What is the difference between samadhi and dhyana

The Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali says: On attaining certain maturity and refinement such Bhavana develops into Dharana and Dhyana properly so called. In Dharana although the mind is fixed towards a single point, it may not be of a continuous and uninterrupted flow. When there is an uninterrupted flow of awareness then it becomes Dhyana. Dhyana is the uninterrupted flow of awareness towards a single point.

Dhyana as defined in The Hatha Yoga Pradipika 10 chapters comes in two types, Saguna with features like colour Nirguna devoid of qualities or absolute In Dhyana, the meditator is not conscious of the act of meditation, and is unaware of the outside world, there is only a continuous and uninterrupted flow of awareness towards an object.

You are aware of all reality and perceive all perspectives at once, without focusing on any particular one. To understand this better, imagine that each of us sees the world through a filter constructed of all of our experiences and ideas.

Our gender, our race, our personal history, our cultural values, our education, and other factors are woven into it. This filter influences how we perceive and interact with the world.

It becomes the sum total of our beliefs—conscious and unconscious—about reality. Samadhi is the state in which we experience reality without the filter. We experience reality not as our various parts, but as one unified being.

Samadhi is the state in which you are aware on a cellular level of the underlying oneness of the universe. How does samadhi relate to daily life—a life filled with cleaning the kitchen, driving to work, caring for a family? This bliss state may seem to have nothing to do with our everyday activities. But we may find moments of light in mundane, but important activities. Many of us have had a taste of this state outside of formal meditation. Some people have this experience during worship, others during lovemaking, still others while walking in the woods.

Patanjali teaches us that we are always capable of experiencing samadhi. This can happen in a physical event, performing music, childbirth or anything really. The feeling of being in the zone. THIS is Dhyana. All of the work on this yogic path leads us to these moments of pure meditation. Exercise: Have there been moments in your life that you felt completely lost in the moment? Write about that experience. Samadhi is when individual consciousness unites with the Divine Consciousness.

This is not just understanding this concept intellectually, but fully experiencing it. This is the first level of full realization. In this state, the act of observation and reflection ceases, and the barriers of the mind dissolve while a sense of oneness is experienced. That seems pretty amazing, right?

The interesting part is that Samadhi may not be intentionally elicited as goes far beyond our intellect or actions. It may occur spontaneously. For those on the yogic path, this idea of Samadhi is encouraging. Here, an attempt is made to present the distinction between dhyana and meditation. Meditation is a generic word stretching from sitting quietly to deep inward focus as practiced in many traditions.

People use them to increase calmness and relaxation, improve psychological balance, cope with illness, or enhance overall health and well-being. The consequence of such a practice is lowered metabolism that goes by the well-known phrase, relaxation response. Thus, in this official and hence accepted definition, there is no mention of the deeper levels of mentation reached in such states.

A recent paper has tried to provide taxonomy for the term meditation. Three categories of meditation are suggested based on distinct EEG profiles they seem to project.

The present term meditation is related to awareness — either focused or open — when the mind is focusing within an area of activity. Let us first look into the first two types, namely, FA and OM. Discussion on ST is taken up toward the conclusion of this note. In awareness, at least one of the senses is active along with the mind; in dhyana, all the senses are quiet; initially, mind alone is active. Thus, japa repetition of a sacred formula and prarthana intense dedication are the necessary prerequisites for dhyana.

Further, awareness has an end point that is related to acquiring or creating worldly knowledge or perhaps a touch of spiritual experience as say, in listening to music. This is still seeking experience through and for the body and mind. In dhyana, we attempt to go beyond experience; we are at the level of ultimate reality and we are lost in that reality.

This reality is not relative but an absolute one. There are no words to describe this since it is an experience beyond the mind. Awareness takes us into likes and dislikes and to analyses and perhaps synthesis. The earlier including previous life samskaras or pre-genetic experiences and thoughts arise and are made stronger or modified as we seek new knowledge about the world and of ourselves.

Dhyana is practiced to break old samskaras; it is based on total vairagya or complete detachment. All attachment to body and mind should be transcended and only the motive to reach reality should light the path to liberation. Another significant difference between awareness practices and dhyana is this: in the former, we seem to transcend the mind and seem lifeless, whereas in dhyana, we are totally aware of our state. The reason is as follows.