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What does meditation mean ?

Hindu civilizations have used the word "Dhyana" which means "to focus", "to go deep inside". From our early childhood days the Indians are always directed by their elders as "study with dhyan" or "paint with dhyan". We never bothered to think what is the very meaning of "dhyan". The very understanding of it will simplify all the concepts written on these pages. When we are told that "study with dhyan" or "paint with dhyan" that means that get engrossed or focused in that particular work so much that you are cut-off from the outer world. Mind it,  "dhyan" does not bring seriousness to any work, rather it brings focus to it (with joyfulness). The same thing happens when you do absolute "dhyan" or "meditation". You get focused or centered, as you get cut-off from the outer world. As soon as you are cut-off from the outer world, you get connected to your inner-world. Deeper the "dhyan" or "meditation", the deeper would be your connectivity to your inner-world and you will be more and more centered. The more centered you become, you will know "Who you are?" and "what is the purpose of your life?".

Many interpretations and misunderstandings exist concerning the meaning' of meditation. For example, a favorite assertion is that only specially trained, highly evolved persons can meditate, or those who are able to let go of stress easily. It is also said that meditation is limited to particularly "sacred" situations and special circumstances.

This is not the case at all. The word meditate originated in Latin and means nothing more than "to go into the center." And that is something that everyone can do, whether young, old, well educated, or not. When someone who is experiencing tension knowingly goes "into the center," this person will find that stress diminishes considerably.

Meditation can be practiced in many ways. A person can retreat into silence for a week and do nothing for a number of days but sit on a pillow with closed eyes. This practice can result in profound experiences that strengthen the individual with respect to the functions of daily life. A person can sit in a dark room without the clothes and keep watching his thought pattern (simply watch it, no reaction to it) and gradually shift to a trance like state.

Meditation can also take place in prayer, in ritual, in a group situation, or by listening to a song, a favorite passage of text, or a piece of instrumental music. However, it is also possible to build meditation into a purely normal day. You can stop briefly to contemplate the idea that there is more to life than what you are doing at the present and that you are bonded to a Higher Power. You can say a short prayer, acknowledging that everything in life-even the smallest detail is meaningful, even if, perhaps, you do not understand it. You can be cognizant of the fact that your goal is self-knowledge-to be alert, to be awake, even if the world around you is not presently in a position to aid you .

This reflection can manifest itself through a brief thought, for example, while you are appreciating beauty, perhaps as you become aware of a tree, an animal, the blue sky, or another person. It can happen through the experience of friendliness, by giving it or by receiving it. You can also display small mementos in your home or workplace, such as a picture, a note tacked on the bathroom mirror, a symbol. you can even set the alarm clock and stop for a while when it rings. Such moments of "being awake" and "being in the center" have a place in every life, no matter how plagued with stress it is. The effort expended amounts to nothing more than a bit of concentration. That slight effort is richly rewarded in at .least three ways: by establishing a relationship with the unseen worlds surrounding us all, from which we can obtain strength, and to which we can give strength in return; through inner growth and fulfillment; and by the acquisition of a treasure that nothing or no one can ever take away.

Of course, it is recommended that you take a little more time for your personal meditation. Perhaps it can be in the evening for 10 or 15 minutes when you simply go into the silence or when you allow the integration of specific issues to take effect. For example, as has been suggested, you can focus on concepts such as shock, trauma, dependency, interdependency, and sexuality, together with the color orange, and allow this to have its effect on you. Or you can simply center yourself just before going to sleep, and in the morning just as you awaken. (At these times, you are especially connected with the other worlds.) However, the first and easiest step is the experience of "awake" moments in everyday life.


Meditation OR Dhyana, The Definition

The Sanskrit word dhyana, derived from the verbal root dhyai ("to contemplate, meditate, think"), is the most common designation both for the meditative state of consciousness and the yogic techniques by which it is induced. The Vedanta tradition also employs the terms nididhyasana, which stems from the same verbal root, upasana (literally "dwelling upon"), and bhavana (literally "cultivating").

The term dhyana is widely used to refer to the contemplative process that prepares the ground for the ecstatic state Samadhi, though occasionally the term is also employed to signify THAT superlative state of consciousness. (source)
 

In Buddhist meditation, the meditative stages of samatha (or shamatha: tranquillity), Samadhi (specifically, Access Concentration: upacara-samadhi), and jhana [Pali] or dhyana [Sanskrit] correspond roughly to Patanjali's dharana, dhyana, Samadhi, respectively.
 

In Buddhism, it is usually 'jhana' or 'dhyana', but sometimes also 'Samadhi', that is used for absorption. Samadhi, understood as means of access to absorption, is usually considered a precondition of absorption (jhana/dhyana). See: Shikantaza
 

SAMADHI - What Does It Mean?


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Disclaimer : I must acknowledge all those who have taken so much pain to compile the text listed in some of references mentioned here. I have kept most of the site links of the original compilers. Whereas some parts may have been edited / included in my text to maintain the continuity of the topics covered here. I have created these web pages to proliferate awareness regarding meditation / enlightenment and not for any material gain or publicity. My purpose of creating these pages would be solved if I could motivate even a single person towards the journey of enlightenment!



 

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This site was last updated 07/18/10