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Nididhyasana (Sanskrit: निदिध्यासन) is profound and repeated meditation.[1] InAdvaita Vedanta andJnana Yoga, it is meditation on themahavakyas, great Upanishadic statements such as "That art Thou", to realize the identity ofAtman andBrahman. It is the fourth step in the training of asisya (disciple), consisting of preparatory practices, listening to the teachings as contained in thesruti,reflection on the teachings, and nididhyasana.
In Advaita Vedanta, Nididhyasana is the final step in the correct understanding of the meaning of theMahavakyas. ClassicalAdvaita Vedanta emphasizes the path of Jnana Yoga, a progression of study and training to attainmoksha. It consists of four stages:[2][web 1]
Nididhyasana is a rational and cognitive process, which differs fromdhyana (meditation). It is necessary for gainingBrahmajnana:[4]
आत्मा ब्रह्मेति वाक्यार्थे निःशेषेण विचारिते
By a thorough analysis of "Atman is Brahman" the direct knowledge "I am Brahman" is achieved (Panchadasi VII.58).[5]
Nididhyasana done independently ofsravana does not lead to the realization of theAtman.[6]
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (II.iv.5) defines Nididhyasana as the meditation for the sake of direct vision.[7]Yajnavalkya tells his wife –
Adi Shankara took asubitist stance, stating that hearing themahavakyas directly leads to insight, without the need for nididhyasana.
According toSuresvara, Nididhyasana is the culmination of the practice ofsravana andmanana, which is an indirect intuition ofBrahman and does not mean meditation but knowledge (vijnana) i.e. understanding the meaning of theSruti on the basis ofvacya-vacaka relation underlying themahavakya. Suresvara states:-
Nididhyasana consists in acquisition ofvakyarthajnana and this verse explains the purport ofsunisnata.[8]
According toVacaspati,sravana,manana andnidihyasana are a chain of causes contributory to the knowledge of the oneness of Brahman. The Vivarna school considerssravana as the principal cause but Suresvara treatssravana andmanana to be co-existent, these two culminate intonididhyasana.[9]
The late mediaeval Advaita Vedanta tradition added yogic samadhi as a means to discern the true Self or Atman. The Vivekacudamani, incorrectly attributed to Shankars, states:
According toMadhva the knowledge acquired by study ('śravaṇa') and stabilized by reflection ('manana') is made the basis of steady contemplation ('nididhyasana'); these are the three stages of inquiry that take the form ofDhyana.[11]Radhakrishnan has defined Nididhyasana as "the process by which intellectual conscience is transformed into a vital one there is stillness, a calm in which the soul lays itself open to the Divine".[12]
According to Michael James, who gives an Advaita Vedanta interpretation of Ramana Maharshi, Ramana'sself-enquiry is the same as Nididhyasana andatma-vichara.[web 4]
Verse 365
