H. S. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy of NAS of Ukraine (Kyiv)
Dhyana (dhyāna), a category of yoga and a practical element of the teaching, is one of the basic elements of yoga philosophy (yogadarśana). Modern texts translate it as meditation. This term has ancient roots that go back to Ṛg Veda (ca. 1200 BC), a sacred text of Ancient India. Later dhyāna becomes a part of yoga in the Upaniṣads, and a cornerstone in the framework of Patañjali’s yoga. It is a fundamental term that other descriptions of yoga practices rest on.
The purpose of the report is to uncover meanings attributed to this term at the time of Ṛg Veda, early Upaniṣads and Patañjali’s Yogasūtras, to illustrate the relation between them and to determine transforma- tion of dhyāna meaning. Despite the fact that dhyāna has been studied very precisely in Yogasūtras of Patañjali by many honorable scholars (S. Dasgupta, S. Vivekananda, S. Radhakrishnan), little attention has been paid to understand the roots of this term in previous texts. Some studies have been done to shed some light on the Sanskrit root dhī in Ṛg Veda (T. Elizarenkova, J. Gonda, L. Renu) [Elizarenkova 1995, p. 7]. However, there is a gap in understanding of the change of dhyā- na’s conception in the three diferent textual periods from the hymns of the earliest texts over to Upaniṣads and down to the Sūtras of Patañjali. This speech is entitled to show diferent meanings of dhyāna in each of the mentioned textual periods. Its goal is to compare them and show the process it has undergone to become a major concept of philosophy of yo- ga. This understanding will clear a common confusion of using generic translation of the term dhyāna.
The materials studied include translated fragments of the aforemen- tioned texts that deine the term dhyāna (T. Elizarenkova, A. Syrkin, R. Griit).
Ṛg Veda (rV). The term dhyāna is not used in RV; however, this source does contain words of the same root, such as dhīḥ and its derivative dhītiḥ.
Text analysis of RV shows the root dhī to be imbued with mythological images. Any speciic descriptions of practices and pragmatic aspects are not given there. Man’s activity related to dhī is directed from the inside into the outside. It is addressed to superior, more sophisticated phenomena. This root is used for words that foster extension of vision, comprehension, and cognition of the universe.
The Upaniṣads. Later on, during the period of early Upaniṣads (800-300 BC), the use of the term acquires a diferent meaning. The Upaniṣads are the irst source to introduce the term dhyāna. Here the irst techniques are being modeled and metaphors describing the process are given. On the one hand, one needs to master their mind for the purpose of cognition (dhyāna), and on the other hand, cognition is the primary assistant in taking mind under control. The authors of the Upaniṣads single out consciousness structures and arrange them hierarchically. Dhyāna is bigger than chitta or manas, yet smaller than vijñāna. It is in the Upaniṣads that cognitive power of dhyāna becomes introspective [Whicher 1998, p. 13], making ātman’s (self, selbst) tattva (suchness) an object of dhyāna’s cognitive function.
Patañjali’s Yogasūtras. In Yogasūtras of Patañjali, the philosophy of yoga attains its elegance, consistency and philosophic exactitude. Patañjali not just makes a harmonious compilation of knowledge taken from early heterogeneous texts, but it also provides a consistent introduction and explanation of every term.
The analysis of the term dhyāna in Yogasūtra was made on the basis of sūtras 2.11 and 3.2. Here dhyāna stands for the process of cognition that conduces subject’s ability to obtain any qualities of an object by means of embracing it with one’s mind, that is, by meditative immersion into this quality [Smirnov 1983, p. 208].
Patañjali gives an exact deinition of the dhyāna category leaving no room for implied knowledge – inherent to the whole corpus of previously discussed texts.
Conclusion. The meaning of the term dhyāna is non-homogeneous. Analysis of deinitions history has shown that the term meaning was continuously changing, going from less speciied and poetic in its irst mentioning in RV to clear and unambiguous deinition given in Patañjali’s Yogasūtras. At every stage, it implied diferent meanings. When using this term in modern science, it is essential that one speciies the exact meaning of the used term; otherwise it shall result in inaccuracies and misunderstandings.
Bibliography:
1) Elizarenkova, Tatyana J. (1995), Language and Style of the Vedic Rsis, Albany: State University of New York Press.
2) Smirnov B. L. (1983), Samkhya and Yoga // Mahabharata: [Philosophical texts]: in 8 vol. / TSSR Acad. of Science; Translation and foreword by B. L. Smirnov. – Ashgabad. – Vol. 6.
3) Whicher, Ian (1998), The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga, SUNY Press.
Source: Danilov D. The term dhyana in the system of yoga: deconstruction // Слово і невисловлюване. Тези дванадцятої міжнародної наукової конференції «Філософія. Нове покоління» (Київ, НаУКМА, 23–24 березня 2017 року) / упоряд. В. Корчевний. – К.: «Університетське видавництво Пульсари», 2017. – С. 28-30.
Dhyana (dhyāna), a category of yoga and a practical element of the teaching, is one of the basic elements of yoga philosophy (yogadarśana). Modern texts translate it as meditation. This term has ancient roots that go back to Ṛg Veda (ca. 1200 BC), a sacred text of Ancient India. Later dhyāna becomes a part of yoga in the Upaniṣads, and a cornerstone in the framework of Patañjali’s yoga. It is a fundamental term that other descriptions of yoga practices rest on.
The purpose of the report is to uncover meanings attributed to this term at the time of Ṛg Veda, early Upaniṣads and Patañjali’s Yogasūtras, to illustrate the relation between them and to determine transforma- tion of dhyāna meaning. Despite the fact that dhyāna has been studied very precisely in Yogasūtras of Patañjali by many honorable scholars (S. Dasgupta, S. Vivekananda, S. Radhakrishnan), little attention has been paid to understand the roots of this term in previous texts. Some studies have been done to shed some light on the Sanskrit root dhī in Ṛg Veda (T. Elizarenkova, J. Gonda, L. Renu) [Elizarenkova 1995, p. 7]. However, there is a gap in understanding of the change of dhyā- na’s conception in the three diferent textual periods from the hymns of the earliest texts over to Upaniṣads and down to the Sūtras of Patañjali. This speech is entitled to show diferent meanings of dhyāna in each of the mentioned textual periods. Its goal is to compare them and show the process it has undergone to become a major concept of philosophy of yo- ga. This understanding will clear a common confusion of using generic translation of the term dhyāna.
The materials studied include translated fragments of the aforemen- tioned texts that deine the term dhyāna (T. Elizarenkova, A. Syrkin, R. Griit).
Ṛg Veda (rV). The term dhyāna is not used in RV; however, this source does contain words of the same root, such as dhīḥ and its derivative dhītiḥ.
Text analysis of RV shows the root dhī to be imbued with mythological images. Any speciic descriptions of practices and pragmatic aspects are not given there. Man’s activity related to dhī is directed from the inside into the outside. It is addressed to superior, more sophisticated phenomena. This root is used for words that foster extension of vision, comprehension, and cognition of the universe.
The Upaniṣads. Later on, during the period of early Upaniṣads (800-300 BC), the use of the term acquires a diferent meaning. The Upaniṣads are the irst source to introduce the term dhyāna. Here the irst techniques are being modeled and metaphors describing the process are given. On the one hand, one needs to master their mind for the purpose of cognition (dhyāna), and on the other hand, cognition is the primary assistant in taking mind under control. The authors of the Upaniṣads single out consciousness structures and arrange them hierarchically. Dhyāna is bigger than chitta or manas, yet smaller than vijñāna. It is in the Upaniṣads that cognitive power of dhyāna becomes introspective [Whicher 1998, p. 13], making ātman’s (self, selbst) tattva (suchness) an object of dhyāna’s cognitive function.
Patañjali’s Yogasūtras. In Yogasūtras of Patañjali, the philosophy of yoga attains its elegance, consistency and philosophic exactitude. Patañjali not just makes a harmonious compilation of knowledge taken from early heterogeneous texts, but it also provides a consistent introduction and explanation of every term.
The analysis of the term dhyāna in Yogasūtra was made on the basis of sūtras 2.11 and 3.2. Here dhyāna stands for the process of cognition that conduces subject’s ability to obtain any qualities of an object by means of embracing it with one’s mind, that is, by meditative immersion into this quality [Smirnov 1983, p. 208].
Patañjali gives an exact deinition of the dhyāna category leaving no room for implied knowledge – inherent to the whole corpus of previously discussed texts.
Conclusion. The meaning of the term dhyāna is non-homogeneous. Analysis of deinitions history has shown that the term meaning was continuously changing, going from less speciied and poetic in its irst mentioning in RV to clear and unambiguous deinition given in Patañjali’s Yogasūtras. At every stage, it implied diferent meanings. When using this term in modern science, it is essential that one speciies the exact meaning of the used term; otherwise it shall result in inaccuracies and misunderstandings.
Bibliography:
1) Elizarenkova, Tatyana J. (1995), Language and Style of the Vedic Rsis, Albany: State University of New York Press.
2) Smirnov B. L. (1983), Samkhya and Yoga // Mahabharata: [Philosophical texts]: in 8 vol. / TSSR Acad. of Science; Translation and foreword by B. L. Smirnov. – Ashgabad. – Vol. 6.
3) Whicher, Ian (1998), The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga, SUNY Press.
Source: Danilov D. The term dhyana in the system of yoga: deconstruction // Слово і невисловлюване. Тези дванадцятої міжнародної наукової конференції «Філософія. Нове покоління» (Київ, НаУКМА, 23–24 березня 2017 року) / упоряд. В. Корчевний. – К.: «Університетське видавництво Пульсари», 2017. – С. 28-30.
