CONCENTRATION - Part 1

Hari Om! My speech is rooted in my mind,
My mind is rooted in my speech;
Brahman, reveal Thyself to me;
Ye mind and speech enable me
To grasp the truth the scriptures teach.
Let what I have heard slip not from me;
I join day with night in study,
I think the truth, I speak the truth;
May That protect me,
May That protect the teacher,
Protect me, protect the teacher, protect the teacher.
Om Peace! Om Peace! Om Peace!
Desa-bandhas-chittasya dharana—Concentration is fixing the mind on an external objector an internal point. Once a Sanskrit scholar approached Kabir21 and asked him: “O Kabir! What are you doing now?” Kabir replied: “O Pandit! I am detaching the mind from worldly objects and attaching it to the Lotus Feet of the Lord.” This is concentration. Right conduct, posture, Pranayama and abstraction from sensual objects will pave a long way in achieving rapid success in 51 PRACTICAL LESSONS IN YOGA
20 For further details refer to my book “Science of Pranayama.”
21 Kabir, a weaver saint of the holy city of Kasi is said to have lived during the reign of Sikandar Lodhi and died in the year 1519 A.D. He was a distinguished disciple of the great religious reformer, Ramananda, and had marvellous psychic powers. concentration. There can be no concentration without something upon which the mind may rest. Concentration is the sixth step in the Yogic ladder. You must evince good interest in the practice of concentration. Then only your whole attention will be directed towards the object upon which you wish to concentrate. There can be really no concentration without a remarkable degree of interest and attention shown by the practitioner. You must therefore, know what these two words mean.
Attention is steady application of the mind. It is focussing of consciousness on some chosen
object. Through attention you can develop your mental faculties and capacities. Where there is
attention, there is also concentration. Attention should be cultivated gradually. It is not a special
process. It is the whole mental process in one of its aspects.
Perception always involves attention. To perceive is to attend. Through attention you get a
clear and distinct knowledge of objects. The entire energy is focussed on the object towards which attention is directed. Full and complete information is gained. During attention all the dissipated rays of the mind are collected. There is effort or struggle in attention. Through attention a deeper impression of anything is made in the mind. If you have good attention, you can attend to the matter in hand exclusively. An attentive man has very good memory. He is very vigilant and circumspect. He is nimble and alert.
From - SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA