Meditation
Notebook: Interview
Created: 16-01-2020 10:08 PM Updated: 29-07-2021 04:48 PM
Author: Sandeep Jha
Meditation or mindfullness:
meaning
meditation in hindi: dhyan ( in Hinduism and Buddhism)
mindfulness in Hindi: sachetan.
Mindfulness is the psychological process of purposely bringing one's attention to
experiences occurring in the present moment without judgment, which one can develop
through the practice of meditation and through other training.
Mindfulness is the quality of mind that maintains the continuity of awareness.
Opposite of mindfulness can be called distraction.
Mindfulness meditation derived from eastern mediation practices. So, it can be said to
begin 2500 years ago. It became very popular in 1970s.
Zen practice of meditation, vipasanna played key roles.
Meditation is a practice of focusing the mind on a particular object, thought or
activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally
calm and stable state.
what is the difference between mindfulness and meditation?
mindfulness is a state of mind whereas meditation is the practice of some
techniques to attain mindfulness.
International Day of Happiness
20 March
experts at the UN on Friday declared Finland to be the world’s happiest nation for
the third year running.
took into account measures such as GDP, social support, personal freedom and
levels of corruption to give each nation a happiness score.
As in each of the previous seven reports, Nordic states dominated the top 10,
along with countries such as Switzerland, New Zealand and Austria.
Meanwhile, the countries at the bottom are those afflicted by violent conflicts and
extreme poverty, with Zimbabwe, South Sudan and Afghanistan classified as the
world’s least happy nations.
Eight components (Ashtang) of Patanjali's yogasutra:
Yama
Yamas are ethical rules in the Yogic tradition and can be thought of as
moral imperatives.
Ahimsa, satya, Asteya - non stealing, Brahmacharya, Aparigraha-
non-possesiveness
Niyama
includes virtuous habits, behaviors and observances (the "dos")
Shaucha - Purity, Santosha, Tapas - Perseverance, Svadhyaya ,
Ishvarapranidhana- contemplation on god.
Asana
Pranayama [Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on breath.]
Pratyahara ["withdrawal of the senses."]
Dharana
concentration, introspective focus and one-pointedness of mind. holding
one's mind onto a particular inner state, subject or topic of one's mind. The
mind is fixed on a mantra, or one's breath/navel/tip of tongue/any place, or
an object one wants to observe, or a concept/idea in one's mind.
Dhyana
means "contemplation, reflection" and "profound, abstract meditation
Dhyana is contemplating, reflecting on whatever Dharana has focused on. If
in the sixth limb of yoga one focused on a personal deity, Dhyana is its
contemplation. If the concentration was on one object, Dhyana is non-
judgmental, non-presumptuous observation of that object.
Dharana is a state of mind, Dhyana the process of mind. Dhyana is distinct
from Dharana in that the meditator becomes actively engaged with its
focus.
Samadhi
Samadhi (Sanskrit: समािध) literally means "putting together, joining,
combining with, union, harmonious whole, trance"
Samadhi is oneness with the subject of meditation. There is no distinction,
during the eighth limb of yoga, between the actor of meditation, the act of
meditation and the subject of meditation. Samadhi is that spiritual state
when one's mind is so absorbed in whatever it is contemplating on,
that the mind loses the sense of its own identity. The thinker, the
thought process and the thought fuse with the subject of thought. There is
only oneness, samadhi.
Dharana, Dhayana, Samadhi constitute part of meditation.
Some of the earliest written records of meditation (Dhyana), come from the Hindu
traditions of Vedantism.
Meditation may be used with the aim of reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and pain,
and increasing peace, perception, self-concept, and well-being.
Philosophy of meditation:
In pre-modern and traditional Hinduism, Yoga and Dhyana are practised to realize
union of one's eternal self or soul, one's ātman with Brahman. In Advaita
Vedanta this is equated with the omnipresent and non-dual Brahman. In the
dualistic Yoga school and Samkhya, the Self is called Purusha, a pure consciousness
separate from matter. Depending on the tradition, the liberative event is
named moksha, vimukti or kaivalya.
Religious roots of meditation:
The earliest clear references to meditation in Hindu literature are in the middle
Upanishads and the Mahabharata (including the Bhagavad Gita)
the earlier Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is describing meditation when it states that
"having become calm and concentrated, one perceives the self (ātman) within
oneself".
One of the most influential texts of classical Hindu Yoga is Patañjali's Yoga sutras
(c. 400 CE), a text associated with Yoga and Samkhya, which outlines eight limbs
leading to kaivalya ("aloneness"). These are ethical discipline (yamas), rules
(niyamas), physical postures (āsanas), breath control (prāṇāyama), withdrawal
from the senses (pratyāhāra), one-pointedness of mind (dhāraṇā), meditation
(dhyāna), and finally samādhi.
Jain meditation and spiritual practices system were referred to as salvation-path. It
has three parts called the Ratnatraya "Three Jewels": right perception and faith,
right knowledge and right conduct. [achivement of Keval Gyan is the motive]
Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward awakening and nirvana.
In Sikhism, simran (meditation) and good deeds are both necessary to achieve
the devotee's Spiritual goals.
Nām Japnā involves focusing one's attention on the names or great
attributes of God.
In Sufi tradition, meditation is very important. Salah is a mandatory act of
devotion performed by Muslims five times per day. The body goes through sets of
different postures, as the mind attains a level of concentration called khushu.
Medical research on its effectiveness:
A 2014 review found that practice of mindfulness meditation for two to six months
by people undergoing long-term psychiatric or medical therapy could produce
small improvements in anxiety, pain, or depression
In 2017, the American Heart Association issued a scientific statement that
meditation may be a reasonable adjunct practice to help reduce the risk of
cardiovascular diseases
What are other ways of meditation apart from Vipassana?
Passage Meditation:
Mr. Eknath Easwaran
The program is an eight-point program intended for the "spiritual growth"
of the practitioner. The first step in the program involves meditating on a
text passage, and since the 1990s the method as a whole has come to be
known as "Passage Meditation"
Transcendental meditation (TM) emphasize the use of a mantra in such a way
that it transcends one to an effortless state where there is no focused attention.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi founded it.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Maharishi achieved fame as the
guru to the Beatles, the Beach Boys and other celebrities.
In addition to spiritual forms of meditation, secular forms of meditation have
taken root. Rather than focusing on spiritual growth, secular meditation
emphasizes stress reduction, relaxation and self-improvement.
New Age meditations are often influenced by Eastern philosophy, mysticism,
yoga, Hinduism and Buddhism, yet may contain some degree of Western
influence. In the West, meditation found its mainstream roots through the social
revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, when many of the youth of the day rebelled
against traditional religion as a reaction against what some perceived as the failure
of Christianity to provide spiritual and ethical guidance.
since how long have you meditated?
3 years, started in march 2018.
Do you do it regularly or only once in a while?
3-4 times a week. 20 minutes each session.
Do you follow any guru?
Sir, I follow guided meditation on Headspace App. (founded by a former
buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe)
what benefits have you seen in your life since then?
reduced anxiety, calm mind, better discipline, better concentration.
what kind of meditation you do?
"Mindfulness Meditation" : focusing on breath and observation of thoughts and
emotions.
this is type of guided meditations which incorporate both calming meditation
(samatha) and insight meditation (vipassana) which stem from Buddhist
meditation. Oftentimes Samatha is done first to calm the mind and strengthen
concentration in order to prepare for Vipassana.
Calming meditations (Samatha) typically involve concentrating a particular object
and can include:
Breath meditations
Mantra meditations
Visualization
Object meditations
Loving Kindness meditation
Samatha means mind calming.
Insight meditations (vipassana) often involve mindfulness, reflection, and
developing wisdom. Traditionally, mindfulness was associated more with
developing "clear insight" and observation of physical sensations and thoughts.
mindfulness meditation focuses on being in the present moment.
Mindfulness (how Headspace defines it) is the "intention to be present in the here
and now, fully engaged in whatever is happening, free from distraction or
judgment, with a soft and open mind".
Read about Raja Yoga here. [this is part of four yogas -- Raja Yoga, Bhakti
Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga --- paths of self-realization.]
Vipassana: It is often defined as a form of meditation that seeks "insight into
the true nature of reality". This true nature is impermanence. [vipassana means
insight.]
S N Goenka [Shri Satya Narayana Goenka] has done a lot in propagating
Viapassana.
Vipassana movement, a movement which popularised the new vipassana teachings
and practice. It started in the 1950s in Burma, but has gained wide renown mainly
through American Buddhist teachers such as Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, Gil
Fronsdal, Sharon Salzberg, and Jack Kornfield.
From the start, he taught 10-day intensive meditation retreats, and by 1988
had taught numerous people, including several thousand Westerners.
In 2000, Goenka laid the foundation of the 325 ft. high Global Vipassana
Pagoda, near Gorai Beach, in Mumbai, which opened in 2009, and has relics
of Buddha and a meditation hall
Doing Time, Doing Vipassana is a 1997 documentary about the
introduction of S. N. Goenka's 10-day Vipassana classes at Tihar Jail in
1993 by then Inspector General of Prisons in New Delhi, Kiran Bedi. Bedi
had her guards trained in Vipassana first, and then she had Goenka give his
initial class to 1,000 prisoners.
Contemplation of impermanence is key part of vipassana.
The Global Vipassana Pagoda is a Meditation Dome Hall with a capacity to seat
around 8,000 Vipassana meditators (largest such meditation hall in the world) near
Gorai, North-west of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Pagoda was inaugurated by
Pratibha Patil, then President of India on 8 February 2009.
samatha (calm), developed through practices such as anapanasati (mindfulness of
breathing)
what are some of the big names in mediation from India:
Sadguru Jaggi Vasudeva and his ISHA foundation.
Isha Kriya meditation. [It uses breath as well as sound to meditate]
Sri Sri Ravishankar and art of living.
Vipassana International Academy founded by S N goenka.
VIA, is today the principal world centre of Vipassana Meditation. It is the
first Vipassana meditation center in India, for teaching the vipassana
meditation technique, was set up at Igatpuri by S.N. Goenka.
[Igatpuri is a town in Nashik, Maharashtra]
Should meditation and yoga be made part of the educational curriculum in schools and
colleges?
What is the relation between meditation and spirituality?
Dynamic meditation
is a form of meditation in whichphysical actions are involved.
The term appears in the early 1970s when Osho's descriptions of his "Rajneesh
Dhyan Yoga," developed at meditation camps in the Indian mountains, were
translated into English. His prototypical method is still named "Dynamic
Meditation".
ALSO CALLED movement meditation.
happiness class at a government schools in Delhi:
where students and teachers meditate, chat, tell stories and share jokes for 45
minutes each day.
Since it was started in 2018, the happiness curriculum has become Delhi’s
flagship programme and is among those that stands out in a list of achievements.
Everyday, students in classes I to VIII spend 45 minutes in this classroom, where
there is no set curriculum. Younger students, in nursery and KG, have the class
twice a week. The Delhi government has happiness textbooks with stories and
activities. The books, though, are advisory in nature.
The Aam Aadmi Party government’s ‘Happiness Curriculum’ scheme launched in
1,030 Delhi government schools in 2018, has been hailed as a major school
education reform in the country.
India ranked 139 out of 149 countries in UN's World
Happiness Report 2021 published by the United Nations Sustainable
Development Solutions Network, which ranks countries on citizens’
well-being.
Finland has been ranked as the happiest country in the world. The
Nordic nation is followed by Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, The
Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Norway.
Pakistan is on 105th, Bangladesh on 101st and China on 84th,
according to the report.
6 criteria
Gross Domestic Product Per Capita (Purchasing Power
Parity).
Social Support.
Healthy life expectancy at birth.
Freedom to make life choices.
Generosity.
Perceptions of corruption.
How does Bhutan measure gross
national happiness
gave equal importance, if not more, to intangible or non-economic
factors like happiness and mental well-being.
The country has a systemic method of finding of the GNH index
that focuses on its four pillars, nine domains and thirty-three
indicators.
Four Pillars:
Good Governance
Sustainable Socio-economic Development
Cultural Preservation
Environmental Conservation
Nine Domains:
Psychological Wellbeing
Health
Education
Time Use
Cultural Diversity and Resilience
Good Governance
Community Vitality
Ecological Diversity and Resilience
Living Standards
Each domain is composed of subjective (survey-based) and
objective indicators. The domains weigh equally but the
indicators within each domain differ by weight. The domains
work differently depending on the person's GDP. For instance,
if there are two people, one whose life is consumed with
working, leaving barely any time for friends and family, while
the other, though not as good in working conditions, has still
enough time to spend quality time with their friends and
family: according to Carol Graham, the person who spends
time with family and friends ends up having a larger GNH,
than the person who is just in it for work. In other words, a
person is happier, or can be happier, in life when focusing on
the little things
Through the GNH Index, people are segregated into four
categories – unhappy, narrowly happy, extensively happy, and
deeply happy. This GNH Index helps Bhutan frame policies
around it.
The purpose of education is to prepare students — to lead a joyful and purposeful
life.
Yoga increases body awareness, relieves stress, reduces muscle tension, strain, and
inflammation, sharpens attention and concentration, and calms and centers the
nervous system.
A study by IIT-Delhi scientists has revealed that those who practised yoga during
the pandemic-induced lockdown had lower stress, anxiety and depression, higher
wellbeing and more peace of mind as compared to non-practitioners.
evidence from this research can be used by the health care practitioners to include
yoga as an alternate therapy for self-management of stress-related problems
during conditions like COVID-19 pandemic.
Japan has appointed Minister of Loneliness to deal with the growing suicide rate in the
country amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, as per media reports.
United Kingdom, which in 2018 became the first country to appoint a minister
with a similar designation.
Historically, cultural attitudes towards suicide in Japan have been described as
"tolerant", with certain types of suicides being considered honorable, especially
during military service. For example, seppuku was a form of ritual suicide by self-
disembowelment practiced mainly by samurai to avoid dishonor, such as after
defeat in battle or after bringing shame upon oneself. During World War II, the
Empire of Japan regularly employed kamikaze and banzai charge suicide
attacks and encouraged suicide as a preferable alternative to capture.
In 2007, the government released a nine-step plan, a "counter-suicide White
Paper", with hopes of curbing suicide by 20% by 2017.
Are you spiritual person? what is the difference between religion and spirituality?
Yes.
religion consists of a set of beliefs which pertain to nature of God, sacred
books, rituals, morals and goal of life whereas spirituality is the search for
ultimate truth without necessarily subscribing to one path. Spirituality seeks
to find out the fundamental nature of reality underpinning everything
around us and then it sees the interconnectedness among seemingly
disparate things.
Spirituality promotes a sense of unity, compassion, expansion of consciousness.
convince me why should I meditate?
Meditation helps us control the experience of emotions that we are facing.
Humans are emotional beings and we continuosly react to emotions and often feel
overpowered by them. With meditation we can change this experience by re-
orienting our mind to think differently.
why focus is on breath during meditation?
what are some breathing exercises in Yoga?
Prayanama:
Bhrastika -- forceful breath and then exhaling.
Anulom Vilom -- closing one nostril and breathing forcefully through
other and then closing other and exhaling through other.
Kapal Bhati.
what yoga u will say that is not fit for everyone? And should be avoided.
what do you think of Godmen? How to curb their impact on society?
difference between Yoga and meditation?
when is international yoga day celebrated?
what is the ultimate goal of mediation? [kevalya gyan, nirvana, samadhi]
SPIC MACAY:
The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst
Youth (SPIC MACAY) is a voluntary youth movement which promotes intangible
aspects of Indian cultural heritage by promoting Indian classical music, classical
dance, folk music, yoga, meditation, crafts and other aspects of Indian culture; it is
a movement with chapters in over 300 towns all over the world.[1] SPIC MACAY
was established by Dr. Kiran Seth in 1977 at IIT Delhi.
Dr. Kiran Seth is alum of IIT kgp.
The Delhi government on Wednesday said that it was going to launch a diploma course in
‘Meditation and Yoga Sciences’ at the Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences Research University
as part of the announcement made in the Delhi budget 2021 that seeks to make yoga a
crucial part of everyone’s daily life.
Over 400 trainees will be trained online in the first batch.
Bihar school of Yoga
The Bihar School of Yoga is a modern school of yoga founded by Satyananda
Saraswati in Munger, Bihar, India, in 1963. An Institute of Yogic Studies was created
in 1994.
France government adopted yoga propagated by Munger school in 2013
and prescribed it in its schools and colleges. Besides, Australian government
has adopted Munger yoga exercise for its war veterans and preparing a
documentary for its mass popularisation in that country.
It indents to make yoga as a life-style. It simplifies yogic exercises so that
people can adopt it easily in their lives.
world’s most acclaimed yoga training institute.
combines all forms of yoga, from Hatha Yoga to Ashtanga Yoga, and you
are also taught to adopt yoga as a lifestyle rather than as a form of aerobic
exercise to keep fit physically
set up by Swami Satyanand Saraswati, a disciple of Swami Shivananda
Saraswati.
One of the most notable achievements of BSY is to develop ‘Yoga
Nidra’ as a potent technique.
Yoga Nidra is a pratyahara technique in which the distractions of the
mind are contained and the mind is allowed to relax.
For absolute relaxation one must remain aware.
Yoga Nidra, the state of dynamic
sleep. It is a systematic method of inducing complete physical,
mental and emotional relaxation. During the practice, one appears to
be asleep, but the consciousness is functioning at a deeper level of
awareness.’
Yoga protocol under International Yoga day -- where is meditation mentioned?
Common Yoga Protocol: Ministry of Ayush has released it.
Ashutosh ji Maharaj -- Mahesh Kumar Jha -- from Madhubani.
He was declared to be dead by team of doctors -- in 2014
His followers believe that he has entered into samadhi and will return.
Shivananda yoga -- realated to Bihar school of yoga.
