The SHEN Centre for Meditative Sciences is dedicated to the integration of the understanding about the practice of meditation from ancient wisdom and modern science. It strips ancient wisdom from its cultural connection and interprets it in the light of science for inclusive intelligibility in the modern milieu. Ancient wisdom presents a rich variety of strategies for meditative development of the body-mind complex to a holitistc self-awareness.
In ancient wisdom,we consist of body, mind and beyond as an integral whole. We may at one stage refer to ourselves as body, at other as mind, yet at another as mind-body or body-mind, but in fact we are body, mind, and much much more. This mind-body complex has its mechanistic physical faculty, a faculty of perception, a faculty of action, faculties of feeling and knowing, a faculty of rationality and an intuitive or spiritual dimension of supra-rationality. All these faculties are connected integrally with one another.
The body is pervaded through and through in every cell with faculties of perception and action, which are pervaded by faculties of feeling and knowing, which in turn by that of rationality which finally by the spiritual dimension. That which pervades is relatively subtler than the one which is pervaded by it. Although generally the subtler is freer and it controls the gross, the gross too has a degree of freedom from the control of the subtle.
Let us illustrate this principle with an example: although thought generally controls feelings, but feelings do not always lend themselves to the control of rational thought.
The grosser a faculty is, the lesser is its degree of freedom. Vice versa, the subtler a dimension is, the higher is its degree of freedom and control of the gross. Thus, our supra-rational intuitive dimension, being the subtlest, has the highest degree of freedom and control over all of our being. This control though is not total. Its grosser faculty of rationality may not lend itself to this control.
What is this supra-rational dimension of intuition? It is the ultimate reality or the essence of existence of the universe including that of ours. What do we rationally know about it? The only thing about it rationally accessible is that it is one whatever it might be; everything else about it is not rationally accessible.
The only rational understanding of our subtlest dimension is that all beings in the universe are one in their essence or ultimate reality. All our rationality or thinking then is going to be faulty if we misunderstand this rational truth. Misunderstanding leads to further misunderstandings and feelings out of touch with reality. These misunderstandings and related feelings keep us unhealthy and unwell.
Moving towards the correct understanding moves us closer to health and wellness at a personal level and all-inclusive and all-encompassing worldview and behaviour at the community and planetary levels, while reaching the rational understanding of the ultimate truth is the final release from ill health, lack of wellness, suffering, un-happiness, exclusive and tribal behaviour.
Recent researches at Harvard Medical School has helped move our understanding of health and wellness closer to that of ancient wisdom. The goals of the SHEN Centre for Health and Wellness and the SHEN Centre for Meditative Sciences are to highlight the latest discoveries of modern physical and health sciences concerning the role of eliciting relaxation response with the help of meditative practices, the processes acclaimed by ancient wisdom as the road to integral understanding. The SHEN Centre for Meditative Sciences scientifically focuses on mind-body practices of the contemplation-meditation class traditionally recommended on the basis of the unity of mind, body and spirit for personal, community and planetary development.