Jharkhand prisoners start meditation course

Around 65 prisoners of Birsa Munda Central Jail here have been doing meditation and keeping silent for the past five days to get enlightenment, jail authorities said Saturday.

The prisoners, including 35 women, began doing Vipasana Aasan June 30 and will continue to do so till July 10. According to Buddhists, the Buddha did Vipasana Aasan to get enlightenment.

The prisoners who were performing meditation face serious charges, including murder and rape.

"Six people trained in Vipasana Aasan are providing them tips. Of the six, three have arrived from Bodh Gaya and the rest from Ijjatnagar," Superintendent of Birsa Munda Central Jail Deepak Kumar Vidyarthi told IANS.

"We are providing meditation to bring changes in heart and minds of the prisoners," he said.

Vidyarthi said the prisoners are shown CDs of different forms of Vipasana Aasan by the yoga teachers.

"The prisoners get up early in the morning and start meditating. They do not speak and will continue to maintain silence for 11 days," he added.

Birsa Munda Central Jail has adopted many methods to keep prisoners engaged. Art of Living courses are also provided to the inmates.

"We have adopted different methods. Our purpose is that prisoners live peacefully and do not pose a law and order threat," Vidyarthi said.

The jail houses around 4,000 prisoners, including hardcore Maoist rebels.

Last updated on Jul 4^th, 2009 at 13:37 pm IST--IANS