Meditation: Difference between revisions

# '''Asanas:''' [[Asanas]] are physical postures designed to cure physical or psychic problems, which in turn impede spiritual progress.

# '''Pranayama:''' Breath control to help the mind concentrate in meditation.

# '''Pratyahara:''' Withdrawing the mind from the external world, as part of meditation.

# '''Dharana:''' Concentrating the mind at a particular point.

# '''Dhyana:''' Meditation (an unbroken flow of the mind towards the supreme goal).

# '''Samadhi:''' Merger or absorption of the individual consciousness into the cosmic consciousness. (This is the ultimate result of the previous seven limbs.)

[[Anandamurti]] notes that the practice of ''astaunga yoga'' fill one's individual self with the sense of universal consciousness in three stages.<ref name="AMIWL">{{cite book|title=[[Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life in a Nutshell Part 9]]|publisher=[[Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha]]|author=[[Anandamurti, Shrii Shrii]]|chapter=[[The Science of Action]]}}</ref>

# In the first stage, the individual mind is freed from material or mundane influences so it can concentrate more on the spiritual goal. This stage consists of the first four limbs of ''astaunga yoga''.

# In the second stage, the individual becomes conscious of her/his spiritual nature (realizing that s/he is not the body). This stage consists of the next two limbs of ''astaunga yoga''.  

# In the final stage, the individual directs her/his unit identity (or small self) toward the great self (cosmic consciousness) through ''meditation'', ultimately merging in that supreme desideratum. This stage consists of the final two limbs of ''astaunga yoga''.