Before we go into this, one has to realize and understand what meditation is. Meditation is a very weak word and does not describe the 4 levels described in yoga sutras or the 2 major subdivisions and one subdivision has 4 levels.
The first person who got all the information of yoga together was Patanjali. He also wrote under the pen name of Panini. His Yoga sutras are the basis of all yoga books that came after it. A thousand or so years after Patanjali, Vyasa Bhagwan wrote his aphorism on the sutras. Patanjali style was very simple. Just write a sentence or bullet points. The bullet points are so profound that it will continue to endure till the end of time.
So when the modern day person uses the word meditation it could mean any of the four following levels
- Dharana
- Dhayana
- Savikalpa Samadhi
- Nirvikalpa Samadhi
Now he has also described a secondary system based on pragna. Pragna is a specific word for intelligence. This intelligence is not the intelligence you think of but refers to the pragna something deeper. See my diagram. Sam pragna – means with pragna. In this situation, although in Samadhi, there is some activity of the pragna.
- Sampragnata Samadhi
- Asampragnata Samadhi
Sampragnata Samadhi has 4 subtypes
- Savitarka – this is the doubt ridden experience of the divine
- Suvichar – aah!, So amazing this is, the experience of divine
- Sa ananda – Immense happiness is present in this experience
- Asmita or Sasmita – there is the sense of I ness, that I experienced something divine, but everything else disappears.
I have explained these in different terms elsewhere in these blogs. However, the true more deeper profound are found in my other blog. Paramhansa Yogananda has explained them in great detail also in God talks with Arjuna
Now, Patanajali describes – there is a state called Sayama – or control. This is what is to be achieved as the first step. In this step, as described by Patanjali Bhagwan – Dharana, Dhyan and samadhi all 3 are done simultaneously. Until you experience Dharana and Shayna and samadhi, you cannot understand Sayama. Once Sayama is mastered, the chapter Vibhuti describes what is to be done.
Now comes the fun part. You may have a definition in mind of what Dharana is or dhyana is or samadhi. That definition may or may not be correct. You can stubbornly stick to your concept. But do you know the multitude of steps to achieve perfection in Dharana? Or for Dhayan or for Samadhi. Like anything, to get those depth of experiences, one needs to know the steps and implement them. And in order to know you did it correctly, you need a description of what you will experience. These steps are not isolated. There is this 600 odd page book that describes these steps in detail. But that language is very tough. It is impossible to translate. Yet for those who are proficient in meditation, it can be a great guide. However, to get there, you need the complete blessings of your Guru. The Guru really has no need to communicate with language – either written or spoken. The Guru merely transmits all the energy needed to reach that state. All those states of meditation are dependent on Grace and awakening of Shakti.
Bhavin