Patanjali defines meditation as: an uninterrupted flow of awareness toward the object of attention.So meditation is not trying to stop thoughts, and it is not relaxation.It is when attention becomes continuous and unbroken.
The Three Inner Limbs:Meditation belongs to what Patanjali calls the inner limbs of yoga:
Dharana – concentration
Dhyana – meditation
Samadhi – absorption
They are actually three stages of the same process.
-Dharana (Concentration) Attention is placed on one point, but it keeps wandering.
Example: You focus on the breath…then the mind drifts…then you bring it back.
That effortful holding is Dharana.
-Dhyana (Meditation)
When the interruptions begin to disappear, concentration becomes continuous. Attention flows without effort. The mind is no longer repeatedly pulled away.
This continuous flow is Dhyana.
-Samadhi (Absorption)
Eventually even the sense of “I am meditating” fades. Only the object of awareness remains shining in consciousness.
This is Samadhi.
A More Precise Way to Understand Meditation
Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of consciousness.
When those fluctuations quiet down:
awareness becomes steady, perception becomes clear, reality is seen without distortion. Meditation is therefore the stabilization of consciousness in a single stream.
Why the Earlier Limbs Matter.?
Meditation cannot stabilize if the earlier limbs are not present. Each one prepares the ground:
Limb What it stabilizes
Yama behavior
Niyama inner attitude
Asana body
Pranayama life energy
Pratyahara senses
Dharana attention
Only when these are balanced does meditation naturally arise.
That’s why Patanjali never presents meditation as a technique — it’s a maturation of the mind.
The Deepest Description
A yogic teacher might describe meditation like this:
Meditation is when consciousness stops scattering itself across countless objects and rests steadily in one direction.
The mind becomes transparent instead of turbulent.
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