Drop all dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 18, Text 66

sarva‑dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva‑papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah

TRANSLATION

Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.

Dhyana : Let go of all the concepts you have. Forget your  caste, creed, religion, professional qualification, power, money, fame and take refuge in God.

Checklist dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 18, Text 42

samo damas tapah saucam
ksantir arjavam eva ca
jnanam vijnanam astikyam
brahma‑karma svabhava‑jam

TRANSLATION

Peacefulness, self‑control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness‑‑these are the natural qualities by which the brahmanas work.

Dhyana : Contemplate on each of the above quality inside.

First a 9 point check whether you are a brahmana (noble one) ,

Observe your mind and check whether you are peaceful, do you have self-control, do you regularly do austerities, do you have purity of thought, are you tolerant of others, are you honest, are you knowledgeable, are you wise, are you religious ?

Self-illumined dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 15, Text 6

na tad bhasayate suryo
na sasanko na pavakah
yad gatva na nivartante
tad dhama paramam mama

TRANSLATION

That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those who reach it never return to this material world.

Dhyana : 

Contemplate on this line ‘Do you require light to know yourself?’

Friendliness to all dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 11, Text 55

mat‑karma‑krn mat‑paramo
mad‑bhaktah sanga‑varjitah
nirvairah sarva‑bhutesu
yah sa mam eti pandava

TRANSLATION

My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental speculation, he who works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being‑‑he certainly comes to Me.

Dhyana : Metta meditation : practice friendliness to all, forgive all, ask forgiveness from all. Do service to humanity as an offering to the God.

Ask forgiveness dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 9, Text 30

api cet su‑duracaro
bhajate mam ananya‑bhak
sadhur eva sa mantavyah
samyag vyavasito hi sah

TRANSLATION

Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.

Dhyana : Ask forgiveness from God for all the sinful activities done by oneself. Do it with repentence and with pure heart. Pray pray pray. And do some actions as a service to the world.

Ananya bhakti dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 9, Text 22

ananyas cintayanto mam
ye janah paryupasate
tesam nityabhi yuktanam
yoga‑ksemam vahamy aham

TRANSLATION

But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form‑‑to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.

Dhyana : How can one always worship God? There can be either jiva (individual) or shiva(God). Become sakshi (witness), Shiva, and this ananya bhakti is possible.

God dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

1. Chapter 9, Text 4

maya tatam idam sarvam
jagad avyakta‑murtina
mat‑sthani sarva‑bhutani
na caham tesv avasthitah

TRANSLATION

By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.

Dhyana : The body can be seen, but not the mind. The unseen, unmanifest mind runs the body. Similarly, The world can be seen. The mind that runs the world is unseen and unmanifest. Contemplate on the individual mind and universal mind.

2. Chapter 9, Text 10
mayadhyaksena prakrtih
su yate sa‑caracaram
hetunanena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate

TRANSLATION

This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is creat­ed and annihilated again and again.

Dhyana : Contemplate on the limited-ness of your ego. It cannot control anything, yet, it wants to control everything. Look around your world , and see that everything is in order and working according to some intelligence. Surrender to this intelligence, which is holding everything together. Do not think that your mind is the controller.

Duality dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

1) Chapter 7, Text 27

iccha‑dvesa‑samutthena
dvandva‑mohena bharata
sarva‑bhutani sammoham
sarge yanti parantapa

TRANSLATION

O scion of Bharata, O conqueror of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, bewildered by dualities arisen from desire and hate.

Dhyana : Observe your thoughts. Take one random thought, and analyze it. Observe the root cause of that thought, it will either be due to some desire or due to something that you don’t  want. Understand that all thoughts arise out of either desire or hate. 

2) Chapter 7, Text 28

yesam tv anta‑gatam papam

jananam punya‑karmanam
te dvandva‑moha‑nirmukta
bhajante mam drdha‑vratah

TRANSLATION

Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.

Dhyana : Having understood the nature of all thoughts as arising out of desire or hate, Observe the vagaries of mind with thoughts borne out of desire and hate, compare it with the state of mind which has unselfish desire in mind. Make a resolution that you will do unselfish actions that does not arise out of desire or hate. 

God is incomprehensible dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 7, Text 25

naham prakasah sarvasya
yoga‑maya‑samavrtah
mudho 'yam nabhijanati
loko mam ajam avyayam

TRANSLATION

I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible.

Dhyana : Try to know God. You will fail. Whatever you can think is insufficient. Understand the incompetence of intellect to understand God.

Four prayers dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 7, Text 16

catur‑vidha bhajante mam
janah sukrtino 'rjuna
arto jijnasur artharthi
jnani ca bharatarsabha

TRANSLATION

O best among the Bharatas, four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me‑‑the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute

Dhyana : Learn to pray to God in four types,

1) Aarta (distressed) : Bring to your mind any of the situations in life where you are distressed. Pray to the Lord (whoever you think that is), and pray for help with a pure heart. Request for help, do not put any conditions, put your burden on the Lord.

2) Jijnasu (inquisitive) : Pray to Lord to clarify your doubts and illuminate your intelligence.

3) Artharthi (for material gain) : Pray to Lord for material gain

4) Jnani (wise ones) : Pray to Lord with love

Eightfold prakriti dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 7, Text 4

bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh
kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahankara itiyam me
bhinna prakrtir astadha

TRANSLATION

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego‑‑all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.

Dhyana : Contemplate on,

1) Earth : Feel the gross-ness in the body. Body is made up of earth element predominantly. Feel the gross ness in the universe.

2) Water : Feel the fluidity of the body. Body is 80% made up of water.

3) Fire : Feel the fire as hunger and anger in the body.

4) Air : Perform nadi shuddhi pranayama 20 rounds, and feel how body consists of air element

5) Ether : Feel all the other four elements arranged in space. Feel the space inside your body, the space which your body occupies and the space outside your body.

6) mind : Observe your feelings

7) Intelligence : The knower, who is the knower in you who takes decisions

8) Ego : ‘I am’ ness

Yama & Niyama dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 6, Text 17

yuktahara‑viharasya
yukta‑cestasya karmasu
yukta‑svapnavabodhasya
yogo bhavati duhkha‑ha

TRANSLATION

He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.

Yama & Niyama : This is a change in lifestyle. One has to practice regulated eating, sleeping, exercise and work.

God is benevolent dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 5, Text 29
bhoktaram yajna‑tapasam
sarva‑loka‑mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva‑bhutanam
jnatva mam santimrcchati

TRANSLATION

A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well‑wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.

Dhyana : Contemplate on the three states of consciousness (waking, dreaming, deep sleep). The conscious mind in waking state thinks that it is the master, but it is absent in deep sleep. Some one is taking care when the conscious mind is absent. The entity that is taking care is the Lord, and it is impartial, and friendly towards all beings. The Lord is the one who takes care in waking state also, as can be seen in the bodily functions and life events. Knowing that one is taken care of, Lord has not forgotten you, the mind can be at rest.

Sense perceptions dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 5, Text 22

ye hi samsparsa‑ja bhoga
duhkha‑yonaya eva te
ady‑antavantah kaunteya
na tesu ramate budhah

TRANSLATION

An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kunti, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them

Dhyana : Contemplate on five senses. Understand that each sensory organ gives inputs to mind. It is the mind that makes some sense out of it like (whether the input should be treated as favourable or unfavourable). Understand the role of the body as a machine that gives inputs. The role of mind to process those inputs and decide to be happy or unhappy. If the mind decides to be happy all the time, what is stopping it ?

Equal eye dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 5, Text 18

vidya‑vinaya‑sampanne
brahmane gavi hastini
suni caiva sva‑pake ca
panditah sama‑darsinah

TRANSLATION

The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog‑eater [outcaste].

Dhyana : Have an equal eye on events, things, persons.

Step-1 : Bring to your mind a happy event in your life and relive the moment. You are elated.

Step-2 : Bring to your  mind an unhappy moment in your life and relive the moment. You are dejected.

Step-3 : Remember how many times you have gone through the roller-coaster ride of mind, one time happy, another time unhappy. Do you want to continue this roller-coaster ?

Step-4 : Develop sakshi bhava, detachedness with mind, and then view the same events and see that they have no impact on you.

Surrender to God dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 4, Text 10

vita‑raga‑bhaya‑krodha
man‑maya mam upasritah
bahavo jnana‑tapasa
puta mad‑bhavam agatah

TRANSLATION

Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me‑‑and thus they all at­tained transcendental love for Me.

Dhyana :

1) Attachment : Look into your mind , look for your attachments in life. Take one attachment, and then let it go. Leave it from your mind. Observe the heart center. Observe the lightness there.

2) Fear : Similarly, take one of your fears. You may fear that such and such thing might happen, and you are afraid of it. Visualize that the particular undesirable thing has indeed happened. Face it in your mind. Go through the possible after effects of the feared event. See clearly that you can face it, let go of the fear. Observe the lightness of the body.

3) Anger : Metta meditation : Bring to your mind any one of the incidents / persons who made you angry. If you are still angry with that person or that remembrance, observe the pain in the heart center when you think of that person. Student has to clearly see the pain. Do you want to suffer pain ? If not, then forgive wholeheartedly that person, because you want a lighter heart. Forgive others , because nobody is perfect. Forgive entire world at large.

Bring to your mind any action that may have caused harm to others. Ask for forgiveness from the universe and that person, in your mind, honestly. Forgive others, if you want to be forgiven.

If you are not able to free yourself from any of the negative emotions, surrender to God to help you to get rid of it. Once you are free from negative emotions, take refuge in god.

Restless mind dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 3, Text 37

sri‑bhagavan uvaca :
kama esa krodha esa
rajo‑guna‑samudbhavah
mahasano maha‑papma
viddhy enam iha vairinam

TRANSLATION

It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of pas­sion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all‑ devouring sinful enemy of this world.

Dhyana : Sit silently and observe the thoughts in the mind. They keep on coming continuously. Some thoughts propel you to do some action. Those thoughts wont allow you to sit and meditate. Thoughts could belong to day to day activities. Simple thoughts like ‘I forgot to make that important phone call, I need to call now immediately’ etc. These are borne out of rajo guna. There can be serious thoughts also. All these thoughts have the common root, which is some desire. One has to clearly see the propulsion of the rajo guna. One has to curb the desire to get up and do that particular work.One has to see the ‘kartritva’ (duty-bound) nature of the Jiva. This practice will develop the capacity to choose which actions to do and which can be ignored.

Prakriti is the doer dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 3, Text 27

prakrteh kriyamanani
gunaih karmani sarvasah
ahankara‑ vimudhatma
kartaham iti manyate

TRANSLATION

The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.

Dhyana : Contemplate on the limitedness of ego. The inability of ego to act by itself. It is the nature that acts. The heart-beat, BP, digestion , excretion, all bodily functions happen by some unknown actor. What is the role of ego (conscious mind) in all these activities. When a particular action is done, ego claims that it has done. Can you lift your hand using just your ego alone ?

How to act dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 3, Text 9

yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra
loko 'yam karma‑bandhanah
tad‑artham karma kaunteya
mukta‑sangah samacara

TRANSLATION

Work done as a sacrifice for Visnu has to be performed, otherwise work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O son of Kunti, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfac­tion, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage.

Dhyana : Any work has to be done with  ‘Sakshi bhava’ (witness consciousness), the feeling that ‘I am not the doer. Things are happening through my body. Lord is the doer’ . This sakshi bhava can be developed in oneself, by looking at the body objectively, as if the body is not mine, the body is that of a third person. Once a person detaches from body-consciousness, then the person has to look at the thoughts and feelings as if they belong to a different person. This brings about a perception of detachedness. With that feeling, one has to perform actions.

Inward Vs Outward mind dhyana

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

Chapter 2, Text 69

ya nisa sarva‑bhutanam
tasyam jagarti samyami
yasyam jagrati bhutani
sa nisa pasyato muneh

TRANSLATION
What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self‑controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.
There are two kinds of people who restrain the senses from their objects: (1) one who is endeavoring for self‑realization and (2) one who just can't, who is being forced to do by circum­stance. The first example is compared "daytime" it is light in his life and the other's life is like "night" or hell. They are just opposite.

Dhyana : Understand the outgoing mind and inward looking mind.

Outgoing mind : thoughts about your world, job, college, house-hold chores, your wants. When your mind is outward, there is an objective experience. You forget the ‘I’ , the subjective experience.

Inward mind : Turn your attention to what is the impact of worldly thoughts on your mind, emotions and feelings.  How you feel is the domain of inward looking mind.

Understand both outward looking mind and inward looking mind. And Understand the ‘I am’ that experiences both these minds. The subjective experience ‘I am’ , is not experienced when you have objective experience. When you have pure ‘I am’ thought, at that moment there is no experience of the objective world.