For the second year, the UN commemorates this ancient practice, which is proven to help improve personal well-being and mental health.
“When the attention deficit is so great, meditation is absolutely essential,” said Indian spiritual leader Gurudev Ravi Shankar at an event at UN headquarters on Friday ahead of World Meditation Day.
“Nearly 500 universities around the world have started adopting meditation today. Hospitals are adopting meditation,” he added.
In times of global challenges, meditation offers a powerful means to cultivate peace, unity and compassion.
What is behind the international day?
With the aim of raising awareness about the benefits of this practice, the UN General Assembly last year proclaimed December 21 as World Meditation Day, reaffirming the right of everyone to enjoy the highest possible level of physical and mental health.
Organized by the Permanent Mission of India and the other countries that promoted the establishment of the international day, the event “Meditation for Global Peace and Harmony” aimed to embrace inner harmony and promote international unity.
Meditation has the power to bring those who practice it to a “space of unified feeling, of tranquility, that unity that unites everyone,” said Shankar, who also led a meditation session at the event.
A powerful tool
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), meditation can be a powerful self-care tool to reinforce treatments and improve overall well-being, especially when it comes to anxiety.
Shankar noted that today there are 700 research articles showing more than 100 benefits of the practice.
With an emphasis on breathing and presence, incorporating meditation into your daily routine, even for just a few minutes, can help achieve a sense of calm and focus.
Before beginning the meditation session, Mr. Shankar spoke about anger and desire, which take over the mind.
“These two things don’t let you calm down, they don’t even let you sleep,” he said.
Meditation and breathing can ease those disturbing feelings.
“Our breathing has a secret. Breathing unites our body and mind. By paying attention to your breathing, you can calm your emotions,” he explained.
He concluded that meditation cannot be forced, it just happens.
“You just create a situation in which meditation can happen and for that you need to keep the desire on one side and the anxieties and fears on the other; we can deal with that later,” he said, before bringing the room to a calm state.
