Dhyana Yoga

In Hinduism, dhyana is considered to be an instrument to gain self knowledge, separating maya from reality to help attain the ultimate goal of moksha.

The Bhagavad Gita, thought to have been written some time between 400 and 100 BC, talks of four branches of yoga:

• Karma yoga: The yoga of action in the world
• Jnana yoga: The yoga of Wisdom and intellectual endeavor
• Bhakti yoga: The yoga of devotion to God
• Dhyana yoga: The yoga of meditation

Dhyana in Raja Yoga is also found in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Practiced together with Dharana and Samādhi it constitutes the Samyama. Depictions of Hindu yogis performing dhyāna are found in ancient texts and in statues and frescoes of ancient India temples.

The Bhagavad Gita talks of only two main modes, Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga (not to be confused with physical exercise, or Hatha Yoga). Meditation is a subset to attaining Jnana since you realize the one Advaita principle.

Meditation

Meditation describes a state of concentrated attention on some object of thought or awareness. It usually involves turning the attention inward to a single point of reference. The benefits of the practice can engender a higher state of consciousness. Meditation is recognized as a component of eastern religions, where it has been practiced for over 5,000 years. Different meditative disciplines encompass a wide range of spiritual and/or psychophysical practices which can emphasize development of either a high degree of mental concentration, or the apparent converse, mental quiescence.

The word meditation comes from the Latin meditatio, which originally indicated every type of physical or intellectual exercise, then later evolved into the more specific meaning "contemplation."

Eastern spiritual teachings, including meditation, have been adapted and increasingly practiced in Western culture.