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DhyanaorMeditation
bySwamiSivananda
1. WHAT IS DHYANA
A continuous flow of perception (or thought) is Dhyana (meditation).
NOTES
There is a continuous current in the mind of one object like the flow of water in a river
(Pravaha). There is only one Vritti in the mind. It is EkarupaVritti Pravaha. The meditation
should be done at the appointed time daily. Then the meditative mood will come by itself
without any effort. Sit also in the same place daily for meditation. Meditation on God must
become habitual. First meditate on Lord Vishnu with all sorts of ornaments. Then meditate
on Him without any ornament.
In the Isvara Gita you will find: Concentration lasts as long as 12 Pranayamas; Dhyana lasts as
long as 12 concentrations; and Samadhi lasts as long as 12 such Dhyanas.
Various objects of contemplation and meditation are given in the Chapters Dharana and
Samyama. And so, repetition is avoided here. Major portion of the exercises and definitions
given in the Chapters Dharana, Samyama and Samadhi, belong to this Chapter on 'Dhyana.' As
I expressed previously, these Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi cannot be separated. They form,
as it were, one subject. The beginning portion of Dhyana is Dharana and the advanced
portion is Samadhi. Since I have dealt with Dharana, Samyama and Samadhi in detail, now I
will close this Chapter with a few more instructions on Dhyana.
2. INSTRUCTIONS ON DHYANA
I. Meditation is doubtless difficult. It will be very difficult, nay indeed impossible for a
beginner to take to subtle meditation all at once. There must be graduated practices and the
mind must be rendered very subtle for higher practices of concentration and meditation. Just
as the archer first aims at gross things, target, etc., and then takes to subtle points, so also
the student of Yoga should do gross concentration to start with and then take to subtle
concentration practices. There must be a gradual ascent in the successive stages of Yoga.
But, Yoga Brashtas like Jnana Deva, Sadasiva Brahman, Trailinga Swami and others can at
once take to higher stages. Such persons are very, very rare indeed.
II. The object of meditation in the beginning must be Personal God, the body of Virat, or the
fourarmed Maha Vishnu, or the flutebearer Lord Krishna or Rama or any other object. Later
on, meditation can be practised on Impersonal God. In Savitarka meditation you will have a
comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the objects, their excellences and defects,
all the features, present, past and future, and also those near and remote, even those
unheard of or unthought of. The whole knowledge of the objects and elements will be
revealed to you. The name Samapatti is given to the four experiences collectively, Savitarka,
Savichara, Sananda and Asmita. Sasmita Samadhi culminates in Dharmamegha Samadhi. Then
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comes absolute dispassion for him. This brings him Asamprajnata Samadhi.
III. Why do you read many books? It is of no use. The great book is within your heart. Open
the pages of this inexhaustible book, the Source for all knowledge. You will know everything.
What is that knowledge of Brahman or the Source or Self? Close your eyes. Withdraw the
senses. Merge deep in the Supreme Soul, the Light of lights, the Sun of suns. Complete
knowledge will be revealed to you. You will have direct intuitional knowledge and divine
wisdom by direct perception. All doubts will vanish now. All mental torments will disappear.
All hot discussions, heated debates will terminate now. Peace and Jnana alone will remain.
IV. Forget the body. Forget the surroundings. Forget friends and relatives. Forgetting these is
the highest Sadhana. It helps meditation a great deal. By remembering God you can forget all
these things. Merge within by practising deep, silent meditation. Taste the spiritual
consciousness by withdrawing the mind from the sensual objects and fixing it on the object of
meditation. This will lead you to Samadhi, the highest goal of Yogis.
V. You will have to note carefully whether you remain stationary in the spiritual path even
after many years of meditation or whether you are progressing. Sometimes you may even
retrograde or fall downwards also if you are not vigilant and careful, if your Vairagya wanes
and if you are slack in meditation. Reaction may set in. Some practise meditation for a
period of 15 years and yet they have not made any spiritual progress. Why? This is due to the
lack of earnestness, Vairagya, keen longing for liberation and intense constant Sadhana. Just
as water leaks out into the rat holes in the agricultural fields, so also energy is wasted in
wrong channels through Raga and undercurrents, lurking, subtle desires. Suppressed desires
also will manifest and harass you. Unconsciously you will become a victim to those desires.
VI. When you advance in the spiritual practice, it will be very difficult for you to do both
meditation and office work at the same time daily because the mind will undergo a double
strain. It works in different grooves and channels with different Samskaras during Dhyana. It
finds it difficult to adjust itself to different kinds of uncongenial activity, as soon as it comes
down from a higher plane of sublime thinking. The mind has to move in diametrically
opposite direction. It gropes in the darkness. It gets bewildered, confused and puzzled. You
might have noticed how the mind gets puzzled even in ordinary daily affairs of life when you
go to a new place in matters of food, bath, rest and answering the calls of nature.
VII. When you again sit for meditation in the evening you will have to struggle hard to wipe
out the new worldly Samskaras you have gathered during the course of the day, and to get a
calm, onepointed mind again. This struggle, sometimes, brings on headache. The Prana
which moves inwards in different grooves and channels and which is subtle during meditation
has to move now in new different channels during worldly activities. It becomes very gross
during work. During meditation the Prana is taken up to the head.
VIII. It would seem, therefore, that advanced Grihastha Yogic students will have to stop all
worldly activities for some time as they advance in meditation, if they desire to advance
further. They themselves will be forced to give up all works if they are really sincere. Work is
a hindrance in meditation for advanced Yogic students. That is the reason why Lord Krishna
says in the Gita: For a sage who is seeking Yoga, action is called the means, for the same
sage when he is enthroned in Yoga serenity is called the means. Then work and meditation
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become incompatibles like acid and alkalis or fire and water or light and darkness.

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