Preliminaries to Concentration
Concentration is fixing the
mind on an external object or an internal point.
There can be no concentration
without something upon which the mind may rest. There can be really no
concentration without a remarkable degree of interest and attention shown by
the practitioner. You must, therefore, know what these two words mean.
Attention is steady
application of the mind. It is focussing of consciousness on some chosen
object. Through attention you can develop your mental faculties and capacities.
Where there is attention, there is also concentration. Attention should be
cultivated gradually. It is not a special process. It is the whole mental
process in one of its aspects.
Perception always involves
attention. To perceive is to attend. Through attention you get a clear and
distinct knowledge of objects. The entire energy is focussed on the object
towards which attention is directed. Full and complete information is gained.
During attention all the dissipated rays of the mind are collected. There is
effort or struggle in attention. Through attention a deeper impression of
anything is made in the mind. If you have good attention, you can attend to the
matter in hand exclusively. An attentive man has very good memory. He is very vigilant
and circumspect. He is nimble and alert.
Attention is of two kinds,
viz., external attention and internal attention. When the attention is directed
towards external objects, it is called external attention. When it is directed
internally within the mind upon mental objects and ideas, it is known as
internal attention.
There are again two other
kinds of attention, viz., voluntary attention and involuntary attention. When
the attention is directed towards some external objects by an effort of the will,
it is called voluntary attention. When you have an express volition to attend
to this or that, it is called voluntary attention. The man understands why he
perceives. Some deliberate intention, incentive goal or purpose is definitely
involved. Voluntary attention needs effort, will, determination and some mental
training. This is cultivated by practice and perseverance. The benefits derived
by the practice of attention are incalculable. Involuntary attention is quite
common. This does not demand any practice. There is no effort of the will. The
attention is induced by the beauty and attractive parts of the object.
Individuals perceive without knowing why and without observed instruction.
Young children possess this power of involuntary attention to a greater degree
than grown-up people.
If a man is not observant, he
is not attentive. If he observes something, he is said to be attentive.
Intention, purpose, hope, expectation, desire, belief, wish, knowledge, aim,
goal, and needs serve to determine attention. You will have to note carefully
the degree, duration, range, forms, fluctuations and conflicts of attention.
There is great attention, if
the object is very pleasing. You will have to create interest. Then there will
be attention. If the attention gets diminished, change your attention to
another pleasant object. By patient training you can direct the mind to attend
to an unpleasant object also by creating interest. Then your Will will
grow strong.
If you closely watch, you will
note that you observe different objects at different times. This perception of
now one object and now another when the physical conditions are constant is
known as fluctuation of attention. Attention is changing. The objects
themselves change or fluctuate but there is no fluctuation in the observing
individual himself. The mind has not been trained to bear prolonged voluntary
attention. It gets disgusted through monotony and wants to run towards some
other pleasing object. You may say: "I am going to attend to one thing
only," but you will soon find that even though you attend very hard, you
suddenly perceive something else. The attention wavers.
Interest develops attention.
It is difficult to fix the mind on an uninteresting object. By the constant
practice and ever-renewed effort of attention, a subject that in the beginning
was dry and uninteresting may become full of interest when you master it and
learn its meaning and its issues.
If you possess strong power of
attention anything that the mind received will be deeply impressed. An
attentive man only can develop his will. A mixture of attention, application
and interest can work wonders. There is no doubt of this. A man of ordinary
intellect with highly developed attention can turn out more work than a highly
intellectual man who has a poor attention. Failure in anything is mainly due to
lack of attention. If you attend to one thing at a time, you will get profound
knowledge of that subject in its various aspects. The ordinary untrained man of
the world generally attends to several things at a time. He allows many things
to enter the gates of his mental factory. That is the reason why he has a
clouded or turbid mind. There is no clarity of thought. He cannot do the
process of analysis and synthesis. He is bewildered. He cannot express his
ideas clearly, whereas the disciplined man can attend to a subject exclusively
as long as he likes. He extracts full and detailed information about one
subject or object and then takes up another. Develop the power of attention
through steady practice and assiduous application. You will have tremendous
power of concentration.
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