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advaita vedanta · Chinmaya Mission / Sandeepany Vedanta Course, verses by Swami Tejomayananda

Dhyana Swaroopam

"The Nature of Meditation" — a short text that defines meditation by what it is not (an action, a form of worship, a repeated chant), arguing instead that true meditation is effortless awareness of one's own true nature.

The theory, briefly

The text's opening verse gives its central definition: 'Dhyanam naama swaroopasya, sahajam bhaanam uchyate' — meditation, by definition, is the effortless awareness of one's true nature. It immediately rules out three common substitutes: meditation is not a particular action or Karma (verse 2), not devotional worship of a form or attributes, Upasana (verse 3), and not repetition of a name or mantra, Japa (verse 4) — though all three can serve as preliminary practices leading toward it.

The text illustrates the relationship between preparation and the act itself with a target-shooting metaphor: before a shot is taken, the gun must be cleaned and tested, and the shooter must take a steady stance and focus — this is external and internal preparation (Bahir-Anga and Antar-Anga Sadhana). But the moment the trigger is pulled, nothing more is done — this direct, actionless culmination is Sakshaat Sadhana, the real meditation. Everything before it is only preliminary, however necessary.

A further point is that meditation appears to be an activity (sitting, closing the eyes, holding a posture) but is not, in its essence, an action at all — action belongs to the preparatory stages, while meditation itself is the ceasing of activity into effortless self-awareness, the fruit of which is described as its own reward rather than a produced result.

The practice

The Target-Shooting Sequence: From Preparation to Effortless Awareness

15–25 minutes · Seated wherever you already are, still and steady, before the internal practice begins — no particular place or equipment needed.

  1. 1Before beginning, release the idea that meditation is a particular action to perform, something you do the way you do any other task.
  2. 2Release, too, the idea that meditation is worship of a form or its attributes — even the most devoted worship of an image or quality of the divine is valuable preparation, but it is not meditation itself, since meditation is knowledge of your own true nature, not the contemplation of something else.
  3. 3Release the idea that meditation is repetition — even repeating a name or a mantra, or resting in the silence between repetitions, is a genuinely useful stilling practice, but it is still not meditation itself. Meditation cannot be repeated; it either is happening, or it isn't.
  4. 4Prepare internally: settle the mind so it is ready for the practice, the way a shooter cleans and checks a gun before use.
  5. 5Take a steady seat and hold a still position without moving — this external preparation is Bahir-Anga Sadhana.
  6. 6Turn attention inward and focus — this inner practice is Antar-Anga Sadhana.
  7. 7Let go of all further doing: the direct, actionless resting in effortless awareness of your own nature is the meditation itself, not one more thing to perform.
  8. 8Do not meditate seeking a pleasurable feeling or a dramatic experience; be content with slow, often unnoticed progress through sincere, regular practice.

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