Monasticism

Monastic traditions are not the sole gatekeepers to enlightenment and wellbeing.

What holds most people back from learning meditation? They think they can't do it. There's a reason for this. The kinds of meditation that we see on TV, social media, and ads are stereotypes of traditions that weren't designed for people like us.

When we think of meditation, how many of us have thought things like this:

-I have to clear my mind.

-I've got to sit with my legs crossed and back straight without any support.

-I've got to say "Aum."

-I've got to have total silence around me.

-In order to have peace in my life, I've got to get away from it all.

Who would design practices centered around strict discipline and the urge for reclusion?

Monks

Monastic traditions are meant for people with monastic tendencies: people who have never in their lives craved relationships (friendly or romantic), possessions, or any kind of societal engagement. If you've ever felt even the smallest urge for any of these, you're not a monk.

And if that's the case, you don't need to be meditating like one.

The notion that monks have been the sole gatekeepers of stress relief, wellbeing, and enlightenment is false. Vedic Meditation was designed thousands of years ago for and by people like us: householders. The early great Masters of this tradition were people who lived amongst society, had spouses, and had other jobs/specialties. It wasn't until a few centuries ago, when India was under colonization, that our tradition was taken into safekeeping by monks.

As householders with many daily demands, they recognized that the last thing we needed more of in our self care time was more rigidness and demand. We need the complete opposite: ease, comfort, and effortlessness. We also need a practice that's incredibly easy to integrate into our daily life.

That's another misconception. People the only way they can get some peace is by seclusion. Retreats can be great, but we won't always have that option. And it's often hard to integrate what you've experienced back into your daily routine.

In our practice, we are our own sanctuary. There's no need to withdraw. It's quite the opposite. Vedic Meditation is all about having regular access to fulfillment and bliss from within, stabilizing it more and more over time, and radiating it for all to enjoy.