Meditation has been practiced for at least 5,000 years, with the earliest written records appearing in the Vedas of ancient India around 1500 BCE. Buddhist and Hindu traditions formalized meditation practices over the following millennia, and meditation spread along trade routes through China, Japan, and the Middle East. In the 20th century, figures like Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Jon Kabat-Zinn brought meditation into Western mainstream culture, stripping many practices of religious context to make them accessible to secular audiences.

Reference:

Wikipedia: History of Meditation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_meditation