Meditation

Generally speaking, meditation is a state of deep contemplation, of inward vision. During meditation, a person is in a state of absolute detachment from the world and its affairs; he separates his being from the relationships and events in his life.

Meditation is a form and practice of yoga.

The founder of yoga, Maharishi Patanjali, describes eight yoga practices, together called Ashtanga Yoga ('ashta' means eight, 'anga' means part, so ashtanga yoga literally translates to eight-fold yoga):

• Yama
• Niyama
• Asana
• Pranayama
• Pratyahara
• Dharana
• Dhyana
• Samadhi

Yama is the resistance to passion, Niyama is the rules about complacence, Asana is used to describe a postures of physical exercise, Pranayama is a set of breathing exercises, Pratyahara is the resistance to senses, Dharana is concentration, Dhyana is the meditation, and the final form, Samadhi, is the 'union with the infinite'.

No special effort is needed to follow the facets of ashtanga yoga

No special effort is needed to follow all the eight facets of ashtanga yoga, as one follows the other in a natural progression. The system of ashtanga yoga is designed and perfected to achieve a high level of well being.

It is not mere a philosophy. It is about action and results, for its practitioner to do, to experience and believe.

A person who follows all these eight practices of yoga in his lifetime, and observes all the elaborate principles associated with them, is considered an accomplished yogi or yoga practitioner. In this article, we will discuss dhyana or meditation.

Meditation and Samadhi >>