One-pointedness/Ekagratha
The wayward mind wanders hither and thither, but it is possible to fasten it on one fixed point by means of steady discipline and persistent training in spiritual discipline. This condition is called One-pointedness (ekagratha).
It is also referred to as single-mindedness (dharana). The uninterrupted flow of oil from one vessel to another is a fine symbol of the mental process called single-mindedness.
The mind plans and executes innumerable deeds and roams over vast expanses, all in the twinkling of an eye! It operates with unimaginable speed. It conceives an object and dallies with it a little, but it soon discards it for another more attractive object toward which it flees and about which it begins to worry.
The spiritual aspirant has to be ever watchful of this tendency of the mind. When the mind flits from object to object, it must be brought back to the right path and the right object. That is the correct spiritual practice, the path of concentration and meditation. If, however, the aspirant does not struggle to achieve this one-pointedness but leaves the mind to itself, following its vagaries from this to that and that to this, the process deserves to be called monkey-meditation (markata dhyana), a type of meditation that is indeed very harmful to spiritual progress.
Dhyana Vahini
Truth is more fundamental than the atom. Every atom and every star manifest the Truth to those who have the eye of wisdom. Each aspect of science has a special feature when it applies to some one group of things or beings. What is the special feature of man? If he too lives and dies as any animal, how can his supremacy be justified? His supremacy lies in his capacity to become aware of his Truth. We use the phrase ‘one-pointedness’ when referring to sadhana [spiritual effort]. The meaning that we generally give to that phrase is not correct. Each sense organ or faculty has ‘a point’ that makes it valid.
Don’t we say, ‘There is no point in it,’ when we condemn something in an argument? Seeing is the ‘point’ of the eye; hearing is the ‘point’ of the ear. If there is no point or agram, it is blind or deaf. The sense is then afflicted with some disease, it has some defect. Even if you catch a slight cold, the nose loses its ‘point’ for it cannot discover smells. Now what is the ‘point’ of the mind? When we say ‘one-pointedness’, it must mean that the mind should be pointed toward the One, the One that is denoted as being without a second, the One that has willed that It may become the many. Unless the mind lays aside all other pursuits and seeks to become aware of the One that has become the many, it can be said that the mind too is diseased and is suffering from some defect.
Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 13
Plunge the wayward mind, which is fleeing in all directions, in contemplation of the name of the Lord; the effect will be like concentrating the rays of the sun through a piece of magnifying glass. The scattered rays develop the power of a flame to burn and consume. So, too, when the waves of intellect and the feelings of mind get One-pointedness through the converging lens of the atma, they manifest as the universal divine splendor that can scorch evil and illumine joy.
Everyone can gain success in their profession or occupation only through one-pointed attention. Even the pettiest of tasks needs the quality of concentration for its fulfilment. And even the toughest problem yields before unswerving endeavor.
Dhyana Vahini
