Traditional Medicine in Asia

Dhyana
Dhyana is the state of meditation. Note
that this is a state, not a practice. It is the
result of perfecting dharana, when there
are no breaks in concentration. One also
remains aware that one is practising
dhyana. Thus, dhyana includes two things:
one, an unbroken continuous flow of
consciousness of a single object, and two,
the awareness of dhyana; that is the
awareness that one is practising unbroken
concentration. These two kinds of
awareness go hand in hand.
Samadhi
Dhyana leads to this final stage. In
meditation there are three active
parameters: the meditator, the process of
meditation and the object being meditated
upon. In samadhi, only the object remains.
Benefits of Raja Yoga
As discussed above, the lifestyle benefits
of yamas and niyamas are many, and the
advantages of asanas and pranayamas
have been mentioned. It is the inner practices,
pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and
samadhi, that can bestow inner peace
and reverse many health problems. There
are at least four ways in which this can
happen.
Deep mental and physical relaxation
– Stress is rampant in our world, and most
of it comes from our own minds. Our
expectations, which far exceed our needs,
cause us frustration, disappointment and
anxiety. Our sympathetic nervous systems
are on full alert much of the time and our
bodies and minds get little rest, even when
we sleep. This state of arousal leads to
many illnesses such as hypertension,
asthma, headaches, heart disease, arthritis,
bowel complaints and general deterioration
of all tissues by free radical damage, etc.
Fundamentals of Yoga
The exhaustion phase that succeeds it leads
to many more, such as diabetes, and the
results of exhaustion of the immune system
such as chronic infections and cancer. It
is little wonder, then, that the inner practices
are used to prevent and treat these
conditions.
In the 1970s, Ainslie Meares, an
Australian psychiatrist, published in the
Medical Journal of Australia, excellent
results of his cancer patients using deep
meditation. They only used the meditation
practices and many cancers regressed.
Carl Simonton, a radiotherapist from Fort
Worth, Texas, used meditation practices
with visualizations, and his patients also
experienced good results.
Positive influences on the unconscious
mind – The evidence on using positive
affirmations and visualizations in the state
of pratyahara and deeper, has been wellknown
and reported in innumerable books
and articles over the years. It almost seems
that people use medications rather than
meditations for many illnesses, only
because they do not know about the latter,
or they prefer the pills because they are
easier and quicker.
Eliminating negative content in the
unconscious mind – The many yogic
internal visualizations allow the negative
impressions in the deeper layers of the mind
to come into consciousness, where they
can be dealt with. When they are still
repressed, they cause trouble on all levels
of the person, the physical, the energy, the
mental, emotional and behavioural, and
at more subtle levels. They affect the
person’s attitudes, perceptions and
expectations of themselves, others and their
world, so they are crucial in all areas of
our lives. When we eliminate the effects of
these deep mental impressions, we benefit
our lives immeasurably.
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