The primary goal of the current study is to develop a new methodological approach to the study of meditation in the religions of South Asia. This methodology is one that attempts to establish a balance between psychological and sociological approaches to the study of religion. The foundation of this approach is an understanding of the tension between numinous and cessative dimensions of meditative practice in the Hindu and Buddhist context. It will be argued that this tension between numinous and cessative orientations can be understood to relate both to philosophical understandings of the nature of meditative states and to the relationship of meditative concepts to the religious and cultural contexts in which they exist. The utility of this approach will be demonstrated through its application in the context of the comparison of Classical Yoga and Indian Buddhism and in the development of tantric sādhana . It will be demonstrated that a significantly more sophisticated understanding of the relationship of Classical Yoga and Buddhism emerges through analysis of the concept of meditative absorption or contemplation, samādhi, in light of this methodological approach. Through application of this theory to the development of tantric practice, sādhana, it will be demonstrated how sādhana represents an extension of pre-tantric conceptions of meditation, presupposing the integration of numinous and cessative qualities and posing a challenge to mainstream religious and cultural ideals. The development of this methodological approach and its subsequent application will thus provide insight into a number of issues in the study of meditation in the South Asian context and will provide direction for further research in this domain.
