CHRISTIAN VIEW ABOUT MEDITATION

Christian Meditation
Christian meditation is rooted in the Bible. In fact, the Bible commands us to meditate. In Joshua 1:8, God says to meditate on His word day and night so we will obey it. The psalmist says "his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:2). Actually, the Bible mentions meditate or meditation 20 times.

In the Old Testament there are two primary Hebrew words for meditation: Haga, which means to utter, groan, meditate, or ponder; and Sihach, which means to muse, rehearse in one's mind, or contemplate. These words can also be translated as dwell, diligently consider, and heed.
History
One form of Christian meditation that has been used by believers since at least the fourth century AD is the lectio divina. It has been traditionally used in monastic religious orders and is enjoying a resurgence today. Lectio divina means "sacred reading" and has four stages: lectio (reading), meditatio (discursive meditation), oratio (affective prayer), and contemplatio (contemplation). In the lectio (reading) stage, one finds a passage and reads it deliberately. The next stage, meditatio (discursive meditation), is where one ponders the text. In the oratio (affective prayer) stage, one talks to God about the reading, asking Him to reveal the truth. In the final, contemplatio (contemplation) stage, one simply rests in the Lord's presence.

Today, meditation is generally seen as a practice of the New Age movement. This comes primarily from its association with Transcendental Meditation. Transcendental Meditation (TM) was developed by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi of the Hindu religion and is steeped in Hindu philosophy. The "yogi" in the TM founder's name indicates his status in Hinduism. Courts in the US have ruled that TM is not a secular discipline; it is Hindu religion (US District Court, Newark, NJ, on October 29, 1977 and the US Court of Appeals, Philadelphia, PA February 2, 1979).

Muslim View About Meditation

References to Kundalini awakening, also called Self-Realization, are found in many ancient scriptures of all the religions. But the way in which most great prophets wrote, coupled with limitations of human intellect of getting subtle, it became tough to understand what exactly they wanted to say. Nothing is blatantly stated and truth can often be ingeniously hidden. Unless one has self-realisation, this knowledge of the divine could be, and is, mis-interpreted. Its only after self-realisation that one can receive the total joy of great souls' prediction about Sahaja Yoga.

In one of the Suras of Holy Quran it is written, 'the only religion with Allah is Islam and there is no other religion to be accepted'. It clearly means that for Allah ( one of the names for God ) Islam is necessary. What is Islam? Islam means surrender to Allah and from the same root word comes the word salaam or peace.

The most important thing for a Muslim, one who has surrendered himself to the will of God, is that he should try to attain his Meraj or Ascent. Unfortunately, this achieving of one's ascent has been completely sidelined by the Muslims. They are more involved in superficial things, erroneously believing them to be very spiritual. For example, trying to earn Sawab's (Merit), arguing more about how long their beard should be or how to stand and how to place hands during Salah (Namaz). They have become fanatical, trying to convert the whole world to Islam & somewhere down the line losing the true meaning of it. Prophet Mohammed said 'Salah is the Meraj for believer', meaning, that if performed properly, this Salah or prayer ( which in fact means meditation) will ultimately lead to your Meraj or Ascent.

Its only after getting Self Realisation, which happens spontaneously in Sahaja Yoga, that one understands Islam correctly and experiences Meraj/Ascent. The Quran and Hadith ( the traditions, sayings and actions of Prophet Mohammed ) speak specifically about Meraj.

When Kundalini Awakening and Self Realisation has occurred, a flow of energy in the form of vibrations starts flowing from the hands. This is signified very beautifully in the following passage in which Prophet Mohammed is talking of the coming time, the time of resurrection ( Al-Qiyamah ) at around 1400 Hijri, which is, in fact, the present age of Aquarius or Kundalini awakening, the 21st century.

That day shall we set A seal on their mouths But their hands will speak to us And their feet bear witness To all that they did.

( Al Quran Sura Yasin-Chapter 36, Verse 65 )

It clearly mentions that once the ascent or realisation takes place, a person's hands and feet start to speak, bearing witness against him. After Self Realisation these vibrations are very distinctly felt on hands and feet as a cool breeze flowing from within. The mouth stops speaking for a realized person, as the mouth can lie but the hands start speaking and bear witness as everything is revealed through vibrations and vibrations never lie. So, everything is known on a vibratory level, not just about ourselves but also about others.

Prophet Mohammed has also talked about rebirth ( baptism ). "Islam is the baptism of God,and who is better to baptize than God? and Him do we serve." ( Al Quran, Sura II, verse 132). The true baptism is only after Kundalini awakening, which is happening now. Namaz, the Muslim way of offering prayers taught by Prophet Mohammed, was in fact a way of Kundalini Awakening. BACK TO HOME PAGE