I first tried meditation in the late 1990s in
The meditation was free form, that is, everyone did what he or she wanted to do, some indulging in techniques learned as part of the participant’s formal religious practice. Meditation had never been part of my religious experience up until that time, but coincident with my joining the ecumenical group, I had gotten interested in the Kabbalah, a mystical form of Judaism that originated in 13th century France. (For a fuller explanation of the origins of the Kaballah and Jewish mysticism in general, see the website http://www.wikipedia.org/Kaballah#origins.)
Through reading the books God is a Verb by David Cooper and The Jew in the Lotus by Rodger Kamenetz, my interest had been piqued. Cooper in God is a Verb describes some meditation techniques based on visualizations, and I took these as the basis of what I did during the meditation periods of our meetings. Then came the shock of
I also need to point out that at the time I was an employee of a university and going through yet another highly unsettling reorganization. This unpleasantness alone might have been sufficient to destroy anyone’s ability to concentrate.
Eknath Easwaran Approach
Now, six years later, I am back at it again, only this time using the more disciplined and comprehensive approach of the
Initially, I have to confess, it was to have something interesting to do with my time. My wife and I had just moved to southwest
Control of Thought Processes
As I began studying the
After six months of devoted practice, I would answer “yes” to both questions, but I must be quick to add that I consider myself a beginner who still has much to master in terms of understanding, self control, and compassionate action. A lifetime of negative mental habits is not easily erased.
This is Passage Meditation
What is the Eknath Easwaran approach to meditation, and why does it work? The Easwaran approach is passage meditation. The participant memorizes excerpts from the sacred literature of the world’s religions. Every day for a period of 30 minutes he recites these to himself in the silence of his own mind. The practice requires commitment and concentration to screen out the distracting thoughts that normally flood our minds.
Included in the Easwaran approach is the recitation of a mantram or brief saying, also drawn from established religious practice, at times of high anxiety during the course of the day. In all, the program has eight points or tenets, some of the others of which are slowing down, one-pointed attention, and putting others first. A practitioner of this approach, for example, sees multitasking not as a virtue, as it has often been presented in modern life especially the business world, but as a danger to health, both mental and physical.
Immense Power of Words
For me, a long-time writer, one of the powerful appeals of the approach is the emphasis on saying our way to a better life. In other words, it acknowledges the immense power of words, a subject that I dealt with in my first posting. By stating in our minds the ideals we value—ideals drawn from sacred literature—we begin to live those ideals more effectively and consistently.
It is interesting to note the similarities of this approach with the Kabbalah, cited earlier. The founders of Kabbalah placed such emphasis on the power of the Hebrew words in sacred texts that they spent considerable time and energy in discerning secret codes in those words, codes they attributed to God.
Similarities of Religions
And while we are on the subject of sacred texts, I want to point out still another immense benefit of the Easwaran approach. By reviewing, then memorizing and then reciting to ourselves excerpts drawn from many religions every day, we begin to appreciate the similarities of these religions, rather than their differences. It is remarkable how alike the mystical points of view are with respect to conceptualization, practice and even vocabulary from one religion to the other. That said, one often made distinction needs to be acknowledged, and that is the idea of God as an all powerful force, “the king of the universe,” that is, external to men and women and the idea that God is in each and every one of us, the concept of the individual soul.
The writer strongly urges the reader to visit the web site of the Sri Easwaran organization, http://www.easwaran.org, to find out more about this highly effective approach to improving one’s life and with it the world. In the next posting, I will begin to explore some of the concepts that are not the focus of the Easwaran and other idealistic approaches, but which I believe are essential to grasp for a fuller understanding of our minds and why we continually violate our own moral code. I am speaking of the concept of evil and the concept of intended and unintended consequences.
ABOUT MIND CHECK
Thank you for tuning into Mind Check, a biweekly effort to prove the propositions that we are what we think and that clear thinking leads to effective action and to a better world. Mind Check is intended to serve as a bridge between the realm of the human spirit, that center of our energy, mental and physical, and our rationality, of which the scientific method is an excellent example. Mind Check is also intended to prove that the ideas of right and wrong are innate, not exclusively inherent in the situation or the whim of the moment.
To communicate with the author of Mind Check, please write to stephen.saft@gmail.com. For examples of the writer’s other writings, see the website http://www.iwillmeanpoetry.com.
Copyright © 2007 by Stephen Alan Saft
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