Decline in Distractions - One-Pointedness YS III- 9, 10, 11, 12

Yoga Sutra III- 9 - VYUTTHANA NIRODHA SAMSKARAYOR ABHIBHAVA PRADURBHAVAU NIRODHA KSANA CITTANVAYO NIRODHA PARINAMAH - The impressions which normally arise are made to disappear by the appearance of suppressive efforts, which in turn create new mental modifications. The moment of conjunction of mind and new modifications is nirodha parinama.

Yoga Sutra III- 10 - TASYA PRASANTA VAHITA SAMSKARAT - The flow of nirodha parinama becomes steady through habit.

* (When the suppression of thought-waves becomes continuous, the mind's flow is calm) [from HTKG]

Yoga Sutra III - 11 - SARVARTHATAIKAGRATAYOH KSYAYODAYAU CITTASYA SAMADHIPARINAMAH - When there is a decline in distractedness and appearance of one-pointedness, then comes samadhi parinamah (development in samadhi).

Yoga Sutra III - 12 - SANTODITAU TULYAPRATYAYAU CITTASYAIKAGRATAPARINAMAH - Then again, when the subsiding past and rising present images are identical, there is ekagrata parinama (one-pointedness).

Swami Satchidananda does not comment on this sutra. He just translates it..

The commentary on all four sutras above from (*) "How to Know God - The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali" translated and commented on by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood is as follows:

"It has been said that if the mind can be made to flow uninterruptedly toward the same object for twelve seconds, this may be called concentration. If the mind can continue in that concentration for twelve times twelve seconds (i.e., two minutes and twenty-four seconds), this may be called meditation. If the mind can continue in that meditation twelve times two minutes and twenty-four seconds (i.e., twenty-eight minutes and forty-eight seconds), this will be called lower samadhi. And if the lower samadhi can be maintained for twelve times that period ( i.e., five hours, forty-five minutes, and thirty-six seconds), this will lead to nirvikalpa samadhi."