Stages of Meditation

Meditation is the seventh limb of Raja Yoga propounded by the sage Patanjali. The Raja Yoga of Patanjali is known as the Ashtanga Yoga also , Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyayahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. Dhyana or meditation has become a buzz word in the modern age. It is proved to be a great stress buster along with being a very effective tool to ensure physical and mental health. The spiritual dimension of meditation is to lead to Samadhi , a mystic state of consciousness where there are no thoughts or mind. It is also called Unmani Awastha, the state transcending the mind. In the Upanishadic texts it is called the Turiya Awastha, the fourth state, others being awakening. dreaming and sleeping.In many Yogic texts sleep is compared to meditation with one exception that sleep becomes meditation if we are aware of sleep. This is a state where two opposites meet. In meditation we are fully relaxed as if we are sleeping, but at the same time, we are awake.

In his famous treatise on Yoga named Patanjal Yoga Sutras the seer Patanjali has explained different stages leading to meditation. Concentration is the previous stage of meditation.In concentration attention is fixed on one object for sometime and again it gets diverted.It is called Dharana by Patanjali.When concentration advances , it becomes meditation.Meditation is defined by Patanjali as the unbroken stretch of attention- Tatra Prataikya - tanata- dhyanam. Meditation is not achieved suddenly, rather it is a long journey of our awareness when it is established and does not flicker here and there. When one starts the process of meditation, lots of negative thoughts start coming out. Such thoughts are called Vitarka- meaning bad thoughts. With the continuation of the practice of meditation, thoughts are filtered and negativity goes away. This is called the stage of Vichara or thoughts. This is the reason that practitioners of meditation experience lots of negative and tumultuous thoughts at the initial stage. As the practitioner continues with meditation, he starts feeling blissful. This is the stage of Ananda or bliss.With the meditation going deeper the self identity starts being revealed to the seeker. This is the stage of Asmita or self identity .

When meditation matures, its advanced stage is Samadhi or the total absorption of the subject and the object. Patanjali talks about two types of Samadhi- Sabija Samadhi meaning with seeds of Sanskaras or life impressions and Nirbija Samadhi meaning all impressions annihilated and pure consciousness remains.

In other Yogic and Tantric texts we find very exhaustive description of meditation,both theory and techniques. Upanishads and Shrimad Bhagavad Gita are full of meditational preachings along with different techniques. The famous Tantric text Vigyana Bhairava Tantra enlists hundred and twelve different techniques of meditation. I

In modern times also innumerable numbers of books have been written both in India and abroad.These writers have prescribed so many methods of meditation. In his famous book Meditate, Rejuvenate Paul Galbraith has outlined the different techniques of meditation which can be used to rejuvenate us. Dynamic meditation of Osho, Transcendental meditation of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi,Kriya Yoga of Paramahansa Yogananda ,Mindful meditation of Dalai Lama, Sudarshan Kriya of Ravi Shankar Maharaj, etc. are a few to mention.

After studying all methods of meditation we find that all meditational tools aim at slowing down the mind leading to calmness and tranquillity. All techniques invariably involve some breathing techniques. Slow and prolonged breath is found to be very soothing and relaxing. The simplest way to meditate is to sit down in a comfortable position,keep our spine erect, close the eyes and just watch the incoming and outgoing breath. The constant practice of this technique is found very soothing and stress buster.

(Dr Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay, IPS, DG Police and CG, HG. Maharashtra)