.jpg)
Dhyāna (Sanskrit: ध्यान) inHinduism meansmeditation[1] and contemplation.Dhyana is taken up inYoga practices, and is a means tosamadhi and self-knowledge.[2]
The various concepts ofdhyana and its practice originated in theSramanic movement of ancient India,[3][4] which started before the 6th century BCE (pre-Buddha, pre-Mahavira),[5][6] and the practice has been influential within the diverse traditions of Hinduism.[7][8] It is, in Hinduism, a part of a self-directed awareness and unifying Yoga process by which theyogi realizes Self (Atman, soul), one's relationship with other living beings, and the Ultimate Reality.[7][9][10] Dhyana is also part of other Indian religions such asBuddhism andJainism.[1] Several other traditions introduce unique aspects and context toDhyana, and mutually influence each other.[8]
The termDhyana appears inAranyaka andBrahmana layers of theVedas but with unclear meaning, while in the earlyUpanishads it appears in the sense of "contemplation, meditation" and an important part of self-knowledge journey.[7][11] It is described in numerousUpanishads ofHinduism,[12] and inPatanjali's Yogasutras - a key text of the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy.[13][14]
Dhyāna (Sanskrit: ध्यान,Pali: झान) means "contemplation, reflection" and "profound, abstract meditation".[15]
The root of the word isdhi, which, in the earliest layer of Vedic texts, refers to "imaginative vision" and is associated with goddessSaraswati, who possesses powers of knowledge, wisdom, and poetic eloquence.[7][16] This term developed into the variantdhya- anddhyana, or "meditation".[7]
Thomas Berry states thatdhyana is "sustained attention" and the "application of mind to the chosen point of concentration".[17]Dhyana is contemplating, reflecting on whateverdharana has focused on.[18] If in the sixth limb of yoga one is concentrating on a personal deity,dhyana is its contemplation. If the concentration was on one object, Dhyana is nonjudgmental, non-presumptuous observation of that object.[19] If the focus is on a concept or idea,dhyana is contemplating it in all its aspects, forms and consequences.Dhyana is uninterrupted train of thought, current ofcognition, flow of awareness.[20][21][22]
A related term isnididhyāsana, the pondering over Upanishadic statements. It is a composite of three terms, namelydhyai,upasana ("dwelling upon"), andbhavana ("cultivating").[web 1]
The termdhyana is used inJainism,Buddhism andHinduism, with somewhat similar meanings.[2]
Vedic teachings hold that, since the universal divine Self dwells within the heart, the way to experience and recognize divinity is to turn one's attention inward in a process of contemplative meditation.
The origins of the practice ofdhyana, which culminates intosamadhi, are a matter of dispute.[24][25] According to Bronkhorst, the mainstream concept is evidenced in Jain, Buddhist and early Hindu scriptures.[3][note 1] Dhyana, statesSagarmal Jain, has been essential to Jain religious practices, but the origins of Dhyana and Yoga in the pre-canonical era (before 6th-century BCE) is unclear, and it likely developed in theSramanic culture of ancient India,[4] Severalśramaṇa movements are known to have existed in India before the 6th century BCE (pre-Buddha, pre-Mahavira), and these influenced both theāstika and nāstika (i.e. Theistic and Atheistic) traditions of Indian philosophy.[5][6]
The earliest Jain texts, on Dhyana such asSutrakranga,Antakrta-Dasanga andRsibhashita, mentionUddaka Rāmaputta[note 2] who is said to be the teacher of some meditation methods toBuddha, as well as the originator ofVipassana andPreksha meditation techniques.[4] TheJain tradition believesRishabhanatha, the firstTirthankara, to have founded meditation, but there is no historical confirming evidence. The earliest mention of Dhyana in the canonical Jain texts simply mentionDhyana as a means of emancipation, but in them ascetic practices are not emphasized nor is the discussion as systematic as in laterJain texts or Hindu texts such as the Patanjali's Yogasutras.[30] There is no archeological or literary evidence, states Sagarmal Jain, about the origins of systems for Dhyana and Yoga, and there is a great deal of similarity betweenJain, Buddhist, Ajivika, Samkhya, Yoga and other ancient Indian traditions.[4] The earliest texts, such asTattvarthasutra suggest that these ideas developed in parallel, sometimes with different terms for similar ideas in various Indian traditions, influencing each other.[30]
Buddhism introduced its own ideas, states Bronkhorst, such as thefour dhyanas, which did not affect the mainstream meditation traditions in Jain and Hindu traditions for a long time.[31][note 3] All traditions,Jainism,Buddhism andHinduism, introduced unique aspects and context toDhyana, and mutually influenced each other.[8] According to Bronkhorst, while Jain and Hindu meditation traditions predateBuddhism, the Buddhist terminology such as Samadhi, may have influenced the wording found in one of the several types of Dhyana found in theMahabharata as well as parts of Patanjali's Yogasutras.[8]
Alexander Wynne interprets Bronkhorst as stating thatdhyana was a Jain tradition, from which both Hinduism and Buddhism borrowed ideas on meditation.[33] Wynne adds that Bronkhorst opinion "understates the role of meditation" in early Brahmanical tradition.[33] Dhyana was incorporated into Buddhism from Brahmanical practices, suggests Wynne, in the Nikayas ascribed to Alara Kalama and Uddaka Rāmaputta.[34] In early Brahamical yoga, the goal of meditation was considered to be a nondual state identical to unmanifest state ofBrahman, where subject-object duality had been dissolved.[10] The early Buddhist practices adapted these old yogic methods, pairing it to mindfulness and attainment of insight.[10] Kalupahana states that the Buddha "reverted to the meditational practices" he had learned from Alara Kalama and Uddaka Rāmaputta.[35]
In Hinduism, state Jones and Ryan, the term first appears in theUpanishads.[2] Techniques of concentration or meditation are a Vedic tradition, states Frits Staal, because these ideas are found in the early Upanishads asdhyana or abhidhyana.[11] In most of the later Hindu yoga traditions, which derive from Patanjali'sRaja Yoga,dhyana is "a refined meditative practice",[2] a "deeper concentration of the mind",[2] which is taken up after preceding practices such as masteringpranayama (breath control) anddharana (mental focus).[2]
The termdhyanam appears in Vedic literature, such as hymn 4.36.2 of the Rigveda and verse 10.11.1 of the Taittiriya Aranyaka.[36][37] The term, in the sense of meditation, appears in theUpanishads.[1][37][38] TheKaushitaki Upanishad uses it in the context of mind and meditation in verses 3.2 to 3.6, for example as follows:[39]
मनसाध्यानमित्येकभूयं वै प्राणाः
With mind, meditate on me as being prānā
The term appears in the context of "contemplate, reflect, meditate" in verses of chapters 1.3, 2.22, 5.1, 7.6, 7.7 and 7.26 of theChandogya Upanishad, chapters 3.5, 4.5 and 4.6 of theBrihadaranyaka Upanishad and verses 6.9 to 6.24 of theMaitri Upanishad.[38][41] The wordDhyana refers to meditation in theChandogya Upanishad, while thePrashna Upanishad asserts that the meditation onAUM (ॐ) leads to the world ofBrahman (Ultimate Reality).[11]
TheShvetashvatara Upanishad emphasizesdhyana (meditation) as a means to realize the divine. In verse 1.3, it describes how those who meditate can perceive God, the self, and divine power, all of which are typically hidden by one's own qualities. This verse highlights the idea of a singular divine being governing everything, from time to individual selves. Verse 1.14 describe meditation as positioning the body as a foundation and repeatedly focusing on AUM to access divine vision, much like uncovering something hidden through focused effort.[42]
The development of meditation in the Vedic era paralleled the ideas of "interiorization", where social, externalyajna fire rituals (Agnihotra) were replaced with meditative, internalized rituals (Prana-agnihotra).[11][43][44] This interiorization of Vedic fire-ritual into yogic meditation ideas from Hinduism, that are mentioned in theSamhita andAranyaka layers of the Vedas and more clearly in chapter 5 of the Chandogya Upanishad (~800 to 600 BCE),[note 4] are also found in later Buddhist texts and esoteric variations such as theDighanikaya,Mahavairocana-sutra and theJyotirmnjari, wherein the Buddhist texts describe meditation as "inner forms of fire oblation/sacrifice".[46][47] This interiorization of fire rituals, where life is conceptualized as an unceasingsacrifice and emphasis is placed on meditation occurs in the classic Vedic world, in the early Upanishads and other texts such as the Shrauta Sutras and verse 2.18 of VedicVaikhanasa Smarta Sutra.[48]
Beyond the early Upanishads composed before 5th-century BCE, the termDhyana and the related terms such asDhyai (Sanskrit: ध्यै, deeply meditate)[49] appears in numerous Upanishads composed after the 5th-century BCE, such as: chapter 1 ofShvetashvatara Upanishad, chapters 2 and 3 ofMundaka Upanishad, chapter 3 ofAitareya Upanishad, chapter 11 of Mahanarayana Upanishad, and in various verses of Kaivalya Upanishad, Chulika Upanishad, Atharvasikha Upanishad, Brahma Upanishad, Brahmabindu Upanishad, Amritabindu Upanishad, Tejobindu Upanishad, Paramahamsa Upanishad, Kshuriki Upanishad, Dhyana-bindu Upanishad, Atharvasiras Upanishad, Maha Upanishad,Pranagnihotra Upanishad, Yogasikha Upanishad, Yogatattva Upanishad, Kathasruti Upanishad, Hamsa Upanishad, Atmaprabodha Upanishad and Visudeva Upanishad.[12]
Dhyana asDharma
Practice righteousness (dharma), not unrighteousness. Speak the truth, not the untruth. Look at what is distant, not what's near at hand. Look at the highest, not at what's less than highest. (...) The fire ismeditation (dhyana), the firewood is truthfulness (satya), the offering is patience (kshanta), the Sruva spoon is modesty (hri), the sacrificial cake is not causing injury to living beings (ahimsa), and the priestly fee is the arduous gift of safety to all creatures.
TheBrahma-sutras, which distills the teachings of the Upanishads and is one of three foundational texts of theVedanta school of Hinduism, states thatDhyana is notPrativedam (or, one for each Veda), and meditation belongs to all Vedic schools.[11]
Adi Shankara dedicates an extensive chapter on meditation, in his commentary on the Brahma-sutras, inSadhana as essential to spiritual practice.[52] His discussion there is similar to his extensive commentary onDhyana in hisBhasya on Bhagavad Gita and the early Upanishads.[52]
The verse 30.8 of the ancient Vasistha Dharma-sutra declares meditation as a virtue, and interiorized substitute equivalent of a fire sacrifice.[53]
The term Dhyana, and related words with the meaning of meditation appears in many chapters of theBhagavad Gita, such as in chapters 2, 12, 13 and 18.[12] The chapter 6 of the Gita is titled as the "Yoga of Meditation".[54]
The Bhagavad Gita, one of the three key books ofVedanta school of Hinduism, states fourMarga (paths) to purify one's mind and to reach the summit of spirituality – the path of Unselfish Work, the path of Knowledge, the path of Devotion and the path of Meditation (Dhyana).[55]Huston Smith summarizes the need and value of meditation in Gita, as follows (abridged):
To change the analogy, the mind is like a lake, and stones that are dropped into it (or winds) raise waves. Those waves do not let us see who we are. (...) The waters must be calmed. If one remains quiet, eventually the winds that ruffle the water will give up, and then one knows who one is. God is constantly within us, but the mind obscures that fact with agitated waves of worldly desires.Meditation quiets those waves (Bhagavad Gita V.28).
— Huston Smith, Foreword, The Bhagavad Gita: Twenty-fifth–Anniversary Edition[55]
Meditation in the Bhagavad Gita is a means to one's spiritual journey, requiring three moral values –Satya (truthfulness),Ahimsa (non-violence) andAparigraha (non-covetousness).[56] Dhyana in this ancient Hindu text, states Huston Smith, can be about whatever the person wants or finds spiritual, ranging from "the manifestation of divinity in a religious symbol in a human form", or an inspiration in nature such as "a snow-covered mountain, a serene lake in moonlight, or a colorful horizon at sunrise or sunset", or melodic sounds or syllables such as those that "are intoned as mantras and rhythmically repeated" likeOm that is audibly or silent contemplated on.[56] The direction of deep meditation, in the text, is towards detaching the mind from sensory distractions and disturbances outside of oneself, submerging it instead on the indwelling spirit and one's soul towards the state ofSamadhi, a state of bliss (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 6: Yoga of Meditation).[54][56]
The Gita presents a synthesis[57][58] of the Brahmanical concept ofDharma[57][58][59] withbhakti,[60][59] the yogic ideals[58] ofliberation[58] throughjnana,[60] andSamkhya philosophy.[web 2][note 5] It is the "locus classicus"[61] of the"Hindu synthesis"[61] which emerged around the beginning of the Common Era,[61] integrating Brahmanic and shramanic ideas with theistic devotion.[61][58][59][web 2]
TheBhagavad Gita talks of four branches of yoga:[55]
The Dhyana Yoga system is specifically described byKrishna in chapter 6 of theBhagavad Gita toArjuna.[55]
In theYoga Sutras of Patanjali (dated ca. 400 CE),[62] a key text of theYoga school of Hindu philosophy,Dhyana is theseventh limb of this path, following Dharana and preceding Samadhi.[63] Dhyana is integrally related to Dharana, one leads to other. Dharana is a state of mind, Dhyana the process of mind. Dhyana is distinct from Dharana in that the meditator becomes actively engaged with its focus.
Patanjali defines contemplation (Dhyana) as the mind process, where the mind is fixed on something, and then there is "a course of uniform modification of knowledge".[64] Bronkhorst states that Buddhist influences are noticeable in the first chapter of the Yogasutras, and confirmed by sutra 1.20 because it mentions asamprajnata samadhi is preceded by "trust (sraddha), energy (virya), mindfulness (smriti), concentration (samadhi), and insight (prajna)".[65] According to Bronkhorst, "the definition of Yoga given in the first chapter of theYoga Sutra does not fit the descriptions contained in the same chapter,"[66] and this may suggest thesutra incorporated Buddhist elements as described in thefour jhanas.[67] Wynne, in contrast to Bronkhorst's theory, states that the evidence in early Buddhist texts, such as those found inSuttapitaka, suggest that these foundational ideas on formless meditation and element meditation were borrowed from pre-Buddha Brahamanical sources attested in early Upanishads and ultimately the cosmological theory found in the Nasadiya-sukta of theRigveda.[33]
Adi Shankara, in his commentary onYoga Sutras, distinguishes Dhyana from Dharana, by explaining Dhyana as the yoga state when there is only the "stream of continuous thought about the object, uninterrupted by other thoughts of different kind for the same object"; Dharana, states Shankara, is focussed on one object, but aware of its many aspects and ideas about the same object. Shankara gives the example of a yogin in a state of dharana on morning sun may be aware of its brilliance, color and orbit; the yogin in dhyana state contemplates on sun's orbit alone for example, without being interrupted by its color, brilliance or other related ideas.[68]
In Patanjali's Raja Yoga, also called "meditation yoga",[69] dhyana is "a refined meditative practice", a "deeper concentration of the mind", which is taken up after preceding practices. In Hinduism, dhyāna is considered to be an instrument to gain self-knowledge. It is a part of a self-directed awareness and unifyingYoga process by which a world that by default is experienced as disjointed, comes to be experienced as Self, and an integrated oneness withBrahman.[7] The Brahman has been variously defined in Hinduism, ranging from non-theistic non-dualistic Ultimate Reality or supreme soul, to theistic dualistic God.[70][71][72]
The stage of meditation preceding dhyāna is calleddharana.[73][74] Dharana, which means "holding on", is the focusing and holding one's awareness to one object for a long period of time. In Yogasutras, the term implies fixing one's mind on an object of meditation, which could be one's breath or the tip of one's nose or the image of one's personal deity or anything of the yogi's choice.[75]
In theJangama Dhyāna technique, for example, the meditator concentrates the mind to a spot between the eyebrows. According to Patañjali, this is one method of achieving theinitial concentration (dhāraṇā:Yoga Sutras, III: 1) necessary for the mind to become introverted inmeditation (dhyāna:Yoga Sutras, III: 2). In deeper practice of the technique, the mind concentrated between the eyebrows begins to automatically lose all location and focus on the watching itself. This step prepares one to begin the practice of Dhyana.[citation needed]
The Yogasutras in verse 3.2 and elsewhere, states Edwin Bryant, definesDhyana as the "continuous flow of the same thought or image of the object of meditation, without being distracted by any other thought".[76] Vivekananda explainsDhyana in Patanjali's Yogasutras as, "When the mind has been trained to remain fixed on a certain internal or external location, there comes to it the power of flowing in an unbroken current, as it were, towards that point. This state is called Dhyana".[77]
While Dharana was the stage in yoga where the yogi held one's awareness to one object for a long period of time, Dhyana is concentrated meditation where he or she contemplates without interruption the object of meditation, beyond any memory of ego or anything else.[75]
In Dhyana, the meditator is not conscious of the act of meditation (i.e. is not aware that he/she is meditating) but is only aware that he/she exists (consciousness ofbeing), his mind and the object of meditation. Dhyana is distinct from Dharana, in that the yogi contemplates on the object of meditation and the object's aspects only, free from distractions, with his mind during Dhyana. With practice, the process of Dhyana awakens self-awareness (soul, the purusha orAtman), the fundamental level of existence and Ultimate Reality in Hinduism, the non-afflicted, conflictless and blissful state of freedom and liberation (moksha).[78][79]
TheDhyana step prepares a yogi to proceed towards practicingSamadhi.Swami Vivekananda describes the teachings of Yogasutras in the following way:
When one has so intensified the power ofdhyana as to be able to reject the external part of perception and remain meditating only on the internal part, the meaning, that state is calledSamadhi.[note 6]
Michael Washburn states that theYogasutras text identifies stepwise stages for meditative practice progress, and that "Patanjali distinguishes between Dharana which is effortful focusing of attention, Dhyana which is easy continuous one-pointedness, and Samadhi which is absorption, ecstasy, contemplation".[80] A person who begins meditation practice, usually practicesDharana.[80] With practice he is able to gain ease in which he learns how to contemplate in a sharply focussed fashion, and then "he is able more and more easily to give uninterrupted attention to the meditation object; that is to say, he attains Dhyana".[80] With further practice, the yogi "ceases being detachedly vigilant" and enters "a state of fusion with the meditation object" which is Samadhi.[81]
Samadhi is oneness with the object of meditation. There is no distinction between act of meditation and the object of meditation. Samadhi is of two kinds,[82][web 3] with and without support or an object of meditation:[83]
Both object-centered and objectless-centered meditative practice, in Hindu texts, leads to progressively more bright, pellucid and poised state of "powerful, pure,Sattvic" state of blissful Self, ultimately leading to the knowledge ofpurusha or Atman-Brahman (soul), states Michael Washburn.[83][88] This is the state, in Hindu tradition, where states Gregor Maehle, the yogi or yogini realizes "theAtman in you is the Atman in everyone", and leading to the realization of Self.[89]
The practice ofDharana, Dhyana andSamadhi together is designated asSamyama (Sanskrit: संयम, holding together) in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[90] Samyama, asserts the text, is a powerful meditative tool and can be applied to a certain object, or entire class of objects.[90] A yogi who doesSamyama onPratyaya (notions, customs) of men, states sutra 3.19 of the text, knows the series of "psycho-mental states of other men".[90] A yogi after successfully completingSamyama on "distinction of object and idea" realizes the "cries of all creatures", states sutra 3.17.[90] ASamyama on friendliness, compassion and joy leads to these powers emerging within the yogi, states sutra 3.23.[91] The meditation technique discussed in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is thus, states Mircea Eliade, a means to knowledge andsiddhi (yogic power).[90][92]
Vachaspati Mishra, a scholar of theVedanta school of Hinduism, in hisbhasya on the Yogasutra's 3.30 wrote, "Whatever the yogin desires to know, he should performsamyama in respect to that object".[93]Moksha (freedom, liberation) is one such practice, where the object ofsamyama is Sattva (pure existence), Atman (soul) andPurusha (Universal principle) orBhagavan (God).[94]Adi Shankara, another scholar of the Vedanta school of Hinduism, extensively commented onsamyama as a means forJnana-yoga (path of knowledge) to achieve the state ofJivanmukta (living liberation).[95][96]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(January 2016) |
By the time the Yogasutras were compiled, the Hindu traditions had two broad forms of meditation, namely the ecstatic and enstatic types.[97][98]
According to Jianxin LiSamprajnata Samadhi of Hinduism may be compared to therupa jhanas of Buddhism.[99] This interpretation may conflict with Gombrich and Wynne, according to whom the first and secondjhana represent concentration, whereas the third and fourthjhana combine concentration with mindfulness.[100] According to Eddie Crangle, the firstjhana resembles Patanjali'sSamprajnata Samadhi, which both share the application ofvitarka andvicara.[101]
Asamprajnata Samadhi, states Jianxin Li, may be compared to thearupa jhanas of Buddhism, and toNirodha-Samapatti.[99] Crangle and other scholars state thatsabija-asamprajnata samadhi resembles the four formlessjhanas, with the fourtharupa jhana of Buddhism being analogous to Patanjali's "objectless dhyana and samadhi".[102][103]
The paths to be followed in order to attain enlightenment are remarkably uniform among all the Indian systems: each requires a foundation of moral purification leading eventually to similar meditation practices.
— David Loy, National University of Singapore[104]
According to Sarbacker and other scholars, while there are parallels between Dhyana in Hinduism and in Buddhism, the phenomenological states and the emancipation experiences are described differently.[103][105] Dhyana in Buddhism is aiming towards cessation and realization ofshunya (state of null), while Dhyana Hinduism is aiming towards realization of Atman (soul) and consequent union with Brahman.[103]Nirvana (or Nibbana), the desired end through Dhyana in Buddhism, is the realization that there is no permanent self nor permanent consciousness; whileMoksha, the desired end through Dhyana in Hinduism, is acceptance of Self, realization of liberating knowledge, the consciousness of Oneness with all existence and understanding the whole universe as the Self.[104][note 11][note 12] Nirvana of Buddhism starts with the premise that "Self is merely an illusion, there is no Self", Moksha of Hinduism on the other hand, starts with the premise that everything is the Self, states David Loy.[104] The soteriological emphasis inDhyana, therefore is different in Buddhism and Hinduism.[106]
Ancient Jain scholars developed their own theories on Dhyana like other Indian religions,[2] but little detail is mentioned in Jain texts,[107] and the Dhyana practices varied by sects within the Jain tradition.[108] Broadly, Jainism texts identify four types of meditation based on the nature of object.[107][109]Arta-dhyana, states Jain meditation literature, occurs when one's focus is on anguish and unpleasant things.[2]Raudra-dhyana occurs when the focus is on anger or perverse ideas or objects.[109]Dharmya-dhyana focuses on religious ideas or virtuous objects, whileShukla-dhyana is the focus on pure ideas or bright objects.[2][109] This classification of four Dhyana types may have roots, suggestsPaul Dundas, in the earlier Hindu texts related to Kashmir Shaivism.[109]
Dundas states that Jain tradition emphasized Dhyana, but its meditation-related literature likely went through two stages of formulation, the early stage independent of other Indian traditions, one which concerned itself with "cessation of mind and physical activities" rather than their transformation as in other Indian traditions; followed by a later stage, likely post-Yogasutras, where Jain scholars of different sects restructured the contemplative model to assimilate elements of Hindu and Buddhist techniques on Dhyana.[109] The terminology used in some Jainism texts however, states John Cort, are different.[110]
The premise of Atman (soul) exists, that is found in Hinduism, is also present in Jainism. The soteriological goals of Jain spiritual meditation are similar to Hindu spiritual meditation, aimed at experiential contact with the "ultimate self", wherein the yogi realizes the blissful, unfettered, formless soul and siddha-hood – a totally liberated state of being.[107]
Two concepts associated with Dhyana found in ancient and medieval Hindu texts areUpasana andVidya.[38] Upasana means "come near to something, some idea" and denotes the act and state of meditation, whileVidya means knowledge and is the consequence ofDhyana.[111] The termUpasana typically appears in the context of ritual meditative practices, such as before a devotional symbol such as deity or during ayajna type practice or community oriented bhakti worship singing, and is a subtype ofDhyana.[111][112]
The 11th-centuryVishishtadvaita Vedanta scholarRamanuja noted thatupasana anddhyana are equated in the Upanishads with other terms such asvedana (knowing) andsmrti (remembrance). Ramanuja holds that all these are phases of meditation, adding that they must be done with love or bhakti. In Bhagvad Gita verse 13.24, Ramanuja interprets dhyana as bhakti-yoga, since it is used alongside samkhya yoga and karma-yoga, thus preferring the term bhakti-yoga over bhakti.[113]
Shankara's Brahma Sutra Bhashya (4.1.7) defines upasana as a "lengthened carrying on of an identical train of thought". This practice involves contemplating sections of holy texts, usually the Upanisads but also the Brahmanas and Aranyakas. According to Shankara, these texts discuss a personal deity and relate to ritual and upasana means devout contemplation on the conditioned Brahman.[114]
| Philosophy |
|  | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texts |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Deities |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Practices |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Related | |||||||||||||||||||
