Transmutation of Personality through Preksha Meditation

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

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tradition of meditation, which was the tradition of dharmaya-dhyana and shukla-dhyana, was subordinated and its practice abandoned. Their place was taken by : pranayama, etc. Because of this, people came to believe that the Jains had no independent meditation-system of their own.
At that time, the tradition of pure dhyana, though mixed with other elements, was not altogether discontinued. Later, some community problems arose. The very existence of the Dharma-Sangh was at stake. Public entertainment and the point of view of the public assemblies dominated the scene. Spells and incantations and miraculous tantrik experiments held sway over the minds of the people. Under these circumstances, enchantments and magical practices were avidly sought and the Jain tradition of moral conduct languished. This created obstructions in the way of meditation.
Q. Do we then hold that the tradition of meditation - was altogether lost? Or have there been some acharyas and munis who, having brought about a revolution in the field of conduct, re-appraised the practice of meditation?
Ans. Moral revolutions have been taking place in Jain
- culture from time to time. These laid sufficient stress on moral conduct, but the practice of meditation still remained secondary. At that time, the tradition of japa had become widespread, and the practice of dhyana was restricted only to a few. The important names in the development of the tradition of meditation are : Acharya Anandaghan, Acharya Chidanand, Acharya Bhikshu and Jayacharya. Although in their time, too, the practice of meditation was not very comprehensive, but it did exist, and the tradition of dhyana continued uninterrupted.
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