Dhyana

• Dhyana means absorption. It is the art of self-study, reflection, keen obsevration, or the search for the infinite within. It is the observation of the physical processes of the body, study of mental stats and profound contemplation. It means looking inwards to one's innermost being. Dhyana is the discovery of the self.

• When the powers of the intellect and the heart are harmoniously blended, this is dhyana. All creativity proceeds from it, and its good and beautiful results benefit mankind.

• Dhyana is like deep sleep, but with a difference. The serenity of deep sleep comes as a result of unconsciously forgetting one's identity and individuality, whereas meditation brings serenity which is alert and conscious throughout. The sadhaka remains a witness to all activities. Choronological and psychological time have no existence in deep sleep or in total absorption. In sleep the body and mind recover from wear the tear and feel fresh upon waking. In meditation the sadhaka experiences illumination.

• Dhyana is the full integration of the contemplator, the act of the contemplation and the object known vanishes. The sadhaka becomes vibrant, alert and poised. He becomes free from hunger, thirst, sleep and sex as well as from desire, anger, greed, infatuation, pride and envy. He is unassailable by the dualities of body and mind, or mind and self. His vision reflects his true self like a well-polished mirror. This is Atmadarshana, the reflection of the soul.

• Jesus said that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the month of God. Pondering upon the meaning of life, man is convinced that there dwells within his soul a force or light far greater than himself. Yet in his walk of life he is beset by many cares and doubts. Being caught in the environment of artificial civilisation he develops a false sense for values. His words and actions, run counter to his thoughts. He is bewildered by these contradictions. He realises that life is full of opposites – pain and pleasure, sorrows and joy, conflict and peace. Seeing these polarities, he strives to attain a balance between them and to find a state of stability so that he can experience freedom from pain, sorrow and conflict. In his search he discovers the three noble ways of word, work and worship, which teach him that his inner light is the only guide leading to mastery over his own life. To reach this inner light he returns to meditation or dhyana.

• To have a clear notion of the true nature of man, of the world and of god, the sadhaka should study the sacred books. Then he can distinguish the real from the unreal. Knowledge fo these three truths- the soul, the world and god -is essential for him who seeks liberation such knowledge gives him insight into life's problems and their solution, and strengthens his spiritual sadhana. Yet knowledge acquired by reading alone will not lead to liberation. It is by having courage and unshakable them into practice till they become a part of his daily life that the sadhaka gains freedom from the domination of his senses. Knowledge of the sacred books and sadhana are the two wings by which the sadhaka files towards liberation.

• Man is drawn between two paths: one drags him downwards towards fulfilment of voluptuous desires and sense gratifications, leading to bondage and destructoion; the other guides him upwards towards purity adb realisation of his inner self. Desires fog his mind and veil his true self. It is the mind alone which leads to bondage or to liberation. It is his reason or intelligence which either controls his mind or allows itself to be dominated.

• An untrained mind files aimlessly in all directions. The practice of meditation brings it to a state of stability and then directs it to proceed from imperfect knowledge to perfection. The sadhaka's mind and intelligence work as an integrated team led by his will-power. He finds harmony between his thoughts, speech and actions. His stilled mind and intelligence burn like a lamp in a windless place with simplicity, innocence and illumination.

• Man has great potentialities that lie dormant within him. His body and mind are like fallow land lying untilled and unsown. A wise farmer ploughs his land, provides it with water and fertilser, plants the best seeds, carefully tends the crops and ultimately reaps a good harvest. To the sadhaka, his own body, mind and intellect are the field which he plughs with energy and right action. He sows with the finest seeds of knowledge, waters it with devotion and tends them with unrelenting spiritual discipline to reap the harvest of harmony and peace. He then becomes the wise owner of his field, and his body becomes a sacred place. The germination of the seeds of good thoughts, planted by sound logic, bring clarity to his mind and wisdom to his intellect. He becomes an abode of joy as his whole being is filled with the lord.

• The journey to the moon and outer space demanded years of rigorous training and descipline, deep study, research and preparation. The inward journey of man to reach his inner self demands the same type of relentless effort. Years of discipline and long uninterrupted practice of the moral and ethical principles of yama and niyama, training of the mind and of inner awareness -dhyana and samadhi.

• Dharana is like a lamp which is covered and does not light up the area outside. When the cover is removed, the lamp lights up the whole area. This is dhyana, which is the expansion of consciousness. Then the sadhaka acquires a unified mind and maintains a dynamic unfading awareness in its pristine purity. Like oil in seeds and fragrance in flowers, the soul of man permeates his whole body.

• The lotus is symbolic of meditation. It symbolises purity. Its quiet beauty has given it a prime place in Indian religious thought. It is connected with most of the hindu dieties and their seats in the chakras. The stage of meditation is like that of a lotus bud hiding its inner beauty while awaiting transformation into a full blown lotus. As the bud opens to reveal its resplendent beauty, so also the sadhaka's nner light is transformed and transfigured by meditation. He becomes an enlightened soul and an inspired sage. He lives in the eternal now- the present, without yesterdays and tomorrows.

• This state of the sadhaka is one of passivity known as manolaya. He has fully marshalled his intelligence and energy to prevent the intrusion of external thoughts. His state is full of dynamic alertness. When both is no waste o fphysical, mental or intellectual energy.

• Dhyana is a subjective experience of an objective experience state. It is difficult to describe the experience in words, for words are inadequate to do so. The delight experienced at the first bite of a delicious mango is indescribable. So it is with meditation. In meditation there is no tar of infinity must be tasted, the abundant grace of the lord within must be experienced. Then the individual soul becomes one with the universal soul. The sadhaka experiences the fullness sung by the upanisads: That is full; this is full. Fullness comes out of fullness. Even after fullness is taken from the full, fullness yet remains.

References

The above mentioned information is added from the book called LIGHT ON PRANAYAMA by B.K.S. IYENGAR.