The River Metaphor
Pratyahara
(Withdrawal of the senses)
Dharana
(Focused attention)
Dhyana
(Meditation)
Samadhi
(Self-Realization)
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Pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi can be compared to a boat journey on a river.

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.
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DHARANA
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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.
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~
DHYANA
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A state of meditation, naturally follows.
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SAMADHI
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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.

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