A Perspective On The History Of Meditation
Today, meditation is one of the most popular forms of mental and physical exercise around. If we go through the history of meditation, we will find that it is very organized and structured. It is also followed without any emphasis on religion or geographical factors. There is a long history of meditation and meditation has been around for thousands of years. This especially applies to Hindu meditation because their culture and religion has been an integral part of their society for a long time. In the history of meditation, Hindu meditation is one of the first properly organized methods of meditation but it is suggested that primitive man must have been the true founder of the art of meditation, even before Hindu meditation enthralled the world. Early man built huge fires and entered into a trance whilst watching them for hours at a time until they were extinguished.
Hindu Meditation
Speaking of the history of meditation, meditation as an art is important given the archeological findings of the Indus vale society. They found yogic figures that confirm the existence of Hindu meditation in that area many years before. The Hindu meditation sculptures found in the excavations are ancient and the study indicates that some of them might be as much as 5000 years old. Moreover, these sculptures suggest diverse methods of Hindu meditation existed and were practiced in those times.
As we move through history of meditation, it continued to become a much more structured and renowned practices as time went by. However, until recently, meditation was believed to be a ritual that was related solely to religion, especially considering the huge part it plays in the Hindu meditation culture and Buddhism meditation culture. Today this image of meditation is changing fast and the art is becoming popular and its practice is widespread. The health benefits of meditation are now valued everywhere and more people have started practicing meditation as a part of their daily life.
Meditation Beyond Asia
Though the Hindu history of meditation can probably be considered the start of meditation as an art form, it alone would not have been enough to survive for such a long time. However, the history of meditation took a new twist as Buddha arrived in 500BC, not only practicing meditation himself but also asking his apprentices to do so. This was instrumental in helping to spread meditation out of the Hindu areas to many more parts of Asia, such as Japan, China, Tibet and so on. This helped to popularize the art, also ensuring its survival. With meditation spreading to different areas of the globe, Hindu meditation was altered from its original form and new methods of mediation were developed by people from different geographical regions adding part of their own culture and helping to evolve the art of meditation.
In the modern world, the pioneer Hindu meditation and Buddhist meditation remain the most popular forms of meditation throughout the history of meditation, even in most of the Western states where meditation is gaining popularity and following all over. Today the reimbursements of meditation have been accepted all over the globe and the art of meditation is being practiced by more people every day.
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