Yashastilaka Champu Me Dhyan Ka Vishleshan

This document is a summary and analysis of the concept of meditation (Dhyan) as presented in the Yashastilaka Champu by Acharya Somdev Suri, written by Dr. Chhaganlal Shastri.

Here's a breakdown of the key points:

1. Introduction to Yashastilaka Champu and Acharya Somdev:

• Acharya Somdev Suri, a significant figure in Sanskrit literature, authored the Yashastilaka Champu in 959 CE.
• It's a mahakavya (epic poem) written in a mixed prose and verse style, similar to Bana's Kadambari.
• The first five sections narrate the life stories of King Yashodhar.
• Sections six to eight focus on Jain principles and practices, primarily through the dialogue of Acharya Sudatt with King Maridatta.
• The text highlights that meditation (Dhyan) is considered essential for a householder (Upasak), akin to other spiritual practices.

2. Analysis of Meditation in the Eighth Section:

• The eighth section specifically analyzes meditation, covering its methodology, the meditator (Dhyata), the object of meditation (Dhyeya), its rarity, timing, and its relation to Yogic practices like Patanjali Yoga.
• It also discusses the character of an excellent meditator and related themes.

3. Meditation Methodology:

• Goal: To attain the "Supreme Light" and its eternal abode.
• Preparation:
  • The meditator should firmly immerse their mind in the "ocean of the nectar of contemplating reality" (tattva chintan).
  • They should detach their mind from external objects, making it like an inanimate object unaffected by worldly desires.
  • The body should be seated in either Khadasana or Vajrasana.
• Internal Focus:
  • The five senses (sight, smell, hearing, speech, and touch) should be turned inwards.
  • The mind should be withdrawn from external objects.
  • When the mind is engrossed in contemplating one's true self, the inner light (Atmajyoti) begins to shine.
• Physical Stillness:
  • The breath should be made subtle.
  • The movement of vital energy (prana vayu) in all limbs should be controlled.
  • The meditator should become still like a carved stone statue.

4. Definition of Meditation:

• Meditation is defined as "the concentration of the mind, pervading the mind into a single object of meditation."
• The result of meditation is inner brightness, purity, and the soul's ability to experience great prosperity.
• The meditator is the soul.
• The object of meditation is the soul, the scriptures (Agam-jyoti), and the knowledge gained from them (Shrut).
• The method of meditation involves controlling the body's suffering, restraining the senses, and maintaining the mind.

5. Steadfastness Amidst Obstacles:

• Noble deeds often face many obstacles, and spiritual practice is even more challenging because it goes against the worldly current and is self-focused.
• The text encourages the meditator not to be disheartened by obstacles.
• Types of Obstacles:
  • Animal and bird-inflicted.
  • Divine (Devekṛta).
  • Human (Māṇavakṛta).
  • Celestial (Nābhas - lightning).
  • Terrestrial (Bhaum - earthquakes).
  • Bodily (Aṅgaja - pain, illness).
• The meditator should tolerate these obstacles with firmness and rise above attachment and aversion to favorable or unfavorable circumstances.
• Showing inability or weakness in facing obstacles doesn't remove them; neither does displaying helplessness save one from death. Therefore, during challenges, one should contemplate the Supreme Being without agitation.

6. Suitable Location for Meditation:

• The location chosen for meditation should be one where the senses do not find distractions through excessive attachment.
• This means avoiding people and objects that induce attachment and infatuation.

7. Utility of the Body:

• While the birth of the body may not seem inherently significant, it serves as a boat (tumbika) to cross the ocean of existence through practices like asceticism and meditation. Therefore, its preservation is important for spiritual practice.

8. Importance of Inner Orientation over Outer Rituals:

• The author emphasizes that mere adherence to outward yogic rituals is futile for the impatient or cowardly. Just as fencing an empty field is useless, following meditation rituals without actual meditative engagement is pointless.

9. Sabija (Meditative with Seed) and Nirbija (Meditative without Seed) Meditation:

• Sabija Meditation: When the mind remains stable in the observation and contemplation of reality, unperturbed by external and internal ignorance (like a lamp burning steadily in a windless place), it is called Sabija meditation (which can be further classified as Prithakattva Vitarka Savichara).
• Nirbija Meditation: When the mental stream, devoid of conceptual transitions (e.g., from substance to its modifications and vice versa), remains pure and the soul shines in its unadulterated form, it is called Nirbija meditation (Ekatattva Vitarka Avichara).
• The mind has infinite potential and is fickle like mercury. Just as mercury is purified and perfected by fire, the mind becomes stable and pure through spiritual fire or knowledge. A perfected and stable mind leads to mastery over the three worlds.
• When the mind, like a swan, becomes completely free from mental activity and instability, it transforms into a swan of omniscience and resides in the lake of the entire universe.
• The meditator remains mentally engaged with the object of meditation (like the soul), achieves mental concentration, understands what to accept and reject, and remains undisturbed, not differentiating between the real and the unreal.

10. Greatness of Meditation:

• Just as gems are found in the earth but not everywhere, meditation arises within the soul but not in all souls.
• Sages consider the duration of Shukla Dhyana (pure meditation) to be an antarmuhurta (a moment). It is extremely difficult to keep the mind steady for longer.
• Meditation can destroy karmic accumulations that hinder the soul's true qualities, just as lightning instantly shatters a massive mountain.
• While it may take eons to empty the ocean by scooping water, a powerful wind can do it in a moment. Similarly, meditation can swiftly destroy the karmic obstructions.
• Just as one achieves their desires by fixing their mind on external objects like form, life-breath, or other things, one attains the Supreme State by fixing the mind on the Supreme Soul.

11. Aids to Yoga:

• Detachment (Vairagya): Lack of craving for present and future sensory pleasures.
• Knowledge (Jnana Sampada): Understanding the means to achieve liberation from bondage.
• Practice (Sadhana Krama): Knowledge of the sequence of practices.
• Non-attachment (Asanga): Lack of attachment to external objects that are not the soul.
• Mental Stability (Chitta Sthirata): Steadiness of the mind.
• Overcoming Afflictions: Enduring physical pains (hunger, thirst), mental sorrows (anxiety), and conquering ego.

12. Hindrances to Yoga:

• Mental Afflictions (Adhi): Negative thoughts, ill will.
• Physical Illness (Vyadhi): Bodily ailments.
• Misconceptions (Viparyasa): Incorrect perceptions.
• Negligence (Pramada): Lack of enthusiasm for gaining true knowledge and performing righteous actions.
• Laziness (Alasya): Lethargy in performing acquired knowledge or duties.
• Delusion (Vibhrama): Confusion, mistaking the unreal for the real.
• Lack of Results (Alabha): Not achieving the fruits of practice due to a lack of true understanding of the self and non-self.
• Attachment to Material Comforts (Sangita): Finding pleasure in worldly possessions despite having spiritual knowledge, and being unable to remain steady in the face of suffering.
• Restlessness (Ashanta): A state of not being peaceful.

13. The Undeterred Yogi:

• Whether pricked by thorns or anointed with sandalwood, the yogi should remain stable like a stone, neither pleased nor displeased.

14. Refutation of Other Yogic Practices:

• Acharya Somdev criticizes certain yogic traditions that focus on:
  • Meditating on the effulgence of Omkar.
  • Japa (chanting) of Omkar.
  • Focusing on points of light, bindus, or specific finger placements.
  • Concentrating the mind on semi-circular shapes or different colors.
  • Awakening Kundalini.
  • Pranayama (breath control) through Puraka, Kumbhaka, and Rechaka.
  • Specific postures (Mudras) of hands and feet.
  • Concentrating on geometric diagrams (Mandalas).
  • Practices performed at the time of death for wish fulfillment, involving specific points in the body, the sun and moon channels, and the concept of a spider's web.
• He calls these practices "deception of oneself and others" for those ignorant of the true nature of Yoga.
• He argues that if these methods could destroy karma, then practices like asceticism, chanting, worship, charity, and study would be unnecessary.
• He further criticizes those who are enslaved by sensory pleasures, which provide temporary relief from bodily pain, and still claim to be yogis.
• He likens a so-called "self-knowing" yogi who diligently practices arduous yogic postures and breath control to purify past karma to a sick person trying to cure their ailments through fasting.

15. Desired Lifestyle Alongside Yoga Practice:

• The mind engaged in pure meditation should remain impartial in gain and loss, in forests and homes, with friends and enemies, with the pleasant and unpleasant, and in happiness and sorrow.
• The practitioner should always look towards the Supreme Being, study the past, uphold firmness, friendship, and compassion.
• They should speak the truth and control their speech.

16. Acharya Somdev's Prowess and the Essence of Yoga:

• Acharya Somdev is lauded as a master craftsman of words, presenting his subject matter with grace and beauty in his Yashastilaka Champu.
• His writing is a beautiful confluence of word arrangement, emotional depth, and expression.
• He demonstrates remarkable skill in presenting profound spiritual topics like Yoga, making even dry subjects engaging.
• The true path of Yoga, including meditation, begins with the practice of the five Yamas (ethical restraints), especially Ahimsa (non-violence), which manifests as compassion and mercy, strengthening right faith (Samyaktva).
• Truthfulness, non-greed (treating others' wealth like dirt), detachment from sensory pleasures, and freedom from desire and attachment are crucial.
• Those who focus solely on difficult postures and breath control without practicing these ethical restraints might create external spectacle but do not achieve spiritual Yoga.
• The author laments a time when external displays and the belief that "suffering of the body leads to great fruit" dominated so-called yogis, making Hatha Yoga their ultimate goal, forgetting it's merely a prop to Raja Yoga.
• He also criticizes Tantric practices that focus on worldly achievements rather than spiritual elevation.
• The practice of Yamas and Niyamas (ethical observances) cultivates purity, clarity, and sattvic qualities, enabling further yogic practices like Asanas, Pranayama, and Pratyahara.
• The ultimate goal is for the yogi's personality and aura to radiate yogic qualities, achieved by renouncing fierce and terrible meditations and focusing on Shukla Dhyana through Dharma Dhyana.
• Acharya Somdev's independent work on meditation, though small, is a profound and poetically styled analysis, using various figures of speech.
• His emphasis is on achieving self-mastery through detachment and persistent practice, as outlined in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra: "Yoga is the cessation of the modifications of the mind" (Yogaś cittavr̥ttinirodhaḥ).

In essence, the text provides a detailed exposition of Jain meditation principles as found in the Yashastilaka Champu, advocating for an integrated approach that combines ethical conduct, mental discipline, and detachment to achieve spiritual liberation. It also serves as a critique of practices that deviate from this core understanding.