“When we pray we are talking to the devine, when we maditate - we are listening to it…” (Eat, pray, love)
In Yoga, dhyana means the state of an interrupted flow of concentration on a chosen object (the drunkard focused on his bottle is not in dhyana), the practice itself, and also the reflection about an idea or a train of ideas. In Yoga sutra, dharana, dhyana, samadhi describe first states of mind. The object of concentration can be gross or subtle: a flame, a symbolic aspect of the flame, a math problem, dishes to be washed… I often read that Buddhist vipassana practice is special compared to classical yogic practices, but it is in germ in Yoga Sutra, the object being Prakriti itself, the practice is done with passive observation devoid of mentalization of the body-mind complex and the environment. Spontaneity is mentioned too.
There is no meditation vs prayer, prayer is a form of meditative practice, the object being a deity/power/special being… Like Mister Jourdain (a character in some play from Moli?re) was speaking in prose without knowing it, one can of course experience such states without even having ever heard the word of Yoga.
Philippe
[QUOTE=Philippe*;38134]
There is no meditation vs prayer, prayer is a form of meditative practice, the object being a deity/power/special being… Like Mister Jourdain (a character in some play from Moli?re) was speaking in prose without knowing it, one can of course experience such states without even having ever heard the word of Yoga.
Philippe[/QUOTE]
yes, you r right.
But from my personal observation when people pray they asking for something… and when people meditate they are quiet and some even do not have thoughts at all…
Hmm…in my experience, praying is speaking with the will of the whole, but prayer can be done via any form of language including music or painting. One has to speak with the will of whole to express gratitude or whine because things go wrong. Spontaneous praying is a form of karma yoga, because it also burns up the accumulated karma.
And yes, meditation is the state of listening the answer of the will of the whole. The deeper one is within, the stronger one becomes with that will.
[I]May the force be with you.[/I]
Wow…So TRUE!!! I <3 this
“Prayer is our way of talking to the Divine: Intuition is the Divine answering back”
Meditation is the state of stillness required in order to listen. Listening is the letting go of the desire to be heard and of the acceptance that the guidance of Grace is a sweeter song in the moment of Truth…
“Listening is not thinking what you are going to say next.”
“When we pray we are talking to the devine, when we maditate - we are listening to it…”
I love this quote!
I think most people don’t realize that there is a very significant difference between the purpose of meditation and prayer… although, depending on the person… I think prayer can be one’s own form of meditation.
I think the main difference between the two is the way in which focuses and centers their mind. During meditation, the idea is to clear your mind and pay attention to only the inner self. The idea is to focus on… well, focusing on nothing. During prayer, the idea is to focus your mind on the prayer itself, thoughts, words… however one chooses to pray.