With due respect to Patanjali the great, modern aspirants can start their spiritual practice straight away with Concentration and Meditation without necessarily passing through the first 6 initial steps of the classic Patanjali‘s system. People are now really different from our ancestors who lived thousands of years ago.
Having been said that meditation is done by God, we place more trust in the attitude of love, devotion and surrender to the highest consciousness, than in “meditation techniques”. 
With due respect to the great Patanjali, modern aspirants may begin their spiritual practice directly with concentration and meditation, without necessarily progressing through the first six preliminary steps of the classic Patanjali system. People today are truly different from our ancestors who lived thousands of years ago.

Having said that, meditation is performed by God; thus, we place greater trust in the attitude of love, devotion, and surrender to the highest consciousness than in ‘meditation techniques.’ The finest attitude we can adopt for meditation is to become like a child of our mother-soul, our inner Self. If one day we truly feel this, we shall begin seeking her, learning of her, and discovering her ways.

‘The soul is here for its own joy.’
‘What you seek is seeking you.’
–Mevlana Rumi

Once we commence our attempts or invocations to experience silence through devotional concentration, sooner or later we shall capture moments of silence. Our inner Self and that silent void are one.

'There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen.'
–Mevlana Rumi

As our mother, the soul is bound to grant us an individual form of meditation (not merely a concentration exercise) that suits our nature, our spiritual level, and our needs. From this point onward, we must regularly knock at the door of meditation silence, seeking the point where silence assumes the lead. Some refer to such efforts as concentration or dharana – an inner exercise that leads to actual meditation, or dhyana.

Concentration slows down our gross physical and mind, drawing us into the deeper space of our subtle body, where the mind ceases and actual meditation begins spontaneously. In essence, concentration is a devotional invocation to commence the divine play. It may take the form of systematic breathing, visualisation, devotional singing, chanting mantras, and so forth.

Actual meditation unfolds in our subtle body. Yet our gross physical being – body, energy, mind – can participate at various levels, partially or fully. Silence speaks through our physical form and mind most eloquently. After a time, concentration requires little effort… we simply enter a meditative mood, shift our awareness inward, and find ourselves carried in the flow beyond body-consciousness.

Overall, to invoke meditation we must make an effort. We call this concentration or entering meditation – focusing on the breath, following it, diving within, visualising, chanting, and so on. But this process cannot truly be called ‘meditation.’ Actual meditation has not yet begun. At this stage, the mind is still active, fishing for that magical touch, that mystical shift into silence – or, one might say, awaiting the great wave to surf. When it arrives, concentration ceases, actual meditation commences, and we enter the state of maunam or silence/emptiness that carries us beyond time and space. Ideally, at this stage, the entire physical being is absorbed by the highest Self.

'Let silence take you to the core of life.'
–Mevlana Rumi

We might say that concentration resembles driving our car to the airport. Meditation is the domestic or international flight conducted by God, the Inner Pilot. The meditation flight neither commences nor is controlled at our own sweet will. We simply purchase the ticket and allow the Inner Pilot to guide us on the journey.

'Every morning I deeply enjoy watching
The waves of my heart’s silence-sea.'
–Sri Chinmoy (45,144.)*

*Here and below are the quotes from 'Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees' by Sri Chinmoy.

Meditations with Sri Chinmoy, Part 3. 

There is something known as actual meditation. When the wave of meditation arrives and carries us beyond our physical consciousness, we surrender ourselves into the hands of the Divine, allowing it to immerse us in an ocean of peace and light. ‘In the presence of a gust of wind, She [Anandamayi Ma] would feel an impulse to let Her body fly away like a rag of thin cloth.’

When we sink deep into a silent void, we transcend mind and senses to touch the Universal, to frolic amid unearthly skies, firmaments, floating islands, valleys and cities suspended in Infinity’s Light… or a space that expands endlessly within. These experiences still every fluctuation of the mind, granting one-pointed inner clarity. The body becomes weightless, motionless, breathless and self-forgetful. Body-consciousness vanishes. At that moment, we feel we are the space itself, or a flowing current of love that is our All. No trace of the small outer personality remains. Time ceases. We swim in infinite peace. This leads to the Contemplation of the One, the Supreme Being beyond all qualitiesThere is something known as actual meditation. When the wave of meditation arrives and carries us beyond our physical consciousness, we surrender ourselves into the hands of the Divine, allowing it to immerse us in an ocean of peace and light. ‘In the presence of a gust of wind, She [Anandamayi Ma] would feel an impulse to let Her body fly away like a rag of thin cloth.’

When we sink deep into a silent void, we transcend mind and senses to touch the Universal, to frolic amid unearthly skies, firmaments, floating islands, valleys and cities suspended in Infinity’s Light… or a space that expands endlessly within. These experiences still every fluctuation of the mind, granting one-pointed inner clarity. The body becomes weightless, motionless, breathless and self-forgetful. Body-consciousness vanishes. At that moment, we feel we are the space itself, or a flowing current of love that is our All. No trace of the small outer personality remains. Time ceases. We swim in infinite peace. This leads to the Contemplation of the One, the Supreme Being beyond all qualities.

We can’t say that God is the object of our knowledge. God is our highest Self and is self-revealing to His devotees. This is totally His Game. So, the spiritually correct attitude is to practice meditation for the sake of God, The Supreme Being. The other reason of getting some earthly benefits will pale in insignificance as we are getting closer to our inner self.
We cannot ridiculously claim that God stands as an object before our understanding. Rather, He is our inmost, supreme Self, ever disclosing Himself to His devotees in His own perfect Play. The spiritually attuned attitude, therefore, is to meditate for the sake of God, the Supreme Being alone. Any lesser motive – seeking earthly benefits – fades into insignificance as we draw nearer to our inner reality.

In true meditation, we neither control nor alter anything… nor are we able to. It is ‘meditation’ itself that tends to our sublime state and attends to all our needs, both spiritual and earthly. Surrender to the highest Consciousness forms one of the cornerstones of the spiritual journey. Such surrender does not spring from the mind or mere resolve.

can we make the conscious effort of surrendering ourselves.“ 

In this surrender, we consciously embrace our inner being; when duality dissolves, the body becomes one with the silence-sky.

The silence of meditation is a becoming; we grow into our own direct experience. Then we carry that inner fragrance into daily life; it mysteriously permeates our words and actions. This is how we radiate inner light and how the world is transformed. It is called a manifestation of the Divine and remains as ineffable as silence itself.

Spirituality is not a mental road; we cherish the progress itself, without plans or expectations. We meditate by following our aspiration and love, without the idea of pursuing liberation or illumination. Spiritual life is not an austerity, yet it is certainly a discipline. We do not look at others; we listen from within to maintain a balance between outer life and inner practice. Of course, if we are members of a spiritual community, we follow the overall regulations approved by the Master. Meditation-silence is never judgemental to us; it is a loving and transforming inner space. On the personal level, we build a temporary harmony, without self-criticism or suppression of our nature, and then… move forward in continuous self-transcendence.

Of course, being members of a spiritual community, we have to follow the overall regulations approved by the Master.
Unfortunately, in the beginning, the mind is not ready to remain steadily empty and practise silence alone. It needs to be occupied with inspirational readings, disciplines, performances, and the like. Thus, there is nothing wrong in following a path of disciplined practice without becoming overly attached to ideas – where your heart belongs. This helps to keep our aspiration and belief high, enabling us to experience moments of silence. Yet, as soon as silence draws near, we need devotional silence most – sometimes even without other disciplines. This is not a call to abandon your spiritual community or practices you cherish, but simply a reminder that nothing stands even close to silence.

In the beginning, our aspiration is greatly mixed with ego. Let us do our inner work and serve others unconditionally, out of our inner oneness with them. Such service is an extension of our meditation. Meditation-silence and service will crush the ego and release our inner self.

Such transformation of human nature in meditation and service is unavoidable. In silence we are losing our ego, our old nature is dying and a new divine entity is taking birth. It is an unavoidable part of the evolutional journey, difficult to bear but always liberating. It helps if we go with purity, simplicity, stamina and balance.

To have implicit faith In God’s outer operations.” 

We can’t underestimate importance of being happy for spiritual practices. The happier we are the easier we find to meditate. Whereas, being unhappy and having loaded mind we locking ourselves in the mind.

With equal happiness course through me.” 

While on the path, we do not waste time on mental theories, criticism, suppressing our nature, comparing or competing with others, or entangling ourselves in self-imposed responsibilities. None of these add to our progress-joy. Let it be simple and soulful, and give silence priority.

A smooth life, ‘vital immobility,’ emotional balance, and outer dynamism – including regular athletics – are very helpful for substantial inner progress. In daily life, we shall make no mistakes simply by being natural and following common sense and our conscience.

There is no need to imitate or follow one another; everyone’s path is unique. We receive inspiration and encouragement from others, yet we follow our inner self.

Regulated physical exercise releases the flow of vital energy and makes our inner concentration easier and sharper. Ayurvedic food and hatha yoga are also supportive. Certain natural herbs and foods – wheatgrass juice, turmeric, ginger, kefir and others fermented foods… – possess beneficial properties for health. BUT let us not cheapen spirituality by imagining that external means can replace our aspiration and meditation. The true shortcut is indeed devotional silence.

We respect life. It is evolving from darkness to light. We do not look down on anyone or anything and love the world the way we love our inner self.

* Note, substances cause our consciousness distortion but they can never replace aspiration or speed up our mind-illumination or heart-liberation. Some psychedelics may damage our subtle body irreversibly. Also, prolonged use of substances like Ayahuasca may suppress the natural body synthesis of vitally important biochemicals. So, substance approach in spirituality is a sheer misconception. Err is human.