Origins of Dhyāna and a survey of its occurrences in the Upaniṣad-s: an analysis in 2021 (Dec 12, 2021) (original) (raw)

Can it be concluded with complete certainty that ध्यान (Dhyāna) originated in the श्रमण (śramaṇa) traditions? This is the central question that animates this paper. To look for an answer to this question, if you googled using the phrase "origins of dhyana", and if Google showed you exactly what it showed me, then the first search result you would also see is the Wikipedia page, titled, interestingly, Dhyāna in Hinduism, but with the following sentence highlighted: "The various concepts of dhyana and its practice originated in the Sramanic movement of ancient India,[3][4] which started before the 6th century BCE (pre-Buddha, pre-Mahavira),[5][6] and the practice has been influential within the diverse traditions of Hinduism." As can be seen from the sentence above, there is a conclusive declaration that the various concepts of dhyāna and its practice originated in the śramaṇ-ic movement of Ancient India. In this paper, the veracity of the reasoning cited to substantiate the above claim (footnotes [3] and [4]) is analyzed alongside the attested evidence for ध्यान (Dhyāna) from the knowledge system Aṣṭādaśavidyā that contains, and begins with, the वेद (Veda). Additionally, and to facilitate future research, pointers to the string ध्यान (Dhyāna) as found in 196 उपनिषद्-s (upaniṣad-s) are foregrounded.