Mind : ( 24/10/2012. )

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Concentration : 7. ( Last Part ) : TO CONCENTRATION-THE MASTER-KEY SUCCESS : Those who practise concentration evolve quickly. They can do any work with scientific a...

TO CONCENTRATION-THE MASTER-KEY SUCCESS : Those who practise concentration evolve quickly. They can do any work with scientific accuracy and great efficiency. What others do in six hours can be done, by one who has concentration, within half an hour. What others read in six hours can be read, by one who does concentration, within half an hour. Concentration purifies and calms the surging emotions, strengthens the current of thought, and clarifies the ideas.  Concentration helps a man in his material progress also. He will have a very good out-turn of work in his office or business house. He who practises concentration will possess very clear mental vision. What was cloudy and hazy before becomes clear and definite now. What was difficult before becomes easy now. And what was complex, bewildering, and confusing before comes easily within the mental grasp. You can achieve anything through concentration. Nothing is impossible to a man who practises regular concentration....

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Concentration : 6. : HOW TO INCREASE YOUR POWER OF CONCENTRATION : CONCENTRATION AND PRANAYAMA : The practice of concentration and the practice of ...

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR POWER OF CONCENTRATION : CONCENTRATION AND PRANAYAMA : The practice of concentration and the practice of Pranayama are interdependent. If you practise Pranayama, you will get concentration. Natural Pranayama follows the practice of concentration. A Hatha Yogi practises Pranayama and then controls the mind. He rises upwards from below. A Raja Yogi practises concentration and thus controls his Prana. He comes downwards from above. They both meet on a common platform in the end. There are different practices according to the different capacities, tastes, and temperaments. To some, the practice of Pranayama will be easy to start with; to others, the practice of concentration will be easier. The latter had already practised Pranayama in their previous births. Therefore they take up, in this birth, the higher limb of Yoga, i.e., concentration.  IMPORTANCE OF AN ETHICAL BASIS Purify the mind first through the practice of right conduct and then take ...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Concentration : 5. : A MENTAL PROCESS, NOT A MUSCULAR EXERCISE : Concentration is purely a mental process. It needs an inward turning of the mind. It is...

A MENTAL PROCESS, NOT A MUSCULAR EXERCISE : Concentration is purely a mental process. It needs an inward turning of the mind. It is not a muscular exercise. There should be no undue strain on the brain. You should not fight and wrestle with the mind violently.  When you concentrate on any object, avoid tension anywhere in the body or mind. Think gently of the object in a continuous manner. Do not allow the mind to wander away.  HOW TO INCREASE YOUR POWER OF CONCENTRATION : Concentration can be done only if you are free from all distractions. A man whose mind is filled with passion and all sorts of fantastic desires can hardly concentrate on any object even for a second. His mind will be jumping like an old monkey. Japa of any Mantra and Pranayama (breathing exercise) will steady the mind, remove tossing, and increase the power of concentration.  Too much physical exertion, too much talking, too much eating, too much mixing with the opposite sex and und...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Concentration :3. : Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Concentration :3. : OBJECTS OF CONCENTRATION : Sit on any comfortable pose. Place a picture of your Ishta Devata i...

AN UPHILL TASK FOR THE BEGINNER : For a neophyte, the practice of concentration is disgusting and tiring in the beginning. He has to cut new grooves in the mind and brain. After some months, he will get great interest in concentration. He will enjoy a new kind of happiness, the concentration-Ananda (bliss). He will become restless if he fails to enjoy this new kind of happiness even for one day.  The vital point in concentration is to bring the mind to the same point or object again by limiting its movements in a small circle in the beginning. That is the main aim. A time will come when the mind will stick to one point alone. This is the fruit of your constant and protracted Sadhana. The joy is indescribable now.  Concentration will increase by lessening the number of thoughts. Certainly, it is an uphill work to reduce the number of thoughts. Just as you will have to take back with care your cloth that is fallen on a thorny plant by removing the thorns one by one...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Concentration :3. : OBJECTS OF CONCENTRATION : Sit on any comfortable pose. Place a picture of your Ishta Devata in front of you. Look at the picture ...

OBJECTS OF CONCENTRATION : Sit on any comfortable pose. Place a picture of your Ishta Devata in front of you. Look at the picture with a steady gaze. Then close your eyes and visualise the picture in the centre of your heart or in the space between the eyebrows.  When the picture fades out in your mental vision, open the eyes and gaze at the picture again. Close your eyes after a few seconds and repeat the process.  It is easy to concentrate the mind on external objects. The mind has a natural tendency to go outwards. In the beginning stage of practice, you can concentrate on a black dot. on the wall, a candle flame, a bright star, the moon, or any other object that is pleasing to the mind.  The mind should be trained to concentrate on gross objects in the beginning; and later on, you can successfully concentrate on subtle objects and abstract ideas.  There is no concentration without something to rest the mind upon. Concentrate on anything that app...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Recognising the Manifestations of Ego : : One of the most tragic phenomena in this world is the fighting going in the name of religion. If we step back and analyse it, we will ...

One of the most tragic phenomena in this world is the fighting going in the name of religion. If we step back and analyse it, we will see that at a fundamental level it is a manifestation of ego, our sense of separation—ego at a very gross and tamasic level. But even if we think that our spiritual path is superior to other paths—the path of devotion is superior to the path of knowledge or the path of knowledge is superior to the path of devotion—that too is a manifestation of ego, even if it is at a relatively benign level. There would perhaps be no great harm in this attitude except that getting rid of ego is the purpose of our spiritual life; and Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji, who believed in integral yoga, told us that there is no difference between supreme knowledge and supreme devotion. Therefore to allow any feeling of superiority or to emphasize any difference in our spiritual life indicates a lack of understanding of its ultimate purpose, which is a vision that sees that di...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): How to Meditate : :                                                Sri Swami Adi Sankaracharya How to Meditate : So many textbooks are available on m...

                                               Sri Swami Adi Sankaracharya How to Meditate : So many textbooks are available on meditation nowadays that everyone has some idea of what it is all about. In brief, meditation is the most wonderful adventure: ‘Discovery of self’. Meditation enables us to enjoy consciously the peace, happiness and revitalisation that we unconsciously have in sleep. Meditation lifts us above the cares and anxieties of our daily life, it enables us to overcome our moral weaknesses and evil habits and thus transform our very life. By dispelling ignorance, meditation removes all our morbid and childish fears and leads us to the hall of divine light, where we perceive our self as the immortal essence of all existence, where we realise that we are at once linked in a bond of eternal love with all creation. By enabling us to get in tune ...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Concentration : : INTRODUCTION If you focus the rays of the sun through a lens, they can burn cotton or a piece of paper; but, the scattered rays c...

1. INTRODUCTION If you focus the rays of the sun through a lens, they can burn cotton or a piece of paper; but, the scattered rays cannot do this act. If you want to talk to a man at a distance, you make a funnel of your hand and speak. The sound-waves are collected at one point and then directed towards the man. He can hear your speech very clearly. The water is converted into steam and the steam is concentrated at a point. The railway engine moves. All these are instances of concentrated waves.  Even so, if you collect the dissipated rays of the mind and focus them at a point, you will have wonderful concentration. The concentrated mind will serve as a potent searchlight to find out the treasures of the soul and attain the supreme wealth of Atman (the Self), eternal bliss, immortality and perennial joy. Real Raja Yoga starts from concentration. Concentration merges in meditation. Concentration is a portion of meditation. Meditation follows concentration. Samadh...