MEDITATION

Meditation, otherwise known as ‘dhyana’ is one of the eight steps mentioned in the Ashtanga Yoga of ‘Yoga Sutra’ authored by Sage Pathanjali. In fact dhyana is the seventh step. Before entering that step one has to tread the other six steps viz., yama, niyama , asana, pranayama , prathyahara and dharana. While Yama is the moral code, Niyama is the observance of conduct of character. Asana prescribes the correct posture and prathyahara is withdrwal of senses inward. Dharana is concentration and after these six steps comes dhyana – meditation. The first four are bahiranga and the remaining are antharanga. Yama and Niyama gives emphasise to voluntary moderation of life.

Yama i.e. the first step has five aspects; abstaining from violence, abstaining from theft, abstaining from falsehood, abstaining from sexual immorality and abstaining from avarice. Niyama the second step prescribes purity, serenity, austerity, philosophical study and worship of God. He has also made a distinction between relative consciousness and Absolute Consciousness. While the Absolute Consciousness is the reflection of AWARENESS the relative consciousness is a shadow to be discarded. The latter consciousness only play with the sensory objects and obstruct one to look into the Absolute Consciousness. The third step is the withdrawal of senses from sense objects and the fourth one relates to a comfortable sitting posture enabling one to concentrate on the Absolute Consciousness. Meditation is the feeling of Absolute Consciousness within and finally in Samadhy the object of concentration and meditation ceases and the subject i.e. AWARENESS only remains.


In the realised state there is no need to sit, concentrate or meditate. That Awareness would ever be felt similar to one’s remembering without any effort that “I AM”. Pranayama as the fourth step is given emphasis by many schools teaching meditation. Other disciplines like yama, niyama and philosophical knowledge are given only secondary importance. It is well and good if one could suceed in retaining that Awareness throughout, by the practice of Pranayama. At the time of doing pranayama i.e. controlling the breath – inhaling, exhaling and retaining – one may feel comfortable and free from other thoughts. How far one could retain that state throughout depends on one’s vasanas which moulds the character and influences one’s thoughts and actions. Individuals vasanas are the expression of gunas – satwik, rajasic and thamasic, and it is well known that certain persons are predominently satwik, certain others rajasic and some others tamasik. When satwik nature is coming to the front, we are attracted towards spirituality and religion. What the ancients emphasise is cultivation of more and more satwic nature pushing back the other two tendencies. This is possible only through Yoga i.e.convincing intellectually the basic unity of individual and Universal i.e. ‘bhava adwaitham’ which by application in our day to day activities would bring in harmony and peace. This transformation of one’s nature, which is otherwise a combination of three gunas, is possible only through intellectual conviction and Divine Grace (Tatva gnanam and arul gnanam)


Bhava adwaitham mentioned above which is the only practical course in our day to day affairs, would take us to Anubhava adwaitham in due course which is present only in samady stage . This samadhy stage is therefore rightly mentioned as the last step in the Ashtanga Yoga. There wont be any feeling of ego and even the body consciousness would be absent at that stage. To be practical and so long as the vasanas are not burnt out completely and the satwik guna is lingering still and the body consciousness is still there, only bhava adwaitham is possible.

Without resorting to intellectual exercise and Divine Grace, if only one could reach this bhava- adwaitha stage and apply the same in the day to day activities through the practice of meditation or bhakthy, it is welcome. The only point to remember constantly, while practising meditation or observing bhakthy or doing intellectual exercise on philosophy, is that our aim is to have PEACE and on no account ego should interfere in our progress.


We have read in Puranas that Rishys were doing penance for years and thereby gaining sidhys. Asuras were also doing gora tapas and gaining lot of powers. The former class of people were predominently satwik in nature and the latter rajasic. Thus once they attained siddhys they were using them for good or evil purpose which was the result of their vasanas and gunas. In both the cases the relative consciousness has influence over their nature and they could not outlive the same to experience the Absolute Consciousness (or Awareness) despite doing tapas ( concentration & meditation) for any number of years.Rishies, the pious category could not even polish their basic nature (changing their prakrithy into samskrithy) and occasionally they were using their siddys to curse even innocent bhakthas, out of rage. Sage Dhurvasa cursing Ambhareeksha and Sage Agasthya cursing Indradhymnan, again sage Dhurvasa cursing Devendra are stories well known although such curses may have a place in the entire cycle of Almighty’s leela. From the absolute stand point , these stories expose the deceptive appearance of prapancham and its characters as if a mirage in a desert or a snake in a rope – vivartham!!


Leave alone the stories and the morals or for that matter vasanas and gunas, our experiencing peace depends on how far we have rediscovered our Reality on which personality is superimposed out of agnana. This agnana should be cut asunder with the sword of Gnana and what remains is Shanty a peaceful Awareness for ever.

Adwaitha bhava is the outcome of intellectual understanding and Divine Grace expressed through heart without the interference of ego. Adwaitha anubhava is the ultimate realisation wherein all the expressions immerse in Consciousness as in samadhy!


Contemplation (doing tatwa vichara), concentration , meditation and anuboodhy can be explained with the analogy of churning the curd. collecting the butter, tasting the same and attaining fulfilment. Contemplation is an intellectual process, concentration is a combined effort of mind and intellect and meditation is something beyond mind and intellect directly from consciousness. While tasting the butter we do not apply either the mind or intellect and as the butter goes in we experience a feeling of satisfaction, similar to the feeling in meditation as a result of Divine Grace. Bhakthy and short term courses of meditation bypassing the contemplation (tatwa vichara) which is the foundation of the structure, cannot have perfection. As already mentioned above, visting temples or sitting for a specif period doing pranayama cannot be termed as bhakthy or meditation in the true sense! Never such acts could change the nature of the individual or bestow anuboodhy or Peace!I hasten to add that in no way I am critisising the so called bhakthas or meditators. They will reap the benefits they deserve for the limited altruistic acts of doing bhakthy or meditation in their own way and this is also a part of Divine Grace.


Adwaithabhava cannot be acted upon in our practical world; but we should have that bhawa in mind. As we develop this bhavadvaita our activity in the day to day world gets reduced . All our actions mental as well as physical take the shape of pooja (actions connecting divine) and ultimately when advaitha anubhava is established , action drops off. Bhavadvaitha is the contemplative presence of the Supreme which alone would appear as base (bodham) throughout our thoughts and action. Bhavadvaitha is followed by Anubhavadwaitha.


According to Vedantic concept “Pranayama” is the act of negating the prapancham in ‘rechakom’; bringing the thought of ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ in poorakom and remaining quite without vrithies is ‘Kumbakam’. For those without tatwa gnanam it is only an exercise on breath. Here also there is a pre-requisite to observe six virtues like chama(tranquility), dhama(self-restraint) etc followed by sravanam, mananam and nidhidyasanam. Thus whether it is Patanjali Yoga or Adwaitha vedantha ,emphasis is on the cultivation of ethical qualities and tatwa vicharam without which pranayama or dhyana wont fructify!





Final word is that without Divine Grace which is the expression of the Absolute Consciousness, no change in our nature can be dreamt of. HE reveals HIMSELF only to those whom HE CHOOSES. Till then all our attempts to do this and that ,are similar to fluttering of the wings of a caged bird. However much we try to straighten the tale of a dog, it would remain as it is shaped . I am not advocating fatalism! Through Divine Grace and intellectual understanding we can grasp the Reality as well as distinquish the shadow, whereas in the absence of it ,we would know only the shadow and struggle in it.(e.g;under ignorance we believe sun rising from the horizon and with knowledge we would know the reality and the deceptive appearanceof the sun rising from horizon wont have any impact).