World Meditation Day marked to raise awareness

Kathmandu, Dec. 22: The 2nd World Meditation Day was observed in Nepal by organising meditation programmes across the country on Sunday. 

From December 2024, the United Nations has officially recognised December 21 as World Meditation Day through a General Assembly resolution.

With the aim of raising awareness about the benefits of meditation, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 21 December as World Meditation Day last year.

Speaking at a meditation programme held to mark the World Meditation Day at Tundikhel on Sunday, Minister for Education, Science and Technology Mahabir Pun said that corruption could be eliminated if yoga becomes a part of a person's life. Emphasising the need to purify the mind, he stated that yoga and meditation are effective means to achieve mental purity.

He also urged everyone to practise yoga and meditation and mentioned that directives have already been issued to introduce yoga and meditation in schools as extracurricular activities.

Likewise, Minister for Health and Population Dr. Sudha Sharma Gautam said that the government is moving forward with traditional medical practices as an important component of the health system. 

She said that although there have been complaints that no ministry has taken leadership in traditional medical practices, the Ministry of Health has been providing leadership in this area. She also claimed that an appropriate budget has been allocated for Ayurveda and traditional medical practices. Gautam further added that Ayurveda programmes have been included in national policy as well as in the Ministry of Health’s health policy, five-year strategies, and action plans.

Speaking at the programme, Swami Anand Arun, chief of Osho Tapoban Nepal, said that just as yoga is important for physical pain, meditation is equally necessary for mental pain. He said that people today are suffering from mental distress and that meditation is an effective remedy for mental health problems. 

He stressed that meditation should be adopted as a lifestyle and said that practicing 15 minutes of yoga and 15 minutes of meditation daily helps balance life. He also emphasised that Nepal should be developed as a meditation hub and urged the government to remove the 15 per cent tax imposed on religious organisations. Additionally, he called for the establishment of a Yoga and Meditation Ministry.

Likewise, Subarna Lal Chitrakar, Head of the Training Department of Patanjali Yoga Samiti Nepal, said that meditation promotes physical, mental, and intellectual development and brings bliss to the soul. However, he noted that to practice meditation properly, one must learn from a guru and follow the scriptures.

He added that when a person reaches a higher level of consciousness, love and compassion begin to fill the heart.

Stating that meditation induces specific biochemical changes in the body that improve physical health, he said that it aids proper digestion, reduces constipation, promotes sound sleep and enhances overall bodily health.

Mentally, impurities such as attachment, hatred, anger, and jealousy gradually disappear. Meditation enhances the physical body, mind, and intellect, increases discriminative wisdom, and enables a person to remain joyful in both happiness and sorrow, he added.

On the occasion of World Meditation Day, Patanjali Yoga Samiti Nepal organised programmes across the country. 

Likewise, the Art of Living Centre, Nepal, also organised meditation programmes in various places to mark the day. The Art of Living founder and spiritual guru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, conducted a Zoom meditation live to mark the day. 

According to senior teacher of Art of Living Centre, Nepal, Achut Raj Gautam, meditation strengthens immunity, releases happy hormones, and is essential today to overcome aggression and depression. He further added that over 80 per cent of illnesses are psychosomatic, related to the mind. To overcome these, meditation is indispensable. “When we meditate, our productivity increases, and our efficiency improves,” he added. 

Likewise, to mark the World Meditation Day, Nepal made a special presentation at the United Nations for the first time.

Representing Nepal, the Jeevan Vigyan Pratisthan organised two separate meditation-related programmes at the UN on Friday.

On behalf of the foundation, its co-founders, Ramesh Nepal and LP Bhanu Sharma, conducted a special session at the United Nations headquarters in New York, USA. 

According to a press release issued by the foundation, the programme helped promote spiritual awareness including yoga, meditation, and samadhi, which originated in Nepal, across the world.