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Meditacijos sąvoka yra dažna aptariant įvairias dvasinės pagalbos formas, dažniausia ji sietina su rytietiškomis tradicijomis, tačiau kartais minima ir krikščioniškame kontekste, o neretai tampa ir diskusijų objektu. Straipsnyje siekiama detaliau atskleisti krikščioniškosios meditacijos sampratą ir prasmę analizuojant jos traktuotes, termino etimologiją, nustatant krikščioniškosios meditacijos bruožus. Meditacija šiame kontekste atsiskleidžia kaip krikščioniškoji maldos forma, neatsiejama nuo asmeniškumo, dialogiškumo ir kristocentriškumo. Pagrindiniai žodžiai: krikščioniškoji meditacija, malda, santykis su Dievu. In today’s troubled world, people are increasingly looking for various forms of spiritual help, so the topic of meditation is often developed in various respects, both in popular literature and in research works examining spiritual content. Although the concept has ambiguous associations, and is mostly related to eastern traditions, it sometimes appears in a Christian context as well. In research works, the phenomenon is usually studied through the prism of the technique used for meditation (mindfulness, breathing, mindful walking, etc). Meanwhile, the essence of Christian meditation is that it is always aimed at a meeting of man with God. In respect of the latter, wider scientific discussions in this area are still lacking. The actualities and life situations that provoke tensions and fear in people today encourage us to look deeper into the phenomenon of Christian meditation. The purpose of this article is to reveal the concept and meaning of Christian meditation. The goal is achieved by implementing the following tasks: the analysis of interpretations and the etymology of the term of meditation, and the identification of specific features of Christian meditation. The theoretical research was carried out by employing methods of scientific literature, interpretation, and synthesis. The analysis allows us to state that two essential approaches prevail in the understanding of the concept of meditation: eastern religious traditions, which treat meditation as reflection in order to know oneself better, and western Christian traditions, which describe meditation as contemplation in prayer. In eastern religions, it has deep historical roots, and is an integral part of religious practices, directly related to a person’s spiritual development, the ability to focus on a transcendentally understood reason, or the thoughts created by one’s own mind. From the latter point of view, the purpose of meditation practice is to gain new experience within oneself. The western Christian approach understands meditation as an intermediate way to discover and strengthen a person’s relationship with God. Its origins go back to both the pre-Christian and early Christian world of Antiquity, and to the teachings in the Holy Scriptures about the deep contemplation of God’s Word: the attitude of the heart, consideration and remembrance, done with the utmost desire to know and acknowledge God’s will in one’s existence. Christian meditation stands out by its distinctive features. Although different denominations may use different concepts to discuss it, meditation as a form of prayer is always characterised by personalism, dialogue and Christocentricity. This distinguishes it from other religious or secular meditation practices. Christian meditation aims at the closest possible relationship with God as a Person. It is a way of drawing closer to Him and experiencing a personal relationship with Jesus through prayerful contemplation of the Scriptures (lectio divina) or the silent contemplation of God’s nature and attributes. Christian meditation is characterised by a prayerful search, during which the human spirit seeks to understand the conditions and ways to listen to God’s invitations, with the aim of responding to them and applying them to oneself. This meditation is a meeting between the Word of God and the human heart, their ‘contact’, when a person makes the contemplated Word of God ‘his own’. Christian meditation cannot be defined as a method or technique. We can only talk about the techniques used in meditation (concentration, silence, attentiveness, etc). The forms of Christian meditation can be very diverse: from simple, short practices of prayer, for example, repeating the name of Jesus, to systematic, for example, Carmelite meditation, or even methodical, such as Ignatian meditation. Keywords: Christian meditation, prayer, relationship with God. |
