Nididhyasana
Nididhyāsana (IAST)Translation: "meditation / contemplation"
A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Sanskrit: निदिध्यासन
Transliteration: Nididhyāsana
Translation: "meditation; contemplation; profound and continuous meditation"
Definition:
- According to Advaita Vedānta, it removes the contrariwise tendencies of the mind. It is one of the principle aids to liberation. (See Mukhya-Antaraṅga-Sādhana.)
- It is a continuous, unbroken stream of ideas of the same kind as those of the Absolute Brahman.
“Jīva is not at all a product or a part of the Ātma at anytime just as the pot-space is not a product or a part of the (total) space.”
~ Gauḍāpada's Kārikā, Chapter 3, Verse 7
Commentary by Swami Paramarthananda
“This is a very important verse useful for Nididhyāsanam. Consider the pot-space and the open space. What is the relationship between the enclosed space and the open space? Gauḍāpada suggests two possibilities. Can it be said that the enclosed space is the product of total space? This would mean that total space and the enclosed space would have a cause-effect relationship. If the previous possibility is not viable, can it be said that the enclosed space is a part of the total space? The first one is cause-effect relationship and the second one is part-whole relationship. If either of the above two possibilities is established, extending that to the Jīvātma and Paramātma, it can be said that Jīvātma is the product of Paramātma (Dvaitam) or Jīvātma is a part of Paramātma (Viśiṣṭādvaitam). Gauḍāpada rejects both. The enclosed space is neither a product nor a part of the total space. Pot-space is not a product because the pot-space was present even before the pot was created. The potter never creates the pot-space. There is no difference in space before and after the creation of the pot. The enclosed space is not a part of the total space because space cannot be divided or separated by any object. The wall does not separate the inner space and outer space. If it can separate, you can take the two ‘spaces’ away. The wall cannot separate because there is space wherever the wall is standing. When you cut butter with a knife, as the cut is made, there is butter on one side and on the other, but no butter where the knife is. This is separation. However, the wall has not displaced the space where it is standing and so there is no separation of space due to the wall. Therefore, the space is not inside the room, but the room is inside the space. Space is an indivisible whole.”
Reference:
- Grimes, John (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany: State University of New York Press
- Paramarthananda, Swami. Māṇḍūkyopaniṣat and Kārikā. Coimbatore: Arsha Avinash Foundation. p. 147
