have you discovered them? How do you discover them? Do you have control over them? Let’s ponder over this...... One tried and tested way to control your thoughts and mind is through meditation!
Let’s have a look at the benefits of meditation – holds true for any form of meditation.

What is meditation?

Meditation is a three step process that leads to a state of consciousness that brings serenity, clarity, and bliss. – Meditation society of America

Meditation is a practice in which an individual trains the mind and/or induces a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit, although it can be argues that meditation is a goal in and of itself. - Wikipedia

Meditation is an approach that anyone can use to help them cope with medical problems, stress, and anxiety by way of thought, contemplation, and reflection. - Project Meditation

Meditation helps an individual overcome these emotions to facilitate a calm peaceful mind and a healthy and stress free body. Upon daily practice an individual will blossom into an unshakable personality. With increase in the number of people who are calm, peaceful and healthy will facilitate a social transformation, enabling a society that is trusting, happy and content.- Art of living

Does any of the above definition speak about meditation as closing your eyes, sitting in padmasana, going to a secluded place. No, certainly not. What you do to achieve peace of mind, makes you forget the environment around you is meditation for you. Doing something you are passionate about. For Sachin Tendulkar, playing cricket may be a form of meditation, for an avid reader, reading might be meditation or for someone else, sitting in a secluded place and not thinking is meditation. It is basically a form of training your mind. That’s all!

There are many schools which talk about meditation for example the art of living, Sahaj marg, shiva yoga, Sudarshan kriya, American school of meditation etc. Different forms of practices to train your mind is taught, but  again, what is the objective – forgetting yourself and your surroundings briefly, and training your mind to do only what you are doing is meditation.

However, I am a believer of the traditional way of meditation as well which is closing the eyes, relaxing, let your thoughts pass by and not let it form impressions in your mind. I have just started practicing Sahaj Marg form of meditation and I can indeed feel the difference. You may feel share to post about your views on meditation, is it a hyped word? ,does it actually have the benefits it claims to have (mentioned below), are there forms of meditations which are radically different from the ones mentioned etc.

Let us have a look at the benefits of meditation (applicable to any form of meditation):

Individual Benefits of Meditation	Social Benefits of Meditation
Bodily Benefits – Lower Blood Pressure, lowers the levels of blood lactate, improves the immune system, increases body vitality, controls insomnia and increases overall health of the body	Violence Free Society – Meditation develops happiness, contentment and calmness. When increasing number of people practice meditation, it has a calming effect on the environment. This is a potent way to achieve a violence free society.
Mental Benefits – Emotional stability, anxiety decreases, anger reduces, happiness increases, intuition develops, clarity and peace of mind, induces ability to focus, reduces tension and fear.	Value Based Society – The effects of meditation include happiness, respect for the environment and others, appreciation of diversity in nature, a strong sense of social values. These qualities an individual level, helps develop a value based social system.
Spiritual Growth – Consciousness evolves, meditation brings harmony in creation, personal transformation, realization of SELF	Trusting, Happy and Content Society – These are the objectives of any society. Meditation empowers a society to achieve these qualities.

Source: Art of living

The social benefits mentioned can be reflected in your workplace as well, violence free society can mean having a peaceful work place, trusting each other at work will only make your work life a lot more relaxed, delegating / authorizing work will not give you sleepless nights.

That was just a very very brief overview, not even the tip of the ice berg on meditation, but basically it was to dwell upon the fact that whatever gives you inner peace is a form of meditation.

In my next blog, I will talk about a few articles published, a short video on religion and more.