What Exactly concentration is?

Spirituality
#9

In scientifc terms ‘concentration’ could be viewed as thought waves with characterising frequencies and/or modulations.When an inner stillness is reached then the turbulence is calmed down and those vibrations come to flow in a mathematically and acoustically harmonious state(without conflict). That state could be OM possibly or have other designs, though acccording to yogi’s the OM is the origin of all sounds and the universe (oone might extrapolate that the big bang might have sounded like one big Auuummm)

If matter can be affected by sound then we have a potentially powerful tool here.I believe it is the basis of mantra yoga and has been ussed to alter one’s karmic potential( our ability to choose free-will,shape our choces) This then on the face of it then would appear quite profound, in terms both of it’s power and application(and implications in everyday life,war, famine etc etc).

#10

Thanks to everyone who have replied my post, I was so surprised to read that all, so deep and so helped me as a beginner…

#11

yoga sutra 3:1
translated: Concentration (dharana) is binding of the mind to one place

Desabandhaschittasya dharana :slight_smile:

#12

How to delete a post I just made ?

#13

Concentration is the choice to spend more time with one bondage than with others.

#14

Well, I have other sexual preferences. :wink:

#15

Hahaha, you bastard.

#16

Sadly, I am one.

#17

thanks it was really very informative…

#18

Concentration in this sense is, i think, surrender to the object of attention, letting all else go.

#19

http://www.indianetzone.com/42/dharana.htm

#20

http://www.swamij.com/yoga-sutras-30103.htm

Hari OM!

Adityananda

#21

“In deep meditation the flow of concentration is continuous like the flow of oil.” Patanjali

#22

Letting go of each of your thoughts and feelings (again and again, very gently) is one way to still your mind.

[QUOTE=k4d3k;20123]Hi Everyone, I get a little bit confusing about the meaning of concentration. Once time when I meditate, I only think, feel and see the way I breath. Do I need to empty my mind and how do I know if I already in concentration?
Please let me know if you have suggestion for me…[/QUOTE]

#23


Stillness of Mind in Deep Meditation

Hari OM!

Adityananda

#24

I’ve recently learned that, what we translate as concentration, [I]dharana[/I], is a specific practice. The details of how to do the practice aren’t spelled out in the yoga sutras. Patanjali’s definition ‘binding the mind to a (single) place or spot’, is sort of a hint or a mnemonic device, and does not tell the whole story.

I continue to believe that concentration is a common skill that can and should be applied to ordinary activities and objectives. I practice this daily. But since Patanjali did not reveal the details of the practice of dharana, I tend to believe that this is something that should be communicated directly from teacher to student, when the student is ready.

#25

Most minds lack Dharana to a greater or lesser degree and thus are scattered, agitated, distracted, foolish, dull, and/or stupid. Without the ability to concentrate and focus, nothing can be mastered.

#26

I agree that nothing can be mastered without the ability to concentrate and focus. I disagree with your rather negative views of your fellow human beings. Everyone has the ability to concentrate to a greater or lesser extent. We live in a world in which many people do this instinctively. Fortunately, it does not require an innate ability, but is a skill that can be learned. Many people are quite good at it.

#27

Deep concentration or one-pointed focus favours a state of [B]deep relaxation[/B]. This is what hatha yoga is for,really.

In ordinary life, some folk are in some sense deeply concentrated but not relaxed which means they cannot go so deep and it gets in the way.There’s a simultaneous letting go(relaxation- conscious ,and unconscious) and a one-pointed focus of mind(concentration) in some or many meditational approaches…

So effective meditation can occur when relaxation is coupled with concentration, if we wish to use that term,bearing in mind there is no kind of strain or effort.It is an effortless thought-free state;such a state induces the bliss experience.It is is said that thought based awareness is like a corruption of our natural state- some have called this ‘pure bliss conciousness’. Because our thoughts are like perversions- they are constructs- we only give them meaning by conjuring them up etc.In the end they colour our perception and ultimately can cloud our experience because we are more than mind but also beyond mind.And there is not too much effort because effort gets in the way of effective concentraton;ideally it is effortless in true meditation-(limbs 7 & beyond).It becomes that way;everything in theory dissolves into undifferentiated Oneness, or Cosmic Unity.

I just thought the relaxation component is worth mentioning as most folk are not truly relaxed mentally and physically,emotionally etc but fortunately we have hatha yoga to try and sort that out…

hi yulaw ,If you’re thinking about (deep) meditation practice,pratyahara,(limb 5) is major facilitator of that- when we introvert the senses and we can remain relaxed on al levels-i.e the inner noise recedes ,the stories about us and our emotions and past quieten, the bodily tensions are removed we can go deeper unhindered without the usual typical obstacles.Some techniques facilitate that better than others and may use different approaches,some in combination.But i would put some stress on that limb as a major helper in that process of going deep(into ourselves) without which, with any effort in meditation or indeed most of yoga practice, there would be the usual distractions that bother people.

#28

hi yulaw,

I don’t know if this helps, but i’ve heard pratyahara described as the gateway limb to the “higher” yogas, if you wish to call them that,because it facilitates that process of going inward ,making this journey inward otherwise much easier.

Techniques i’ve used that tend to cultivate pratyahara(sensory introversion or withdrawal) have included sambhavi mudra(upturning the eyes upward towards the brow & simulatanously knitting the brow-going even deeper intensifying it),focusiing on the third eye(between the brow or the top of the spinal cord/centre of brain) and japa/mantra yoga(relaxed repetition of a mantra without forcing it or chasing it)

Where’s the relevance with pratyahara?- well it would certainly aid in concentration(effortless relaxed thoughtless ‘bliss’ state) by bypassing the usual external distractions and therefore probably aid in true meditation.