Dhyanabindupaniṣad
From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia
By Swami Harshananda
Dhyanaupaniṣad is one of the minor Upaniṣads belonging to the Kṛṣna Yajurveda and classed among the Yoga Upaniṣads.
It is in the anuṣṭubh meter, the number of verses being 106.
Contents of Dhyanaupaniṣad[edit]
In the following order, this Upaniṣad
- Explains the eulogy on yoga
- Describes the Brahman as extremely subtle and omnipresent
- Portrays praṇava or Om
- Delineates meditation
- Asserts the significance of meditation on Vāsudeva[1] in the lotus of the heart and narrates its rewards
- Recounts that yoga is comprised of the following six steps (ṣaḍaṅga- yoga):
- Āsana - posture
- Prāṇā-yāma - breath-control
- Pratyāhāra - withdrawal of mind from sense-objects
- Dhāraṇā - fixing the mind on the object of meditation
- Dhyāna - meditation
- Samādhi - super-conscious experience
- Delineates of the cakras like mulādhāra and the kuṇḍalini power
- Describes the five major prāṇas like prāṇa and apāna along with five minor ones like nāga and kurma
- Gives the technique of ajapājapa of the Hamsamantra[2]
- Describes the rousing of the kuṇḍalini power
- Describes some of the practices expounded in Haṭhayoga, like mudrās and bandhas in detail
- Ends with a description of ātmadarśana or realization of the ātman
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore