Q: I read your article on dhyaan where you have said that no support or chanting mantras is required. When I sit for manas puja, I practice to see my deity Lord Duttatreya in me and I stand before him doing his paad puja. Where do I stand and how do I progress from here?

A: Anand, what you are doing is not meditation. It can be called Dharana, that is mental visualization, and that can be whatever you choose. In your case, it is Lord Duttareya and you are visualizing yourself and you also do manas puja to Lord Duttatreya. It is fine but it is not meditation; this is called Dharana.

When Dharana is complete, it may lead to meditation. I am saying ‘it may’ because there is a chance that you may get stuck with this. You may get stuck with this visualization because this Lord Duttatreya which you are seeing is not the true Duttatreya, it is your projection, it is your own mind which is projecting this image in front of you. And there are chances that you may get stuck in that. It is so enjoyable, so joyous that you just wish to continue it and you never move on to the next stage of meditation, dhyaana. For now, that is fine but you really have to understand more about this and that cannot be done on the internet. You have to be here with me.