buddhism hinduism
Meditation is a spiritual practice that dates back to many, many years ago. In fact, some evidence found by archaeologists even points to the practice dating back to nearly 3,000 years ago when the first Indian civilizations were in existence. There are many different forms of meditation and the different techniques are practiced by various religions as well as individual only looking for relaxation or a higher spiritual consciousness within themselves. Here we will take a brief look at the different forms, practices, and religions surrounding the idea of meditation.
The list of religions or spiritual groups who practice meditation is extensive and diverse. Meditation is practiced by such traditional religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Jainism, and Taoism. And it is also practiced by other not so common religions such as New Age, Sikhism, and Bahá' í Faith. Although the basic idea of meditation is common amongst the various religious sectors the actual practices of meditation and the purpose of such meditation may greatly vary. In some religious cultures individuals meditate in order to clear the mind of negative thoughts that can affect a persons way of life. In other religious cultures individuals may meditate in order to reach a state of psychic consciousness and still in others the goal may simply be to bring out ones true self, whats there besides those things that such a person is defined by. Often we are defined by things that matter little such as our sex or our jobs but meditation for some brings out that part of you that is unexplained by such simple measures. Whatever a particular religious sectors reason for meditation it is often taken seriously and practiced often by believers in the particular faith.
The form of meditation that is most common to Hinduism is the practice of Yoga. This type of meditation is broken down into smaller forms which include Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga, Surat shabd yoga, Japa Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Hatha Yoga. Each one of these forms focuses on a different relaxation and meditation technique. In some a mantra is repeatedly loudly while in others the focus may be the limbs or sound and light. Each is meant to drawn the inner mind to a different mind set involving positive feelings.
The idea behind Buddhist meditation is allow the mind to explore itself through transformation, to gain some sort of enlightenment in which the mind is able to focus on one particular thing. Different forms of Buddhist meditation include Theravada, Vipassana, Mahayana, and Tibetan.
In Christianity meditation is practiced as a way of prayer. In many cases prayers are repeatedly spoken as a technique of meditation. Both the Monastic tradition as well as the hesychast tradition both use repeated prayer as part of their practices. Christian meditation is even referred to in the Old Testament of the Bible in the Book of Joshua which attests to the extended period of time that meditation has been in practice.
By taking a brief glimpse of the history of meditation you can see that the practice is based on extensive practice and research which should, in some way, attest to its validity.
About the Author:
Jane Michael is the head writer at the Center for Meditation.
History of Meditation
is her practice and her passion. Goals of Zen Meditation is a great way to start your meditation practice.Read some of her articles about other amazing
Meditation
Techniques here.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - History of Meditation
