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Chetan.

 

Reading Vedic Sanskrit would have profound effects on the physiology

 

Research showing that the physiological effects of reading Sanskrit

are similar to those experienced during the Transcendental

Meditation technique has recently been published in the

International Journal of Neuroscience.

 

Fred Travis, chair of the Department of Psychology and first author

of the study, predicted that reading Vedic Sanskrit aloud but

without awareness of the meaning would have profound effects on the

physiology.

 

Dr. Travis had his 18 subjects read a passage from the Bhagavad-Gita

in Sanskrit and in modern foreign languages (Spanish, French, or

German). In each case they could pronounce the sounds but didn't

know the meaning. He measured EEG, heart and breath rate, and skin

conductance during a session reading the Bhagavad-Gita in Sanskrit,

during a session reading the same verse in a modern language, and

during a 15-minute session of the Transcendental Meditation

technique.

 

He found that the pattern of skin conductance levels and EEG power

and coherence during reading Sanskrit was similar to that during

practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique but

significantly different from reading a modern language.

 

Skin conductance levels decreased during reading Sanskrit and the

practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique, but increased

slightly during reading a modern language. EEG power and coherence

were both significantly higher during reading Sanskrit and the

Transcendental Meditation technique compared to reading a modern

language.

 

Dr. Travis said that the similarity of physiology during reading

Sanskrit and the Transcendental Meditation technique is especially

noteworthy because one reads with his or her eyes open and engages

in active perceptual and cognitive processes, while the

Transcendental Meditation technique is done with one's eyes closed

and entails a reduction of mental activity. This suggests that the

state gained during the practice of the Transcendental Meditation

technique may be integrated with active mental processes by reading

Sanskrit.

 

Dr. Travis also recently contributed a 1,000-word entry on the

Transcendental Meditation technique to the Corsini Encyclopedia of

Psychology and Behavioral Science. The entry begins with the Vedic

tradition and ends with the Maharishi Effect.

 

end.