Hindu Temple, Naperville Group Join for 'Weekend of Spiritual Wellness'

When spiritual leader Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj exited the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago on a recent Sunday evening, a crowd surround his car, reaching out to touch him or to be touched.

Rajinder Singh is the leader of Science of Spirituality, a non-religious world movement based in Naperville. The group's mission is to promote the well-being of individuals and foster world peace through meditation.

The Lemont temple, 10915 Lemont Road, opened its auditorium and meeting rooms Aug. 28 and 29 for a "Weekend of Spiritual Wellness" hosted by Science of Spirituality. The two-day event included free activities, meals and lectures.

The temple is not tied to Science of Spirituality, but is supportive of the group's message and activities.

"This spiritual path encompasses all [religious] teachings," said Poonam Gupta, a spokeswoman for Science of Spirituality. "It is a path of inversion, not conversion."

Introducing Rajinder Singh, Hindu Temple president Bhima Reddi described him as "one of the greatest spiritual masters of all time." The temple has been working with Science of Spirituality for seven years.

"It's so pleasant there [in Naperville]—wonderful," he said. "I always learn something new there."

Over the weekend, the classes and lectures on yoga, meditation and vegetarianism attracted hundreds of people.

"I came because I used to be religiously spiritual, but I'm searching for a spirituality that is more about peace within life rather than spiritual power or spiritual peace in eternity," said participant Molly Sutton, 26.

Her friend Dana, 35, said she is preparing to become pregnant and hopes to have a natural birth. 

"I know how I live will affect my baby," she said. "I want to de-clutter my life and mind, and find more peace and love."

Dana, who said she is familiar with a meditation approach that uses guided imagery, was "intrigued by another form of meditation."

Meditation is used to quiet the mind by eliminating a rush of thoughts and focusing instead on one thing: the breath in and out; a sound, such as "om;" or a short wish for blessings for the world. Guided imagery uses imagination to transport the mind to a scene of peace and happiness.

Rajinder Singh's method uses the "third eye," the spot above the bridge of the nose, as a focal point.

In one lecture, author and researcher Mark Young, a member of the University of Central Florida faculty who has a doctorate in counseling, used humor and cartoons to convey his message of meditation as a means to happiness and an antidote to depression.

To illustrate the stress that comes from "overchoice"—everyone's daily list of things to do, to buy, to plan-- he used the example of a grocery store research test.  The store stocked 39 kinds of jam and found that no one bought any of them. When the selection was reduced to four,  people purchased the product. 

Young's prescription for overload is "serve others, do a good deed every day and meditate."  He also suggested to "count your blessings" in a journal. To avoid writing the same thing every day, he suggested thinking of three things using one letter of the alphabet each day. Audience members came up with moon, mom and music for the letter M.

Rajinder Singh, a follower of the Sikh religion, came to the United States in the 1960s to continue his education. He has a master's degree in engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. After decades of working on engineering projects for a corporation, he returned to his passion, the exploration of meditation and its role in bringing about world peace. His ashram (a retreat and place of study) and headquarters are in Delhi, India.

Linda Hilmes, 66, said she has attended meditation groups for years. She now takes part in a Science of Spirituality sessions in Joliet.

"They're beautiful people," Hilmes said. "You can see through to their inner beauty."