Milind Dhond M.D., who has been caring for Plumas County residents for nearly twenty years as a cardiologist, has recently expanded his care from the body to the spirit by publishing a book on meditation called “Journey to Zero”.
The book, which Dhond states has no basis in the dogma of religion, but simply truth is designed for those that have no prior experience with mediation. “Whether you are one type of religion or another, at the end of it all there is just one truth,“ says Dhond. “This book is coming from a scientific standpoint. If you follow each step of a technique then you will experience the benefit stated.”
Dhond had been meditating for years, but he said he had never really achieved a state of deep meditation. He found that the books he would read gave things in very abstract terms. “I have a scientific mind and the concepts in books I read were very abstract; “be one with the universe” and I thought what? How is that possible,” said Dhond.
That is until 2003 when he met Swami Radhikananda Saraswati of the Siddha Yoga School in Pune, India who began to share with him over several visits simple, direct techniques adapted from an ancient Sanskrit yoga text entitled Vijnana Bhairava, or divine consciousness. The original transcript, that Dhond helped decipher in 2012, contains 112 techniques for attaining a “state of the divine”. Dr. Dhond’s book, Journey to Zero, published as a result of those experiences, represents what he refers to as a “distillation of the sessions” and his “subsequent experiences and practice of the techniques”.
All of the examples in the book, shared Dhond in an interview, are ancient theories that have been experienced time and time again by those that have used them. “The techniques are clear and easy to use as it is presented in a form of pure crystallized knowledge,” said Dhond in observation of the outcomes of meditation sessions he leads on a regular basis in the Davis, Ca. area where he lives with his family.
Dhond gave an example of a group of nurses in the Bay Area that asked him to teach them about mediation. He used one of the techniques from the book and without any prior knowledge of what to expect, in discussion following the session, the sensation felt by the participants were the same. “Everyone was different yet the experiences they had with these techniques was the same,” said Dhond .
That path of meditation techniques, designed by these yogis for reaching a state of enlightenment according to Dhond, involves stages of progression from initially improving and focusing ones mind and increasing ones ability to concentrate for long periods. It has benefits for the yogi (a person proficient in yoga) in that his/her mind has less negative fluctuations- such as anger, jealousy etc. “ For me personally this has alleviated stress that I would feel on very busy days at work and allowed for a calmer demeanor,” said Dhond of one of the benefits he has experienced as a result of the practice.
Dhond continued that the yogis mind becomes more still with continued practice and effort and then one spends more time in the “silence” of the meditation. He stated that this state is a state of connectivity with the world around you and as one goes deeper into the silence, one is merged with the underlying foundational consciousness at the core of each individual that connects everything. Once to that deepest state one is filled with a deep intense bliss and acquires a deeper understanding of truth. “This bliss is your true nature,” said Dhond. “Journey to Zero”, available at local retailers in Plumas County and on Amazon, features illustrations and art by longtime Graeagle friend Michael Clawson and edited by Portola High School Graduate, Kira Bohm.
Dhond will offer a meditation session and book signing at the Mohawk Community Resource Center on Friday, Apr. 22 from 6 p.m to 8 p.m. This session will be an opportunity to meet and learn directly from Dhond how to perform the techniques in his book.
Dr. Dhond continues to make his monthly clinics at both the Eastern Plumas Health Care Clinic and Plumas District Hospital to care for patients as he has since 2000. “Dr. Dhond is a top notch cardiologist,” said Eastern Plumas Health Care CEO, Tom Hayes. “He has provided excellent service to EPHC’s patients for many years, and he also has a very caring manner. I think it’s great that he is sharing his knowledge of meditation techniques with us through his new book.”
For more information on the book and Dr. Dhond’s journey visit the website at www.journeytozerobook.com
Article courtesy of Feather Publishing
Susan Jacobson, Staff Writer
sjacobson@plumasnews.com