I read an article in the January/February issue of The Intelligent Optimist (formerly Ode Magazine) called "When Monks Rule" and found it very intriguing. The article, by Jurriaan Kamp, illustrates how "rigorous research shows that group meditation reduces conflict and violence in society." Being a huge fan of pointing out how many variables there always are when people make blanket statements, I had a hard time buying this one. Being a fan of meditation and a long time practitioner, there was something intriguing about the possibility of it being true. The article begins by pointing out how long ago the rulers of India kept monks close to their courts and how once again India is leading the way in the rediscovery of the value of group meditation. I read that in the geographic center of India there is a growing community of Vedic pandits or Hindu priests, there are around 2,000 in all thus far. It is expected that at some time in the not so distant future their numbers will increase to 9,000. This is the number of people, according to what I surmised in the article, that it would take meditating together to reduce violence the world over.
The monks adhere to a daily regimen of meditation. According to ancient Sanskrit scriptures, violence is less likely to occur in the presence of those experiencing unity or oneness. A study from the 1980’s is sited where during the peak of the conflict between Israel and Lebanon there was a group of 600 to 800 people practicing transcendental meditation around the world, particularly in Israel, Lebanon and other areas of the Middle East. Various experiments were performed, all of them seeming to indicate a clear connection between the number of people meditating and the levels of violence in a particular area. For example, in one area where there was an average of 12 deaths per day over the course of a two year study, numbers dropped to only 3 per day. That is a 75% decrease where meditation was involved. Interestingly enough, Lebanon wasn't the only place affected and the conflict itself wasn't the only thing affected. In Israel, crime went down as did the number of car accidents and fires. The likelihood of the results of these experiments simply being a coincidence was less than one in 10,000 according to the article. The article demonstrates through other examples not only how group meditation is beneficial to a society, but also to individuals and highlights the type of meditation brought to the U.S. most famously by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 60's. Best known for being a Guru to the Beatles he made TM (transcendental meditation) a big deal in the United States. For some time interest in TM waned but with the ongoing resurgence of living a fuller and more spiritual life, it is becoming popularized again. Of course the popularity means anyone who can call themselves an expert is selling it. Treating a technique, such as a style of meditation or a religio-spiritual philosophy like a secret to entice people into buying it, literally, is just a part of it. Whether one is culled is their own choice. I know that at the time I read the initial article lessons in TM ranged from $1,500 to $2,500. Meditation was also proven to be beneficial to prisoners serving life and death sentences. A correctional facility in Alabama tried an experimental program where Vipassana meditation was offered in ten day increments. A film documentary entitled, The Dhamma Brothers, was made and released in 2007 detailing the experience. A prison in India had done the same experiment using the same regiment as well as using Vipassana meditation. A film was made then as well called, Doing time, Doing Vipassana, which was released in 1997. Participants claimed to have life changing experiences despite their circumstances. One inmate even said that the ten day intensive meditation program was tougher than the eight years he had already served and yet it was clear to see that he had benefited greatly from the program. As to the high cost of learning how to meditate there are numerous people out there happy to teach it for free as well as loads of resources on the internet or even in books where one can learn anything they wish to learn. Truth be told, the best way to learn meditation it is to do it, that is why they call it a meditation practice. Like most skills, the main component is practice, not high attendance at overpriced ashrams. The end goal doesn't have to be acquiring a marketable skill. Of course there is nothing wrong with making money off of it either. Programs are expensive and getting documentation that proves you are an expert means you can teach or sell a program of your own. At the end of the day, meditation is beneficial whether you spent the day selling it or spent the day sharing it. We live in a time when there is more access to information than ever before and the amount of information out there is only increasing. We have the capacity to learn almost anything we want to learn and we can learn it for free. If you want to go the marketable skill route have your credit card ready. However, if your goal is simple self-improvement, self-empowerment and connection to the divine nature in all of life, it is quite possible accomplish whatever you set your mind to, no credit card necessary. Be your own guru, that's usually what they're selling anyway, ultimately telling you to connect with the divine within, to look within for answers. It's all very contradictory, they want you to pay them to tell you that they can't help you, that you have to look within. If you need permission from someone who has purchased their certificate and now wants to sell one to you, go for it! May your endeavors be blessed and bring much abundance. Every human being has innate wisdom, at least so much as they choose to. With many things, including but not limited to how our chosen spiritual paths manifest, we know innately what is right and do not need to be told. I'm not asking anyone to go out there and change the world 9,000 pandits at a time, just to wake up, look around and see that it needs change, that is a good first step, the next step, how much it costs and whether or not it's being taken in a productive direction, is up to you.
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