Indian Vedic contribution is
a reservoir of Vibrant Information and
Harmonious Creativity. May the womb of nature
embrace all with
tranquil blessings from this day forward. Let
this attract one's
attention affecting them positively. It is a
Sanctuary of the Self a
Creative Venue which serves as an Enduring
Expression of Lightness,
where a peaceful Atmosphere with Sunlight Flows
and serene atmosphere
prevail.
In the storm of life we struggle through myriads
of stimuli of
pressure, stress, and muti-problems that seek
for a solution and
answer. We are so suppressed by the routine of
this every life style
that most of us seem helpless. However, if we
look closely to ancient
techniques we shall discover the magnificent way
to understand and
realize the ones around us and mostly ourselves.
If only we could stop
for a moment and allow this to happen. May all
beings be happy (Loka
Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu)
Let me bow to Indian Maharishi Patanjali with
folded hands who helped
in removing the impurities of the mind through
his writings on Yoga,
impurities of speech through his writings on
grammar, and impurities
of body through his writings on Ayurveda.
The American justice Dept. have recently
approved the power of yoga
and meditation vide a recent judgement in the
American court." Man Who
Slapped Wife Sentenced to Yoga, It's Anger
Management, Says Judge."
First there was house arrest. Now there's yoga.
A judge ordered a man
convicted of slapping his wife to take a yoga
class as part of his
one-year probation. "It's part of anger
management," County Criminal
Court at Law Judge Larry Standley said of the
ancient Hindu philosophy
of exercise and well-being. "For people who
are into it, it really
calms them down. " Standley, a former
prosecutor, said the case of
James Lee Cross was unique. Cross, a 53-year-old
car salesman from
Tomball, explained that his wife was struggling
with a substance abuse
problem and that he struck her on New Year's Eve
during an argument
about her drinking. "He was trying to get a
hold of her because she
has a problem," Standley said after the
court hearing. "I thought this
would help him realize that he only has control
over himself." The
sentence came as a surprise to Cross, who was
told to enroll in a
class and report back to Standley on his
progress. "I'm not very
familiar with it," Cross said of yoga.
"From what I understand, it may
help in a couple ways, not only as far as
mentally settling, but maybe
a little weight loss." Darla Magee, an
instructor at Yoga Body Houston
in River Oaks, said she would recommend that
Cross take a basic yoga
class emphasizing breathing and including a
variety of postures --
forward bends, back bends and twists. "Yoga
can help us to get rid of
many emotional issues we might have," she
said. "It's a spiritual
cleanse." Prosecutor Lincoln Goodwin agreed
to a sentence of probation
without jail time because Cross had no
significant criminal history
Yoga is far from simply being physical
exercises, rather it is an aid
to establishing a new
way of life which embraces both inner and outer
realities.However this
way of life is an
experience which cannot be understood
intellectually and will only
become living knowledge through practice and
experience. Yoga which is
one of the greatest Indian contribution to the
world has got vast
potential in all fields. and an Indian way to
get synergy among body,
mind and soul.
Yoga is so ancient that little is know about its
true beginnings: what
is known is that it originated in India over
5000 years ago. Sages
over the years have taught this ancient wisdom
through the practices
of asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing
techniques), meditation,
silent transmissions and the exploration of a
deeper understanding of
the self. The true purpose of Yoga is to help
the individual to
realize complete inner freedom. There are many
paths to that, and Yoga
has developed many different approaches to suit
the amazing diversity
that humanity represents. Approaches like Bhakti
Yoga (Yoga of
Devotion), Karma Yoga (Yoga of Service), Jnana
Yoga (Yoga of Wisdom),
Raja Yoga (Royal Yoga), Hatha Yoga (Ha-Sun /
tha-Moon Yoga) and
others, are all systems which seek to liberate
the individual from the
ordinary human condition and Srimad Bhagavd Gita
gives an authentic
description of all types of yogas and to
motivate Arjuna the
Bhagavad-Gita is preached in the
battle field Kurukshetra by Lord Krishna to
Arjuna as counseling to do
his duty while multitudes of men stood by
waiting. Arjuna face the
problem of conflict between emotions and
intellect. In almost all of
the cases, emotions win. Gita teaches Honesty,
Sincerity, Truthfulness
etc. so that one gets peace of mind to face all
situation.
Integrity in public life requires perfect
coordination,
synchronizationin thoughts, action
and deeds. The values one
believes, should be the same as one’s practices.
In Tihar jail India Yoga is experimented
among the inmates and found
successful. Their criminal mentality is changed.
This study aimed at
investigating the effect of Vipassana Meditation
(VM) on Quality of
Life (QOL), Subjective Well-Being (SWB), and
Criminal Propensity (CP)
among inmates of Tihar Jail,Delhi.
To this effect the following
hypotheses were formulated. 1.
There will be a significant positive effect of
VM on the QOL of
inmates of Tihar jail. 2. VM will have a
positive and significant
effect on SWB of inmates. 3. Criminal propensity
(CP) of inmates will
decrease significantly after attending the VM
course. 4. There will be
significant difference in SWB and CP of
experimental (Vipassana) group
and control (non-Vipassana) group. 5. Male and
female inmates will
differ significantly in SWB and CP, as a result
of VM. In the famous
"Time" magazine the importance
meditation and yoga, an ancient Indian
system, is high-lighted that the ancient mind-
and spirit-enhancing
art is becoming increasingly popular and gaining
medical legitimacy.
It is a multi billion dollar business in US. In
many Universities it
is accepted as subject and included in the
Syllabus. In the latest
famous book "Inspire! What Great Leaders
Do" written by Mr.Lance
Secretan recently published by John Wiley and
sons, the benefit of
meditation is elaborately described for good
corporate governance. By
practicing transcendental meditation, or TM,
many people have got
relief from back pain, neck pain, depression.
The mind calms and
quiets, . What thoughts you have during
meditation become clearer,
more focused. Anger, anxiety and worries give
way to a peace. In the
world exorbitant medical expenses one can
definitely make use of
meditation. Maharshi Mahesh Yogi and Sri Ravi
Sankar are popularizing
this. The Iyengar Yoga institute in US is
famous. Food habits should
be to keep mind and body in pace. one can get
more than enough protein
and other essential nutrients by eating a
balanced vegetarian diet of
fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, dairy
products, nuts and seeds. A
vegan diet (without dairy products) is also
adequate, as long as you
eat enough protein-rich wholegrains, legumes,
nuts and seeds. In any
case, your body will "tell" you what
you need to eat. If you have a
particular craving for any type of food, it may
mean that you need the
nutrients that it supplies – so trust the
natural signals your body
gives you .
In Bhagavad-Gita Gita Lord Krishna has inspired
Arjuna to rise from
his depression by preaching Gita in the
battlefield and to rise from
the depression to do his duties. In Holy Gita we
can see, being hidden
by the cosmic overview of any institution beset
with myriad problems,
not the least of which is its lack of moral
probity, there is a
groundswell of educated people seeking answers
to deeply personal but
universally asked questions. Chie Executives
taking lessons from yoga,
meditation and learning how to deal with human
resources equations in
an enlightened manner. Individuals from every
walk of life can get
ideas of how to be better human beings, more
balanced and less
stressed out.
Medical studies continue to show regular
meditation working magic in
reducing blood pressure and stress-related
illnesses, including heart
disease. Brain images show that regular
meditation helps calm the most
active sensory-assaulted parts of the brain. The
ancient Hindu sage
Patanjali who had mastered the secrets of the
human mind has written a
book "Yogasutra".In this book we can
see how super powers can be
achieved by meditation. It has both cosmic
relevance and cosmic
resonance. In spite of its universal appeal, for
most people total
control of mind remains an elusive goal and
daunting task. From time
immemorial, there have been many attempts
throughout the world to
unlock the mysteries of the mind and to achieve
total control over it
through a variety of techniques. One of the most
powerful of these
techniques is meditation.
By meditation, the mind acquires strength.
People who meditate,
experience the gradual increase of mental
strength within themselves.
The outside world sees them as calm, intelligent,
quick to grasp
knowledge, internally happy, trustworthy and
well meaning people. The
ten characteristics ofdharma are revealed
through their character.
Many spiritual leaders, sages, saints, and holy
people such asSri.
Buddha, Sri Ramakrishna, Madam Sarada Devi, and
Swami Vivekananda have
practiced this. One of the ways to control
physiological reactions to
psychological stimuli is meditation, Yoga, Zen
Buddhism etc. The
scientists take Transcendental Meditation (TM)
as the uniform
technique, and base their observations on the
study of the subjects
engaged in this form of meditation. In summing
up the results the
scientists have come to conclusion that the
effect of meditation is a
"wakeful, hypo-metabolic state". They
have found that: 1) Yogis could
slow both heart rate and rate of respiration, 2)
Yogis could slow the
rate of metabolism as confirmed by decreased
oxygen consumption and
carbon-die-oxide output. 3)
Electro-Encephala-Gram (EEG - recording of
brain activity) in Yogis showed changes of calmness
in the form of
"alpha rhythm" during both eyes closed
and eyes open recordings. 4)
Their skin resistance to electric stimulation
was increased
(indicating increased tolerance to external
stimuli). Our usual
'defense-alarm' reaction to emotional and physical
stress is in the
form of "fright, flight, and fight"
mediated through over-secretion of
certain neuron-transmitters and
neuron-modulators, namely adrenaline
and dopamine by way of stimulation of
sympathetic nervous system.
Under the influence of these chemicals and
hormones, we reflexively
become panicky or aggressive, our blood pressure
rises. Thus stress
and anxiety is the end result if we allow our
natural age-old
sympathetic reactions to act and to come to
surface. We try to run
away, become fearful, or fight the situation.
But today these
'defense-alarm' reactions have no place in our
lives. Rather, they
should be replaced by more calm and serene
reactions of equanimity and
fearlessness. The need is to just 'face the
brute, and it will go
away'. Such desirable reactions of
non-aggression and peaceful
attitude are generated by Y ga and meditation.
EEG Studies on Yogis
and The Zen Meditations: Yogis practicing
Raja-Yoga claim that during
the state of Samadhi they are oblivious to the
internal and external
stimuli, and they enjoy a calm ecstasy during
that state. A study was
undertaken to record the electrical activity of
their brain during
this state by means of a regular and useful test
known as
electroencephalography EEG. Physiological and
experimental studies
have demonstrated that the basis of conscious
state of brain, among
other things, is due to activation of
"reticular system" in the
brain-stem in response to internal and external
stimuli. These stimuli
bring about various changes during sleeping and
wakeful states of the
organism and these can be studied by EEG. The
study was carried out on
four subjects during the state of concentration
and meditation.
Effects of external stimuli, like a loud gong,
strong light, thermal
simulation, and vibrations were studied. The
results were compiled and
analyzed. It was observed that two Yogis could
keep their hands
immersed in extremely cold water for about 50
minutes (raised pain
threshold). During the state of meditation, all
of them showed
persistent "alpha activity" in their
EEG with increased amplitude wave
pattern, both during 'eyes closed' and 'eyes
open' recording. It was
observed that these alpha activities could not
be blocked by various
sensory stimuli during meditation. It was also
observed that those,
who had well-marked "alpha activity"
in their resting EEG showed
greater aptitude and zeal for maintaining the
practice of Yoga.
Similar observations and results were obtained
when EEGs were recorded
in persons adept in Zen Meditative technique.
Can we say that only
those persons who exhibit such recording of
"alpha wave rhythm" in
their EEG are fit for Yoga? and be designated as
right candidates for
meditation and Yoga practices? (Such experiments
are indeed very few
and the number of yogis examined is also very
small. Therefore,
scientifically and statistically these
observations have only a
tentative importance. Further research is
definitely called for,
albeit it will have its own limitations). It is
said that in the
unknown period of Lord Jesus Christ , He was
under meditation.