Sūta said: Śiva-praṇidhāna (contemplation of Śiva) mentally, physically and verbally, unflinching devotion to the preceptor, withdrawal of the organs of sense from the objects of worldly pleasures—this in brief is called pratyāhāra (withdrawal). Dhāraṇā (retention) is the fixation of the mind in the proper place. Dhyāna (meditation) comes through the normalcy of Dhāraṇā (retention). If it is coupled with thought, it is samadhi (ecstatic trance). In samadhi there is concentration of the mind and meditation; here in the perception of object is entirely excluded.