Around the turn of the millennium, meditation became more mainstream, yet few people realize how old and vast this technique is, and how it evolved in different regions of the world. In this brief essay, I’ll aim to provide a broad overview of meditation’s history and many contemplative traditions.
The material in this essay is based on my years of research into many traditions. Aside from that, it’s difficult to obtain this knowledge organized in this way, because each tradition prefers to focus on its own history and only gives one piece of the puzzle.
This essay provides an outline of meditation’s history in Buddhism, yoga, Christianity, and other religious traditions. You’ll also discover information about the history of meditation in the West at the conclusion.
Understanding the wider picture and the origins of meditation will help you figure out which tradition or form of meditation you want to pursue.
You can get a free PDF of this article at the bottom of this page.
Finally, a portion of this information was also included in my new book Practical Meditation, and is reprinted here with Dorling Kindersley Limited’s permission (DK).
What is the origin of meditation?
Meditation was first practiced in India thousands of years ago. Wall paintings from from 5,000 to 3,500 BCE on the Indian subcontinent show individuals reclining in meditative poses with half-closed eyelids, which are the oldest known evidence of the practice of meditation.
The Vedas, which date back to 1,500 BCE, include the earliest documented reference of meditation. The Vedas were written down at that time, but it’s important to remember that they had been remembered and passed down as an oral tradition for centuries before they were ultimately written down. In fact, the Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad (f14th century BCE) recounts over 70 generations of meditation teachers and followers.
Meditation was a method used by religious people and travelling ascetics to transcend the constraints of human existence, connect with universal energies (personified as deities), and unite with the transcendental reality during this historical period (called Brahman in the Vedas).
Both Yogis who meditate in caves and Vedic culture’s Sages (rishis) are part of the Hindu meditation tradition. It’s the world’s oldest meditation practice, and it’s still going strong. It contains hundreds of methods and lineages.
Mantra meditation or gazing were most likely the earliest meditation techniques invented/discovered, however we can’t be certain.
Only one of the hundreds of Yogic schools has influenced the present Yoga movement, which stresses postures and breathing techniques (the Hatha Yoga school). Yoga is, in general, a wisdom tradition centered on meditation and spiritual growth rather than a set of stretches and breathing exercises.
Meditation and Science in the Age of Enlightenment
According to researcher George Feuerstein, the first scientific study on meditation was conducted in 1936, while the first study employing the EEG was conducted in 1955. James Funderburk, a disciple of Swami Rama of the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science, compiled the first collection of scientific research on meditation in 1977.
Swami Rama was, in fact, one of the first yogis to be researched by Western researchers. In the 1960s, he was evaluated by experts at the Menninger Clinic, where he exhibited his capacity to deliberately regulate physical functions that science had previously regarded uncontrollable (such as heartbeat, blood pressure, and body temperature).
He demonstrated, among other things:
While sitting stationary, changing his heartbeat to 300 beats per minute for 16 seconds, and then entirely stopping his heart from pumping blood for a few seconds.
By controlling dilation and contraction of his blood vessels with his thoughts, he was able to produce differing skin temperatures on adjacent sides of his hand.
On-demand production of alpha, delta, theta, and gamma brain waves.
While his brain was in deep slumber, he remained completely aware of his surroundings.
[For further information, see Yogi in the Lab.]
These and other examples piqued the scientific community’s interest in learning more about the physiological consequences of meditation.
Tibetan lamas’ meditation research
As a result, the quantity of scientific research on meditation expanded dramatically over the next five decades, as did their quality. Advanced practitioners from other traditions, such as Zen monks and Tibetan lamas, were also researched and demonstrated mind-body techniques.
Dr. Herbert Benson, who studied the efficacy of meditation at Harvard University in the early 1970s, was another forerunner in this process. Prior to that time, meditation was still regarded a religious activity and so unsuitable for medical use. This began to alter as a result of his effort.
Meditation has now become popular and considerably secularized in the early twenty-first century. Even if spiritual meditation is still practiced, the secular approach to the practice—for its health, mental, and physical benefits—is the cause for its growing popularity.