MEDITATION: THE NEW MANTRA

Meditation is finally coming home after spreading its message all over the world. Today, tens of techniques are available off-the-shelf. "Interest in meditation has picked up in the past three to four years," agrees Swami Chaitanya Keerti, former editor of Osho Times, published by the Osho commune, Pune.What is also new is that the latest converts are the urban educated. Surprisingly too, most converts to the contemplative practices of Buddhism, a melancholic religion to the nonbeliever, are the elite and the intellectual.Meditation is even studded with glamour. Shabana Azmi, Kavita Lalitaji' Chowdhry and Bishen Singh Bedi have all done the grueling 10-day vipassana meditation course. Says Bedi: "Out of the world! Absolutely fantastic!"Stress management is influencing the corporate sector's receptivity to meditation. Companies that have institutionalized meditation include the Godrej group, Lupin Laboratories, Ayodhya Paper Mills and the Nagarjuna and Alacrity groups. At Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd, Delhi, regular sessions of the Jain system of preksha dhyan are held. An in-house study revealed that 75 per cent of the practitioners reported a reduction in anxiety, improvement in relationships and enhanced enthusiasm for work and life.Meditation is also finding use as a therapeutic tool in medicine. A growing number of up market hospitals are using it as a complementary therapy. In Delhi, Dr Bimal Chhajer has started the Saaol heart program to reverse heart disease through meditation (preksha dhyan), diet and lifestyle choices.Meditation is also being used to treat behavioral and psychiatric problems. In Mumbai, Dr Rajendra Chokani, a psychiatrist at the Sunflower Nursing Home, uses vipassana for his patients and claims a success rate of 80 per cent.The wide acceptance of meditation is due to its proven benefits. Deep relaxation releases stress, unblocking energy and creativity. Longtime practitioners show increased productivity at work and score better on personality development and self-actualization scales. Did you say 'yes' to meditation? Chances are everyone around you is.