Answer (Sanskrit, trance, absorption; Pāli, jhāna). A state of deep meditative absorption characterized by lucid awareness and achieved by focusing the mind on a single object (see http://www.answers.com/topic/citta-ek-grat). A prerequisite for its attainment is the elimination of the five hindrances (http://www.answers.com/topic/n-vara-a). A scheme of eight stages of dhyāna was gradually evolved, with four lower assigned to the http://www.answers.com/topic/r-pa-dh-tu and four higher ones assigned to the http://www.answers.com/topic/r-pya-dh-tu. In dhyāna all sense-activity is suspended, and as the meditator passes from the lower to the higher levels, mental activity becomes progressively more attenuated. Thus, in the first dhyāna, conceptualization (http://www.answers.com/topic/vitarka) and reflection (http://www.answers.com/topic/vicara) occur, but in the second they do not. In the fifth dhyāna various supernormal powers can be attained (see http://www.answers.com/topic/ddhi). The names of the http://www.answers.com/topic/ch-an and http://www.answers.com/topic/zen schools are both derived from the word dhyāna.

Randhir Khare is an Indian poet, writer, artist, and professor known for works that explore themes of culture, mythology, and spirituality. Some of his notable works include "Ballad of Bapu," "The Poet of Many Worlds," and "The Eternal Food: Gastronomic Ideas and Experiences of Hindus and Buddhists."