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SELF AWARENESS THROUGH MEDITATION
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enlightenment or ‘kaivalya’ and for that restraint and Dhyaana are the right tools. Exercises which aim at attainment of worldly objectives, like health, divert you from going deep into the self and thus deviate from self-realization. Ultimate end of Yoga is Asampragyaata Samadhi or transcendental meditation.
In Jain system, awakened person is the Muni or saint. Awakened is one who has risen above cravings and aversion and is poised in equanimity. This stage can be obtained through Dhamma Dhyaana and Shukla Dhyaana. In Dhamma Dhyaana, aspirant, when looking inward, observes the sensations arising on the body without any craving and aversion and thus gets rid of the foul tendencies of the mind and obsession with worldly things and people. He comes to realize different feelings like being lonely', ephemeral nature of things, no refuge in this lonely world, etc., and these help him to renounce the obsession with the world. Renouncing the obsession and getting one with the self is the aim of Dhyaana. In Shukla Dhyaana, the aim is to be free from mind, the incessant and involuntary thinker. A deep study shows that the Sampragyaata and Asampragyaat Samadhi of Yoga Darshan and Shukla Dhyaana of Jain are quite similar in terminology as well as in the symptoms of attainment. Both result in ‘enlightenment' or 'kaivalya’ and eternal freedom or Mukti. Study of Aachaaraanga Sutta of Jaina system shows that through meditation one has to establish oneself in the status of an 'observer' and rise above cravings and aversion. To be able to observe thoughts, emotions, and feelings means 'Pashyanaa' 113 or 'to see', which brings about awakening and self-realization. This is the way to be 'free' from this world'. Such 'seer' does not require any instruction.
In Buddha system, emphasis is on observing the sensations on the body. The aspirant is first taught to see the incoming and outgoing of breath without any exercise of breath. Once the mind is stable and concentrated, the aspirant is taught to observe the sensations arising on the body without any craving and aversion. The sensation can be pleasant, unpleasant and neutral and one has to see all of them as they are without any reaction towards them. By being neutral observer of these sensations, one can rise above cravings and aversion towards all types of things of this world. An aspirant, who has seen the end of sensations gets over all cravings and becomes free from the world. 'Vipassana' arises on the basis of sensations and through them only one gets the way, the Pragyaa or enlightenment and Nirvana or Deliverance.
