
Three Types of Dhyana—Review
1. In the last two sessions, we discussed the dhyana which is not of the nature of meditation.[1] It is so important to have non-meditative dhyana because meditation is not everybody’s cup of tea. Therefore, it is important to have a dhyana, that doesn’t entail any meditativity, or meditation…. That is the magnanimity of the adhyatma shastra (texts pertaining to Self).
We saw that there are two kinds of dhyana. One is to lift the sub-normal mind to a normal level. The… the turmoil within our minds, gets more settled by measures which are thought processes — counseling, talking to someone…, or association with someone. Philosophically, sat-sanga (company of truth seekers), shastrasanga.
2. The second kind of meditation takes the mind, which is on a normal plane, to a higher rung.
3. The third meditation, which Patanjali mentions, is the meditation of ashtanga yoga… — dhyana in the form of meditation.
The third dhyana needs qualification. And meditation is certainly… a component of that dhyana. That comes in the ashtanga scheme, which we are not going to commence discussing here because it pranayama is the gateway for such dhyana. Ashtanga dhyana has its source, and roots, in, and launches from, pranayama.
Since we have not discussed pranayama, we [won’t] discuss that dhyana, which is… described as ekatanata pratyaya (uninterrupted flow towards an object) [PYS III.2].[2]
The cognition or the perception of the thought, doesn’t change. There is a flow of identical thought pattern in that dhyana, which can only be possible for a yogi, but not for commoners, like you and me. So that’s the third kind of dhyana which Patanjali mentions.
4. [There are] two kinds of dhyana, as I said, which don’t require any qualifications.[3] Everyone is endowed with [sufficient] ability, capacity, capability, and consciousness matter [necessary] to handle [them], They basically [serve] two purposes: to take the mind from a lower-than-normal to a normal level, and then normal to a little-above-normal.
5. And that is very important primarily for the aspects within called the subtle body, or astral body, and the karana sharira, the causal body. We don’t take care of [these bodies], particularly in modern yoga, ultra-modern yoga. We [mistakenly] just bother about the corporeal [body].
We… want yoga for our well-being, the well-being of… this corporeal body and psychological mind, and the phenomenal body and mind. We [fail] to understand what is underlying this body and… mind. We don’t take care… of those aspects, which is not advocated in adhyatma, or what you call spirituality, or yoga.
I made reference to subtle body and causal body. The subtle body is catered to, with all its needs, essentials, by japa, which is a form of dhyana…. Japa itself is dhyana. The definition in Shrimad Bhagavata Purana:[4]
japor dhyanam.
mantra repetition is dhyana
Japa of what? Japa of nama — of divinity, God, personal deity, or thought about God, thought about the personal deity, thought about the revered one, the most revered one. So that is dhyana. That is needed to cater to all the needs of the subtle body, which we discussed yesterday.[5]
Sukshma Sharira (subtle body) — A Seed Served by Dhyana & Japa +5.40
1. Now, let me try to explain this concept of the subtle body. Suppose you see… a mango or coconut tree, and you want to have that tree in your backyard, in your compound. You don’t uproot the tree from where it is, and then plant it in your house. What [do you do]? You try to get its seed, from a seed merchant, from a botanist, or from a horticulturist…. You plant the seed, and you get that tree. So you can plant a coconut tree seed from a seed merchant… to get the coconut tree in your house.
What is this seed? The seed contains the entire tree, all the aspects of the tree, from root to shoot, to trunk, to bark, to branches, to leaves, to fruits and flowers. The seed contains everything. It is all encapsulated…. The whole tree is captured in a seed. That is why it is called a seed. The seed can be easily transported, rather than transporting the whole tree. So this sukshma sharira (subtle body), is the… container of all the seeds of our body and mind matters.
2. Now adhyatma (Self) divulges that we have traveled in all the 8.4 million life species, and then have come to human manifestation. We will also travel again through 8.4 million life species, in between coming again to human manifestation, human incarnation. We will go through various life modes, life species, and life forms from tiny, microscopic lives to… animals, cattle, birds, reptiles, aquatics, vegetable life, botanical life, etc. So, we contain the seeds of all life forms.
Since we have come from 8.4 million life forms, we already contain the seeds of all those latent manifestations, [prior] to getting actualized as human beings. They latently exist within us. The seeds are within us for when needed in our future manifestations, prospective incarnations.
The subtle body is so subtle that everything is reduced to a noumenal (without physical form) condition, like a seed containing the whole tree. Of course a seed is not a microscopic entity. It can be visible…, it is tangible, it has dimensions.
However, the huge tree can be reduced to a seed, and perhaps the seed particles within. Each seed particle will contain the whole tree. But that is phenomenal (with physical form), because you can see the seed. It is a tangible object, it has dimensions, it has physical dimensions. It has form, it has color.
3. Now, the subtle body has all the noumenal seeds. They are not phenomenal, but noumenal, invisible with even an electron microscope…. The seeds are noumenal. We carry all that when we transmigrate. The subtle body is the transmigrating body. It has astrological movements. So we leave our mortal bodies here, but we carry that [subtle body] wherever we go.
4. You see, a mystic saint has divulged a very interesting [thing]…. We all claim that we are human beings; I am a human being. But we contain, potentially, all 8.4 (million) life species within us. We can prospectively become ants, creepers, insects, birds, animals, beasts, or botanical life. We can become all that because of our karma-s. And we carry… all of that infrastructure within us.
We have been ants in our past incarnations. [Their] impressions are within us. We have been cats and dogs, elephants and tigers, and snakes and crocs in our previous incarnations. So the impressions of all those vasana-s (subconscious impressions that form desires), of all those psyches… contained in a human being are there.
A human being is not merely a human being, because a human being has been through all those life species. [Although] latent, they are still potentially there, because we can head towards those manifestations again in our future lives. So man is not man, a human being is not [just] a human being. A human being contains everything, all 8.4 million life forms. So that is, in seed form, in the subtle body. All these things are in seed form.
5. Today you are aware of micro-film. What is the matter in that micro-film? There is a chip, [containing] enormous content, whereas its dimension is just a chip. Micro-film and digital technology have… chips…, which contain enormous [amounts of data].
Similarly this technology has already been there in our life, on the planet, and we contain all of it. That is the subtle body. All seeds are in it. All infra-matter, all kinds of life species, is available there. That transmigrates, and it is invisible. It is smaller than even a nano…. It cannot even be seen under an electron microscope .
So that is the subtle body. Adhyatma [sadhana], or so-called spiritual practices, take care of [it] as well.
6. Do you want that [subtle] part of you… to starve? You can’t neglect [that] part of you. So what is the way to take care of all those things? We know how to take care of our flesh, because we think we are… a body of flesh, muscles and bones.
But adhyatma (Self) takes care of all those, and, therefore, dhyana gives them whatever they need in one channel. That is the subtle body, [which] is also called the electronic body by modern commentators. It has all kinds of circuits — circuits to become a dog, cat, horse, lion, tiger, croc, fish, or a plant, or a tree. That is why they call it an electronic body: it has all the circuits; it can manifest. So that is taken care of by the scheme of adhyatma.
Karana Sharira (causal body) Served by Samadhi & Sleep +14.50
1. Then, the causal body. Samadhi caters to all those things in the causal body. If the subtle body is catered by japa, the causal body is catered by samadhi.
When we are not qualified for samadhi, won’t go for samadhi, and are incapable of going for samadhi, what happens to the causal body? Again, there is arrangement for it. If we don’t get samadhi, if we are not going to samadhi in our lifetime…, we [can] go to a state which is similar to samadhi. When we go to such a state of consciousness, the causal body, called karana sharira, will be taken care of. So karana sharira is catered to, served, subserved by samadhi.
2. For those who are not qualified for samadhi, there is a state of consciousness, which all of us [attain]. It caters to the karana sharira. What is that state? There is a wonderful quotation which comes in Upanishads:
samadhi sushupti mokshashesu brahma rupata |
liberation (moksha) is comprised of (rupata) samadhianddreamless-sleep (sushupti). That [non-dual state] is Brahman. [untraced] [6]
This samadhi, and sushupti, sleep, are equated. There is some commonality between liberation…, the samadhi state, and a dormant state.
We are all qualified for a dormant state, and we do get a dormant state. When we get the dormant state, that aspect of consciousness, which has the causal body matter in it, is taken care of. We just need to go to sleep, have regular, sound sleep. And that will take care of the causal body.
3. The causal body is dented by our identity, “I am so-and-so.” [But] in that state of dormancy, that indentation is not there. Therefore, it gets what it wants.
Your identity must be separated from your consciousness. That consciousness will get all its nourishment, or whatever necessities are [needed]…, by just going to sleep. When you go to sleep, it will be nourished. It will be nurtured…, served, cleansed, washed, and exercised. Every kind of need [will be fulfilled] by sleep.
If you can go to samadhi, it will [provide more]. It gets it in liberation…, in samadhi, and also in sushupti. Nature has already arranged to also take care of the causal body….
Adhibhautika, Adhyatmika, & Adhidaivika Dimensions of Embodiment +18.25
1. Then I told you about… the three dimensions about our embodiment of which adhyatma speaks. There is the adhibhautika aspect [that pertains to the five elements of the body], the adhyatmika aspect [pertaining to the Self], and the adhidaivika aspect [ruled by fate, or the celestial forces within].[7]
2. So, the adhidaivika and the adhyatmika aspects are not catered to by our business of life. The business of life only caters to our gross manifestation. That constituent of our phenomenal embodiment is adhidaivika. We are manifested in adhibhautika form, and constituted by adhidaivika forces.[8] They are the constituents, [of which] we are constituted. We are constitutions, adhidaivika forces. Celestial forces are constituents. And adhyatmika aspects are the substrate.
3. The scheme of adhyatma, so-called spirituality, considers all three. The dhyana that we discussed will take care of those things which are not catered to in our mundane life,[9] the business activity of life, [such as] personality and personal gravities. But these processes of dhyana which we discussed in last two sessions, will also consider the adhidaivika and adhyatmika, and even the adhibhautika.
Adhibhautika in the Embodiment +20.15
1. What is adhibhautika (the constitution of five elements)? The vernacular [word for] physics is bhautiki…. Physics deals with elemental matter. The five elements, natural elements are prthvi (earth), ap (water), tej (fire), vayu (air), and akasha (space). These are basic elements in this universe….
Within our embodiment, this is the adhibhautika constitution of matter…. Understand the difference between bhautiki, and adhibhautiki.
2. I will give you a very interesting illustration here…. A blood test sometimes [reveals]… an iron deficiency…. It means that [although] there is iron in your bio-chemistry… it is not in the form of iron as metal. It doesn’t mean that if you have an iron deficiency, [that you should] swallow a nail.
So, the iron cannot [be] in the form of metal in the blood…, in the… substances of the body, the chemistry of the body. It has a unique manifestation, as iron. Yet it is called iron even in bio-chemistry…. We don’t consume iron metal for that. Because it is iron in a different form. That form of iron within us is called adhibhautika… It is not bhautiki (physical) iron, it is adhibhautika iron.
3. Every living being has a temperature. That’s a sign of the animation of any living body. If there is no temperature, we say it is dead. We [also] know that there is gastric fire. Now, [what] is this gastric fire? [Is] there a flame burning in your belly that digests the food that we eat? The fire is not in the form of a flame, which is a physical fire…. We don’t have the fire in that form. The fire manifests differently in… a living embodiment. All animals, all animate creation, have temperatures. How do they get a temperature? Do you mean to say that there is a kind of flame, small or big? No, the fire comes in a different way.
4. Then the body has earth. We see the earth matter outside, in the form of dust…, sand, pebbles, stones, and boulders. Do we mean to say that such stones are there in our bodies? Do we mean to say there is a kind of sand in our bodies? So the element of earth manifests differently within our embodiment. That is called adhibhautika. It is not bhautika earth, physical earth. It is adhibhautika earth, for which there is no English word….
5. We also have air, vayu, in our body. It is not… [wind] blowing here and there in our body. In what form is it in our embodiment? It is in a different form, not in the form you see outside, where the air is blowing… in the physical realm. The way it manifests within us, is adhibhautika vayu, so that movement is possible. Animate body means there must be movement. An animate body should move the limbs….
Adhidaivika in the Embodiment +25.00
1. There are 330 million [deities]. It is 33, basically. Because their powers are so much, their powers are so great…, they are [counted in the] millions. It is not a number, as such. Number is 33. What are these 33? For that we have to study the adhidaivika shastra, daiva shastra, the daivika shastra.
The 33 are classes of deities. What are the classes of deities? Vasu, Rudra, Aditya. There are ashta (eight) Vasu-s, there are ekadasha (eleven) Rudra-s, there are dvadasha (twelve) Aditya-s. 8+11+12. These are classes of deities, plus Indra and Prajapati. So this amounts to 33…. So this is the whole clan of 33 deities….
But their powers are almost raised to n and, therefore, that… 33 [becomes] 330 million. Koti is a word to express the quantum, in Sanskrit. Their quantum is so much. [When]… we say this person is equal to 10 human beings, that means that the person is so strong, so huge, and so powerful that he is equal to 2…, 3, [or even] 10. Similarly, these gods are equal to crores, (multiples of) 10 million. That’s why there are 330 million [deities].
2. So how do they manifest here? The way they act in their [own] abode is not the way they are in [the embodiment]…. If I come to you as a guest, I don’t manifest like I manifest in my house. You expect me to be more decent when I am a guest in your house. So I manifest differently in your house. When I reside in your house, I cannot be residing the way I reside in my own house…, lacking etiquette. You would not like it, nobody would like it. It would not be appreciated at all.
3. So the way the [gods] manifest in our embodiment…. What they do in heaven is one thing. What they do within ourselves, is different thing: they manage us. So the way they get into, and function in, our embodiment is like [how] you… differ at work [compared to]… at home. You manifest differently. You function differently in the office [compared to] at home.
So the [gods] function differently when they are in heaven, their abode, than when they are within us. They have a different function, they have a different manifestation, they have a different purpose. That is why it is adhidaivika.
Adhyatmika in the Embodiment +28.35
1. And similarly, this atman. This atman is immortal, birthless, deathless. Read about the atman, the marvel which comes in the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita…:[10] It cannot be drenched, cannot be wetted, doesn’t have hunger, doesn’t have thirst, doesn’t take birth, doesn’t die, doesn’t decay. That is how the metaphysical entity is.
2. But when it comes within us, we all get hungry, get thirsty, want to go to sleep, and want to work…. Atman doesn’t do anything, doesn’t need anything…, doesn’t take birth, doesn’t have mutations, and doesn’t die.
But then, when atman comes within us, all those attributes come in, “I am hungry, I am thirsty, I am sleepy.” But the essential ‘I’ doesn’t have all these. When the atman enters within us, how does it manifest? How… [does] it seem to be manifesting? That is why it is called adhyatmika (pertaining to the atman). So these are very, very, very apt terms used by philosophy.
3. If you want to have a little more understanding of it, look into Bhagavad Gita, at the beginning of the eighth chapter, where Lord Krishna explains adhidaivika, adhibhautika, adhyatmika….[11] So I am opening out, delineating it, for you.
4. So the moment all these external elements, the deities, heavenly deities, external elements, and the metaphysical soul, when they enter this embodiment, they get this prefix, adhi (from the presence of; with reference to): adhy-atmika, adhi-bhautika, adhi-daivika. So it is a very fascinating concept in eastern thought and philosophy. We need to cater to the deities which have come in our embodiment.
5. When a guest comes to your house, the whole function of the house is different, because you want to entertain the guest. You want to take care of the guest. What do you do? Are there not different dynamics within the house when you have guests in the house?
So certain things need to be done when the deities have entered, the elements have entered, and the atman has entered. We don’t do all that. But adhyatma sadhana (practice pertaining to the atman) makes you do that. We take care of all these deities within us.
The Bhagavad Gita says that the deities need to be nurtured, and they nurture us. We should nurture the deities, and they will nurture us. We must be mutual benefactors and beneficiaries of each other. We must mutually subserve each other. That is why the deities are within us.
6. So they are serving us, that is why every organ is a marvel,[12] the way it is working, it is a grace of all deities, what are we doing for them? We might do something for our liver, and heart, and bladder. But we don’t do anything for those who are running it. They are all indriya-s, as I said yesterday. That means they are demigods, and semi-gods.[13] [However,] we [mistakenly] don’t… cater to them, and nurture them… in spirituality, or adhyatma…. That is taken care of by dhyana.
The Lord in the Embodiment & Dhyana +33.00
1. You may not be fascinated to [say] the name of the Lord and Divinity. But something within you is yearning for it. So you [say] the name of it, and there are deities who are wanting to have that name uttered. All these deities cannot be in counter position to divinity, they are all there to subserve the divinities, and they all are belovers of divinity. The divinity is lover and beloved to these deities.
2. Even if [saying] the name of Rama, Krishna, Govinda doesn’t really help you, you [say] the name because those who are within you, they are yearning for that name, yearning for that nama. So you will [say the] name for them, and they will be happy.
Just as sometimes… [when] you want to bring something for a guest [in your home], but don’t actually like that to be brought into the home, you [do so anyway]… to offer it to the guest, to make the guest happy. You aren’t particularly happy with that matter. You wouldn’t buy it for you; you don’t like it. But once you know that your guest likes it, you [offer] it… [because] you want the guest to be happy.
3. These celestial [adhidaivika] beings are there, adhibhautika aspects are there, adhyatmika aspects are there, adhidaivika aspects are there. Are we not supposed to take care of them? Because they are managing the whole show of our life.
If they don’t work, what will happen to us? We will [die and]… our existence will be disposed of in the form of burial or cremation. As long as they are there, everything within us works. So adhyatma has a scheme to cater to them, to take care of them, to nurture and nourish them.
4. That is the purpose of dhyana. Dhyana will do all that, for the adhyatmika aspects, the adhibhautika aspects, and the adhidaivika aspects. Therefore yoga has this japa, nama, dhyana, or dhyana in the form of… noble thought process.
[Although]… noble thought may not pay you, noble thought will certainly pay the deities who are residing within. They will be happy with your noble thoughts, much more than you are happy [with noble thoughts]. Or perhaps you will not be happy.
But the noble thoughts fall on your ears. Now, there might be a profane [thought], and then you don’t want to hear all those gospels. So [you] cannot help it. The ears are open. You can’t plug your ears. You will hear if somebody is giving you a gospel. But something in the ears really wants [to hear] it, so that will be given. Whether you want it, whether you like it… or don’t like it, there are certain things which have to be done. There is a wonderful scheme that doesn’t antagonize you at all. And all those are subserved. That is the scheme of adhyatma.
5. So the… noble, sublime, ethereal, transcendent thought processes will be delighted. The adhyatmika, adhidaivika, and adhibhautika aspects will be delighted. Should we not delight them? We are existing because of their presence in us. If they [depart] from the embodiment, we pop off [die].
So somewhere we have to understand how do we exist, and what is our existence. Adhyatma tells us in the best possible way, so that is why dhyana is considered in adhyatma, which is not necessarily a meditative act. Because for most of us, it is beyond our qualifications. We don’t have to bother about it.
6. So, with that, I have tried to give you basic information about the ancient wisdom and how it is in the scheme of yoga, considering adhibhautika, adhidaivika, and adhyatmika aspects within us, understanding them, and taking care of them.
7. Yoga takes care of that, provided you are embarked upon classical yoga, and not fashionable…, modern yoga…, which is only for corporeal well being, [in the] here and now. That is pseudo-yoga. That is why we are trying to get educated in yoga. To know our embodiment is a great marvel. But I cannot delineate much more on that in one session.
8. That is why I said to look into the Bhagavad Gita, to understand the adhibhautika, adhidaivika, and adhyatmika aspects, and unique contribution of the… adhiyajna, the very divinity [within].[14]
Presence of divinity within us is called adhiyajna. Divinity is present all over, omnipresent, omniscient and omnipresent, but how is the divinity within us? It manifests differently within us.
9. Like a global emperor…, the whole planet is his. But place his grandchild on his lap, and he doesn’t behave like an emperor. How does he behave? As a grandfather of his grandson.
How does the divinity stay within us? It doesn’t stay as an omnipresent, omnipotent entity. It manifests differently. Like how the grandchild says to the emperor, “I want to mount on your back, so please kneel on the floor, so I [may] get on your back.” Although he is an emperor, he will kneel… so that the child may mount him. Would an emperor carry anyone else like that on the back? But he will carry his grandchild. Because he is different within his family, although he is… a global emperor.
Similarly, when this omnipotent, omnipresent entity gets within us, it manifests differently, which you must appreciate. So that is how divinity is also looked after, considered in adhyatma.
[1] In last two sessions, we discussed the dhyana which is not of the nature of meditation: See “Dhyana in Hindu Chants +5.00” “Dhyana—An Attentive Thought Process +6.00” “Dhyana of the Yoga Sages +28.40” in Five Types of Dhyana, Lesson 12. “Subtle Body Needs Japa +15.00, +20.35” “Dhyana Serves Adhyatma (Self) +33.50” in Japa Benefits Subtle Body 5-16-20, Lesson 13.
[2] dhyana, which is… described as ekatanata pratyaya (uninterrupted flow towards an object) [PYS III.2]: | tatra pratyaya-eka-tanata dhyanam | The uninterrupted flow (eka-tanata) of attention directed towards (pratyaya) the same point or region is dhyana (meditation). [PYS III.2]
[3] two kinds of dhyana, as I said, which don’t require any qualifications: “We saw that there are two kinds of dhyana — One is to lift the sub-normal mind to normalcy, normal level…. The second kind of meditation takes the mind, which is on a normal plane, to a higher rung.”
[4] The definition in Shrimad Bhagavata Purana: japor dhyanam
[5] dhyana… is needed to cater to all the needs of subtle body, which we discussed yesterday: See “Subtle Body Needs Japa +15.00” in Japa Benefits Subtle Body 5-16-20 Lesson 13.
[6] samadhi sushupti mokshashesu brahma rupata: BMR translation. The Mandukya Upanishad states at the outset, “For truly, everything here is Brahman; this self (atman) is Brahman. This same self has four fourths.” It then goes on to categorize the four states of consciousness: waking (jagarita–sthana); dreaming (svapna–sthana); dreamless deep sleep (sushupta-sthana) without any desire, that is unified (eki–bhuta), only (eva) a cognition-mass (prajnana-ghana) consisting of bliss (anandamaya) represented by the letter M in AUM; and a fourth liberated state (turiya), beyond the prior three, that is tranquil, benign, one with the Self and without a second. The first three states correspond to the gross body, subtle body, and causal body.
[7] Then I told you about… the adhibhautika aspect, the adhyatmika aspect, and the adhidaivika aspect: “What Do Asanas Do Spiritually? +41.00” Adhyatmika Sadhana Lesson 9 5-3-20.
[8] We are manifested in adhibhautika form, and constituted by adhidaivika forces: I believe he is saying that the manifested form of adhibhautika is comprised of (constituted by) adhidaivika (celestial forces). Devas are celestial beings.
[9] adhyatma, so-called spirituality, considers all three. The dhyana that we discussed will take care of those things which are not catered to in our mundane life: See “Japa Nourishes Esoteric Body +23.20: And just one act of japa, the mode of japa will do everything. So it’s a great scheme of adhyatma.” Meditation is Not Dhyana 5-9-20 Lesson 10
[10] the atman, the marvel which comes in the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita: BG II.23-24 Weapons do not cut this atma, fire (pavaka) does not burn it, water (ap) does not make it wet, and the wind (maruta) does not make it dry…. This [atman] is eternal (nitya), all pervading (sarvagata), unchanging (sthanu), immovable (achala), and primeval (sanatana).
[11] Lord Krishna explains adhidaivika, adhibhautika, adhyatmika: BG VIII.3 …The adhyatma (supreme Self) is the inherent nature (svabhava) [of the individual] which originates (kara) the state of being (bhuta-bhava). BG VIII.4· The adhibhuta (aggregate of physical elements) is the perishable (kshara) nature of being (bhava). The adhidaivata is the purusha itself. The adhiyajna (basis of sacrifice; presence of divinity within) is Myself (aham: Lord Krishna), here in the body (deha), Oh best of the embodied. Krishna: The last section in this Lesson 14 will discuss adhiyajna.
[12] every organ is a marvel: As noted in Lesson 13, marvel = ashcharya. See BG II.29 One sees the atman as a marvel…. This verse is drawn from Katha-Upanishad I.ii.7.
[13] They are all indriya-s, as I said yesterday. That means they are demigods, and semi-gods: See “Indriyas Are Not Organs +22.20,” Lesson 13: Japa Benefits Subtle Body 5-16-20
[14] I said to look into the Bhagavad Gita, to understand the adhibhautika, adhidaivika, and adhyatmika aspects, and unique contribution of the… adhiyajna, the very divinity [within]: See footnote under “Adhyatmika in the Embodiment” citing BG VIII.3-4.