Concentration
To bring the mind to the state
of awareness of meditation, stability or harmony has to be practiced in every
walk of life. Harmony is of various grades. One of them is concentration.
Concentration is of three forms: Concentration on External Points,
Concentration on Internal Points, Concentration on the Universal.
A. Concentration on External Points:
The mind is accustomed to
think of external objects only; so, it would be dangerous to suddenly cut off
the mind from external objects. You should not try to concentrate on internal
centers in the beginning of your practice.
You must pick an external
object that you have an interest in; that you have a love for. Believers in God
usually try to concentrate on an external picture or symbol of God. You may
keep a portrait of Lord Krishna or Jesus Christ in front of you, and gaze at
the picture with open eyes. Where the eyes are, there the mind also is. You are
not looking merely at a painted picture, but at a symbol of a living
personality. So, when you gaze at a picture of Christ or Krishna, you
immediately feel in your mind the qualities that these personalities were
endowed with.
After three or four minutes of
gazing at the picture, close your eyes and mentally imagine the picture.
Concentrate on the form you saw. Continue this internal concentration as long
as your mind is not disturbed. If, after a few minutes of closed-eyes meditation,
you feel that the mind is wandering, then again open the eyes and look at the
picture. After, again, gazing the picture for a few minutes, close the eyes
again to habituate the mind to internal meditation.
Practice this process for a
few months until you can concentrate without a picture. When you can
concentrate, merely by closing the eyes, on the form of the portrait, without
the external support of a painted picture, you have achieved the first success
in meditation.
Feel that this internal
picture is not merely in one place, but is in every place. When you begin to
feel a uniform presence in all places, the mind ceases from all distraction.
The other method to bring about this harmony of mental perception is to think
of the vast space. Inasmuch as space is everywhere, you try to concentrate on
all directions at one time. You can also concentrate on the light of the sun
pervading the whole space. Or you can concentrate on the vast ocean which is
everywhere. You can gaze at the flame of a candle or a dot on the wall.
When you gain success in this,
you can change your object of concentration; you will have such mastery of mind
that you can concentrate on any object. The purpose of this concentration is to
make the mind think only of one thing, and not think anything else. So,
ultimately, it matters little what object you choose for concentration if the
purpose is served, i.e. to think only of that thing and nothing else.
When you are accustomed to
this external meditation, you can turn to internal meditation.
B. Concentration on Internal Points:
Internal meditation means
concentration on certain centers (Chakras) of the body. The most important and
most favorable Chakras (for beginners) in meditation are the Chakra between the
eyebrows, and the Chakra in the heart.
In the waking state, the mind
functions in the brain, in the dream state it works near the throat, and in
deep sleep it goes to the heart. In deep, objectless meditation also the mind
goes to the heart. So, the ultimate purpose of internal meditation is to bring
the mind to the heart. This is done in three stages: the mind comes from the
external object to the head (i.e. the center between the eyebrows), then the
mind comes to the heart. Meditation on the point between the eyebrows is in two
stages:
(1) external
gaze at the center of eyebrows, and
(2) to close
the eyes and think of the spot alone (as a spot of light). Slowly, you begin to
feel that the mind descends from the head through the throat to the heart. When
you do this, you will fall asleep if you are careless. You must do this with
caution and alertness; otherwise you will sleep and mistake it for meditation.
The other method of internal
meditation is to directly meditate on the heart. You can imagine a blossoming
lotus in the heart, or the light of the rising sun in the heart. The best form
of meditation on the heart is to feel consciousness as seated there. From this
internal point of meditation on consciousness in the heart, you can slowly
proceed to the universal.
C. Concentration on the Universal:
Just as Consciousness is in
your heart, it is in the heart of everybody. Try to meditate on this
Consciousness as present everywhere, in everything (outside and inside)
uniformly. This is the absolute form of meditation, i.e., the Supreme State.
To help achieve this Universal
State by Meditation, you can chant Om (Pranava) in a methodical manner. There
are three types of OM chanting :
1. short
- about one second, i.e. 30 in 30 seconds;
2. middle
- each chant for five seconds, i.e. 6 chants in 30 seconds;
3. long
- each chant for fifteen seconds, i.e. 2 chants in 30 seconds.
The elongated process is the
best form of chanting. It makes the cells of the body subside in their
activities; the nervous system becomes calm. You need not take any
tranquilizers. If you are disturbed, chant this elongated way for fifteen
minutes. The whole system will become calm and quiet. When you chant like this,
feel also that you are expanding slowly into the Cosmos.
OM is not merely a sound that
we make, but a symbol of a Universal Vibration. This is really the Vibration
that was made at the beginning of the creation of the world. This Universal
Vibration (of creation) is the controlling force behind everything in the
world. So, when you chant OM and create this Vibration in your system, you set
yourself in tune with the Vibration of the Cosmos. The Forces of the Universe
begin to enter into your body; you will feel strong and energetic; your hunger
and thirst will decrease; you will feel absolute happiness even if you have nothing
(i.e. no material possessions) and are absolutely alone, unknown and unseen by
people. You will have no desire for anything in the world, because you have
become one with all things.
When you become the friend of
the Universal Forces, then the world will take care of you in times of
difficulty, and you will have no fear from anywhere. Then it is that, you
become a Saint or a Sage. In this state, if you have any desire, it will be
immediately fulfilled, because you have become the friend of all Forces in the
world. In this state of Ecstasy of Bliss, great Saints sing and dance (because
they possess everything in the world). Here it is that you will realize that
you are a Child of God. God Himself will perpetually take care of you and you
will have no fear, just as the son of a King has no fear because the King
protects him always and everywhere in the kingdom.
Excerpts from:
Harmony - Yoga and
Meditation by Swami Krishnananda
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