Preksha Dhyana Basic Principles

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

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Kãyotsarga : Total
Relaxation with Self-Awareness
Bodily movements, speech and mental functions are three-fold activities of our organism. One of the facets of meditational practice is reduction or total cessation of each of these activities. Three types of meditational practices thus ensure from the trinity of activities. Kāyotsarga, and its associates such as Kāyagupti, Kāyapratisamlinată etc. come under one of these three types.
Kāyotsarga literally means 'abandonment of the body coupled with high degree of conscious awareness'. In prac. tice, it is conscious suspension of all gross movements of the body resulting in relaxation of the skeletal muscles and drastic reduction of metabolic activities. This physical condition results in relieving mental tensions and is an essential pre-condition for meditational practice. It becomes, therefore, the first phase of Prekşă Dhyāna, and must be practised for a few minutes at the commencement of all types of this technique. Apart from this, Kāyotsarga may be independently practised daily for longer periods, If one learns and practises systematic relaxation everyday he would remain relaxed, calm and unperturbed in any situation. Physically it is more restful than sleep, and is the most harmless and direct antidote to psychosomatic maladies resulting from tension. Spiritually, in this process, the lifeless body is cast off, while the consciousness soars upwards freed from and outside its material shell.
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