First there are
3 distinct psychological stages to be achieved in the Meditation process.
1.
Pratyahara
This
turns the organs of sense away from exterior things and directs them
towards entirely mental impressions.
2.
Dharana
This
forces the mind to fix its attention on a special and given point
either outwardly or inwardly.
3.
Dhyana
Properly
speaking, the stage of actual meditation, when the mind, trained by
preceding exercises, has acquired the power of flowing in an unbroken
current towards a chosen point.
These 3 stages
are preceded by exercises of a physiological nature.
Asana
Control
of posture
Pranayama
Control
of breath
Samadhi
(Where
Dhyana or Meditation is intensified to the point of rejecting the
exterior part of meditation to achieve a perfect state of harmony
and unity with the Self and the Universal Self)
When an individual
has mastered all these 6 stages of Meditation, he achieves the perfect
state of awareness and true knowledge. This in summary is the essence
of the Yoga of Knowledge (Jnyan) as stated in the Bhagavad Gita.
This is not an
easy path. We may take a "whole life" or several births to reach this
state of perfect knowledge or Enlightenment or Salvation. The important
thing is that we in Cyber Astro believe that we must commence this journey
in this life itself, and it is never too late to begin this journey. One
doesn't have to be a spiritual leader or a priest or an ascetic to start
this journey.
In this Age of
Aquarius, every human being will initiate this journey to discover his/her
own inner self irrespective of caste, creed or religion.
