Dhyan Swarup Vishleshan - Book Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Dhyan Swarup Vishleshan" by Hastimal Acharya, focusing on the provided pages:

Book Title: Dhyan Swarup Vishleshan (Analysis of the Nature of Meditation) Author: Hastimal Acharya

Core Concept: The Necessity and Nature of Meditation

The text begins by highlighting the inherent restlessness of the ordinary human mind, which constantly wanders through the three worlds with immense speed, far surpassing that of sound, wind, or electricity. This mental dynamism prevents individuals from understanding their true nature. Instead, they become attached to external, material objects, mistaking them for desirable. This attraction towards sensory pleasures (words, forms, tastes, smells, and pleasant touch) is natural because the mind, like these objects, is material. Just as an untrained child is drawn to play in the mud, the mind is easily attracted to sensory experiences. This pursuit of the agreeable and aversion to the disagreeable through the senses leads to constant distress. Until desires are fulfilled, the mind is agitated by attachment (rag) and experiences sorrowful meditation (aart dhyan). When obstructed, it develops animosity (dwesh) and adopts a fierce form (raudra dhyan).

This constant state of agitation due to attachment and aversion leaves the human mind perpetually restless, disturbed, and unhappy. To overcome this chronic unhappiness, the text asserts the necessity of redirecting the mind's movement. While it's easy for the mind to get fixed on what is desirable or undesirable (like a downward-flowing waterfall), achieving mental stability and peace, free from anxieties about these, requires the practice of meditation.

Definition of Meditation (Dhyan):

Meditation is defined as the practice of turning the mind away from external objects and towards one's own true nature. It plays a crucial role in transforming the mind's movement from downward to upward and from outward-focused to inward-focused. In Jain scriptures, meditation is considered internal penance (aantarik tap). Through meditation, thoughts are purified, and their direction is altered.

States and Requirements of Meditation:

Meditation has two states: the state of practice (sadhana) and the state of perfection (siddha dasha). For the practice state, Jain acharyas emphasize the importance of suitable conditions for diet, movement, company, and location. The Uttaraadhyayan Sutra advises that ascetics should consume measured and pure food, seek the company of virtuous friends, and practice in a solitary, peaceful place. This is because purity in diet, movement, and company leads to a calm and healthy body and mind, facilitating meditation. The text quotes a verse: "Yoga which is for the one with regulated diet and activities, regulated effort in actions, and regulated sleep and wakefulness, is the remover of suffering." Therefore, meditators must pay attention to these aids during the practice period.

Classifications of Meditation:

Acharya Haribhadra categorizes meditation into four types: bhavana (contemplation), chinta (thought), anupreksha (reflection), and dhyan (meditation). He also discusses various meditative perspectives like mitra and tara.
Acharyas Shubha Chandra and Hemchandra mention five types of dharana (concentration) like parthivi and agneyi, and four types of meditation: pindastha, padstha, swarupastha, and rupateet. However, these are not found in early Agam literature.
Jain Agamas, like the Sthananga and Bhagavati Sutras, describe sixteen types of Dharma Dhyan (religious meditation) and sixteen types of Shukla Dhyan (pure meditation).
The Haribhadriya Vritti elaborates on meditation, classifying it based on lakshana (characteristics) and alambana (object of focus).

Jain vs. Vedic Approach to Meditation:

While the Vedic tradition considers "cessation of mental modifications" (chittavritti-nirodha) as yoga or meditation, Jain scriptures initiate meditation by completely ceasing mental modifications from all sides and then concentrating on a single subject for contemplation.

Transforming Mental Inclination:

Ancient ascetics and lay followers would engage in spiritual awakenings during the tranquil night environment. Through continuous contemplation of auspicious thoughts, they made a sincere effort to change the mind's inclination. By altering the mind's interest, its movement in other directions would naturally cease, leading to the experience of ineffable joy and peace. The text states that naturally bringing stability and purity to the mind's movement is natural meditation, which can also be called Rajyoga.

The desired meditation here is one that leads to a state of peace and freedom from agitation by deeply engaging in the contemplation of the Supreme Truth. Eligible practitioners are those with subdued passions, controlled senses, and knowledge. They are the worthy meditators, and the object of meditation is the Supreme Truth and the means to attain it. The process of achieving an undisturbed state and concentration while contemplating the object of meditation is understood as meditation itself.

Diverse Meditation Practices:

In practical terms, the text acknowledges current meditation methods like focusing on a black dot on a chart or the symbol 'Om', recognizing them as types of meditation. Other practices exist for practice, and various manifestations of willpower are also seen as outcomes of meditation.

Beyond the classical classifications like pindastha and padstha, some acharyas have described methods of calming the mind through Kundalini awakening or listening to the unstruck sound (anhad naad). Experienced individuals have also considered the practice of remaining detached from worldly affairs as a means to stabilize the mind. A simpler practical approach involves relaxing the body and mind, sitting in a comfortable posture, or lying down, to achieve peace and escape the entanglement of thoughts. These are all considered types of practice during the training period. Sustained stability, however, can only be achieved through purification of the mind from the perspective of detachment. Therefore, after meditation practice, contemplating the four reflections—on the nature of meditation, solitude, impermanence, and helplessness—is considered essential.

The Primary Role of Meditation:

To understand meditation, it's necessary to grasp the concepts of the meditator (dhyata), the object of meditation (dhyeya), and the act of meditation (dhyan). Every being in the world has always been absorbed in their beloved activities or objects. The lustful person is absorbed in their desired objects, the pleasure-seeker in their enjoyments, and so on.

Dharma Dhyan and its Four Types:

The text specifies that from the fourth stage of spiritual development (chaturth gundsthan) to the seventh (saptam gundsthan), a practitioner is qualified for Dharma Dhyan. This Dharma Dhyan, performed by those who are still deluded (chhadmasth), is described as unwavering and stable like the flame of a lamp placed in a windless place, revolving within the contemplation of that specific object, even though it is accompanied by mental modifications (savikalpa).

The four types of Dharma Dhyan are presented as:

Agna Vichay (आज्ञा विचाय): Contemplation of scriptural injunctions.
Apaya Vichay (अवाय विचाय): Contemplation of faults or shortcomings.
Vipaka Vichay (विपाक विचाय): Contemplation of the auspicious and inauspicious fruits of karma.
Samsthana Vichay (संस्थान विचाय): Contemplation of the structure of the universe.

The Beginning of Meditation:

Meditation begins with reflections or contemplations (bhavanas). There are four types of these reflections:

Ekakyanupreksha (एकाक्यनुप्रेक्षा - Reflection on Solitude): This involves contemplating one's inherent aloneness: "I am one. There is no one else whom I can call mine, nor am I anyone's. I do not see anyone in this world who could claim me or whom I could claim. I alone am the creator of my happiness and sorrow." This reflection focuses on the soul's solitary and helpless state.
Anityanupreksha (अनित्यानुप्रेक्षा - Reflection on Impermanence): This involves contemplating the transient nature of the body, wealth, and other possessions, recognizing their fleetingness. It emphasizes that the body is prone to disease, wealth is a place of adversity, and all associations are temporary. Whatever arises is impermanent and destined for destruction.
Asharananupreksha (अशरणानुप्रेक्षा - Reflection on Helplessness): This reflection highlights the lack of refuge in the world, which is filled with the fear of birth, old age, and death, and afflicted by disease and suffering. It states that apart from the teachings of the Jinas (Jain scriptures), there is no other refuge or protector for the soul in this transient world.
Sansaranupreksha (संसारानुप्रेक्षा - Reflection on the Cycle of Birth and Death): This involves contemplating the cyclical nature of existence, where a soul may be reborn as a mother, then a daughter, a sister, or a wife to the same being. A son might become a father, then a brother, or even an enemy in different lifetimes. All worldly relationships are impermanent. Therefore, attachment or affection towards anyone is considered foolishness.

By reflecting on these four types of contemplation, one understands that possessions like body, wealth, and power are perishable. Recognizing their inability to prevent inevitable destruction, why would a wise person invest in them, as one would not build a house on a sand wall? As attachment to worldly substances diminishes, the mind's wandering naturally reduces and eventually ceases. This is the first method for reducing mental restlessness.

Advancing in Meditation:

After reducing mental restlessness, the next step involves purifying the mind with thoughts of oneness, restraint (samvar), shedding of karma (nirjara), righteousness (dharma), and awakening (bodhi). The mind should be impressed with the understanding that the only worthy object of faith in this world is the self. The soul and its conducive activities are the only valuable and beneficial things. By thus turning the mind away from external objects and making it soul-centered, the attraction towards them vanishes when worldly objects are understood as external and perishable through the power of knowledge. This is the first stage or foundation of meditation practice.

The second stage involves introspection: "What have I done, and what remains for me to do?"

The third stage involves contemplating one's own true nature, leading to absorption in the self.

The fourth stage leads to the eradication of attachment and aversion, achieving unconditioned (nirvikalpa) equanimity.

Benefits of Meditation:

Just as a child is captivated by colorful toys and later loses interest as they mature, the mind, clouded by the darkness of ignorance, is constantly drawn to sensory pleasures. However, when the mind is turned inward through meditation practice, this knowledge-purified mind turns away from sensory pleasures and towards spirituality. Through continuous meditation practice, the practitioner ultimately pierces through all mental knots and attains the eternal, blissful, ageless, and deathless state of liberation (moksha).

Distinguishing Features of the Jain Tradition:

While meditation is described in Jain, Vedic, and Buddhist traditions, the Jain approach emphasizes focusing intensely on a single subject as the first type of meditation, known as savikalpa dhyan (meditation with mental modifications). The second type, nirvikalpa dhyan (unconditioned meditation), achieves the state of pure meditation (Shukla Dhyan), which can continue uninterrupted even while other bodily activities are ongoing. As previously explained, savikalpa dhyan includes the four types of Dharma Dhyan (Agna Vichay, Apaya Vichay, Vipaka Vichay, Samsthana Vichay), which involve contemplation of scriptural injunctions, faults, karmic consequences, and the structure of the universe, respectively. In contrast, nirvikalpa Shukla Dhyan involves contemplation solely of the self's true nature.

Further Classifications of Meditation:

Meditation is also classified into four types:

Pindastha Dhyan: Involves concentration on a specific physical form or object, such as meditating on the soul in a pure form, like a radiant jewel on the summit of Mount Meru, seated on a crystal throne.
Padstha Dhyan: Involves contemplating mantra syllables like "Aham" on the navel or heart, on an eight-petaled lotus, etc.
Swarupastha Dhyan: Involves contemplating the form of the omniscient Arhat, adorned with infinite virtues and thirty-four special attributes. For those who find formless meditation difficult, contemplating the detached and virtuous posture of a guru is also suggested. This includes meditating on a guru, preceptor, or monk in their meditative or preaching posture.
Rupateet Dhyan: Upon stabilizing Swarupastha Dhyan, this involves contemplating the formless, unborn, and imperceptible nature of the Supreme Being. Acharya Shubha Chandra states: "One who contemplates the soul with the soul, the pure, formless, absolute letter, which is full of consciousness and bliss, is called Rupateet." This fourth type involves contemplating the pure form of consciousness and bliss.

Pindastha and Swarupastha are considered concrete meditation, while Rupateet is formless meditation. Padstha meditation involves contemplation of meaning (which is formless), but also the contemplation of syllables on lotuses, which can be considered concrete.

Peace Through Meditation:

The ultimate desire of all beings is peace. Despite possessing wealth, family, friends, and fulfilling sensual desires, humans remain unhappy and anxious without peace. While they search externally for peace, it can only be truly achieved by conquering internal vices like lust, anger, and greed. Without peace, stability and concentration are impossible, and without concentration, complete knowledge and equanimity are unattainable. Meditation is presented as the ultimate remedy for peace, stability, and equanimity.

To achieve this peace, the text urges the reactivation of classical meditation methods. In the calm morning environment, after bowing twelve times to the Arhat, one should contemplate: "O Lord, you are completely free from vices like lust, anger, fear, and greed. Due to ignorance, which of these vices have I not been able to abandon? Which vice is dominant within me?"

Considering the inauspicious fruits of vices and resolving to overcome them is a form of meditation for self-improvement. To easily practice Swarupastha Dhyan, one can contemplate the serene, disciplined, and beloved guru in the posture in which they were seen giving sermons and discourses. It is said that one can attain great peace and joy by surrendering to the guru's feet internally and seeking forgiveness for one's faults.

The author shares personal experiences of finding relief from illness and pain through meditation, highlighting its profound efficacy and ability to connect with subjects distant in time and space. This demonstrates the extraordinary power of meditation.