Advaita Vedanta Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (II.iv.5) defines Nididhyasana as the meditation for the sake of direct vision.
Yajnavalkya tells his wife – :आत्मा वा अरे द्रष्टव्यः श्रोतव्यो मन्तव्यो निदिध्यासितव्यो मैत्रेयि, :आत्मनो व अरे दर्शनेन श्रवणेन मत्या विज्ञानेनेदं सर्वं विदितम् || :"The Self, my dear
Maitreyi, should be realized – should be heard of, reflected on and meditated upon; :by the realization of the Self, my dear, through hearing, reflection and meditation, all this is known." - (
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad St. II. iv. 5)
Adi Shankara took a
subitist stance, stating that hearing the
mahavakyas directly leads to insight, without the need for nididhyasana. According to
Suresvara, Nididhyasana is the culmination of the practice of
sravana and
manana, which is an indirect intuition of
Brahman and does not mean meditation but knowledge (
vijnana) i.e. understanding the meaning of the
Sruti on the basis of
vacya-vacaka relation underlying the
mahavakya. Suresvara states:- :शास्त्रचार्यानुभवनैर्हेतुभिश्च समर्थितः| :ईदृगैकात्म्यसंबोधो निदिध्यासनमुच्यते || :"Nididhyasana is so called when, instruction about the uniqueness of the Atman is justified :by (proper) reasons viz. the Sruti, (the instructions of) teachers and (one’s own) experience (of the same)." Nididhyasana consists in acquisition of
vakyarthajnana and this verse explains the purport of
sunisnata. According to
Vacaspati,
sravana,
manana and
nidihyasana are a chain of causes contributory to the knowledge of the oneness of Brahman. The Vivarna school considers
sravana as the principal cause but Suresvara treats
sravana and
manana to be co-existent, these two culminate into
nididhyasana. The late mediaeval Advaita Vedanta tradition added yogic samadhi as a means to discern the true Self or Atman. The Vivekacudamani, incorrectly attributed to Shankars, states: :श्रुतेः शतगुणं विद्यान्मननं मननादपि | :निदिध्यासं लक्षगुणम् अनन्तं निर्विकल्पकम् || :"Reflection (manana) is hundred times superior to listening (sravana); :meditation (nididhyasana) is hundred times superior to reflection; nirvikalpaka samadhi is infinitely superior."
Dvaita Vedanta According to
Madhva the knowledge acquired by study ('śravaṇa') and stabilized by reflection ('manana') is made the basis of steady contemplation ('nididhyasana'); these are the three stages of inquiry that take the form of
Dhyana.
Radhakrishnan has defined Nididhyasana as "the process by which intellectual conscience is transformed into a vital one there is stillness, a calm in which the soul lays itself open to the Divine".
Neo-Vedanta According to Michael James, who gives an Advaita Vedanta interpretation of Ramana Maharshi, Ramana's
self-enquiry is the same as Nididhyasana and
atma-vichara. ==See also==