Meditation Benefits
Everyone knows that a happy life requires good health. Proper diet,
adequate exercise, and sufficient rest are necessary to keep our bodies
strong and fit. If we neglect these demands, our bodies become weakened
and resistant. Highly susceptible to infection, we eventually
become ill.
More important, but less well known, is the inner self's need for
spiritual nourishment and attention. If we ignore our
spiritual health requirements, we become overwhelmed by negative material tendencies like
anxiety, hatred, loneliness, prejudice, greed, boredom, envy, and anger.
In order to counteract and prevent these subtle infections of the self,
we should, as recommended in the Vedic literatures, incorporate into our
lives a program of self-examination and steady inner growth, based on
spiritual strength and clarity of thought.
In the preliminary stages of meditation, the practitioner experiences a
clearing of consciousness, peace of mind, and relief from unwanted
drives and habits. As one develops more realization by meditating, he
perceives the original, spiritual existence of the self.
Dr. Herbert Benson, a pioneer in establishing the
efficacy of meditation for health through his research at Harvard in the
early 1970s, showed that meditation acts
as an antidote to stress. Under stress, the nervous system activates the
"fight-or-flight" response. The activity of the sympathetic portion of
the nervous system increases, causing an increased heart beat, increased
respiratory rate, elevation of blood pressure, and increase in oxygen
consumption. This fight-or-flight response has an important survival
function. It helps an organism to run quickly to escape an attack or to
fight off an attacker. But if activated repeatedly, as happens for many
people in modern societies, the effects are harmful. Many researchers
believe that the current epidemic of hypertension and heart disease in
the Western world is a direct result.
Dr. Benson demonstrated that the effects of meditation are essentially
the opposite of the fight-or-flight response. Meditation:
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Decreases the heart rate
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Decreases the respiratory rate
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Decreases blood pressure
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Decreases oxygen consumption
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Decreases muscle tension
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Gives overall better health
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Gives better sleep
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Makes one calmer
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Gives better concentration
In the Caitanya Caritamrta, a seventeen-volume commentary on the
life and teachings of Sri Caitanya, founder of the modern-day Krishna
consciousness movement, the ultimate benefit of meditation is described
as follows: "The result of meditation is that one awakens his love for GOD and
tastes transcendental bliss. Ultimately, one attains the association of
GOD and engages in His devotional service, as if immersing himself
in a great ocean of love."
Related Links
Meditation History
Meditation benefits
Meditation techniques
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