Attention and concentration
The following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.
Question: Sir, can I be in attention even when the mind is distracted? Does attention also depend on whether I am loving the thing that I am doing or not?
Acharya Prashant (AP): Attention is a quality of the mind. Attention is the deep desire of the mind to understand. Understanding means settling down, becoming quiet.
Attention arises when the mind says that the ripples created by objects in the mind must settle down. These objects could be:
- A TV program
- Two people and their chatter
- The disquiet of the mind itself
However, remember that there is a difference between attention and concentration. In attention, there is no specific object. Attention is the quality of the mind in which it is alert to everything, including itself. Hence, whatever is in its purview is its object. Alternately, there is no (specific) object. Alternately, the mind itself is its own object.
In concentration, there is a process of ego-based choice involved. Concentration is fragmentary. Concentration is upon a specific object that the ego has chosen for its benefit. Concentration does not give understanding, it only gives pleasure and satisfaction.
