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117-453: " Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached " ( more on Wikiquote ) Swami Vivekananda (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna . He was a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world. He is credited with raising interfaith awareness and bringing Hinduism to

234-435: A mantra , a combination of core letters or words on deity or themes. Jain followers practice mantra regularly by chanting loudly or silently in mind. The meditation technique of contemplation includes agnya vichāya , in which one contemplates on seven facts – life and non-life, the inflow, bondage, stoppage and removal of karmas , and the final accomplishment of liberation. In apaya vichāya , one contemplates on

351-596: A Bengali Kayastha family in his ancestral home at 3 Gourmohan Mukherjee Street in Calcutta , the capital of British India , on 12 January 1863 during the Makar Sankranti festival. He was one of nine siblings. His father, Vishwanath Datta , was an attorney at the Calcutta High Court . Durgacharan Datta, Narendra's grandfather was a Sanskrit and Persian scholar who left his family and became

468-419: A mantra ) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness." In modern psychological research, meditation has been defined and characterized in various ways. Many of these emphasize the role of attention and characterize the practice of meditation as attempts to detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking," not judging the meditation-process itself ("logical relaxation"), to achieve

585-661: A shanti ashrama (peace retreat) in California. He then went to Paris for the Congress of Religions in 1900. His lectures in Paris concerned the worship of the lingam and the authenticity of the Bhagavad Gita . Vivekananda then visited Brittany , Vienna , Istanbul , Athens and Egypt . The French philosopher Jules Bois was his host for most of this period, until he returned to Calcutta on 9 December 1900. After

702-405: A brief speech on Vivekananda and his ideals and concludes the speech with this quote. On 12 January 2013, on the 150 birth anniversary, then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and now prime minister of India, wrote a blog post on his personal website to pay tribute to Vivekananda. He named the post "Commemorating Swami Vivekananda: Arise, Awake and stop not till the goal is reached". The sloka

819-452: A brief speech representing India and Hinduism . He was initially nervous, bowed to Saraswati (the Hindu goddess of learning) and began his speech with "Sisters and brothers of America!". At these words, Vivekananda received a two-minute standing ovation from the crowd of seven thousand. According to Sailendra Nath Dhar, when silence was restored he began his address, greeting the youngest of

936-866: A brief visit to the Advaita Ashrama in Mayavati, Vivekananda settled at Belur Math, where he continued co-ordinating the works of Ramakrishna Mission, the math and the work in England and the US. He had many visitors, including royalty and politicians. Although Vivekananda was unable to attend the Congress of Religions in 1901 in Japan due to deteriorating health, he made pilgrimages to Bodhgaya and Varanasi . Declining health (including asthma , diabetes and chronic insomnia ) restricted his activity. On 4 July 1902 (the day of his death), Vivekananda awoke early, went to

1053-452: A change in mission, namely the establishment of Vedanta centres in the West. Vivekananda adapted traditional Hindu ideas and religiosity to suit the needs and understandings of his western audiences, who were especially attracted by and familiar with western esoteric traditions and movements like Transcendentalism and New thought . An important element in his adaptation of Hindu religiosity was

1170-474: A deeper, more devout, or more relaxed state. Bond et al. (2009) identified criteria for defining a practice as meditation "for use in a comprehensive systematic review of the therapeutic use of meditation", using "a 5-round Delphi study with a panel of 7 experts in meditation research" who were also trained in diverse but empirically highly studied (Eastern-derived or clinical) forms of meditation : three main criteria ... as essential to any meditation practice:

1287-454: A devotee to desire to begin to meditate. Nām japnā involves focusing one's attention on the names or great attributes of God. Taoist meditation has developed techniques including concentration, visualization, qi cultivation, contemplation , and mindfulness meditations in its long history. Traditional Daoist meditative practices influenced Buddhism creating the unique meditative practices of Chinese Buddhism that then spread through

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1404-603: A dozen of his disciples at Thousand Island Park, New York for two months. During his first visit to the West he travelled to the UK twice, in 1895 and 1896, lecturing successfully there. In November 1895, he met Margaret Elizabeth Noble an Irish woman who would become Sister Nivedita . During his second visit to the UK in May 1896 Vivekananda met Max Müller , a noted Indologist from Oxford University who wrote Ramakrishna's first biography in

1521-888: A form of focused attention, calms down the mind; this calmed mind can then investigate the nature of reality, by monitoring the fleeting and ever-changing constituents of experience, by reflective investigation, or by "turning back the radiance," focusing awareness on awareness itself and discerning the true nature of mind as awareness itself. Matko and Sedlmeier (2019) "call into question the common division into 'focused attention' and 'open-monitoring' practices." They argue for "two orthogonal dimensions along which meditation techniques could be classified," namely "activation" and "amount of body orientation," proposing seven clusters of techniques: "mindful observation, body-centered meditation, visual concentration, contemplation, affect-centered meditation, mantra meditation, and meditation with movement." Jonathan Shear argues that transcendental meditation

1638-532: A lad of his talents and possibilities, even in German universities, among philosophical students. He is bound to make his mark in life". Narendra was known for his prodigious memory and the ability at speed reading. Several incidents have been given as examples. In a talk, he once quoted verbatim, two or three pages from Pickwick Papers . Another incident that is given is his argument with a Swedish national where he gave reference to some details on Swedish history that

1755-630: A literature class at General Assembly's Institution when he heard Professor William Hastie lecturing on William Wordsworth 's poem, The Excursion . While explaining the word "trance" in the poem, Hastie suggested that his students visit Ramakrishna of Dakshineswar to understand the true meaning of trance. This prompted some of his students (including Narendra) to visit Ramakrishna. They probably first met personally in November 1881, though Narendra did not consider this their first meeting, and neither man mentioned this meeting later. At this time, Narendra

1872-433: A mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditation process itself. Techniques are broadly classified into focused (or concentrative) and open monitoring methods. Focused methods involve attention to specific objects like breath or mantras , while open monitoring includes mindfulness and awareness of mental events. Meditation is practiced in numerous religious traditions, though it

1989-455: A monk at age twenty-five. His mother, Bhubaneswari Devi, was a devout housewife . The progressive, rational attitude of Narendra's father and the religious temperament of his mother helped shape his thinking and personality. Narendranath was interested in spirituality from a young age and used to meditate before the images of deities such as Shiva , Rama , Sita , and Mahavir Hanuman . He was fascinated by wandering ascetics and monks. Narendra

2106-667: A natural development from the sense-restraint and moral constrictions prescribed by the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha identified two paramount mental qualities that arise from wholesome meditative practice or bhavana , namely samatha ("calm," "serenity" "tranquility") and vipassana (insight). As the developing tradition started to emphasize the value of liberating insight, and dhyana came to be understood as concentration, samatha and vipassana were understood as two distinct meditative techniques. In this understanding, samatha steadies, composes, unifies and concentrates

2223-664: A new belief. I want you to keep your own belief; I want to make the Methodist a better Methodist; the Presbyterian a better Presbyterian; the Unitarian a better Unitarian. I want to teach you to live the truth, to reveal the light within your own soul." After the Parliament of Religions, he toured many parts of the US as a guest. His popularity opened up new views for expanding on "life and religion to thousands". During

2340-693: A new place to live. Many returned home, adopting a Grihastha (family-oriented) way of life. Narendra decided to convert a dilapidated house at Baranagar into a new math (monastery) for the remaining disciples. Rent for the Baranagar Math was low, raised by "holy begging" ( mādhukarī ). The math became the first building of the Ramakrishna Math : the monastery of the monastic order of Ramakrishna . Narendra and other disciples used to spend many hours in practising meditation and religious austerities every day. Narendra later reminisced about

2457-474: A number contemporary scholars and scholar-practitioners, it is actually a description of the development of perfected equanimity and mindfulness, apparently induced by satipatthana, an open monitoring of the breath, without trying to regulate it. The same description, in a different formula, can be found in the bojjhanga , the "seven factors of awakening," and may therefore refer to the core program of early Buddhist bhavana . According to Vetter, dhyana seems to be

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2574-459: A practice of only 8 minutes per day. Research shows improvement in meditation time with simple oral and video training. Some meditators practice for much longer, particularly when on a course or retreat . Some meditators find practice best in the hours before dawn . Some religions have traditions of using prayer beads as tools in devotional meditation. Most prayer beads and Christian rosaries consist of pearls or beads linked together by

2691-588: A prodigious memory). In 1880, Narendra joined Keshab Chandra Sen 's Nava Vidhan , which was established by Sen after meeting Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and reconverting from Christianity to Hinduism. Narendra became a member of a Freemasonry lodge "at some point before 1884" and of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj in his twenties, a breakaway faction of the Brahmo Samaj led by Keshab Chandra Sen and Debendranath Tagore . From 1881 to 1884, he

2808-834: A question-answer session at Brooklyn Ethical Society, he remarked, "I have a message to the West as Buddha had a message to the East." Vivekananda spent nearly two years lecturing in the eastern and central United States, primarily in Chicago , Detroit , Boston , and New York . He founded the Vedanta Society of New York in 1894. By spring 1895 his busy, tiring schedule had affected his health. He ended his lecture tours and began giving free, private classes in Vedanta and yoga . Beginning in June 1895, Vivekananda gave private lectures to

2925-506: A son of a well-to-do family, became one of the poorest students in his college. He unsuccessfully tried to find work and questioned God's existence, but found solace in Ramakrishna and his visits to Dakshineswar increased. One day, Narendra requested Ramakrishna to pray to goddess Kali for their family's financial welfare. Ramakrishna instead suggested him to go to the temple himself and pray. Following Ramakrishna's suggestion, he went to

3042-501: A thread. The Roman Catholic rosary is a string of beads containing five sets with ten small beads. Eastern and Oriental Orthodox have traditions of using prayer ropes called Comboschini or Meqetaria as an aid to prayerful meditation. The Hindu japa mala has 108 beads. The figure 108 in itself having spiritual significance as the energy of the sounds equivalates to Om , as well as those used in Gaudiya Vaishnavism ,

3159-441: A turning point in his life. Although he did not initially accept Ramakrishna as his teacher and rebelled against his ideas, he was attracted by his personality and began to frequently visit him at Dakshineswar. He initially saw Ramakrishna's ecstasies and visions as "mere figments of imagination" and "hallucinations". As a member of Brahmo Samaj, he opposed idol worship, polytheism and Ramakrishna's worship of Kali . He even rejected

3276-477: A wide range of dissimilar practices in different traditions and cultures. In popular usage, the word "meditation" and the phrase "meditative practice" are often used imprecisely to designate practices found across many cultures. These can include almost anything that is claimed to train the attention of mind or to teach calmness or compassion. There remains no definition of necessary and sufficient criteria for meditation that has achieved widespread acceptance within

3393-856: Is also practised independently from any religious or spiritual influences for its health benefits. The earliest records of meditation ( dhyana ) are found in the Upanishads , and meditation plays a salient role in the contemplative repertoire of Jainism , Buddhism and Hinduism . Meditation-like techniques are also known in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, in the context of remembrance of and prayer and devotion to God. Asian meditative techniques have spread to other cultures where they have found application in non-spiritual contexts, such as business and health. Meditation may significantly reduce stress, fear, anxiety, depression, and pain, and enhance peace, perception , self-concept , and well-being . Research

3510-409: Is also sometimes done while walking, known as kinhin , while doing a simple task mindfully, known as samu , or while lying down, known as shavasana . The Transcendental Meditation technique recommends practice of 20 minutes twice per day. Some techniques suggest less time, especially when starting meditation, and Richard Davidson has quoted research saying benefits can be achieved with

3627-426: Is an "automatic self-transcending" technique, different from focused attention and open monitoring. In this kind of practice, "there is no attempt to sustain any particular condition at all. Practices of this kind, once started, are reported to automatically 'transcend' their own activity and disappear, to be started up again later if appropriate." Yet, Shear also states that "automatic self-transcending" also applies to

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3744-554: Is believed to be pure consciousness, beyond any attachment or aversion. The practitioner strives to be just a knower-seer ( gyata-drashta ). Jain meditation can be broadly categorized into Dharma dhyana and Shukla dhyana . Dharma dhyana is discriminating knowledge (bheda-vijñāna) of the tattvas (truths or fundamental principles), while shukla dhyana is meditation proper. Jainism uses meditation techniques such as pindāstha-dhyāna, padāstha-dhyāna, rūpāstha-dhyāna, rūpātita-dhyāna, and savīrya-dhyāna . In padāstha dhyāna, one focuses on

3861-685: Is best thought of as a natural category of techniques best captured by ' family resemblances ' ... or by the related 'prototype' model of concepts ." Several other definitions of meditation have been used by influential modern reviews of research on meditation across multiple traditions: In the West, meditation techniques have often been classified in two broad categories, which in actual practice are often combined: focused (or concentrative) meditation and open monitoring (or mindfulness) meditation: Direction of mental attention... A practitioner can focus intensively on one particular object (so-called concentrative meditation ), on all mental events that enter

3978-543: Is inscribed on the main stage of an auditorium of Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture , Kolkata, a branch of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission . Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, an Indian author, called this a "life-transforming line" and wrote a book named Stop Not Till the Goal is Reached in 2010. Meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking," achieving

4095-515: Is ongoing to better understand the effects of meditation on health ( psychological , neurological , and cardiovascular ) and other areas. The English meditation is derived from Old French meditacioun , in turn from Latin meditatio from a verb meditari , meaning "to think, contemplate, devise, ponder". In the Catholic tradition, the use of the term meditatio as part of a formal, stepwise process of meditation goes back to at least

4212-434: Is through the release of the hindrances and ending of craving through the meditative development of insight that one gains liberation. In Sikhism , simran (meditation) and good deeds are both necessary to achieve the devotee's spiritual goals; without good deeds meditation is futile. When Sikhs meditate, they aim to feel God's presence and emerge in the divine light. It is only God's divine will or order that allows

4329-412: Is to send missionaries to this learned nation". American newspapers reported Vivekananda as "the greatest figure in the parliament of religions" and "the most popular and influential man in the parliament". The Boston Evening Transcript reported that Vivekananda was "a great favourite at the parliament... if he merely crosses the platform, he is applauded". He spoke several more times "at receptions,

4446-813: The Bhagavad Gita and The Imitation of Christ . Narendra travelled extensively in India for five years, visiting centres of learning and acquainting himself with diverse religious traditions and social patterns. He developed sympathy for the suffering and poverty of the people, and resolved to uplift the nation. Living primarily on bhiksha (alms), Narendra travelled on foot and by railway (with tickets bought by admirers). During his travels he met, and stayed with Indians from all religions and walks of life: scholars, dewans , rajas , Hindus, Muslims, Christians, paraiyars (low-caste workers) and government officials. On 31 May 1893, Narendra left Bombay for Chicago with

4563-634: The Satipatthana Sutta and the Dhyana sutras , and through oral teacher-student transmissions. These ancient practices are supplemented with various distinct interpretations of, and developments in, these practices. The Theravāda tradition stresses the development of samatha and vipassana , postulating over fifty methods for developing mindfulness based on the Satipatthana Sutta , and forty for developing concentration based on

4680-570: The Yogi ' s eyes." According to Banhatti, it was Ramakrishna who really answered Narendra's question, by saying "Yes, I see Him as I see you, only in an infinitely intenser sense." According to De Michelis, Vivekananda was more influenced by the Brahmo Samaj's and its new ideas, than by Ramakrishna. Swami Medhananda agrees that the Brahmo Samaj was a formative influence, but that "it was Narendra's momentous encounter with Ramakrishna that changed

4797-495: The Advaita Vedanta of "identity with the absolute" as blasphemy and madness, and often ridiculed the idea. Narendra tested Ramakrishna, who faced his arguments patiently: "Try to see the truth from all angles", he replied. Narendra's father's sudden death in 1884 left the family bankrupt; creditors began demanding the repayment of loans, and relatives threatened to evict the family from their ancestral home. Narendra, once

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4914-599: The Hare Krishna tradition , and Jainism . Buddhist prayer beads also have 108 beads, but hold a different meaning. In Buddhism, there are 108 human passions that impede enlightenment. Each bead is counted once as a person recites a mantra until the person has gone all the way around the mala. The Muslim misbaha has 99 beads. There is also quite a variance when it comes to materials used for beads. Beads made from seeds of rudraksha trees are considered sacred by devotees of Shiva , while followers of Vishnu revere

5031-643: The Hatha Yoga Pradipika , the development of Bhakti yoga as a major form of meditation, and Tantra . Another important Hindu yoga text is the Yoga Yajnavalkya , which makes use of Hatha Yoga and Vedanta Philosophy. The Bhagavata Purana emphasizes that mantra meditation is a key practice for achieving liberation; practitioners can achieve a direct vision of the divine. The text integrates both Vedic and tantric elements, where mantras are not only seen as sacred sounds but as embodiment of

5148-476: The Radha Gobinda Jiu temple . They decided to live their lives as their master lived. Narendranath took the name "Swami Vivekananda". In 1888, Narendra left the monastery as a Parivrâjaka — the Hindu religious life of a wandering monk, "without fixed abode, without ties, independent and strangers wherever they go". His sole possessions were a kamandalu (water pot), staff and his two favourite books:

5265-907: The Ramakrishna Mission for social service. Its ideals are based on Karma Yoga , and its governing body consists of the trustees of the Ramakrishna Math (which conducts religious work). Both Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission have their headquarters at Belur Math . Vivekananda founded two other monasteries: one in Mayavati in the Himalayas (near Almora ), the Advaita Ashrama and another in Madras (now Chennai). Two journals were founded: Prabuddha Bharata in English and Udbhodan in Bengali. That year, famine -relief work

5382-472: The Upanisads and of the Vedanta." Rammohan Roy , the founder of the Brahmo Samaj who was strongly influenced by unitarianism , strove towards a universalistic interpretation of Hinduism. His ideas were "altered [...] considerably" by Debendranath Tagore , who had a romantic approach to the development of these new doctrines, and questioned central Hindu beliefs like reincarnation and karma, and rejected

5499-610: The Vipassana movement , with many non-Buddhists taking-up meditative practices. The modernized concept of mindfulness (based on the Buddhist term sati ) and related meditative practices have in turn led to mindfulness based therapies . Dhyana , while often presented as a form of focused attention or concentration, as in Buddhagosa's Theravada classic the Visuddhimagga ("Path of purification", 5th c. CE), according to

5616-680: The Visuddhimagga . The Tibetan tradition incorporated Sarvastivada and Tantric practices, wedded with Madhyamaka philosophy, and developed thousands of visualization meditations. Via the Dhyana sutras, which are based on the Sarvastivada-tradition, the Zen-tradition incorporated mindfulness and breath-meditation. Downplaying the "petty complexities" of satipatthana and the body-recollections (but maintaining

5733-462: The Western world . He was also a major force in contemporary Hindu reform movements and contributed to the concept of nationalism in colonial India . He is now widely regarded as one of the most influential people of modern India and a patriotic saint . His birthday is celebrated in India as National Youth Day . Vivekananda was born as Narendranath Datta (name shortened to Narendra or Naren) in

5850-426: The evolutionism of Herbert Spencer and corresponded with him, translating Herbert Spencer 's book Education (1861) into Bengali. While studying Western philosophers, he also learned Sanskrit scriptures and Bengali literature . William Hastie (principal of Christian College, Calcutta; from where Narendra graduated) wrote, "Narendra is really a genius. I have travelled far and wide but I have never come across

5967-507: The teachings Vivekananda later popularised in the west. Not satisfied with his knowledge of philosophy, Narendra came to "the question which marked the real beginning of his intellectual quest for God." He asked several prominent Calcutta residents if they had come "face to face with God", but none of their answers satisfied him. At this time, Narendra met Debendranath Tagore (the leader of Brahmo Samaj) and asked if he had seen God. Instead of answering his question, Tagore said, "My boy, you have

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6084-670: The " Parliament of Religions " took place in September 1893. The Congress was an initiative of the Swedenborgian layman, and judge of the Illinois Supreme Court , Charles C. Bonney , to gather all the religions of the world, and show "the substantial unity of many religions in the good deeds of the religious life." It was one of the more than 200 adjunct gatherings and congresses of the Chicago's World's Fair, and

6201-433: The "cyclonic monk from India". The New York Critique wrote, "He is an orator by divine right, and his strong, intelligent face in its picturesque setting of yellow and orange was hardly less interesting than those earnest words, and the rich, rhythmical utterance he gave them". The New York Herald noted, "Vivekananda is undoubtedly the greatest figure in the Parliament of Religions. After hearing him we feel how foolish it

6318-435: The "outer limbs," include ethical discipline ( yamas ), rules ( niyamas ), physical postures ( āsanas ), and breath control ( prāṇāyama ). The fifth, withdrawal from the senses ( pratyāhāra ), transitions into the "inner limbs" that are one-pointedness of mind ( dhāraṇā ), meditation ( dhyāna ), and finally samādhi . Later developments in Hindu meditation include the compilation of Hatha Yoga (forceful yoga) compendiums like

6435-761: The 12th-century monk Guigo II , before which the Greek word theoria was used for the same purpose. Apart from its historical usage, the term meditation was introduced as a translation for Eastern spiritual practices , referred to as dhyāna in Hinduism , Buddhism , and Jainism , 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 . Meditation has proven difficult to define as it covers

6552-616: The Swami as a representative of the Hindu monastic order." Hearing Vivekananda speak, Harvard psychology professor William James said, "that man is simply a wonder for oratorical power. He is an honor to humanity." The Parliament of the World's Religions opened on 11 September 1893 at the Art Institute of Chicago , as part of the World's Columbian Exposition . On this day, Vivekananda gave

6669-544: The Swede originally disagreed with but later conceded. In another incident with Dr. Paul Deussen 's at Kiel in Germany, Vivekananda was going over some poetical work and did not reply when the professor spoke to him. Later, he apologised to Dr. Deussen explaining that he was too absorbed in reading and hence did not hear him. The professor was not satisfied with this explanation, but Vivekananda quoted and interpreted verses from

6786-488: The West. From the UK, Vivekananda visited other European countries. In Germany, he met Paul Deussen , another Indologist. Vivekananda was offered academic positions in two American universities (one the chair in Eastern Philosophy at Harvard University and a similar position at Columbia University ); he declined both, since his duties would conflict with his commitment as a monk. Vivekananda's success led to

6903-586: The authority of the Vedas . Tagore also brought this "neo-Hinduism" closer in line with western esotericism , a development which was furthered by Sen. Sen was influenced by transcendentalism , an American philosophical-religious movement strongly connected with unitarianism, which emphasised personal religious experience over mere reasoning and theology . Sen strived to "an accessible, non-renunciatory, everyman type of spirituality", introducing "lay systems of spiritual practice" which can be regarded as an influence to

7020-614: The awakening of one's real nature and the consequent ushering in of prosperity. On 24 April 1897 Vivekananda wrote a letter to Sarala Ghoshal. In that letter, he stressed giving the public only positive education, because of his belief that negative thoughts weaken men. In that letter, he also reiterated this sloka . Vivekananda quoted this sloka in several lectures and discourses. In a lecture delivered on 12 November 1896 at Lahore, he said: Therefore, young men of Lahore, raise once more that mighty banner of Advaita, for on no other ground can you have that wonderful love until you see that

7137-423: The awareness of immanent death), the early Chan-tradition developed the notions or practices of wu nian ("no thought, no fixation on thought, such as one's own views, experiences, and knowledge") and fēi sīliàng (非思量, Japanese: hishiryō , "nonthinking"); and kanxin ("observing the mind") and shou-i pu i (守一不移, "maintaining the one without wavering," turning the attention from the objects of experience, to

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7254-539: The beginning of modern yoga . Vivekananda attracted followers and admirers in the US and Europe, including Josephine MacLeod , Betty Leggett , Lady Sandwich , William James , Josiah Royce , Robert G. Ingersoll , Lord Kelvin , Harriet Monroe , Ella Wheeler Wilcox , Sarah Bernhardt , Nikola Tesla , Emma Calvé and Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz . He initiated several followers : Marie Louise (a French woman) became Swami Abhayananda , and Leon Landsberg became Swami Kripananda, so that they could continue

7371-451: The benefit of others". Studies suggest the potential of psychedelics , such as psilocybin and DMT , to enhance meditative training. The history of meditation is intimately bound up with the religious context within which it was practiced. Rossano suggested that the emergence of the capacity for focused attention, an element of many methods of meditation, may have contributed to the latest phases of human biological evolution. Some of

7488-523: The codified rules and live together in monasteries in specific cultural settings that go along with their meditative practices. Dictionaries give both the original Latin meaning of "think[ing] deeply about (something)", as well as the popular usages of "focusing one's mind for a period of time", "the act of giving your attention to only one thing, either as a religious activity or as a way of becoming calm and relaxed", and "to engage in mental exercise (such as concentrating on one's breathing or repetition of

7605-477: The core practices of body contemplations ( repulsiveness and cemetery contemplations ) and anapanasati ( mindfulness of in-and-out breathing) culminating in jhāna / dhyāna or samādhi . While most classical and contemporary Buddhist meditation guides are school-specific, the root meditative practices of various body recollections and breath meditation have been preserved and transmitted in almost all Buddhist traditions , through Buddhist texts like

7722-400: The course of his life by turning him away from Brahmoism." According to De Michelis, it was Sen's influence which brought Vivekananda fully into contact with western esotericism, and it was also via Sen that he met Ramakrishna. In 1881, Narendra first met Ramakrishna, who became his spiritual focus after his own father had died in 1884. Narendra's first introduction to Ramakrishna occurred in

7839-656: The deity. This approach reflects a shift from the impersonal meditation on the sound-form of Brahman ( Om ) in the Upanishads to a personal, devotional focus on Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana. Jainism has three elements called the Ratnatraya ("Three Jewels"): right perception and faith, right knowledge and right conduct. Meditation in Jainism aims to reach and to remain in the pure state of soul which

7956-448: The development of insight and wisdom ( Prajñā ) which is the quality of mind that can "clearly see" ( vi-passana ) the nature of phenomena. What exactly is to be seen varies within the Buddhist traditions. In Theravada, all phenomena are to be seen as impermanent , suffering , not-self and empty . When this happens, one develops dispassion ( viraga ) for all phenomena, including all negative qualities and hindrances and lets them go. It

8073-538: The earliest references to meditation, as well as proto- Samkhya , are found in the Upanishads of India. According to Wynne, the earliest clear references to meditation are in the middle Upanishads and the Mahabharata (including the Bhagavad Gita ). According to Gavin Flood , the earlier Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is describing meditation when it states that "Having become calm and concentrated, one perceives

8190-451: The early days of the monastery: We underwent a lot of religious practice at the Baranagar Math. We used to get up at 3:00 am and become absorbed in japa and meditation. What a strong spirit of detachment we had in those days! We had no thought even as to whether the world existed or not. In 1887, Narendra compiled a Bengali song anthology named Sangeet Kalpataru with Vaishnav Charan Basak. Narendra collected and arranged most of

8307-603: The education of Indian women and India's independence. The ship from Europe arrived in Colombo , British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka ) on 15 January 1897, and Vivekananda received a warm welcome. In Colombo, he gave his first public speech in the East . From there on, his journey to Calcutta was triumphant. Vivekananda travelled from Colombo to Pamban , Rameswaram , Ramnad , Madurai , Kumbakonam and Madras , delivering lectures. Common people and rajas gave him an enthusiastic reception. During his train travels, people often sat on

8424-514: The end lead to Me." According to Sailendra Nath Dhar, "it was only a short speech, but it voiced the spirit of the Parliament." Parliament President John Henry Barrows said, "India, the Mother of religions was represented by Swami Vivekananda, the Orange-monk who exercised the most wonderful influence over his auditors". Vivekananda attracted widespread attention in the press, which called him

8541-711: The field of awareness (so-called mindfulness meditation ), or both specific focal points and the field of awareness. Focused methods include paying attention to the breath , to an idea or feeling (such as mettā – loving-kindness), to a kōan , or to a mantra (such as in transcendental meditation ), and single point meditation. Open monitoring methods include mindfulness , shikantaza and other awareness states. Another typology divides meditation approaches into concentrative, generative, receptive and reflective practices: The Buddhist tradition often divides meditative practice into samatha , or calm abiding, and vipassana , insight. Mindfulness of breathing ,

8658-463: The first six chapters of The Imitation of Christ was published in Brahmavadin in 1899. Vivekananda left for India on 16 December 1896 from England with his disciples Captain and Mrs. Sevier and J.J. Goodwin. On the way, they visited France and Italy, and set sail for India from Naples on 30 December 1896. He was later followed to India by Sister Nivedita, who devoted the rest of her life to

8775-407: The foundations for Vedanta Societies in the West. In India, he founded the Ramakrishna Math , which provides spiritual training for monastics and householders, and the Ramakrishna Mission , which provides charity, social work and education. Vivekananda was one of the most influential philosophers and social reformers in his contemporary India, and the most successful missionary of Vedanta to

8892-537: The greatest figure at the Parliament". After great success at the Parliament, in the subsequent years, Vivekananda delivered hundreds of lectures across the United States , England , and Europe , disseminating the core tenets of Hindu philosophy , and founded the Vedanta Society of New York and the Vedanta Society of San Francisco (now Vedanta Society of Northern California ), both of which became

9009-433: The hall monitor or given little taps if they requested to be hit. Nobody asked about the 'meaning' of the stick, nobody explained, and nobody ever complained about its use. Neuroscientist and long-time meditator Richard Davidson has expressed the view that having a narrative can help the maintenance of daily practice. For instance, he himself prostrates to the teachings, and meditates "not primarily for my benefit, but for

9126-459: The incorrect insights one indulges, which eventually develops right insight. In vipaka vichāya , one reflects on the eight causes or basic types of karma . In sansathan vichāya , one thinks about the vastness of the universe and the loneliness of the soul. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward awakening and nirvana . The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā ("development"), and

9243-477: The introduction of his "four yogas" model, which includes Raja yoga , his interpretation of Patanjali 's Yoga sutras , which offered a practical means to realise the divine force within which is central to modern western esotericism. In 1896, his book Raja Yoga was published, becoming an instant success; it was highly influential in the western understanding of yoga , in Elizabeth de Michelis 's view marking

9360-574: The living conditions of Indian people in then British India . Moved by their plight, he resolved to help them and found a way to travel to the United States, where he became a popular figure after the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago at which he delivered his famous speech beginning with the words: "Sisters and brothers of America ..." while introducing Hinduism to Americans. He made such an impression there that an American newspaper described him as "an orator by divine right and undoubtedly

9477-426: The message with which he was entrusted, to point out the path and to help others on the road to the same supreme goal. "Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached." "Arise" was meant as a passionate call for national awakening to obtain political freedom for the country from colonialism , and to not to "stop" until the "goal" was achieved. This was essential in the social, economic and political fields. "Arise"

9594-412: The methods of Yoga . The words "Arise, awake..." can be found in the 1.3.14 chapter of the book, where Yama is advising Nachiketa— उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत, क्षुरासन्न धारा निशिता दुरत्यद्दुर्गम पथ: तत् कवयो वदन्ति | Uttisthata Jagrata Prapya Varannibodhata Kshurasanna Dhara Nishita Durataya durgama Pathah tat kavayo Vadanti Arise! Awake! Approach the great and learn. Like

9711-531: The mind, while vipassana enables one to see, explore and discern "formations" (conditioned phenomena based on the five aggregates ). According to this understanding, which is central to Theravada orthodoxy but also plays a role in Tibetan Buddhism , through the meditative development of serenity, one is able to weaken the obscuring hindrances and bring the mind to a collected, pliant, and still state ( samadhi ). This quality of mind then supports

9828-631: The modern scientific community . Some of the difficulty in precisely defining meditation has been in recognizing the particularities of the many various traditions ; and theories and practice can differ within a tradition. Taylor noted that even within a faith such as "Hindu" or "Buddhist", schools and individual teachers may teach distinct types of meditation. Ornstein noted that "Most techniques of meditation do not exist as solitary practices but are only artificially separable from an entire system of practice and belief." For instance, while monks meditate as part of their everyday lives, they also engage in

9945-479: The monastery at Belur Math and meditated for three hours. He taught Shukla-Yajur-Veda , Sanskrit grammar and the philosophy of yoga to pupils, later discussing with colleagues a planned Vedic college in the Ramakrishna Math. At 7:00 pm Vivekananda went to his room, asking not to be disturbed; he died at 9:20 p.m. while meditating . According to his disciples, Vivekananda attained mahasamādhi ;

10062-544: The name, as suggested by Ajit Singh of Khetri , "Vivekananda"–a conglomerate of the Sanskrit words: viveka and ānanda , meaning "the bliss of discerning wisdom". Vivekananda started his journey to the West on 31 May 1893 and visited several cities in Japan (including Nagasaki , Kobe , Yokohama , Osaka , Kyoto and Tokyo ), China and Canada en route to the United States , reaching Chicago on 30 July 1893, where

10179-674: The nations on behalf of "the most ancient order of monks in the world, the Vedic order of sannyasins, a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance". Vivekananda quoted two illustrative passages from the " Shiva mahimna stotram ": "As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take, through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee!" and "Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths that in

10296-505: The nature of mind, the perceiving subject itself, which is equated with Buddha-nature . The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism introduced Buddhist meditation to other Asian countries, reaching China in the 2nd century CE, and Japan in the 6th century CE. In the modern era, Buddhist meditation techniques have become popular in the wider world, due to the influence of Buddhist modernism on Asian Buddhism, and western lay interest in Zen and

10413-609: The omnipresent and non-dual Ātman - Brahman . In the dualistic Yoga school and Samkhya , the Self is called Purusha , a pure consciousness undisturbed by Prakriti , 'nature'. Depending on the tradition, the liberative event is named moksha , vimukti or kaivalya . One of the most influential texts of classical Hindu Yoga is Patañjali 's Yoga sutras (c. 400 CE), a text associated with Yoga and Samkhya and influenced by Buddhism, which outlines eight limbs leading to kaivalya ("aloneness") or inner awareness. The first four, known as

10530-400: The poor and lower classes of the town of Khetri and teach them religion. Also, let them have oral lessons on geography and such other subjects. No good will come of sitting idle and having princely dishes, and saying "Ramakrishna, O Lord!"—unless you can do some good to the poor". In 1895, Vivekananda founded the periodical Brahmavadin to teach the Vedanta. Later, Vivekananda's translation of

10647-486: The professor, "He urged upon me the necessity of going to the Parliament of Religions , which he thought would give an introduction to the nation". Vivekananda submitted an application, "introducing himself as a monk 'of the oldest order of sannyāsis ... founded by Sankara,'" supported by the Brahmo Samaj representative Protapchandra Mozoombar , who was also a member of the Parliament's selection committee, "classifying

10764-651: The rails to force the train to stop, so they could hear him. From Madras (now Chennai), he continued his journey to Calcutta and Almora . While in the West, Vivekananda spoke about India's great spiritual heritage; in India, he repeatedly addressed social issues: uplifting the people, eliminating the caste system , promoting science and industrialisation, addressing widespread poverty and ending colonial rule. These lectures, published as Lectures from Colombo to Almora , demonstrate his nationalistic fervour and spiritual ideology. On 1 May 1897 in Calcutta, Vivekananda founded

10881-530: The rupture of a blood vessel in his brain was reported as a possible cause of death. His disciples believed that the rupture was due to his brahmarandhra (an opening in the crown of his head) being pierced when he attained mahasamādhi . Vivekananda fulfilled his prophecy that he would not live forty years. He was cremated on a sandalwood funeral pyre on the bank of the Ganga in Belur, opposite where Ramakrishna

10998-532: The same Lord is present everywhere. Unfurl that banner of love! "Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached." Arise, arise once more, for nothing can be done without renunciation. In her essay Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda , Sister Christine wrote that Vivekananda wanted to see men striving to find the Supreme . She wrote: All else might be false, this alone was true. He realized it. After his own great realization, life held but one purpose—to give

11115-494: The scientific section, and private homes" on topics related to Hinduism, Buddhism and harmony among religions until the parliament ended on 27 September 1893. Vivekananda's speeches at the Parliament had the common theme of universality, emphasising religious tolerance. He soon became known as a "handsome oriental" and made a huge impression as an orator. "I do not come", said Swamiji on one occasion in America, "to convert you to

11232-478: The self ( Ātman ) within oneself" (BU 4.4.23). There are many schools and styles of meditation within Hinduism . In pre-modern and traditional Hinduism , Yoga and Dhyana are practised to recognize 'pure awareness', or 'pure consciousness', undisturbed by the workings of the mind, as one's eternal self. In Advaita Vedanta jivatman , individual self, is recognized as illusory, and in Reality identical with

11349-471: The sharp edge of a razor is that path, so the wise say—hard to tread and difficult to cross. The inspirational sloka was Swami Vivekananda 's message to the Indians to get out of their hypnotized state of mind. The sloka was meant as a call to his countrymen to awaken their "sleeping soul" and propagate the message of peace and blessings given by the "ancient Mother" to the world. "Awake" also denotes

11466-492: The songs of this compilation, but could not finish the work of the book for unfavourable circumstances. In December 1886, the mother of Baburam invited Narendra and his other brother monks to Antpur village. Narendra and the other aspiring monks accepted the invitation and went to Antpur to spend a few days. In Antpur, on the Christmas Eve of 1886, Narendra, aged 23, and eight other disciples took formal monastic vows at

11583-474: The status of a major world religion in the late nineteenth century . Born into an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family in Calcutta , Vivekananda was inclined from a young age towards religion and spirituality. He later found his guru Ramakrishna and became a monk . After the death of Ramakrishna , Vivekananda extensively toured the Indian subcontinent as a wandering monk and acquired first-hand knowledge of

11700-753: The temple thrice, but failed to pray for any kind of worldly necessities and ultimately prayed for true knowledge and devotion from the goddess. Narendra gradually grew ready to renounce everything for the sake of realising God, and accepted Ramakrishna as his Guru . In 1885, Ramakrishna developed throat cancer , and was transferred to Calcutta and (later) to a garden house in Cossipore . Narendra and Ramakrishna's other disciples took care of him during his last days, and Narendra's spiritual education continued. At Cossipore, he experienced Nirvikalpa samadhi . Narendra and several other disciples received ochre robes from Ramakrishna, forming his first monastic order. He

11817-418: The text, leaving the professor dumbfounded about his feat of memory. Once, he requested some books written by Sir John Lubbock from a library and returned them the very next day, claiming that he had read them. The librarian refused to believe him, until cross-examination about the contents convinced him that Vivekananda was indeed being truthful. Some accounts have called Narendra a shrutidhara (a person with

11934-707: The twelve main centres. There is also a Vedanta Press in Hollywood which publishes books about Vedanta and English translations of Hindu scriptures and texts. Christina Greenstidel of Detroit was also initiated by Vivekananda with a mantra and she became Sister Christine , and they established a close father–daughter relationship. From the West, Vivekananda revived his work in India. He regularly corresponded with his followers and brother monks, offering advice and financial support. His letters from this period reflect his campaign of social service, and were strongly worded. He wrote to Akhandananda , "Go from door to door amongst

12051-405: The use of a defined technique, logic relaxation, and a self-induced state/mode. Other criteria deemed important [but not essential] involve a state of psychophysical relaxation, the use of a self-focus skill or anchor, the presence of a state of suspension of logical thought processes, a religious/spiritual/philosophical context, or a state of mental silence. ... It is plausible that meditation

12168-528: The way other techniques such as from Zen and Qigong are practiced by experienced meditators "once they had become effortless and automatic through years of practice." Asanas or body postures such as padmasana (full-lotus , half-lotus ), cross-legged sitting, seiza , and kneeling positions are popular meditative postures in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism , although other postures such as sitting, supine (lying), and standing are also used. Meditation

12285-652: The wood that comes from the Tulsi plant, also known as Holy Basil. The Buddhist literature has many stories of Enlightenment being attained through disciples being struck by their masters. T. Griffith Foulk recounts how the encouragement stick was an integral part of the Zen practice when he trained: In the Rinzai monastery where I trained in the mid-1970s, according to an unspoken etiquette, monks who were sitting earnestly and well were shown respect by being hit vigorously and often; those known as laggards were ignored by

12402-540: The work of the math and trained disciples for several months. Vivekananda composed " Khandana Bhava–Bandhana ", a prayer song dedicated to Ramakrishna, in 1898. Despite declining health, Vivekananda left for the West for a second time in June 1899 accompanied by Sister Nivedita and Swami Turiyananda . Following a brief stay in England, he went to the United States. During this visit, Vivekananda established Vedanta Societies in San Francisco and New York and founded

12519-564: The work of the mission of the Vedanta Society . This society still is filled with foreign nationals and is also located in Los Angeles . During his stay in America, Vivekananda was given land in the mountains to the southeast of San Jose, California to establish a retreat for Vedanta students. He called it "Peace retreat", or, Shanti Asrama . The largest American centre is the Vedanta Society of Southern California in Hollywood , one of

12636-552: Was "an avant-garde intellectual manifestation of [...] cultic milieus, East and West," with the Brahmo Samaj and the Theosophical Society being invited as representative of Hinduism . Vivekananda wanted to join, but was disappointed to learn that no one without credentials from a bona fide organisation would be accepted as a delegate. Vivekananda contacted Professor John Henry Wright of Harvard University , who invited him to speak at Harvard. Vivekananda wrote of

12753-461: Was also active in Sen's Band of Hope , which tried to discourage youths from smoking and drinking. It was in this cultic milieu that Narendra became acquainted with Western esotericism . His initial beliefs were shaped by Brahmo concepts, which denounced polytheism and caste restrictions, and a "streamlined, rationalized, monotheistic theology strongly coloured by a selective and modernistic reading of

12870-461: Was also intended to mean to get out of the state of helplessness. His emphasis was on freedom to the nation, as in the US on 4 July 1776. Swamiji also urged people to learn from Hindu sacred scriptures, which he felt contained all the instructions to arise out of the "hypnotism of weakness" and which indicated that no individual is inherently weak. The 1998 film Swami Vivekananda , directed by G. V. Iyer, ends with this quote where Mammootty gives

12987-796: Was begun by Swami Akhandananda in the Murshidabad district. Vivekananda earlier inspired Jamsetji Tata to set up a research and educational institution when they travelled together from Yokohama to Chicago on Vivekananda's first visit to the West in 1893. Tata now asked him to head his Research Institute of Science ; Vivekananda declined the offer, citing a conflict with his "spiritual interests". He visited Punjab , attempting to mediate an ideological conflict between Arya Samaj (a reformist Hindu movement) and sanatan (orthodox Hindus). After brief visits to Lahore , Delhi and Khetri , Vivekananda returned to Calcutta in January 1898. He consolidated

13104-443: Was cremated sixteen years earlier. Shaivism/Tantra/Nath New movements Kashmir Shaivism Gaudapada Adi Shankara Advaita-Yoga Nath Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached Nachiketa , the child protagonist of Katha Upanishad, was sent to Yama , the Hindu god of death, by his father Vajashrava . In the abode of Yama, he answered Nachiketa's questions and taught him Self-knowledge and

13221-411: Was mischievous and restless as a child, and his parents often had difficulty controlling him. His mother said, "I prayed to Shiva for a son and he has sent me one of his demons". In 1871, at the age of eight, Narendranath enrolled at Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's Metropolitan Institution , where he went to school until his family moved to Raipur in 1877. In 1879, after his family's return to Calcutta, he

13338-468: Was preparing for his upcoming F. A. examination, when Ram Chandra Datta accompanied him to Surendra Nath Mitra 's, house where Ramakrishna was invited to deliver a lecture. According to Makarand Paranjape, at this meeting Ramakrishna asked young Narendra to sing. Impressed by his singing talent, he asked Narendra to come to Dakshineshwar. In late 1881 or early 1882, Narendra went to Dakshineswar with two friends and met Ramakrishna. This meeting proved to be

13455-484: Was taught that service to men was the most effective worship of God. Ramakrishna asked him to care of the other monastic disciples, and in turn asked them to see Narendra as their leader. Ramakrishna died in the early-morning hours of 16 August 1886 in Cossipore. After Ramakrishna's death, his devotees and admirers stopped supporting his disciples. Unpaid rent accumulated, and Narendra and the other disciples had to find

13572-636: Was the only student to receive first-division marks in the Presidency College entrance examination. He was an avid reader in a wide range of subjects, including philosophy , religion, history , social science, art and literature. He was also interested in Hindu scriptures , including the Vedas , the Upanishads , the Bhagavad Gita , the Ramayana , the Mahabharata and the Puranas . Narendra

13689-812: Was trained in Indian classical music , and regularly participated in physical exercise, sports and organised activities. Narendra studied Western logic, Western philosophy and European history at the General Assembly's Institution (now known as the Scottish Church College). In 1881, he passed the Fine Arts examination, and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1884. Narendra studied the works of David Hume , Immanuel Kant , Johann Gottlieb Fichte , Baruch Spinoza , Georg W. F. Hegel , Arthur Schopenhauer , Auguste Comte , John Stuart Mill and Charles Darwin . He became fascinated with

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