Ancient Indians
always emphasized on the need to meditate during early morning hours just before
sunrise. Not just the Hindus, even Muslims start their day’s Namäz, at that time. Apart from
religious reasons, are there any scientific reasons for choosing this time for
meditation?
Unless you are working in a night shift, you normally work
during the day and take rest during the night. At night, the brain shuts down
its shop (well, almost!), which we call sleep. During sleep, most of the brain
activity comes down.
And when you wake up in the morning, there will be fewer activities
in the brain as compared to what you would otherwise find during busy day
hours. Less brain chatter means that the brain is more amenable to modulation.
Also, during early hours, there will be less external hustle
and bustle, fewer distractions. The body will also be fresher after a good
night’s sleep.
So, if you are a beginner meditator, still in the process of
developing focusing skills, it will be easy to focus the mind during these
conditions as compared to any other time of the day. Even if you are an
accomplished meditator, it will be easier for you to sink into deeper states of
meditation as compared to any other time.
A short meditation just before you sleep may also be useful
since meditation has a potential to calm you down and prepare you for a good
night’s sleep. But never make it a habit to meditate whenever you have problems
getting into sleep. Our brain is such a habit former that it associates sleep
with meditation and the next time when you try to meditate, you will invariably
fall asleep!
If you are a religious person, you can use meditation as a
form of prayer – of course, without the usual list of demands – before you retire
for the day.
That brings us to the question – Is there a role for God in
meditation? Let us see that in the next post.
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