Monday, 9th October 2017
Now-a-days, people have a general feeling
that Dhyaana is a good exercise. Yes;
it is true. Dhyaana is a very good
exercise, not only for the internal organs, but for the body as well. But, most
of the people are confused about the purpose, function as well as method of Dhyaana. They have no idea about the
subjects like, what is Dhyaana, what
is its purpose, how it should be practised, what are the varieties of it etc.
First of all, let me tell you that Dhyaana cannot be taught. Each one must
try to find out his/her own method/methods of Dhyaana by practising and doing experiments with it in various
ways. It can be understood only through trial and error method. It is so,
because Dhyaana is a natural behavior
just like sleeping, having food and sexual relationship. The purpose of sleep,
food and sex should be understood properly before involving in them, if you
want to do them effectively. Similarly, the purpose of Dhyaana also must be understood.
The purpose of Dhyaana is to consciously and directly connect with Mother Nature.
You are always dependent upon Nature. But you are not aware of the fact; on the contrary, you
think that you are a separate individual and forget that you have no existence
other than that of the Nature. To re-establish the link with Mother Nature
is called Dhyaana. Your thoughts
and emotions are the reason to break your link with the Nature. Thoughts and
emotions of greed, anger, envy etc. are to be checked; the thoughts and emotions
of love, acceptance, compassion etc. must be established inside to connect with
Nature. Love, acceptance, compassion etc. are the higher feelings of Nature. So
the thoughts must be managed and re-arranged in this way to re-link with
Nature. So to re-define it, Dhyaana is the management of your
thoughts and emotions.
Thoughts and emotions are to be
observed and managed. There are several ways of exercises to practise Dhyaana through which thoughts and
emotions can be observed and managed. Just as the bright rays of Sun re-appear
when the covering of the clouds is removed, the joy of re-established
connection with Mother Nature is experienced when the thoughts and emotions are
transformed.
Dhyaana must be practised through day-to-day activities.
All actions you do in a day are the methods of practising Dhyaana. Your house hold activities, work for livelihood, creative
activities and even relaxation can be considered as Dhyaana. But this statement may seem to be very absurd. This needs to
be understood properly for effective practice.
Let’s listen to the words of Sri
Aurobindo in this matter. He categorizes Dhyaana
into three different methods. He calls the three categories as Meditation,
Contemplation and Self-Observation. In other words, they are three different
methods of managing your thoughts. Always it is important to Observe your
thoughts and Manage them. But the question is how to do it. Sri Aurobindo’s
direction is helpful. (The Integral Yoga,
Selected Letters of Sri Aurobindo)
Sri Aurobindo says, “Meditation means properly the concentration
of the mind on a single train of ideas which workout a single subject.”
Train of ideas refers not to one single image or one word; but it represents a
number of images and words interconnected with some common basis. For example, remembering
what happened yesterday from morning to evening can be considered as Meditation.
Or reflecting upon the meaning of a Sloka
from Bhagavad Gita also can be
considered as Meditation. Meditation in this sense is useful in day-to-day life, very much.
Meditation is needed for house hold management, office management, planning
your work, assessing your work, preparing for examinations etc.
Please see the second category of Dhyaana, called Contemplation, mentioned
by Sri Aurobindo, “Contemplation means
regarding a single mental object, image or idea, so that the knowledge about
the object, image or idea may arise naturally in the mind by force of
concentration.” Focusing mind upon a form of a deity or Manthra comes in this category. Contemplation
is more useful in life during creative thinking; like when you are planning your
work, or creating story, situations or expressions of emotions in art etc.
Sri Aurobindo suggests another
category of Dhyaana, which in my
personal experience, is more useful for a spiritual seeker. It is a training in non-attachment; Or in
other words, Abhyaasa to develop the habit
of Vairaagya. Sri Aurobindo mentions
Swami Vivekananda when he says about this category of Dhyaana. He continues, “There
is a passage in which Vivekananda advises you to stand back from your thoughts,
let them occur in your mind as they will and simply observe them and see what
they are. This may be called concentration in self-observation.” This
happens in life when you are really involved in a work of art; reading a
creative literature, listening to a music, watching a play, appreciating a
painting etc. This kind of Dhyaana is
very important for a Yogi who is trying to observe his thoughts and emotions
and to manage them.
These three ways of Dhyaana are needed in life, in time to
time. The Saadhaka must be capable of
selecting what is needed in each circumstance. The difference between Meditation
and Contemplation is that the Saadhaka
is following mental streams just with a gathered attention in the former, where
as the mental vibrations are more concentrated in the latter. Thoughts and
emotions are not restricted that much in the former, and they are in more focused
state in the latter. Sri Aurobindo discriminates, “Meditation is the easiest process for the human mind, but the narrowest
in its result; contemplation more difficult, but greater; self-observation and
liberation from the chain of thought the most difficult of all, but the widest
and greatest in its fruits.”
Learning self-observation, observing
and distancing from the thoughts, is the practice of Jnjaana Yoga. Self-knowledge
is developed through this practice of observation, through which the maturation
of the personality happens in reality.
Practise
OM (Observation and Management)
to do proper Dhyaana in proper time,
according to your purpose. Be victorious in life; and in mind.