What is Common in The Art of Meditation and Ancient Greek Philosophy

Last Updated on February 25, 2021 by Matthew Sockolov

The history of meditation dates back to 5,500 years. Initially, it was passed verbally but from about 3,500 years ago, the earliest writings on it were found in an Indian valley. The art of meditation focuses on the body, mind and soul.

On the other hand, the Greek philosophy was based on four elements, namely earth, water, air and fire. Everything on earth is made of these four. The Greek philosophy on the four elements has a similarity with the teaching on meditation.

Meditation origins – the three components 

There is no written evidence on meditation between 5,500BC to 3,500BC. The earliest records can be traced from Hindu scriptures and philosophical writings. In one of the archives, a philosopher named Ishvarakrishna wrote the Samkhya philosophy.

In writing, he describes a cosmology that revolves around dynamic tension. The activities included in this tension are 3: the mind, the indriya (sense and motor abilities) and the bhuta (the gross elements in concrete bodies).

If the individual can control the three and bring them into subjection, they receive liberation and can no longer act compulsively. It was from this philosophical teaching that yoga was developed.

The four elements

Aristotle taught that these four elements were the basis of medicine, philosophy and science. Hippocrates went further and described the elements as what constituted the four temperaments which were the four senses of humor in the human body.

The theories were combined to state that the four temperaments emanating from the four elements required to be balanced in the human body so that the individual could be healthy in mind and body.

Antigone in the ancient Greek Philosophy 

Antigone is one of the oldest books written in ancient greek philosophy and dates back to 442 BC. She wished to bury her murdered brother but the king would not allow her. She was willing to take capital punishment as long as she was allowed to bury him. This is one of the books you can write an essay about. By reading the book, you can also write an essay on meditation. If you need to learn more about the book, you can browse Antigone essay resources on GradesFixer. From the website, you can get more essay examples and pick the example relevant to you.

Yoga – the techniques for liberation 

The Samkhya philosophy was further developed and more techniques evolved, which would help liberate the body, mind and soul faster. According to history dating about 200BC, yoga is defined as a restraint of the wondering of the mind to bring the soul and body into subjection. Health experts have discussed that yoga has many meditation benefits for students.

The healing factor through the four elements

The greeks seemed more liberal and they further studied the four elements and came with two schools of thought. One was on forces of attraction and repulsion, which held all matter, changing from time to time.

The second school was that the four elements could be brought to balance within the body and nature to trigger healing.

Air – Related to the mind, which is the intellect part of human nature.

Water – Related to the soul and composed of emotions, wisdom and energy.

Earth: Connected to the body, which is about caring for the physical well-being.

Fire: Connected with inspiration which, according to Greeks, was what caused the actual healing.

The similarities 

The Eastern philosophers were not concerned with science and medicine like the Western philosophers. They took the art of balancing the mind, body and soul seriously and monks treasured the art because it helped them get inspiration from the holy scriptures. On the other hand, the Greeks sought to balance the elements in the body to help them achieve more discoveries in science and medicine.

Although each had a different school of thought, the art of meditation and the art of balancing the four elements had one result: – subjecting the body, mind and soul to trigger healing, better imagination, relaxation and an awakening of the soul.

Conclusion 

The ancient philosophers played an important role in shaping today’s society. Philosophers in the East taught meditation and today, people use meditation to improve their mental and physical health. The Greek philosophers were more concerned with science and healing and today, science has made life easy in many aspects. No matter how big or small their discoveries were, today, their significance is felt throughout the world.

Author’s Bio:

James Collins works as the admissions head for a ‘foreign education agency’ that helps students realize their study abroad dreams. He’s a very good writer as well and helps students with personal statements and college essay writing. His free time is for writing business blogs, playing lawn tennis and grooming his dogs.