Nididhyāsana

Nididhyasana (Sanskrit: निदिध्यासन) is profound and repeated meditation. In Advaita Vedanta and Jnana Yoga, it is meditation on the mahavakyas, great Upanishadic statements such as "That art Thou", to realize the identity of Atman and Brahman. It is the fourth step in the training of a sisya (disciple), consisting of preparatory practices, listening to the teachings as contained in the sruti, reflection on the teachings, and nididhyasana.

Four stages of practice

In Advaita Vedanta, Nididhyasana is the final step in the correct understanding of the meaning of the Mahavakyas. Classical Advaita Vedanta emphasizes the path of Jnana Yoga, a progression of study and training to attain moksha. It consists of four stages:
* Samanyasa or ''Sampatti''s, the "fourfold discipline" (''sādhana-chatustaya''), cultivating the following four qualities:
** ' (नित्यानित्य वस्तु विवेकम्) — The ability (viveka) to correctly discriminate between the eternal (''nitya'') substance (''Brahman'') and the substance that is transitory existence (''anitya'').
** ' (इहाऽमुत्रार्थ फल भोगविरागम्) — The renunciation (''virāga'') of enjoyments of objects (''artha phala bhoga'') in this world (''iha'') and the other worlds (''amutra'') like heaven etc.
** ' (शमादि षट्क सम्पत्ति) — the sixfold qualities,
*** ''Śama'' (control of the Antahkarana#:~:text=Antaḥkaraṇa (Sanskrit: अन्तःकरण) is,, or, 'function'.).
*** '' Dama'' (the control of external sense organs).
*** '' Uparati'' (the cessation of these external organs so restrained, from the pursuit of objects other than that, or it may mean the abandonment of the prescribed works according to scriptural injunctions).
*** '' Titikṣa'' (the tolerating of ).
*** ''Śraddhā'' (the faith in Guru and Vedas).
***'' Samādhāna'' (the concentrating of the mind on God and Guru).
** ' (मुमुक्षुत्वम्) — The firm conviction that the nature of the world is misery and the intense longing for ''moksha'' (''release from the cycle of births and deaths'').
* Sravana, listening to the teachings of the sages on the Upanishads and Advaita Vedanta, and studying the Vedantic texts, such as the Brahma Sutras. In this stage the student learns about the reality of Brahman and the identity of atman;
* Manana (reflection), the stage of reflection on the teachings;
* Nididhyāsana, the stage of meditation on the truth "that art Thou".Oxford Index, ''nididhyāsana''
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Nididhyasana is a rational and cognitive process, which differs from dhyana (meditation). It is necessary for gaining ''Brahmajnana'':

Nididhyasana done independently of '' sravana'' does not lead to the realization of the Atman.

Explanation

Advaita Vedanta

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (II.iv.5) defines Nididhyasana as the meditation for the sake of direct vision. Yajnavalkya tells his wife –

:आत्मा वा अरे द्रष्टव्यः श्रोतव्यो मन्तव्यो निदिध्यासितव्यो मैत्रेयि,
:आत्मनो व अरे दर्शनेन श्रवणेन मत्या विज्ञानेनेदं सर्वं विदितम् , ,

:"The Self, my dear Maitreyi, should be realized – should be heard of, reflected on and meditated upon;
:by the realization of the Self, my dear, through hearing, reflection and meditation, all this is known." - (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad St.II.iv.5)

Adi Shankara took a subitist stance, stating that hearing the ''mahavakyas'' directly leads to insight, without the need for nididhyasana.

According to Suresvara, Nididhyasana is the culmination of the practice of '' sravana'' and ''manana'', which is an indirect intuition of Brahman and does not mean meditation but knowledge ( vijnana) i.e. understanding the meaning of the Sruti on the basis of ''vacya-vacaka'' relation underlying the mahavakya. Suresvara states:-

:शास्त्रचार्यानुभवनैर्हेतुभिश्च समर्थितः,
:ईदृगैकात्म्यसंबोधो निदिध्यासनमुच्यते , ,

:"Nididhyasana is so called when, instruction about the uniqueness of the Atman is justified
:by (proper) reasons viz. the Sruti, (the instructions of) teachers and (one’s own) experience (of the same)."

Nididhyasana consists in acquisition of ''vakyarthajnana'' and this verse explains the purport of ''sunisnata''.

According to Vacaspati, ''sravana'', ''manana'' and ''nidihyasana'' are a chain of causes contributory to the knowledge of the oneness of Brahman. The Vivarna school considers ''sravana'' as the principal cause but Suresvara treats ''sravana'' and ''manana'' to be co-existent, these two culminate into ''nididhyasana''.

The late mediaeval Advaita Vedanta tradition added yogic samadhi as a means to discern the true Self or Atman. The Vivekacudamani, incorrectly attributed to Shankars, states:

:श्रुतेः शतगुणं विद्यान्मननं मननादपि ,
:निदिध्यासं लक्षगुणम् अनन्तं निर्विकल्पकम् , ,

:"Reflection (manana) is hundred times superior to listening (sravana);
:meditation (nididhyasana) is hundred times superior to reflection; nirvikalpaka samadhi is infinitely superior."

Dvaita Vedanta

According to Madhva the knowledge acquired by study ('śravaṇa') and stabilized by reflection ('manana') is made the basis of steady contemplation ('nididhyasana'); these are the three stages of inquiry that take the form of ''Dhyana''. Radhakrishnan has defined Nididhyasana as "the process by which intellectual conscience is transformed into a vital one there is stillness, a calm in which the soul lays itself open to the Divine".

Neo-Vedanta

According to Michael James, who gives an Advaita Vedanta interpretation of Ramana Maharshi, Ramana's self-enquiry is the same as Nididhyasana and ''atma-vichara''.Michael James, ''Self-enquiry: the underlying philosophy can be clearly understood only by putting it into practice''
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See also

* Lectio Divina

Notes

References

Sources

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nididhyasana
Hindu philosophical concepts
Meditation
Vedanta
Sanskrit words and phrases