Ekāgratā ( sa, एकाग्रता, "one-pointedness";

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

: ekaggatā) is intent pursuit of one object, close and undisturbed attention.

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...

emphasises regular practice (''

Abhyasa Abhyāsa, in Hinduism, is a spiritual practice which is regularly and constantly practised over a long period of time. It has been prescribed by the great sage Patanjali Maharishi in his Yoga Sutras, and by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita as an ...

'') of

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

and self-imposed discipline to acquire .

Overview

The faculty called may be increased by integrating the psycho-mental flux ( or variously-directed, discontinuous, and diffuse attention) so that one gains genuine will and a happiness different from the experience of pleasure from sense-objects. It is harder to achieve if the body is in a tiring or uncomfortable posture or if the breathing is improper. Austerity (''

tapas A tapa () is an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine. Tapas can be combined to make a full meal, and can be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as ''chopitos'', which are battered, fried baby squid, or patatas bravas). In so ...

'') is allied to this conception of . Badarayana's

Brahma Sutras The ''Brahma Sūtras'' ( sa, ब्रह्मसूत्राणि) is a Sanskrit text, attributed to the sage bādarāyaṇa or sage Vyāsa, estimated to have been completed in its surviving form in approx. 400–450 CE,, Quote: "...we c ...

(chapter 3) uses the term to mean

concentration In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', ''molar concentration'', '' number concentration'', ...

: it is held to be a quality resulting from practices discussed in the previous chapter, which are briefly mentioned in the

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad The ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' ( sa, बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद्, ) is one of the Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the ''Br ...

and Chandogya Upanishad. According to the Bhagavad Gita the seeker after Truth should meditate with his mind fixed on the Lord () and absorbed in Him (). This is ''ekagrata''. The term ''nityayuktāh'' refers to devotees who keep their mind fixed on God uninterruptedly. Patanjali highlights the importance of continuous practice of prescribed methods to gain ekagrata, the state of the meditative mind free of diverted attention etc.; and thereafter explains that: Attention on a single point () of the mind (''

citta ''Citta'' (Pali and Sanskrit: चित्त; pronounced ''chitta''; IAST: ''citta)'' is one of three overlapping terms used in the '' nikaya'' to refer to the mind, the others being '' manas'' and '' viññāṇa''. Each is sometimes used i ...

'') gives rise to equilibrium of placid states (previously accumulated impressions) and aroused states (present eagerness to gain more knowledge), which are modifications (of the mind). These two states of mind remain unchanged and are brought to the state of stillness. and ''

dhāraṇā ''Dhāraṇā'' () is translated as "collection or concentration of the mind (joined with the retention of breath)", or "the act of holding, bearing, wearing, supporting, maintaining, retaining, keeping back (in remembrance), a good memory", or "f ...

'' do not differ from each other, or else is achieving and maintaining . converges on a particular concept or object. In the state of there is clarity and right direction: yoga begins with ekagrata and culminates in ''nirodha'', a stillness of consciousness. gives the ability to see one’s own mind, one starts looking inwards deeply. If is lost the full power of intention to achieve goals to be achieved is lost. Intentions afflicted by doubts, fears and reactive thoughts break and diffuse the energy of intentions. The mind which is the cause of ''Sankalpa'' ('notion')-''Vikalpa'' ('alternative') must be controlled, it must be bound. assists in keeping one’s own mind bound and still.

References

{{Indian philosophy, state=collapsed Hindu philosophical concepts Yoga concepts Vaishnavism Krishna Meditation Spiritual practice Sanskrit words and phrases

Overview

See also

References