Tap All Powers 1. In all man’s struggles and attempts at achieving any desired end, there is in reality no necessity at all for him to go in quest of external forces to aid him. Man contains within himself vast resources, inherent power, lying untapped or else only partially made use of. 2. It is because he has allowed his faculties to get scattered on a hundred different things that he fails to achieve anything great despite his inherent potentialities. If he intelligently regulates and applies them, quick and concrete results will accrue. 3. To learn to rationally and effectively use the existing forces, man need not wait for any striking new methods, etc., to be invented, to guide him. Since the dawn of creation, nature herself abounds in instructive examples and lessons to aid man in every walk of his life. Observation will tell us that every force in nature, when allowed to flow loosely over a wide area, moves slowly and with comparatively less power than it would do if gathered together in one mass and directed through a single restricted outlet. 4. This gathering together of the scattered rays and bringing this force to bear upon a given point,-any object, idea or action-forms the process. 5. As examples of the power generated by a concentration of force are cited (1) the sluggish and leisurely flow of a river, damned and accumulated, rushes out with an amazing force through the sluice, (2) the phenomenon of ton-loads of cargo in heavy wagons being hauled or propelled by the power of steam concentrated in the boiler of the engine, (3) the most common domestic sight, the clattering and displacement of the covering lid of a cauldron when the latter commences to boil very much, (4) the normally warm sun-rays become suddenly so hot as to burn up objects when centralised and brought into focus through the lens. And the simple and commonest of action, where one unconsciously uses this principle, is noticed when a man wishing to hail another a good distance away, automatically cups his palms and shouts through them. 6. This law is equally applicable to man in all branches of his life’s activities. With the utmost concentrated and careful attention, the surgeon executes minute operations. The deepest absorption marks the state of the technician, the engineer, architect or the expert painter, engaged in drawing the minute details of a plan, chart or sketch, where accuracy is of paramount importance. A like concentration is displayed by the skilled Swiss workmen that fashion the delicate parts of watches and other scientific instruments. Thus in every art and science. 7. This is specially so in the spiritual line where the aspirant has to deal with forces internal. The powers of the mind are always scattered and resist attempts at concentration. This oscillatory tendency is an innate characteristic of the mind-stuff. Of the various methods employed to curtail and arrest this tossing of the mind, those using the medium of sound and sight, stand prominent, because these two have a peculiar knack of catching the attention of and stilling the mind. It is seen how a hypnotist gently subdues the mind of the ‘subject’ by making the latter gaze steadily into his (the hypnotist’s) eyes and listen to the monotonous repetition of his steady, deliberate suggestions. We have still another clue to this when we note the mother gently croons the little child into slumber. Also the schoolmaster’s sharp, “Now then, boys look here,” whenever he desires them to pay special attention to what he is saying, is significant. He feels that by getting them to fix their gaze on him, he will draw the attention of their minds as well to his teaching. Therefore in the course of spiritual discipline too, the methods of developing concentration take the form of gazing steadily at a dot, or at the symbol of the Pranava, or the Mantra or the figure of the favourite chosen deity. With some others it is done by the audible repetition of the Mantra or the Lord’s name, or OM, or some select Kirtan tunes with regular rhythm and intonation. By these means the mind gradually gets indrawn and focussed. As this state deepens, the person slowly loses awareness of his surroundings. The concentration, when continued, leads to the state of Dhyana or meditation, when the practitioner tends to forget even that physical frame.Meditation, when persisted in and perfected, brings about the experience of superconsciousness or Samadhi, the ultimate state of Self-awareness or Realisation.

Reduce Mind-Wandering A scientist concentrates his mind and invents many things. Through concentration he open the layers of the gross mind and penetrates deeply into higher regions of the mind and gets knowledge. He concentrates all the energies of his mind into one focus and throws them out upon the materials he is analysing and so finds out their secrets. He who has learnt to manipulate the mind will get the whole of Nature under control. When you see your dear friend after six years, the Ananda (happiness) that you get is not from the person but from within yourself. The mind becomes concentrated for the time being and you get Ananda from within your own self. When the rays of the mind are scattered over diverse objects you get pain. When the rays are gathered and collected by practice the mind becomes concentrated and you get Ananda from within. As mind evolves, you come into conscious relation with mental currents with the minds of others, near and distant, living and dead. When there is faith, the mind can be easily concentrated on the subject to be understood and then the understanding quickly follows. If you find it difficult to concentrate on your heart or the space between the two eyebrows (Trikuti) or top of the head, you can concentrate on any external object. You can concentrate on the blue sky, light of the sun, the all-pervading air or ether or sun, moon or stars. If you experience headache or pain in the skull, shift your centre of concentration to any object outside the body. If you get headache or pain by concentrating on the Trikuti (the space between the two eyebrows) by turning the eyes upwards, give up the practice at once. Concentrate on the heart. The mind thinks of words and their meanings. While at other times it thinks of objects. When you attempt to have one-pointedness of mind, you must make the mind not to think of objects and the words and their meanings. Some medical students leave the medical college soon after joining it as they find it disgusting to wash the pus in ulcers and dissect the dead bodies. They make a serious blunder. In the beginning, it is loathing. After studying pathology, medicine, operative surgery, morbid anatomy, bacteriology, the course will be interesting in the final year. Many spiritual aspirants leave off the practice of concentration of mind after some time as they find it difficult to practise. They also make a grave mistake like the medical students. In the beginning of the practice when you struggle to get over the body-consciousness, it will be disgusting and troublesome. It will be a physical wrestling. The emotions and Sankalpas will be abundant. In the third year of practice the mind will be cool, pure and strong. You will derive immense joy (Ananda). The sum total of pleasures of the whole world is nothing when compared to the Ananda derived from meditation. Do not give up the practice at any cost. Plod on. Persevere. Have patience (Dhriti), Utsaha (cheerfulness), and Sahasa (tenacity, application). You will succeed eventually. Never despair. Find out by serious introspection the various impediments that act as stumbling blocks in your concentration and remove them with patience and effort one by one. Do not allow new Sankalpas and new Vasanas to crop up. Nip them in the bud through Viveka, Vichara and Dhyana. A man’s duty consists in the control of the senses and concentration of the mind. There was a workman who used to manufacture arrows. Once he was very busy at his work. He was so much absorbed in his work that he did not notice even a big party of the Raja with his retinue passing in front of his shop. Such must be the nature of your concentration when you fix your mind on God. You must have the one idea of God and God alone. No doubt it takes some time to have complete Ekagrata of mind. You will have to struggle very hard to have single-minded concentration. Sri Dattatreya made the above arrow-maker as one of his Gurus. Even if the mind runs outside during your practice in meditation, do not bother. Allow it to run. Slowly try to bring it to your Lakshya (centre). By repeated practice the mind will be finally focussed in your heart, in the Atman, the Indweller of your heart, the final goal of life. In the beginning the mind may run out 80 times. Within six months it may run 70 times, within a year it may run 50 times, within 2 years it may run 30 times, within 5 years it will be completely fixed in the Divine Consciousness. Then it will not run out at all even if you try your level best to bring it out, like the wandering bull, which was in the habit of running to gardens of different landlords for eating grass but which now eats fresh gram and cotton seeds in its own resting place. Collect the Rays of Mind. 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 slowly, so also you will have to collect back with care and exertion the dissipated rays of the mind, that are thrown over the sensual objects for very many years.If there is any inflammatory swelling on your back with throbbing pain, you do not experience any pain at night when you are asleep. Only when the mind is connected with the diseased part through nerves and thinking, you begin to experience pain. If you can consciously withdraw the mind from the diseased part by concentrating it on God or any other attractive object, you will not experience any pain even when you are wide awake. If you have a powerful will and strong Titiksha (power of endurance), then also you will not experience any pain. By constant

Know the Ways of Mind Dharana is practised for stopping the modifications of the mind. Concentration is holding the mind to one form or object steadily for a long time. Kshipta, Mudha, Vikshepa, Ekagra and Niruddha are the five Yogic Bhumikas. The Chitta or mind manifests in five different forms. In the Kshipta state, the rays of the mind are scattered on various objects. It is restless and jumps from one object to another. In the Mudha state, the mind is dull and forgetful. Vikshipta is the gathering mind. It is occasionally steady and at other times distracted. By practice of concentration the mind struggles to gather itself. In the Ekagra state, it is one-pointed. There is only one idea present in the mind. The mind is under control in the Niruddha state. There is externalising or objectifying power in the mind. This leads to Bahirmukha-Vritti. The mind is drawn towards objects. Through constant Sadhana (spiritual practice) the mind must be checked from externalising. It must be made to move towards Brahman, its original home. There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The more concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point. You are born to concentrate the mind on God after collecting the mental rays that are dissipated on various objects. That is your important duty. You forget the duty on account of Moha for family, children, money, power, position, name and fame. Mind is compared to quicksilver, because its rays are scattered over various objects. It is compared to a monkey, because it jumps from one object to another. It is compared to moving air, because it is Chanchala. It is compared to a rutting, furious elephant, because of its passionate impetuosity. Mind is known by the name ‘Great Bird,’ because it jumps from one object to another just as a bird jumps from one twig to another, from one tree to another. Raja Yoga teaches us how to concentrate the mind and then how to ransack the innermost recesses of our minds. Concentration is opposed to sensuous desires, bliss to flurry and worry, sustained thinking to perplexity, applied thinking to sloth and torpor, rapture to ill-will. So long as the thoughts of one are not thoroughly destroyed through persistent practice, he should ever be concentrating his mind on one truth at a time. Through such unremitting practice, one-pointedness will accrue to the mind and instantly all the hosts of thoughts will vanish. To remove this (tossing and various other obstacles which stand in the way of one-pointedness of mind), the practice of concentration on one thing alone should be made. Mind is directly or indirectly attached to some pleasing or favourite ideas. When you are in Kashmir, when you are enjoying the picturesque scenery of Gulmarg, Sonmarg, Cheshmashai and Anantanag, your mind will be suddenly upset by shock if you receive a telegram which brings the unhappy tidings of the untimely demise of your only son. The scenery will no longer interest you. You have lost the charm for the scenery. There is ejection of attention. There is depression. It is concentration and attention that gives you pleasure in sight-seeing. “Having made Atman as the lower Arani (sacrificial wood) and the Pranava as the upper Arani, one should see God in secret through the practice of churning which is Dhyana (meditation).”-Dhyanabindu Upanishad. Place a picture of Lord Jesus in front of you. Sit in your favourite meditative pose. Concentrate gently with open eyes on the picture till tears trickle down your cheeks. Rotate the mind on the cross on the chest, long hair, beautiful beard, round eyes, and the various other limbs of His body and fine spiritual aura emanating from His head, and so on. Think of His divine attributes such as love, magnanimity, mercy and forbearance. It is easy to concentrate the mind on external objects. The mind has a natural tendency to go outwards. Desire is a mode of the emotive mind. It has got a power of externalising the mind. Fix the mind on Atman. Fix the mind on the All-pervading pure Intelligence and Self-luminous effulgence (Svayamjyotis). Stand firm in Brahman. Then you will become “Brahma- Samstha” (established in Brahman). Practise concentration of mind. Fix the mind on one object, on one idea. Withdraw the mind again and again when it runs away from the Lakshya and fix it there. Do not allow the mind to create hundreds of thought-forms. Introspect and watch the mind carefully. Live alone. Avoid company. Do not mix. This is important. Do not allow the mind to dissipate its energy in vain on vain thoughts, vain worry, vain imagination and vain fear and forebodings. Make it hold on to one thought-form for half an hour by incessant practice. Make the mind to shape itself into one shape and try to keep the shape for hours together through constant and incessant practice. In trying to concentrate your mind or project a thought even, you will find that you require naturally to form images in your mind. You cannot help it. Do not wrestle with the mind during meditation. It is a serious mistake. Many neophytes commit this grave error. That is the reason why they get easily tired soon. They get headache and they have to get up very often to pass urine during the course of meditation owing to the irritation set up in the micturition centre in the spinal cord. Sit comfortably in Padma, Siddha, Sukha or Svastika Asana. Keep the head, neck and trunk in one straight line. Relax the muscles, nerves and brain. Calm the objective mind. Close the eyes. Get up at 4 a.m. (Brahma Muhurta). Do not struggle with the mind. Keep it calm and relaxed. By manipulating the mind you will be able to bring it under your control, make it work as you like and compel it to concentrate its powers as you desire. In trained Yogis you cannot say where

Antarmukha and Bahirmukha Vrittis Antarmukha-Vritti You will get Antarmukha-Vritti (inward-moving mind) only after you have destroyed all the externalising powers of the mind. The Antarmukha-Vritti is the indrawing energy of the mind owing to increase in Sattva. You must learn the art of making the mind introspective or turned inward upon itself through the Yogic Kriya, Pratyahara (abstraction). Those who know this practice can really be peaceful. They only can be really peaceful. They only can be really happy. Mind cannot do any havoc now. The mind cannot externalise itself. It can be kept inside in the Hridaya Guha (cave of the heart). You must starve the mind by Vairagya and Tyaga (renunciation of desires, objects and egoism). When the outgoing tendencies of the mind are arrested, when the mind is restrained within the heart, when all its attention is turned on itself alone, that condition is Antarmukha-Vritti. The Sadhaka can do a lot of Sadhana when he has this inward Vritti. Vairagya and introspection help a lot in the attainment of this mental state. Bahirmukha-Vritti The Bahirmukha-Vritti is the outgoing tendency of the mind due to Rajas. Further, on account of force of habit the ears and eyes at once run towards sound. Objects and desires are externalising forces. A Rajasic man full of desires can never dream of an inner spiritual life with Antarmukha-Vritti. He is absolutely unfit for the practice of introspection. When the vision is turned outwards the rush of fleeting events engages the mind. The outgoing energies of the mind begin to play.When you are firmly established in the idea that the world is unreal, Vikshepa (through names and forms) and Sphurana of Sankalpas (thoughts) will slowly vanish. Repeat constantly the formulae: “Brahman alone is real. World is unreal. Jiva is identical with Brahman.” You will gain immense strength and peace of mind through the repetition.

Aids to Concentration Concentration or Dharana is centering the mind on one single thought. During concentration the mind becomes calm, serene and steady. The various rays of the mind are collected and focussed on the object of meditation. The mind is centred on the Lakshya. There will be no tossing of the mind. One idea occupies the mind. The whole energy of the mind is concentrated on that one idea. The senses become still. They do not function. When there is deep concentration, there is no consciousness of the body and surroundings. He who has good concentration can visualise the picture of the Lord very clearly within the twinkling of an eye. Manorajya (building castles in the air) is not concentration. It is wild jumping of the mind in the air. Do not mistake Manorajya for concentration or meditation. Check this habit of the mind through introspection and self-analysis. If you concentrate your mind on a point for 12 seconds, it is Dharana (concentration). Twelve such Dharanas will be a Dhyana (meditation) 12×12=144 seconds. Twelve such Dhyanas will be Samadhi-25 minutes and 28 seconds. This is according to Kurma Purana. Concentration may also be directed on the mental image of God. The practice of concentration and the practice of Pranayama are interdependent. If you practise Pranayama you will get concentration. Naturally Pranayama follows the practice of concentration. There are different practices according to different temperaments. For some the practice of Pranayama will be easy to start with; for others the practice of concentration will be easy to begin with. When there is deep concentration you will experience great joy and spiritual intoxication. You will forget the body and the surroundings. All the Prana will be taken up to your head. Pranayama or control of breath removes the veil of Rajas and Tamas that envelop Sattva. It purifies the nerves (Nadis). It makes the mind firm and steady and thereby renders it fit for concentration. The dross of the mind is cleansed by Pranayama just as the dross of gold is got rid of by melting. When you study a book with profound interest, you do not hear if a man shouts and calls you by your name. You do not see a person when he stands in front of you. You do not smell the sweet fragrance of flowers that are placed on the table by your side. This is concentration or one-pointedness of mind. The mind is fixed firmly on one thing. You must have such a deep concentration when you think of God or the Atman. It is easy to concentrate the mind on a worldly object, because the mind takes interest in it naturally through force of habit. The grooves are already cut in the brain. You will have to train the mind gradually by daily practice of meditation on God, or on the Self within. The mind will not move now to external objects as it experiences immense joy from the practice of concentration. A goldsmith converts 10 carat gold into pure gold by adding acids and burning it several times in the crucible. Even so, you will have to purify your sensuous mind through concentration, reflection on the word of your spiritual preceptor and Upanishadic sentences or meditation, Japa or silent repetition of the name of the Lord. Beginners will get jerks in meditation. Jerks of head, feet, hands, arms, forearms and trunk may take place. Timid persons are unnecessarily alarmed on this score. It is nothing. Meditation brings on changes in the cells of brain, nerves, etc. Old cells are replaced by new vigorous cells. They are filled with Sattva. New grooves, new channels for Sattvic thought-currents, new avenues are formed in the brain and mind. The muscles are therefore agitated a bit. Be courageous and bold. Courage is an important virtue and qualification for aspirants. Cultivate this positive quality. Sit in a proper posture. Shut your eyes. Imagine that there is nothing but God everywhere. Algebra, the science of abstract numbers cannot be understood without a preliminary practice and knowledge of arithmetic, the science of concrete numbers. Kavyas in Sanskrit and higher Vedantic books cannot be understood without a preliminary knowledge of Laghu and Siddhanta Kaumudis and Tarka-Sangraha. Even so, meditation on Nirguna, Nirakara (abstract) Brahman is impossible without a preliminary practice of concentration on a concrete form in the beginning. Approach to the Invisible and the Unknown is to be made through the visible and the known. The more is the mind fixed on God the more is the strength you will acquire. More concentration means more energy. Concentration opens the inner chambers of love or the realm of eternity. Concentration is the sole key for opening the chamber of knowledge. Concentrate. Meditate. Develop the powers of deep thinking and concentrated thinking. Many obscure points will be rendered quite clear. You will get answers and solutions from within. Suka Deva had to go to Raja Janaka to get confirmation of his knowledge and realisation. He was tested by Janaka in the Durbar. Raja Janaka arranged for music and dancing parties all around his palace to distract the attention of Suka Deva. There were various kinds of shows and entertainments. Suka Deva was asked to carry in his hand a cup of milk that was filled to the very brim, around his palace and to make three such rounds without allowing even a drop to fall to the ground. Suka Deva completely succeeded in his attempt as he was fully established in his Self. Nothing could distract his mind. Be slow and steady in concentration. By practice of concentration you will become superhuman. You will have to coax the mind in the beginning just as you coax the children. Mind is also like an ignorant child. Speak to the mind. “O Mind, why do you run after false, worthless, perishable objects? You will undergo countless sufferings. Look at Lord Krishna, the Beauty of beauties. You will get everlasting happiness. Why do you