What is Dhyana?
The Sanskrit word dhyana, derived from the verbal root dhyai (“to contemplate, meditate, think”), is the most common designation both for the meditative state of consciousness and the yogic techniques by which it is induced. The Vedanta tradition also employs the terms nididhyasana, which stems from the same verbal root, upasana (literally “dwelling upon”), and bhavana (literally “cultivating”).
Meditation is central to the spiritual endeavor in many schools of Hinduism, notably the Yoga tradition. The Bhagavad-Gita (12.12) ranks meditation above intellectual knowledge, and the Garuda-Purana (222.l0) states:
“Meditation is the highest virtue. Meditation is the foremost austerity. Meditation is the greatest purity. Therefore be fond of meditation.”
This exhortation expresses a sentiment that is widespread in the sacred literature of Hinduism.
However, meditation is by no means universally regarded as the principal means of attaining Self realization. For instance, the Bhagavad-Gita (13.24) states that some behold the Self (atman) by means of meditation, while others approach it through samkhya-yoga and karma-yoga. Here samkhya-yoga stands for the spiritual practice of discernment (viveka) between the real and the unreal, and karma-yoga is the practice of dispassionate action.
The term dhyana is widely used to refer to the contemplative process that prepares the ground for the ecstatic state (samadhi), though occasionally the term is also employed to signify that superlative state of consciousness.
Dhyana – The 7th Limb of Yoga
Dhyana is one of the eight limbs of classical yoga. It is the penultimate limb, which leads to self-absorption (samadhi). In some scriptures, it is considered synonymous with self-absorption. The Yogasutras declare that meditation is helpful in steadying the mind (1.39), which is fickle by nature and which is responsible for most of our afflictions and disturbances.The object of contemplation can be anything, external or internal, the largest of the large or the smallest of small. Meditation upon the Self or God is however considered the best meditation and recommended in many traditions.
In the second section of the Yogasutras, Patanjali further declares (2.11) that the states of mind (vrittis) produced by afflictions (klesas) can be eliminated with the help of meditation. The afflictions listed in the scripture (2.4) are ignorance (avidya), egoism (asmita), attachment (raga), aversion (dvesha) and longing for life (abhinivesa). Actions performed under the influence of these afflictions or the states of mind they produce lead to karma (2.12) and fructify as birth (jati), span of life (ayuh) and enjoyment (bhoga) of worldly things. Hence, dhyana is also very helpful in resolving the problem of karma and ending the chain of transmigration.
Dhyana is defined in the Yogasutras (3.2) as one pointedness of the mind (eka-tanata), achieved by fixing it upon one object or image. Concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana) and self-absorption (samadhi) are considered the internal limbs (antaranga) of yoga practice. Their combined practice is known as samyama or an integrated practice of concentrated meditation, which leads to a heightened state of self-absorption and cessation of all mental modifications. Antarangam also means the mind or consciousness. Dhyana is very helpful in reining the mind, knowing the mind and transcending it through self-absorption.
The underlying idea of dhyana, though not the word itself, is found already in the Rig-Veda (see dhi, brahman). The expression dhyana is first to be met in the Upanishadic literature, starting with the archaic Chandogya-Upanishad (7.6.1,2; 7.1; 26,1) and Kaushitaki-Upanishad (3.2 3 4 6). In the Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad (4.5.6), which is generally held to be the earliest scripture of this genre, the verbal form nididhyasitavyah (“to be contemplated”) is used in the sense of deeply pondering the Self (atman), whereupon the Self becomes known.
It is in the Chandogya (7.6.1) that we read “meditation is more than thought (citta),” and that “the earth meditates as it were (iva), the heavens meditate as it were, the waters meditate as it were, the mountains meditate as it were, deities and humans meditate as it were.” This suggests that meditation is a form of abiding, of simply being present, which certainly describes an important feature of the meditative state. In the same Upanishadic passage, we learn that true greatness among men is a result of having obtained “a share of meditation as it were.”
According to the Yoga-Sutra (I.39; II.l1), the initial purpose of meditation is to intercept the flux of ordinary mental activity (vritti), of which he distinguishes five categories: sensory knowledge (pramana), misconception (viparyaya), conceptualization (vikalpa), sleep (nidra), and memory (smriti). Whereas the first two types of mental activity are, by and large, disposed of through the technique of sensory inhibition and concentration, the conceptualizing or imaginative aspect of the mind, as ,well as sleep, are gradually brought under control through the meditative process. The final obstacle to inwardness (pratyak-cetana) is the ever-active memory, which gives rise to thoughts and internal imagery. However, memory is only fully disabled in the highest type of ecstatic realization (i.e., asamprajnata-samadhi). Here the restriction of the subliminal activators (samskara), which are ultimately responsible for the generation of mental activity, is accomplished.
Dhyana Meditation in Hinduism
Meditation is observing the inward and outward movement of thoughts that are coming and going out of the mind, with silence (maunam), stability (dhiram) and detachment (vairagyam). According to Hindu theories of creation, all the beings and worlds emanated from Lord Brahma or Brahman through meditation only. Its mysteries and its dimensions can be comprehended in transcendental states of self-absorption which is possible through meditation only. Since each individual is a carbon copy of the universe, by understanding ourselves we can understand the manifest universe. Thus our ancient rishis practiced meditation and contemplation to discover the truths concerning themselves and the world around them. In their deep meditative states they envisioned the Vedic wisdom and Universal Self. Since the knowledge poured forth into their receptive and stabilized minds from the universal consciousness, on its own, without any egoistic intention or selfishness on their part, it is considered as not man made (apaurusheya), but divine and truthful (pramana).
All thoughts and knowledge exist in the universe. We do not create thoughts, although we erroneously believe so, just as we are not the real doers of our actions, as declared in the Bhagavadgita, but mere instruments in the hands of God. We can only receive them and make meaning out of them according to the flow of our inclinations, intentions, intellect and attitudes. The most exalted spiritual truths are revealed to us in our moments of reverential silence, when our minds are focused, the senses and the self-sense are asleep and the desires are extinguished. The six Hindu schools of philosophy are so called darshanas (visions) because they are products of such receptive process in which knowledge was envisioned (darsanam) in the pit of the human mind that was untainted by the impurities of worldly life. While the followers of respective schools may argue or quarrel about the merits and demerits of their respective systems of philosophy, from a spiritual perspective, we hold them to be different standpoints of the same universal knowledge revealed to man at different points of time in history, and like any other standpoint they represent a particular view of the reality and do not wholly represent the universal reality itself, which is well rounded, eternal, infinite and absolute in itself without divisions, grades and contradictions.
The Vedic Concept of Dhyana
The Vedic seers did not use the word dhyana in the early Vedic theology. But through their own personal experience, they were aware of the importance of the mind and its ability to manifest things. They viewed creation as the mental manifestation of the Brahman or Isvara, the universal Self and they believe through austerities and penances man could acquire similar potencies. The creation of an alternate heaven(trisanku) by sage Viswamitra is a case in point. According to Jenine Miller, a British scholar, the Vedic prayer was a form of dhyana in which the two sense functions, “vision and sound, seership and singing are intimately connected.”
The Vedic concept of dhayna or meditation seems to have evolved gradually with the emergence of Upanishadic thought and the idea that man personified the entire universe within himself and by himself and that hidden deep within him was an eternal principle that was Universal Self in its individual aspect. Either man (purusha) was a projection of the universe in its own mode or the universe was a projection of the individual self (purusha) in its own form. Both views enjoyed patronage of scholarly minds. If the former was true, our existence was ephemeral and part of a much larger dream, and If the latter was true, then the universe might be an illusion. In either case the world seemed to be unreal or illusory, a view that caught the attention of Hindu scholars for centuries and found its way into the monistic (advauta) philosophy of Shankara.
Meditation gives us an opportunity to be self-aware even in stressful situations. With the help of dhyana, you can observe your own feelings, emotions, thoughts, reactions, responses, sensations, the motives hidden behind your actions, and your expectations. You can realize how you subject yourself to suffering and anxiety in various situations. With the help of dhyana, you can learn to control your thoughts, cultivate discernment and respond to situations arising in your life with intelligence and thoughtful consideration. For this, you do not have to find a specific place and time to practice dhyana. With practice, you can learn to enter into a meditative state wherever you are and whenever you find time to relax. You can even make your reading or television-watching an an opportunity to observe your thoughts and see how you mind reacts to the incoming perceptions. With dhyana, anyone can cope with their impulsive behavior and unwanted, negative emotions.
Sri Eswaran
