Man has an ability to focus his mind upon one thing which he likes. He can focus upon something which ‘he likes’. Internal attraction is essential for this one pointedness of the mind. One cannot focus upon something which he does not like at all.
All human beings have the ability to focus the mind. Some people think that they are not able to focus their mind. If they do not have any psychic disorder, they are able to focus their mind; they can focus upon what they like. Their attraction towards that matter or the object is the reason for the focussed state of mind. A drunkard will be focussed upon his liquor; a womaniser will be focussed upon women; a greedy person would be focussed upon wealth. See, this focus of mind is quite natural.
But turning the focus towards positive matters and objects is important. Only through constant training can one develop such positive focus in the mind.
But what is the focus of the mind? Let’s try to understand the definition of one pointed mind, given by Patanjali in his Yoga Sūtra-s. Śrī Sādaśiva Brahmendra Sarasvati gives interpretation to the Sūtra as follows.
ननु केयं एकाग्रतेति अपेक्षायाम् आह- (When the question arises what is that one pointedness of the mind stuff, Patanjali answers…)
Yoga Sutra: शान्तोदितौ तुल्यप्रत्ययौ चित्तस्येकाग्रता परिणामः ॥३-१२॥ (When past and present contain the same idea / object, it is called the growth of one-pointedness of mind. Part III Vibhūti Pāda - Sūtra No. 12)
शान्तो अतीतः (Śāntaḥ means the past), उदितो वर्त्तमानः (uditaḥ means the present), प्रत्ययः चित्तवृत्तिः (pratyayaḥ means the formations in mind stuff)। अतीतः प्रत्ययो यम् पदार्थं गृह्णाति (whatever be the contents of the mind stuff in the past) तदेव चेत् उदितोऽपि गृह्णीयात् (if the present is also containing the same content in the mind stuff), तदा तौ तुलौ भवतः (then they can be said as similar)। तादृश चित्तपरिणाम एकाग्रतेत्युच्यते (such kind of the growth of the ability to relate with similar objects of the mind stuff is called one pointedness)।
Let’s observe that the mind stuff is passing through objects and ideas in each second; first second, second second, third second… and so on. In each second the mind is holding some kind of idea or object. If the object in the mind in the first second and the object in the second second are the same, the past and present are holding the same object.
First second - second second - third second - fourth second - fifth second - and so on…
Initially the first second is the present.
In the next second, the first second becomes past; the second second is the present.
And in the third second, the first and second seconds become past and the third one is the present.
The time goes on like this.
If the content in the mind stuff in the first second and in the second second are the same, that mind is not distracted; it is a focussed mind.
For example, I was reading a book at 11 a.m. And I was continuing the same action at 11.30 a.m., I was still reading the book. The content of my mind stuff at 11a.m. and at 11.30 a.m. were the same without interruption; they were the ideas in the book which I was reading. So I can say that I was focussed on book reading from 11 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.
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