What is meditation according to yoga?

The Oxford English Dictionary definitions:

#1: The practice of focusing your mind in silence, especially for religious reasons or in order to make your mind calm.

#2: The activity of thinking deeply about something, especially so that you do not notice the people or things around you.

A terrorist who wants to cause destruction in the world is always pondering that matter. He wouldn’t sleep, eat, or rest until his mission is accomplished. Can we call such an activity meditation?

A dog lying in a park, soaking in the sun on a cold winter afternoon, looks so peaceful and calm. Is that meditation?

A woman goes to a temple, offers her prayers to the deity, and then sits somewhere with her eyes closed for some time amid the temple crowd. Is she meditating?

The Prevalent Practices

All of us have tried meditating at some point or another. We might have come across someone who says they have been meditating for a long time.

Some say you have to meditate for only 15 minutes a day.

Some say you have to chant a mantra.

Some say you meditate on a chakra.

Some say you notice your thoughts.

Some say you observe your breath.

What are all these people doing? And why are they doing it?

There is a challenge associated with translating something into a foreign language: you might be able to come up with a word in that language, but the essence cannot be captured completely. That is exactly what has happened with meditation.

These days, any practice that involves closing one’s eyes and sitting somewhere is called meditation. You don’t question that practice because everyone else is doing more or less the same thing in their own way.

The reason we feel it works is because we feel “something.” What that “something” is, no one has a clear idea.

The Spiritual Practice of Samyama

The last three limbs of Ashtanga Yoga — dharana, dhyana, and samadhi — together are called samyama.

Let’s say we go to a library, and I say, “this book.” Then three things are registered in your mind:

1. Shabda (sound): The phonetic sound you hear

2. Artha (object): The book itself

3. Jnana (knowledge): The understanding that the sound came from me, the book is on the shelf, and some knowledge is formed in your mind about that book

tat-eva-artha-mātra-nirbhāsam svarūpa-śūnyam iva samādhiḥ - Patanjali Yoga Sutras 3.3

The practice of samyama begins with dharana, transforms into dhyana, and culminates in samadhi. Patanjali clearly defines the state of samadhi. He says that in that state, only artha (the object) remains — there is no sound and no knowledge about that object.

This is the culmination of the practice of samyama. A yogi may remain in that state for a long time and may not even be aware of it.

This is the yogic practice of samyama. Only a yogi who is dedicated and committed can accomplish such a practice under the guidance of a teacher. It is very rare to come across such people.

Just because someone speaks flowery words, do not assume that they have reached this level. They may be good people, but a yogi is beyond good and bad.

Footnotes

Refer to Sutras 3.1–3.3 in ŚIVAM Commentary (Sāṃkhya & Yoga) on Yogadarśana of Maharshi Patañjali — Vibhūtipāda (Book 3) by Dr. V. Nagaraj.