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THE PATH
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possession of worldly objects, wealth, property or other material goods, are the four kinds of the raudra-dhyāna. Both these types of dhyāna (ārta and raudra) are aśubha (inauspicious and bad), and cause misery to and bondage of the soul. Ordinary persons, who do not possess Right Faith and Right Knowledge, usually indulge in such impure and harmful thought activities. The right believer, on the other hand, shuns them and, as far as possible, avoids them. If he unconsciously happens to indulge in them for a time, he repents for it, at once tries to curb and suppress them and change the direction of his thinking. It is the śubha, auspicious or good dhyāna which he ever tries to cultivate, and it is the dharmya-dhyāna, the third kind of dhyāna.
The dharmya-dhyäna consists in contemplating and meditating upon the Jina's teaching, firmly believing that it is the true and right teaching, upon the adequate ways and means of emancipating the soul from karmic bondage and the misery of worldly existence, upon the effect and fruition of the karmans on diverse mundane souls, and upon the form and nature of the universe. Adoration and devotion to the ista-deva (chosen deity, i.e., the Jina), veneration of nirgrantha gurus and the true scriptures, charity, thinking and doing good of others, and the like, are other subjects covered by the dharmyadhyāna.
Occupying the mind with such pious reflections saves a person from disturbing thoughts and indulging in the ārta or the raudra, dhyāna, which are in no way beneficial, but are always injurious, degrading and degenerating, depending, of course, on their duration and intensity. Moreover, the good dhyāna fills the mind with peace and happiness; and happiness is basically the awareness of that which is good. During such dhyāna, the karmic bondage is also of an auspicious nature, which results, sooner or later, in giving the person health, happiness, fame and prosperity.
