Devotional Meditation (Upāsanā)
To 'sit beside' the divine in steady loving contemplation until it fills the mind.
Upāsanā means 'drawing near' or 'sitting beside' — a sustained, worshipful meditation in which the seeker dwells repeatedly on a chosen form, symbol, or quality of the divine until it fills the mind. The Upaniṣads are full of such prescribed meditations on Brahman under one aspect or another. In the theistic Vedānta it becomes the loving, continuous meditation on the personal Lord that matures into devotion; the term thus bridges meditation and worship.
How it traveled
- Bhagavad-gītāKuru-Pañcāla region · -150applies
Key passages(20)
The Blessed Lord said: Those who, fixing their mind on Me, worship Me, ever-steadfast, and endowed with supreme Shraddhâ, they in My opinion are the best versed in Yoga.
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Yagnavalkya said: 'Let us hear what anybody may have told you.' Ganaka Vaideha replied: 'Udanka Saulbayana told me that life (prana) is Brahman.' Yagnavalkya said: 'As one who had (the benefit of a g
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That god, the maker of all things, the great Self , always dwelling in the heart of man, is perceived by the heart, the soul, the mind ;--they who know it become immortal.
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Let a man meditate on mind as Brahman (n.), this is said with reference to the body. Let a man meditate on the ether as Brahman (n.), this is said with reference to the Devas. Thus both the meditation
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Occupy thy mind with Me, be devoted to Me, sacrifice to Me, bow down to Me. Thou shalt reach Myself; truly do I promise unto thee, (for) thou art dear to Me.
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Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)
The adoration of that (Gayatri): 'O Gayatri, thou hast one foot, two feet, three feet, four feet . Thou art footless, for thou art not known. Worship to thy fourth bright foot above the skies.' If o
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Vivekacūḍāmaṇi · Śaṅkara (traditionally ascribed; authorship doubted)
The wise who, by means of meditation on his Self, recognises the Ancient, who is difficult to be seen, who has entered into the dark, who is hidden in the cave, who dwells in the abyss, as God, he ind
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