At the beginning, the mind has very little stability; you find the object and then very swiftly you lose it. The mind wanders elsewhere. After a certain period of practice, sufficient stability arise in mind so that the attention will remain uninterruptedly focused on the object for short periods of time (ten-fifteen seconds, maybe more). Further on, the degree of mental stability becomes even greater than before; the mind can stay constantly focused upon the object with a reasonably good degree of stability and yet, occasionally, it will wander off. Then it will come a stage in which the mind no longer loses the object, because the power of concentration has come to completion. Now, a sustained effort to increase the clarity of mind has to be done. After this, the mind will have a tremendous power. With just the slightest bit of effort, it becomes focused upon the object and continues to abide effortlessly in it for as long as you want. Once you have attained this state, the mind has become an extremely fine instrument for any type of meditation you want to engage in.
It is like you want to ride a wild horse. The first attempts will certainly throw you down. If you persevere enough, you will succeed eventually, and after some time the horse will became a close friend and will obey even your unspoken orders. In this analogy, the wild horse is your mind and concentration is like taming and training the horse. In this respect, continuity is important.
Dhyana - the state of meditation
"Dhyana (meditation per se) is the continuous flow of the mental processes toward the object (of meditation)."
Yoga Sutra
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Dhyana is the continuous flow of reflection [i.e., ‘mirroring’] with respect to the essential reality of the object (of meditation)."
Ratnatika, a tantric text
The mental laser
Dhyana is an effortless flow of the mind spontaneously directed toward the object. Dhyana (meditation) is a dynamic process: during it, the mental processes (thoughts, ideas, etc.) are turning around the object of meditation, making free associations (for example) related to that particular object only. During meditation, the activity of the mind reaches a tremendously dynamic intensity and eventually becomes a laser-beam-like stream of concentrated thinking.
"An unflinching intellect, an impassive mind which cannot be dispersed by anything and which is free of any discursive thinking -- this is the state of dhyana. This adoration is identical with the absorption (in Shiva) born out of mystic ardor."
A tantric text
Dynamic superimposition
Dhyana (meditation) is superimposed upon dharana (mental concentration). In other words, mental concentration lasts permanently during the whole period of meditation. The purpose of mental concentration is to ‘keep the object before the mind's eye’ so to speak, and it is a static process. Meditation takes place at a higher level of mind and implies mental dynamics.
The basic principle
There is a law of mind that says that if a thought / idea prevails in mind, all the other thoughts / ideas gradually have the tendency to submit to the prevailing thought / idea. This is the basic principle of meditation. The prevailing thought is created by concentration and the movement of the mind around that particular thought is meditation.
One leads to another
Concentration and meditation, even if they seem very close, are nevertheless distinct phenomena. If you realize a good concentration, this will lead automatically to meditation, because in yoga every step, when perfectly realized, gives the key to the next step. Do not force or do not try to accelerate the process of passing from concentration to meditation. Let it come naturally: this will certainly happen after a certain period of practice. Remember: genius is an infinite patience. Be therefore patient and you will become a genius through the practice of meditation.
Analogically speaking, the mind is like a man in deep sleep. Concentration is starting to awake him, and meditation is to awake him fully and to put him to work.
How to start
1. The first step in dhyana (meditation) is dharana (mental concentration).
For some time, this might be the only step you will be able to make for meditation. Through patience and tireless practice, you will gradually discover through personal experience how to start/release the next step. Keep this in mind: at a deep level, nobody can really teach you to meditate, except yourself, applying the traditional information exposed in this material.
2. The next step is this: while keeping the dharana (concentration) state of mind, let go of it, allow your thoughts to move freely, to make connections, associations. Don't you think that you have to do something for this: just be mentally alert and realize the spontaneous and effortless transition from the motionless reflection (dharana) to the dynamic thinking (dhyana). You will discover that now your mind will not jump any more at random but, on a lower level, dharana (concentration) will be sustained almost effortlessly and, on a higher level, the thoughts will start to move, to revolve around the object only. This is dhyana (meditation).
At the beginning, the movement of your mind around the object will probably not last long. The thoughts will start to revolve around the object in flashes, then will stop, leaving you with concentration only. After a while, other flashes of thought movement occur, then stop, and so on. This is normal at the beginning. This means your sleeping mind starts to awake and then falls asleep again. After some time of practice, the periods of thought movement will become longer and longer, ending eventually in a continuous thought movement. Then you reach the true state of meditation (dhyana).
It is necessary here to realize that "movement", in this context, has a rather special connotation. Generally speaking, when we think about something that moves, we picture this movement as taking place in time. This is not true in the case of meditative thought movement: what really occurs is a flash of awareness, which does not take place in time, because it is a manifestation of the timelessness simultaneity of consciousness.
Meditation is the living of HERE and NOW; it is a tremendous experience with limitless power, which can change your life completely and can give a new course to your destiny. Meditation is a superior state of consciousness and therefore cannot be fully understood unless experienced.
The real purpose
Keep in mind this important thing: meditation is not meant to relax the body, to cure illnesses or to get rid of fatigue and stress, as some "meditators" believe. It is perfectly true that meditation can do these things and even much more, beyond the wildest imagination, but as a secondary effect only. The authentic purpose of meditation is to attain knowledge, understanding and wisdom. The genuine goal is gnosis (in Greek, knowledge), which is not merely a knowledge of things but mainly a spiritual insight into their essential nature.
