How can Yoga and Meditation help in Self Realization ?

1. Once you decide on the dheya (goal); dhyan (focused awareness or meditation) is the result of that. 
2. These karmic accounts are due to the four different types of dhyan: artadhyan (mournful contemplation that hurts one's own self) , raudradhyan (wrathful contemplation that hurts the self and others), dharmadhyan (auspicious contemplation, to not hurt anyone, to give happiness to others) and shukladhyan (awareness and contemplation as the Self, Pure Soul). Whatever the prevailing dhyan, so are the consequences.
3. The lesser the artadhyan (mournful contemplation hurting the self) and raudradhyan (wrathful contemplation hurting the self and others); lesser are the worldly difficulties.
4. Human birth is priceless provided one attains full enlightenment. Enlightenment occurs when the diseases of the mind go away. People cannot understand the diseases of their mind. They do not have an understanding of which part of their mind is diseased and which part is healthy. When the mind becomes healthy, the speech becomes healthy and the body becomes healthy too.
5. Attaining the Soul is atmadhyan i.e. meditation as the Self. And in worldly meditation you are to meditate on the work at hand.
6. Then why trouble the poor mind unnecessarily? There is nothing wrong with concentrating the mind, but there is no need to trouble the mind if you want realization (darshan) of the Supreme Self.
7. Mantras are not eternal. Nothing in this world is eternal except the Self (the Atma). Everything else is a temporary adjustment. All these relatives are temporary adjustments! Only the Self is permanent. Once the chit settles in the eternal, it will not wander and that is when it becomes free.
8. Main production means to attain moksha  from a Gnani Purush, and then the byproducts of worldly comforts will come as a bonus. Countless lives have been wasted through wrongful meditation (dhyan) for acquiring the byproducts. For once, attain moksha and all your problems will be solved.
9. Meditating as the Self is the true meditation.
10. There are two types of yogas (yoga means to join or union). One is Gnan yoga, that is the yoga of the Self and the other is agnan(ignorance) yoga and that is the yoga of the nonself. Non-self yoga includes yoga of the mind, body and speech. What does one unite with? Is it that which one has knowledge of, or that which one is ignorant about? Until the Self is known, how can the yoga of the Self be possible? That yoga can only be called yoga of the body because only the body is known.
11. And with body yoga, one can never attain bliss of nirvikalp samadhii. i.e. the bliss of the absolute unaffected state; the bliss of the Self. Those with vikalpi i. e. the belief of 'I am Chandulal' can never attain the state of nirvikalp. Only the Omniscient One (sarvagnya) who has the experience of the Soul can help others attain the state of the Self! Only a lit lamp can light all other lamps.
12. Here in Akram Vignan, we have passed through all the stages of dhyans, dhyata (relative meditator) and dhyeya (worldly goals), have passed the eight stages of yoga and attained awareness of, 'I am the Soul.' Here, one remains as the knower-seer (gnata-drashta) and in eternal bliss (parmanand) in every situation.

*Chandulal - Whenever Dadashri uses the name 'Chandulal' or the name of the person Dadashri is addressing, the reader should insert his or her name for exact understanding.

1) Dadashri: People try to meditate (dhyan) upon so many things. Allya! Just decided upon the dheya (the goal), then the meditation (dhyan) will automatically focus on that.   If you decide that you want to to go Borivali, then what will your mind bear?

Questioner: Borivali of course.

Dadashri: If you decide upon a goal (dheya) then your mind will meditate (dhyan) on that. But if you try to do the meditation, it will not occur; meditation never occurs when the ego is behind it. Meditation is a result (effect).

2) What is true dharma dhyan (righteous or true meditation)?

Is it doing worship, prayer, penance, samayik (introspection), repentance and listening to religious talks? No. All those are overt and tangible acts of rituals; they are material practices. However, what is of importance and becomes recorded as one's karma is where one's dhyan i.e. one's attention or inner intent lies while one is conducting such rituals. While worshipping God, if one pictures God in his mind along with the picture of his shop or his business or the shoes he left outside the temple, how can that be called true meditation.

The Lord does not take into consideration your external actions but rather your inner attentive intent during all your activities (kriya). The actions being carried out at present are the result of the meditation (dhyan) done in your past life. These actions are indicative of your independent efforts (purusharth) in your previous life, whereas the present day meditation (inner dhyan) is the independent effort for the next life, in other words it is the 'design' for your next life!

1) To improve meditation - Read and Recite The Trimantra

How is the mantra to be recited? For example, when you say 'Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya', as you recite these words, you should be able to visualize Lord Krishna. Regardless of the image you have of Lord Krishna, the moment you recite these words the image of Lord Krishna should come to you. What is the use if you recite this mantra but do not see the image of the one you are paying obeisance to?

If you just say the name alone, then the benefits you get will be limited, but along with the name, if you see their image, your benefits will be greater. 

Questioner: How should we meditate when we say 'Namo Arihantanam'? Do we have to see a specific color?

Dadashri: 'Namo Arihantanam….', there is no need to be meditating on a color while saying 'Namo Arihantanam', but if you want to, then close your eyes and you should be able to see the letters 'N-A-M-O A-R-I-H-A-N-T-A-N-A-M…You get tremendous benefits from this. Can you not read these letters as you say 'Namo Arihantanam'? Try practicing this; you will be able to read the letters. Then 'Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya', even when you say this, you should be able to visualize each letter. You will be able to recite with each letter. If you practice this for two days then by the third day you will be able to see the letters very clearly. 

Mantras seen and read (chintan) in this manner is meditation. It is called dhyana. If you read and recite the Trimantra in this manner, then your meditation will improve a lot.

The state of nirvikalp is an exalted state. One becomes nirvikalp when his belief, 'I am the doer' (the kartapad), breaks. When one's awareness and belief of, 'I am the body' (the dehadhyas), goes away, one arrives at the state of nirvikalp.

Questioner: Please say something about the samadhi state and the sushupta state.

Dadashri: Today in our country, what people believe the state of samadhi to be is really the state of sushupta. In this, they are able to go deep in the layers of the mind, some go deep in the layers of the intellect. At that time they forget the external world. That is called the 'worldly Samadhi; sushupta state'.

What is true samadhi? A true samadhi is one where uninterrupted awareness of the Self is. The true samadhi is when there is the awareness of even a tiny dust particle on your body, whereas the samadhi that people work towards is a 'cultured' artificial state. That is not true samadhi; it is called 'cultured' samadhi. I constantly experience real Samadhi.

True samadhi is one where despite circumstances of mental suffering (aadhi), physical suffering (vyadhi), and suffering caused by external circumstances (upadhi), there is no effect, no vibration. My Samadhi will not leave even if someone were to come here and take me to jail. The same state of samadhi will prevail whether I am free or in jail.

Questioner: During meditation I see a light (prakash); is this experience the experience of the mind or is it a true experience?

Dadashri: It is not light (prakash) at all. It is just the imagination. People have believed all such imaginations to be the truth (satya).

When I was 17-18 years old I had conducted a little experiment by pressing one of my eyes. I saw a flash of light and saw light within. I wondered what it was that came and left. Later I realized that it was the light that had left the eye. Anything that is worldly (the non-Self) is never going to become the Self and the Self is never going to become the non- Self. Both are distinct and different things.