Term 'Vichaar' comes in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji multiple times.
"Amrit Vela Sach Nao Vadyaai Vichaar"
Vichaar has been translated into English word: 'Contemplation'
Definitions of Contemplation:
Contemplation comes from the Latin root templum (from Greek temnein: to cut or divide), and means to separate something from its environment, and to enclose it in a sector. Contemplation is the Latin translation of Greek '
theory' (
theoria). In a religious sense it is a type of
prayer or
meditation. Within Western
Christianity it is related to
mysticism, and expressed in works by
mystical theologians St.
Teresa of Avila, and St.
John of the Cross, as well as the writings of
Margery Kempe,
Augustine Baker and
Thomas Merton.
In
Eastern Christianity contemplation is understood as the directing of all the faculties of one's consciousness toward God or things divine. This is to cultivate an understanding and relationship with the divine.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/gurmat-vichaar/19787-contemplation-vichaar.html
Many religions share the concept of contemplation.
Naropa University, for example, offers a Master's program in contemplative education in the context of
Buddhism.
Contemplation was an important part of the philosophy of
Plato; for Plato, by means of contemplation the soul may ascend to knowledge of the
Form of the Good or other divine Forms.
The words contemplation and
meditation sometimes have almost opposite meanings in the Western and Eastern traditions. In the West, contemplation may refer to a contentless direction of the mind to
God (
Christianity) or to
the Good (
Platonism), whereas meditation may involve a specific, directed mental exercise, such as visualization of a religious scene or consideration of a scriptural passage. In the East, however, these two terms' definitions may be reversed.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=19787
Contemplation as a practice is finding greater resonance in the West both in business (for e.g. Peter Senges book - [The Fifth Discipline]: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation) and in an academic network involving a diverse range of universities and disciplines from architecture, to physics, to liberal arts.
In Catholic Christianity, contemplation is given importance. The Catholic Church's "model theologian", St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: "It is requisite for the good of the human community that there should be persons who devote themselves to the life of contemplation." One of his disciples,
Josef Pieper commented: "For it is contemplation which preserves in the midst of human society the truth which is at one and the same time useless and the yardstick of every possible use; so it is also contemplation which keeps the true end in sight, gives meaning to every practical act of life."
In a non-religious sense,
contemplation can also mean:
- an act of considering with attention;
- the act of regarding steadily.
contemplation
1 a
: concentration on spiritual things as a form of private devotion b
: a state of mystical awareness of God's being
2
: an act of considering with attention
: study
3
: the act of regarding steadily4
: intention expectation
T Singh:
What is
Vichaar? Everything is within the body, including the Truth. The Divine Teaching reveals how we all are One with this Truth — That which is Absolute, eternal and infinite, formless, indestructible, illimitable and complete.
Vichaar enables one to experience and realize this. Therefore, the spiritual practice of
Vichaar, quest of Self or Self-inquiry is the introspective meditation that yields Self-knowledge (
Aatma-Gian). Thus, it is to constantly inquire, reflect, contemplate, investigate, or directly look into: "Who am I? How can I know where I came from? Where did I originate, and where will I go and merge? How am I bound, and how do I obtain liberation? How do I merge with intuitive ease (
Sahaj) into the Eternal? What is this world: the place of repeated birth and death? How I have come into being in this temporal and transient state? What is mind? Who is the sufferer? What is the Truth?", and so on. As the spiritual
Vichaar relates to
Gian, the Self-knowledge arises with the aid and practice of such inner inquiry, followed by
Sahaj Avasthaa (natural state of Being), intuitive Peace, true Understanding, pure Love or Devotion (
Bhagti), unselfishness, and ending of all material suffering.
VICHAAR (SPIRITUAL INQUIRY) 
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