Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi

Yoga Sūtra III.1–3 defines dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi as closely related transformations involving an attentional support. III.4 calls their combined application saṃyama. This lesson compares that textual sequence; it does not promise that a short class exercise will produce the states described.

One Relation, Three Terms

• Dhāraṇā: placing, holding, or binding the mind or attention to a region, place, or support. “Concentration” is a common compact label.
• Dhyāna: continuity of cognition or attention in relation to that support. “Meditation” is common, but modern English uses meditation for many methods not identical to this definition.
• Samādhi: a further absorption in which the object or purpose stands forth while ordinary self-referential presentation recedes in the source's account. Translation and philosophical explanation vary.

The three are distinguished by the quality and continuity of the same attentional relation, not merely by a timer. A minute count cannot certify movement from one to the next, and the terms should not be reduced to “focus, relax, bliss.”

Translation Does Not Settle Experience

Concentration, meditation, contemplation, integration, absorption, and enstasis appear across English-language scholarship and teaching. Each highlights and obscures something. Samādhi also has multiple forms and roles across Indian texts and within the Yoga Sūtra itself. Avoid claiming that one English word, one felt state, or one modern lineage exhausts the term.

Keep Method in M08

A philosophical comparison does not establish how to teach sustained attention, mantra, visualization, body scan, Yoga Nidra, or open monitoring. M08 separates method families, setup, duration, student options, and safety. Here, the task is source literacy: identify the term, its relation to the other two, and the limits of an English gloss.

Key Terms

• Dhāraṇā (Dharana): holding or placing attention; sixth limb in II.29 and defined in III.1.
• Dhyāna (Dhyana): meditation or continuity of cognition toward the support; seventh limb and defined in III.2.
• Samādhi (Samadhi): absorption or integration, with source- and context-specific meanings; eighth limb and defined here in III.3.
• Pratyaya: cognitive content, presentation, or idea; translations vary with philosophical analysis.
• Saṃyama (Samyama): collective application of dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi in III.4, not a generic label for any short focus practice.

Source-Comparison Reflection

Using an identifiable edition, make three rows for III.1, III.2, and III.3. Record the Sanskrit term, two English translation choices, what remains continuous across the three, and what changes. Add a final note about what the passage does not establish—for example, a duration, universal sensation, or teacher's authority to validate attainment.

Quick Review

• Yoga Sūtra III.1–3 distinguishes three qualities of a closely related attentional process.
• Modern English “meditation” covers more practices than the source-specific definition of dhyāna.
• Samādhi is not a guaranteed class outcome, uniform sensation, or moral rank.
• Method, dosage, consent, and adverse-experience response belong to the M08 teaching lessons.