The Sanskrit word dhyana comes from the verbal root dhyai, which means “to contemplate, meditate, think.” It’s the most common name for both the meditative state of consciousness and the yogic techniques that make it happen.
Meditation is an important part of many Vedic traditions, such as the Yoga tradition. The term dhyana is used a lot to describe the contemplative process that leads to the ecstatic state (samadhi), but it can also be used to refer to that ecstatic state of consciousness. The Bhagavad-Gita (12.12) ranks meditation above intellectual knowledge, and the Garuda-Purana (222.l0) states:
“Meditation is the highest virtue. Meditation is the foremost austerity. Meditation is the greatest purity. Therefore be fond of meditation.”