The practice of focusing attention on breath or an object or thought or mantra is called:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Meditation
Option (1) Kundalini yoga — Incorrect. Kundalini Yoga combines pranayama or breathing techniques with chanting of mantras, and has been found effective in treating mental disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is a form of yoga, not the name for the practice of focusing attention.
Option (2) Meditation — Correct. Meditation refers to the practice of focusing attention on breath or on an object or thought or a mantra. In Vipasana or mindfulness-based meditation, by contrast, there is no fixed object to hold the attention; the person passively observes bodily sensations and thoughts.
Option (3) Perception — Incorrect. Perception is the process of recognising and interpreting what the senses bring in, such as seeing a shape and knowing it is a face. It goes on all the time and is not a practice of holding attention on one thing.
Option (4) Asanas — Incorrect. Asanas are the body posture component of yoga; together with breathing practices (pranayama) they make up yoga as it is commonly practised today.
NCERT (2025-26): “Alternative Therapies … Yoga is an ancient Indian technique detailed in the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Yoga as it is commonly called today either refers to only the asanas or body posture component or to breathing practices or pranayama, or to a combination of the two. Meditation refers to the practice of focusing attention on breath or on an object or thought or a mantra. Here attention is focused. In Vipasana meditation, also known as mindfulness-based meditation, there is no fixed object or thought to hold the attention. The person passively observes the various bodily sensations and thoughts that are passing through in her or his awareness.” |