Dhāraṇā

Dharana (Sanskrit, धारणा, dhāraṇā, support of dhri, carry, hold) means concentration and is in the Indian Raja Yoga the 6th stage of Patanjali achtgliedrigem path. The practitioner is addressing attention to a point in the body, a mantra or something transcendental as the void, a god or one of its aspects. If at the beginning the focus on a particular object ( subject- object split ) in the foreground, it shall temporarily disabled through intensive practice reflective thinking and as a totality of experience are possible.

In contrast to the 7th level, the Dhyana (meditation), Dharana is associated with voluntary effort - conscious concentration. Dharana, dhyana and samadhi are referred to by Patanjali as the inner core of yoga ( verse IIIB, 7) or as Samyama ( " collection").