VII. DHYAN (CONTEMPLATION OR MEDITATION )

 

From continued concentration, as envisaged by dharna, there grows a continuous flow of perception, which is called dhyan or contemplation (meditation). Dhyan or meditation is of two kinds: gross and subtle. It is well-nigh impossible to take to subtle meditation all at once. One has therefore to start with gross meditation in the first instance, before taking to the practice of subtle meditation. The gross or objective meditation consists in meditating on the personal aspect of God, Isht, a Godman or a Guru (the living Master-Saint).

 

In the subtle meditation, the attention is fixed on the bindu or the single eye, the still point in the body behind and between the two eyebrows. It is the intersecton of time and the timeless where the Unmanifest becomes manifest.  It's reflex is in the pind or the lower region of the body, i.e., the guda chakra, where lies the coiled energy in a locked up condition. After some practice at the bindu, the dark spot becomes illuminated and gradually the inner light assumes the radiant form of the Master. From the begins what is termed the luminous contemplation.

 

When in meditation, the Godman appears within,

One sees the secret of Eternity like an open book.

-RUMI

 

While in gross contemplation one meditates on the perceptible form (swarup) of the Isht-deva or of the Guru, in subtle contemplation one meditates on the aurp (formless), or the dark point of concentration between the eyebrows, which gradually flowers into radiance.

 

Here we may sound a note of warning to the seeker after Truth. we cannot have any appreciable results by meditation on the forms of the past Master who, having discharged their diving mission on earth of contacting jives or souls in their own time, are no longer in touch with the physical world. Again, we have to be our guard in our search for a perfect Master, for any meditation on the form of an imperfect Master will not bear fruit. To avoid all pitfalls, it is much safer to put aside meditation on any form whatsoever, whether of a past or a living Master. It is better that one should carry on the sadhna according to the instructions given, and if the Master is a perfect one, his radiant form will of itself appears within and take charge of the individual soul as soon as it rises above body- consciousness. God himself manifests within in the form of a Gurudeva provided of course that the Guru is really embedded in God-Power. These remarks apply mutates mutandis to meditation on Isht-devas as is generally done. To meditate on the Formless is Beyond human conception, inasmuch as one cannot conceive of the Reality Beyond all comprehension. One may in such a case get glimpses of subtle elements, which by themselves cannot leave us anywhere.

 

The reading of scriptures and other sacred books is not of much avail on this path except in arousing one’s interest. The greatest teacher of mankind is man. It is enough if one knows how to open the pages of the great living book of the human heart (“heart” here signifies the seat of the soul, i.e., aggya or ajna chakra), which is the only inexhaustible treasure-house of all knowledge and all wisdom. One has simply to close his eyes, withdraw the senses, enter into the sanctuary of his heart and merge his very being into the supreme soul in the inner most depths within. He, the ever-existent, the self-luminuous Light, complete in Himself, and eternally the same, dwells in the temple of the human body, and he who wishes to know Him and to reach Him shall have to delve deep within himself, and everything will undoubtedly be revealed to him. “Knock and it shall be opened,” is the saying of sages and seers in all times and in all climes. This dip within gives the soul an integral experience of all the exists, whether visible or invisible, a direct intuitive knowledge and divine wisdom, all of which are the gift that come of themselves, freely and in abundance, if one forgets the world, forgets his friends and relations, forget his surroundings, nay forgets his very bodily being. Voluntary forgetfulness is the greatest spiritual sadhna. Forgetting all else one must rise above body consciousness, for this is the primary condition of right meditation.

 

Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.

-CHRIST

 

By deep and silent meditation, one must merge his very being in the sweet contemplation of the beloved within and lose himself in the Great soul of the Universe. This is the highest contemplation, and it leads to the most coveted goal of samadhi.