Where did meditation originate?
Discover the origins of meditation.
“ Where did meditation originate? ” Well, that is a tricky question to answer, but I will do my best.
History tells us that meditation has been a long standing tradition in many Asian countries like Japan, India, and China, but this doesn’t necessarily answer the question of “where did meditation originate?”
The origins of meditation can be traced as far back as 10 to 15 thousand years ago when tantric meditation was practiced among South Indian tribes. Tantric meditation was then further developed and more wide spread about 7 thousand years ago by Yogi Shiva. There is also evidence of meditation in the Hindu scriptures that date back nearly 5 thousand years ago.
The above, however ,only tells about the origins of meditation that where documented. The truth is, since meditation is the relaxing of the body and mind ,it is likely that it has been around since the dawn of mankind.
Meditation was most likely given birth to, when man first started to question the meaning of his existence. We can surmise this because when we look at the history of meditation, it’s first documented followers and practitioners where of early religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism.
Even though meditation has been practiced for thousands of years, by many different cultures and religions, and the practitioners of meditation have long known it’s benefits, it was not widely practiced in western cultures until 1970. This is when The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology first published an article on the health benefits of meditation.
Since 1970, many different religions and medical practitioners have adopted meditation as a tool for their patients and followers. Individuals have adopted the practice of meditation in may different forms and styles to use in there everyday lives, with varying results.
In the end, the origins of meditation are not as important as the benefits of meditation. I can not answer your question “where did meditation originate.” I can only give you some facts as I know them and those facts don’t add up to a definitive answer. I hope, however, I shed a little light on the subject.
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