There are a number of known health benefits coming with the practice of meditation, such as lower blood pressure, better blood circulation, a resting heart rate that is lower, and easier breathing. On top of that, many people say they have more energy than they have had in years when they meditate regularly, as well as a more youthful appearance.
There has also been many studies to analyse these benefits scientifically. Here is a small sample (see the link to the original description):
Experiment it for yourself !
There has also been many studies to analyse these benefits scientifically. Here is a small sample (see the link to the original description):
The study, done in China, randomly assigned college undergraduate students to 40-person experimental and control groups. The experimental group received five days of meditation training. The control group got five days of relaxation training. Both groups took tests that assessed their attention and reaction to mental stress before and after their training.
The experimental group showed greater improvement than the control to dealing with stress. Stress was induced by mental arithmetic. Both groups initially showed elevated release of the stress hormone cortisol following the math task, but after training, the experimental group showed less cortisol release, indicating a greater ability to cope with stress. The experimental group also showed lower levels of anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue than the control group.
And the study was only for five days. Imagine people who have been meditating for many years.
Experiment it for yourself !
![[articlegt_voixdest.jpg]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQtP1pSE9TXSz1WYjHrcPXs6j7OTiRONcAALYUIolX1BwQxMSbth7XqKHCFA3OrGxLaO8AYA0ldF9DCFGvf-6raEbL5KiPFm0HvgBidTmlkl6edW-OeWONqgTuG494LIzGK6VGQF7urA/s1600/articlegt_voixdest.jpg)
About 1,500 years ago the King of Iran got hold of a book that contained the secret of how to raise the dead by means of rasayana, an elixir of life. The book explained the procedure to extract the elixir from herbs and trees growing on the high mountains of India. Eager to sample this elixir, the King sent his chief minister on a quest for the prescribed herbs and trees.
The origins of this book are a little less known. Study of old hand-written manuscripts, however, reveals that Narayana Pandit, who lived in the fourteenth century Bengal province of India, wrote the book on the request of King Dhavalchandra. Traditionally, it was taught to the initiated students in gurukula (ancient Hindu residential school in India).
Before I delve into the essence of the above statement let me throw some light on education. In the above statement ‘uneducated people’ do not necessarily mean people with low formal education. The meaning of the term ‘education’ has been used in its broader perspective. By ‘educated’ we mean people who are characterised by rich experience, unsurpassed learning and sublime culture. They are those people who live for fulfilling the five goals of life as discussed in my previous article (“The Four Goals of Life”, The Jiva Newsletter, Vol. 1, Issue 5, Sep. 2008). So, ‘uneducated people’ are those who do not exhibit any or all of the above qualities.
“Bad company, on the other hand, is not only the company of merely trivial people but of evil, sadistic, destructive life-hostile people. But why, one might ask, is there danger in the company of bad people, unless they try to harm one in one form or another?
According to ancient Indian scriptures such as the Vedas, the purpose of human life is to strive for the following four goals—pursuing one’s religion, attaining economic development, accomplishing regulated sense-gratification, and attaining liberation. Accordingly, the Supreme Lord offers human beings four types of pathways in the form of shastras (scriptures) to guide us towards the fulfilment of these goals.
According to the Vedas, man’s average lifespan can be divided into four equal Ashramas (segments)—Brahmacharya (celibacy), Grihastha (family life), Vanaprastha (hermitage and mendicancy), and Sannyasa (renunciation). The first segment (Brahmacharya) constitutes the student life during which one learns the importance of all the four goals in life. During the course of Brahmacharya, students are expected to live a celibate life inside a gurukula under the tutelage of a guru (master). Throughout the rest of the Ashramas, one should practise religion, earn money and indulge in activities that gratify one’s senses in such a way that the three neither become come in the way of nor become independent of each another.
Here, I think it is worthwhile to mention Shri Chaitanya, a devotee of Lord Shri Krishna. He, however, is of the opinion that beyond these four goals there is a fifth one too, which is the highest goal of human life—prema (love of God). Prema brings peace in this life and the next, while the other goals simply lead to temporal happiness because in the next life we must start all over again.
In this connection, there is a story about a proud king who was attached to worldly opulence. A saintly person once called on him, and noticing the king’s strong attachment to mercenary objects, suddenly became very serious. “Why have you become so grave?” asked the King.
for it since she prefers writing on those. I got a local one that's similarly made but bound in real leather. The construction is not as sturdy but it's cheaper so it works for me. But enough about notebooks and back to the topic at hand.
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