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The Chakras are energy vortices of the energy body that comprise part of the energy system. When perfectly open and balanced, one is lead to the experience of a harmonious reality, connection to the Oneness in everything, and ultimately to union with the Divine Consciousness.
Unlocking Your Mind
In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (written advice for yoga practitioners), we read of the three stages for training the mind:
- Concentration - Dharana, whose aims is to focus the inner experience.
- Meditation - Dhyana, whose aims is to expand the inner experience.
- Contemplation - Samadhi, whose aims is to deepen the inner experience.
Dharana
The daily practice of concentration ideally comes after you have finished your yoga asanas. In the Raja system of yago, which is regarded as one the highest disciplines, it is usual to make specific times to practise it. Concentration of the mind might be on an abstract idea or an object. In concentration you try to avoid the chain association in your mind; for example, when you think of an orange, you may think of the tree - the sunshine that helped the tree grow - you wonder who picked the fruit. That is not Dharana; in Dharana you concentrate solely on the orange. The aim is to still the restless inner dialogue. Practicing at dawn can increase its effectiveness.
Dhyana
When Dhyana is reached, it is no longer necessary to practise concentration, because at this point on your spiritual journey, daily meditation replaces concentration. The term ‘meditation’ can mean many things to many people. However, in the context of Patanjali’s system and Raja yoga, Dhyana means the following: whereas dharana contracts the mind, dhyana expands the mind around the subject. You enlarge the field of consciousness to take in the spiritual nature of (in this simple example) an orange. For most people, Dhyana/contemplation is the final stage - Samadhi is rarely reached.
Samadhi
Of course, the practice of meditation does not normally use objects like an orange! To reach Samadhi you are more likely to work with an abstract concept, such as unconditional love or a line from a sacred text.
Samadhi may be interpreted as uniting the lower consciousness or self with superconsciousness of the higher self. The highest principle, as Patanjali said, ‘is when the mind is so far concerned with the object alone, to a degree of one’s seeming non-existence, that is Samadhi’. However, not all meditation necessarily ends in the blissful state of Samadhi. Experienced meditators say that Samadhi comes when you least expect it, and you should not try to analyse the journey.
Source: The Chakra Bible by Patricia Mercier
