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Hindu Yogic

About Hindu Yogic Meditation

Hindu-yogic meditation begins from a claim that Buddhist practice explicitly denies: that beneath the changing content of experience there is something that does not change, and that it can be known directly. This is ātman, and the whole architecture of yogic meditation is built to uncover it. Patanjali gave the method its clearest structure — concentration (dhāraṇā) ripening into meditation (dhyāna) and settling into absorption (samādhi), the last three of the eight limbs. Around that spine the tradition developed an unusually rich toolkit: mantra repetition for minds that will not stop talking, devotional focus on a chosen form for hearts that need somewhere to pour, candle-gazing for those who need something to hold, and self-enquiry — the bare, relentless question 'who am I?' — for those who need nothing at all. This guide maps the whole territory and tells you honestly which door suits which person.

Sacred Texts

Vijnana Bhairava Tantra — 112 numbered techniques from 9th-century Kashmir — any one is enough

Vijnana Bhairava Tantra

112 numbered techniques from 9th-century Kashmir — any one is enough

Guides

Hindu Yogic Meditation — Dhyāna, mantra, and self-enquiry — the yogic path to what does not change

Hindu Yogic Meditation

Dhyāna, mantra, and self-enquiry — the yogic path to what does not change

Gurus

Ramana Maharshi — Self-enquiry in its purest form — trace the 'I' back to its source

Ramana Maharshi

Self-enquiry in its purest form — trace the 'I' back to its source