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This article is about the mental discipline. For the form of alternative dispute resolution, see Mediation. For other uses, seeMeditation (disambiguation).
Meditation is a holistic discipline by which the practitioner attempts to get beyond the reflexive, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. Meditation is a component of many religions, and has been practiced since antiquity. It is also practiced outside religious traditions. Different meditative disciplines encompass a wide range of spiritual goals—from achievement of a higher state of consciousness, compassion andlovingkindness, to greater focus, creativity or self-awareness, or simply a more relaxed and peaceful frame of mind.
Meditation has been defined as: "self regulation of attention, in the service of self-inquiry, in the here and now."[4] The various techniques of meditation can be classified according to their focus. Some focus on the field or background perception and experience, often referred to as "mindfulness"; others focus on a preselected specific object, and are called "concentrative" meditation. There are also techniques that shift between the field and the object.[5]
In mindfulness meditation, the meditator sits comfortably and silently, centering attention by focusing awareness on an object or process (such as the breath; a sound, such as a mantra,koan or riddle-like question; a visualization; or an exercise). The meditator is usually encouraged to maintain an open focus:
... shifting freely from one perception to the next clear your mind of all that bothers you no thoughts that can distract you from reality or your personal being... No thought, image or sensation is considered an intrusion. The meditator, with a 'no effort' attitude, is asked to remain in the here and now. Using the focus as an 'anchor'... brings the subject constantly back to the present, avoiding cognitive analysis or fantasy regarding the contents of awareness, and increasing tolerance and relaxation of secondary thought processes.[5]
Concentration meditation is used in many religions and spiritual practices. Whereas in mindfulness meditation there is an open focus, in concentration meditation the meditator holds attention on a particular object (e.g., a repetitive prayer) while minimizing distractions; bringing the mind back to concentrate on the chosen object.
Meditation can be practiced while walking or doing simple repetitive tasks. Walking meditation helps break down habitual automatic mental categories, "thus regaining the primary nature of perceptions and events, focusing attention on the process while disregarding its purpose or final outcome."[5] In a form of meditation using visualization, such as Chinese Qi Gong, the practitioner concentrates on flows of energy (Qi) in the body, starting in the abdomen and then circulating through the body, until dispersed.[5] Some meditative traditions, such as yoga or tantra, are common to several religions
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad refers to meditation when it states that "having becoming calm and concentrated, one perceives the self (ātman) within oneself".[25]
Raja Yoga (sometimes simply referred to as Yoga) is one of the six orthodox (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy, focusing on meditation. Dhyana, or meditation, is the seventh of eight limbs of the Raja Yoga path as expounded by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras. Patanjali recommended "meditation with the Lord as the object" as a part of the spiritual practices (sadhana) that leads to samadhi, or blissful inner peace.[26] The word 'Yoga' is derived from the Sanskrit yuj, which means "to control", "to yoke", "to unite", and refers to techniques and disciplines of asceticism and meditation which lead to spiritual experience. The practices of Yoga help one to control the mind and senses so the ego can be transcended and the true self (atman) experienced, leading to moksha or liberation.
Narsimha purana mentions meditation as dhyana (nidhidhyasana) : continuous flow of thought towards an object. Note the term flow of thought.
The popular conception is : meditation is onepointedness on a particular object(more often a scene ).The method usually prescribed is :
- Calm your mind
- Focus on your favorite object
- Try to hold on to it.
- Make use of props like symbol OM
- Or some serene music
- Or some preach think as to all negative energy flow out of your system like smoke
Many more such concepts which are not in sync with Purana.let us analyze these before arriving at correct meaning of meditation.
Can our minds be calmed through effort ?
According to upanishads :
Mind is everwandering ,it is chanchal by nature. It keeps switching between thoughts sometimes without link.
Consider a monkey , a restless creature. What if this monkey has drunk loads of wine.it becomes unstable , its actions are unpredictable.And if this monkey is bit by scorpion , it is going to jump from pillar to post without any control ,creating havoc in the neighborhood.
Mind is like this monkey which has drunk the wine of ego(ahankara /mada) upon that it is bit by the scorpion of jealousy(asuya).it jumps from pillar to post to acquire the objects of its desire.(moha). This monkey called mind is additionally caught in greed(lobha).
Is it really possible to bring such a monkey under control ?virtually impossible without the help of other agencies.If we say we can bring ourselves out of this mind delusion ,then this monkey should be able to calm himself without external help. This is unimaginable.
So the first point itself seems dizzy (calm your mind /de-stress ).
Focus, on what ? can u hold a static scene in my mind ? It is against the nature of mind.
Hold on to it , what purpose is it going to solve ,well holding on to object of desire gives control over object of desire. But is that the goal of meditation.
Make use of OM , does this calm the mind , definitely not. Music is a definite disturbance , moreover if I am restless over a issue in the office or my business , no props are going to calm my mind except solution to my issue.
Drive out negative energy : in a happy frame of mind , especially when I am riding a horse named success, temporarily I feel I can control my mind and feel as though driving away unwanted thoughts. This is not meditation.
So what is meditation.
Ashtanga Yoga starts with- Yama : discipline like getting up early ,cleanliness
- niyama : satya (speaking truth), asteya,(not stealing),tushti(being satisfied)
- asana :posture padmasana , veerasana,sukhasana.
- pratyahara : turning your mind away ,
- pranayama: breathing techniques. Rechaka ,puraka, kumbhaka,
- dharana :
- dhyana
samadhi .The first five are preparatory towards the meditation. It helps in bringing the person to a state of mind to practise anything that he wants to? Whether he can sustain with his markata mind.!
To sustain he should undertake Pranayama.
Two types of pranayama. :keval and sagarbha,
Kevala is without any mantra and sagarbha is with mantra like dasha pranava gayatri with bramhashirasa etc.
Remembering Hari and vayu in kumbhaka is what the secret behind sustaining the concentration.This ignites narsimha jwala in the hrudaya that burns away all the sins.
The hrudaya that we are talking about is one found in sushumna and not the heart organ.
When the mind is pure , sense organs satisfied , chitta is still ,the mind can contemplate on the known issues. Known through sense organs . Nothing new can be contemplated of which we do not have knowledge. Hence to contemplate , we need knowledge about GOD. This is obtained by shravana , ie. Listening to the Guru.
Guru teaches as various qualities of GOD. Student has to contemplate, manana
Manana gives rise to doubts. Doubts have to be cleared by Guru.
Once doubts are cleared ,the topic on which we have contemplated becomes steadfast,it cannot disappear from mind. When we repeatedly contemplate on this steadfast knowledge , we experience difficulty in holding on to this contemplation, this phase is known as Dharana.
When this contemplation is continuous without break it is called Dhyana.
When in dhyana if we are not able to hear external sounds then it is Samadhi.
However in the astanga , each one is superior to the previous eg niyama is superior to yama , pranayama is superior to asana pratyahara. Dhyana is superior to pranayama etc.
Dhyana can be done only on few qualities of God that we know of; but swadhyaya gives more knowledge of the God. Hence once should ever engage in the study of sashtras (swadhyaya) . It yields more punya than dhyana. Above all Adhyaapan , teaching the shastras , leads even more punya than swadhyaya, because it spreads the message of the GOD. Lord loves those more who speak about him.
Thus Sage Mudgal says, "with two hands raised above shoulders , I declare that there is nothing in this world greater than Narayana(earlier now or in the future), knowing which nothing in this three worlds is impossible to achieve."
" Alodya shastrani cha punah punaha ,nasti narayana samo devo ,
na bhuto na bhavishyati Yetena satyavakyena sarvarthan sadhyamyaham"
