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the first condition. The body may be bent a little forward, never backward. Therefore, one should deliberately keep the backbone straight, with the upper part slightly bent forward.
For the eyes, three possible conditions are: closed, open, and half-closed. If the eyes are kept open, there is greater probability of interference from outside; if shut, there is the possibility of being assailed by wrong notions or sleep. Both these possibilities can be avoided by keeping the eyes half-closed. Therefore, half-closed eyes is considered to be the best option. It is also the prescribed condition in the meditation-posture of an arhant.
Last of all, the position of the hands. This may be considered from two angles. While meditating in a standing position, pendulous arms are the norm. For a sitting position, hands are folded in the lap, sticking close to the part between the navel and the pubic region. The right hand is placed above the left. This is one kind of meditation-posture. After one's practice has matured, one could sit for meditation in any other posture. The best condition for meditation, though, is the standing position. Because in that posture, a complete cycle of energy is formed. In a sitting position, there may be some obstruction in the flow of energy. Still, the sitting posture is usually adopted for the practice of dhyana in the shivirs. It stands midway between the standing and the lying-down postures, and is considered to be the most suitable for practising sadhaks.
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