How the "Mindfulness Movement" Is Murdering Mindfulness in Our World

Fact: Knowledge is power

Fact: Incomplete Knowledge is dangerous and destructive

Fact: No knowledge is better than incomplete knowledge, for even if without the power of knowledge, one is sparred the harms of incomplete knowledge

Fact: The textbook or dictionary definition of Mindfulness is the state of being conscious and aware. For example, a good planner, is mindful of the risks in the environment, that threaten the effective execution of the plan and achievement of the intended goals

Fact: The "Mindfulness Movement" has taken what it does not understand from Eastern Schools of Spiritual thought, and at best as it can, loosely translated the essential theme into English, with no better fitting word to the understanding of the movement, than 'Mindfulness', trying to explain it with the rationality of Western Academic Empiricism, whether or not there truly is a possible calibration, before Mass-Marketing it as a commodity McDonaldised, for profits, to the exponents, at the top of a value or supply chain, at the expenses of the masses who do not know any better, while stripping away the broader, deeper wisdoms surrounding the content taken from Eastern spirituality, without which, the 'Mindfulness' of the "Mindfulness Movement" is logically, quite probably, very counter-productive, raising risks, for those who buy into it, without understanding the full contexts of the Eastern Schools of thought, from which the 'Mindfulness' of the "Mindfulness Movement" has been derived.

Buddhism, primarily from which the content adopted and "organised" by the "Mindfulness Movement", was born when teachings taken from one Prince Siddharth Gautam from a Kingdom located in present day Nepal and then Bharat or Aryavarta, now known as India, who turned into an ascetic, coming to be known as Siddharth Gautam Buddh or Buddha. That much, yet, many know. What Buddha's actually teachings were, have you done the homework? Or, have all these clowns, forgive my frankness, who go about talking sweetly about 'Mindfulness', done homework on what Buddha actually taught? These are important questions, because it is when you find out the answers, and you look at the "Mindfulness Movement", you see how guilty the "Mindfulness Movement" is, of cause devastating harm to individuals who buy into and the greater human society as a whole, by actually murdering mindfulness, rather than promoting and establishing it.

Buddha's teachings are about being compassionate towards all living beings (self included), seeking harmony with all elements (basically, a sense of oneness with the universe) and wisdom (basically the ability to think in a way, that your actions don't harm yourself or others, but do constructive positive good for all). That is only a summary. There are broader wisdoms that this summary encompasses. Yet, just the point of the summary alone, is achieved through meditative practice. Now, anyone who studied world religions, knows that much about Buddhism. That is not enough though, because you need to go deeper here.

Little do most people on earth unfamiliar with the Eastern School of Thought know, that Buddha, on whose teachings, Buddhism came about, was a Hindu, inheriting wisdom millennia preceding him, from what was then known as Sanatan Dharma (which means the eternal path when best loosely translated in English, and now known as Hinduism) which influenced His quest for Nirvana and adoption of the ascetic life, very much, in part, through meditation, which, well, came from that same school of thought, of what is now known as Hinduism, particularly, the Vaishnav denomination or branch of it, which I happen to be a pursuant as well. So after His Nirvana, Buddha was deified by the Hindus, particularly the Vaishnavs, and those who chose to depart from wider Sanatan Dharma to devote themselves to the post-Nirvana teachings of Buddha alone, became Buddhists. Fair enough. This is not a lesson or discourse on religious education. Let's zoom in to the meditation involved.

The meditation of Sanatan Dharma, that Buddha embraced and utilised to achieve Nirvana, which subsequently continued into Buddhism, along with still continuing in Hinduism till today, is not simply about sitting silently with eyes shut in a corner. Aaah. Got you! Bet that salesman from the "Mindfulness Movement" didn't tell you that! But it is not really about me gloating about knowing more about the meditation that the "Mindfulness Movement" wants to co-opt from Buddhism than that "Mindfulness" salesman who has coming selling to you something you best never bought. This really, is about getting to the truth.

What the meditation of Sanatan Dharma really is about, is internal calmness, composure and stability, where the practitioner gains unwavering control over his or her own mind, to be able to look at the big picture of the world around, as just that, the big picture, objectively, and with rationality, through detachment and focus on priorities. Sounds like management school? It should. That is really one of the purposes meditation served thousands of years ago, long before any religion except Hinduism and any academic system now known, existed.

Now, the deal with meditation, is this, it is a step by step, deep and expansive process, not a simple silent, sit in a corner, reflection activity. Yes, it is supposed to be relaxing and that is why you would pursue it for rest and recreation purposes, but for it to really work for you, as it should, you need to know what it is, and how to practice it. And as tall an order teaching proper meaningful meditation in an article or commentary is, even if I did attempt that quite very successfully, there is no way you'd read it to the 5% mark here on LinkedIn Pulse. And even that would be a lot, so I will save that. Point is however, you need to understand those ancient steps and methods of meditation, before you can effectively use them, for them to effectively work, for you.

Now about those steps and methods of meditation, in the Eastern School, whether in Hinduism or Jainism or Buddhism, they are passed down either within spiritual orders, clans or families, generation to generation, within broader contexts of spiritual understanding and acceptance. Kind of a tall order for Western opportunists to infiltrate and actually get anything really useful there, unless one from within the fold actually systematically coaches someone from outside, in the practice, which today is possible and does happen, for I myself do it, only to the extent where things are secular, but for that learner from outside the fold to then go pass it on without an understanding of the broader contexts, effectively, that would meet the individual needs of the next individual, is really not possible. Here is a secret about meditation. There isn't one universal way, to pick it up, because each mind is different and unique. No two minds can work alike, and meditation really, in the simplest sense is the training and exercise of the mind. If you are not someone who understands the broader contexts surrounding the root and purpose of meditation in its original form, you really should not be attempting to help someone else adopt it. And you don't want to learn from such a person, because incomplete knowledge, is dangerous, and it will harm you. The same applies to the theory and concept of 'Mindfulness' even without the practice of meditation.

What the "Mindfulness Movement" is doing, is promoting, consciously or inadvertently, either way, destructively, simply the adaptation to the stress triggers of individuals, organisations and communities, without understanding the contexts of the Buddhist teachings it takes from, which would actually promote, addressing and dealing with those triggers without adaptation to them. This is where, stress is not reduced, but veiled, and then it works unconsciously or subconsciously, within individuals, organisations or communities, to amplified negative effects. Now, when you are stressed, or worse, if your stress is amplified, can you effectively be conscious and aware? You can't mate, don't kid yourself. Effectively, you are rendered, NOT mindful. That is how, in you, mindfulness dies. That is how, mindfulness is killed. That is how mindfulness is murdered. And the culprit is the "Mindfulness Movement". Guilty beyond reasonable doubt, as charged.

Rather than using the mind as your friend and tool to critique situations, to then surface wisdom to address them, the "Mindfulness Movement" is promoting the blanket reinforcement of all situations and status quo, including the negatives that drastically need urgent change, transformation or supplanting, through simply justifying and rationalising them, regardless of how unjust or irrational those circumstances may be, with "acceptance", "adapting", "awareness" and "mindfulness". Basically, you brainwash yourself into accepting your poison. That is not what Buddhism is about. Not what Hinduism is about. Not at all what Mindfulness is about, in the most secular sense.

And here is the biggest joke before mankind since 1978, the year before the "Mindfulness Movement" began; by stripping away the spiritual contexts and background behind and around the content taken or co-opted from Buddhism, that content the "Mindfulness Movement" came to declare as "Mindfulness", is today the most dogmatic thing humanity has ever known, till now. Now somebody remind me please why we don't like dogma? Oh that is right, no rationality, no objectivity. Wait, why do we like objectivity? Oh, because it is logical and therefore makes sense. Which means, if it lacks objectivity, or if there is no objectivity, Holy Mother of Intelligent Brain Cells! It is not sensible! It is senseless!

So what happens when a lot of people in your family, your workplace, your neighbourhood and your country take up the thought train of the "Mindfulness Movement" and try to adapt to the very things they should not be adapting to but rather changing? Their sense of awareness and consciousness declines. On a large scale, Mindfulness dies. I was wrong. The "Mindfulness Movement" is not Murdering Mindfulness. The "Mindfulness Movement" is Mass-Murdering Mindfulness.