Today, meditation is a booming discipline, especially in the Western world. Since the hippie movement popularized some of the techniques of Eastern spirituality in the 1960s and incorporated them into the changing and accelerated globalized world, this type of perception of reality and life has only gained followers.
But what does meditation consist of, exactly? AND… What is the origin of meditation? In this article we will investigate the origin of this discipline and try to draw a chronological line that takes us from its beginnings to the present.
The origins of meditation are found in India. At least, this is proven by the oldest texts that have been found in which it is mentioned, although it is believed that the tradition is much older and we could date it back 5,000 years. Is about the so-called Vedic texts or Vedas, written in the Indian subcontinent around the 2nd millennium BC
What are the vedas? In Sanskrit, the word veda literally means “knowledge.” Within Hinduism, it is considered, therefore, that these texts written in Sanskrit collect sacred revelation and, therefore, are essential for the Hindu religion.
The vedas are made up of 4 great texts: the Rigveda (the oldest), the Samavedahe Yajurveda and the Atharvaveda. In them, the origin of everything is reduced to Unity (the Sanskrit ekam), which would later give rise to the “deceptive” plurality that we perceive in the world. This concept of original unity, together with the cosmic order that moves everything (the rita) is the basis of the Vedas and, by extension, of the Hindu religion
The Vedic texts not only present a specific vision of the world and the cosmos, but also tell stories of gods and goddesses (since the Hindu religion is polytheistic), as well as specific historical events. Together, the Vedas represent a complete cosmogony and spiritual vision.
Vedic tradition and meditation
So what do the Vedas and Hinduism have to do with meditation? We have already commented that they are the oldest texts in which we find references to this practice, with a very specific meaning: becoming aware of the endless cycle that is existence.
For the Hindu religion, everything is in constant motion. If something differentiates this religion from other religions (such as, for example, Christianity) it is its belief in the eternity of cosmic actions That is to say, while Christianity is rather linear (the world begins with creation and will end with the second coming of Christ), in Hinduism nothing stops and everything moves in a constant and inexhaustible wheel.
This concept, of course, limits the belief in reincarnation. Just as in Christianity the soul is one and, once the body dies, it will be judged in the afterlife, in the case of Hinduism the human soul is in constant incarnation. Each life corresponds to a state of purification, to which we bring the entire karma from previous lives, that is, the energy of our past actions. How we behave in the present life and karma What we leave will depend on our next reincarnation.
So that, The main objective of the original Hindu meditation was to raise awareness of this endless cycle, and was generally accompanied by fasting and abstinence. Meditation was exercised by concentrating the mind on a specific object and repeating the corresponding mantra (the sacred word).
sacred contemplation
Hindu meditation was a spiritual contemplation. We find references to it in the dhyana of the Vedic texts, which could be translated as “moving toward the mind.” The objective was, therefore, to direct the mind towards the reality of the cosmos and delve into its mechanism.
From this perspective we see the difference between this contemplation and our word “meditation” This last term comes from the Latin meditatio, which would mean something like thinking before undertaking something. The difference between one and the other is clear: while in the East contemplation is something spiritual, the Latin meditatio takes us back to a kind of temperance, to the restraint of actions in favor of a prudent and reflective attitude.
It will be precisely due to Eastern influence, which will deeply permeate Christianity and Judaism (and, later, Islam), that, in the first centuries of our era, in Europe, meditation began to be seen as something related to sacredness and union with God. Thus, the first hermits who retreat to the desert or the mountains in complete solitude, do so to meditate in the most “eastern” sense of the word.
It is also in this sense that the first monks and nuns did it, when they grouped together in caves or small hermitages to dedicate their lives to contemplation. Not in vain, we must keep in mind that the monastic movement comes from the easternmost part of Europe, in full contact with eastern religions.
Already in the Middle Ages we see that meditation is fully identified with religion. Those who meditate direct their thoughts to God and rely on sacred texts, whether it be the Bible or the books of the various doctors of the Church, or also in hagiographies or lives of saints. We see how the concept of medieval meditation is very similar to that which was developed in the East in the 2nd millennium BC.
A new meditation for a new era
At the dawn of the contemporary world this type of meditation loses its strength, perhaps as a result of the radicalization of positivism and, above all, the growing capitalization of society. However, during the 19th century, in the romantic era, we find the concept of “contemplation” related to the relationship between man and nature, in clear consonance with the ancient religious contemplation that tried to decipher the functioning of the cosmos.
A clear example of this is the famous painting by the painter Caspar David Friedrich Walker before a sea of clouds, where the solitary traveler remains absorbed in contemplating the tangle of clouds that float between the peaks. In this case, it is the individual self, the consciousness of the human being as an individual, faced with the immensity of the world
The last decades of the 19th century and the first of the 20th are perhaps the most materialistic in history; at least, in the West. In the artistic and intellectual sphere, there are multiple reactions to this lack of spirituality that only grows. In the 1960s, the hippie movement resurrected forgotten Eastern techniques, although quite adapted to its philosophy, and brought spirituality and meditation back into vogue.
Currently, meditation is very present in our globalized society. It is, however, a very different meditation from the one that originated in India millennia ago. Because although some groups that know its roots use it for spiritual elevation, in most cases meditation has been reduced to a simple technique to relax and control a runaway mind.
This is the case, for example, of mindfulness, created in the 1970s by Jon Kabat-Zinn (1944). Although Professor Kabat-Zinn is a great expert on Eastern techniques, such as yoga and Zen, his Stress Reduction Based on Mindfulness (REBAP) technique is focused on reducing the anxiety that the Western type of life produces. in people, so it is very far from the original idea of unraveling the principles of the universe.
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This article has been reviewed by our editorial team at PsychologyFor to ensure accuracy, clarity, and adherence to evidence-based research. The content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.
