There is a saying among meditation teachers that medicine can help only on a very physical level, and even that help is never permanent. The actual root cause of a disease lies in the mind, especially in the stress, anxiety, tension, worry, and fear that the mind can whip up as a reaction to certain stimulus and thoughts. 

But the spiritually inclined who spend a considerable time in meditation say that with regular meditation, the mind becomes relaxed and negative emotions like stress, worry, anxiety and fear disappear. Once these draining emotions disappear, physical symptoms like BP, heart ailments, pain, headaches and other points of tension in the body automatically vanish. 

Once, at Mt Abu, at a Brahma Kumari Centre, I had occasion to meet a senior Rajyogini, BK Nirmala Didi, who was a medical doctor before she moved on to become a full-time teacher of meditation with the Brahma Kumaris. This is what she had to say about meditation:  

Reena Singh

”At a psychological level, it helps us relax and get empowered from within. If I have courage, I don’t have fear. If I have humility, I will not have ego. Psychologically, negative things happen only when we are aware of our body at a material, mundane level. But when we are soulconscious, we are positive and virtuous.” 

She added that stress affects the body in many ways, aggravating ailments, even causing them. But when one is relaxed and positive mentally, and not worried, healing takes place fast. Also, when one meditates, one finds that pulse rate and breathing remain normal. Exactly, the opposite happens with stress: Blood pressure fluctuates. When we become calm with meditation, fluctuations vanish.

Another point that the medical fraternity often overlook is that the body is self-healing. 

Unfortunately, people think that only when they take medicine, will they heal fast. BK Nirmala Didi mentioned that doctors are in the habit of prescribing medication as they don’t want to take chances. But the other point is that if a person relies only on meditation and nature to self-heal, it may not always work. For one, to heal ourselves mentally, we need a lot of inner strength as well as patience, something that people often lack. 

For example, common fever often goes away with fever medication. But people are so impatient, that they expect the doctor to put them on antibiotics right away. 

A change of heart with meditation


Also, meditation may not help everyone, as not everyone knows how to meditate. For instance, someone who is ill in the first place because they are totally anxious or riddled by stress and doubt, won’t have the patience to try meditation. 

The other point is that meditation is a voluntary practise, and no one can force you to do it. People only take up meditation when they are ready for it and the ones who finally do, generally report many miracle cures. But ultimately, people have to work on themselves and wait for the customary six weeks of a daily meditation practise before they may begin to find changes in their body and in their thinking. 

The Dalai Lama’s Mind Research Institute and studies done at AIIMS in consultation with Art of Living find that there are changes in the brain itself when meditation is done consistently and seriously. Meditation also helps us to develop brotherly feelings, love and compassion towards others. 

This change finally lends you to give out love to everyone and there is a positive effect on your thinking and actions. This curbs your mind’s tendency towards vices and addictions, as your will power also increases. Ultimately, the person who meditates regularly becomes nonviolent and virtuous and helpful towards people. 


Reena Singh has more than 37 years’ experience in senior editorial positions in The Times of India (TOI) and Genpact. She was Deputy Editor with TOI’s spiritual newspaper, The Speaking Tree, where she spent nine years.

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