Dhyāna.
A word with many lives.

Early and middle Upaniṣads explore inward knowledge, the self, breath, sacred sound and ultimate reality, though they do not present one uniform meditation system. The Bhagavad Gītā’s sixth chapter describes disciplined meditation while placing it inside a wider teaching on action, knowledge and devotion.

Later Purāṇic, Āgamic, Tantric, Vedāntic and haṭha-yogic sources develop different contemplative forms. A date or definition from one source should not be silently transferred to every other.

• Name the specific text rather than saying ‘ancient Hindu meditation’.
• Distinguish contemplation, concentration, visualisation, recitation and absorption.
• Remember that oral teaching and ritual setting may be as important as written instruction.

Many yogic sources prepare meditation through ethical discipline, a sustainable seat, regulation of breath, sensory withdrawal and concentration. These elements do not always occur in the same order, and breath control can range from gentle awareness to advanced retention requiring competent guidance.

• The posture serves practice; discomfort is not proof of spiritual progress.
• Natural breathing is the safest beginning.
• Pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi have distinct meanings in Pātañjala Yoga.

Meditation in Hindu traditions may be relational rather than impersonal: remembering a divine name, contemplating a form, visualising a sacred presence or offering attention as devotion. Other settings ask the practitioner to enquire into self and reality. These are not automatically stages of one universal ladder.

• Bhakti may be the path itself, not preparation for something ‘higher’.
• Non-dual contemplation belongs to particular philosophical arguments and lineages.
• A personally cherished deity is called an iṣṭa-devatā in many contexts.