ध्यानं वाव चित्तात् भूयः ध्यायति इव पृथिवी ध्यायति इव अन्तरिक्षम् ध्यायति इव द्यौः ध्यायन्ति इव आपः ध्यायन्ति इव पर्वताः ध्यायन्ति इव देवमनुष्याः तस्मात् ये इह मनुष्याणाम् महत्ताम् प्राप्नुवन्ति ध्यानापादांशाः इव एव ते भवन्ति अथ ये अल्पाः कलहिनः पिशुनाः उपवादिनः ते अथ ये प्रभवः ध्यानापादांशाः इव एव ते भवन्ति ध्यानम् उपास्स्व इति
dhyānaṃ vāva cittāt bhūyaḥ dhyāyati iva pṛthivī dhyāyati iva antarikṣam dhyāyati iva dyauḥ dhyāyanti iva āpaḥ dhyāyanti iva parvatāḥ dhyāyanti iva devamanuṣyāḥ tasmāt ye iha manuṣyāṇām mahattām prāpnuvanti dhyānāpādāṃśāḥ iva eva te bhavanti atha ye alpāḥ kalahinaḥ piśunāḥ upavādinaḥ te atha ye prabhavaḥ dhyānāpādāṃśāḥ iva eva te bhavanti dhyānam upāssva iti
"Contemplation is greater than thought. The earth as it were contemplates; space as it were contemplates; heaven as it were contemplates; the waters as it were contemplate; the mountains as it were contemplate; gods and men as it were contemplate. Therefore those among men who attain greatness seem, as it were, to have a share in contemplation. The small are quarrelsome, slanderous, fault-finding; but the great seem, as it were, to have a share in contemplation. Venerate contemplation."
db60fdb1fab0 · published Jul 26, 2026, 11:44:07 PM UTC
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The sixth rung: dhyāna, contemplation — thought become a steady current toward one thing. And the argument chosen is astonishing: the stillness of the great. Earth, sky, mountains "as it were contemplate" (dhyāyatīva) — their majestic immobility resembles deep concentration; and men of greatness bear the same seal: the silence of gathered strength. Pettiness betrays itself by noise: "quarrelsome, slanderous, fault-finding" — distraction is a scold.
The diagnosis is unerring to this day: depth is silent, emptiness is talkative. If you would know a man's measure, look not at his words but at the quality of his silence. And to grow in greatness is to learn from the mountains: to hold one thought long, as they hold the sky. Dhyāna is not one exercise among others but the very posture of greatness; the Gītā will call steady contemplation the mark of the wisdom that "stands" (sthita-prajñā, BG 2.55–58).