Without concentration nothing can be done. And we use that concentration throughout the day. Concentration is difficult in spiritual matters because the mind is outward turned and by desire the mind clings to objects. But the mind can be trained to concentrate inwardly, and the heart can be cultured to grow with love for God. This can be by Sadhana. (CWBSSB, p. 171)
It is not practical to attempt to concentrate on that which has no form. To concentrate on the jyoti, is an illustration. The object of concentration can be sound, form or jyoti, etc. It needs to be something concrete. It is not easy to fix the mind on the abstract. (CWBSSB, p. 173)
Even the pettiest of tasks needs for its fulfilment the quality of concentration. (DhyV, p. 5)
Shri Krishna said, ‘You have only to concentrate over the act and carry it out as you can. To act and only to act is the duty imposed on you’. That was the immortal nectarine advice of the Lord (SV, p. 137)
Concentration, Contemplation and Meditation.mp3
Many people think that concentration is the same thing as meditation but there is no such connection between concentration and meditation. Concentration is something, which is below your senses whereas meditation is something, which is above your senses. But many are under the false impression that concentration is identical with meditation and they take to a wrong path. Concentration is something, which we use involuntarily in our daily normal routine life. Just look at this, I am now reading the newspaper. My eyes are looking at the letters.
My hand is holding the paper. My intelligence is thinking now. Mind is also thinking. Thus when the eyes are doing their work, the hand is doing its work, when the intelligence is doing its work and the mind is also doing its work, and there is co-ordinated action of the mind, intelligence, hand and eyes, I am able to get the contents of the news paper: It means, if I want to get the matter that is contained in the newspaper, all these enumerated senses are concentrated in the newspaper, and they are all co-ordinated and are working on the news paper.
Not only this, if one wants to drive a car, unless one has concentration, one cannot drive a car on the road. All the normal routines, like walking, talking, reading, writing, eating, all these things we do only as result of concentration. If concentration like this is part and parcel of your daily life, then what is that we practise to get concentration? What we have to practise is something which is beyond these normal senses. We must rise from being below the senses (that is the state of concentration to the senses (that is, the middle position called contemplation); and from there we must rise above the senses, that is called meditation. Between concentration and meditation there is a border area which covers both and that is the area of contemplation.
To be in that state of contemplation is to free yourself of worldly attachments. If you break away all the worldly attachments - all the routine attachments in the world - then you will enter the region of contemplation. When you have completely broken away all your attachments, and you break through this area of contemplation and you get into the area of meditation.
These steps can also be described as starting point self-confidence, and then getting self-satisfaction and self sacrifice, and the last step is self-realisation. The ultimate step of self-realisation depends upon the base of self-confidence. You must therefore develop as a first step confidence in your own self. Without having and developing confidence in your own self, if all the time you are talking of some power being with someone and some other power being with someone else, if in this way you travel all the time and depend upon power which is with someone else, when are you going to acquire any power and confidence in your own self. Peace and bliss are within you they are not something, which is external to you. Every minute from inside and outside, promptings and temptations arise and accumulate in man. He cannot attend to all these at the same time.
So he fixes his attention on the most important among them only. This is called concentration, avadhana. Concentration is needed to grasp any subject well. Purposefully directing the attention on a subject and fixing it there is ekagrata, or one-pointedness. This is also a condition of the mind. Concentration and one-pointedness helps to focus effort on any selected task. (DhyV, p. 12)
Concentration is the foundation of all successful endeavour. Success or failure in the good task depends upon one-pointedness. One-pointedness will increase power and skill; it cannot be won without conquering the worldly cravings that distract the mind. This one-pointedness, this conquest of the mind is acquired by’ the exercise of Dhyana. Through Dhyana, understanding will increase and wisdom will grow. (DhyV, p. 13)
Krishna told Arjuna, ‘Arjuna you are attached to quite a few sense objects, therefore you are ruffled by events. You have not been able to develop concentration, and you have not been able to establish Me in your heart. Continue and cultivate constant and practice you will get concentration of the mind. Only when you have concentration of the mind will you be able to surrender to Me. At all times and in all places always think of Me. Whatever work you are doing think of Me and Me alone. Remember Me with love and with faith.
Even when you are waging a war, think of Me and fight. This is not an ordinary war, this fight you are now becoming involved in is not like a quarrel between you and some other individuals. What you are fighting most of all is your own weakness, your bad habits, all your limitations and frailties. Thinking of Me, wage this inner war and win. Remember you are not just fighting a war against others. You are fighting your own inner sense organs, so, do not quit until you have achieved victory, until you have controlled them and fully mastered them.’