Dharana

Dharana names concentration in its most literal sense: holding attention steadily on a single object, whether a breath, a sound, an image, or a point in the body, without allowing it to wander.

It precedes meditation proper (dhyana) in the classical sequence, and the distinction between the two is a matter of continuity. Dharana is the repeated, effortful return of attention to its object; dhyana is what happens when that return is no longer needed because attention has settled there on its own.

Most people who believe they cannot meditate have simply never been taught dharana as a distinct, prior skill. Concentration is trainable in the same incremental way any other skill is, and expecting sustained meditative absorption without first building the capacity to concentrate is a common source of frustration.

From the Editors' Desk, Shastra Digest.