ध्यानहेयास्तद्वृत्तयः ॥ २.११ ॥
dhyānaheyāstadvṛttayaḥ || 2.11 ||
Dhyāna = the concentrating of the distracted mind (vikṣiptacitta-saṃgrahaṇa). Distractions whirl about more easily than the down-feathers of the wild goose (sārasaloman); if their flying off is not restrained, their speed is greater than that of a hurricane; they are harder to contain than a monkey (markaṭa); they appear and disappear more quickly than lightning (vidyut). If the characteristic of the mind is at this point not fixed, those who want to control it would not succeed without dhyāna.”
Dhāraṇā is retaining the mind in Ishvara, dhyāna is joining the mind in Ishvara and meditating upon Ishvara and samādhi is mere appearance of the nature of the object, (Ishvara).
Heya = removable
Asta = Asta (अस्त) refers to the “sunset”
Vrtti = vortex
Ayah = moving
Just as everything disappears from view as the sun sets, meditation turns our attention away from the swirling vortexes of consciousness.
Weeds in the garden
block you from samadhi.
When weeds are merely sprouting,
you can uproot them easily. Enter the stream of timelessness
and observe as the weeds wither and die. When your weeds are thick
and deeply rooted,
you must meditate. Only then will they cease to grow. Only then will they turn brown,
decay,
and return to the earth.
(10 & 11)
Alberto Villoldo
“When the mind has dissolved (līna) in the object of meditation, then that is said to be meditation”
Dhyāna (ध्यान).—A dharma of the yoga, kills unrighteous qualities
Source: Brill: Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions
Dhyāna (ध्यान) refers to “meditation”, according to the Kiraṇatantra chapter 49 (dealing with vratacaryā).—Accordingly, “Garuḍa spoke: ‘You have taught me, O great Lord, the activities of the Neophyte, the Putraka and the Ācārya. Tell me those of the Sādhaka’. The Lord spoke: ‘The excellent Sādhaka [should be] full of sattva, firm, capable of endurance, his mind fixed on [his] mantra, unassailable, of great wisdom, looking impartially on mud, stones and gold engaged, regular in [the performance of] oblations, always devoted to recitation (japa) and meditation (dhyāna), dexterous in the dispelling of obstacles, firm in [the practice of his] religious observance, calm, pure. […]’”.
Source: archive.org: Ishvara Samhita Vol 1
Dhyāna (ध्यान) refers to one of the three functions of saṃyama (self-control).—The Pāñcarātrāgama offers its own treatment which has a significant contribution. Dhāraṇā is retaining the mind in Ishvara, dhyāna is joining the mind in Ishvara and meditating upon Ishvara and samādhi is mere appearance of the nature of the object, (Ishvara). According to Viṣṇupurāṇa. (VI.7.86), dhāraṇā is stability of the citta In Ishvara, dhyāna is continuity of that cognition without any desire for other things (ibid. VI.7.91) and samādhi is a stage in Yogic practise in which Ishvara’s own nature is grasped without any imagined appendage (ibid. VI.7.92).
Source: Shodhganga: Siva Gita A Critical Study
Dhyāna (ध्यान, “meditation”) refers to sustained concentration.—Meditation (dhyāna) is the effortless abidance in the awareness of one’s True nature.
As a meditative state, dhyāna is characterized by profound stillness and concentration.
Dhyāna (ध्यान, “meditation”) according to the Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter XXVIII).—“meditation (dhyāna) is the concentrating of the distracted mind (vikṣiptacitta-saṃgrahaṇa). Distractions whirl about more easily than the down-feathers of the wild goose (sārasaloman); if their flying off is not restrained, their speed is greater than that of a hurricane; they are harder to contain than a monkey (markaṭa); they appear and disappear more quickly than lightning (vidyut). If the characteristic of the mind is at this point not fixed, those who want to control it would not succeed without dhyāna.”.
When engaged in meditation we should be thinking “Ahaṃ Brahmā jyotirātmā vāsudevo vimukta Oṃ”. (I am Brahmā, the light, the Spirit, Vāsudeva, and Vimukta (having no connection with anything), OM). (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 374).
Patanjali's yoga sutras 
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