Verse No 122

“Dhāraṇā is now described: Wherever the mind may go, into whichever object, there itself — by seeing and contemplating it as nothing but Brahman, as pure Existence (and the like), while disregarding its name, form, and transience — the fixing of the mind in Brahman alone is called dhāraṇā.

An objection may be raised: ‘But ordinarily dhāraṇā is defined as holding the mind on one point within the five supports (navel, heart, throat, etc.).’ To this it is said: the dhāraṇā defined here (by the scripture) is regarded as superior by the knowers of Truth.

The other dhāraṇā, taught in the Yoga system of Patañjali, is considered secondary, like prāṇāyāma and the rest. The emphatic expression ‘ca eva’ (indeed and alone) highlights that this Advaitic dhāraṇā is what is established in the experience of Vedānta-knowers.”

Verse No 123

“Now, meditation on the Self (ātma-dhyāna) is defined. It is the cognition ‘Brahman alone am I,’ a true mental mode (sat-vṛtti) which cannot be invalidated by any other means of knowledge. By that vṛtti arises freedom from dependence on any external support. It consists in abiding without identification with body and the rest, established in one’s own true nature.