Preparation for Silence
The path to meditation. From body to absorption.
You don't start by meditating.
You start by preparing the ground. Body, breath, senses. Only then can the mind quiet down.
With āsana firmly established, the yogī, with self-control, eating healthy and moderate food, should practice prāṇāyāma according to the instructions of his guru.
athāsane dṛḍhe yogī vaśī hita-mitāśanaḥ | gurūpadiṣṭa-mārgena prāṇāyāmān samabhyaset
First āsana. Then diet and self-control. Then prāṇāyāma. And a teacher to guide.
The sequence isn't arbitrary. Without a stable body, breath won't regulate. Without regulated breath, senses won't withdraw.
When the breath is unstable, the mind is unstable. When the breath is stable, the mind stabilizes, and the yogī attains immobility. Therefore, he should control the breath.
cale vāte calaṃ cittaṃ niścale niścalaṃ bhavet | yogī sthāṇutvam āpnoti tato vāyuṃ nirodhayet
Agitated breath, agitated mind. Still breath, still mind.
That's why it comes before trying to meditate. Working with breath is more accessible than fighting thoughts.
The senses are the next step. Normally they point outward. That direction must be reversed.
Pratyāhāra is when the senses withdraw from their objects and adopt, as it were, the nature of the mind.
svaviṣayāsaṃprayoge cittasvarūpānukāra ivendriyāṇāṃ pratyāhāraḥ
Pratyāhāra: the senses withdraw from their objects and follow the mind inward.
Like a turtle retracting its limbs. Without this, every sound, every sensation, interrupts.
Only then begins what we call meditation. Three progressive phases.
Dhāraṇā is the binding of the mind to a single point.
deśabandhaścittasya dhāraṇā
Dhāraṇā: fixing the mind on a point. It can be external — a flame, an image. Or internal — a chakra, the space between the eyebrows.
The mind jumps. You bring it back. Again and again.
Dhyāna is the continuous flow of cognition toward that point.
tatra pratyayaikatānatā dhyānam
Dhyāna: continuous flow toward that point. No need to bring the mind back anymore. It stays on its own.
The difference is subtle but clear. In dhāraṇā there's effort. In dhyāna, flow.
When only the object shines forth and one's own form seems to vanish, that is samādhi.
tad eva artha-mātra-nirbhāsaṃ svarūpa-śūnyam iva samādhiḥ
Samādhi: only the object shines. The sense of self seems to vanish.
It's not unconsciousness. It's superconsciousness without the interference of "I."
The complete sequence:
Āsana → stable body Prāṇāyāma → regulated breath Pratyāhāra → withdrawn senses Dhāraṇā → fixed mind Dhyāna → continuous flow Samādhi → absorption
Each step prepares the next. Skipping any doesn't work.