Sri Bharatamata

                                                                                                 Ashtottaram 12

                

12) OṀ DHYĀNA BHŨMYAINAMAH:

      OṀ (AUM) - DH - YAA- NA- BHOO- MYAI- NA--MA- HA

                                          

(Dhyāna: means “meditation”, contemplation, continuous thinking)

 

 

 

 

A stable and concentrated mind is a great asset in life. In spiritual life, it is a must. The art and science of concentration has been systematically described in the works on yoga. The yogasutras of Patanjali (200 B.C.E) is the most standard treatise on this subject.  Patanjali describes eight steps to the attainment of yoga, of which dhyāna happens to be the seventh or the penultimate step.

 

Prior to dhyāna, the concentration is not continuous, and moments of concentration are interspersed with moments of distraction which is called of dhāraṇa.  But in dhyāna, it is continuous. In dhyāna, each succeeding wave of the mind is absolutely identical with the preceding wave.  For instance, if a person is concentrating on the form of Gaṇesha, everyone of the mental waves carries the same impression or image of that deity. The mind is then flowing in an unbroken continuous stream like the oil that is being poured from one vessel into another.

 

Dhyāna is a mental action and there is no free will involved. The amount of time involved in meditation is far less than the time spent in wandering state which is a natural thing for the mind to do, because mind is nothing but flow of thoughts. It is a common mis-conception that when we sit in meditation trying to concentrate on a given form, all the time we spend trying to bring our wandering mind to focus is a waste and not considered meditation. This is a myth and every second spent is part of meditation and many people who have been doing meditation for long time may not even know this.  However, the goal is not to get discouraged and constant daily practice will increase the time of continuous focus on a give form and it is not an understatement and we cannot stress enough the importance of understanding this concept. Dhyāna practiced over a long period leads to Samādhi-an absolute concentration resulting in mystical experience. It must be understood clearly that the state of samādhi is just an experience which is only short lived and it is not mokṣham (liberation from the cycle of birth and death which only comes with Jnāna yoga).

Now adays there is no shortage of schools, university courses and online classes for yoga and meditation and are popping up everywhere like mushrooms not only because of great interest in this subject but also economic interests.  It seems like the westerners interest in meditation is to get relief from their daily mental stress and to achieve happiness which they are not gaining from materialism.

 

Whatever it may be, the credit of this most valuable prakriyā (method of unfoldment, means of exposition) belongs to our land and hence our mātrubhōmi is             "Dhyāna Bhūmi."