Meditation is Finding Respect in the Medical Community For Its Many Benefits

Meditation has long been associated with many spiritual and religious practices coming from Eastern traditions where it has been practiced for centuries. While it is widely used for spiritual enlightenment, in the West it is even more widely used for health and wellness purposes.

Meditation works by calming and centering you. As you fill your lungs with air, your heartbeat slows and that relaxes the body. You pull your mind inward. Over time you come to realize you are not the same as the mindless chatter running through your head.

The effect is to reduce stress, an aggravating factor for many mental and physical problems. People seeking relief from physical ailments as diverse as fibromyalgia, heart disease, cancer and other chronic illnesses report relief from meditation.

Also, meditation finds itself in the arsenal of those trying to manage pain, insomnia, anxiety and depression.

The scientific community is convinced that meditation is a useful tool. And except for a small number of people with certain psychiatric conditions, it is considered extremely safe.

Nonetheless, researchers have not been able to figure out conclusively why it works although they have found a relationship with meditation and changes in brain function.

Respected sites such as WebMD speak highly of meditation. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, an arm of the National Institutes of Health, has long been studying it.

They think that meditation might work by slowing the sympathetic nervous system which mobilizes the body for action and increasing activity in the parasympathetic nervous system which causes heart rate and breathing to go down.

With such strong physical and psychological benefits and so little risk, there is little reason not to meditate. Here is one source to learn how to use it for its physical benefits and spiritual growth.

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[Anirudh Kumar Satsangi]

COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF SCIENCE OF RELIGION (THEOLOGY)
A Scientific Understanding of Meditation and Yoga

In Bhagavad-Gita Lord SriKrishna says to Arjun:
“I taught this immortal Yoga to Vivasvan (sun-god), Vivasvan conveyed it to Manu(his son), and Manu imparted it to (his son) Iksvaku. Thus transmitted to succession from father to son, Arjun, this Yoga remained known to the Rajarisis (royal sages). It has however long since disappeared from this earth. The same ancient Yoga has this day been imparted to you by Me, because you are My devotee and friend, and also because this is a supreme secret”.

Yoga (Application) which was based on the control of the body physically and implied that a perfect control over the body and the senses led to knowledge of the ultimate reality. A detailed anatomical knowledge of the human body was necessary to the advancement of yoga and therefore those practising yoga had to keep in touch with medical knowledge. (Romila Thapar, A History of India, volume one).

I suggest : Mind and brain are two distinct things. Brain is anatomical entity whereas mind is functional entity. Mind can be defined as the function of autonomic nervous system (ANS). It is claimed that mind can be brought under conscious control through the practice of meditation. But how? ANS is largely under hypothalamic control which is situated very close to optic chiasma (sixth chakra or ajna chakra). Protracted practice of concentration to meditate at this region brings functions of ANS say mind under one’s conscious control.

Although Danah Zohar has coined the term Spiritual Quotient for the first time but she did not establish any mathematical relationship for this. Without establishing mathematical relationship spiritual intelligence can not be termed as spiritual quotient.

Deepak Chopra has given a formula of spiritual quotient in terms of Deed (D) and Ego (E). According to Deepak Chopra S.Q.=D/E. According to him if E is ‘zero’ the S.Q. will be infinite. This appears to be very fascinating but it is highly abstract which can not be measured experimentally accurately and precisely. However, this formula has immense value to understand S.Q.

I have also discovered a mathematical relationship for S.Q about eight years back in 2001. I have used physiological parameters which can be measured accurately and precisely and can be tested and verified experimentally. According to this formula S.Q. can be expressed as the ratio of parasympathetic dominance (P.D.) to sympathetic dominance (S.D.). Parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) are the two parts of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) which is largely under hypothalamic control. Hypothalamus is situated very close to the Sixth Chakra. During practice of meditation at Sixth Chakra these centres are galvanized which has very positive effect on practitioners spiritual, emotional, psychological and physical well being.

According to this relationship spiritual quotient can be written as:

S.Q. = P.D./S.D.

If the value of S.Q. comes >1 (greater than one), it can be assumed that the person is moving towards self-realisation and if the value of S.Q. comes <1 (smaller than one) it can be predicted that the person is living under stress.

This formula can be tested and verified experimentally.