Along with Pranayma and other practices, Dhyana or Meditation is one of the “ Ashtanga Yogas” practiced by our ancient sages. Meditation is being resorted to by a number of people today to obtain peace of mind. But it is doubtful if they really get what they desire. Meditation is not such an easy thing as they imagine. It requires a system of discipline that has to be in place before one starts to meditate. Involved in this mundane world and its multifarious activities, man is unable to sit in one place, close his eyes for long and concentrate and meditate on God! It is at the very moment that he is obsessed with various thoughts and feelings that crisscross his mind and disturb him! How can he be free from these? In fact, there are some who sleep away during the process of meditation! In meditation one has to over come all physical and mental urges and impulses! Is it possible? There area few who strike at the mosquitoes that pester them! Real meditation is being absorbed in the thought of God as the only goal. “ As long as he knows he is meditating, one is not meditating. In the absorption in God one puts aside every form and merges in God. In the process the mind naturally stops” declares Bhagawan Sri Sri Satya Sai baba. (SSS Vol 5) Purified mind is the first requisite for meditation. Peace of mind can be obtained by shedding unnecessary desires like envy, jealousy, hatred, anger and lust.
Dhyana doesn’t mean sitting erect or remaining silent. It is also not remaining without movement. It is the merging of your entire feelings and thoughts in God. In other words the mind has to lose itself in God! The Lord's declaration in the Bhagavadgita amply clarifies what Dhyana is. “ ananyas chinta yanto mam ye janah paryupasathe”—the persons who worship Me, without any other feeling or thought -that should be the aim of the meditator. All responsibilities of such an individual are taken over by the Lord Himself! It is very rare to find people who can meditate on such lines. Many can go through external exercise only. Often Dhyana is interrupted by anxiety and worry about one's kith and kin and various other personal problems. Thus they fail in winning God's Grace. Dhyana is not mere control of breath, inhaling and exhaling or fixing attention on an image. After the experience of peace and joy, people lapse into normal routine of worldly affairs. In short, Dhyana has become a pastime or habit instead of being the very essence of spirit! It is not as if you perform Dhyana a few times and discontinue later. It is a continuous process that fills the individual with Divine sweetness.” The mind must be rid of bitterness, and be charged with nectar of universal love.” (SSS Vol 6)
If the mind is to be calm and balanced, Dhyana should be taken up as a Sadhana. “ Dhyana is the process by which the positive and negative aspects of the mind are regulated out of existence. Man enjoys unlimited bliss when the stage of “nirvikalpasamadhi” is reached. A taste of this is offered to man during his deep, dreamless sleep, when no wish or want, no desire or denial can disturb him.” (SSS Vol X) This was the type of samadhi that Sri Rama Krishna paramahamsa granted to Narendra when he wanted to see God personally! He became Swami Vivekananda later. Time is very important for Dhyana. The best period is between 3am and 6am which is called “ Brahma Muhurtha.” It should be done at the same time every day. Meditation should be done in 'Padmasana.' Trousers, and modern dresses are not fit for Meditation. You should avoid sitting on the bare ground. A mat or a wooden plank with a piece of clothing over it may be used. This will prevent the attraction of the earth from disturbing your meditation. Man has to be insulated from the earth as it drains away his strength. That is the secret of our ancients in suggesting a wooden plank for meditation!
Three requisites are absolutely essential for meditation. They are 1 time,2 a process, and 3 place. Place may change as people may not remain at a particular place permanently. But it is very important that time for meditation does not change. If Dhyana is done regularly at the fixed appropriate time whole heartedly, God is sure to accept it and grant you happiness! Your prema or love from within the heart shall evoke the same response from God in showering happiness! Contemplation is in the border area between concentration and meditation. It is here that one should break away from all worldly attachments. Breaking through this area one enters into the region of Meditation. How to destroy the mind? Just as a piece of clothing can be destroyed by pulling of its various threads, the mind, a bundle of desires, can disintegrate if desires are totally destroyed!
When do you realize that your Dhyana is a success? It is when you ‘love more and talk less' and 'serve others more earnestly.' It is your conduct and character that indicates your progress. What is the usefulness or the reward that one gets through meditation? “ By means of Dhyana you can realize that I am the resident in all hearts, the urge, the motive, the guide, the goal. Yearn for the vision, that awareness and make it your priceless possession.” (SSS Vol 7) Man can purify himself by Dhyana into perfect Divinity! It may be slow and steady progress in Spirituality and Dhyana. Dhyana has to be done at regular intervals. To cure mental ills accumulated over time a long spell of Dhyana and prayer are indispensable. “ Meditation is a function of the inner man; it motivates deep subjective quiet, the employing of the mind and filling oneself with the light that emerges from the Divine spark within. This is a discipline that no text book can teach and no class can communicate.” (SSS Vol 7A &B)
Dhyana doesn’t mean sitting erect or remaining silent. It is also not remaining without movement. It is the merging of your entire feelings and thoughts in God. In other words the mind has to lose itself in God! The Lord's declaration in the Bhagavadgita amply clarifies what Dhyana is. “ ananyas chinta yanto mam ye janah paryupasathe”—the persons who worship Me, without any other feeling or thought -that should be the aim of the meditator. All responsibilities of such an individual are taken over by the Lord Himself! It is very rare to find people who can meditate on such lines. Many can go through external exercise only. Often Dhyana is interrupted by anxiety and worry about one's kith and kin and various other personal problems. Thus they fail in winning God's Grace. Dhyana is not mere control of breath, inhaling and exhaling or fixing attention on an image. After the experience of peace and joy, people lapse into normal routine of worldly affairs. In short, Dhyana has become a pastime or habit instead of being the very essence of spirit! It is not as if you perform Dhyana a few times and discontinue later. It is a continuous process that fills the individual with Divine sweetness.” The mind must be rid of bitterness, and be charged with nectar of universal love.” (SSS Vol 6)
If the mind is to be calm and balanced, Dhyana should be taken up as a Sadhana. “ Dhyana is the process by which the positive and negative aspects of the mind are regulated out of existence. Man enjoys unlimited bliss when the stage of “nirvikalpasamadhi” is reached. A taste of this is offered to man during his deep, dreamless sleep, when no wish or want, no desire or denial can disturb him.” (SSS Vol X) This was the type of samadhi that Sri Rama Krishna paramahamsa granted to Narendra when he wanted to see God personally! He became Swami Vivekananda later. Time is very important for Dhyana. The best period is between 3am and 6am which is called “ Brahma Muhurtha.” It should be done at the same time every day. Meditation should be done in 'Padmasana.' Trousers, and modern dresses are not fit for Meditation. You should avoid sitting on the bare ground. A mat or a wooden plank with a piece of clothing over it may be used. This will prevent the attraction of the earth from disturbing your meditation. Man has to be insulated from the earth as it drains away his strength. That is the secret of our ancients in suggesting a wooden plank for meditation!
Three requisites are absolutely essential for meditation. They are 1 time,2 a process, and 3 place. Place may change as people may not remain at a particular place permanently. But it is very important that time for meditation does not change. If Dhyana is done regularly at the fixed appropriate time whole heartedly, God is sure to accept it and grant you happiness! Your prema or love from within the heart shall evoke the same response from God in showering happiness! Contemplation is in the border area between concentration and meditation. It is here that one should break away from all worldly attachments. Breaking through this area one enters into the region of Meditation. How to destroy the mind? Just as a piece of clothing can be destroyed by pulling of its various threads, the mind, a bundle of desires, can disintegrate if desires are totally destroyed!
When do you realize that your Dhyana is a success? It is when you ‘love more and talk less' and 'serve others more earnestly.' It is your conduct and character that indicates your progress. What is the usefulness or the reward that one gets through meditation? “ By means of Dhyana you can realize that I am the resident in all hearts, the urge, the motive, the guide, the goal. Yearn for the vision, that awareness and make it your priceless possession.” (SSS Vol 7) Man can purify himself by Dhyana into perfect Divinity! It may be slow and steady progress in Spirituality and Dhyana. Dhyana has to be done at regular intervals. To cure mental ills accumulated over time a long spell of Dhyana and prayer are indispensable. “ Meditation is a function of the inner man; it motivates deep subjective quiet, the employing of the mind and filling oneself with the light that emerges from the Divine spark within. This is a discipline that no text book can teach and no class can communicate.” (SSS Vol 7A &B)
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