5 Capítulo Hong So

Chapter Five: Concentration

Meditation and Concentration

from The art and science of  Raja Yoga, Chapter Nine

I said in the first part of this lesson that will power, to be effective, must be combined with awareness. If a person tried with great determination, but with little awareness, to jam a thread through the eye of a needle, he would only blunt the thread; he wouldn’t get it through the eye. Many acts of will are performed with similar insensitivity. Some people, determined to win their discussions at any cost, end up striking their opponents and losing any chance they might have had of really winning their point. Nations frequently have gone to war, when their disagreements might have been effectively arbitrated. Labor unions, to gain temporary selfish advantages, have paralyzed their country’s economy, ultimately hurting also themselves; and industries, competing ruthlessly with one another, have made enemies that later became their undoing. Awareness for lack of it, how often our very virtues pave the way to our ruin.

In the last lesson I mentioned how at one time I used to smoke. I well remember how the habit started. I was at a party, and a friend of mine “generously” showed me how to inhale cigarette smoke. The first puff made me dizzy and sick. “I’ll lick this weakness,” I decided, “if it’s the last thing I do!” Had I been more aware, I would have realized that my real weakness lay, not in my body’s revulsion at something so unnatural to it, but in my concern for the good opinion of my peers.

Awareness. What is it? How is one to develop it? A satisfactory definition might, conceivably, be found, and might delight the hearts of a few pedants, but it would hardly serve any useful purpose. For we all know what it is to be aware. It takes awareness, for one thing, to delight in pedantic definitions. But two important points may be made. First, we are more or less aware according to how much energy passes through our brains. And second, we are more or less aware according to whether our concentration is focused or diffused.

A dull person, even if focusing all his mental energies on one subject, will be less aware than a bright person simply because his level of energy is lower to begin with. But even a normally vital and aware human being may sometimes be comparatively dull-if, for example, his thoughts have been scattered by excessive worry or preoccupation.

To increase the energy flow to the brain is the chief purpose of yoga practice. For this purpose, many teachings are given, including right diet, postures, and breathing exercises. In the next lesson another aspect of this important subject will be explored, in a discussion of magnetism. But chiefly it must be said that both of the factors determining one’s degree of awareness-the amount of energy flow to the brain, and the direction of that energy once it reaches the brain-depend upon one thing only, one’s power of concentration. It is as necessary to concentrate one’s available energy in the brain as it is to concentrate that energy, once it reaches the brain, on a single object, or state, of awareness.

Concentration is necessary also to the exercise of will power. The will may be described as a single-pointed intention of the intellect, reinforced by energy. The will, the intellect, and the power of concentration, all have their center in the ajna chakra, or Christ center, at the point between the eyebrows. They are, therefore, interrelated. Concentration applied to the question of what is, becomes intellect. Concentration applied to the question of what ought to be (as determined by the intellect), becomes will power Intellect by itself is a more or less static faculty; generally ft reflects one’s feelings, and must therefore, on the spiritual path, be purified by devotion. When the will, instead of being focused on doing or accomplishing anything, is united inwardly to the purified intellect in a simple act of becoming, divine enlightenment ensues. That is why the Bhagavad Gita says that during meditation, one should forsake all mental planning So long as the will is engaged in thoughts of doing, even when the doing seems to be related to self-improvement, the mind will be directed outward from its true center for we are already the Divine Truth itself We have only to realize our true selves The very act of becoming, spiritually speaking, implies only a complete recognition of, and identification with, realities which the intellect alone might hold impersonally at a distance. But in fact, where the will and the intellect are directed inward toward the soul by the power of deep concentration, their functions are no longer really separable from one another.

On every level of mental activity, it is concentration that is the key to success. The student taking an exam, but plagued with a popular song running through his head, the businessman trying to write an important contract, but worried over an argument that he had that morning with his wife; the judge, distracted by the fact that a teenager to whose defense he is trying to listen bears a striking resemblance to his own son: All of these persons could tell us something of the disadvantages of poor concentration. But I don’t suppose anyone really needs to be told that lack of concentration means inefficiency What is not generally known is that a concentrated mind succeeds not only because it can solve problems with greater dispatch, but also because problems have a way of somehow vanishing before its focused energies, without even requiring to be solved. A concentrated mind often attracts opportunities for success that, to less focused (and therefore less successful) individuals, appear to come by sheer luck. A person whose mind is concentrated receives inspirations in his work grid m his thinking that, to duller minds, may often seem the proof of special divine favor Yet such seeming “favors” are due simply to the power of concentration. Concentration rt is that awakens our powers and channels them, dissolving obstacles in our path, literally attracting opportunities, insights, and inspirations In many ways, subtle as well as obvious, concentration is the single most important key to success.

This is particularly true in yoga practice. The mind, in meditation especially, must be so perfectly still that not a ripple of thought enters it. God, the Subtlest Reality, cannot be perceived except in utter silence. Much of the teaching of yoga, therefore, centers on techniques designed specially for developing concentration..

Of these techniques, my guru considered the most effective to be one which involves attentiveness to the natural process of breathing. It is a technique which is well known in India, and is becoming well known also among yoga students in the West, owing to the increasing number of writings on the subject by Indian teachers This technique has been a favorite among Buddhists since the beginning of their era It is mentioned in several ancient Upanishads. (These authoritative Indian Scriptures present the essence of the most ancient Scriptures of all, the Vedas: The more recent Bhagavad Gita presents, in its turn, the essence of the Upanishads.) The simplicity of this technique causes many a beginner to ignore it. Yet in its very simplicity lies much of its greatness.

Before discussing the technique itself, let us ask ourselves, What is concentration? Concentration implies, first, an ability to release one’s mental and emotional energies from all other interests and involvements, and second, an ability to focus them on a single object or state of awareness. Concentration may assume various manifestations, from a dynamic outpouring of energy to perfectly quiescent perceptions. In its higher stages, concentration becomes so deep that there is no longer any question of its remaining merely a practice. The yogi becomes so completely identified with the object of his concentration that he and it, as well as the act of concentration itself, become one. In this way he can even, temporarily, become one with something external to himself, gaining thereby a far deeper understanding of it than would be possible by aloof scientific objectivity, that pride of Western heritage which has the disadvantage of setting man apart from nature, not in harmony with it. But in concentration on our own higher realities, identification with them becomes lasting. For in this case there is no other, more personal, reality to come back to. We are those realities. We are the infinite light, and love, and joy, and wisdom of God. Even now, our concentration should be developed with these higher directions in mind. And even now, our concentration should be so deep that the consciousness of diligent practice is refined into an effortless process of divine becoming.

Obviously, then, the most effective technique of concentration will be one which both interiorizes the mind, and permits a gradual transition from technical practice to utter stillness. The technique of watching the breath fulfills both of these requirements-better, perhaps, than any other technique possibly could For not only is the breath one of die most natural focal points for die attention, but, as we shall see, the more deeply one concentrates on it, the more refined it becomes, until breathing is automatically and effortlessly suspended in breathlessness. Meditator, the act of concentration, and die object of concentration become one In the state of breathlessness, moreover, the senses themselves become automatically stilled, permitting an undisturbed continuation of the concentrated state. Once the mind is so perfectly focused, its concentrated power may be applied to any object one wishes. But because attentiveness to the breath involves the will in an act, not of doing, but of inward becoming (by concentration on die breath one acquires the consciousness of being air, or infinite space), the natural direction of the mind in this technique is toward superconsciousness (If the will is not involved at all, the mind tends to slip downward into subconsciousness).

Why is the breath a natural focal point for the attention? Because it is the most universal obstacle to deep attention. Notice how, when you want to concentrate deeply on something, you automatically restrain your breathing. A person holding a camera, and wishing to take a photograph with a slow exposure, must also hold his breath so as to minimize the movement of his arms. Instinctively we all understand, similarly, that die restless breath is an obstacle to holding the mind steady.

A devotee once complained to his guru that he was having difficulty concentrating in meditation. His distraction was a factory whistle that kept sounding near his home. “Since the whistle disturbs you,” said his guru, “why not concentrate on the whistle itself?”. The disciple found that by doing so his concentration became one-pointed; he became, in a sense, one with the whistle, accepting it now, since that it no longer seemed a disturbance. Thus he was able to pass easily from concentration on something outside himself to inward meditation on God.

A restless mind may be distracted by many things. In this condition, it may be necessary for one to command its attention forcefully-by yoga postures, perhaps, and loud chanting. But once the mind begins to grow still, the greatest obstacle to its becoming more so is the breath. By concentration on the breath, mental fixity is attained. Concentration on the breath, unlike other forms of concentration, leads naturally to meditation, which my guru defined as the direction of one’s focused attention on God, or on one of His attributes. Concentration on the factory whistle may bring about acceptance of the whistle, but such acceptance is not in itself an inducement to meditation. The whistle remains a whistle. By concentration on die breath, on the other hand, the breath actually diminishes, its gradual refinement leads naturally to an interiorized, meditative state.

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How to Develop Concentration

from Money Magnetism, by Swami Kriyananda

Concentration means being able to free the mind from all objects of distraction-including one’s own thoughts and emotions-and to direct it toward a single object-whether reposing it in a single state of awareness, or directing it toward a single goal

To many people, such mental control implies effort. And so it does, of course, in a sense. In another sense, however, they are mistaken. For as long as one tries to concentrate he will not be able to concentrate really effectively.

Deep concentration is possible only in a state of relaxation. Where tension exists, whether physically or mentally, there is a separate commitment of energy, like the stray strand of thread that refuses to enter the eye of the needle. If, for example, the brow is furrowed in worry, or if the jaw or the hands are clenched, these are signs that this much energy, at least, is not being directed toward one’s true objective.

That is why the best way to develop high-powered concentration is to practice meditation regularly.

Many people mistakenly believe that meditation amounts to a kind of escape from reality-an avoidance of one’s worldly responsibilities. Actually, meditation is easily the most effective way of enabling one not only to face life’s challenges, but to overcome them.

The deep power of concentration that comes through daily meditation enables a person to resolve an issue in minutes perhaps, where, otherwise, he might have fretted over it for weeks. Even more important, where the will is concerned, the concentration that comes due to regular meditation generates with perfect naturalness the strength of will that is necessary for success in any undertaking.

As I mentioned in the last chapter, the physical seat of the will is located at the point between the eyebrows. That is why, when a person wills something strongly, he often knits his eyebrows.

In meditation one is taught to concentrate at that point, since this is also the seat of concentration in the body. The more frequently and deeply one focuses the mind at that point, the more powerful his will becomes.

Another important point in developing concentration, and therefore will power, is inner clarity: crystal clarity of reason and feeling. Meditation is a great aid in the development of such clarity.

I’ve defined this state of crystal clarity in others of my books Let me quote here what I’ve written in them:

Crystal clarity means to see oneself, and all things, as aspects of a greater reality, to seek to enter into conscious attunement with that reality; and to see all things as channels for the expression of that reality.

It means to see truth in simplicity, to seek to be guided always by the simple truth, not by opinion; and by what IS, not by one’s own desires or prejudices

It means striving to see things in relation to their broadest potential

In one’s association with other people, it means seeking always to include their realities in one’s own.

Muddy thoughts and feelings produce chaos, both inwardly and outwardly Inner confusion is the antithesis of concentration. Inner clarity, on the other hand, is almost the definition of concentration

When the mind is clear, one naturally addresses issues one at a time. It is equally true to say that, by limiting oneself to doing or thinking about one thing at a time, one finds that the mind, in turn, gradually develops clarity.

Concentration, I said, involves, on the negative side, the practice of shutting out of the mind all distracting thoughts and impressions. It isn’t easy not to think about a thing. Try telling yourself, for example, completely to avoid thinking about icebergs. How often, in the normal course of a day, does the thought of icebergs even occur to you? Never, probably, unless you live in arctic regions. Yet, if your mind is not practiced at concentration, the mere resolution not to think of icebergs may be sufficient to cause you to think of nothing else!

To develop concentration, then, it is more important to focus positively on one thing at a time than to avoid thinking of other things.

Try to become absorbed in one thought at a time. No one can do many things at once and do them effectively. Leave then, for the moment, every other issue except the one on which you’ve decided to focus your attention. Don’t strain: Be relaxed. Be interested in what you are doing. Become absorbed in it.

When people go to the movies, they may find themselves becoming effortlessly absorbed in the story, simply because it has awakened their interest. Focus your mind like that on everything that you do.

Years ago, I and several friends were thinking of buying a building. At one point one of our group said, “I have the realtor’s number.” She held out to us the slip of paper on which she’d written the number. The conversation shifted temporarily to another topic. Fifteen minutes later, we finally decided to telephone the realtor.

“Let me get that number again,” this friend said, taking out of her pocket once more the slip of paper.

“It’s —.” I told her the number.

She gazed at me in amazement “Why, you hardly glanced at that number! How could you possibly have it memorized?”

“Really,” I replied, “it’s very simple. I didn’t have to study it. All I did was look at it with concentration when you showed it to us.”

My friend, afterward, tried following this suggestion in similar situations, and found that it worked infallibly.

Whatever we do, we should train our minds to do it with one-pointed attention. That doesn’t mean striding grimly through life like a Man or Woman of Destiny. All it means, quite simply, is to be interested and involved in everything we do.

Do one thing at a time, and, as you do it, give it your full attention.

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The art of concentration and meditation

Praecepta Lesson n.16 (1938) by Paramhansa Yogananda

Concentration is the power to focus the mind on any desired line of thought. Meditation is concentration used only to know God.

Every activity requires concentration, and no effective action can be performed without the help of concentration. Hence, business men, artists, students, and all spiritual individuals must know the art of focusmg all the powers of attention upon a single point, in order to succeed effectively in their respective vocations. Concentration denotes the art of withdrawing attention from objects of distraction and then placing that recalled attention upon one thing at a time. Therefore, it is evident that the primary factor in concentration consists in withdrawing the attention from all diverting objects.

The consideration of environment is extremely important in gaining the best results in practicing concentration and meditation. There are two kinds of environment: inner and outer. Outer environment consists of the state of your physical surroundings, noisy or quiet, in which you are preceding your concentration practices. The inner environment consists of your mental state preceding meditation.

One can be restless even in a very quiet place while the body is motionless and relaxed. So remember, quiet yourself internally first, no matter whether you are in a quiet or a noisy place. If you are calm inside in spite of surrounding noises and disturbances then that inner mental environment is the best altar for concentration and meditation. Of course, quiet places are conducive to inner calmness. But remember, if you are determined, you can be calm in spite of all noises . Do not stop meditating because you cannot find a quiet place.

Meditation is the way to God

The surest sign that God exists is the increasing heart-bursting joy felt in meditation. When your mind is free from prejudice, when narrow-mindedness vanishes, when you unreservedly sympathize with everybody, when you hear the voice of God in the chorus of churches, tabernacles, .temples, and mosques, when you realize that life is a battle of joys and sorrows, and at the same time a passing dream, and — above all — when you become increasingly intoxicated with the joy of meditation, and in making others happy by giving them God-peace, then you will know that God is with you always, and you are in Him.

You can never have a truly happy life inwardly and outwardly, unless you use the power of God-given concentration to reclaim your lost image of God, to control destiny, and to conquer the mysteries of life. Through the art of meditation one learns how actually to contact the Divine Bliss (which is God) by the faithful application of the science of spiritual law. The scientist uses God’s law in order to find out the secrets of Nature, and the spiritual man ought to know how to use his God-given powers of concentration, meditation, and intuition to know divine law.

Meditation + Activity

It must be remembered that finding God does not imply complete neglect of the various physical and spiritual battles of life. On the other hand, the climbing spiritual aspirant must learn to conquer in order to make the temple of life free from the darkness of ignorance, and the ignorance and the weakness of disease, so that God’s Perfect Presence may be perceived.

As a house full of jewels cannot be seen in the dark, so the Presence of God cannot be felt while the darkness of ignorance, overpowering disease, or mental inharmony prevails.

When and where to meditate

As the living room produces conversation-consciousness; the bathroom, cleaning-consciousness, the bedroom, sleeping-consciousness; and the library, reading-consciousness, so also, a little place for meditation produces the silence-consciousness. A little room with one or more windows, or a little closet with an open door, or a corner screened off, or a mountain top, or a forest in the summer, or an evenly heated room (neither too warm nor too cold) in a quiet place — any one of these is suitable for meditation. Even while riding in an automobile or pullman car, or lying down in the same bedroom with others, you can pretend to be asleep but can still practice.

Select a noiseless place In a small room — or in a corner of a room screened off — put a small table and a straight armless chair facing the East. Then place on the chair a woolen blanket covering the back, the seat, and running down under your feet. (This may be covered with a silk cloth if you wish). This insulates your body and prevents the Life Current and consciousness which are moving toward the spine, the brain, and God, from being held back in the sense centers and drawn into the earth by the earth currents.

Be sure to practice meditation in the early morning and before going to bed at night, when the changes in the body are very great. Poisons are thrown off in the morning in the active state of the body, and at midnight, when the body is relaxed, the Life Force in the brain can easily be turned off from the sense-nerves and directed toward God.

Don’t drug yourself with too much sleep and thus lose your vitality. Six hours of sleep is plenty for most people. Wake up at 5:30 AM and meditate. This time is suitable because your home and the neighborhood are usually quiet. Metaphysically this time is suitable because the rays and vibrations of the dawn are vitalizing and spiritually uplifting. At night, meditate from 9 to 10 PM, or 10 to 11 PM, or 10 to 11:30 PM. When everybody is asleep and quiet, you remain awake in God.

The more sweetening you put in water, the sweeter it becomes. Likewise, the longer you meditate intensely, the greater will be your spiritual advancement. On Sundays, holidays, and do-nothing-loafing days, meditate in the morning from 6 to 9 AM and at night from 9 to 12 PM.

Remember that the longer you practice, with intensity, the nearer you will be to the joyous contact of silent God. Intensity consists in making every today’s meditation deeper than yesterday’s; and every tomorrow’s meditation deeper than today’s meditation.

The four related forces

In the practice of concentration, the relation between breath and Life Force, mind, and vital fluid (sex energy) should be known even by the spiritual beginner. A balanced control of these four bodily forces brings quick spiritual results without any downfall or hindrance. Every spiritual student can attain a concentrated mind by the single separate control of any one of the four bodily factors. By strict celibacy alone, one can gain great mental concentration.

The balanced way to self realization consists in practicing exercises and principles which simultaneously control and harmonize breath, Life Force, mind, and vital power. Therefore, every spiritual aspirant should practice real breathing exercises, astral techniques controlling energy flowing in the sensory motor nerves, methods of mental meditation, and principles of calmness-producing celibacy. Students who meditate regularly without calming the restless breath or the Life Force and vital essence, often find insurmountable difficulties in the spiritual path.

If one is nervous and keeps his body in constant motion, his Life Force is restless, then his mind is restless, vitality is restless, and breath is restless. But if one controls the Life Force by spiritual exercises and the practice of calmness through meditation, then his mind, and vital power are within his control.

If the breath is restless, as in running, then the Life Force, mind and vital essence will be restless. On the other hand, if breath is made calm and rhythmic by the practice of these Lessons, the Life Force, mind, and character will be under control. Again, if the mind is restless, the Life Force (through nervousness), and life become restless. Mental calmness is usually attended by calm nerves, controlled bodily energy, and a well-regulated moral life. Similarly, loss of vitality — resulting from living too much on the physical plane — produces mental dissatisfaction, melancholia, peevishness, nervousness, lack of energy, and heavy restless breathing.

By proper breathing exercises and attaining breath calmness, one can attain great concentration. By control of the Life Force in the sensory motor nerves (Pranayama, as taught in the higher Original Praecepta Lessons), one can withdraw the currents from the senses and prevent the disturbing sensations from reaching the brain, thus calming the mind. By mental concentration and self-control, as in meditation, one finds the breath and the Life Force automatically calmed, and thus stability of character is attained.

The real spiritual teacher knows that the safest, quickest, and the best spiritual method for the beginner lies in learning harmonization of these four bodily factors. To approach God by any one path, by the breath way, the energy way, the mind way, or “control of Life Force way”, is a limited and one-sided method, and fraught with many grim difficulties. Some people perform breathing exercises without realizing their spiritual significance. They will grow into good athletes with plenty of lung power, but that is all. Others try to approach God by the energy way by controlling the Life Force in the body, but they forget the divine conception of the astral technique (Pranayama), they satisfy themselves with certain mental and astral power and forget God entirely Some people try to know God by mental meditation, by mental imagination only. They see false visions for the most part, and live in the law of subconsciousness and frozen images of imagination.

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Further facts on concentration

Praeceptum n.23 (1938), Paramhansa Yogananda

The Delicate Art of Breath Control

Propaganda by ignorant people has been started against all breathing exercises because our great Hindu Masters warned students not to practice violent breathing exercises with weak lungs and because they asked students to practice breathing exercises under the guidance of a competent teacher, and not after reading about them in books.

Remember, just as oranges cannot be tabooed for all people because some people with ulcerated stomachs cannot eat them, so also, proper breathing exercises should not be forsaken because some people with extremely weak or infected lungs cannot practice proper breathing exercises. Laugh at anybody who tells you that all breathing exercises are dangerous. Everybody must properly perform Nature’s breathing exercises, no matter whether he has good or bad lungs. Only remember that violent breathing exercises are dangerous, for they may cause trouble even to apparently strong but inwardly weak lungs. Cast out all fear when you practice simple, but physically and spiritually extremely beneficial breathing exercises which the Praecepta Teachings recommend.

When You Need to Breathe Deeply

If you are starving for oxygen because of improper body posture, you need to breathe deeply and to breathe properly. Those people who sit with a bent spine, and walk with a caved in chest, squeeze the diaphragm and lungs and prevent them from properly opening and receiving the amount of oxygen necessary to clean all the dark blood in the lungs. When the lungs and diaphragm do not open properly, there is a lack of oxygen brought to the blood and the poisonous venous blood in the lower openings of the lungs remains unpurified and is poured back into the system in this condition. If you sit and walk with the chest out and the abdomen in, you will take in the proper quantity of oxygen, and all your dark blood will be changed into red blood, and fresh blood and vitality will be poured into your system. It is better to lie on your back on a hard bed than to sit with a crooked spine and squeezed lungs, moving back and forth in a rocking chair. Use planks on your bed and put a spring mattress on top. This insures a straight and soft bed without being dangerous to your health by bending the spine, as a too soft bed does.

Food is necessary if you are starved; deep breathing is necessary if you are oxygen-starved. But as over-eating is unnecessary when you have food in your system, so is over-breathing unnecessary if your blood contains less carbon due to the right habit of eating fresh fruit and little starch. If you are calm and mere is less motion in the body, there will be less decay in the body and you will need to breathe very little, most of the time remaining breathless. That is why calm people breathe less, and the animal type of people, who eat starch and meat all the time, have to breathe like bellows and have to keep their Life Force and mind constantly busy with the physical functions of breathing and with the heaviness and motion of the flesh. Breathlessness and calmed internal organs free the mind, so that it can concentrate upon the Soul.

Do Not Hold Breath Too Long

It is extremely unwise to hold the breath in the lungs to the point of discomfort. Holding the breath forcibly in weak lungs is injurious. Weakness of the lungs must be cured before it is advisable to breathe deeply. People with weak lungs should breathe properly by keeping the body straight. Deep breathing is unnecessary for such persons until their lungs become strong. We must learn to breathe correctly by keeping the spine straight always. The suffocating pain felt when holding the breath in the lungs too long results from the constant pounding of venous blood into the lungs. When the oxygen is used up, the carbon dioxide in die lungs wants to get out and the thick dark blood, unable to be purified, keeps on accumulating and expanding the lungs, which are ready to burst.

Although you cannot kill yourself by holding the breath too long in the lungs, you can injure the lungs and heart. Therefore, you must never listen to any charlatan or ignorant teacher who tries to teach from book knowledge only. Do not follow any teacher who tells you to hold your breath in the lungs for a long time, or tells you to practice violent breathing exercises.

When the lungs are filled to capacity with dark venous blood, the blood tries to push back through the pulmonary arteries into the heart. This may result in pains in the heart or leakage of valves, or may injure the over-expanding lungs. Nature made a good provision so that no one can kill himself by holding the breath in the lungs, because when venous blood strikes back in the heart from the over-filled lungs, the heart palpitates and fitfully shoots its current back to the medulla. The medulla becomes shocked and produces unconsciousness. When unconsciousness comes, breathing automatically starts again.

Be Conscious of Inhalation and Exhalation

Ø  In doing the above do not force the breath in and out. Breathe naturally, only watch the course of the incoming and outgoing breath, mentally chanting Hong and Sau. If the breath naturally stops in the lungs or outside, wait until it flows again of itself.

Ø  Remember that the purpose of this practice is to increase naturally the intervals when the breath does not flow. If the breath goes in of itself and does not flow out immediately, wart and enjoy the state of breathlessness. When it comes out again, say Sau If the breath goes out and stays out, waft and enjoy that state of breathlessness, until the breath wants to flow in again.

Ø  The breath is first thrown out so that you may know when to begin mentally chanting Hong when the breath goes in. In ordinary breathing you are not aware whether the breath is in or out.

Ø  Do not force the breath in and out in order to chant. Let the mental chant follow the natural desire of the breath to flow in and out.

Ø  Concentrate upon the intervals when the breath does not flow, without forcing this quiet breathless state.

Ø  By watching the breath, you metaphysically destroy the identification of the Soul with the breath and the body. By watching the breath, you separate your Ego from it and know that your body exists only partially by breath.

Ø  By watching the breath, what happens? When you first tense and relax the outer body and throw out the breath, you have removed motion and decay from the outward muscles, but not from the internal organs — heart, lungs, diaphragm, and so on. By watching the breath, breathing becomes rhythmic and calm. Watching of the breath calms and quiets the heart. A restless and worried mind increases heart action, and a quiet mind calms the heart action. A heaving breath also increases heart action and quiet breath calms the heart. By watching the breath calmly, both the breath and the mind become calm. A calm mind and breath slow down and quiet the motion of the heart, diaphragm, and lungs.

When the motion is simultaneously removed from the muscles by relaxation and by casting out the breath, and from the inner organs, heart, lungs, diaphragm, and so on, then the Life Energy, which is used to pump 18 tons of blood through the heart in 24 hours, retires to the spine and becomes distributed in the billions of body cells. This energy electrifies the cells and prevents their decay, making them self-sustained dry batteries. In such a state die cells do not require oxygen or food chemicals to sustain life. It is in this state that the vitalized cells do not need to repair decay, because when decay is removed from outer and inner organs the venous blood does not become impure and it does not need to be sent to the heart to be pumped into the lungs to be purified by the incoming oxygen in the breath.

This condition (prevention of the creation and increase of venous blood in the system, by doing away with outer motion and inner motion by watching the breath) does away with two things:

• Necessity of living by the human breath.
• The necessity of heart action.

 When man can live by “the Word of God” (Cosmic Energy) and not by bread or breath, and can control the heart, his body battery will be internally charged with Cosmic Energy, and it will not need to depend upon the outer sources of life (Food, liquid, and gases).

• This practice teaches the body cells to be bridged over with Cosmic
  Consciousness .
• It destroys the slavery of the body to breath.
• It stops decay in inner and outer organs
• It makes the heart action and breathing unnecessary and insures longevity in the body-house when one wants to remain there longer.
• The calming of the heart switches off the energy in the five sense-telephones of touch, smell, taste, hearing, and sight, for the heart is the second switchboard of the senses (The medulla is the main switch.) When the Life Force and die consciousness are withdrawn from the five sense-telephones, the sensations of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch cannot reach the brain through the nerve-telephone wires. When sensations stop registering in the brain, the conceptions and associated ideas, resulting from them, cease. It is then that the mind or the attention becomes free to contemplate any particular object, or God.

Special Exercises

If you are starved for oxygen and have good lungs, first exhale the poisonous breath quickly, then draw fresh air through your nostrils, counting 1 to 12 slowly, hold breath, counting 1 to 12, or 1 to 25. Then slowly exhale, counting 1 to 12. Repeat the above exercise 12 times, 3 times a day in the open air, or more if you find it beneficial.

People breathe like bellows because they have waste material in their systems. The higher you go into the study and practice of Praecepta Instructions, the more slowly you will breathe. Decay in the cells of muscles and other organs can be partially arrested by getting the body still, but activity and the throwing off of waste matter still goes on in the internal organs. If you breathe quickly, the heart beat will be very fast. When you run, you breathe quickly, and your heart beat accelerates. Breath is the cord which ties the Soul to the flesh. When you “die daily” and come back to life at will by rising above breath, as is taught in this “Hong-Sau” Technique, you can prolong life indefinitely.

Think of all the restless, searching people there are in the world! They are all seeking the way. What if to all of them could be told that whenever they can do completely without breathing, then, and then only, will they establish a symphony of peace, an altar of Bliss in their hearts, where Cosmic Consciousness will come without coaxing.

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A Key to Concentration

An article written by Swami Kriyananda, under the name Robert Ford in the Self-realization magazine, September 1949

Most people have a terrible time trying to concentrate. Like butterflies savoring flowers, they no sooner settle on one trend of thought than they flit away in search of another.   A task begun with determination ends up a crumpled heap in the waste basket.  Just as flies, trying to get into the open air, unwittingly beat their wings against a solid window pane, so people, trying to soar into the open air of calm concentration, find their flight impeded by a solid layer of restlessness.

Concentration means a full life, lack of it a dull one. Most people expend their hours and years in such a scatter-minded fashion that life becomes almost a set of symbols. Like skaters on a skating rink, they scratch only the surface and leave all that is underneath untouched. The obvious, the thing they first see, becomes for them the whole story. And this they usually see because it is something with which they are already familiar. Very little that is new occurs in their lives after they once become used to the world around them.

Restlessness is basic. Why is the average person so restless? We could blame him as an individual, but there must be some deeper fault than his own, since his state is so common. Isn’t it because the very nature of this world is restlessness? Everything here is expressed in opposites, in motion and diversity, in constant change. We have heat and cold, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow forever getting jumbled up and following right on the heels of one another. We no sooner feel a moment of happiness than up comes sorrow, hastily, already panting for fear of being late.

As long as people focus their attention on the world their minds are bound to be rest- less; just as, if the floor were moving up, down and all around under your feet, you would find it difficult to stand still. Worldliness and restlessness go together. It is for saints and yogis, for all those who have conquered matter, to know the peace of true concentration, for only when the heart is stilled will restlessness be stilled also.

But even so, there are times in this changing world when most people can concentrate fairly well, times when they are not wholly given over to restless thoughts. Isn’t it true that when a person goes to a good movie his whole mind is on the events taking place before him? And sitting by a radio his concentration is completely focused on the program of his choice. Whenever a person is completely interested in anything he finds it easy to forget everything else.

Use enthusiasm. Interest, or enthusiasm, is a most important key to concentration. When we are really enthusiastic over anything we find it difficult to forget about it. Our whole mind and attention are with it constantly. I think it must be enthusiasm we seek in restlessness, for when our minds are running in a hundred different directions it is in order to find something that will hold our interest. When anything succeeds in doing so we are, for that time, well concentrated. Thus it is enthusiasm which we must strive to feel in all our activities.

But enthusiasm is not conditioned by outside things. We need depend on nothing outside ourselves, for it lies within us. An example strikes me which you will be able to match many times over in your own lives. The other morning my alarm clock woke me up as usual for meditation.  I felt tired and unambitious.   I realized that if I did bother to get up, a bad night’s sleep would swamp my desultory concentration with yawns. But then I suddenly determined to be enthusiastic. At once my sleepiness vanished, I jumped out of bed and, my cobwebs of lethargy gone, I felt wide awake and ready for concentration. We don’t have to wait until something interests us. We can be interested all the time, focusing our minds with complete enthusiasm on everything we do. Concentration without enthusiasm becomes haphazard musing. But if we cling to enthusiasm in our every activity we will find our concentration growing very strong. We will be able to turn it one- pointedly on worldly things, achieving complete success in everything we attempt. More important than that, we will be able to focus it one-pointedly on Spirit, quickly attaining the state most devotees strive so long to find.

Great men have their wonderful powers of concentration because they are so completely interested in what they do that the rest of life seems unimportant at the time. But cannot we also become great? Surely we are not doomed to dwell forever in the bog of restlessness. No. Let us leave our bad habits and learn enthusiasm. That is the road we must travel if we would redeem ourselves from littleness.

Stories about Concentration

“Monkey Consciousness”

Tej Bahadur, a young business man in India, took great pains, and spent considerable of his hard-earned money in going to London to confirm his business transactions. He had, harbored within himself, an extraordinary desire and constant caution about the art of business economy. No matter how he cut down his overhead he was never satisfied and constantly thought of numerous fantastic schemes for saving money. Though he was a wealthy business man, he once brooded over the idea of going to London by working his own way as a sailor. Also, he thought of inventing oil-run, inexpensive seaplanes in order to go to London more economically.

Tej Bahadur often indulged in wild fantasies, too, and wondered why God had not made him fast-moving like the electricity, which traverses vast tracts of space during the twinkling of an eye. While, in his imagination, he was bemoaning the fact that he was not speedy like the lightning, a friend of his, who knew all about his strange plans of economy, came scurrying toward him and poured forth a volley of excited words: “Tej Bahadur, come to the banks of the river Ganges,” he said. “I have found a man who can levitate himself and walk on water, and who is willing to teach the method to a worthy student.”

Listening attentively, the wealthy Tej Behadur was greatly impressed with this new idea and said to himself: “Thank God for sending me a levitating tutor I guess I will ask him to teach me levitation, and that will save me a lot of money which I annually spend on my European business trips.”

Thinking this, he wended his way toward the river-bank, where the Master had temporarily encamped himself. The business man requested the Master to teach him levitation, whereupon the latter agreed to do so, and started giving him a lesson.

The Master told Tej Bahadur gently, “Son, every night, dim the light in your bedroom, lock the doors, and sitting erect on a straight chair facing the East, with closed eyes mentally chant the holy word of the Cosmic Vibration, ‘Om’ for an hour, and then at the end of one month you will be able to race over the waters.”

As the business man thanked the Master for the lesson and was about to return home, inwardly wondering about the extreme simplicity of the lesson, he was called back by the Master, and was cautioned gently further, “Son, I forgot to tell you something about the technique of levitation. While you are mentally chanting ‘Om’ and are concentrating, be sure not to think of a monkey.” “That is simple,” said the business man, “of course I won’t think of a monkey,” and after saluting the Saint, he returned home.

Evening came fast on the wings of time and found Tej Bahadur soon closing the windows, pulling down the shades, and sitting in a straight chair in his bedroom to practice the technique of levitation No sooner had he done so, than the first thought that struck him like a thunderbolt was: “I must not think of a monkey.”

Two minutes passed and several times he warned himself inwardly: “I must not think of a monkey.” When ten minutes had passed he had thought of all the different kinds of monkeys m South America, India, Africa, Sumatra, and still other places. He was furious. He willed himself to banish the thoughts about the monkeys which, in a fast moving procession, were leaping through the window of his helpless mind. At the end of an hour he found himself thinking of nothing but monkeys. With each succeeding day he meditated faithfully, but, to his great annoyance, he found that he was only frantically trying not to think of millions of monkeys which were jumping into his mind.

After a month’s concentration upon the forbidden monkeys, the business man, beside himself with rage and helpless fury, raced back to the Master and exclaimed loudly: “Master, take back your lesson on levitation. I don’t want to learn to walk on the water, You have taught me to meditate upon monkeys, instead of how to levitate. You have developed and increased the monkey consciousness in me.”

“Ha, ha, ha,” laughed the Saint merrily, and advised him, in a voice like the soothing dew: “Son, I tried to show you how untrained and slavish your mental state of concentration is. Unless you learn to make your mind obey you, you cannot achieve any success, not to speak of the difficult art of attaining the power of levitation. First learn to attain mental control, then use that power to achieve small things, and when you are able to do that, try that on bigger and bigger achievements, until your inner power becomes developed enough to levitate you, or to accomplish even greater spiritual miracles.”

--From Praecepta Lesson 1 (1936)