Hacking Health by Mukesh Bansal

Author:Mukesh Bansal [Bansal, Mukesh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789354928871
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Published: 2022-12-30T00:00:00+00:00

6

BREATH & MEDITATION

Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.—Thich Nhat Hanh

I have always been struck by how similar places of spiritual contemplation are to the natural surroundings we seek to find moments of calm. Temples, churches and mosques, for example, are usually vast spaces defined by a feeling of openness—beautifully lit with sunlight or a candle flame, with high ceilings and music in the form of ringing bells, chants or choral voices. The feeling evoked by these places isn’t very different from what we experience when we are trekking in the mountains or walking in a forest or swimming in the open ocean. But instead of decorative ceilings, we have the open sky above us, and in place of music or candles, we have birdsong and the light of the sun and stars.

These sorts of multisensory experiences seem to inspire meditative states, inducing a deep sense of calm—allowing us to slow down, reflect, and observe ourselves. I recently visited Auroville, where I had the opportunity to meditate in the Matrimandir, and I experienced for myself, this state of quiet contemplation.

Auroville is a fascinating place—an experimental township set up in 1968 with the vision to establish a ‘universal city’, where people could live in peace and harmony as citizens of the world. Auroville does not subscribe to any political belief or creed, instead striving for true human unity. For many people in the 1960s and 1970s, this represented the radical freedom that the hippie culture aspired to—an escape from the confines of traditional society to pursue journeys of introspection for the greater good. The idea has drawn people from around the world and different walks of life—many who have given up lucrative careers to become part of the community—and the land occupied by Auroville, once dry and barren, is now a lush and serene forest.

At the heart of Auroville is a structure that defies description—some compare it to a lotus in bloom, others see a golden golf-ball-shaped object out of a sci-fi film. This is the Matrimandir, literally meaning ‘temple of the Mother’, built in accordance with the vision of the Mother, Auroville’s founder and spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo. The golden sphere rises from the ground, with an inner chamber crafted of pure white marble that is centred around a large crystal globe. The crystal captures a beam of sunlight that streams in from the top of the dome, illuminating the silent space that is dedicated to non-denominational meditation.

As I walked up to the Matrimandir, I was stuck by the serenity of the surroundings—the carefully designed gardens and the sprawling banyan tree casting its shade on one side. The first glimpse of the actual structure, which took almost four decades to build, is hard to describe—this glowing orbit emerging from the earth, with shimmering golden discs that are radiant as they reflect the sun.

Inside, the space is the very definition of silence. I had the opportunity to sit in the chamber for about an hour in quiet contemplation.

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