Nididhyasitavyah - the deep pondering of self (atman), whereupon the Self (Brahman) become known
"Meditation is central to the spiritual endeavor in many schools of Hinduism, notably the Yoga tradition. The Bhagavad-Gita (12.12) ranks meditation above intellectual knowledge, and the Garuda-Purana (222.l0) states: "Meditation is the highest virtue. Meditation is the foremost austerity. Meditation is the greatest purity. Therefore be fond of meditation.”This exhortation expresses a sentiment that is widespread in the sacred literature of Hinduism.”Yoga and Meditation (Dhyana) by Georg Feuerstein
Introductory Statement
Meditation is central to the spiritual endeavor in many schools of
Hinduism, notably the Yoga tradition. The Bhagavad-Gita (12.12) ranks
meditation above intellectual knowledge, and the Garuda-Purana
(222.l0) states: "Meditation is the highest virtue. Meditation is the
foremost austerity. Meditation is the greatest purity. Therefore be
fond of meditation.” This exhortation expresses a sentiment that is
widespread in the sacred literature of Hinduism.
However, meditation is by no means universally regarded as the
principal means of attaining Self realization. For instance, the
Bhagavad-Gita (13.24) states that some behold the Self (atman) by
means of meditation, while others approach it through samkhya-yoga
and karma-yoga. Here samkhya-yoga stands for the spiritual practice
of discernment (viveka) between the real and the unreal, and karma-
yoga is the practice of dispassionate action....
Etymology
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.
Historical Review
The underlying idea of dhyana, though not the word itself, is found
already in the Rig-Veda (see dhi, brahman). The expression dhyana is
first to be met in the Upanishadic literature, starting with the
archaic Chandogya-Upanishad (7.6.1,2; 7.1; 26,1) and Kaushitaki-
Upanishad (3.2 3 4 6). In the Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad (4.5.6), which
is generally held to be the earliest scripture of this genre, the
verbal form nididhyasitavyah ("to be contemplated") is used in the
sense of deeply pondering the Self (atman), whereupon the Self
becomes known.
It is in the Chandogya (7.6.1) that we read "meditation is more than
thought (citta)," and that "The earth meditates as it were (iva), the
heavens meditate as it were, the waters meditate as it were, the
mountains meditate as it were, deities and humans meditate as it
were.” This suggests that meditation is a form of abiding, of simply
being present, which certainly describes an important feature of the
meditative state. In the same Upanishadic passage, we learn that true
greatness among men is a result of having obtained"A share of
meditation as it were.”
In the oldest Upanishads, dhyana is not yet recognized as a formal
component of the spiritual path. It is, however, beginning to be
referred to as one of the means of acquiring knowledge of the Self.
In that context, it usually stands for the contemplation of the
revealed truth, the Vedic teaching about the Self deep within the
human psyche.
Yoga and Meditation (Dhyana)
by Georg Feuerstein
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