The truth about this practice is that we are attempting, without force, to move towards a state where we are not doing anything at all—where we are simply being. Thus, the instructions for this meditation are never rigid or static but rather seek to undo the very method of self-willed meditation as it is being taught.
In Sanskrit, ‘dig’ means pervasion in all directions, and ‘ambara’ means to be clothed in. Thus, the literal meaning of digambara is one who is clothed in that which pervades in all directions throughout the entirety of space.
The true spiritual meaning of the word digambara has nothing to do with whether one chooses to wear clothes or remain physically naked. To be naked in a spiritual sense means that we have stripped ourselves of our accumulated patterns of thinking, identifying and attaching that prevent us from perceiving the essence of who we are. The essence of who we are is actually like space; it is intangible, ungraspable and all-pervading. A digambara yogi is one who constantly remains in this state of inner nakedness and purity. In such a state, one becomes like a stainless mirror that reflects whatever is put in front of it without ever accumulating anything itself.
