Transcendental Meditation in Nepal
7 Sep 2021 HYN Himalayan Yoga Academy
Meditation is a practice that we have at least heard at one point in our lives. Be it through social media, advertisements,texts and books or we have seen or heard the word. So what exactly is mediation and why it is popular among every people? Considering all the health benefits it offers, it’s no surprise that an increasing number of people use it. There are even many of its types that have been classified along with their natures and characteristics. Mindfullness meditation, spiritual meditation, Transcendental meditation, Loving-kindness meditation is some of the meditation types. Each types has its own character,history and origin. These have its own importance as they came into existence at various times, through various regions and various civilizations
Simply, meditation is the act of remaining in a silent and calm state for period of time. In the other word, meditation is the process of focusing and channeling their spiruality to a center by calming the mind and making the body still. Practitioner attempts to get beyond the reflexive “thinking mind into deeper state of relaxation or awareness. Meditation is practiced in numerous religious traditions. Meditation plays an salient role in the contemplative repertoire of Hinduism and Buddhism. It helps you to get in touch with your deeper self. Many meditation practices do not follow this standard definition of yoga. There is walking meditation which does not follow the typical staying still while performing meditation.
Transcendental Meditation / Silent Mantra Meditation in Nepal
Transcendental meditation refers to the specific form of silent and a mantra meditation. It promotes a state of relaxed awareness , stress relief and acess to higher states of consciousness, as well as physiological benefits such as reducing the risk of heart diseases and high blood pressure. This technique became more popular when the transcendental meditation movement occurred.
Transcendental meditation was invented by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1950s. He first introduced the technique in India and along with the technique also introduced the transcendental meditation movement. In 1955, the Maharishi began publicly teaching a traditional meditation technique which is called Transcendental deep meditation and later renamed” Transcendental Meditation”.
Transcendental meditation is practiced 15 to 20 minutes a day once or twice depending upon you and your timetable. However, the standard practice is twice a day which if one can complete that is good.
The transcendental meditation has been described as both religious and non-religious, as an aspect of a new religious movement, as rooted in Hinduism and as a non-religious practice for self-development. Hearing the mention of mantra people get the idea that Transcendental meditation is a type of religious meditation because the standard definition of mantra is a religious one. Those who believe in Hinduism Transcendental meditation is a religious one as it is babsed on or attached to the religious techniques of Hinduism. However, if you are a non-religious person also then transcendental meditation is for you. It is non-religious method for relaxation, stress reduction and self development. It doesn’t matter if someone take it as religious path or some take it as a path of self-development ot taking either part is fine.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was an Indian yoga guru, known for developing and popularizing Transcendental Meditation., and for being the leader and guru of worldwide organization that has been characterized in multiple ways including as a new religious movement. He was born on January 12,1918,in India. The date is filled with new mysteries as it is used mostly to define his birthday, but many have doubts about the authenticity of this date. This is due to the fact when an individual moves on the way to becoming a Yogi, they sever their connection with the family and society. To be on the yogic path one must leave all their belongings, materials and relations also. This is the very reason that the name given to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is also not certain and is varied with sources.
The Early Life of Maharishi
Maharishi studied Physics at the University of Allahabad and he earned a degree in Physics from this University in 1942. Before following the spiritual life and yogic path he tried his life in one or two things here and there. However, his destiny and his true passion lie elsewhere, he had not realized that till now. He felt increasingly attracted to the spiritual life. He joined the Jyotir math and became a disciple of Swami Brahmananda Sarswati. It is also said that it took more than the two years to consider Brahmananda Sarswati to take Maharishi a the disciple of path. He started calling himself Bal Brahmachari Mahesh. Maharishi says that his life truly began in 1940 when he met his master. He was with his Master till the death of Sarswati in 1953.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Transcendental Meditation
After the death of the Maharishi’s guru, he thought of teaching his learning to the world in 1955 and so began teaching traditional meditation technique called Transcendental deep meditation to India and the world. He also assumed the title “Maharishi” which means great sage and is quite common amongst Indian Gurus who have achieved great spiritual capacity.
Transcendental Meditation Movement
In 1957, he founded his first organization the Spiritual Regeneration Movement. There have been many related organization, they tend to get grouped under the heading of Transcendental meditation Movement. The growth in Transcendental Meditation movement was rapid especially in 1960s when the counterculture made meditation and eastern spirituality more appealing and in the public eye .Many high profile celebrities were attracted to the movement.
Process of Transcendental Meditation
Trancendental Meditation involves repeating a mantra silently for 15-20 minutes( or longer) in a quiet, dimly –lit room with no distractions or music. Before starting make sure you turn off your phone or put it on silent. You can also light candles or burn incence to make your meditation space more comfortable. This meditation involves simple steps of 7 to 8, which collectively completes the meditation.
Then follow these steps:
- Sit in a comfortable position either in the chair or in the floor with your hand on the lap.
- Take a deep and slow breathe and relax your body and mind so that your body go through the meditation period efficiently.
- Closing your eyes during the whole period of time is one of the compulsory thing about Transcendental meditation.
- Silently repeat the mantra in your mind continuously for 15-20 minutes. This could be a Sanskrit sound you learned from a meditation teacher.
- Focus on the mantra completely. If you feel yourself getting distracted, refocus your thoughts on the mantra.
- Just after chanting mantra, take a deep breath and start slowly moving your feet and palms. Now you are back to the world.
- Gently and slowly open your eyes
- Relax and rest for a few minutes until you feel ready to get up. This concludes transcendental meditation.
Mantra for transcendental Meditation
Mantra selection can be complicated process for some people, as there are thousands and thousands of mantras here. Search for positivity and and balance in whichever mantra you choose. There are few which are believed to have massive spiritual and diety powers. Those who practice transcendental meditation for religious approaches also can use it. Om Nama Shivaya, Om Gan Gana Pattye Nama, Om Namo Narayan Aaya , Surya Namaha ,etc. There are many to choose from, you can choose one, no need to think hard about it more then necessary. Those who are into transcendental meditation for self-development and are not religious can create their own mantra if they like, the options are open and wide. To create a mantra first, go through youself to find out want from transcendental meditation.
Your goal can be lots of things like confident , spiritual strength, mental strength , inner peace . First figure out what you want through your meditation and make it your mantra .
All types of meditation, including transcendental meditation, can have following benefits;
- Reduce stress
- Improve focus and memory
- Improves quality of sleep
- Improves productivity
- Improves pain management
- Improve awareness
- Connection to the inner-self
- Decrease the risk of developing certain diseases
- Improves self-steem
New Maharishi Vastu Building for Transcendental Meditation
Our FOURTH Maharishi Vastu Buildling project is almost complete as of January, 2021. This project is a campus with four buildings to house 400 Maharishi Vedic Pandits and one Buildling to serve as a Training Center.
Maharishi Vastu architecture ensures that a building or community will have only nourishing influences on its occupants. This results from the use of several key natural law-based, Vedic principles: Right Direction, Right Placement of Rooms, Right Proportion, Natural and Nontoxic Materials and Solar Energy, plus several external influences.