Dhyana Yoga (Sanskrit) Profound spiritual mediation on the divinity within, imbodying six or seven stages of advancement, accompanied by the simultaneous abstraction of thought from external existence; the sixth chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita treats of dhyana yoga. Likewise, one of the paramitas of Buddhism.

(See also: Dhyana Yoga , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Dhyana: Meditation. The seventh limb of the Ashtanga or Raja Yoga system.

(See also: Dhyana ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Dhyana:

Dhyana ("ideating"): meditation, the seventh limb (anga) of Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga

(See also: Dhyana ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

DHYANA YOGA: the Yoga of meditation

(See also: DHYANA YOGA , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Dhyana:

Advanced maturation of sustained attentional focus.

(See also: Dhyana , Kundalini, Kundalini Yoga, Kundalini Dictionary)

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V X Y Z

raja yoga: (Sanskrit) "King of yogas."

Also known as ashtanga yoga, "eight-limbed yoga." The classical yoga system of eight progressive stages to Illumination as described in various yoga Upanishads, the Tirumantiram and, most notably, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

The eight limbs are as follows.

1)    yama: "Restraint." Virtuous and moral living, which brings purity of mind, freedom from anger, jealousy and subconscious confusion which would inhibit the process of meditation.

2)    niyama: (Sanskrit) "Observance." Religious practices which cultivate the qualities of the higher nature, such as devotion, cognition, humility and contentment- giving the refinement of nature and control of mind needed to concentrate and ultimately plunge into samadhi.

3)    asana: "Seat or posture." A sound body is needed for success in meditation. This is attained through hatha yoga, the postures of which balance the energies of mind and body, promoting health and serenity, e.g., padmasana, the "lotus pose," for meditation. The Yoga Sutras indicate that asanas make the yogi impervious to the impact of the pairs of opposites (dvandva), heat-cold, etc.

4)    pranayama: "Mastering life force." Breath control, which quiets the chitta and balances ida and pingala. Science of controlling prana through breathing techniques in which lengths of inhalation, retention and exhalation are modulated. Pranayama prepares the mind for deep meditation.

5)    pratyahara: "Withdrawal." The practice of withdrawing consciousness from the physical senses first, such as not hearing noise while meditating, then progressively receding from emotions, intellect and eventually from individual consciousness itself in order to merge into the Universal.

6)    dharana: "Concentration." Focusing the mind on a single object or line of thought, not allowing it to wander. The guiding of the flow of consciousness. When concentration is sustained long and deeply enough, meditation naturally follows.

7)    dhyana: "Meditation." A quiet, alert, powerfully concentrated state wherein new knowledge and insight pour into the field of consciousness. This state is possible once the subconscious mind has been cleared or quieted.

8)    samadhi: "Enstasy," which means "standing within one's self." "Sameness, contemplation." The state of true yoga, in which the meditator and the object of meditation are one.

See: yoga, asana, samadhi, raja yoga.

(See also: Raja Yoga , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

The Sanskrit word 'yoga' is derived from the root verb yuj, which means union. The supreme union of individual mind and cosmic mind is yoga. In his Yogasutras , Patanjali advocated the eight-fold path of astanga yoga . Its eight limbs are: yama (self-restraint), niyama (life-regulating moral rules and observances), asana (postures of bodily restfulness), pranayama (breath control), pratyahar (withdrawal of senses), dharana (fixing the mind on the Supreme), dhyana (absorption of self), and samadhi (liberation of the soul).

Read more here: » Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Supreme Union of Body, Mind, Soul with the Patanjali Yoga Sutras

dhyana-yoga:

dhyana-yoga (dhyaana-yoga). Yoga of meditation.

(See also: dhyana-yoga , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

DHYANA: Meditation.

(See also: DHYANA ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

O Divine Mother Kundalini, the Divine Cosmic Energy that is hidden in men! Thou art Kali, Durga, Adisakti, Rajarajeswari, Tripurasundari, Maha-Lakshmi, Maha-Sarasvati! Thou hast put on all these names and forms. Thou hast manifested as Prana, electricity, force, magnetism, cohesion, gravitation in this universe. This whole universe rests in Thy bosom. Crores of salutations unto thee. O Mother of this world! Lead me on to open the Sushumna Nadi and take Thee along the Chakras to Sahasrara Chakra and to merge myself in Thee and Thy consort, Lord Siva.

Read more here: » Kundalini Yoga: Preface to Kundalini Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda

Kriya Yoga is a scientific art of perfect God Truth union and Self-Realization. It was revived by a great Master of India, Babaji Nagaraj, as a synthesis of ancient teachings of the 18 Siddha tradition. It includes a series of 144 techniques or "Kriyas" grouped into five phases or branches.

Read more here: » Kriya Yoga: Introduction to Kriya Yoga

A dictionary Of Commonly Used Sanskrit terms. From Dadhicha to Kutichaka.

Please note that all words in grey, like "yoga", "enlightenment" or "kundalini" are hyperlinked to archives further explaining the term. At the corresponding archive you will also find articles related to the term.

YOGA

(Sanskrit for "union," related to our "yoke.") Conquering the self is known as Yoga, the esoteric Eastern teaching of human perfection that lies behind all occult wisdom. It is a thread that binds the individual to the "Supreme Reality" (or, as Watts would say, "The Supreme Identity"). In the Upanishads is written:

"By Vayu, the Inner Controller, as by a thread, O Gautama, are  this world, the other world, and all beings held together.

"Quite so... Now describe the Inner Controller.

"He who inhabits the earth, yet is within the earth, whom the earth does  not know, whose body the earth is, and who controls the earth from within --  he is your Self, the Inner Controller, The Immortal."

A teacher of Yoga is called a guru and a student is called a chela, a practitioner of Yoga is called a Yogi or Yogin. Yoga reveals the beginning yogi's weaknesses and also what transcendent strengths are available to him. There are 12 essential types of Yoga, here presented in arbitrary order:

Hatha-Yoga (The Breath: physical vitality). Bhakti-Yoga (Loving: The way of Devotion of Religion). Shakti-Yoga (Energy: The way of nature). Mantra-Yoga (Sound: Power through sound vibrations). Laya-Yoga (The Will: Mental powers). Yantra-Yoga (Formation: Powers through the use of geometric forms). Dhyana-Yoga (Thinking: Way of thought). Raja-Yoga (Methodology: Power to discriminate and develop consciousness). Jnana-Yoga (Knowledge: Intellectual power). Kundalini-Yoga (Kundalini energy: Development of psychic nerve energy). Samadhi-Yoga (The Self: The way of ecstasy). Karma-Yoga (Action: The way of right action). To these we must also add the esoteric Martya Yoga (willed death).

(See also: YOGA , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

A dictionary Of Commonly Used Sanskrit terms. From Pada to Svastikasana.

Please note that all words in grey, like "yoga", "enlightenment" or "kundalini" are hyperlinked to archives further explaining the term. At the corresponding archive you will also find articles related to the term.

The four main spiritual paths for God-realisation are Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga. Karma Yoga is suitable for a man of active temperament, Bhakti Yoga for a man of devotional temperament, Raja Yoga for a man of mystic temperament, and Jnana Yoga for a man of rational and philosophical temperament, or a man of enquiry.

Mantra Yoga, Laya Yoga or Kundalini Yoga, Lambika Yoga and Hatha Yoga, are other Yogas. Yoga, really, means union with God. The practice of Yoga leads to communion with the Lord. Whatever may be the starting point, the end reached is the same.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Yoga: The Four Paths of Hindu Yoga

Dhyana-yoga of Bhagavad-Gita

In this chapter the Lord explains that the process of the eightfold yoga system (astanga-yoga) is a means to control the mind and the senses. This practice culminates in samadhi, full consciousness of the Supreme. However, this is very difficult for people in general to perform, especially in the Age of Kali. Although astanga-yoga is recommended in this chapter, the Lord emphasises that the process of bhakti-yoga, is better.

Read more here: » Dhyana Yoga: Dhyana-yoga of Bhagavad-Gita

A Theosophical definition of Dhyana :

Dhyana

(Sanskrit) A term signifying profound spiritualintellectual contemplation with utter detachment from all objects of a sensuous and lower mental character. In Buddhism it is one of the six paramitas of perfection.

One who is adept or expert in the practice of dhyana, which by the way is a wonderful spiritual exercise if the proper idea of it be grasped, is carried in thought entirely out of all relations with the material and merely psychological spheres of being and of consciousness, and into lofty spiritual planes. Instead of dhyana being a subtraction from the elements of consciousness, it is rather a throwing off or casting aside of the crippling sheaths of ethereal matter which surround the consciousness, thus allowing the dhyanin, or practicer of this form of true yoga, to enter into the highest parts of his own constitution and temporarily to become at one with and, therefore, to commune with the gods.

It is a temporary becoming at one with the upper triad of man considered as a septenary, in other words, with his monadic essence. Man's consciousness in this state or condition becomes purely buddhi, or rather buddhic, with the highest parts of the manas acting as upadhi or vehicle for the retention of what the consciousness therein experiences. From this term is drawn the phrase dhyani-chohans or dhyani-buddhas  - words so frequently used in theosophical literature and so frequently misconceived as to their real meaning. (See also Samadhi)

See also: Dhyana , Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul

dhyana

The yogic practice of meditation.

(See also: dhyana , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

dhyana: (Sanskrit) "Meditation." See: internalized worship, meditation, raja yoga.

(See also: Dhyana , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Dhyana: The seventh element in the path of classical Yoga, meaning meditation. It is equivalent to Zen and Ch'an, which are transliterations of dhyana.

 (See also: Dhyana , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)