Hello! Welcome back to our module, "Preksha Dhyaan: The Path of Perception."
In our last lesson, we explored the foundational principles of Preksha Dhyaan. We learned that it is a meditation of profound perception, centered on the aphorism "See you thyself." We distinguished its focus on present-moment perception from conceptual thought, highlighted the critical role of equanimity (impartial witnessing), and saw how Acharya Mahapragya designed it to be a synthesis of ancient wisdom and modern science.
Today, we move from the principles to the purpose. Having understood the 'what' and 'how' of the practice, we will now explore the 'why'. This lesson addresses the learning outcome: Explain the objectives of Preksha Dhyaan for spiritual development. We will investigate what this practice aims to achieve for a practitioner, from initial psychological shifts to the ultimate spiritual goal. Understanding these objectives is the key to appreciating how Preksha Dhyaan can become a powerful tool for purifying consciousness and, as per your goal, facilitating the process of nirjara (shedding of karma).
1. The Ultimate Aim: Purification of Consciousness
While many meditation practices are promoted for their benefits like stress reduction and improved focus, in Preksha Dhyaan these are considered positive side effects, not the primary goal. The ultimate objective is far more profound.
The main purpose of Preksha Dhyaan is the purification of consciousness (chitta shuddhi).
According to Jain philosophy, our consciousness is constantly disturbed by contaminating urges, emotions, and passions (kashāyas). These passions—anger, ego, deceit, and greed—act like stains, obscuring the soul's innate qualities of pure knowledge and perception. The practice of Preksha Dhyaan is a systematic method for cleansing these deep-seated impurities.
To understand this core objective, please read the following brief section from Acharya Mahaprajna's text.
This excerpt from the 'Preksha Dhyana' PDF clearly distinguishes the ultimate aim from the secondary benefits.
Please read the section titled 'Aim of Preksha Dhyana'. Pay close attention to the statement that the ultimate aim is 'purity and equanimity—freedom from contamination of passions', and that states of well-being and peacefulness are secondary benefits that ensue from this purity.
As the text highlights, when the mind is cleansed, peace and well-being naturally arise. However, the true spiritual practitioner (sādhaka) aims higher. The goal is to transcend even the pleasant feeling of peace to reach a state of total purity and equanimity, where the consciousness is no longer swayed by the pull of likes and dislikes. This state is the very foundation for stopping the influx of new karma (samvara) and enabling the shedding of old karma (nirjara).
2. The Path to Purification: Transforming Dispositions
How does Preksha Dhyaan achieve this ambitious goal of purification? The mechanism lies in the transformation of our deepest mental dispositions, a concept you're familiar with: adhyavasāya.
As we discussed in a previous module, adhyavasāya are the primal psychic expressions or dispositions of the soul, which are colored by leshyas. Preksha Dhyaan is designed to directly engage with and transform these dispositions. It is a practical method for transmuting the malevolent leshyas (black, blue, grey) into benevolent ones (red, yellow, white).
This transformation is not merely a change in thinking; it's described as a profound internal shift that can even be understood in psycho-physiological terms. Acharya Mahapragya connected this process to the neuro-endocrine system, suggesting that the practice of perceiving psychic colors (leshyā-dhyāna) can change our very body chemistry, thereby decontaminating our adhyavasāya at the root.
The following reading explains this process of transformation in detail.
Preksha Dhyana Perception of Psychic Colours
This passage from 'Preksha Dhyana Perception of Psychic Colours' explains how meditation acts as the most powerful tool for internal transmutation, directly linking the practice to the purification of adhyavasāya.
Please read the part of the text under the heading 'Transformation and Transmutation'. Focus on the subsection 'Transmutation of lesya', which begins, 'Practice of meditation, however, is the most powerful...'. Note how it explains that perceiving psychic colours 'decontaminates adhyavasaya'.
This is a key insight: the objective is to change our fundamental nature, our deep-seated dispositions. By doing so, we change the karmic trajectory of the soul. The practice aims to achieve what is often thought impossible: a genuine change in one's core nature and habits.
3. A Cascade of Spiritual Attainments
The journey of purification through Preksha Dhyaan unfolds through a series of interconnected objectives, moving from the psychological to the deeply spiritual.
Objective 1: Attitudinal Change and Integrated Personality
The first and most tangible objective is a holistic transformation of the self. This includes:
- Attitudinal Change: Uprooting negative patterns of thinking and reacting.
- Behavioural Modification: Replacing harmful habits with beneficial ones.
- Integrated Personality Development: Creating harmony between our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects.
The practice aims to make you the master of your reactions, rather than a slave to them. By impartially observing your inner world, you create a space between stimulus and response, allowing for conscious choice instead of automatic reaction.
Objective 2: Emotional Purity and Equanimity
As your attitudes and behaviors begin to change, the next objective comes into focus: achieving emotional balance.
- Emotional Purity: This means freeing the emotions from the distortions of the kashāyas. Anger, fear, and hatred are gradually replaced by compassion, fearlessness, and amity.
- Equanimity (Samatā): This is the state of unshakable balance, where you can perceive pleasant and unpleasant sensations, thoughts, and life events without being thrown off balance by attachment (rāga) or aversion (dveṣa). You become a stable, impartial spectator (sākṣī).
This state of equanimity is the essence of spiritual freedom in daily life.
Test your understanding!
A friend criticizes your work unfairly. Before practicing Preksha Dhyaan, your automatic reaction might have been to feel hurt and angry, leading you to lash out or withdraw.
How might achieving the objectives of "attitudinal change" and "equanimity" alter your response in this situation?
Show answer
With a transformed attitude, your first impulse might shift from defensiveness to curiosity. Instead of being immediately consumed by the "hurt" and "anger" story, you would be able to perceive the raw sensations internally: a tightening in your chest, a flush of heat.
By maintaining equanimity, you could observe these feelings as transient events without identifying with them. This creates a space to respond consciously. You might calmly ask for clarification or simply acknowledge their perspective without accepting the criticism as a personal attack. The event no longer controls your inner state.
Objective 3: Self-Realization and Absolute Tranquility
This is the pinnacle of the spiritual journey with Preksha Dhyaan. Once the benevolent leshyas are cultivated, particularly the pure white Shukla Leshya, the practitioner moves towards the ultimate goals:
- Self-Realization: Directly experiencing the true nature of the self (soul) as distinct from the body, mind, and karmic layers. This is not an intellectual understanding but a direct, lived reality.
- Freedom from Anguish: Attaining a state where, even while aware of the world's adversities, one remains unperturbed and calm.
- Attainment of Wisdom (Viveka): Developing the clear-sighted ability to discern the real from the unreal, the eternal from the transient.
- Absolute Tranquility: Reaching a state beyond even good thoughts, where all mental agitations cease and the consciousness rests in its pure, tranquil nature.
This final stage represents the fulfillment of the spiritual path. To explore these ultimate objectives, please read the final selection for this lesson.
Preksha Dhyana Perception of Psychic Colours
This reading details the benefits associated with the highest stage of purification, represented by Sukla Lesya.
Please read the section titled '(Meditation of) Sukla Lesya : Benifits'. Focus on the four key outcomes described: Self-realisation, Freedom from Anguish, Attainment of Wisdom, and Ability to Abandon.
Conclusion
Today we have explored the profound 'why' behind the practice of Preksha Dhyaan. It is not merely a wellness technique but a comprehensive system for spiritual transformation, designed to guide the practitioner from modifying everyday attitudes to realizing the ultimate nature of the self.
Key Takeaways:
- Primary Objective: The ultimate aim of Preksha Dhyaan is the purification of consciousness from the contamination of passions (kashāyas).
- Mechanism of Change: This purification is achieved by transforming our fundamental dispositions (adhyavasāya) through the transmutation of leshyas.
- A Progressive Path: The objectives unfold in stages: beginning with attitudinal and behavioral change, leading to emotional purity and equanimity, and culminating in self-realization and absolute tranquility.
- Relevance to Nirjara: Each step on this path weakens the grip of karma, stops the influx of new karma, and creates the internal conditions necessary for the shedding (nirjara) of accumulated karmas.
Preview of the Next Lesson:
Having established the principles and objectives of Preksha Dhyaan, we are now ready to begin learning the practice itself. In our next lesson, we will take our first practical step by exploring Kayotsarga (relaxation with self-awareness). This foundational technique is the gateway to the deeper states of perception we have discussed today.