Sri Chinmoy on the nature and goals of contemplative practice
Kusumita P. Pedersen
Contemplative Studies and Hinduism December 1, 2016 DOI: 10.1186/s40613-016-0038-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Argues that Sri Chinmoy's teachings present a heart-centered path of love, devotion, and surrender that attenuates the ego and brings illumination into consciousness, distinguishing concentration, meditation, and contemplation as stages of practice. |
Abstract
Sri Chinmoy (1931–2007) has written extensively on the concrete details of contemplative practice as well as its purpose in the wider context of yoga as a system of spiritual disciplines leading to God-realization. The paper summarizes his teachings with an emphasis on how contemplative practice is done and how it works in attaining its goals. Sri Chinmoy distinguishes between concentration, meditation and contemplation (the last a term he reserves for highly advanced practice). While not offering a single “technique” but rather a toolbox of many techniques from which the practitioner can choose, he commends a particular basic approach or method while always recognizing the validity of other approaches. On the path of love, devotion and surrender, Sri Chinmoy emphasizes a focus on the heart and cultivation of aspiration, an inner cry for self-transcendence. In actual practice, this approach attenuates the ego and eventually brings illumination into a person’s entire consciousness. The paper explains how this process relates to samādhi, which is described, and the difference between samādhi and realization. The paper also touches on the relation between meditation and action and the further goal, beyond God-realization, of “God-manifestation” or integral transformation of the individual, human society and the evolving cosmos.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |