what is meditation in hinduism

[67], In Patanjali's Raja Yoga, also called "meditation yoga",[68] dhyana is "a refined meditative practice", a "deeper concentration of the mind", which is taken up after preceding practices. Mantra chanting can be done either loudly or silently in mind. [99] Nm japn involves focusing one's attention on the names or great attributes of God. My spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy - a man I've known for over 30 years - expresses it beautifully: When we meditate what we actually do is enter into the deeper part of our being. Volume 10, July/August 2004, pp66-71. [7][16] This term developed into the variant dhya- and dhyana, or "meditation". [109], Meditation has been of interest to a wide variety of modern Jews. John C Plott (1974), A Philosophy of Devotion, Motilal Banarsidass, Yajna The changing nature of Vedic offerings, Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History, The Complete Works of the Swami Vivekananda, "A Comparison of Hindu and Buddhist Techniques of Attaining Samdhi", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dhyana_in_Hinduism&oldid=1156151011, This page was last edited on 21 May 2023, at 12:46. These ancient practices are supplemented with various distinct interpretations of, and developments in, these practices. Hinduism is the world's oldest religion, and meditation has been part of its practice for as long as it has existed. [90] While often presented as a form of focused attention or concentration, as in Buddhagosa's Theravada classic the Visuddhimagga ("Path of purification, 5th c. CE), according to a number contemporary scholars and scholar-practitioners, it is actually a description of the development of perfected equanimity and mindfulness, apparently induced by satipatthana, an open monitoring of the breath, without trying to regulate it. [228] Another study reported increased ability to correctly report others facial expressions over time after meditating using fMRI. Also see discussion on Agnihotra to Pranagnihotra evolution by Staal. Morris, C., The use of self-service technologies in stress management: A pilot project. What the world offers [93] Adi Shankara, another scholar of the Vedanta school of Hinduism, extensively commented on samyama as a means for Jnana-yoga (path of knowledge) to achieve the state of Jivanmukta (living liberation). In Hinduism (originally Sanatana Dharma), meditation has a place of significance. Cambridge Dictionary provides two different definitions. Each member had specific expertise and training in at least one of the following meditation practices: Regarding influential reviews encompassing, According to Shear, "Focused Attention, Open Monitoring and Automatic Self-Transcending were likely to be associated with ( and )13, , and 1 EEG bands, respectively.". from God. Muslim teachings embrace life as a test of one's submission to God. [89][91], Vcaspati Mira, a scholar of the Vedanta school of Hinduism, in his bhasya on the Yogasutra's 3.30 wrote, "Whatever the yogin desires to know, he should perform samyama in respect to that object". On meditation in this and other post-Buddhist Hindu literature, see, Kohn, Livia (2008), "Meditation and visualization," in. Charlotte Bell (2007), Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice. [155], Bah'u'llh, the founder of the religion, never specified any particular form of meditation, and thus each person is free to choose their own form. Silence is the eloquent expression of the inexpressible. It is a secular practice that requires a person to take lessons from an . The mandala is basically a representation of the universe, a consecrated area that serves as a receptacle for the gods and as a collection point of universal forces. In 1975, Benson published a book titled The Relaxation Response where he outlined his own version of meditation for relaxation. Look not behind. Completely emptying your mind is a later meditation which is got by first learning to concentrate on one object. Esplen, M. J. and Hodnett, E., A Pilot Study Investigating Student Musicians' Experiences of Guided Imagery as a Technique to Manage Performance Anxiety. 120, No. [153] During the Nineteen Day Fast, a period of the year during which Bahs adhere to a sunrise-to-sunset fast, they meditate and pray to reinvigorate their spiritual forces. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Some of the difficulty in precisely defining meditation has been in recognizing the particularities of the many various traditions;[24] and theories and practice can differ within a tradition. Behaviour Research and Therapy, Vol. The first refers to Hinduism and Buddhism: a word or sound that is believed to have a special spiritual power. Samadhi: expanded consciousness. Plug in the headphones. Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol. [33] Dhyana was incorporated into Buddhism from Brahmanical practices, suggests Wynne, in the Nikayas ascribed to Alara Kalama and Uddaka Rmaputta. [12] The chapter 6 of the Gita is titled as the "Yoga of Meditation".[53]. [106], Two concepts associated with Dhyana found in ancient and medieval Hindu texts are Upasana and Vidya. [165] New Age meditation evolved into a range of purposes and practices, from serenity and balance to access to other realms of consciousness to the concentration of energy in group meditation to the supreme goal of samadhi, as in the ancient yogic practice of meditation. [101] Ding (literally means "decide; settle; stabilize") refers to "deep concentration", "intent contemplation", or "perfect absorption". Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, Vol. Psycho-oncology, Vol. Meditation in the Bhagavad Gita is a means to one's spiritual journey, requiring three moral values Satya (truthfulness), Ahimsa (non-violence) and Aparigraha (non-covetousness). Indian Journal of Positive Psychology, Vol. [206], Positive effects on emotion regulation, stress and anxiety can also be seen in students in university and nursing. 1 Answer Sorted by: 5 Meditation, what it is and how to do it is defined and described in many scriptural texts. [217], Meditation lowers heart rate, oxygen consumption, breathing frequency, stress hormones, lactate levels, and sympathetic nervous system activity (associated with the fight-or-flight response), along with a modest decline in blood pressure. Longs to claim Dhyana along river Ganges in Varanasi (left), Comparison of Dhyana in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. (1992): "We define meditation as a stylized mental technique repetitively practiced for the purpose of attaining a subjective experience that is frequently described as very restful, silent, and of heightened alertness, often characterized as blissful", Goleman (1988): "the need for the meditator to retrain his attention, whether through concentration or mindfulness, is the single invariant ingredient in every meditation system". [231][232][233][234] In some cases, it has also been linked to psychosis in a few individuals. NIH Publication No. [102] For instance, "When you enlarge your mind and let go of it, when you relax your vital breath and expand it, when your body is calm and unmoving: And you can maintain the One and discard the myriad disturbances. 5, No. Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique - such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity - to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state. Adverse effects were less frequently reported in women and religious meditators. Consequently, guided meditation cannot be understood as a single technique but rather multiple techniques that are integral to its practice. In addition, interest in some Western-based meditative practices has been revived,[157] and these have been disseminated to a limited extent to Asian countries.[158]. [201], A 2010 review of the literature on spirituality and performance in organizations found an increase in corporate meditation programs. [75] Meditation in Jainism aims at realizing the self, attaining salvation, and taking the soul to complete freedom. [88], The practice of Dharana, Dhyana and Samdhi together is designated as Samyama (Sanskrit: , holding together) in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Meditation is like going to the bottom of the sea, where everything is calm and tranquil. [77], Contemplation is a very old and important meditation technique. Then she made the point that when that happened on radio, or even worse, on TV, it was cause for panic. Orthopaedic Nursing, Vol. The paths to be followed in order to attain enlightenment are remarkably uniform among all the Indian systems: each requires a foundation of moral purification leading eventually to similar meditation practices. [64][65] Each bead is counted once as a person recites a mantra until the person has gone all the way around the mala. Mental practice of focus on a particular topic, This article is about the induction of specific modes or states of consciousness. In Hinduism, dhyna is considered to be an instrument to gain self-knowledge. Post-White J. There is a special way to listen to the Voice of God, and that is to meditate in silence. Journal of Clinical Nursing, Vol. Those waves do not let us see who we are. With practice, the process of Dhyana awakens self-awareness (soul, the purusha or Atman), the fundamental level of existence and Ultimate Reality in Hinduism, the non-afflicted, conflictless and blissful state of freedom and liberation (moksha).[77][78]. Epstein G.N., Halper J.P., Barrett E.A., Birdsall, C., McGee, M., Baron K.P., Lowenstein S., A pilot study of mind-body changes in adults with asthma who practice mental imagery. Harper. "[27]:143 For instance, while monks meditate as part of their everyday lives, they also engage the codified rules and live together in monasteries in specific cultural settings that go along with their meditative practices. [55] For instance he himself prostrates to the teachings, and meditates "not primarily for my benefit, but for the benefit of others". In the West, meditation found its mainstream roots through the social revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, when many of the youth of the day rebelled against traditional religion as a reaction against what some perceived as the failure of Christianity to provide spiritual and ethical guidance. Much more difficult is maintaining an inner silence - the absence of thought. [13][14], Dhyna (Sanskrit: , Pali: ) means "contemplation, reflection" and "profound, abstract meditation". Examples of contemporary school-specific classics include: The verb root "dhyai" is listed as referring to "contemplate, meditate on" and "dhyna" is listed as referring to "meditation; religious contemplation" on page 134 of. Astin, J.A., Shapiro, S.L., Eisenberg, D. M., and Forys, M.A., Mind-body medicine: State of the science, implications for practice. In Hinduism, meditation and devotion are both used to practice divine worship with the same ultimate aim, which is liberation from the cycle of births and deaths. D347. Stephen Phillips (2009), Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy, Columbia University Press. The earliest records of meditation (dhyana) are found in the Upanishads, and meditation plays a salient role in the contemplative repertoire of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. Patrick Olivelle (1999), Dharmasutras, Oxford World Classics, Oxford University Press. [19] If the focus was on a concept/idea, Dhyana is contemplating that concept/idea in all its aspects, forms and consequences. 2002. Wynd C. A., Relaxation imagery used for stress reduction in the prevention of smoking relapse. All Jain followers irrespective of their sect, whether Digambara or vetmbara, practice mantra. Anything rather than face the emptiness, for that would mean facing ourselves. Fly on, fly on. Yogis like Yogananda say that samadhi requires years of intense, dedicated training to achieve. Read more. Fear, doubt, worry and all the earthly turmoils will just wash away. Many of these emphasize the role of attention[19][28][29][30] and characterize the practice of meditation as attempts to get beyond the reflexive, "discursive thinking"[note 1] or "logic"[note 2] mind[note 3] to achieve a deeper, more devout, or more relaxed state. In the Oveyssi-Shahmaghsoudi Sufi order, for example, muraqabah takes the form of tamarkoz, "concentration" in Persian. Rose J. P. and Weis, J., Sound meditation in oncological rehabilitation: a pilot study of a receptive music therapy group using the monochord. "[193][11] A 2014 review found that practice of mindfulness meditation for two to six months by people undergoing long-term psychiatric or medical therapy could produce small improvements in anxiety, pain, or depression. [note 13], Via the Dhyana sutras, which are based on the Sarvastivada-tradition, the Zen-tradition incorporated mindfulness and breath-meditation. But one morning he notices the bird is not singing at all, it has fallen completely silent. William Mahony (1997), The Artful Universe: An Introduction to the Vedic Religious Imagination, State University of New York Press. All of which have been shown to have therapeutic benefits when employed as an adjunct to primary strategies. This state is called Dhyana". [30] There is no archeological or literary evidence, states Sagarmal Jain, about the origins of systems for Dhyana and Yoga, and there is a great deal of similarity between Jaina, Buddhist, Ajivika, Samkhya, Yoga and other ancient Indian traditions. 57, No. Mantra meditation is usually chanted on a set of 108 beads. Use your imagination, feel you're breathing out all the rubbish you want to let go of. Stuart Sarbacker (2011), Yoga Powers (Editor: Knut A. Jacobsen), Brill. TS Rukmani (1993), Researches in Indian and Buddhist Philosophy (Editor: Rma Karaa arm), Motilal Banarsidass. Mantra meditation, with the use of a japa mala and especially with focus on the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, is a central practice of the Gaudiya Vaishnava faith tradition and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the Hare Krishna movement. According to T. Griffith Foulk, the encouragement stick was an integral part of the Zen practice: In the Rinzai monastery where I trained in the mid-1970s, according to an unspoken etiquette, monks who were sitting earnestly and well were shown respect by being hit vigorously and often; those known as laggards were ignored by the hall monitor or given little taps if they requested to be hit. [114] Another Hasidic system is the Habad method of "hisbonenus", related to the Sephirah of "Binah", Hebrew for understanding. This is often aided by repetitive chanting of a mantra, or focusing on an object. Meditation is silence, energising and fulfilling. How is meditation done in Hinduism? 6, 2003, pp70- 74. 2, 1989, pp29-29. 9, 2014, p1553. That way they can be more focussed and concentrated, not waste their energy on smalltalk or get into useless arguments. In its deepest depths it is all silence. Journal of psychoactive drugs, Vol. But the real truth of things, we discover in silence. [25] Taylor noted that even within a faith such as "Hindu" or "Buddhist", schools and individual teachers may teach distinct types of meditation. Fill the space. Molen, Y., Santos, G., Carvalho, L., Prado, L., and Prado, G., Pre-sleep worry decreases by adding reading and guided imagery to insomnia treatment. It has three parts called the Ratnatraya "Three Jewels": right perception and faith, right knowledge and right conduct. However, meditation is by no means universally regarded as the principal means of attaining Self realization. [214] Concerns have been raised on the quality of meditation research,[10][215][216] including the particular characteristics of individuals who tend to participate. Meditators with high levels of repetitive negative thinking and those who only engage in deconstructive meditation were more likely to report unpleasant side effects. October 31, 2011 by Annie Wilson. Christian meditation is a biblical practice encouraged in both the Old and New Testament. [194] In 2017, the American Heart Association issued a scientific statement that meditation may be a reasonable adjunct practice to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, with the qualification that meditation needs to be better defined in higher-quality clinical research of these disorders. And the fourth monk says, "Now I'm the only one who hasn't broken the vow of silence! Beacon Press, 2009. Sagarmal Jain (2015), Yoga in Jainism (Editor: Reginald Ray (1999), Buddhist Saints in India, Oxford University Press. 3, 2012, p273. [26]:2 [126], Western Christian meditation contrasts with most other approaches in that it does not involve the repetition of any phrase or action and requires no specific posture. 3, 2003, pp112-123. [56] Some meditators practice for much longer,[57][58] particularly when on a course or retreat. [72][73] Dharana, which means "holding on", is the focusing and holding one's awareness to one object for a long period of time. [220] For meditators who have practiced for years, breath rate can drop to three or four breaths per minute and brain waves slow from alpha waves seen in normal relaxation to much slower delta and theta waves. Edwin Bryant (2009), The Yoga stras of Patajali: a new edition, translation, and commentary with insights from the traditional commentators, North Point Press. The second monk turns to him and says, "You spoke!" Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [45][46] This interiorization of fire rituals, where life is conceptualized as an unceasing sacrifice and emphasis is placed on meditation occurs in the classic Vedic world, in the early Upanishads and other texts such as the Shrauta Sutras and verse 2.18 of Vedic Vaikhanasa Smarta Sutra. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (dated ca. And it's true, I think, at a deeper level, that silence is something we fear. While most classical and contemporary Buddhist meditation guides are school-specific,[note 11] the root meditative practices of various body recollections and breath meditation have been preserved and transmitted in almost all Buddhist traditions, through Buddhist texts like the Satipatthana Sutta and the Dhyana sutras, and through oral teacher-student transmissions. Ong, J. C., Manber, R., Segal, Z., Xia, Y., Shapiro, S., and Wyatt, J. K., A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation for chronic insomnia. Frits Staal (2009), Discovering the Vedas: Origins, Mantras, Rituals, Insights, Penguin. William Cenkner (1995), A Tradition of Teachers. They are easy to chant when compared to long and complex mantras and have very high potency as well. [note 10]. Some basic Hindu concepts include: Hinduism embraces many religious ideas. [7][8] It is, in Hinduism, a part of a self-directed awareness and unifying Yoga process by which the yogi realizes Self (Atman, soul), one's relationship with other living beings, and Ultimate Reality. Dhyana: meditation. They go about their tasks feeling very virtuous and showing each other great respect. Vasistha Dharmasutras 30.1-30.8 [49][50], The Brahma-sutras, which distills the teachings of the Upanishads and is one of three foundational texts of the Vedanta school of Hinduism, states that Dhyana is not Prativedam (or, one for each Veda), and meditation belongs to all Vedic schools. [109], Classical Jewish texts espouse a wide range of meditative practices, often associated with the cultivation of kavanah or intention. [227][unreliable medical source?] [55] Dhyana in this ancient Hindu text, states Huston Smith, can be about whatever the person wants or finds spiritual, ranging from "the manifestation of divinity in a religious symbol in a human form", or an inspiration in nature such as "a snow-covered mountain, a serene lake in moonlight, or a colorful horizon at sunrise or sunset", or melodic sounds or syllables such as those that "are intoned as mantras and rhythmically repeated" like Om that is audibly or silent contemplated on. It is an exercise for the mind just as physical exercise works for the body. Outside of Hindu culture, many people may be familiar with yoga, which involves controlled breathing, meditation, and . Samadhi is of two kinds,[81][web 3] with and without support or an object of meditation:[82], Both object-centered and objectless-centered meditative practice, in Hindu texts, leads to progressively more bright, pellucid and poised state of "powerful, pure, Sattvic" state of blissful Self, ultimately leading to the knowledge of purusha or Atman-Brahman (soul), states Michael Washburn. This state of one's self is called Moksha in Hinduism and Nirvana in Buddhism. People have been practicing mindfulness for thousands of years, whether on its own or as part of a larger tradition. Similarly the finite in me [86], The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism introduced meditation to other Asian countries, reaching China in the 2nd century CE,[87] and Japan in the 6th century CE. Another important Hindu yoga text is the Yoga Yajnavalkya, which makes use of Hatha Yoga and Vedanta Philosophy. It is that dynamic quality which characterises true meditation: Recently I went to a performance by American artist Laurie Anderson. The Tibetan tradition incorporated Sarvastivada and Tantric practices, wedded with Madhyamaka philosophy, and developed thousands of visualization meditations. () The fire is meditation (dhyana), the firewood is truthfulness (satya), the offering is patience (kshanta), the Sruva spoon is modesty (hri), the sacrificial cake is not causing injury to living beings (ahimsa), and the priestly fee is the arduous gift of safety to all creatures. "[103], The (c. 3rd century BCE) Taoist Zhuangzi records zuowang or "sitting forgetting" meditation. What is Hindu meditation called? [136][137], According to Edmund P. Clowney, Christian meditation contrasts with Eastern forms of meditation as radically as the portrayal of God the Father in the Bible contrasts with depictions of Krishna or Brahman in Indian teachings. Meditation is silence, energising and fulfilling. [210] In Norway, another sound-based method called Acem Meditation developed a psychology of meditation and has been the subject of several scientific studies. Transcendental meditation is a type of meditation during which a person repeats a Sanskrit mantra, or saying, in their mind. Meditation speaks. [117][118] Jewish Buddhists have adopted Buddhist styles of meditation. Judaism has made use of meditative practices for thousands of years. Types of Hindu Meditation This article will discuss the major Hindu meditation types and their meanings here. [68] Rossano has suggested that the emergence of the capacity for focused attention, an element of many methods of meditation, may have contributed to the latest phases of human biological evolution. [1] Dhyana is taken up in Yoga practices, and is a means to samadhi and self-knowledge.[2]. In the Jangama Dhyna technique, for example, the meditator concentrates the mind to a spot between the eyebrows. [34] In early Brahamical yoga, the goal of meditation was considered to be a nondual state identical to unmanifest state of Brahman, where subject-object duality had been dissolved. [212][213], Research on the processes and effects of meditation is a subfield of neurological research. [162] In the 2017 NHIS survey, meditation use among workers was 10% (up from 8% in 2002).[163]. It is less commonly used in scholarly and scientific publications. Philosophy came later into the meditation for different purpose, mainly to attract mind . Yoga The initiate guided by a guru may practice Yoga (a "methodic exertion" of body and mind) in order to attain, through mortification, concentration, and meditation, a higher state of consciousness and thereby find supreme knowledge, achieve spiritual autonomy, and realize oneness with the Highest (or however the ultimate goal is conceived). 31, No. Journal of Health Psychology, 2015, 1359105315595118. When we meditate, what we actually do is enter into a vacant, calm, still, silent mind. During meditation, the oxygen consumption decrease averages 10 to 20 percent over the first three minutes. The Relaxation Response. The teaching is not conveyed in words, he said, but in silence. They argue for "two orthogonal dimensions along which meditation techniques could be classified," namely "activation" and "amount of body orientation," proposing seven clusters of techniques: "mindful observation, body-centered meditation, visual concentration, contemplation, affect-centered meditation, mantra meditation, and meditation with movement. [196], Low-quality evidence indicates that meditation may help with irritable bowel syndrome,[193] insomnia,[193] cognitive decline in the elderly,[197] and post-traumatic stress disorder. [99] According to Eddie Crangle, the first jhana resembles Patanjali's Samprajnata Samadhi, which both share the application of vitarka and vicara. [92] Moksha (freedom, liberation) is one such practice, where the object of samyama is Sattva (pure existence), Atman (soul) and Purusha (Universal principle) or Bhagavan (God). Christian mediation helps reinforce the truth of God's Word in believers' hearts so that they remember it and live by it. [67], Neuroscientist and long-time meditator Richard Davidson has expressed the view that having a narrative can help the maintenance of daily practice. Some well-known examples are daoyin "guiding and pulling", qigong "life-energy exercises", neigong "internal exercises", neidan "internal alchemy", and taijiquan "great ultimate boxing", which is thought of as moving meditation. 1, 2006, pp23-30. [7][9][10] Dhyana is also found in other Indian religions such as Buddhism and Jainism. [77], Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward awakening and nirvana. The rise of communist political power in Asia led to many Asian spiritual teachers taking refuge in Western countries, oftentimes as refugees.

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