MEDITATION IN VEDAS
Meditation literally means “Dhyana” is a Sanskrit word which refers to deep thought, consideration, enlightenment and transcendental concentration.”
Meditation literally means “Dhyana” used in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism with their different meanings according to their traditions. Dhyana is deeply involved with yoga practices & terminates into Samadhi which refers to meditative mindfulness.
The approach of Dhyana ‘Meditation’ and its methods were first introduced in the Vedic and Upanishadic era and accepted further in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions. Dhyaan was mainly determined in a period of different beliefs of Hinduism.
Meditation in Hinduism is a factor of self-controlled experience which unites with yoga practices & is used by Sadhak (Yogi) to become aware of inner self, one’s accord with divine power & extreme existence.
With Meditation, an individual can overpower his weak thinking, mental and spiritual obstruction, fears, nervousness, stress, and depression by realizing the causes and become capable of managing them. The more you achieve self-awareness, the more you command over your responses, feedbacks, and reactions.
Meditation (Dhyana) is a practice performs with peace, balance & separation with the aim of monitoring the ingoing & outgoing operation of ideas from the mind. According to the Hindu scriptures of composition, the whole existence in and of the world and universe emerged from God through Dhyana only.
The word ‘Dhyana’ was not used by the Vedic prophets at the beginning of Vedic ideology. But they used to perform this practice knowing its importance and benefits.
The arise of Upanishadic ideas and beliefs that man embodied the whole natural world inside himself and that unseen deep profound inner him was an endless law that was entire being in its personal facet was the primary reason of developing the Vedic notion of Meditation.
Words such as Manta, Dhvai, Drsti, Mati & Dhaya used to designate meditation in the Upanishads. But the most prominent devotional method in meditation was Tapas, which was grounded in Vedic tradition and in that meditation composed factor of severity and repentance that were desired to produce physical fire to blaze away from the dirt of the body and mind.
Upasana is another word, used to define meditation in the Upanishads very often. This meditative practice appears to have moderately emerged into Dhyana. But according to the Vedic monks or prophets, Dhyana is a much deeper meditative procedure which is beyond the external tradition element and the holy devoutness.
Hindu meditation, it’s importance and types of Hinduism
Hindu meditation is spiritual tools that originate from the Hindu tradition that provides the one a great understanding of one's Self or the Divine. It can be done through either chanting, repeating mantras (sacred words and sounds), working with the body (Hatha Yoga) and breathing practices (pranayama) and meditations that focus on an image and many other practices.
Importance of Hindu meditation
When our brain and body gets stressed because of too much activity, then it becomes necessary to do something for mind relaxation. Hindu meditation practices help our mind to get rid out of unwanted thoughts and to attain a state of calmness and peace.
It aids you to achieve emotional stability and changes your outlook towards a circumstance. Thus helps you to think in a positive manner. It helps you to stop worrying about the events of future and past negative experiences.
Hindu meditation is significant in enhancing your health by controlling the blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Meditation encourages the mind to come out of the worthless thoughts. It calms the mind and thus ensures a sound sleep. It has a positive effect on your nervous system as it helps in overcoming the stress causing chemicals.
Types of Hindu Meditation
Below are the different types of meditation that have their origin in the Hindu tradition.
• Om meditation
Om mantra is a word that is constantly repeated with the purpose of focusing your mind. It is very important to pronounce the word correctly as it is linked with the right type of “vibration”, according to some meditation teachers.
But according to others, the mantra is a tool used to concentrate your mind. Many people find it easier to use a mantra in comparison to the breathing practices. It’s easier to focus your mind with a mantra because a mantra itself is a word, and your thoughts are perceived as words.
• Transcendental meditation
This is a form of mantra meditation and it was introduced in the year 1955 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. There are over 5 million practitioners of this meditation worldwide.
In this meditation, use a mantra for about 15-20 minutes while sitting with closed eyes. You can practice it twice or thrice a day. If you wish to practice transcendental meditation, then you need to do a lot of before to do so.
• Self-inquiry, “I am” meditation
This meditation means investigating and understanding our true self. It gives an answer to the question “ Who am I?”
This is practiced by asking repeatedly the question to yourself “Who am I? Use this question to simply focus your attention on the subjective feeling of “I” and “ I am”. Reject verbal answers to the question. Go deep into it and become one with this feeling to uncover the meaning of true “I”.
If you do not have any previous experience of meditation, this practice can be very tough to follow. But when practiced regularly, it can bring peace and inner freedom.
• Yoga meditation
There are several divisions of this practice including physical postures (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayamas), the rules of conduct (Yamas and Niyamas) and contemplative practices of meditation (pratyahara, dharma, samadhi).
Some of the types of Yoga are:
• Third eye meditation is used to put the attention on the spot between the eyebrows.
• Kundalini meditation is practiced with the goal of awakening the Kundalini energy that lies at the base of the spine.
• Gazing meditation is done with the open eyes, putting the focus on external objects for concentration and visualization.
• Chakra meditation is practiced by focusing on seven chakras of the body.
• Kriya yoga is a collection of breathing, energy and meditation exercises.
• Soundmeditationwhere the practitioner starts the meditation by focusing on sound by listening to ambient music and at a time including chants of “Om”.
Among all these,“ third eye meditation” is the simplest form.
