3.1 One-pointedness is steadfastness of the mind.

Time to wade back into the pool of the Yoga Sutras. It's been a little while since I have written about them, but writing on the first two books had proven to be such a large undertaking, that I needed a break until I starting Book Three. With that being said, I can think of a better way to dive in then the the first Sutra of Book 3

Book 3 is more about the results of practice then actual practice itself. Book one is an intro, with book two being methodology. In this Sutra, one pointedness referrers to the ability of the mind to concentrate on on particular object. This is referred to as Bindu, which translates loosely to dot or point.

Goswami Kriyananda gave a good description of this phenomenon in his commentaries. If we look a triangle, it represents the simplest polygon that can occupy three dimensional space. Then, the line is a representation of two dimensional space. Finally, the dot is a representation of one dimension, a single point in space. So, when we meditate, out focus starts to go from larger perceptions to a more focused state of mind. That focus is what Yogis use to reach the state of enlightenment.

The process of this is explained further in the book. Once the mind is clear, this one-pointedness is the natural result. It filters into out daily lives as well, giving us the ability to focus on one task fully at a time without being distracted. I honestly think that people are not capable of actual multitasking, but instead change focus from one activity to another, even if they put the previous activity on hold while their mind moves on. We are expected to function this way in our modern technological society. Let's face it, we can only do so much at one time!