Meditation

Meditation describes a state of concentrated attention on some object of thought or awareness. It usually involves turning the attention inward to the mind itself. Meditation is often recognized as a component of Eastern religions, where it has been practiced for over 5,000 years.[1][2][3] It has also become mainstream in Western culture. It encompasses any of a wide variety of spiritual practices which emphasize mental activity or quiescence. Meditation can be used for personal development, or to focus the mind on God (or an aspect of God).

According to Perez-De-Albeniz & Holmes (2000), the different techniques of meditation can be classified according to their focus. Some focus on the field or background perception and experience, also called mindfulness; others focus on a preselected specific object, and are called "concentrative" meditation. There are also techniques that shift between the field and the object.

Categorizing the varieties of meditation is difficult. One common way is according to religion or lineage. Some meditative traditions, such as yoga or tantra, are common to several religions[3] or occur outside religious contexts. Therefore, to avoid controversy, this article will not attempt to classify all meditations into a religious class or lineage.

There are several types of meditation in Hinduism. These include (but are not limited to):

* Vedanta, a form of Jnana Yoga.
* Raja Yoga as outlined by Patanjali, which describes eight "limbs" of spiritual practices, half of which might be classified as meditation. Underlying them is the assumption that a yogi should still the fluctuations of his or her mind: Yoga cittavrrti nirodha.
* Surat shabd yoga, or "sound and light meditation"
* Japa Yoga, the repetition of a mantrait is very important
* Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of love and devotion, in which the seeker is focused on an object of devotion, eg Krishna
* Hatha Yoga, in which postures and meditations are aimed at raising the spiritual energy, known as Kundalini, which rises through energy centres known as chakras
* Sahaja Yoga, the yoga of instant self-realization through the awakening of dormant Kundalini energy.

A major part of the Hindu tradition of meditation is centered around the Advaita school. Meditation techniques are based on realizing one's Universal Being or Universal Self. The basic premise is the acceptance of equality among all and consequent divinity of all and is intrinsically positive and affirming. It takes away many of the false constructs that are the reason for most misery and frames life as a gloriously positive thing. Since every Being is equal and equally divine, there is no reason to hate, fear, indulge in vanity, greed, pettiness etc. When these normal pre-occupations of the mind are removed, each Being's time and energy are now availabe to discover what fulfills the Self in truth and to align his or her actions and experiences in accord to that. The mind then is required to fuifill one (and only one) important function - which is to reflect each Self's personal divinity at all times and to frame all experiences in this context. The Self can then use its faculties (mind, body, senses, feelings and emotions, intellect and intuitition) to choose actions (at will) that are fulfilling and also express the gloriousness of the Self. This is not the same as saying one must repress normal life experiences and consequent emotions - it is to view them in the right context and with the right perspective and to let them pass if they are contrary to the true Being. This allows for normal life experiences in all their colorfulness without the associated attachment and long term baggage.

Although rooted in Hindu philosophy, the meditation techniques are secular in the same sense that the Mindfullness techniques based on the Buddhist tradition are. Even a very scientific person would not feel that the approach takes away from his or her curiosity about things, scientific scepticism and experience based mode of learning. In fact most Advaita schools advise and inspire participants to learn only through their own experiences.