Dharana

One of the eight limbs of yoga is dharana or concentration, developing a focus on one thought, one idea, one object. When this happens, you begin to learn more about it than you ever knew before.

This week's Weekly Words talk about a one-pointed mind...same as concentration. Satchidanada's words say “When the mind is concentrated, it gains more strength...If you gather all the thought forms and concentrate on one idea or object, the mind will reveal the inner secret of that idea. That is what inventors do. They are deeply concentrated, their minds are one-pointed, so nature reveals its secrets to them."

Satchidanada concludes his weekly thought with the line: "With that (one-pointedness) you can gain anything you want in this world." It is true...pretty much whatever you want to gain can be attained with focus. But that focus can be dangerous as well, destructive. If you focus your energy on hatred, you bring negative energy to yourself and those around you.

But the concept of dharana is more divine and should be used as a tool toward meditation and, ultimately, samadhi--unity with the Divine. If you focus on positive energies and love, and uniting with your True Self, dharana helps brings peace to you and those around you.