Dharana (Concentration and cultivating inner perceptual awareness)
Dharana means "immovable concentration of the mind". The essential idea is to hold the concentration or focus of attention in one direction. "When the body has been tempered by asanas, when the mind has been refined by the fire of pranayama and when the senses have been brought under control by pratyahara, the sadhaka (seeker) reaches the sixth stage, dharana. Here he is concentrated wholly on a single point or on a task in which he is completely engrossed. The mind has to be stilled in order to achieve this state of complete absorption."
In dharana we create the conditions for the mind to focus its attention in one direction instead of going out in many different directions. The objective in dharana is to steady the mind by focusing its attention upon some stable entity. Stopping the mind from wandering -through memories, dreams, or reflective thought-by deliberately holding it single-mindedly upon something.
