Dhyana in Hinduism

A yogi practicing Dhyana (meditation)

In most of the later Hindu traditions^{[note 1]} dhyana (Sanskrit; also spelled jhana) is "a refined meditative practice",^[2] a "deeper concentration of the mind".^[2] Dhyana is taken up after preceding exercises,^[2] and leads to samadhi and self-knowledge, separating māyā from reality to help attain the ultimate goal of mokṣa.

History

The term dhyana is used in the Jain, Buddhism and Hinduism, with somewhat different meanings.^[2] The Jains, who formed part of the shramana movement, may have been the first to practice dhyana.^[2] In the Hindu tradition the term dhyana first appears in the Upanishads.^[2] In most of the later Hindu traditions, which derive form Patanjali's Raja Yoga, dhyana is "a refined meditative practice",^[2] a "deeper concentration of the mind",^[2] which is taken up after preceding exercises.^[2] In Hinduism, dhyāna is considered to be an instrument to gain self-knowledge, separating māyā from reality to help attain the ultimate goal of mokṣa.

Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gītā, thought to have been written some time between 400 and 100 BC, is a 700-verse scripture that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In the form of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide Lord Krishna^{[note 2]} it presents a synthesis^[4][5] of the Brahmanical concept of Dharma^[4][5][1] with bhakti,^[6][1] the yogic ideals^[5] of liberation^[5] through jnana,^[6] and Samkhya philosophy.^{[web 1][note 3]} It is the "locus classicus"^[7] of the "Hindu synthesis"^[7] which emerged around the beginning of the Common Era,^[7] integrating Brahmanic and shramanic ideas with theistic devotion.^{[7][5][1][web 1]}

The Bhagavad Gitatalks of four branches of yoga:

• Karma Yoga: The yoga of action in the world
• Jnāna yoga: The yoga of Wisdom and intellectual endeavor
• Bhakti Yoga: The yoga of devotion to God
• Dhyāna Yoga: The yoga of meditation

The Dhyana Yoga system is specifically described by Sri Krishna in chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita, wherein He explains the many different Yoga systems to His friend and disciple, Arjuna. In fact, Lord Shankar described 108 different ways to do Dhyana to Mata Parvati.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali outline Ashtanga Yoga^[8] (eightfold, eight-limbed) or Raja Yoga. Dhyana is the seventh limb of this path.^[9]

Compilation and dating

Radhakrishnan and Moore attribute the Yoga Sutras to Patañjali, dating it as 2nd century BCE, during the Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE).^[10] Scholars such as S.N. Dasgupta,^[11] claim this is the same Patañjali who authored the Mahabhasya, a treatise on Sanskrit grammar.^[12] Indologist Axel Michaels disagrees that the work was written by Patañjali, characterizing it instead as a collection of fragments and traditions of texts stemming from the 2nd or 3rd century.^[13] Gavin Flood cites an even wider period of composition, between 100 BCE and 500 CE.^[14]

The Eight Limbs

The eight limbs are:

• Yama
• Niyama
• Asana
• Pranayama
• Pratyahara
• Dharana
• Dhyana
• Samādhi

Dharana

The stage of meditation preceding dhyāna is called dharana.^[15][16] In the Jangama Dhyāna technique, the meditator concentrates the mind and sight between the eyebrows. According to Patañjali, this is one method of achieving the initial concentration (dhāraṇā: Yoga Sutras, III: 1) necessary for the mind to become introverted in meditation (dhyāna: Yoga Sutras, III: 2). In deeper practice of the technique, the mind concentrated between the eyebrows begins to automatically lose all location and focus on the watching itself. Eventually, the meditator experiences only the consciousness of existence and achieves self realization. Swami Vivekananda describes the process in the following way:

When the mind has been trained to remain fixed on a certain internal or external location, there comes to it the power of flowing in an unbroken current, as it were, towards that point. This state is called dhyana. When one has so intensified the power of dhyana as to be able to reject the external part of perception and remain meditating only on the internal part, the meaning, that state is called Samadhi.^[17]

Dhyana

In Dhyana, the meditator is not conscious of the act of meditation (i.e. is not aware that s/he is meditating) but is only aware that s/he exists (consciousness of being), and aware of the object of meditation. Dhyana is distinct from Dharana in that the meditator becomes one with the object of meditation. This means that the meditator although aware of the object through meditation detaches him/erself from its existence in the physical world. Much like meditation focused on the breath Dhyana is rooted in the concentration of not being concentrated.^[15][16]

The final stage of meditation in dhyāna is considered to be jhāna. At this stage of meditation, one does not see it as a meditational practice, but instead merges with the idea and thought. One cannot reach a higher stage of consciousness without jhāna.^{[web 2]}

Samadhi

Ultimately Dhyana leads to the final stage of Yoga, Samādhi.^[15][16] He/she is then able to maintain this oneness for 144 inhalations and expiration.

Samyama

Dhyana, practiced together with Dharana and Samādhi constitutes the Samyama. Samyama's goal is to fully detach the mind from its physical world bindings. This aids the Yogis in reaching an enlightenment where a self or spirit is truly acknowledged, and made aware of. Samyama also can lead to one's accomplishment of repelling the human need for objects putting the Yogis in a state of self-satisfaction.^[18]

Neo-Vedanta

With the onset of the British Raj, the colonialisation of India by the British, there also started a Hindu renaissance in the 19th century, which profoundly changed the understanding of Hinduism in both India and the west.^[19] Western orientalists searched for the "essence" of the Indian religions, discerning this in the Vedas,^[20] and meanwhile creating the notion of "Hinduism" as a unified body of religious praxis^[21] and the popular picture of 'mystical India'.^[21][19] This idea of a Vedic essence was taken over by the Hindu reformers, together with the ideas of Universalism and Perennialism, the idea that all religions share a common mystic ground.^[22]

A major proponent in the popularisation of this Universalist and Perennialist interpretation of Advaita Vedanta was Vivekananda,^[23] who played a major role in the revival of Hinduism,^[24] and the spread of Advaita Vedanta to the west via the Ramakrishna Mission. His interpretation of Advaita Vedanta has been called "Neo-Vedanta".^[25] Vivekananda emphasised samadhi as a means to attain liberation.^[26] Yet this emphasis is not to be found in the Upanishads nor with Shankara.^[27] For Shankara, meditation and Nirvikalpa Samadhi are means to gain knowledge of the already existing unity of Brahman and Atman,^[26] not the highest goal itself. Comans:

[Y]oga is a meditative exercise of withdrawal from the particular and identification with the universal, leading to contemplation of oneself as the most universal, namely, Consciousness. This approach is different from the classical Yoga of complete thought suppression.^[26]

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Published sources

Web-sources