Dharana

The last three limbs of Ashtanga Yoga are the three essential stages of meditation. Dharana involves developing and extending our powers of concentration. This consists of various ways of directing and controlling our attention and mind-fixing skills, such as concentrating on the chakras or turning inwards.
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Dhyana

Dhyana is the state of meditation, when the mind attains the ability to sustain its attention without getting distracted. Strictly speaking, unlike the other six limbs of yoga, this is not a technique but rather a state of mind, a delicate state of awareness. This state rightfully precedes the final state of samadhi.
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Samadhi

Samadhi, or total absorption, is the ability to become one with the True Self and merge into the object of concentration. In this state of mind, the perceiver and the object of perception unite through the very act of perception—a true unity of all thought and action. This is the acme of all yogic endeavors—the ultimate 'yoga' or connection between the individual and the universal Soul!

Patanjali's Yoga Sutra categorizes and grades the levels of samadhi in the first chapter or Samadhi Pada:

• Samprajnata Samadhi or distinguished contemplation and
• Asamprajnata Samadhi or non-distinguished contemplation,
• Savitarka Samadhi or deliberated absorption and
• Nirvitarka Samadhi or non-deliberated absorption,
• Savichara Samadhi or reflective meditation and
• Nirvichara Samadhi or non-reflective meditation,
• Sabija Samadhi, where the mind continues to carry seeds of earthly impressions and
• Nirbija Samadhi, where each seed of earthly impressions have been erased.