top of page

The River Metaphor

Pratyahara

(Withdrawal of the senses)


Dharana

(Focused attention)


Dhyana

(Meditation)


Samadhi

(Self-Realization)

​

Pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi can be compared to a boat journey on a river.

Small boat on water

PRATYAHARA

 

When you set out on a boat, you leave behind the land,
the trees, the bustle of the community.
Your senses begin to merge with the experience of the river.
This is pratyahara.

​

~

DHARANA

​

As the journey progresses,
you become more and more detached from
what you left behind. And more and more immersed in the rhythm
of the water. You are floating, melting, gurgling – you feel the river in
your veins, your flesh, in the taste on your tongue.
This is dharana – mental absorption.

​

~

DHYANA

​

A state of meditation, naturally follows.

​

~

SAMADHI

​

In this state you and the river are one. The boat disappears.
You are the river – dancing through light, over reeds, across land.
Then, when the river finally flows into the sea,
Your I-ness completely disappears.
This is samadhi.

Rocks

The dissolution of dichotomies.
The boat, your Self, the river, the sea.
All are one.

bottom of page