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Getting to the kingdom of heaven within In an article entitled, Learning Meditation, author Nick welcomes his readers to participate. ‘Whether you call it Nirvana, the Tao, the Self, or the kingdom of Heaven within,’ he writes, ‘it is real; please enter.’ Nick points out that some polls suggest that 10% of Americans ‘run through’ meditation of some kind. People in all age groups, including large numbers of schoolchildren worldwide practise meditation, often in their desire to feel relieved of stress or to improve their health. Meditation gains popularity The author takes us back to the ‘60’s to put the upsurge of meditation in the west into historical perspective. At that time, ‘meditation became famous largely due to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the popularity of his Transcendental Meditation (TM) program.’ By offering scientific validation of the practice (more than 600 studies have been done on the Transcendental Meditation Programme in 250 universities and medical schools worldwide over the past 35 years), Maharishi presented meditation in the language of modern science. It was this, the writer feels, that promoted ‘the introduction of meditation and the quest for enlightenment in the modern scientifically oriented west, although both had long been intrinsic to culture in the east.’ The Transcendental Meditation Programme itself became widespread. Included among its practitioners were the Beatles, Donovan, Merv Griffin, and Clint Eastwood who publicized the benefits which they were enjoying. It was after that, Nick suggests in his article, that ‘meditation’ and ‘yoga’ of various varieties sprang up all over. A deeper look at meditation Offering the rhetorical question, ‘So what is it all about?’ Nick dives more deeply into meditation. He answers his own question. Referring to texts on the subject, the writer says that its purpose ‘is to unite the conscious mind with the universal cosmic basis of life. ‘This,’ he continues, ‘is the pure form of Yoga, which in Sanskrit means union.’ Nick then refers to the experience of ‘transcending’ or ‘going beyond’ ordinary, relative levels of perception to a ‘silent, absolute, non-changing existence.’ According to teachers of meditation and texts on the subject, this experience is available to everyone. Nick says that through the experience of ‘this supreme realization of the silent Infinite’, which one gains by transcending, the meditator enjoys great benefits in the finite aspects of his daily life. ‘Self-realization becomes self-actualization—greater energy, intelligence, creativity, compassion, tolerance and bliss—when we open our eyes after meditation.’ A broad comparison of techniques Nick feels that ‘The results [of meditation] are worth the trip down the path.’ He adds, ‘It is just a matter of which is the most effective path’ and, to that end, offers a broad comparison of meditation techniques for the reader’s consideration. He starts out by discussing concentration techniques. Such forms of meditation, he writes, can fatigue the meditator’s mind. Techniques involving concentration result in the mind being focused and therefore bound and active, keeping it from enjoying the silent unbounded transcendental state. Nick also writes of practices involving contemplation, including mindfulness, prayer, and visualization. He says that these, as well as other techniques, involve allowing the mind to wander or ‘being attentive to the wandering mind.’ They all result in the mind remaining ‘actively engaged in thought’ and therefore, Nick comments, are counter-productive to the process of the mind transcending thought. The author feels that the Transcendental Meditation Technique is continuing to be practised widely because it is neither concentration nor contemplation. It is easily adopted by students and older people alike, irrespective of their individual nature, personality or intellectual ability. As practising the Transcendental Meditation Technique requires no change in lifestyle, philosophy, or religion, it is appealing to anyone seeking a secular approach to his own growth. Nick’s invitation to enter the ‘kingdom of heaven within’ is for all. Editor’s note: Children worldwide are being given the opportunity to learn Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation Programme through the work of the David Lynch Foundation. *Note: Learning Meditation was originally posted at www.Megapremium.info and can now be found at www.theuncarvedblog.com. © Copyright 2011 Global Good News®
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