Dharana in yoga means one-pointed Concentration. Dharana is one of the eight limbs of Yoga. This is what modern mindfulness is all about. Dhyana or meditation is one-pointed contemplation, Meditation requires a meditator and an object of meditation such as a flame, or your preferred form of God – be it Jesus or Krishna or Rama or even fire. Dharana is required for Dhyana(meditation) to succeed, Dhyana is required for Samadhi (equanimity) to be achieved.
An ancient technique to practice Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi was revealed by my teacher Sri Sathya Sai Baba. These Yoga practices date back to thousands of years. It requires you to look at a flame for 12 seconds without batting your eyelid, this is Dharana, then you progress to look at the flame without batting your eyelids for 12 x 12 (144) seconds. This Dhyana. Thereafter you proceed to do the same for 12x 12×12 (28 minutes and 48 seconds), this is Samadhi. You can practice this if you wish.
Click on the link below to learn this practice.
There are several other Dharana practices you can do as well. As you practice Dharana for 5 to 10 minutes a day you will find that your ability to concentrate one-pointedly increases. What does this mean in a practical sense. Firstly you will be able to do any task much better and efficiently. Secondly your tendency to dwell in the past and get depressed or ponder over the future and get anxiety will both decrease and you will be able to focus on living in the present. This is what Mindfulness is all about too.
Shown below is another link for Dharana or one-pointed Concentration. As you practice this for 5 to 10 minutes daily, you will find that one-pointed concentration spills over into your daily life too.
Dharana practice helps with Mind control and calms your mind and nervous system as well. Anyone from children to adults can do this. You may ask What is Mind control? Keeping the Mind under the control or directions of your inner Self is mind control. This is what we strive for in Dharana practice.
As you practice Dharna you will become more mindful of the impact of your thoughts, words, and deeds on others and yourself . Furthermore, you will be able to keep the mind dwelling more on the present rather than the past or the future. Dwelling on the past will cause depression, and the past can never be reclaimed. Dwelling on the future and playing out various “what-if?” scenarios will only cause anxiety and prevent you from engaging in your current or present duties. The future is not in your hands, what is in your control is the Present and what you need to do NOW. Therefore, gain control of your mind and make it always dwell on the present and focus on the actions to be done now. This will determine your future.
I hope you enjoy your Dharana Practice and gain enhanced mind control.
