Dhyāna is the continuous flow of cognition toward that point.

Tatra means “there,” at that point of concentration. Pratyaya is the mental content, the cognition. Ekatānatā is continuous flow, like an unbroken thread.

Dhyāna is the seventh limb. While in dhāraṇā there is effort to maintain attention, in dhyāna attention flows without interruption, like oil being poured from one vessel to another.

The difference is subtle but crucial: in dhāraṇā, the mind escapes and must be brought back. In dhyāna, the mind remains stably connected with the object.

Traditional commentators say that twelve seconds of dhāraṇā constitute one dhyāna. It is not a matter of chronological time but quality of attention.

Dhyāna is not thinking about the object—it is being completely present with it, without mental elaborations.