Why we go to the Temple, Mosque, Church or Gurdwara

Yes, it is a very confusing question for a young generation that why they go to the sanctum. They say if GOD is everywhere, in every particle of the world then why we go to Temple, Mosque, Church and Gurdwara. They are right, all our holy books Gita, Kuran, Bible and Gurugranth Sahib  say that GOD everywhere. Then why we search GOD in the shrine, Are they live only there or it is the office of GOD. In the past there were many illusions about GOD. The poor people get threatened by the name of GOD. The Kings of that time say himself GOD.

 But here is a different question is it is beneficial to visit to a holy place or not? The importance of a shrine is not only that there we go to pray, what happen when we enter in a Temple, Mosque, Church or Gurdwara? We feel a different type of calm, that we do not get anywhere else. What is the reason for it. It is an energy, positive energy that confluent in the atmosphere of Temple, Mosque, Church and Gurdwara.

We all collect much negative energy in our life. If we care about our one day schedule when we get up there are many dreams follow us in our mind, in the way we stumble and I abuse it is not in a planned  way, but we gain negative energy. In the office our boss says something we get anger in mind it is also a point where we get negative.

Here one more question raises up that what is the demerit if we gain negative energy? Its effect on our whole life; our body, our performance, our behavior even our nature. We face illness, its damage our relationship. We also face the problem of inconclusiveness. We get nervous and the possibilities gained that we do such work which is not our nature or we never think about it and we get ashamed upon what we done. There are so many more demerits that’s come out of negative energy.

It's true, that we not feel that this negative energy effect on our life. But it's really a big reason of mislay our smile from your face. And the only way to get rid of this negative energy we gain positive energy in our life and the place that filled with this positive energy are Temple, Mosque, Church and Gurdwara. These are not only the way form where we gain it but also there are some other method by which we fill much positive energy in our body. They are Meditation, change you think; by changing your thinking you feel very happy and never get nervous , listening  cool sound music that make your mind fresh.

So follow these and start to visiting holy places, and you get change in your life and increase more happiness. 

Etymology and history of Meditation

The word meditate stems from the Latin root meditatum, i.e. to ponder. In the Old Testament hāgâ (Hebrew: הגה‎), means to sigh or murmur, but also to meditate. When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, hāgâ became the Greek melete. The Latin Bible then translated hāgâ/melete into meditatio. The use of the term meditatio as part of a formal, stepwise process of meditation goes back to the 12th century monk Guigo II.

Apart from its historical usage, the term meditation was introduced as a translation for Eastern spiritual practices, referred to as dhyāna in Buddhism and in Hinduism, which comes from the Sanskrit root dhyai, meaning to contemplate or meditate. The term "meditation" in English may also refer to practices from Islamic Sufism, or other traditions such as Jewish Kabbalah and Christian Hesychasm. A recent edited book about "meditation", for example, included chapter contributions by authors describing Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, and Taoist traditions. Scholars have noted that "the term 'meditation' as it has entered contemporary usage" is parallel to the term "contemplation" in Christianity.

It is difficult to trace the history of meditation without considering the religious context within which it was practiced. Data suggest that even at prehistoric times older civilizations used repetitive, rhythmic chants and offerings to appease the gods. Some authors have even suggested the hypothesis that the emergence of the capacity for focused attention, an element of many methods of meditation, may have contributed to the final phases of human biological evolution. References to meditation with Rishabha in Jainism go back to the Acaranga Sutra dating to 500 BC. Some of the earliest written records of meditation date to 1500BC in Hindu Vedantism. Around 500-600BC Taoists in China and Buddhists in India began to develop meditative practices.

In the west, by 20BCE Philo of Alexandria had written on some form of "spiritual exercises" involving attention (prosoche) and concentration and by the 3rd century Plotinus had developed meditative techniques.

The Pāli Canon, which dates to 1st century BCE considers Indian Buddhist meditation as a step towards salvation. By the time Buddhism was spreading in China, the Vimalakirti Sutra which dates to 100CE included a number of passages on meditation, clearly pointing to Zen. The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism introduced meditation to other oriental countries, and in 653 the first meditation hall was opened in Japan. Returning from China around 1227, Dōgen wrote the instructions for Zazen.

The Islamic practice of Dhikr had involved the repetition of the 99 Names of God in the Qur'an since the 8th or 9th century. By the 12th century, the practice of Sufism included specific meditative techniques, and its followers practiced breathing controls and the repetition of holy words. Interactions with Indians or the Sufis may have influenced the Eastern Christian meditation approach to hesychasm, but this can not be proved. Between the 10th and 14th centuries, hesychasm was developed, particularly on Mount Athos in Greece, and involves the repetition of the Jesus prayer.

Western Christian meditation contrasts with most other approaches in that it does not involve the repetition of any phrase or action and requires no specific posture. Western Christian meditation progressed from the 6th century practice of Bible reading among Benedictine monks called Lectio Divina, i.e. divine reading. Its four formal steps as a "ladder" were defined by the monk Guigo II in the 12th century with the Latin terms lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio (i.e. read, ponder, pray, contemplate). Western Christian meditation was further developed by saints such as Ignatius of Loyola and Teresa of Avila in the 16th century.

By the 18th century, the study of Buddhism in the West was a topic for intellectuals. The philosopher Schopenhauer discussed it, and Voltaire asked for toleration towards Buddhists. The first English translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead was published in 1927.

Secular forms of meditation were introduced in India in the 1950s as a Westernized form of Hindu meditative techniques and arrived in the United States and Europe in the 1960s. Rather than focusing on spiritual growth, secular meditation emphasizes stress reduction, relaxation and self improvement. Both spiritual and secular forms of meditation have been subjects of scientific analyses. Research on meditation began in 1931, with scientific research increasing dramatically during the 1970s and 1980s. Since the beginning of the '70s more than a thousand studies of meditation in English-language have been reported. However, after 60 years of scientific study, the exact mechanism at work in meditation remains unclear.

SOURCE:-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation

How to start meditation

How to start meditation, a very common question for everyone who are going  to start meditation, also I have faced this problem. It is true that meditation is not an easy task, but we can make it easy and simple.

We all have a general thinking about meditation that, for meditation we need a peace full place and some other requirements, Yes it is true. But, if we do not get such type of place then? We leave it? NO!! According to me No we cannot leave it. Here I described some tips that make meditation easy. We can choose any place where no anyone asks to you, “How are you”. The second duration, it means how long we goes for meditation in one sitting. The third and important part of meditation is “Time” there are four suitable time as my knowledge. But in this busy life it is not easy to catch that time. Now I am going to give some brief about it.

Place: - For meditation a Place play a good role, and help you in peaceful meditation. You can select a place that is full with fresh air the wind blows  slowly, but in these day it is little bit difficult, but don’t worry for meditation only you need a place where no one can disturb you for long time or until you do not want. This can be your bedroom or study room even your office if there such type of place that suitable for meditation and you feel comfort, it’s totally depend on you that what do you choose.            

Duration: - The Duration for meditation is totally flexible; it means if you are a very busy schedule  and no time for any other task then meditation is necessary for those person, they must be spend at least five minutes on meditation. It is surprising those only five minutes? Then my answer is yes, if you really spend five minutes on mediation that you self feel that how much it is beneficial for you. Here I want to say you that you must be increase this time up to thirty minutes, I know it is not easy but also not impossible.

Time: - The time is one of the most important factors in meditation. Here in India we describe four times that are good for meditation. First is Brhama Mahurat this one is just before one hour when sun rising. It is dark, where is peace, slow wind, this is the best time for meditation. The second one is mid day but it is not suitable for those who use to work in day time. The third one is evening but many of us just come from their offices or their work place, then it is not easy that we get benefit from this time. And the fourth is mid night this one is good and suitable for those who don’t catch all the above time. Maximum of us going for sleep after mid night and they easily get benefit for this time.

                 But, if you not able to grab any time from above then don’t get hopeless, you choose any time out of 24 hour that is appropriate for you. And start your meditation.

            One thing that is get attention is continuity. If you start it then make your mind strong that you have to go for meditation on your selected time.

Why Meditation is necessary ?

Why Meditation? It is a most common Question for new age group. And not only Younger generation but also those who work in offices they all have one answer for this question , where is the time or i want to do it but i have a lot of work so i can't have time for this.

  I have a question for all those who have no time for all this?

Are they smoking or they make calls with their friends, or how much time they spend on TV, or they have pets and they like to play with them. Yes there are lot of times that they waste of their life.

    And for meditation it takes only five to fifteen minutes which give you immense energy and no doubt that this will full fill your life with positive energy. This can’t be get from any other source.

Many of people say that today they feel tired, oh! My neck I got a pain in it, I have a headache. They take some medicine for this and at last it is shown as a big disease for them such as depression. But in starting if we all spend some time on Yoga and Meditation, it is possible, that we get rid from many of our daily problems.

  You can set a time it is not necessary that you do it in morning if you can do it, this will more beneficial , but you can do it in evening, or any time when you get comfortable. So start this as soon as possible, which will not only give you charm and glow on your face, and happiness in your life.