Yoga and Meditation (Dhyana)
Introductory Statement
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. In the Trika school of Kashmir, the yogin is given alternatives to meditation like mantric recitation (japa), observing vows (vrata), and ritual sacrifice (homa).
Etymology
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").
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.
Historical Review
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."
In the oldest Upanishads, dhyana is not yet recognized as a formal component of the spiritual path. It is, however, beginning to be referred to as one of the means of acquiring knowledge of the Self. In that context, it usually stands for the contemplation of the revealed truth, the Vedic teaching about the Self deep within the human psyche.
Thus dhyana can be considered as having evolved out of the prescribed study of the Vedic revelation. Another contributing element in the evolution of dhyana was undoubtedly the extensive ritual practice of the brahmins, which called for tremendous mental concentration.
The Meditative Process
According to the eightfold path of Patanjali, as outlined in his Yoga-Sutra, dhyana forms the penultimate stage of the spiritual process. It is immediately preceded by the consciousness-altering efforts of sensory inhibition (pratyahara) and concentration (dharana). All "limbs" of Yoga are part of an attempt to restructure the yogin's consciousness. Even posture (asana) has this purpose and effect. However, in meditation this inner reorganization is greatly enhanced, creating the basis for the eventual ecstatic breakthrough (samadhi), the eighth and final "limb" of Classical Yoga.
In the Yoga-Sutra (III.2), dhyana is defined as the "single flow of ideas" (pratyaya-ekatanata). That is to say, in the meditative state all arising ideas tend to naturally revolve around the chosen object of meditation to the exclusion of sensory stimuli. In this sense, dhyana is a deepening of the preceding process of concentration, or single-mindedness. The Mahabharata (13.294.16) characterizes the meditating yogin in the following pertinent way: "He does not hear; he does not smell. Neither does he taste or see, or experience touch. Likewise his mind ceases to imagine. He desires nothing, and like a log he does not think. Then the sages call him 'yoked' (yukta), 'one who has reached Nature' (prakritim apannam)."
Although the senses are inhibited in meditation, this state has nothing in common with drowsiness or dullness. Rather, it is a highly dynamic condition, accompanied by heightened inner lucidity in which the contemplated object looms large in the space of awareness.
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 (asamprajnata-samadhi). Here the restriction of the subliminal activators (samskara), which are ultimately responsible for the generation of mental activity, is accomplished.
PLEASE GO TO:
PAGE TWO
MEDITATION ALONG METEOR CRATER RIM
DOGEN'S REFLECTING POOL
THE PRACTICE OF ZAZEN
AWAKENING 101
SHIKANTAZA
ZAZEN
Yoga is that which ‘unites’ (yuj -- to yoke) the Jivatman (the individual soul) with the Paramatman (the Supreme Self or God). ANY path of spiritual discipline which helps achieve this union is ‘Yoga’. [Swami Harshananda, Hinduism: Through Questions and Answers, p. 38.] So, a Yogi, although not typically applied in use to Buddhist or Zen contexts, is STILL one who, depending on terminology, practises the science of union with the Supreme Self, God, or the Absolute. See Sunyata.