Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c5.891

c5.891

DHYĀNA. (Meditation). Even from ancient times the people of Bhārata believed that heaven could be attained by meditation. There are scientific methods of meditating upon God. They are described below: The root “dhyai”, means “to think”. Dhyāna (meditation) means thinking of God with concentration. God is invisible and figureless. We can meditate only upon some material that contains the attributes of God. So dhyāna (meditation) is to fix the mind on the object of meditation, and to imagine that particular object in a particular place and to concentrate the mind upon it. One who casts off his body, while engaged in meditation attains ‘Sāyujya’ (oneness with God).