MEDITATION ORIGINS. Part 1 of 5.

Meditation may be traced back to our earliest ancestors, who gazed in amazement at the night sky, waited in the bushes for hours for the game, or sat in reverie next to communal fires. Because meditation necessitates a shift from thinking and doing to simply being, our forebears had an advantage over you and me. After all, their lives were more straightforward, their thinking was more fundamental, and their connection to nature and the Divine was much more robust.

Although you can meditate without knowing where it comes from, following its growth puts it in a historical and spiritual context. So, join me for a brief history of meditation as a spiritual practice in various settings.

Even before the Buddha or the great Indian yogis, shamans in hunter-gatherer communities worldwide used meditation to achieve altered states of consciousness known as trances. These men and women left their bodies and travelled to the "world of the spirits" by concentrating their thoughts through drumming or rhythmic chanting, dancing in simple, repetitive movements, and occasionally utilising hallucinogenic drugs. They returned bearing holy wisdom, healing skills, magical abilities, and spiritual benefits for the benefit of the tribe.

Cave paintings going back at least 15,000 years show figures resting on the ground in peaceful contemplation. Scholars think these figures were shamans in a trance, petitioning the spirits for a good hunt. Other cave paintings from the same period show shamans who transform into animals. This classic strategy is still used today.

Shamans continued to function as healers, guides for the dead, and mediators between people and spirits throughout Siberia, North America, Mexico, South America, Africa, Australia, Indonesia, and Asia, even when hunting and gathering gave way to farming. Thanks to the novels of Carlos Castaneda, Michael Harner, and Joseph Campbell, Westerners have been more interested in shamanism in recent years. Some have even trained to be skilled shamans.

The deepest roots of meditation may be traced back to India, where sadhus and yogis have practised it in various forms for over 5,000 years. It might be attributed to the environment, which slows down the pace of life, to the monsoon, which encourages people to spend more time indoors or simply to the long line of meditators. Whatever the reasons, India provided fertile ground for the meditative arts to flourish and spread east and west.

Meditation is not even mentioned in the Vedas, the earliest Indian scriptures. On the other hand, Vedic priests conducted complicated rites and hymns to the gods that required tremendous concentration.

These practices eventually evolved into a contemplative meditation that combined breath control with a devotional focus on the Divine. The further they probed, the more these priests realised that the worshipper and the object of worship, the human being and the Divine being, are one and the same - a profound realisation that has inspired and taught spiritual seekers throughout the ages.

Yoga, Buddhism, and Tantra, three of India's most well-known contemplative traditions, sprang from the garden of Vedic and post-Vedic spirituality, which I examine in the following sections.

Everyone has heard about yoga at this point. Even if you don't regularly practise, you've probably tried it at one of the numerous studios and fitness centres that dot the landscape. However, you may be unaware that the well-known "poses" are only one component of classical yoga's conventional practice, including breath control and meditation.

Classical yoga practitioners aspire to withdraw from the illusory material world and join with consciousness's formless but ultimate truth. After preparing the body with asanas, the familiar hatha yoga poses, cultivating refined energy states through various breathing practises, and excluding all external distractions, the yogi focuses on an intermediate object, such as a mantra (repetition of a meaningful word or phrase) or a sacred symbol. Finally, the yogi achieves samadhi, a state where all indications of separation disappear, and the yogi joyfully merges with consciousness.

Contemplative repetition of a mantra tends to calm the mind and relax the body. On the other hand, the early mantra practitioners had more spiritual purposes, such as summoning the might of a particular god, nurturing and strengthening virtuous attributes, or achieving union with divine truth.

Though the term mantra, meaning "mind protection" derives from Sanskrit, the practice may be found in some form or another in practically every faith. Christians sing the "Our Father" or the heart prayer ("Lord Jesus Christ, have pity on me"), and Buddhists chant sacred incantations like om mani Padme hum or Namu Amida butsu. Hindus recite one of God's many praises or names.

Mantras are sounds infused with numinous or spiritual potency by a teacher or tradition. When you repeat a mantra aloud, under your breath, or mentally, which is the most potent way, you resonate with a particular spiritual frequency and the power and advantages that sound has accrued over time.

Mantra practice helps to focus, stabilise, and protect the mind from unwanted distractions. As a result, mantra recitation is often performed before more formal meditation approaches. Simply choose a personal or spiritually relevant word or phrase to explore as a mantra. You may learn a specific mantra from your teacher. Then, sitting quietly, repeat it several times more, letting your mind rest on the music and the sensations it creates. Simply return to your mantra when your mind wanders.

The historical Buddha was a Hindu prince, according to mythology. He gave up his affluent lifestyle to answer the mystery of pain, old age, and death. After years of discipline and yoga, he realised that articulating the world and mortifying the flesh would not result in the enlightenment he sought. Instead, he took a seat behind a tree and delved deeply into his head. He glimpsed the essence of existence after seven days and nights of deep meditation, giving him the title Buddha, or "the awakened one."

According to the Buddha, we suffer because we believe (a) that things are permanent and can be relied on for enjoyment and (b) that we have an everlasting self that exists independently of other beings and defines us. Instead, he stressed that everything, including our minds, emotions, sense of self, and external events and objects, evolves.

Come back tomorrow for part 2.

Be well.

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