Dharana

Concentration

Recently I happened to cover a dharna by the teachers of the University of Madras. When I saw the lecturers shouting slogans against the University administration, I thought, Dharna is Dharana for a limited cause. Dharana which means total focus of mind and concentration on one object is the sixth aspect mentioned in Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga.
Concentration is a powerful tool. The mind is like the rays of the sun. When the sun's rays are diffused and travel in straight lines, there is just warmth. But when the same rays of the sun are focussed and trained towards a glass parabola, the heat is so intense as to run an 800 watt solar heating system for giant kitchens.
Concentration on one point can immediately restore balance to a wayward mind. If any has tried doing the Vrikshasana, standing on one leg, with the other leg bent and placed at the root of the thigh and eyes closed, falling down will be the next thing to happen. But the same asana happens in a perfect balance when the eyes are focussed and concentrated upon a dot.
What happens while concentrating. All the five sense organs are windows to the world outside. Through the same windows, the inputs are also fed into the person called You. When there is no concentration, the mind rules and splatters the energy in any direction it chooses, just like a choppy sea. For instance, when I am typing this post, I give my mind a free rein, it will take me wherever it pleases, to instances of childhood, to what my members of family might be doing, to all the pending work that I may have, to my several successes and failures in life, to what somebody told someday that hurt...and my consciousness, or rather the life force or energy is taken to all those places where my mind goes. The result, there will be no energy focussing on this post on my blog.
On the contrary, I allow the intervening mind energy to settledown quietly, the primordial energy - all of it is applied on the post that I type. The resultant benefit of my concentration is shared by all those who read it. Anyone with total stability of mind speak and write the most powerful words, perform the most powerful actions that stand the test of several centuries of time. Whether it is the Bible, the Quoran, the Gita, Shakespeare's plays, Mozart or Beethoven, Kalidasa, Subramania Bharathi, Swami Vivekananda, or all the national and international leaders who have left an indelible mark on our minds - their achievement has only factor behind - sheer force of concentration.
While concentration on any worldly pursuit brings victory, meditation is concentration upon the one universal expanse. When that concentration becomes so intense - it reaches the state of mind that one calles Moksha, Mukti or Liberation. The mind is no more stuck to any small image, idea or concept but has comprehended the whole and remains in silent acceptance. It moves from a protesting Dharna to a powerful Dharana.
So whether it is stringing a thread into the eye of the needle or going into the depths of one's own being - the focussed mind is the way.
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