Why World Meditation Day matters for the Modern Lifestyle
Our modern day lifestyle is full of opportunities, ambitions, changes, challenges and a sure shot share of stress and pressure. The recent unanimous acceptance of a petition, declaring 21st of December as the World Meditation Day, in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is a testament to the power and efficacy of meditation, which is age-old to deal with growing new-age challenges. The petition, which was co-sponsored by India brings our attention to the importance of meditation in modern life.
There are many Mediation practices in India and surely something which could easily be a part of daily life of a person, but usually people put meditation off as something they would do do some day or when they get the time, the reality is that unless we start meditating, we would always be short of time! Meditation is much more than what we usually credit it to. From finding Inner Peace to managing time and mental clarity, this one tool can do it all and the first ever World Meditation Day 2024 on 21st December could be a good start.
This is a momentous occasion, as the need for meditation as a stress-relief and wellbeing enhancement tool that promotes peaceful thinking, good health and harmonious relationships, is required more than ever in the modern history of mankind.
The chosen date of 21st December, couldn't be better. First, the day marks the winter solstice or Uttarayana, holding spiritual importance in the Indian Vedic culture, known to be the time of enlightenment, attainment of the ultimate and period of grace.
Secondly, it falls after 6 months of the International Yoga Day, which falls on 21st June, serving as reminder to attend to inner health and happiness and the importance of connecting to the inner aspect of life. Yoga and Meditation are not new, but such dedicated days reinforce their importance.
Thirdly, this very day, approximately 150 years back, a great spiritual luminary was born, unboundedness incarnating in human form.
The everlasting legacy of Guru Dev Swami Brahmananda Saraswati
December 21st happens to be the birth anniversary of the global proponent of Transcendental Meditation, His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s spiritual master, erstwhile Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath Guru Dev Swami Brahmananda Saraswati.
Guru Dev is known to have devoted his life to the selfless service of mankind, having trained many brilliant pupils under his tutelage, who went on to become great spiritual leaders in their own right, including Maharishi himself.
Guru Dev had the desire to unfasten the gates of Vedic knowledge to all of mankind, putting to practice the adage “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” from the Maha Upanishad, meaning the “the whole of the world is family”.
Being bound by the roles and responsibilities of his august position at the helm of one of the four principal mathas or monasteries that are the seat of Vedic knowledge in India, he instead is said to have chosen Maharishi to travel the globe and wake people up to their fullest potential.
Maharishi achieved this by founding the Spiritual Regeneration Movement Foundation of India, a movement to end the suffering of humankind by bringing about a Spiritual Revival and teaching the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique to millions of people across the world.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, The United Nations and Transcendental Meditation
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi travelled the length and breadth of the world many times in the span of half a century, with the endeavour to teach TM to as many people as possible, having spoken for more than 30,000 hours in this time, gently encouraging people to take up Transcendental Meditation for better health and happiness.
His philosophy was very simple – we meditate in order to contact the most fundamental state of existence, pure consciousness, from which all of creation and the phenomena therein have sprung, as elucidated in the vast collection of Vedic literature.
This state can be easily experienced during the practice of TM, and many hundreds of peer-reviewed research studies have shown that it unlocks mental potential, removes stress, opens the floodgates to perfect health, maximizes productivity and aids in promoting peace in society.
This is because pure consciousness has qualities of being infinity, boundlessness and self-referral. It has within itself infinite bliss, peace, order, intelligence and creativity, which is how it births the infinitely marvellous universe that we observe around us.
In his bid to spread Transcendental Meditation to the far corners of the globe, Maharishi even visited the then General Secretary of the United Nations Mr. U. Thant in 1965. Their meeting was cordial and both reaffirmed their commitment to the establishment of permanent world peace during the meeting.
Mr. Thant is himself known to a be a tireless advocate for non-violent means to resolve world conflicts, and saw non-violence as a central tenet of the UN World charter.
Benefits of Transcendental Meditation for the Modern Lifestyle
TM is an easy, simple, effortless, non-denominational that does not require weeks, months or years of hard practice to master, nor hours of sitting upon end to show its beneficial effects.
It has been learnt and practiced by more than 10 million people across the world, who have been able to significantly enhance their quality of life in just 20 minutes of practice, twice a day.
There are no conditions to learning and practicing TM. You don’t need to change your lifestyle, clothing, diet or belief system to do it. You don’t even need to believe in the technique itself for it to work. Just like science, it works anyways.
People of various age groups, regardless of gender, culture, professions or educational background, have been able to get relief from anxiety, depression, insomnia, heart disease, diabetes, doubt, fear and grief and attain peace, calm, bliss, enhanced immunity, better digestion, more energy, better capacity for work and fulfilling relationships at work and home.
All benefits are evidence-based and documented at premier research institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, Johns Hopkins Medical Hospital and UCLA to name a few.
Top 5 Evidence-based benefits of Transcendental Meditation
Combating Stress in the modern world
Stress is the current age epidemic and people find themselves struggling to cope with day to day stress, leading to anxiety, depression and other serious mental and physical health concerns. There are several research studies on TM that show reduction in Cortisol, the stress hormone, reduced exhaustion and burn-out and more resilience in overcoming stressful situations.
TM for Better health and Happiness
Enjoying better health and feeling happier and satisfied is a natural result that people experience with the regular practice of TM. This meditation practice, which is unlike many other meditation practices in India, works from a very fundamental life, like watering the root of a plant nourishes the entire plant, attending to ones own fundamental level, which is our consciousness, brings about inner calm, well-being, health and happiness in all facets of life.
Achieving Work-life Balance
Thousands of professionals adopt TM in their daily routine, as it is simple, effective and allows them to rejuvenate from within, making it easier to juggle between multiple responsibilities without feeling exhausted or over-whelmed.
Transcendental Meditation for Mental Clarity
We often base our decisions on what we think and plan and act accordingly. If our thinking is foggy or unclear, so will be our actions and therefore, will not yield the desired results. Mental Clarity is important to take correct and balanced decisions, it is the experience of over 6 decades of people practicing Transcendental Meditation that when they incorporate TM in their life, negative and distracting thoughts are less and they are more clear, focused and productive in life.
Harmony in the Society
An unparalleled benefit for society is the group practice of TM and TM-Sidhi program that naturally promotes harmony in the vicinity of a group of people practicing it together in one place. Violent tendencies start diminishing, cooperation goes up, crime rates decrease and the region starts to prosper and progress in all aspects, reducing stress and tension. This has been demonstrated in multiple cities and countries, in the last 50 years, such as a study from 2022, published in the World Journal of Social Science, which shows the field-effects of Consciousness in reducing National Stress.
This makes Transcendental Meditation an ideal candidate for the fast, relentless, demanding pace of the modern lifestyle and for world peace.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I don't have prior experience of mediation, can I still benefit from TM?
Anyone irrespective of prior experience can learn and benefit from TM, it is a very simple, natural and effortless meditation technique which can be mastered in the 5 day course.
Can Transcendental Meditation be practiced without the guidance of a certified TM teacher?
How can I get started with Transcendental Mediation?
