Dhyana ~ Unbroken Concentration | The WISDOM Podcast S3 E100
Dhyana is a term used for the seventh limb in the eight-step Yoga practice of the Yoga Sutras. In Dhyana you become absorbed in the connection that you form with the object of meditation. Another way to explain Dhyana is 'the state of mind that requires deep mental thinking or concentration.' The larger purpose of achieving Dhyana is to take another step towards Samadhi, or complete identification with the Divine, the Universe, or however you like to imagine something that which is far greater than yourself.
Transcript
Dhyana is the seventh limb of the eight-limbed path as defined by Patanjali who compiled the Yoga Sutras.
Dharana,
Concentration,
Is the first stage of meditation.
The second stage is Dhyana,
Unbroken concentration or uninterrupted focus or complete absorption.
We've been together exploring the Sutras.
The Sutras seem to have spanned several centuries,
The first three volumes written between the second century BCE and the last book in the fifth century CE.
These are ancient wisdom teachings that are as applicable today as they were when they were written thousands of years ago.
And the purpose of this journey,
Of course,
Was to give you all the wisdom to be able to apply to your life today for how to live remarkable and how to apply these teachings and tools to your meditation practice,
Which culminates in the practice of Dhyana.
Sutra is Sanskrit for thread,
As a written work in the belief systems of Hinduism,
Jainism and Buddhism and understood to accurately preserve important teachings of these faiths as they guide us on a path into spiritual liberation.
If you recall,
The first limb or yama are restraints and there are five yamas,
Ahimsa,
Non-violence,
Satya,
Truthfulness,
Asteya,
Non-stealing,
Brahmacharya,
Non-excess,
And aparigraha,
Non-possessiveness.
The second limb consists of observances or niyamas.
Five again in this grouping.
First sosha,
Purity,
Santosha,
Contentment,
Tapas or self-discipline.
Fourth svadhyaya,
Self-study,
And finally ishvara pranadana,
Surrender to the divine.
We also discuss the third limb or asana.
Asana in Sanskrit is to describe the seat of meditation.
It is from where we really begin to build our meditation practice,
First by our posture of stillness.
The fourth limb pranayama or the ability to direct and focus the breath and life force to be able to expand it as you bring it into your being and as you are conscious of not only the breath you take in and exhale but the overabundance of life force energy that allows us to move through life.
Fifth pratyahara,
The practice of training the mind and the senses to focus inward which of course sets us up for the sixth limb,
Dharana,
Which is all about one-pointed focus and concentration.
You can see how each of the third through the sixth limb of the sutras bring us here and for our deep dive into meditation.
Starting with the fifth limb pratyahara,
The rest of the eight limbs are all about training the mind.
For example,
Once you refine the skill of pratyahara and your ability to withdraw the senses from the external world and bring them inward,
Dharana is the practice of concentration on one single thing.
And here dhyana is going beyond practice.
When you have achieved dhyana,
You have completely uninterrupted ongoing concentration on the object of your meditation.
Now we all have experienced this,
Perhaps without the realization of what we were actually accomplishing,
But when you have moments when you are lost beyond time,
Whether it seems like time has stood still or you are so absorbed in what you are doing or thinking or creating that there is this beautiful laser-pointed focus on what you are,
On what's happening,
That is dhyana.
And we can add two more layers of complexity to the practice of dhyana.
The first is the goal of understanding and merging with the object of meditation.
So for example,
If you are fully immersed in focus,
Let's say on your breath,
The barrier between you,
The line between you and your breath begins to blur with time,
With focus.
You as the observer begin to become one in the same with what you are observing,
In this case your breath.
Think about that for a moment.
What have you been able to experience where it feels as though all linear matter,
All of linear time drops away and it is like you and the object of your focus truly become one.
That's really what we're talking about when we say being.
Being is the ability to become one with whatever is your focus.
And to do this deliberately,
By choice,
As the stepping stone to pure meditation is quite frankly incredible.
The second layer of complexity,
If you want to think of it that way for dhyana,
Is reworking that traditional belief that your object of meditation should always be a godlike or divine figure.
And so by rethinking this practice,
As you begin to merge and identify with the object of meditation,
You begin to understand that there is no barrier between yourself and the greater universe,
Which really opens us up to feeling a oneness with a bird in flight,
With our breath,
With the sunlight shining on one side of the tree as we consciously pay attention to what we are seeing and feeling,
As we are aware of the beauty of life all around us.
And it also means we can bring the practice of dhyana into our regular,
Even busy lives by choosing this practice.
A state of dhyana cannot come about through force or effort.
It's only through practicing the previous six limbs and also the willingness to want to achieve a deep state of meditation through practice,
Because it's practice of the tools and skills that bring us into meditation.
And also the patience and the allowing of what is.
This is also why there are so many ways in which to meditate.
No one better than the rest,
Necessarily.
All invoke the same principles and practices.
The difference between concentration,
Dharana,
And meditation,
Dhyana,
Is that in concentration there is this peripheral awareness and possible distraction,
Whereas in meditation attention is not disturbed.
There are no distractions at all.
In meditation the mind becomes one with its object.
It is only conscious of itself and the object.
I think that's what brings us into these euphoric states of being.
It's like we can look at something in nature and immediately feel this overwhelming sense of emotion.
Usually it's joy and bliss,
Harmony,
Peace,
Because in those moments when we are in the true state of meditation we become one with whatever we have experienced,
Whatever we are experiencing.
And that is such a beautiful thing.
The Sanskrit word for spirituality is Adi Atma.
Adi means focused on and Atma means self.
Spirituality is a subject whose focus is the self.
In general practice and especially in Hindi,
The meaning of the word Atma as the self means the true meaning of self.
Atma is used as a term when referring to totality in its relationship to the individual.
Atma is the unchanging aspect at the root of the individual and all of creation.
Meditation is the pathway to the state of Dhyana.
Through the mantras and one-pointed attention of Dharana you can break through to total awareness.
Dhyana is the state of pure Atma,
Which is consciousness and self-awareness and the trueness of self.
And something else which I find fascinating and so perfect about this seventh limb,
Love reigns here.
Dhyana would equal the state of divine consciousness,
That is,
Love flowing from you,
Through you.
However,
It's not an attached state of love,
As you well know.
Love with attachment is to objects or people.
Love with detachment is the vibration of pure love for the divine,
For God,
For consciousness.
In yoga this type of pure love is also called Bhakti.
It is an innocent love for the sake of merging in oneness with the divine.
You can equate this to the type of unconditional,
We call it,
Love that an infant has for his or her mother.
The infant longs to be bonded and merged with their mother and has totally surrendered themselves to her.
In Dhyana,
Love flows through you and creates a higher vibrational frequency within you.
That's also why when we are in this beautiful,
Blissful state of Dhyana,
We can feel overjoyed to the point of where we feel this incredible vibration of love that overtakes us.
And we feel this incredible lightness.
It's like we're on this natural high.
And it is that because love is a beautiful,
Natural experience of feeling high,
High in vibration,
Lightness,
Ease,
And to feel the possibility of everything.
The divine love of Dhyana has the capacity to heal,
To create miracles,
And is compassionate and empathetic for all.
The ego drops away in Dhyana and you transcend the confines of the mind.
Love moves through you when you surrender your will to the divine.
Another way to say this,
You choose to be love.
I think that's one of the most beautiful choices each one of us has.
And finally,
If you think this is difficult,
It is not.
However,
The seventh limb and the preparedness of divine love that you feel as Dhyana becomes more a natural outpouring of what you are as you consistently practice this,
Including the practice of the other six limbs of the Sutras.
And then,
Like a lotus flower unfurling in readiness,
Dhyana will find you.
I think this is such a beautiful practice,
This seventh limb of Dhyana.
Thank you so much for listening.
Sending you great love,
This is Dorothy Zanori Juno.
Namaste.
Thank you so much for joining me in this episode of the Wisdom Podcast.
To hear more,
Please check out the other episodes here,
As well as my guided meditations,
Including my signature prose meditations and I AM mantras,
And as well,
The meditations to guide you into a deep and restorative sleep.
Please also visit me on social media and say hello.
And a special thank you to Insight Timer for this beautiful space to share all of my love.
Allow yourself to go within,
To access your inner wisdom,
And to live this.
Awaken your authentic power,
Live your truth,
And be love.
Namaste.
