Trataka or Gazing Trataka is steady gazing. Write the word OM in black on the wall. Sit in front of the drawing. Concentrate on it with open eyes till tears come in the eyes. Then close the eyes. Visualise the picture of OM. Then open the eyes and again gaze till lachrymation manifests. Gradually increase the period. There are students who can gaze for one hour. Trataka is one of the Shat-Kriyas (six exercises) in Hatha Yoga. Get an OM picture, fix it on the wall and concentrate on this. Pictures are sold in the bazaar. Trataka steadies the wandering mind and removes Vikshepa (tossing of mind). Instead of gazing on OM you may gaze at a big black dot on the wall. The walls will present a golden colour during Trataka. Or draw a big black dot on a white paper and fix it on the wall. This will be a target for the Yogic student to concentrate his mind upon. Gaze at this black dot on the paper. You can do Trataka on any picture of the Lord either of Krishna, Rama or Siva or on Saligram. You can sit in the chair and gaze at the picture on the wall in front of your eyes. Trataka is the alphabet of concentration. It is the first exercise for Yogic students in concentration. Trataka with open eyes is followed by visualisation. Visualisation is calling up of a clear mental image of anything. Trataka and visualisation do help a lot in concentration. The mind can also be rendered steady by doing Manasic Puja, by thinking the attributes of the Lord and by remembering His Lilas.Practise Trataka for one minute on the first day. Then gradually increase the period every week. Do not strain the eyes. Do it gently with ease and comfort, as long as you can conveniently do. Repeat your Ishta Mantra, Hari Om, Sri Rama or Gayatri during Trataka. In some people who have weak capillaries, the eyes may become red. They need not be alarmed unnecessarily. The redness of the eyes will pass off quickly. Practise Trataka for six months. Then you can take up advanced lessons in concentration and meditation. Be regular and systematic in your Sadhana. If there is a break, take up the deficiency or loss on the next day. Trataka removes many eye-diseases and ultimately brings in Siddhis.

Concentration on Anahata Sounds Dharana is the intense and perfect concentration of the mind upon some interior or exterior object or sound like Anahata sounds, or any abstract idea, accompanied by complete abstraction (Pratyahara) from everything pertaining to the external universe or the world of senses. Practise Sadhana Sit in Padma or Siddha Asana. Practise Yoni Mudra by closing the ears with the thumbs. Hear the internal sound through the right ear. The sound which you hear will make you deaf to all external sounds. Having overcome all obstacles, you will enter the Turiya State within 15 days. In the beginning of your practice, you will hear many loud sounds. They gradually increase in pitch and are heard more and more subtly. You should try to distinguish sounds more and more subtle. You may change your concentration from the subtle to the gross, but you should not allow your mind to be diverted from them towards other objects. The mind having at first concentrated itself on any one sound fixes firmly to that and is absorbed in it. The mind becoming insensible to the external impressions, becomes one with the sound as milk with water and then becomes rapidly absorbed in Chidakasa (the Akasa where Chit prevails). Being indifferent towards all objects, and having controlled the passions, you should, by continual practice, concentrate your attention upon the sound which destroys the mind. Having abandoned all thoughts and being freed from all actions, you should always concentrate your attention on the sound, and then your Chitta becomes absorbed in it. Just as the bee drinking the honey alone does not care for the odour, so the Chitta which is always absorbed in sound, does not long for sensual objects, as it is bound by the sweet smell of Nada and has abandoned its fitting nature. The serpent-Chitta through listening to the Nada is entirely absorbed in it, and becoming unconscious of everything, concentrates itself on the sound. The sound serves the purpose of a sharp goad to control the maddened elephant-Chitta-which roves in the pleasure-garden of the sensual objects. It serves the purpose of a snare for binding the deer-Chitta. It also serves the purpose of a shore to the ocean-waves of Chitta. The sound proceeding from Pranava, which is Brahman, is of the nature of effulgence; the mind becomes absorbed in it; that is the Supreme Seat of Vishnu. The mind exists so long as there is sound, but with its cessation, there is that state termed Turiya. This sound is absorbed in Brahman and the soundless state is the Supreme Seat. The mind which along with Prana has its Karmic affinities destroyed by the constant concentration upon Nada is absorbed in the unstained One. There is no doubt of it. Being freed from all states and all thoughts whatsoever, you will remain like one dead. You will become a Mukta. There is no doubt about this. The body is certainly like a log and does not feel heat or cold, joy or sorrow. When the spiritual sight becomes fixed without any object to be seen, when the Prana becomes still without any effort, and when the Chitta becomes firm without any support, you become a Brahman (Brahmavid-Brahmaiva Bhavati).You may experience the tenth sound without the first nine sounds through the initiation of a Guru. In the first stage, the body becomes Chin-chini; in the second, there is the (Bhanjana) breaking or affecting in the body; in the third, there is the (Bhedana) piercing; in the fourth, the head shakes; in the fifth, the palate produces saliva; in the sixth, nectar is attained; in the seventh, the knowledge of the hidden things in the world arises; in the eighth, Paravak is heard; in the ninth, the body becomes invisible and the pure divine eye is developed; in the tenth, you attain the state of Para Brahman. When the Manas is destroyed, when virtues and sins are burnt away, you shine as the Effulgent, Immaculate, Eternal, Stainless, Suddha Brahman.

Concentration on a Chair The subject of concentration is disgusting and tiring for the neophyte. But it is the most interesting and beneficial science in the world. When one advances in concentration, when one takes real interest, when one has realised some benefits, he cannot leave the practice. He cannot remain even for a day without concentration. He becomes restless when he fails to have the practice. Concentration brings supreme joy, inner spiritual strength, unalloyed felicity and infinite eternal peace. Concentration brings profound knowledge and deep inner sight, intuition and communion with God. It is a wonderful science in the three worlds. I cannot adequately describe its benefits. Concentration on a chair really means getting full, detailed knowledge of the chair, its different parts, the particular wood out of which it is manufactured such as Devadaru, rose wood, etc., its workmanship, its durability, its cost price, the degree of comfort it gives for the back, arms, etc., whether the parts can be detached and fixed again, whether it is manufactured on modern lines and made bugproof, what sort of polish or varnish is used to make it durable, etc. When you concentrate on the chair, this sort of idea occupies your mind. Mind generally wanders wildly at random. When it thinks of one object, in a second it leaves that object and runs to another object like a monkey, then to a third object and so on. It cannot stick to one point. When the thought runs in one definite groove continuously on one subject alone like the flow of oil from one vessel to another, then it is concentration. The aspirant should withdraw his mind whenever it runs outside and put it in the same groove in the same line of thought on one subject and on one idea. This is spiritual Sadhana. This is Dharana and Dhyana. This will result in Samadhi or the superconscious state, the fourth dimension or Turiya. The vital point in concentration is to bring the mind to the same point of 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. When you meditate on a chair, bring all thoughts connected with the chair and dwell on these ideas. Do not allow any other thought connected with another object to enter the mind. There should be one line of thought. There should be one continuity of thought like the steady flow of oil from one vessel to another vessel, like the continuous sound of a church-bell. There may be several ideas connected with one subject. This does not matter. You can reduce the number of ideas and come to one idea of one subject. When this one idea also dies you get the superconscious state or Samadhi. When there is one idea it is called Savikalpa Samadhi which is a lower stage. When this one idea also dies out and when there is not even a single idea, the mind becomes blank or void. There is mental vacuity. This is the stage of thoughtlessness of Patanjali Maharshi in his Raja Yoga philosophy. You will have to rise above this blank Vritti and identify yourself with the Supreme Purusha or Brahman, the silent witness of the mind, who gives power and light to this mind. Then and then alone you can reach the highest goal of life.When you concentrate on a chair, do not allow any other thought of different objects. Again and again bring the mind that wanders to the object which is chair. When you meditate on a rose, think of rose and rose alone. When you think of a book, think all that is connected with the book and nothing outside it. When you think of a radio or talkie, think of the radio or talkie alone. Exhaust all matters connected with the subject on hand. You can take any subject that is pleasing to the mind. Slowly you can take up any subject that is displeasing to the mind by creating interest in it again and again. You should always remember the maxim: “One thing at a time and that done well is a very good rule as many can tell.” When you take up any work, apply your whole heart, full mind and sound to the work. Do it with perfect concentration. What another can do in six hours you can turn out within half an hour, smoothly and in a methodical and orderly manner. This is Yogic activity. You will be taken for an accomplished Yogi. Even when you study, study the subject with perfect concentration. Do not allow the mind to wander. You must shut out all external sounds. Fix the gaze at one point. Do not allow the eyes to wander. When you study one subject, do not think of a talkie or sweetmeats or a friend. The whole world must be dead to you for the time being. Such must be the nature of concentration. It will come to you after some steady and constant endeavours. Be not troubled. Be not discouraged. There will be some delay. Wait coolly and patiently. Rome was not built in a day. It is all a question of time. Do not leave the practice even for a day, even when you are sick. In your failure lies the secret of your success and in your weakness the secret of your strength. Plod on. Push on. Gird up your loins. Nil desperandum. Be bold. March on courageously. Be cheerful. A brilliant future is awaiting thee. Practise. Feel. Rejoice. Become a Yogi or a world-figure. I can make you one. Follow me. Be sincere and earnest. Rise up. Awake. Thy Light has come. O my dear children of Light and Immortality, Brahmamuhurta is dawning now. It is 3.30 a.m. This is the best time

Exercises in Concentration I. Ask your friend to show you some playing cards. Immediately after the exposure, describe the forms you have seen. Give the number, name, etc., such as king of clubs, ten of spades, queen of diamonds, jack of hearts, etc. II. Read two or three pages of a book. Then close the book. Now attend to what you have read. Abandon all distracting thoughts. Focus your attention carefully. Allow the mind to associate, classify, group, combine and compare. You will get now a fund of knowledge and information on the subject. Mere skipping over the pages inadvertently is of no use. There are students who read a book within a few hours. If you ask them to reproduce some important points of the book, they will blink. If you attend to the subject on hand very carefully, you will receive clear, strong impression. If the impressions are strong, you will have very good memory. III. Sit in your favourite meditative pose about one foot from a watch. Concentrate on the ‘tik-tik’ sound slowly. Whenever the mind runs, again and again try to hear the sound. Just see how long the mind can be fixed continuously on the sound. IV. Sit again in your favourite Asana. Close your eyes. Close the ears with your thumbs or plug the ears with wax or cotton. Try to hear the Anahata sounds (mystic sounds). You will hear various kinds of sounds such as flute, violin, kettledrum, thunder-storm, conch, bells, the humming of a bee, etc. Try to hear the gross sounds first. Hear only one kind of sound. If the mind runs, you can shift it from gross to subtle, or from subtle to gross. Generally you will hear sounds in your right ears. Occasionally you may hear in your left ear also. But try to stick to the sound of one ear. You will get one-pointedness of mind. This is an easy way to capture the mind, because it is enchanted by the sweet sound, just as a snake is hypnotised by the notes of the snake-charmer. V. Keep a candle-flame in front of you and try to concentrate on the flame. When you are tired of doing this, close your eyes and try to visualise the flame. Do it for half a minute and increase the time to five or ten minutes according to your taste, temperament and capacity. You will see Rishis and Devatas, when you enter into deep concentration. VI. In a lying posture, concentrate on the moon. Whenever the mind runs, again and again bring it back to the image of the moon. This exercise is very beneficial in the case of some persons having an emotional temperament. VII. In the above manner, you can concentrate on any star you may single out from the millions of stars shining above your head. VIII. Sit by the side of a river where you can hear a roaring sound like “OM.” Concentrate on that sound as long as you like. This is very thrilling and inspiring. IX. Lie on your bed in the open air and concentrate on the blue expansive sky above. Your mind will expand immediately. You will be elevated. The blue sky will remind you of the infinite nature of the Self.X. Sit in a comfortable posture and concentrate on any one of the numerous abstract virtues such as mercy, compassion, etc. Dwell upon this virtue as long as you can.