Highest attainment

Dhyana or meditation is a spiritual upasana that demands

continuous efort of the mind. The mind has to be in onepointed  concentration, as it is when one threads a needle or a hunter’s aim is fixed on the target. The famous verse in the Gita, “When there is no breeze, the lamp is steady and does not sway in any direction,” illustrates the yogi’s mind in meditation, said Sri R. Rajagopala Sarma in a discourse.

But the human mind is always restless and it is diicult to

bring it under control. It is suggested that one selects a

convenient sitting posture and begins to observe how

one’s breathing takes place uninterruptedly and with

precision and how this keeps one alive. This helps to

withdraw the mind from straying elsewhere. The body and

mind are thus kept in one position for a temporary period

of time.

The aim of dyana yoga is not any tangible reward, but

transforming one’s nature. ‘Let a man lift himself by

himself,’ explains Krishna. Dyana yoga helps to shift the

focus of one’s mind that is normally attached to worldly

matters towards perceiving the atma within. This is the

‘yogananda’ or ‘atmananda,’ where by yogabhyasa, only the

atma is perceived by the mind. This experience is much

unlike worldly happiness since the same mind that is

attracted by the senses tries to insulate itself from them

and unite with the atma without any swaying. It cannot be

explained or taught by anyone. It has to be felt by each

individual, though realised souls claim that it is a rich

experience of a rare kind of happiness or bliss with no

trace of sorrow.

There is nothing further to be attained by one than this

state of supreme bliss. He has achieved the purpose of his

life.