The ancient science of yog is based on laws of nature. In nature you will find that for every aspect there exists an equal and opposite. Darkness is nothing but absence of light. Similarly, silence is nothing but the absence of sound. It is only the duality in nature, the coexistence of positive and negative that gives meaning to the existence of the whole.
There are three states to the mind, which the modern sciences acknowledge—the conscious, the unconscious and the subconscious state. The fourth state, which the modern science does not acknowledge, is the super conscious state or the turaiya state.
There is confusion between meditation, hypnosis and dhyan. The majority of the modern sciences believe them to be the same. But the Vedic rishis differ here, they had experiences of the subtler dimensions and, mantras and images of the various devs and devis were visible to them. Not just visible, but with their help they were able to manifest in the physical world, (which I call the unreal) various weaponry, health to the diseased, physical attributes, wealth etc. This was the state of dhyan which they were in, the turaiya state, and hence were able to do all this.
In dhyan, there is no pratyaya (an object of focus). There is poorna, or you may call it shoonya. The five senses are at rest and made to rest. You don’t focus on anything. You are there but you are everywhere, yet you are nowhere. You let go, depending on your karmas, divinity takes over you and the Guru guides you into the higher realms and into reality; siddhis are a by-product.
In meditation, the conscious mind is at play. There is a pratyaya or an object of focus. You are meditating on something, which has a form and through it you are trying to reach the formless. This does not happen as when you focus on a form, the mind and the five senses are active, the neurons in the brain form the imagery and the five senses do not get stilled. You are meditating on something; something, which is physical or I would say on unreality. You day-dream, the subconscious is activated and you have visions and, whatever you have seen in your life is all recorded and it is mixed and matched in imagery and over time and you see things. There are no siddhis in this, just relaxation and a false impression of enlightenment. The so-called instant kundalini awakening falls in this category.
Hypnosis taps into your subconscious mind. Through the five senses, you are taken to a state of subconscious sleep and you float between the unconscious and the subconscious, where your senses are on but your physical brain is at rest and under the control of the hypnotiser. The rhythmic music and the pendulum oscillation relaxes the brain and you let go into the sounds which you are hearing. Many music composers use this technique to increase the popularity of their music. Also, many guided meditations use this technique to increase their popularity.
The striking difference between dhyan on one part and meditation and hypnosis on the other is:
- Dhyan stills your five basic senses and opens the higher senses. In the other two, the five senses remain activated and there is only a false impression of going beyond.
- Dhyan can be done only with a Guru; the other two require teachers and professionals.
- Dhyan takes you towards reality, the other two towards your desires and other’s desires.
- In dhyan, there is no pratyaya. While the other two require an object, which is perceived by the five senses.
- Dhyan gives you siddhis and humility, the other two ego and a false impression of having visited various dimensions.
- Dhyan can never be bought; it has to be earned by the Guru’s grace. The other two are for sale.
- Very minuscule people reach dhyan. The other two have a 100% success rate, i.e. all reach it.
- Dhyan makes you leave the physical world into higher pleasures. The other two take you deeper into the physical world.
- Dhyan gives you the gyan of the Vedas without reading, the other two a false impression of knowing it all.
- Dhyan gives you glow, radiance and youth. The other two make you a successful businessman, and you age as per the human genetic process.
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