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samyama

dharana​

dharana is the practice of concentration the first step. It is to hold the mind on one object continuously.

dhyana​

dhyana is a continuous flow of dharana. When the mind is able to hold on to the object of concentration without any distraction then it is dhyana.

samadhi​

Yoga exist with the goal of liberation from samsara. The game is to achieve: moksha. And it is a game as the acharya's describe it a lila, Bhagavan's play.

The setup of the game we are trying to acheive is easier to understand using soccer as a metaphor.

  1. Goal. The goal we are attempting to achieve is Bhagavan. So we must love the pursuit of the Goal. If we are lackluster or are not motivated the Goal seems distant and uninteresting, but if we deeply love the pursuit then the Goal becomes what we want. A deep devotion must be built up for the love of the Goal which is Bhagavan. Others have made their love the pursuit of lust, or money, or power but these are all distractions.
  2. Player. Discipline, meditation and jnana are practices for the player, the body and mind, to get better at playing the game. Bhagavan, in Christianity this would be the devil, is playing offense as well. There are obstacles thrown at you tempting you to go after the distractions instead of focusing on the Goal. Disciple calms the player training it to move in the right direction. Meditation stills the mind to see that the player is not real it is the Ball that is. Jnana gives the knowledge of how to play the game better.
  3. Ball. Is your atman. The whole point is you are not the player you are the ball. The player doesn’t go into the goal, the ball does. The point of the player is get the ball into the goal.

To put it simply devotion is a means to love the goal so much that you dedicate yourself to it by training and disciplining your body and mind with meditation, training your intellect with Jnana to discern what is the goal and what is not the goal. And you set yourself into a position where you can get your atman into the goal. This while playing defense against the slings and arrows that life throws at you. This is the game of yoga.

Notes​

  • Talks On Meditation by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
  • Need for Cognitive Change by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
  • What's Meditation? by Swami Dayananda Saraswati(Arsha Vidya)
  • Meditation and Life by Swami Chinmayananda
  • Concentration & Meditation by Swami Sivananda
  • Concentration by Swami Sivananda
  • Conquest of Mind by Swami Sivananda
  • Daily Meditations by Swami Sivananda
  • Dyana by Swami Sivananda
  • Fourteen Lessons on Raja Yoga by Sivananda
  • Meditation (Dhyana Yoga) by Swami Sivananda
  • Meditation Know-How by Swami Sivananda
  • Mind – Its Mysteries and Control by Swami Sivananda
  • Practice of Meditation by Swami Sivananda
  • Pratyahara by Swami Sivananda
  • Raja Yoga by Swami Sivananda
  • Samadhi Yoga by Swami Sivananda
  • From Darkness to Light - Selected Writings from Prabuddha Bharata
  • Man and His Mind by Swami Nihsreyasananda
  • Meditation According to Vedanta by Swami Srikantananda
  • Meditation According to Yoga-Vedanta by Swami Siddheswarananda
  • Meditation and Its Preparation by Senior Swamis of the Ramakrishna Order
  • Meditation and Other Spiritual Disciplines by Swami Swahananda
  • Meditation, Ecstasy & Illumination: An Overview of Vedanta by Swami Ashokananda
  • Meditation, Mind and Patanjali's Yoga: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth for Everyone by Swami Bhaskarananda
  • Meditation: Its Process, Practice and Culmination by Swami Satprakashananda
  • Mind and Its Control by Swami Budhananda
  • Meditation: Monks of the Ramakrishna Order by Senior Swamis of the Ramakrishna Order
  • Mind According to Vedanta by Swami Satprakashananda
  • Paths of Meditation
  • Divine Life: Its Practice and Realisation by Swami Yatiswarananda
  • Being Spiritual, Staying Practical by Swami Sarvagatananda and Swami Tyagananda
  • Silence as Yoga by Swami Paramananda
  • Spiritual Experiences by Swami Sivananda
  • Sri Vijnana Bhairava Tantra: The Ascent by Satyasangananda Saraswati
  • Sure Ways to Self Realisation by Swami Satyananda Saraswati
  • The Eternal Companion by Swami Prabhavananda
  • Yoga and Realisation by Swami Sivananda
  • Yoga: Its Theory and Practice by Swami Abhedananda
  • Meditation & Its Practices: A Definitive Guide to Techniques and Traditions of Meditation in Yoga and Vedanta
  • Mindfulness in Plain English