Meditation from a Meta Perspective

Many modern people read yogic and meditational texts, and they make of it what they want. In turn, meditation becomes something aligned with the modern wellness industry. But this is not the traditional way.

In order to truly integrate yogic worldviews and wisdom, you have to engage it with curiosity, adventure, freedom, and open-mindedness. Meditation is an important set of practices that allows you to break the cycle of "passive learning" and engage traditions in a deep, transformative, first-personal way.

Learn about the Indian classical perspectives on meditation, including karma yoga, in contrast to modern mindfulness.
Delve into the metaphysical aspects of meditation, uncovering the nature of the self, reality, and divine connections.
Differentiate between visual and mental objects, internal and external objects of meditation, and objectless meditation.
Gain a deeper understanding of detachment in yoga, focusing on recognizing one's innate wholeness and happiness that doesn't depend on external objects.
Explore the definition of yoga as an exploration of "Who am I?" and "What is the ground of my being?" to gain insights into the self.
Discuss the concept of the authentic self, the role of suffering, ignorance, and the embodiment of knowledge in certain traditions.
Gain insights into posture, obstacles, objects, and antidotes in meditation.
Learn techniques to focus, redirect attention, enhance clarity, and develop stronger concentration.

The difference between visual and mental objects, between internal and external objects of meditation, and how these relate to "objectless" meditation. Discussing the anatomy of meditation is not to intellectual, but to empower meditation. Understanding the basic anatomy will help us understand where we're struggling in our meditation and how to address it. "It's too hard. "I can't concentrate." "I don't feel at ease." "I've hit a plateau." "I'm having negative experiences." The more we understand, the more we know how to cope with these challenges and how to address them.

Detachment is a deeply misunderstood concept in the yoga tradition. The ultimate detachment is the recognition that I am whole -- that my ultimate happiness and wholeness doesn't depend on any external object. Practice is not simply meditation, but is the entire world of yoga -- including worldviews, values, and attitudes that permeate the rest of embodied life. On one level, yoga can't be defined, as it is variably defined across traditions. But in this lesson, you will explore the definition of yoga as answering the question, "Who am I?" and "What is the ground of my being?"

In the Upanishadic/Vedantic Worldview, there are layers of mind and different functions of mind. Discover these layers, the different types of cognitive function, and the interconnectedness of thought and world. Meditating with deities is not necessarily a religious practice (in the traditional sense), but rather a way of divinizing and making sacred our reality and embodied experience. These meditation practices of working with our identification with deities is a powerful practice and is explored in this lesson.

Anything that is not within causation is consciousness, because consciousness is not an object, nor is it within time and space. Meditation is a tool to realize our identification with that, and thus any time we posit a thing AS the ultimate, we have in some sense missed the point. Consciousness is inherently self-establishing and self-verifying. It is therefore only through meditation and practice that you verify the nature of consciousness and your very Self. In this final lesson, Neil answers some of the deepest questions about consciousness itself.

Much of yoga involves learning to let go. In yoga practice, the “corpse” pose, often the very last position and its corollary, yoga nidra (yogic sleep), require a profound letting go. This process involves not only physical relaxation but psychic relinquishing. We learn this by letting go in gravity and by allowing gravity to be our friend. Tias explores the art of “dropping in” and allowing the emotional and psychic layers of the body to dissolve. Learn how savasana is a gateway to meditation and a useful symbol for egoic dissolution.

Neil Dalal is the Director of Religious Studies at the University of Alberta, where he teaches in both the Philosophy Department and Religious Studies Program. He received his PhD in Asian Cultures and Languages from the University of Texas at Austin where he specialized in Sanskrit and Indian philosophy, and an MA in East-West Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Dalal's interests explore philosophy of mind, contemplative psychologies, and meditation practices found in classical South Asian Yoga systems. He grounds this research in classical Sanskrit texts and commentaries as well as their living traditions. Dalal's current research focuses on the intersections of contemplative practices, textual study, and embodiment in Advaita Vedanta. He is the co-director of Gurukulam (The Orchard/Sony Pictures), a sensory-ethnographic study of a contemporary Advaita Vedanta community, co-editor of Asian Perspectives on Animal Ethics (Routledge Press), and has published articles in venues such as the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Journal of Indian Philosophy, and Journal of Hindu Studies. Dalal is also a teacher within the traditional lineage of Śaṅkarācārya Advaita Vedānta. He spent several years living a monastic lifestyle in India while studying under the direct guidance of the renowned Advaita Vedantin, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, who gave him permission to teach in 2002.