Worldly pleasures intensify the desire for enjoying greater pleasures. Hence, the mind of worldlings is very restless. There is no satisfaction and mental peace. Mind can never be satisfied, whatever amount of pleasure you may store up for it. The more it enjoys the pleasures, the more it wants them. So, people are exceedingly troubled and bothered by their own minds. They are tired of their minds. Hence, in order to remove these botherations and troubles, the Rishis (Holy men) thought it best to depreve the mind of all sensual pleasures. When the mind has been concentrated or made extinct, it cannot pinch one to seek for further pleasure and all botherations and troubles are removed for ever and the person attains real peace.
There is an externalising or objectifying power in the mind. The mind is drawn towards various objects. There is dissipation of mental energy, the powers of the mind, in varios directions. The rays of the mind are like the rays of light, scattered in the case of worldly-minded persons. When the rays of the mind are scattered over diverse objects, you get pain. When the rays are gathered and concentrated by practice, the mind becomes concentrated and you get happiness from within.
When you see your dear friend after six years, the Happiness that you get is not from the person, but from within yourself. The mind becomes concentrated for the time being and you get happiness from within your own self.
When you are in Kashmir, when you are enjoying the picturesque scenery of nature in Kashmir, your mind will be suddenly upsed by shock, if you receive a telegram which brings the unhappy tidings of the untimely demise of your beloved one. The scenery will no longer interest you. They have lost their charm for you. There is ejection of attention. There is depression. It is concentration and attention that gives you pleasure in sightseeing.
For purposes of concentration, you will have to gather the scattered rays of the mind patiently through dispassion and spiritual practice, through
renunciation and penance and then march boldly with indefatigable energy towards God. Through
constant spiritual practice, the mind must be checked from externalising. It must be made to more towards
God, its original home. When the mental rays are concentrated, illumination begins.
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. He who has learnt to manipulate the mind will get the whole of Nature under his control. There is no limit to the power of human mind. The more concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point.
A scientist concentrates his mind and invents many things. Through concentration, he opens the layers of the gross
mind and penetrates deeply into higher regions of the mind and gets deeper 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.
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(delusion) for family, children, money, power, position, respect, name and fame.
Concentration of the mind on God can give you real happiness and knowledge. You are born for this purpose only. You are carried away to external objects through attachment and infatuated love.
Practice concentration of mind. In trying to concentrate your mind or even project a thought, you will find that you
require naturally to form images in your mind. You cannot help it. Fix the mind on one object, on one idea. Withdraw the mind,
again and again, when it runs away from the goal 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 fear and forebodings. Make it hold on to one thought-form for half an half by incessant pracice. Make the mind to shape itself into one shape and
try to keep the shape for hours together through constant and incessant practice.
Concentration is holding the mind to one form or object steadily for a long time.
You can easily control the mind if you can concentrate on the Trikuti(the space between the two eyebrows) which is the seat of the mind in the waking state. Meditaion and concentration on the Trikuti lead to control of mind very easily. Light is seen during concentration in this region very quickly, even in a day's practice, by some persons.
A devotee should concentrate on the heart, the seat of emotion and feeling. He who concentrates on the heart gets great Happiness. He who wants to get Happiness should concentrate on the heart.
If you get headache or pain by concentrating on the Trikuti (the space between the two eyebrows) by turning the eyes upward, give up the practice at once. Concentrate on the heart. If you find it difficult to concentrate on your heart or the space between the two eyebrows(Trikuti) or top of the head, if you experience headache or pain in the skull, shift your centre of concentration to any object outside the body.
It is easy to concentrate the mind on external objects. The mind has a natural tendency to go outwards. You can concentrate on the blue sky, light of the sun, the all-pervading air or sun, moon or stars.
Train the mind in a variety of ways in concentration in the beginning. Concentrate on the sounds of the heart by closing the ears.
Concentrate on the breath with "Om" or "Soham"(a Vedantic assertion meaning 'I am He(God)' repetition.
Concentrate on any concrete image. Concentrate on the blue sky. Concentrate on the abstract ideas of Truth, Wisdom, Infinity, Oneness, etc. Lastly, stick to one thing only.
Though any subject has been established by means of arguments and valid authorities, still people's minds being entirely taken up with gross external objects, any clear conception of subtle ultimate truths is almost impossible withoiut proper faith. When there is faith, the mind can be easily concentrated on the subject to be understood; and then the understanding quickly follows.
The force wherewith anything strikes the mind is generally in proportion to the degree of attention bestowed upon it. Moreover, the great art of memory is attention and inattentive people have bad memories. Power of attention becomes weakened in old age.
Attention is focussing of consciousness. It is one of the signs of trained will. It is found in men of strong mentality. It is a rare faculty. Attention can be cultivated and developed by persistent practice. All the great men of the world who have achieved greatness have risen up through this faculty.
It is through the power of attention that mind carries out all its activities. Attention is the basis of will-force. Therefore cultivate the power of attention.
Attention may be eighter subjective or internal on an idea or objective or external on any object. Throw your entire attention into whatever you happen to be doing at the moment. It is easy to fasten the mind
on an object which the mind likes best. Practise attention on unpleasant tasks, from which you have been
shrinking before on account of their unpleasantness. Throw interest upon uninteresting objects and ideas. Hold them on before your mind. Interest will slowly manifest. Many
mental weaknesses will vanish. The mind will become stronger and stronger.
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 a King 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 a complete concentration of mind. You will have to
struggle very hard to have a single-minded concentration.
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 very 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 practice. They also make a grave mistake like the medical students. In the beginning of 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 thoughts will be abundant. In the third year of practice, the mind will be cool, pure and strong. You will derive immense joy. The sum total of pleasures of the whole world is nothing when compared to the Happiness derived from the meditation. Do not give up the practice at any cost. Plod on. Have patience.You will succeed eventually. Find out by serious introspection the various impediments that act as stumbling blocks in your concentration and remove them with patience and efforts one by one.
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