Atma Malik.
Are these two terms, dhyan and meditation, the same? Or are they different? In the English vocabulary, the word for closing your eyes and sitting quietly, probably sitting cross legged on the floor, and maybe having fingers in dhyan mudra, is meditation. What goes through your mind in meditation, is not really regulated and your thoughts focus could be on anything inside you or outside you or on some occurrence or event. Meditation is advocated as a means to relax the mind and body and to de-stress. Meditation is also said to calm you down and also helps in recuperation and improving many ailments of the body and mind. In fact, in most modern circles it is considered chic to indulge in meditation. Period. On the other hand, what is dhyan ( in Hindi /Marathi) or dhyana (Sanskrit) or dhyanam (Tamil)? Well, perhaps it may be necessary to first decipher or break down the complex word dhyan into its root words. The first root word is “Dhi” which is translated as higher intuition – where spiritual heart opens and allows you to see the Truth. The next root word is yan or gyan, which we all know is translated as knowledge. Hence dhyan is simply the knowledge of higher intuition. Hence when someone is sitting in dhyan, that person is actually seeking the knowledge of higher intuition. So, apart from the meaning of the word dhyan , how does one go about practicing dhyan? As in general meditation, one also sits quietly and generally with eyes closed, but apart from that it is the management of the thought process (the mind) which comes into play. In dhyan, as per yogic philosophy, one practices Pratihara and Dharana, which are basically focusing the mind inwards, (usually to the heart) and secondly therein holding the mind (thoughts) onto a singular object of focus (be it an ista-deivam or on Satguru- Atma swaroop). Additionally, for those of you familiar with the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, the Maharshi goes even further to say that in dhyan , one has “just to be”. Yes, one is simply required to turn your mind inwards, to its source- the Self or Atma, and with that the mind will get “absorbed back” into the Self, and one will then simply merge and become One with the Self – the state of Samadhi. Hence, we can now see that dhyan is not simply meditation but certainly more than that. Further the objectives of meditation are as set out in the paragraph in the beginning of this write up, but what about the purpose or objective of dhyan? In dhyan, over and above the same benefits as in meditation, it is also the attainment of what the very word of dhyan itself means – knowledge of higher intuition, or simply Self- realization. Which is all about getting to know who you really are – which is inevitably nothing less than the supreme Atma itself in you- Ishwara ( God)! This serves to be the very core purpose of all dhyan With that, we can see that the practice of dhyan is deeply rooted and founded upon Vedanta and yogic philosophy, and its scope and limits are simply infinite, just as infinite as the Atma in you. Dhyan Karo.
By – Sant Eketarinande Maharaj