History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c94.300

v7.c94.300

unaffected by any other idea or apprehension. The Upaniṣads²³⁸¹ insist upon dhyāna, e. g. Muṇḍaka says 'contemplate upon the Self in the form of Om'; the Bṛ. Up has the famous passage 'the self should be seen, heard, understood and reflected upon.' The Chān. Up. (VII. 6. 2) employs the word 'dhyāna' in the sense of 'concentrating all thoughts on one object'. The Śv. Up. (I. 3) mentions dhyānayoga and also Gītā 18. 52 does so (dhyānayogaparo nityam). The Śāntiparva (cr. ed. 188. 13 ff = Ch. ed. 195. 13-18) speaks of dhyāna. The Kṛtyakalpataru (on Mokṣa p. 181) quotes a long prose passage from Devala-dharmasūtra about dhyāna. The Viṣṇupurāṇa²³⁸² closely agreeing with the Yogabhāṣya in phraseology describes dhyāna as the one-pointed succession of the apprehension of the Lord's form, unmixed with another idea, brought about by the practice of the first six aṅgas of Yoga. Aparārka (pp 1025-27) quotes a long prose passage from Viṣṇudharmasūtra (chap 97), which asks the yogin to contemplate upon the all-pervading and all-powerful Lord who is free from guṇas (sattva, rajas, tamas), is beyond the twenty-four tattvas and who is imperceptible to the senses, and that, if he be unable to focuss his mind on formless God all at once, to gradually rise up from Pṛthvī and the other elements, mind, intellect, the soul, avyakta (unmanifested Spirit); if he be unable to do even this he should contemplate on the person that is like a lamp in his own heart (lotus); if this is impossible, he should contemplate upon the form of Vāsudeva having on his chest vanamālā, having four arms, holding the conch, the quoit, mace and lotus; and adds that he secures whatever he contemplates upon and that this is the secret of dhyāna. This shows that dhyāna is either *saguṇa* or *nirguṇa* as stated by the Padmapurāṇa IV. 84. 80-86 (nirguṇa) and IV. 84. 88-96 (saguṇa) or *sākāra* and *nirākāra* (Padmapurāṇa, II. 80 70, 77-78). The Viṣṇupurāṇa (*VI.* 7. 78-90) contains a passage similar to the Viṣṇu Dh. S. Skanda (Kāśīkhaṇḍa, chap. 41 19) speaks of dhyāna as saguṇa and nirguṇa and defines saguṇa as depending on different forms or as accompanied by repetition of mantras and nirguṇa as 'not depending on any particular form or as not accompanied by mantras'. The Narasiṃhapurāṇa (17. 11-28 and 26. 17) describes at some length the form in which Nārāyaṇa or Viṣṇu is to be contemplated upon and these verses are quoted by the Kṛtyakalpataru (Mokṣa, pp 191-192). The Śaṅkha-smṛti states that one has realization (*darśana*) of the Lord of gods that abides in the heart (of every person) by means of dhyānayoga and describes the mode of dhyāna. Dakṣasmṛti also emphasizes dhyāna and jñāna (correct knowledge) and states that description of others serves no purpose beyond adding to the bulk of the work. In this stage there is only the duality of subject and object, there is no awareness of effort to tie down the mind on an object (as in mere *dhāraṇā*).