Vedantic Meditation (Part 1): The Contemplation of the Absolute

'Nididhyāsana' is a central concept in Vedantic meditation. It is about contemplating our True Nature - the Self or Brahman - and making this contemplation uninterrupted. The object of meditation is the Infinite. But how can the Infinite be an object? For this, we use a concept - a thought or 'vritti' - of a form of Brahman. It is only a technique. This 'vritti' has to be contemplated to the exclusion of all other thoughts. By uninterrupted practice, you create a new vāsanā so to speak, the vāsanā of Brahman. It removes your sense of being an “individual being” and enables you to go beyond the thought process. It brings you to the threshold of direct Knowledge, of Awakening. And when Awakening occurs, this vritti also dissolves. In this process, you literally disappear. You go into infinity. It is not that you “become” free. You actually realize your eternal Freedom, the total absence of bondage.
Swami Atmananda Udasin is a teacher of Advaita (Non-duality) and the Spiritual Head of Ajatananda Ashram, Rishikesh, India. This video is an extract from a retreat given at the ashram on November 14, 2022.
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