PEERING INTO MONKS’ MINDS TO UNRAVEL MEDITATION MYSTERY

BRAINS OF BUDDHIST MONKS  
SCANNED IN MEDITATION STUDY

New York (BBC News) - In a laboratory tucked away off a noisy New York City street, a soft-spoken neuroscientist has been placing Tibetan Buddhist monks into a car-sized brain scanner to better understand the ancient practice of meditation.  But could this unusual research not only unravel the secrets of leading a harmonious life but also shed light on some of the world’s more mysterious diseases?  Zoran Josipovic, a research scientist and professor at New York University, says he has been peering into the brains of monks while they meditate in an attempt to understand how their brains reorganise themselves during meditation.  “Meditation research, particularly in the last 10 years or so, has shown to be very promising because it points to an ability of the brain to change and optimise in a way we didn’t know previously was possible.”

When one relaxes into a state of oneness, the neural networks in experienced practitioners change as they lower the psychological wall between themselves and their environments, and this reorganization in the brain may lead to what some meditators claim to be a deep harmony between themselves and their surroundings, Dr Josipovic says.  The brain appears to be organized into two networks which are rarely fully active at the same time, and like a seesaw, when one rises, the other one dips down.   Dr Josipovic has found that some monks and other experienced meditators have the ability to keep both neural networks active at the same time during meditation - that is to say, they have found a way to lift both sides of the seesaw simultaneously.

“Meditation research has shown to be very promising as it points to an ability of the brain to change and optimize.  When one relaxes into a state of oneness, the neural networks - in experienced practitioners - change as they lower the psychological wall between themselves and their environments,” Josipovic says.  This brain’s reorganization makes meditators to claim they have found a deep harmony between themselves and their surroundings.  A rubbish-brain will be only cleaned when we purify our heart by serving the Guru and having the lotus feet of God as the highest object of meditation. 

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?  

Our heart’s concern is with ecstasy, charm, and sweetness. And this is felt by the heart, not by the brain, so the heart has been given the most importance. The next effect is felt in the plane of knowledge. ... By getting a taste of Krsna consciousness, the heart is captured, and when the heart is captured, the ecstasy of love of Godhead, prema, begins to flow.  Being satisfied, the heart will say, “This is what I was searching for!” Then, the brain will follow, thinking, “Yes, there can be no doubt, this is the highest goal of our search. Dissolve everything else.” The heart will say, “I have attained prema, divine love - this is the highest thing! Stop all works from now on.” ... When the heart is captured, the brain approves, and our karma, energizing in the wrong direction, stops. Krsna consciousness is the real wealth of the heart.

Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja :
“The Golden Volcano of Divine Love”
“Friend of the Fallen” - “The Heart Wants Ecstasy”
http://bvml.org/SBRSM/tgvodl.html