Suffering is due to our disconnection with the inner soul. Meditation is establishing that connection.
It is rather difficult to describe meditation in a single phrase. Oxford dictionary defines the term ‘meditate’ as “Focus one’s mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation”. Merriam-Webster dictionary describes the act of meditating as “To engage in mental exercise (as concentration on one’s breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness”. The contextual definition of meditation might vary.
However, the words “mind” and “spirit” can be observed in both of these definitions. Hence, one can deduce that meditation is the act of linking mind with a spiritual existence. Meditation deviates the focus of an individual from the outer world for a period of time, allowing him to be with himself in a state of silence. Indulging in meditation, and being able to train the human mind this way has the power to transform the perception of a person about the outer world.
Although meditation has been linked with religions such as Buddhism, it is a science; it revolves around a set of rules and definitions that need to be followed. The concept of introducing meditation in educational institutions was first floated in 1965 after the formation of The Students’ International Meditation Society (SIMS).
Meditation is a rather infamous concept in Pakistan. This idea is yet to be introduced in universities and other educational institutions of Pakistan. Although some people argue that meditation has adverse effects on a human mind, however, it helps with reducing stress and anxiety, boosts the immune system, improves working memory, as well as enhances academic performance.
Words such as stress, anxiety, or depression are commonly heard in schools and universities all over the world, let alone the schools and universities in Pakistan. Students, sitting in corners of academic blocks, with a blank look on their face due to educational burden, is becoming a familiar sight. A primary cause of and anxiety are the increasing academic demands. Students admitted to prestigious universities across Pakistan are selected on the basis of their academic performance. In Pakistan, HEC recognizes 132 institutions of which 73 are public universities and 59 are private universities. The limited number of universities in Pakistan leads to a small number of students being admitted to these local universities. Students who fail to get admitted to their desired college suffer from severe anxiety and depression. Students who survive that cut-off discover that they are stuck in a rat race, facing overloaded schedules and increasing workload.
Locally, the cost of education is constantly on a rise. Parents, financing the education of their children, expect a return in the shape of exceptional academic performance. Their definition of academic excellence revolves around unrealistic expectations, regardless of what their children are capable of. On top of that, the fear of facing reduced employment opportunities also contributes to the increasing amount of stress on minds of these students. Increasing workload and expectations lead to increasing pressure on these young minds. Not only university students but children as young as 10 to 12 years old also suffer from depression due to the educational burden. Students who crack under pressure resort to extreme measures, such as using performance enhancing drugs and even committing suicide.
Eighteen-year-old Khursheed studying at Islamabad Model College for Boys shot himself with his father’s pistol when his father scolded him for refusing to take an entry test; 17–year-old Shan from Gharibabad swallowed poison after his parents attempted to stop him from spending time with friends and not concentrating on studies; seventh-grader Abdul Mobin in Abbottabad who took his life because of torture at school and a 13-year-old student in Karachi. (The Dawn)
Meditation acts as a viable solution for reducing stress and anxiety. It allows an individual to control his mental state, helping him in processing all the negative feelings. Meditating assists people in focusing on the present, rather than problems of the past or issues that might occur in the future. A study in Psychoneuroendocrinology showed that “brief mindfulness meditation training fosters greater active coping efforts, resulting in reduced psychological stress appraisals and higher cortisol reactivity during social evaluative stressors”. Another study conducted at John Hopkins University stated that “Mindfulness meditation programs had moderate evidence of improved anxiety… depression… and pain”. Hence, meditation is a useful tool that would allow the educational institutions of Pakistan to construct an environment that encourages learning.
Meditation has also been proven to improve health by boosting the immune system. The way human body reacts is directly linked with the state of mind. The brain processes both optimistic and pessimistic thoughts while the human body responds accordingly. An influx of negative thoughts can weaken the immune system, making it prone to sickness and diseases. Brain stimulation through meditation nurtures the immune system, strengthening it as a result.
Recently, a study was conducted in Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin; the study revealed that meditation boosts antibodies. Antibodies are proteins that are essential for a healthy immune system as they assist the immune system in identifying antigens. Antigens are molecules that are part of substances which can harm the human body. Such materials include chemicals, parasites, bacteria, and viruses. Identification of antigens through antibodies allows the human body to fight off these pathogens. According to Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, “a short program in mindfulness meditation produces demonstrable effects on brain and immune function. These findings suggest that meditation may change brain and immune function in positive ways”.
Being able to concentrate is probably the most significant cognitive ability possessed by humans. Capacity to be able to focus on tasks at hand is necessary for everybody, whether they be students or teachers. Even in the corporate world, being able to concentrate on the work assigned is what determines the performance of an individual. However, in the world with distractions around every corner, people find it difficult to be able to give attention to one particular task. Not being able to resist distractions can have a long-term effect on the life of an individual.
Majorly, in the case of students, being intelligent but lacking control over impulses could hurt their academic performance. Many students resort to “Smart drugs” to enhance their performance. These smart drugs are usually used to treat a medical condition known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Individuals who suffer from ADHD face problems while trying to concentrate and staying focused. However, when people who do not have ADHD use such drugs, they risk brain damage in the long-run. Regular use of such drugs can also affect the development of the brain, hence hurting the working memory. Meditation proves to be a less risky, and a more natural alternative to smart drugs. Although the use of “Smart drugs” in uncommon in Pakistan, it is not unheard of. Moreover, mind-wandering continues to prove itself as an important issue. Students end up spending a considerable amount of time and energy on Social Media Networks such as Facebook and Twitter. All that time wasted on such systems ends up affecting the academic performance of students, resulting in poor grades. Meditation provides a natural and scientifically proven solution to such issues.
“Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave”.
Education is essential for social and economic growth of the community. It is a tool that can change the destiny of an individual. Schooling gives a person the power to reason, the ability to question the world. It has the authority to make the world a peaceful place. Hence, constant innovation is required in the field of education to ensure that the society is educated in the best possible manner, and meditation is a powerful tool that allows people to benefit from the educational resources available.
Not only does it improve the academic performance of an individual through reducing stress and improving focus, but it also leads to better performance in standard tests such as Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). These tests are specially designed to test the cognitive skills of an individual. As stated in a study conducted at University of California (Santa Barbara) by the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, “Mindfulness training improved both GRE reading-comprehension scores and working memory capacity while simultaneously reducing the occurrence of distracting thoughts during completion of the GRE and the measure of working memory. Improvements in performance following mindfulness training were mediated by reduced mind wandering among participants who were prone to distraction at pretesting”, hence showing an apparent difference between the performances of students who meditate as compared to students who do not meditate.
The benefits of meditation are not just limited to students. Teachers and professors also benefit from it. Meditation allows teachers to perform better while delivering lectures as meditating enables them to relax and clear their mind, allowing them to respond to the queries of the students in a better way. This is mutually beneficial for both students and teachers.
Some people argue that meditation sets back human minds, and leads to an increase in anxiety rather than reducing it. In other cases, people have reported meditation as a waste of time, with absolutely no positive effects on mental and physical health. Meditation helps people in processing their feelings and emotions. However, at times, it unlocks memories and emotions that an individual is trying to run away from. These feelings and memories might be related to a tragic event or a traumatic accident. Meditation does much more than that. It allows a person to process those feelings, teaching him how to live with those feelings. It provides a permanent solution that replaces the temporary notion that those feelings will not erupt into something huge later on. One cannot unlock all the mysteries of a human brain; a single moment can unlock years of memories buried within the mind. Meditation acts as a gateway towards freedom from such memories. As a result, it might hurt the mental health of a person; however, it proves to be useful in the long-run.
The extent to which meditation might improve the mental and physical condition of an individual varies from person to person. This variance might occur due to differences between methods of meditations, as well as differences between the immune system. Some people have a relatively healthy immune system which means that they do not fall sick often. Others may have a fragile immune system. Hence the difference in results.
Meditation is a useful technique that has the potential to enhance the academic performance of students. Numerous schools and colleges in all of the continents encourage their pupils and teachers to practice meditation. A chain of schools in India introduced meditation as part of their daily schedule; they made it mandatory for both students and educators to meditate before the classes begin. Being done in 43 countries, the concept of introducing meditation in educational institutions is spreading like wildfire. Consciousness-based meditation is being practiced in around 230 schools and over 25 universities. The only reason this concept is gaining so much popularity is because it generates results. Thorough research has proven that meditation has positive effects, improving both physical and mental health of a human being. Methods through which education is being promoted are always evolving, and the introduction of meditation sounds like the next logical step.
It can be concluded that meditation is a useful method when it comes to enhancing academic performance, a process that has survived two rigorous tests: time and science.
