Not a Substitute for Spirituality: What Is Meditation?

In Israel, it's common for young people to travel to India after their military service in search of a spiritual experience in the Eastern countries. It’s important to clarify the mistaken mystique surrounding this spiritual quest.

Meditation is merely a breathing exercise during which the individual focuses on their breath for a few minutes, thereby calming both mind and soul. This natural relaxation exercise allows the brain to rest and feel at peace.

Scientists have studied this topic and discovered that during meditation, the brain emits theta waves, frequencies associated with the dreaming phase preceding REM sleep. Science has revealed that meditation contributes to tranquility, lowers blood pressure, and may even replace mild medications for anxiety and depression. Thus, some doctors recommend engaging in "medical meditation" for 5 minutes a day to achieve these positive effects.

I once spoke with a Jew who mistakenly thought he discovered spirituality through this experience. I explained to him that while his feelings were not false, his interpretation of them was entirely incorrect. There is no doubt that at our core, we are a spiritual soul housed within a body, and it is therefore understandable that leaving behind the ego, desires, and material thoughts, which are products of the brain, would allow a person to briefly perceive their inner soul. However, what should a person do with this precious soul once its existence has been perceived?

Reflect on your body, all its complex organs, and ask yourself: who designed and placed your soul into this intricate body, like a driver in a vehicle? Who created your spiritual soul, and for what purpose? Why were you brought into this material world for 80+ years until old age and death? When "the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns unto Hashem who gave it... for Hashem shall bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil" (Kohelet 12:7-14).

It is a fact that we face challenges in our material lives, influenced by both a good inclination and an evil inclination, with free choice and a feeling of responsibility for our actions, a desire for justice, morality, and values. Who instilled in us these desires and tests us with the challenges of materialism? All these indicate a practical purpose for life, the need for instructions from the Creator, from the Torah of Life: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Hashem" (Devarim 8:3).

The Indians recognized the existence of their soul but stopped there without learning more about themselves and the purpose of the world. Focusing on one's consciousness alone is a barren and meaningless pursuit, similar to someone knowing that they own a luxury off-road vehicle, but without any idea of what to do with it, or driving it anywhere.

Judaism teaches us to achieve intention, mitzvot and good deeds; it infuses our souls with true spiritual content through prayer, Torah study, and refining one's character traits. This is the meaning of true spirituality.