Editing Meditation (section)

==== Hinduism ====
{{Main|Hindu meditation}}
{{See also|Yoga}}

[[File:Patanjali Statue.jpg|thumb|A statue of [[Patanjali|Patañjali]] practicing [[Dhyana in Hinduism (Self-knowledge)|dhyana]] in the [[Padmaasana|Padma-asana]] at [[Patanjali Yogpeeth]]]]

There are many schools and styles of meditation within [[Hinduism]].<ref name="Flood" /> In pre-modern and traditional [[Hinduism]], ''Yoga'' and ''Dhyana'' are practised to recognize 'pure awareness', or 'pure consciousness', undisturbed by the workings of the mind, as one's eternal self. In [[Advaita Vedanta]] ''[[jivatman]]'', individual self, is recognized as illusory, and in Reality identical with the omnipresent and [[Nonduality (spirituality)|non-dual]] [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Ātman]]-[[Brahman]]. In the [[Yoga (philosophy)|dualistic Yoga school]] and [[Samkhya]], the Self is called [[Purusha]], a pure consciousness undisturbed by [[Prakriti]], 'nature'. Depending on the tradition, the liberative event is named [[moksha]], vimukti or [[kaivalya]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Human Development: Kaivalya |url=http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/development/12338690 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527025554/http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/development/12338690 |archive-date=27 May 2023 |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=encyclopedia.uia.org}}</ref>

One of the most influential texts of classical Hindu Yoga is [[Patañjali]]'s [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Yoga sutras]] (c. 400 CE), a text associated with Yoga and Samkhya and influenced by Buddhism,{{refn|group=note|According to {{harvnb|Larson|2008|pp=43–45}}, from Abhidharma Buddhism's idea of ''nirodhasamadhi'' the Yoga Sutras adopt the pursuit of an altered state of awareness. However, unlike Buddhism, which avoids stating whether self and soul exist, Yoga is physicalist and realist, like Samkhya, believing that each individual has a self and soul.{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=43-45}} [[Karel Werner]] writes, "Patanjali's system is unthinkable without Buddhism. As far as its terminology goes there is much in the ''Yoga Sutras'' that reminds us of Buddhist formulations from the [[Pāli Canon]] and even more so from the [[Sarvāstivāda]] [[Abhidharma]] and from [[Sautrāntika]]."<ref>[[Karel Werner]] (1994), ''The Yogi and the Mystic.'' Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-7007-0272-5}}, page 26</ref> See also D. Wujastyk (2018), ''Some Problematic Yoga Sutras and their Buddhist Background'', in: P. Maas et al., ''Yoga in Transformation. Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on a Global Phenomenon'', Vienna University Press; and Pradeep P. Gokhale (2020), ''The Yogasūtra of Patañjali: A New Introduction to the Buddhist Roots of the Yoga System'', Routledge.}} which outlines [[Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga)|eight limbs]] leading to [[kaivalya]] ("aloneness") or inner awareness. The first four, known as the "outer limbs," include ethical discipline ([[yamas]]), rules ([[niyamas]]), physical postures ([[āsanas]]), and breath control ([[prāṇāyama]]). The fifth, withdrawal from the senses ([[pratyāhāra]]), transitions into the "inner limbs" that are one-pointedness of mind ([[dhāraṇā]]), meditation ([[Dhyāna in Hinduism|dhyāna]]), and finally [[samādhi]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ram |first=Bhava |title=The 8 Limbs of Yoga: Pathway to Liberation |publisher=Deep Yoga |year=2009 |page=170 |language=English}}</ref>

Later developments in Hindu meditation include the compilation of [[Hatha Yoga]] (forceful yoga) compendiums like the [[Hatha Yoga Pradipika]], the development of [[Bhakti yoga]] as a major form of meditation, and [[Tantra]]. Another important Hindu yoga text is the [[Yoga Yajnavalkya]], which makes use of [[Hatha Yoga]] and Vedanta Philosophy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=White |first=David Gordon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ZGrAgAAQBAJ |title=The "Yoga Sutra of Patanjali": A Biography |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0691143774 |publication-date=2014 |pages=xiii–xvi, 49}}</ref>

===== Mantra Meditation =====
The [[Bhagavata Purana]] emphasizes that mantra meditation is a key practice for achieving liberation; practitioners can achieve a direct vision of the divine. The text integrates both Vedic and tantric elements, where mantras are not only seen as sacred sounds but as embodiment of the deity. This approach reflects a shift from the impersonal meditation on the sound-form of Brahman ([[Om]]) in the Upanishads to a personal, devotional focus on [[Krishna]] in the Bhagavata Purana.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holdrege |first=Barbara A. |title=Bhakti and embodiment: fashioning divine bodies and devotional bodies in Kṛṣṇa bhakti |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-67070-8 |series=Routledge Hindu studies series |location=London; New York |pages=272–273}}</ref>